New man, new philosophy...
The Conte Effect
When a manager must go, a manager must go. Nuno Espirito Santo found out the hard way because Tottenham Football Club was a step up in class he couldn’t bridge. Antonio Conte has been brought in to remedy the situation due to his impeccable CV at the upper echelons of European football.
The relationship hasn’t got off to the best start – Conte admitted that the squad’s level wasn’t what the club needed – yet there are signs that his magic is starting to rub off on the team. Conte being Conte, these symptoms aren’t entirely constructive, but they appear to be working.
Quintessential Italian Stubbornness
Think about Italian football and heroic defending will spring to mind. Italy and Serie A are renowned for their mastery of the dark defensive arts, so it’s not surprising that Spurs are much better at the back. Indeed, the odds for football betting with Paddy Power currently rank Tottenham as the 9/2 second-favourites to qualify for the Champions League places, tied with Arsenal and above West Ham and Leicester.
Before Conte, this was unthinkable because the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was a haven for goals. Sadly for Tottenham fans, they were scored by the opposition. For example, the side conceded 16 goals over Santo’s 10-game reign, which is the equivalent of 1.6 per game. Conte has only managed four matches in the Premier League, yet, rather impressively, his men have conceded once against Leeds United so far.
Shots-per-game is down, too. With Conte at the helm, Tottenham are facing fewer shots (11.75 compared to 14.5), meaning the chances of them leaking goals are considerably less. There’s no doubt that this healthier attitude towards defending stems from the new coaching regime.
Unleashing His Main Men
Tottenham under Conte score more goals than Tottenham under Santo. To put it into perspective, the side coached by the latter only happened to hit the back of the net nine times in 10 matches. That’s worse than a goal a game. Conte’s Spurs have scored eight times in four fixtures, which equals two goals per game. This is occurring without Harry Kane being at his most ruthless best, too. England’s forward is 33/1 to be the top goalscorer this season.
The fact is that Conte is pigeonholed as a defensive manager. As we know, he appreciates solid defensive displays, but so do Pep Guardiola and Thomas Tuchel as their teams are miserly at the back. Unlike his peers, Conte doesn’t receive any credit for the way his tactical approach offers more attacking options.
At Chelsea, for instance, World Football Index points out that his 3-4-2-1 system created spaces for the wingbacks to push up high, overloading the top half of the pitch for the likes of Eden Hazard and Pedro, who liked to dribble inside. The same applies to Spurs. With different personnel pushing up throughout a game, it’s no wonder only Son Heung-min has scored more than once in Premier League games so far.
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