Tottenham awkwardly emerge from the era of Antonio Conte

William of England
By William of England 4 Min Read
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By Sean Walsh

FROM TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR STADIUM – Tottenham’s last faint hopes of winning a trophy this season have vanished.

After losing 1-0 against Milan in the Champions League round of 16, Spurs will now have to focus on a campaign of turmoil in the Premier League. They are currently fourth under their belt but keep finding new ways to open the door for their rivals.

On Antonio Conte’s return from gallbladder surgery, Tottenham looked predictable and lacking in ingenuity. A once well-oiled racing car has rusted, the engine has given up.

Whether the fans lead the team or the team ignites the fans is a chicken-and-egg blame game as old as the sport, but the disconnect was palpable. ‘Nobody wants to be here’ a friend wrote to me in the stands before the match. Kick-off delayed, iconic Champions League theme played at the wrong time.

Ben Davies – Ben Davies “nice” to his biggest supporters – was twice the subject of vocal ire from fans early on, once for letting Junior Messias get past him too easily, then for inadvertently dribbling past the ball with right boot. The tension was immediately high, no one was safe.

Also With you \- at the same time almost universally popular in N17, in more recent months seen as the leader of the rebellion against ENIC owners and chairman Daniel Levy – his decisions have been questioned and booed by fans, ‘you don’t know what you’re doing ‘ echoed in parts of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

His decision to replace Dejan Kulusevski in place of Davinson Sanchez – certainly following the stupid sacking of Cristian Romero (drinking) – looked eerily similar to predecessor Nuno Espirito Santo’s last play, whose reign ended by inexplicably hooking Lucas Moura for Steven Bergwijn while also needing a goal.

The Spurs amassed a grand total of 0.46 xG (via FotMob) in a must-win game, so it’s hard to tell fans weren’t interested in something.

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90 minutes reported this week it is unlikely that Conte will be at Tottenham beyond the summer. Club legend Mauricio Pochettino would be open to returning. It’s the worst kept secret in football – it seems more likely Basil Fawlty and Del Boy will be at Spurs next season than their current head coach.

If Conte chooses to last the season (if that’s his decision to make), he may still be able to repeat last year’s heroism, transforming Tottenham into one of the deadliest forces in the Premier League and carving his way into the top four.

But there’s rarely any chance of that or any point of waiting until then to part ways. His future is clearly not at Spurs, and Tottenham cannot afford to continue sleepwalking out of seasons like this.

Full-time, scattered sections of an outgoing crowd chanted Pochettino’s name in that famous old pilot song. You’re humming it in your head right now. Everyone knows where Spurs are going and there’s no point in pretending otherwise.

This article was originally posted on 90min.com as Tottenham awkwardly emerge from the era of Antonio Conte.

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