Antonio Conte outburst: Tottenham boss tells board his fury was for players | Football News

Antonio Conte has made it clear to the Tottenham board that his anger is aimed at the players and not the owner or chairman.

It’s business as usual at Tottenham despite an extraordinary speech when Conte called his Spurs players “selfish” after his side threw away a two-goal lead at bottom side Southampton.

He also appeared to attack the ownership of the club, but it was understood that Conte’s clarification to the board asked why only the club and the manager were responsible for not winning when the player got an “alibi”.

The players and staff are now on a scheduled two-day break and will report back to the training ground on Tuesday, which will happen regardless of the result.

There has been no public reaction from the players in response to Conte’s comments, with Christian Romero and Pedro Porro the only players to have posted on social media since the outburst.

Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher said he believed Conte wanted to be sacked after the Italian’s comments, while Jamie Redknapp felt the Italian’s position was becoming untenable.

Conte’s Spurs contract expires this summer, and Sky Sports’ Gary Neville said he would “keep him where he is and make him do his job”.

Sky Sports News it was reported earlier this month that Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy was under huge pressure to re-appoint Mauricio Pochettino as Spurs manager, with some players and staff calling for the Argentine to return and revitalize the club.

Tottenham’s collapse at St Mary’s ended a miserable March in which they were dumped out of the FA Cup and Champions League to avoid a trophy since 2008.

Analysis: From ‘glory game’ to ‘blame game’

This was supposed to be a season in which Spurs built on the progress made last season, but it has been a disappointing campaign and the low point was throwing away a 3-1 lead at Southampton on Saturday.

This appeared to be the last straw for Conte and he did not hold back his post-match press conference. But who is to blame for what has gone wrong this season?

here, Sky Sports News journalist Michael Bridge dissects that question from three different perspectives – Conte, Board and fans.

Antonio Conte

Conte got it all off his chest in front of the media on Saturday. We’ve seen it before, of course. Conte has a track record of speaking his mind to reporters during his time as manager of Juventus, Inter Milan, Chelsea and Italy.

We can see what will happen when he questions whether he is the right man for the job after the 1-0 defeat at Burnley in February last year. He later admitted that his comments were meant to challenge the players, but on Saturday it felt more personal.

The big question is what the club’s hierarchy will do about the comments. Conte has consistently told reporters that he is being honest with the board, telling them what needs to be done so that the club can take the next big step.

It was clear on Saturday that he was frustrated that players often get a free pass when criticized in the media, but the question of commitment could be a dangerous game despite the fact that many Spurs fans believe there are players at the club. just not good enough.

Conte can point to injury problems as part of the reason why things have gone wrong this season. Serious injuries to Hugo Lloris and more importantly Rodrigo Bentancur haven’t helped, but every manager needs to hold on to outgoing players.

He can also point to the fact that last season’s Golden Boot winner, Heung-min Son, has only scored six times this season.

Harry Kane will surely get the goals, but Conte knows that a successful team cannot rely on just one key player, however good he is.

Any review of Conte’s own performance this season must admit that it has been a very difficult campaign for him on a personal level. He had lost three close friends and had gallbladder surgery.

Only he knows if he will sign a new agreement, but now it is impossible.

Space

Daniel Levy is a big fan of Conte. At the staff Christmas party, his name was mentioned during a speech.

It’s all been positive but it seems like it’s been a long time coming.

The board certainly knows that Conte does not like to work with a long contract and decided to discuss an extension this season, the season he promised.

Spurs were third favorites for the title last summer and they deserve to be after a promising end to last season – three consecutive wins including a 3-0 thrashing of Arsenal. Levy has every right to look forward to next season knowing he has one of the most respected and successful coaches in football.

Of course Levy and the board have faced criticism over transfer fees and policies, but he will deny that he supports Conte. Richarlison arrived for big money from Everton, Yves Bissouma is a key player at Brighton and Conte wants Ivan Perisic, but despite all your arguments, the most successful signing since last summer has been back-up goalkeeper Fraser Forster.

For all the money that has been spent, the defense seems to lack quality and when first choice centre-back targets were unavailable last summer, Clement Lenglet was brought in on loan and he failed to impress.

Fans often blame the club’s leadership for the fact that Spurs won just one major trophy during Levy’s tenure, but the previous managers – plus Conte – are also to blame, especially when they picked questionable teams in semi-finals and major finals.

The fans

Just when Spurs fans thought they were in for a two-week break during the international break, things suddenly turned doom and gloom again. The famous club in this game of glory is playing a game that is being blamed again.

It’s amazing to think Spurs were seconds away from a third break in the Premier League but poor game management at 3-1 up and a controversial penalty changed everything.

Many fans now think that finishing in the top four is not enough to make up for what has been a disappointing and disappointing campaign. You don’t get trophies for finishing fourth and the FA Cup defeat at Sheffield United last month was one of the defining 90 minutes of the season.

Some Spurs supporters think Conte was right to speak on Saturday. He said the criticism of the players and the board was long overdue. However, there are also many fans who believe that Conte is paid more than enough to accept responsibility, change the formation and get more out of the squad.

One issue that supporters can agree on is that Conte’s contract is set to expire this summer and has played a big role in the uncertainty surrounding the club.

How can you build when the person in charge has no intention of committing to the future at the club? How do you work on summer transfers when nobody knows if Conte is staying or going?

Spurs fans once scoffed at Mikel Arteta’s “trust the process” mantra during his early days as Arsenal manager, now they envy the process.

On the day Beyoncé will play at what used to be White Hart Lane, Arsenal can celebrate the Premier League trophy on the road.

Ten months ago, Spurs beat Arsenal 3-0 at home. It’s a very distant memory now.

As the red half of North London went from strength to strength, Daniel Levy & Co had to draw up a contingency plan to rebuild – and their 13th manager in 20 years.