The Conte Thread

[ZAPHOD2319 4,823]

He will have a pretty nice transfer kitty with that Harry Kane money.

[Pizy 18,993]

If they sell Kane and use those funds on a hungry, early to mid 20’s striker who will run through walls for Conte, a very good CB to replace Dier who is shit, and a complete overhaul of their midfield over the next couple of windows then they’ll be able to….compete for 4th, I guess 😂😂😂

Love Conte and he’ll make them respectable but the gap between them and Chelsea, City, Liverpool, and United when it comes to overall squad quality and draw to prospective players is massive. Conte won’t be able to shop in the same pool of players as the big boys and any top players he targets will be sought after by more attractive clubs. He’ll likely have to bring in young players with potential rather than the finished article. Which he is of course capable of turning into great players.

[dimmas 131]

Why he even take the job, i'm still struggle to understand this.

 

Is he doesn't as ambitious as some people think, only accept team with good condition and support to pursue big thropy, he (probably) not even suit for this team profile that spurs has at the moment

 

 

 

 

 

[Fernando 6,592]

Well with Harry Kane in shape they can easily do some damage. 

Spurs are good team just that they didn't want to play for nuno. 

They can easily finish above united in top 4

[NikkiCFC 8,370]

 

[ZAPHOD2319 4,823]

 

[NikkiCFC 8,370]

 

[NikkiCFC 8,370]

 

[Blues Forever 1,232]

It was inside the luxury Ritz-Carlton Millenia hotel in Singapore on Chelsea’s pre-season tour that Antonio Conte, fuelled by two shots of super-strength espresso, made the cracks between himself and the club public one year ahead of what became the most expensive sacking in English football history.

Conte had not wanted to give up an hour of work with his squad to toe the party line with the group of English journalists who had made the long journey to cover the preparations for Chelsea’s Premier League title defence in the summer of 2017.

But finally convinced there was no getting out of his media duties, Conte checked on the quality of the coffee, downed his espressos and let rip - revealing he had wanted to sign Kyle Walker from Tottenham Hotspur before the right-back’s £50 million move to Manchester City and making clear his admiration for Harry Kane just a few days after Chelsea had broken their club record to sign a different striker, Alvaro Morata.

It was in the same summer that Conte had also wanted to sign Romelu Lukaku ahead of Morata and defender Virgil van Dijk rather than Antonio Rudiger, with the Belgian ending up at Manchester United and the Dutchman moving to Liverpool, along with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who picked Anfield ahead of west London.

In the end, the divorce was so bitter it resulted in a legal battle that cost Chelsea more than £26m. So there will be a few awkward nods and glances when Conte makes his first return to Stamford Bridge as Tottenham head coach, in the first leg of the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night, with Kane leading his attack.

Conte won two lawsuits against Chelsea, one for unfair dismissal and another for the wages he believed he was owed under the terms of his contract, with the full cost to the Blues made clear 18 months after his dismissal in July 2018.

The club’s accounts, released in January two years ago for the year ending June 30, 2019, said: “Exceptional items in the current year of £26.6m relate to changes in respect of the men’s team management and coaching staff, together with associated legal costs.”

That statement was not much shorter than the 61 words Chelsea had used to confirm Conte’s dismissal, without so much as a word of thanks for his Premier League title success and the FA Cup he delivered at the end of what proved to be his final stormy season in charge.

Conte was given his own personalised emoji by Chelsea for winning the title in his first season in charge, in which the Blues finished seven points ahead of Spurs. But at the end of the following campaign, Willian, who made an 89th-minute appearance as a substitute in the final, used trophy emojis to cover up the Italian in a picture to celebrate winning the FA Cup.

Chelsea gave Conte the silent treatment following the Cup success during the summer in which they eventually sacked him, offering him no congratulations and leaving him in the dark over his future.

The fact he was allowed to return for the start of pre-season training before being formally informed of his sacking three days later looked like the final act of revenge for the previous summer in which Chelsea believed Conte had done a disappearing act on them.

Some sources suspected Conte was considering an offer from Inter Milan, when he did not pick up the telephone, return messages or respond to emails as, one-by-one, he watched his main transfer targets join Chelsea’s rivals.

Whatever the exact reasons behind it, Conte’s silence sent Chelsea into a state of panic and convinced them he wanted out. Peace talks were hastily arranged and a new contract was eventually signed, but, tellingly, there was no extension and trust on both sides had been eradicated.

Conte also left Chelsea to pick up the pieces of his decision to inform Diego Costa that he would no longer be part of his plans by text message. The Brazilian had tried to force a move to China a few months earlier and used the text to effectively go on strike, leaving the Blues with little or no bargaining power over his sale to Atletico Madrid.

Diego Costa walks past Antonio Conte

It would not have improved the mood of the Chelsea hierarchy that Conte laughed his way through questions over Costa’s plea for the club to reduce their asking price for him, describing the striker’s words as “funny”.

By that time, in August 2017, Conte was not in dialogue with anybody more senior inside Stamford Bridge than technical director Michael Emenalo, who, partly worn down by being a peacemaker, left Chelsea three months later and tensions boiled up again in January 2018, as one of his targets, Alexis Sanchez, joined Lukaku at United.

United had finished sixth, 24 points behind Chelsea, and yet Conte felt the Old Trafford club, Liverpool, who had scraped into the top four, and Manchester City, who had finished third and without a trophy in Pep Guardiola’s first season in charge, gave better backing to their managers.

Conte had even seen a desperate move for Fernando Llorente fail at the hands of Tottenham, a club, back on that infamous pre-season tour of Singapore and China, he had described as being one where failure could be tolerated.

“What are Tottenham’s expectations?” said Conte. “If they don’t win the title it’s not a tragedy. If they don’t arrive in the Champions League it’s not a tragedy. If they go out in the first round of the Champions League it’s not a tragedy. If they go out in the Europa League against Gent, it’s not a tragedy. They can breathe and think in a different way.”

It was treated as a tragedy at Chelsea that Conte’s team finished his second season behind City, United, Tottenham and Liverpool, missing out on Champions League qualification. But the former Juventus manager took pride in the fact a squad he felt had been weakened by those above him finished with a trophy by beating United to lift the FA Cup after which, in the post-match press conference, he repeated seven times ‘I can’t change’.

It is Spurs and not Conte who will have to change for their relationship to work. And, despite retaining a place in his heart for Chelsea’s fans and maintaining his respect for the club, the 52 year-old will do everything in his power to get another one over his old employers just as they would relish taking some revenge of their own for a divorce that was too painful and expensive to simply forget.

[Fernando 6,592]

Conte already getting frustrated with Tottenham transfer activity. 

Oh this is going to end well. 

[ZAPHOD2319 4,823]

Levy is starting to Levy

 

[milka 3,395]

I dont know what was the point  spuds to take Conte when they  just do not meet his ambitions .

I will say it again - Conte in  spudsy will not end better than Mourinho.

Same like Ancelotti in Everton .

[Fernando 6,592]

Conte already getting frustrated. I wonder if he will leave before the season finish. 

[Vesper 30,277]

 

[Fernando 6,592]

Would anyone want Conte back? 

[Special Juan 28,187]

Nah that ship ha sailed, and I think he would still moan even with the money we spend.

[Tomo 21,751]

5 hours ago, Fernando said:

Would anyone want Conte back? 

I'd rather have Piers Morgan and Katie Hopkins as joint managers than reappoint that maniac.

Edited March 22, 2023 by Tomo

[NikkiCFC 8,370]

Apparently Milan coach from next season. 

[NikkiCFC 8,370]

I agree with him. That summer 2017 we had a good chance to become dominant side instead we had horrible window. 

[TheHulk 2,508]

3 hours ago, NikkiCFC said:

I agree with him. That summer 2017 we had a good chance to become dominant side instead we had horrible window. 

A good chunk of the fault was his, he made Costa leave, bought Bakayoko and sold Matic to United among others.