A Spoonful of Sugar: Not Everyone’s Cup of Tea

The staple of English culture is a good cup of tea. And with it comes some age-old debates; the choice of teabag, the amount of milk and whether or not to add sugar. For me, sugar has no place in a cup of tea, which leads me to my topic of discussion.

Antonio Conte’s time at Tottenham has been, well, interesting. His style of play and subsequent results have been praised and scrutinised throughout.

Unbeaten against Liverpool and City last season, to being embarrassed by Mura and Middlesbrough in the cups. Our form has been up and down like a cryptocurrency stock.

Like Jose before him, Conte was brought to the club to take us to the next level. The spoonful of sugar to stop that trophy-free clock.

When you look back at the players we’ve seen in the last decade, it’s criminal we’ve not been successful. Even more frustrating as the majority leave Tottenham to find success.

The problem has always been the mentality of the team. Past managers never possessed glamorous CVs, nor did the players in the team. I may like my tea weak, but not the mentality of my squad.

When Jose took over, I was excited. I looked past the sit-back counter-attacking football. Substance over style, whatever it takes to celebrate a trophy, and one where I’m at a legal age to do so with a beer in hand.

Ultimately, the special one was unsuccessful. Tottenham is the only blip on his illustrious CV. Another Spursy moment in history and beer continues to be used to drown my sorrows.

When Conte took over, fans got excited again. Will the Italian manager take us to the next step?

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look that way. But it’s hard to take the next step when the tea has gone cold. The quality on the pitch has dropped significantly in recent seasons. We can add all the sugar in the world, but if you’re working with supermarket basic teabags, sweeteners can’t solve every problem.

After a COVID hit season, it was clear Levy was not willing to give Jose the tools to succeed. And I argue this is the same for Conte. Eight players are new to the team this season and you have to question how many the Italian wanted at the club.

As always, it seems we have misspent our money. We desperately needed a top-quality centre-back but instead spent £60M on a striker who won’t start most weeks. I like Richarlison and I’m happy he’s at the club, but I can’t see the logic.

However, the Italian needs to take some blame for another trophy-less season. His inability to adapt to different oppositions and stubbornness to keep using the same formation has proved detrimental.

Before the season started, he claimed his squad now allows him to use multiple formations, but nothing changes unless we’re losing.

We’re a defensive team who struggle to defend. We’re not as effective on the counter-attack this season and if it weren’t for Kane or the newfound set-piece expertise, we’d be battling it out with Chelsea for mid-table mediocrity.

En route to Milan last week, I gave my dad a full breakdown of how we will win this game. The typical fan knows best mentality. And in hindsight, I believe I was right.

We needed to press from the start and force a weak side to make mistakes. To do this effectively, I believed a change to a back four was required. If anything, it would throw Milan’s game plan out the window. We didn’t need to fear conceding. The aim was to score two either way.

After a barrage of boos at the end of the game, I believed Conte would be sacked the next day.

The disapproval from fans following the Sanchez substitution reminded me of Santo’s decision to take Lucas off before his inevitable sacking. I can see the logic of Sanchez filling the gap Romero left. But To Dare Is To Do seems lost on the Italian.

His time at Tottenham seems fleeting. Like Dido, our tea has gone cold, and I’m wondering why I get out of bed to watch this team each weekend. But as always, it didn’t stop me from attending the Forest game.

It was a comfortable win in the end, which saw an attacking intent which we lacked against Milan. Hopefully, Conte has turned a corner, though I doubt it.

Conte has always been an enigma to me. Like sugar in tea, I’ve never been a fan. I couldn’t see his style of football being sustainable, but I’m infatuated with his passion. After the Milan game, I was ready for him to leave, and then I saw him celebrating each goal against Forest. It shows he cares and suggests he wants to stay. So why not sign the bloody contract?

If Conte had any respect for the club, he needs to make a decision. If he’s waiting to see if we secure Champions League football next season, I question his character.

His performance and potential shortcomings will play a part in our eventual league position. A place in the table which could be below the likes of Brentford and Brighton. At which time he will say his farewells.

In reality, a lack of Champions League football could help him succeed. We may struggle to attract the best players without the competition, but Conte is at his best when he has time to prepare for matches. Without a World Cup next season, the fixture schedule will be less congested and give more time to train.

He can give his best eleven a weekly rest and give those fighting for places an opportunity to play in potentially one of Europe’s less challenging competitions. Then again, if our recent form in cup competitions is anything to go by, the starting eleven won’t be resting for long as a team from Andorra is about to cause an upset.

For the best of the club, a decision on his future needs to be made now. We need to start planning for next season and potentially look for another manager.

If I were in Levy, I would let the Italian go. I’m happy to see Mason take over again and add some attacking intent to the team. Who knows, like Arteta at Woolwich, he may be the man for the job.

So I ask the question, sugar in or Conte out?