• The Fighting Cock is a forum for fans of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. Here you can discuss Spurs latest matches, our squad, tactics and any transfer news surrounding the club. Registration gives you access to all our forums (including 'Off Topic' discussion) and removes most of the adverts (you can remove them all via an account upgrade). You're here now, you might as well...

    Get involved!

Manager Antonio Conte

Latest Spurs videos from Sky Sports

stevee said:
You've literally just proved my point .

Start the game, get over run on midfield, change the tactics and we're better.

Thanks for that
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
For this particular case, we probably got outnumbered in midfield, yes. I think some formations are struggling by their nature against others.

That doesn’t mean a manager has to change his formation every single game to negate the opposition’s strengths. At most you can make tweaks during the game if it’s really not working, but I would say most often than not, you’d want the opposition to worry about you, not the other way around.

Proof is that the same system performed last season at home against Woolwich. I don’t think Arteta had a revelation during pre-season and overwhelmed his tactics, did he?
 
Herclueless said:
Doesn't surprise me because in all honesty, in the ~28 years I've supported Spurs, his reign was the only time we have consistently looked well prepared, good to watch and an actual sustained contender at the top of the table.

However, that view also ignores his reign being bookended by pretty poor results and performances, and the question of whether the relative success that we did have was down to Poch's greatness, or lucky timing.

I have strong doubts that he could replicate the successes of his first stint here were he to return, and there's as good a chance that the football would remain gash to watch as there is that it would be enjoyable.

That said, one of my big gripes under his tenure was that we would often go 2-0 up and ease off, with a real pasting of the opposition being a 4 goal win as opposed to the 6 or 7 that I wanted us to be hitting (think Leicester/Hull thrashings to end the season when we finished 2nd), whereas now a fucking 2-0 lead would have me over the fucking moon!
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
the reason we had that run was because we had the best back 4 in the world and they had solid men in front of them. we got fucking dier as our main CB ffs! the fucking name is a giveaway FFS!
 
Nutter-Naylor said:
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...


Where do all the original articles actually get published?

All I ever seem to see is 2nd hand, quote-less tweets from no-mark twitter accounts and so often they eventually get rumbled as spin or simply false. The last time I saw an actual proper DanKP article it was an un-cooberated, self indulgent ramble full of "wot I think is......" prediction-ism.

Ali G is no different these days either..... Sit and watch an hour video of someone who's clearly increasingly left on the outside looking in like the rest of us? No thanks......

Man.... What I wouldn't give to be spared all this BS pantomime and just be fed basic, reliable bonafide news as and when it genuinely breaks..... Ditto all the wafty, mumbly press conferences cloaked in cat n mouse and broken English. All this crap does is provoke more questions; not provide answers.

"I'm tired, Wobbie"





The socialist football state of Sean Dyche...... IN.

#ModernFootball
 
Last edited:
Merl said:
You dont bring in a elite level manager like Conte with a track record of winning titles and expect him to abandon his methods to suit Tanganaga, Doherty, Dier, Emerson etc.
You bin off those average to shite players and back him in the transfer market.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
You didn’t hear? Apparently Conte’s titles are shit because he’s won them in Italy and Chelsea’s team was the best in the world.

Funny how Spurs fans dismiss his achievements when they’ve witnessed one Mickey Mouse cup in the last 20 years.
 
The Romanian Jack said:
But they were working last year, the exact same tactics. There’s no such thing as figuring out x manager, if that was true, you’d think managers have figured out Klopp and Guardiola by now. Even fucking Arteta who is using the same system for a couple of seasons and is literally a novice. Or do you think they’re some sort of geniuses, misunderstood by the rest of the pleb managers?

A manager can set up patterns of play, a general template/instructions for the players and that’s about it. The rest is for the players to figure out. That’s why you need the best players to win, not necessarily the best system. This isn’t Football Manager mate.

Here is a tactical analysis of our game against Woolwich. We got outnumbered in midfield, Conte tweaked the tactics. What is comical is that we conceded two goals that could have been prevented.

Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Good explanation.

Only point for Conte is that he’s known for being “structure = freedom” when it comes to patterns of play. He apparently demands almost robotic movements until the players understand then learn to freelance off from them.

It’s old school style but also gets short term results.

Problem seems to be that we should be in the phase of players being able to freelance based on the game/opponents but instead we just look predictable and easy to press and prevent counters .
 
daveyboy88 said:
the reason we had that run was because we had the best back 4 in the world and they had solid men in front of them. we got fucking dier as our main CB ffs! the fucking name is a giveaway FFS!
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
They definitely weren't when he took over though, Walker had shown his ability but was very inconsistent, Alderweireld wasn't here, Vertonghen we knew was class but seemed disconnected from the club and possibly wantaway during the Sherwood era, and Rose was pretty much disliked across the board with an attitude that far outstripped anything he had proven on the pitch at that point.

They all definitely appreciated in reputation and value under his management, the question is could he have a similar impact on the current bunch, no for me. Then you would have to ask could he earmark signings that he could have a similar impact on and mould a new defence that good? And again I'm doubtful.

And that's before even considering whether Levy would give him the resources to try.
 
Richard Arlison said:
Good explanation.

Only point for Conte is that he’s known for being “structure = freedom” when it comes to patterns of play. He apparently demands almost robotic movements until the players understand then learn to freelance off from them.

It’s old school style but also gets short term results.

Problem seems to be that we should be in the phase of players being able to freelance based on the game/opponents but instead we just look predictable and easy to press and prevent counters .
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Well, that particular trait, which I was looking forward to seeing, has most definitely not come to pass.

I honestly cannot think of a single defined, coherent passage of play this season that has a repetitive quality. Perhaps a few moments with Kulu, but I suspect that’s just him being inventive and competent.
 
The Romanian Jack said:
You didn’t hear? Apparently Conte’s titles are shit because he’s won them in Italy and Chelsea’s team was the best in the world.

Funny how Spurs fans dismiss his achievements when they’ve witnessed one Mickey Mouse cup in the last 20 years.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
It's madness that some of the fanbase continously blame the manager - Poch, then Mourinho, Nuno and now Conte.
The common denominator in all this are the same inferior core of players through those managers and the poor level of recruitment and investment in the squad.

Bin off Conte and whoever comes in gets the new manager bounce before all the same issues will reappear then rinse and repeat this cycle.
 
Herclueless said:
They definitely weren't when he took over though, Walker had shown his ability but was very inconsistent, Alderweireld wasn't here, Vertonghen we knew was class but seemed disconnected from the club and possibly wantaway during the Sherwood era, and Rose was pretty much disliked across the board with an attitude that far outstripped anything he had proven on the pitch at that point.

They all definitely appreciated in reputation and value under his management, the question is could he have a similar impact on the current bunch, no for me. Then you would have to ask could he earmark signings that he could have a similar impact on and mould a new defence that good? And again I'm doubtful.

And that's before even considering whether Levy would give him the resources to try.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
you cant polish a turd. toby and jan was a great partnership and walker and rose were both athletic and rolled their sleeves up, it made us hard to beat.

dont matter who the manager is with donker dier at the heart of your defence youre going to get walloped, and fucking deservedly so.

poch aint the man. bringing him back is as spursy as it gets. might as well get winks back in midfield too. to be honest maybe i think its good if it does happen. i'll save 180 minutes a week.
 
Merl said:
It's madness that some of the fanbase continously blame the manager - Poch, then Mourinho, Nuno and now Conte.
The common denominator in all this are the same inferior core of players through those managers and the poor level of recruitment and investment in the squad.

Bin off Conte and whoever comes in gets the new manager bounce before all the same issues will reappear then rinse and repeat this cycle.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
A cycle that has gone on for 20 years.

I can understand criticism of the manager. Personally i despise the 5 at the back system Conte is wedded to. But if you haven't given him the right players (and we haven't) he's not going to be able to make bricks out of straw. That comes back to have a footballing infrastructure and strategy aligned with his needs which we haven't got, we're just winging it from one manager to the next.
 
TonySoprano said:
I hope you're right. I don't have anything against him, loved him when he was here. But we need to move on not try to recreate history.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I would be interested in Poch coming back. But I also agree with this.

We can't just keep looking backwards. We need to look forwards and plan ahead.

If we kick off a new project. I would probably see if we can get one of the managers from the big clubs in Portugal or the Netherlands. A manager that is used to competing for the top spots in his league, but who is also used to players being sold/moved on.

Because realistically we are going to be more like a Red Bull than a Chelsea. And have to sell players from time to time. So having a manager that knows how to work with that would be ideal for us. Someone that can combine player development with competing.
 
TonySoprano said:
A cycle that has gone on for 20 years.

I can understand criticism of the manager. Personally i despise the 5 at the back system Conte is wedded to. But if you haven't given him the right players (and we haven't) he's not going to be able to make bricks out of straw. That comes back to have a footballing infrastructure and strategy aligned with his needs which we haven't got, we're just winging it from one manager to the next.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
100%.
I definitely understand fans who dont like the Conte approach and the football has definitely been dull.
But even if you get Poch or a more attack minded coach they will still need to clear out a load of players and need to be backed with signings.
There's no quick fix, even Conte said it would take several windows to improve significantly.
 
“He would need to compromise on some transfer targets but should also accept that he is at a top club, with a talented squad and unrivalled infrastructure, where success is possible without consistently outspending rivals.”


Hahahhaha
 
TonySoprano said:
A cycle that has gone on for 20 years.

I can understand criticism of the manager. Personally i despise the 5 at the back system Conte is wedded to. But if you haven't given him the right players (and we haven't) he's not going to be able to make bricks out of straw. That comes back to have a footballing infrastructure and strategy aligned with his needs which we haven't got, we're just winging it from one manager to the next.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
all systems work if you have the correct balance of players for it. the worrying thing with conte is hes supposed to be an elite manager but cant come away from a system that he clearly doesnt have the players for. thats poor either way.
 
Look at the Goons on Sunday. Young, aggressive, a team and yuk spit, exciting.
Look at us, set up with 5 at the back and 2 in midfield, scared to go forward, waiting for a defensive fuck up. AT HOME, IN A NLD FFS.
We need a total rebuild, bring in Spence, White, Sarr and the kids and stick with them, develop them, grow together even if it takes a year or two.
Conte will not do that.
Get in someone that will.
Now.
 
Merl said:
100%.
I definitely understand fans who dont like the Conte approach and the football has definitely been dull.
But even if you get Poch or a more attack minded coach they will still need to clear out a load of players and need to be backed with signings.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I think that the first step towards actually doing that is accepting that we will have to sell Harry in the summer.

Levy's current "project" hinges on winning a trophy with Harry. He's entering the final year of his contract. As long as he is here Levy is going to desperately try to get him at least one trophy. And that is going to hold off on any form of organized and commited rebuild.

It sucks. But I do think that for any sort of long term successful rebuild to happen then Harry has to go.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top