ON THE VOLLEY: Despite sitting third, recent results cause concern for Tottenham Hotspur

By Charlie DeMatteo

When Antonio Conte was brought in as Tottenham’s manager just 11 months ago, many, including myself, lauded Daniel Levy and the Spurs board for appointing such a quality manager. However, some in the media, such as pundit Gary Neville were not in favor of choosing Conte, citing his negative style and combative personality as significant issues. I, as well as many, disagreed with Neville. For the longest time, Tottenham has needed a legitimate world-class manager still in his prime, and Conte was just that. However, after about a year in charge and some worrying signs, I’m starting to think Neville had the right idea when it came to Conte.

Antonio Conte came to Spurs after a season where he won Serie A with Inter Milan, ending Juventus’ decade-long reign as champions. In the Premier League, he turned a Chelsea team that finished 10th when he inherited it into one that won the league in dominant fashion the following year. All of the signs that he could transform Tottenham were there, and yet, I feel they are no closer to winning silverware under Conte than they were under Jose Mourinho a few seasons ago.

The similarities between how Tottenham plays currently and how they played under Mourinho are clear for anyone to see. There is a clear defensive attitude within the side, despite having world-class attacking firepower in Harry Kane, Heung-Min Son, and Richarlison. When Spurs are at their best, they are tough to break down and hit you on the counterattack in open space where the attacking players can show their quality. When things aren’t going so well, they get dominated by better teams who can play with the ball, and their attacking players have no impact on the game. All of these characteristics were present during Mourinho’s reign at the club. Attacking players going missing in big games is the real worry for Tottenham, and we’ve seen it multiple times already this season.

The first occasion was against Chelsea. Spurs were down twice against their London rival but came back both times to salvage a 2-2 draw in the game’s final moments. However, even the biggest Spurs fans will tell you there was some good fortune in that result, as some crucial decisions went their way. Disregarding the result, the performance was an eyebrow-raiser. Spurs came into the game with all the momentum against a Chelsea side who still had a struggling Thomas Tuchel in charge. Surprisingly, Chelsea were able to impose their will on Spurs relatively easily, and Spurs didn’t seem to have an issue with that. In the end, they went to Stamford Bridge and got a point, so you couldn’t really critique them. However, the next game against a big team was the North London Derby against Arsenal, where they would have to do better to get a result.

To describe the majority of the play in the derby, I would call it one-way traffic, and that’s being kind. Spurs had seemingly no game plan to contain Arsenal when they had the ball, and it just seemed like Spurs were waiting for Arsenal to score, which they did through a beautiful goal from Thomas Partey. Spurs were handed a lifeline when Harry Kane dispatched a penalty to make it 1-1 going into the break, but that masked a poor performance from Conte’s side.

Just 4 minutes into the second half, Arsenal continued with their bombardment of pressure and found another goal through Gabriel Jesus to give Arsenal the lead. Back to square one for Spurs. The second half played out much like the first, with Arsenal comprehensively the better team and went on to win the game 3-1 after Spurs went down to 10 men after an Emerson Royal red card. Just like that, another big game and another poor performance.

When Spurs faced Manchester United on Wednesday, it was another opportunity for Conte and his men to show the league what they were made of, and yet again, they disappointed. To put it lightly, Man United is in a period of transition under new manager Erik Ten Hag, and the team has been quite inconsistent. In fact, United has been a team playing on the counterattack and being solid defensively so far this season. Even they, however, managed to dominate possession against Spurs and earn a comfortable and comprehensive 2-0 victory.

It is worth noting that all three of these games were away from home for Tottenham, which can contribute to tough performances, but for me, that doesn’t solve the problem. This is the identity of Spurs under Conte, and there is no getting around that. They don’t like to attack in numbers, and they don’t like to play progressively. When you are trying to compete for the Premier League title, you simply can’t afford to let teams come at you. You have to be the aggressor. And before anyone comes out and says Spurs shouldn’t be aiming for a title fight, why did they bring in Antonio Conte? Why did they spend upwards of 150 million pounds this summer? The expectations have to be high, and I don’t necessarily think Conte’s style is suited to winning a Premier League.

While Conte has shown his pedigree across Europe, the Premier League in 2017 did not have as strong of a Manchester City team, nor did it have an Arsenal team who looks set to dominate any opposition they face. I applauded the decision to appoint Conte at the time. However, I am starting to see signs that perhaps the likes of Gary Neville were right in questioning Conte. With all that being said, Spurs still sit third in the table after 11 games, and I just don’t see them being anywhere near Arsenal or City come the end of the season, which has to be a disappointment given who is in charge and how much money has been spent.

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