Towards the end of January, Antonio Conte gathered his Tottenham players at the club’s Enfield headquarters for a heart-to-heart talk.
The Italian wanted to see the end of the team’s run of one Premier League win in five, including three damaging defeats.
When the last player arrived, Conte left and told his players that he wanted them to find a solution to his miserable form.
Among the team, there was a feeling that performances and results had been hampered by Conte’s rigid and defensive tactics. When the senior players reported back to Conte after the crisis talks, they pleaded with him to drop the shackles and be more expansive in his attacking play.
Spurs won five of their next six domestic games before the FA Cup defeat to Sheffield United marked not only the beginning of the end of Conte’s reign, but also the team’s new start.
Tottenham have no manager after Antonio Conte left by mutual consent on Sunday
Meanwhile, the Italian’s intense training regimen had the players on their knees. Conte often made them run 2 km before games. The players would not dare to groan in front of him, but in private they were puzzled.
Surely they should reserve energy for the heat of battle? There were many more complaints about the regimented training sessions. “Training the same thing every day, the same tactics every day,” a source said.
Conte was scheduled to return to Spurs after spending the international break in Italy. There are several players returning in the next 24 hours relieved to have been spared an awkward meeting.
But sometimes it’s not the manager’s fault. Sometimes it’s the players, as Conte pointed out in the infamous tirade against his team, that cost him his job.
This is the same group of players that turned on José Mourinho and Nuno Espirito Santo. The same group that complained about the bad atmosphere that preceded the departure of Mauricio Pochettino.
Ironically, several of those players are now pining for Pochettino’s return, even though there is great doubt that they will get their wish. There is a common denominator: and they are not the managers.
Perhaps Conte could have exuded more positivity instead of the pangs of negativity that wore down his squad and staff members. Perhaps president Daniel Levy should have done more to sign Conte’s targets, particularly Alessandro Bastoni or Josko Gvardiol. Or maybe the players just aren’t good enough. The truth is probably somewhere in between.
If Conte had his time again, would he have done things differently? Probably not. But when he returns to management, most likely in Serie A, there are lessons to be learned. His unpredictability irritated many. His habit of changing training schedules at short notice is a particular problem.
The Italian coach often had his players complete 2km runs before games.
Spurs players have also turned against Nuno Espirito Santo (L) and Jose Mourinho in recent years.
So enraged by the team’s defeat against Sporting Lisbon in September, the Italian moved up training from 2:00 p.m. to 11:00 a.m. Since the team did not return to London until the early hours of the morning, it was not well received.
Whenever the schedule allowed, Conte would rush back to Italy to spend time with his wife Elisabetta and daughter Vittoria, who stayed behind in Turin.
The fact that Conte booked his own flights and used budget airline Ryanair was something staff members found endearing. It’s the low-maintenance side of Conte that we don’t get to see.
In fact, not everyone will be happy to see Conte’s back. Outside of soccer, he is warm and caring. Even funny. But at the time of his departure, there was little willingness from the club’s powerful, apart from director of football Fabio Paratici, to continue with Conte.
In fact, sources have indicated that Conte’s relationship with Levy was so strained that Paratici effectively acted as a conduit between the two during the final months of the head coach’s tenure.
Even the talks between Conte and the club about the terms of his departure were difficult. But in a boardroom battle, there was only going to be one winner. It is understood that Levy will insist on staying at Tottenham in the event of a future sale. He’s in it for the long haul; many at Tottenham knew that Conte was not.
Daniel Levy’s relationship with Conte became so tense that they needed an intermediary
The hierarchy grew tired of his public attacks on the club’s ambition and exasperated by the narrative that it was Conte who would decide if he left in the summer.
In January, there was a change in the boardroom. Tottenham was no longer pining for Conte to extend his contract. By February, it was a case of when, not if, he would leave.
The team finished in the top four last season, but even then there were trust issues due to concerns that Conte wanted the Paris Saint-Germain head coach job and, through his intermediaries, made no secret of it.
There has always been the feeling that Tottenham were beneath Conte and that he was doing them a favour. That never sat well with those in positions of power at the club.