Ask any Tottenham fan how last night felt, and they would tell you that it was probably as good as they have felt since Mauricio Pochettino departed the club. The chance to absolutely thrash, and bully even, eternal rivals Arsenal in a defining match will live long in the memory. With the Gunners set to go to Newcastle this weekend, and Spurs enjoying a much easier run-in, the Lilywhites could be back in the UEFA Champions League.
Yet last night proved one thing beyond the fact that Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min are the best strike partnership in the league; Antonio Conte must be kept. The Italian has transformed the club from one that wore a loser’s mentality like a badge of honour, to a club that had never gotten over the 2-0 loss to Liverpool in Madrid.
In a whirlwind fashion, Conte has brought a winning mentality and a demanding personality to the club. He has been the transformative effect that Daniel Levy has long needed. Conte brings the freshness of ideas that Pochettino once did, with a playing and coaching career that is littered with medals. He transformed Juventus, he improved Chelsea, and he modernised Internazionale.
Last night proved that Conte is the main signing this summer beyond anything else. With a coach of such a high calibre in charge of the team, anything is possible. Even if the club misses out on the Champions League, which would be a bitter blow after the Arsenal win, they should do everything they can to keep Conte hanging around.
Can Spurs convince Conte to stick around?
The word is that the process is quite simple. Finish fourth or above, and Conte will most likely stay. Fail to make the top four, and the fight is on to convince him to stick around. However, the impressive squad development and the promise of total control alongside Fabio Paratici could appeal to the underdog nature of Conte.
Though many see him as a coach of the elite, he took over Juventus after back-to-back seventh placed finishes. He took over an Inter side that had won nothing since Jose Mourinho was the coach. He enjoys building a team and improving them year on year, yet he has total antipathy for any board that will not look to develop and improve.
Without the Champions League, Spurs would need to offer even more control, an even larger transfer kitty than they can likely afford, and to give him total peace of mind that Spurs are on the path to improvement. This would likely include keeping the core squad together and adding four or five players of Champions League calibre.
For Spurs, it would mean breaking the bank and taking a risk that they never have in the Levy era. Having done all the hard work to get Conte, and having seen what he can produce with a little bit of time, they would be fools to not go all-in. Thursday night was sensational – with fully backing, Conte could make such nights a regular occurrence.
If Arsenal slip up even once, the challenge becomes much easier. If they do not, Spurs need to commit all-in on the Conte era. A failure to do so would be as negligent a decision as the club has ever made.
Leave a Reply