After merely 4 months in office, Nuno Santos has been given the sack by Spurs to make way for their new and exciting manager, Antonio Conte. Spurs have had a huge fall from grace from being in the finals of the Champions League in 2019 to not qualifying for the Europa League last season. They have failed to find a worthy successor of Mauricio Pochettino and even the chosen one, Jose Mourinho, couldn’t turn things around at Spurs.
Tottenham have many underlying issues all over the place which has affected their performance on the pitch and some fans are even bold enough to consider a mid table English club. Also with the recent surge of arch-rivals, West Ham United, the Spurs supporters are losing faith in their club’s status among the European Elites. Here are the issues Antonio Conte has to fix at Spurs if they intend to finally get their hands on some silverware.
TACTICAL WEAKNESS
Antonio Conte likes to play a 3 man defence everywhere he goes which is why Spurs will have to adapt to this system since their current 4-4-2 diamond formation is clearly not doing the trick for them. Spurs have some talented centre-backs in their ranks especially after signing Christian Romero this summer. Japhet Tanganga can operate as a wing-back and they have Emerson Royal and Sergio Reguilon who fit the role of a wing-back. Spurs have players with good pace all around the flanks but the system they have been playing before is too central which doesn’t give them enough scope to capitalise on the wings and attacks from all dimensions. Playing wing backs would enable them to play wide enough to stretch the opposition thin.
REWIRING TRANSFER STRATEGY
Spurs have also been lacking creativity in the midfield and this is mainly because they haven’t been going for the right players. Spurs don’t play a possession-based system but things will change after Cont’s arrival. They need to go for deep-lying playmakers who can hold possession and create chances like Emile Hojberg. Spurs also haven’t found the replacement of Christian Eriksen yet, who was key to their past success. Conte needs to find a new number 10 player for this Spurs squad.
Since the relations between the club and a few players isn’t the best right now, Conte is compelled to clear the tension in the camp. Dele Alli hasn’t lived up to their standards and Conte will have to make the hard decision of either having faith in the English national or letting him go in the January window.
Tanguy Ndombele was bought for a record fee of 54 million pounds and since his arrival, the player has played under 4 managers and has not lived up to his potential under any of them. Conte also has to make the decision of either pulling the plug of the Ndombele project by selling him off to the first suitor or letting the player play till his contract ends hoping he would make a difference before his spell ends. Conte is a strict manager who wants discipline in his players and Ndombele has a history of being disrespectful so the latter solution is highly unlikely in this case.
One of the main factors that helped Conte accept the Spurs job is the club’s managing director, Fabio Patrici. The duo has worked together in the past at Juventus which is why Spurs might not face a lot of issues with Conte, despite the fact that Conte left Inter because of a fallout with the club because of its transfer business.
BUILDING WINNING MENTALITY
Ever since Harry Kane’s transfer move to Manchester City fell through, he has been no more than a shadow for Spurs both on and off the pitch. The player is dejected and it seems like he has no will to play for Spurs anymore. Harry Kane is a world-class player and like anyone else wants to play in a team that can win trophies and play at the highest level in Europe. After Spurs’ recent downfall, Kane lost faith in the club and is up to Conte to lift up the spirits of the whole camp.
If Harry Kane gets back into the form he was in last season, things would be a lot easier for the whole squad and only a positive run of results will do that. Antonio Conte wins trophies, and he does it in style. He has won the Premier League and FA Cup in England with Chelsea and other than that he has won 5 Serie A titles as well. Spurs desperately need to win a trophy if they want to make their presence felt in England and Conte is the best man to do the job. Conte is a charismatic leader and his presence will help his team instil confidence in themselves and in that way they would build a winning mentality in the coming months. It is about time Spurs start acting like they’re an elite European club and with Conte in the camp, they have the leader they need.