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Antonio Conte - officially NOT the coach of THFC

He'd have to pay to get out of the contract. Also if he can leave at anytime he wants why worry about him signing a contract? He could sign it and walk the next day.

Media trying to make drama as usual.
Who is worrying about him signing a contract? I didn’t see anyone here doing so, if I’ve missed that then fair enough. Agree regarding the media, I suppose it’s just easier to pick out Conte because he is on a shorter term deal vs all the other high profile managers on their 5 year deals ensuring they get a nice big payout when it goes tits up….
 
I'm not worried about the situation, if he stays he will get backed by the board, especially the fact there is still some money from the summer left plus the usual yearly budget, and throw in the great possibility of Google sponsoring the stadium.

There are some good managers currently looking for work, I would take tuchel over pochettino by the way.
 
Got more corners than everyone else, so open play non-corners an improvement area
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His confidence must have been totally gone, after 3 months of not having even a sniff of playing.

It's normally the second or even the third choice ( which is Doherty now) that gets to play the league cup games so it's going to be really interesting to see who plays against Forest.
If it's not Spence then we need to let him go on loan at the very least.
 
In some ways I was pleased that Conte had to sit in the stands.
He had to sit and watch the dross we served up in the first half, and see the patterns properly, and see the shortcomings we see.
I maintain that managers get an awful view of the match, when standing below pitch level.

Also, I noticed that Conte mostly sat there watching Spurs like I do. Silent. Mortified. Impassive. He didn't celebrate the goal. Very familiar feelings.

PS. I hope he/we don't get penalised for talking to the bench via SMS, he wasn't supposed to do that.
 
In some ways I was pleased that Conte had to sit in the stands.
He had to sit and watch the dross we served up in the first half, and see the patterns properly, and see the shortcomings we see.
I maintain that managers get an awful view of the match, when standing below pitch level.

Also, I noticed that Conte mostly sat there watching Spurs like I do. Silent. Mortified. Impassive. He didn't celebrate the goal. Very familiar feelings.

PS. I hope he/we don't get penalised for talking to the bench via SMS, he wasn't supposed to do that.

I don't even like sitting low down as a fan, a raised view lets you see shape, patterns more etc. Don't know why more managers don't sit in the stands for parts of the game, anyone can do your shouting for you. I think Fat Sam used to do it a fair bit at Bolton.
 
I don't even like sitting low down as a fan, a raised view lets you see shape, patterns more etc. Don't know why more managers don't sit in the stands for parts of the game, anyone can do your shouting for you. I think Fat Sam used to do it a fair bit at Bolton.

Don't think it's about the shouting more about the presence. Fat Sam didn't exactly set the world alight
 
I don't even like sitting low down as a fan, a raised view lets you see shape, patterns more etc. Don't know why more managers don't sit in the stands for parts of the game, anyone can do your shouting for you. I think Fat Sam used to do it a fair bit at Bolton.

Didn't hoddle used to do it in the first half?
 
In some ways I was pleased that Conte had to sit in the stands.
He had to sit and watch the dross we served up in the first half, and see the patterns properly, and see the shortcomings we see.
I maintain that managers get an awful view of the match, when standing below pitch level.

Also, I noticed that Conte mostly sat there watching Spurs like I do. Silent. Mortified. Impassive. He didn't celebrate the goal. Very familiar feelings.

PS. I hope he/we don't get penalised for talking to the bench via SMS, he wasn't supposed to do that.
How difficult was it for you up in the stands on Tuesday night among the directors, did it give you a different perspective of the game?

It was terrible, it was terrible honestly. It was really strange also that my place was in the middle of the people, with fans. I think maybe UEFA could find a better situation.

It was really difficult for me because you stay there and you can’t help your team also with giving information, especially in the first half because we were really passive in the first half and to see you team struggle and you suffer, you suffer a lot.

For every coach his team is like a son, it's like my son or daughter, it’s my creation, and to see my players in such difficulty was really difficult for me, and unable to help them. For this reason I want to say thanks to my staff, because they did a really good job between the first and second half. Also the players, they showed great unity. The second half was different and we deserved to win the game.




What we are doing is important and I repeat, we are trying to manage the situation in the best possible way. Then if you ask me why it happens, a first half like Marseille, for sure I’m the first to be disappointed because the first half was really, really poor but the players know that. We didn’t prepare to have this type of first half, we wanted to be aggressive.

But I played football, I was a player, and I understand that sometimes when you have an important target to reach and if you prepare for another situation, mentally you want to defend. And also if you play in an aggressive atmosphere, because we found really an aggressive atmosphere in Marseille, it can happen, this type of situation. I spoke with my players and I think we have to be proud of the achievement because don’t forget last season we were not able to overcome the group in the Conference League.

If you ask me if we can improve, then yes. First of all, we need to recover all the players and then to try to improve in every aspect. But sometimes you have to play a game in a way you are forced to play, in a way you didn’t prepare, but you have to face difficulty and I’m proud of my players for their reaction in the second half. They showed me great desire to overcome the difficulty and to take this qualification that for the club, for the fans, for everybody is really important. In my opinion, I wasn’t so sure many people would say it.
 
Antonio Conte has explained why he thinks Jurgen Klopp took a swipe at his Tottenham tactics and was asked whether he could mirror the German by remaining for years in north London.

Liverpool are the visitors to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday and the last time the two teams did battle was at Anfield in May with a 1-1 scoreline. After that game Klopp hit out at Spurs' tactics of sitting back and counter-attacking on the day, saying: "I am sorry, I am the wrong person to ask about [Spurs' defending] because I don't like this kind of football. But that is my personal problem. I think they are world-class and I think they should do more for the game.

"It's a game against Liverpool, they have 36 per cent possession. But that is my problem. I cannot coach it. So that is why I cannot do it. World-class players, [who] block all the balls. It is really difficult. Atletico Madrid is doing it. Fine, whatever, absolutely fine, it's just I can't. But yes I respect everything they do. But it's not me."

When asked ahead of this latest meeting between the two sides about that comment and whether it was disrespectful, Conte was keen to put it into context.

"Yeah, but if you remember he lost the Premier League for this result. I understood his frustration. They lost the Premier League because of that result," he said. "They lost the Premier League for these two points, but you know instead we reached the Champions League with that draw.

"It’s okay, every coach has to speak for his team. For every coach it’s important to understand the best strategy to reach a good result. Honestly, I have seen again the last game we played against Liverpool and if there was a team that deserved to win it was Tottenham not Liverpool, but I understand after the game when you felt you lost the Premier League to say something wrong against another team, but he has said sorry because he understood. No problem for me. When you are angry its very difficult sometimes to control your emotion."

Klopp has now been at Liverpool for more than seven years and Conte, not known for his long stays at clubs, was asked whether he could spend a similar time at one team.

"The length of time and the period you stay in one club it depends on many, many situations not only one or two. Jurgen found a fantastic place to work and to improve his team," he said. "Liverpool in this period invested a lot of money and for this reason the club promised him to invest and improve the team. The club’s ambition was really high at Liverpool.

"I think so because then I have seen the way they improved, the money they spent in the transfer market and for this reason he is working there seven years. It was like this for Klopp and the same for Pep Guardiola. It depends on many situations. If there is a good link and the ambitions are the same, it is easier to stay for a long time in the same club."

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It is set to be a busy January transfer window for clubs after the World Cup as they react to injuries at the tournament and fixing a poor first half to the season or push on from a good one.

With Spurs' rivals all expected to spend in the winter window, the north London club will have to keep pace with a potential top three or four spot to their name and a place in the Champions League knockout stages going into the break. Conte said he does not know what will be spent by Spurs in January but the most important thing is that everyone is honest about what a club can or cannot do.

"But honestly I don’t know this [what the club will do in January]. For sure, the life will always be more difficult in the future. For sure, Tottenham has to have the challenge with a team like Saudi Sportswashing Machine, also Arsenal," said the Italian. "Arsenal in the last three or four years, every season they invest money and now we are talking about a really, really good team with a really good coach, but in England it will be really, really difficult in the future and I think in every situation the most important thing is to be honest.

"To be honest with the fans, to be honest with the ambition, not to tell lies or to promise, and this is the right way for every club, because to tell good lies is not good. It’s better to be honest, to tell the truth, also if it's a bad truth but to be honest, because honesty will pay always, always."

Despite this season's wobbles, Sunday's visitors have kept pace with Emirates Marketing Project in recent years but even Klopp has said Liverpool cannot compete with Pep Guardiola's side due to their financial power. Conte believes the Reds have been able to compete because they have spent money, but spent it cleverly.

"First of all, I think that Liverpool have to be proud because in the last five years they were the big, big rivals for Emirates Marketing Project. Otherwise, without Liverpool I think maybe Emirates Marketing Project could do in the same way like Juventus was in Italy," said the Spurs head coach.

"So for this reason they have to be proud to reach this level and I think they improved a lot in these years during the transfer market with the big, big signings, and this is a positive thing I’m telling to Liverpool because you can have money to spend, but if you waste your money, you don’t sign good players and you can have whatever money you want, but you have to spend it in the best possible way.


"I think that Liverpool did this in this period, otherwise I think it was really, really difficult to become the first rival for Emirates Marketing Project. For this reason, they signed really, really important players. They spent money, but, I repeat, I’m talking in a positive way because for sure Klopp has changed Liverpool and the club gave him the possibility to invest because at the end you can work what you want, to work a lot, to work and not to sleep during the day, but, at the end, you know need important players, you need really strong players if you want to win, if you want to go to another level.

"Otherwise, you have to be honest and to tell that you have other ambitions, to grow young players and to wait, but, about Liverpool, I don't know if they can’t compete financially with this monster. For sure, we are talking about an important club in the world with the possibility to spend a lot of money, but it’s important to spend the money in the right because sometimes you can sign players for £50m, £60m, £80m, £100m, £120m and you know very well that happened in the past and you wasted your money, but if you want to go to another level and be competitive, especially in England, to win in England, you need to invest, not only to invest but to invest a lot of money."
 
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