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Tottenham and Conte: Marriage made in heaven or bound for divorce?

It is strange to think that the Manchester United fans who watched their side decimate Tottenham Hotspur away last weekend probably feel like the real losers.

It was a toxic evening in North London when everything changed. Chairman Daniel Levy had been the target for the Spurs fans’ ire for much of the immediate past but, when Nuno Espírito Santo made a substitution the packed stadium did not like, they let him know in a way that suggested he was bearing the brunt of their disgruntlement now.

That made life easy for Levy, giving him a route to alleviate the pressure and tension with threatened to spill over. Nuno arrived in the summer after long, arduous process of finding a full time replacement for Jose Mourinho. There had been interviews, false dawns and rejections.

While the Portuguese, who had been speaking to both Crystal Palace and Everton over their vacant positions too, seemed to make clear his desire to move to North London, the fact he was among the very last resorts for Spurs was barely masked. The entire recruitment drive was a mess.

Lots had happened since they made their first play for top target, Antonio Conte, which was rejected. Even the presence of new director of football Fabio Paratici, who worked with Conte at Juventus, couldn’t persuade him; leaving Inter was still too raw.

Nuno was fighting a losing battle that lasted just 17 games in all competitions; the combination of never truly being wanted and Conte’s continued availability made his position untenable as Tottenham results faltered and Saturday was the final straw. The process was swift; this time Conte was ready and the change was made.

Just six days earlier, with Liverpool 4-0 up at half time at Old Trafford, a debate was swirling around Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s future and Conte seemed to be an ideal replacement. The reaction to Solskjaer was not nearly as vitriolic, mainly because of his status as a player, but the desperation for a new voice was just as palpable. Although they comprehensively won the battle with Tottenham, there is a feeling that they may have lost the war.

Conte’s suitability for Manchester United was much clearer than it has ever been for Spurs, which must make the reality of his new job all the more frustrating for fans. He has a tended to be self destructive in the past, mainly over control and money to spend, but given how Solskjaer has been able to shape the squad in the manner he wants over the past three seasons or so, that wouldn’t have been much of a problem.

His personal and tactical intensity would go a long way to solving their issues, which centre around a lack of collective identity. Nobody has arguably got more from Paul Pogba at club level as he did at Juventus.

At Tottenham, he’ll not get the same spending power and will meet Levy, a man who has regularly refused to redress the imbalance in the squad, even when it made most sense under Mauricio Pochettino. Conte appears to be the petrol to his flame and the threat of combustion will always hover over their relationship. But there are so many reasons why he is worth it, why he will succeed at the club, and why he is, in some ways, misunderstood.

It is easy to cast Conte as a sort of updated Mourinho, defensive and dogged in his approach but a winner at any and every cost. There is a similar trait; they are both incredibly driven, demanding and unforgiving of dissent.

However, where Mourinho has liked to strangle a game into submission with a deep defensive line and quick counter attacks, Conte winds up to grapple with it head on. His teams so often perform as he does on the touchline, at 100mph, running, darting and expressing.

Whatever system suits his squad follows on from the principle of intensity. At Chelsea, where the defensive myth truly began, he became known for playing three at the back but that came as a reaction to a poor start with a defensive four. It fit the squad he had, allowing Eden Hazard and Diego Costa to develop their on-pitch relationship without sacrificing width.

It was a similar story at Inter with Romelu Lukaku are Lautaro Martinez; the key thing with Conte, other than his raging energy, is he brings a tactical balance to his teams. That is how he is able to challenge for the biggest trophies.

Tottenham are a long way from doing that, though. Between that and understanding limitations in the transfer market, Spurs will doubtless prove his biggest test but he managed to instil a clear approach into the least talented Italian national side for a generation; he is about much more than money and screaming intently.

Harry Kane should feel more at home instantly and it is hard to think of a better placed player to thrive than Son Heung-min. The potential points of friction here are plain to see, but this may end up being the most perfect of imperfect marriages for Tottenham and Conte.

 


 

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