Conte rejected, Nuno in (then sacked), and now Conte is the flavour of the Levy month.
Yes, Nuno Espirito Santo was offered the Spurs job – sixth on the list – after Conte was rejected (among others); the Italian stallion was rejected because he would have built a team that challenged all the rest by using Levy’s/Tottenham’s money. That was too much for Levy and Lewis, so they looked for cheaper options. Now it has all come back to bite Levy and Lewis on the arse. Yes, Nuno was finally dismissed after – the team – didn’t bother to put up a fight against United (they capitulated); lost 3-0 at home, which was our fourth defeat in six Premier League games.
So advanced talks were had with the rejected Antonio Conte, as the club sought a fourth permanent manager in the last three years. If there is anything that Levy excels in, then it is sacking managers and not winning trophies; he is the king of kings (or was?).
So, Nuno is history, among 14 other managers in a 21 year Levy reign; is now number15 in that long list of the executed about to put his head on Levy’s chopping board. Or will it be 15th time lucky?
Yes, our club has put in place Tottenham’s 15th manager under Levy’s reign. Conte, the former Chelsea and Inter Milan boss is our new manager until summer 2023. He was given an 18-month contract with “an option to extend”.
On being given the poisoned chalice, Conte commented, “I am extremely happy to return to coaching, and to do so at a Premier League club that has the ambition to be a protagonist again”.
Conte returns to London after winning the Premier League in his first season at Chelsea (2016-17) and the FA Cup in his second before being sacked in 2018. He then led Inter Milan to their first Serie A title in 11 years before leaving the club in May. He had been in charge for two years, and Inter said it was a mutual decision to end his contract with one year remaining.
Conte went on and said, “I can’t wait to start working to convey to the team and the fans the passion, mentality and determination that have always distinguished me, as a player and as a coach. Last summer, our union did not happen because the end of my relationship with Inter was still too recent and emotionally too involved with the end of the season, so I felt that it wasn’t yet the right time to return to coaching. But the contagious enthusiasm and determination of Daniel Levy in wanting to entrust me with this task had already hit the mark. Now that the opportunity has returned, I have chosen to take it with great conviction.”
His first game in charge will be against the team that humiliated us in Holland, Vitesse Arnhem, in the Europa Conference League this Thursday before we play at Everton in the league on Sunday.
“His track record speaks for itself, with vast experience and trophies in both Italy and England,” said our managing director of football, Fabio Paratici. He went on and said, “I know first hand the qualities Antonio can bring to us, having worked with him at Juventus, and look forward to seeing his work with our talented group of players.”
Antonio Conte coaching career
Club Dates Games Win % Trophies
Inter Milan May 19 – May 21 102 62.75 Serie A
Chelsea Jul 16 – Jul 18 106 66.04 Premier League, FA Cup
Italy Aug 14 – Jun 16 24 58.33
Juventus May 11 – Jul 14 129 67.44 Serie A (3), Coppa Italia (2)
Siena May 10 – May 11 44 50
Atalanta Sep 09 – Jan 10 14 21.43
Bari Dec 07 – Jun 09 67 47.76 Serie B
Arezzo Mar 07 – Jun 07 15 53.33
Arezzo Jul 06 – Oct 06 12 25
My thoughts on Conte finally being given the job to manage us.
He will become one of the Premier League’s highest-paid managers and adds to the list of high-profile coaches now working in the English top flight. The speed with which this deal was done tells me that Levy might – yes, just might – have learned the lessons of his past mistakes. Trying to get players and managers on the cheap, and at the same time expect those managers and players to win everything going.
Does this, finally, show us, the fans, a commitment to start challenging for everything, including winning the League Title?
It seems that Levy has finally accepted a manager with a demanding style, who wants a large amount of cash, to challenge for trophies. And Paratici, our director of football, feels his fellow Italian is precisely what the club needs to drive us forward. The pair worked together at Juventus, and Paratici is understood to have driven the process to bring Conte to our club after talks in the summer failed to reach a positive conclusion.
Daniel Levy (send in the clowns)
Daniel Levy has done wonders for our stadium, rebuilding it into a cash cow machine that will rain money down on North London (and himself, the rest of the board and investors); however, where he had been lacking is in running the football side of the club (a great accountant, but a poor football administrator of our team). Has the tied finally turned in his mind? Has he finally realised that trying to save a penny here and there won’t help him get into the top four and win trophies? Has the humiliation of having 15 managers under his belt and all failing, finally told him that if he needs to compete with the best and get into the top four (where he can also make money), he will need the best manager and best players in place?
It has been reported that in the January transfer window, he will be given something like £100 million to spend on players, but that will only be only the tip of the iceberg; more cash will come in the Summer of 2022 to build that team that will challenge for trophies, not only in England but Europe and beyond. Let us hope that this is true and we, as fans, can start to dream, as I dreamed and fans of my generation dreamed back in the 50s, that nothing was impossible, and it wasn’t; we went on to win the double, FA Cup trophies galore, and of course there were those European Glory nights which saw Spurs become the first British club to win a European trophy, and that was only the beginning.
Dreams can come true if you have the determination and the people to help push them into reality… has Levy turned the corner and become part of our dream of wishes?
Let us hope Conte is finally the man after 20 years of Levy and Lewis reign.
COYS
Glenn
My name is Glenn Renshaw.
I am currently a Premium Season Ticket holder (West Stand) in the new stadium. Before that – at White Hart Lane – a season ticket holder in various parts of the ground (mainly in the North stand).
Before becoming a season ticket holder, I stood on the shelf and various other parts of the ground since the 1950s. In 1987 I became one of the first to hold a Spurs Membership card. I was also a life long member of the Spurs supporters club (now defunct).
I go to all home, away and abroad matches.
I was born in 1955, Edgware, London (it was in the late 50s – as a baby – that my dad took me to Spurs to initiate me). I currently live in Berkshire.
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I currently write and work for spursnetwork.com and its website. I write its Reviews & Match reports and a lot more.
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