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MATT BARLOW: Is this the beginning of the end for Antonio Conte at Tottenham? He has the look of a man who lengthens his stride towards the exit and enters the final phase of his compatibility test with Daniel Levy.
- Tottenham suffered their fifth defeat of the season in a 2-0 loss to Aston Villa
- Antonio Conte again ridiculed claims his team could challenge for the title
- He has had to watch as Liverpool and Chelsea have pushed for new signings.
- Conte looks like a technician who lengthens the step towards his exit
It was mid-October that Antonio Conte first began to laugh at the notion of Tottenham as potential champions.
His team had just lost to Manchester United, their second Premier League defeat of the season, and were in third, four points behind leaders Arsenal.
“Sometimes I hear we’re title contenders,” he said, laughing and shaking his head for effect. ‘In just 11 months you can’t go from ninth to being a contender for the title, especially when you had 20 points less.’
Antonio Conte’s future at the club seems uncertain after his latest comments to the media
Conte’s side suffered their fifth defeat of the season in a 2-0 loss to Aston Villa on New Year’s Day.
Indeed, Tottenham were 10th in Conte’s first Premier League game in charge, in November 2021, and finished the season in fourth place, behind champions Manchester City by 22 points.
A recruiting blur in early summer and a strong start to the season fueled expectations, but Conte always feared his team would fall short when the inevitable injuries and fatigue set in.
They had scraped a point at Chelsea, lost at Arsenal and at Sporting Lisbon before losing 2-0 at Old Trafford, after which the Italian concluded: “When the level is high, we are going to have problems.”
Eleven weeks later, more than half this time without Premier League football, and his words seem to have been prescient.
Tottenham’s form has deteriorated alarmingly. United’s defeat was the first in a sequence of 10 games in which they have conceded the first goal. They have lost five and won three, each with a scrambled late winner.
Seeing clubs like Liverpool make transfers reinforces Conte’s belief that his club will never have the firepower to win the title.
This is the backdrop to Conte’s comments this week. On Sunday, after losing 2-0 at home to Aston Villa and hearing his team booed, he said people were “crazy” to consider them title contenders. He spoke fighting with a ‘pistol’ against a ‘bazooka’. He warned against creating ‘dreams’ and ‘illusions’, and that it was time to get ‘realistic’.
Spurs have invested tens of millions in the likes of Rodrigo Bentancur (£16.7m), Dejan Kulusevski (£25.5m), Richarlison (£51m) and Yves Bissouma (£25m). sterling), in the last 12 months, but when Conte sees Liverpool sign Cody Gakpo and Chelsea field Christopher Nkunku, it reinforces his belief that his club will never have the firepower to win the title.
It is true that this is often the case in the transfer market and he has made it clear that any transfer will be within the club’s strategy of buying young players and trying to improve them rather than spending big.
Although, when he related this to his own future, it gave him the appearance of a man lengthening his stride towards the exit. “If I want to stay then I have to accept this,” Conte said. ‘Otherwise, if I don’t want to accept this, then I have to go.’
His contract expires at the end of the season. During the World Cup break, there was talk of expanding and improving it, which did not reach an agreement. Spurs have the option of a 12-month extension, but they won’t activate it if he wants to move on.
Conte knows what it takes to get to the top, but Daniel Levy’s methods have always been clear.
“I signed a contract with this club and I have to accept this project,” Conte said ahead of Wednesday’s trip to Crystal Palace. ‘During this process a thousand things can happen. The club can fire the coach or there are different visions, different situations.
He promised to be happy and committed, while emphasizing that this job is about building foundations rather than fighting for the big titles. He is a winner and it will hurt to waste opportunities on him. He knows what it takes to get to the top and he trusts his ways and is unwilling to change. Neither is Daniel Levy, whose methods have always been equally clear.
They were always the most unlikely bed partners, but the couple seems to be entering the final phase of their compatibility test.
Crystal Palace v Tottenham, LIVE on Sky Sports and Radio 5 Live, January 4, 8pm