Three reasons Antonio Conte may fail at Tottenham

In a surprise twist, Tottenham snapped up Antonio Conte, the Italian manager, to replace Nuno Espirito Santo who was sacked after 17 games in charge. The 52-year-old Conte left Inter Milan in the summer and was priming himself for the Manchester United hot-seat. Daniel Levy, Spurs chairman, however, hurriedly snapped up the former Chelsea manager before vacancy opens at a top club, but is Conte the right man to return Tottenham to the top-four two years after crumbled dreams?

Here are three reasons why he might not be the right man to take Spurs to the next level.

DANIEL LEVY’S TIGHT GRIP

Levy is a savvy character. The Lillywhites’ chairman has been at the helm of affairs since 2001 and his workaholic nature means the businessman is the club’s biggest figure. While Roman Abramovich stays in the background at Chelsea, the Glazers concentrate on Man United’s financial gains and Kroenke sits on Arsenal profits, Levy is at the fore.

The 59-year-old oversees daily activities at the North London club and also directs affairs in terms of transfers, dictating who gets sold or retained. This businessman is further known for tough transfer negotiations, having his way on sales while spending less on incoming transfers.

This atmosphere is not one Conte works best in as observed during his time at Juventus, Chelsea, and Inter Milan recently. He left the former two when he could not guarantee future player investments while he abandoned the latter due to the sale of Romelu Lukaku and Achraf Hakimi despite just winning the Italian Serie A title.

CONTE AND HIS EMOTIONS

While owners bear the brunt, players and journalists have also felt Conte’s wrath. According to reports, he once demanded answers from a journalist celebrating an opponent’s goal in the press conference while at Juventus and denied a player permission to be with his pregnant wife at Siena. Although Conte successfully returned Juventus to the top of Italian football following the Calciopoli scandal and recently made Inter a powerhouse again, his volatility and temperament would be tested.

 

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He famously told reporters he would “prefer to kill” a player with a bad attitude or poor behavior, and with Harry Kane, Dele Alli, and others performing well below usual standards, it remains to be seen how harsh words would reactivate the lot after Mourinho’s eventual failure with the big stick.

UNFORGIVING FANS AND TRIGGER-HAPPY CHAIRMAN

Football fans are usually unforgiving, tempestuous, and hound in packs. Though it cannot be like the atmosphere at Real Madrid or Barcelona, English football has grown impatient in recent years and Tottenham, with its eccentric and authoritarian chairman, is a prime example. Juande Ramos was hounded out despite winning the club’s first trophy under Levy’s reign; Martin Jol was not spared despite taking Spurs away from mid-table obscurity into its present heavyweight status. Fans turned on Andre Villas-Boas, a young manager, and did not spare Jose Mourinho during his 17 months disaster class. They turned on Nuno Espirito Santo in just five months. The Portuguese coach was told “you don’t know what you’re doing” during matches for perceived poor substitution judgments. It remains to be seen if Conte can succeed where Mourinho’s storied CV and charisma failed to prevent Levy’s awaiting gardening leave letter.