sport news Antonio Conte had a point with his rant at Tottenham's players, yet he must ... trends now
Before he gets around to clearing his desk, Antonio Conte has been anxious to get a few things off his chest.
First about the Tottenham fans, impatient and unappreciative of the size of the task against AC Milan, and about the culture of the club, steeped in failure with its losing mentality.
Now the players, selfish and lacking fire, unable to perform when the pressure is on, without heart and going backwards. All the while shielded from blame by a litany of excuses.
'Being a team is the most important thing,' Conte fumed in the midst of his 10-minute tirade after watching his team surrender a 3-1 lead to take only a point from Southampton.
'To understand we play for the badge. We have to play to make our fans proud of us. We have to play to show desire. The first in your eyes to win. If you have this, for sure, you don’t go out of the FA Cup. Today you win.'
Antonio Conte unleashed an astonishing rant at Tottenham after their draw with Southampton
Spurs were 3-1 up and cruising but conceded two late goals to draw 3-3 with 20th place Saints
His comparison of choice was not the Champions League exit against Milan but to the FA Cup demise at the hands of Sheffield United, a Championship team resting several of first-team regulars as they prioritised promotion.
In short, Conte thinks Spurs are soft. Caving in against Saints was simply the latest example, the final straw.
His is a footballing philosophy forged during a playing career in the win-at-all-costs environment at Juventus, under Giovani Trapattoni and Marcelo Lippi, who demanded total dedication to the cause and worked marginal gains long before the expression was popularised by Dave Brailsford’s cycling team.
Conte has nibbled critically this season at the culture in English football. That it is not all-consuming in the way it is in Italy. That those on the executive keep quiet and the manager is the only public voice, and therefore shoulders all the responsibility.
What he did not detail was the way this has repercussions in the dressing room but modern elite players on their very expensive contracts have long since figured out it is cheaper and simpler to blame and change the manager than to blame and change the squad.
It takes a certain courage to keep the faith in the manager when the team plays twice a week, when results are so important and when millions have the means to broadcast their opinions.
Manchester City never wavered in their support for Pep Guardiola despite a difficult first season. Liverpool backed Jurgen Klopp because they were sure he was the right man and, more recently, Arsenal have trusted their instinct with Mikel Arteta.
Perhaps Chelsea are going through this process with Graham Potter. And this is a radical change because the modus operandi was very different when Conte arrived at Stamford Bridge in 2016.
The winning attitude was already well engrained and nourished by the tacit threat of Roman Abramovich’s finger on the trigger. At Tottenham, Levy’s twitchy finger is on the trigger but the attitude inside the club is very
