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Antonio Conte - officially NOT the coach of THFC

metalgear said:
But can Fergie, Wenger, Mourinho, Klopp, Pep do better faced with the resources that Enic will avail?

Looks like to me Conte is facing what Mourinho did. Jose mentioned was in fact more positive and hard hardly a poor word to say about the club. Both have resorted to inexplicable tactics and selections with one common factor plagueing both of them - the lack of quality in defence.

Perhaps this is the inevitable showdown. Enic can't keep on acquiring trophy managers to boost the club's profile while not investing in good players and perhaps it was an experiment starting with Jose, but Conte confirms it won't work.
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The resources that have allowed us to spend 160m euro net over the last 2 windows? Please list who has spent more
 
tommysvr said:
I’m sorry, what? What has he fixed this season?

We concede 2+ every game, our first halves are routinely absolutely terrible, we barely have any shots before the 60th minute, he’s continues to play Son despite being in the worst form of his life, he won’t try putting an extra body in midfield even though it has worked the one time he did it this season (Leicester at home)…

I could go on. I see nothing getting better and everything getting worse since we beat Norwich last May.
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Guess you’re a glass half empty kinda guy?

About 15 games ago we started to be less defensive. And transition into a side who can retain possession. It was the right thing ultimately as we couldn’t just sit back and break every game. But it exposes our weaknesses in defence and we are work in progress. Just look at the goons - they were work in progress and the manager was left to develop the side and find the right balance. But you want us playing snakes and ladders? Sack the manager and start again?
 
SpurMeUp said:
Guess you’re a glass half empty kinda guy?

About 15 games ago we started to be less defensive. And transition into a side who can retain possession. It was the right thing ultimately as we couldn’t just sit back and break every game. But it exposes our weaknesses in defence and we are work in progress. Just look at the goons - they were work in progress and the manager was left to develop the side and find the right balance. But you want us playing snakes and ladders? Sack the manager and start again?
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No, I don't necessarily want him sacked. I want him to do more than he's doing. If you're genuinely happy with where we are with Conte and think that he is improving things -- 7 months after destroying that arsenal team you mentioned -- then I want what you're on.
 
Good news is that the performance was fine-ish away to a very good Emirates Marketing Project team. Some really good moments/periods with good pressing, playing through pressure and even good defending.

Bad news is that the same issues that have plagued our season so far cost us again. And they seem no closer to be resolved unless we have a really good January window.

I don't understand how Son stayed on the pitch.
 
People saying performance was good to an extent. Whilst I agree ,City put out what would be deemed a weaker side than normal.

KDB , Silva , Foden etc all on the bench. Thought City were not great so what does that say for us ?

Not good enough at all. Bentancur back is a bonus. Soon as he went off you see the difference in the side.

We are in limbo at the minute.
 
Gutter Boy said:
I think a decent, positive, progressive coach gets a really good tune out of this squad. Just get the handbrake off.
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What exactly does this handbrake look like?
Is it the one the positive, progressive coach eddie howe didn't apply to Bournemouth when he got them relegated?
Like rednap, or jol, or poch, or sherwood?
What did they win again, list their trophies.

We have a broken keeper, who happens to be club captain, one of our talismanic duo at the other end of pitch can't do anything right, the other one, who is the heartbeat and poster boy of team, is surrounded by speculation about his contract.
There's endless speculation about the manager, has been from the moment he walked in the door.
All of that must be affecting the rest of the squad. The newer ones because they are looking around and wondering what they got themselves into, and the stalwarts because they can see themselves being dragged down to their level, even if only by association.
Big decisions need to be made, but our problems aren't going away anytime soon, and certainly not by taking the handbrake off.
 
glasgowspur said:
What exactly does this handbrake look like?
Is it the one the positive, progressive coach eddie howe didn't apply to Bournemouth when he got them relegated?
Like rednap, or jol, or poch, or sherwood?
What did they win again, list their trophies.
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We're not winning any trophies now, and at the same time being bored to death. When Jol, Redknapp and Poch were in charge, I looked forward to every single match. It was genuinely enjoyable, even if we always fell short. I want that back. We've got Fulham away on Monday and I'm more excited about going to work than watching that game.
 
tommysvr said:
We're not winning any trophies now, and at the same time being bored to death. When Jol, Redknapp and Poch were in charge, I looked forward to every single match. It was genuinely enjoyable, even if we always fell short. I want that back. We've got Fulham away on Monday and I'm more excited about going to work than watching that game.
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We can and will have it back, but not imho by taking off this mythical handbrake.
Nobody plays with freedom anymore, and those that try it tend to be championship teams coming up thinking they are billy big gonads and getting relegated straight away.
Once we get the basics right the rest will follow.
 
Conte isn't blameless, that's for sure. Too stubborn with his formation and continued selection of struggling players.
But let's be honest, how many of our squad are currently good enough for a team who wants to challenge consistently?

Romero, Bentancur, Kulu, Kane. 4, that's it.

Lloris is done here. Can Sonny get back on it? Not seen enough of Richy yet.

PEH, Dier, Perisic, Doherty, Royal should be squad players only.

Sarr, Skipp, Udogie, Spence could play a part if given chances, we just don't know.

I think we need 4 or 5 top players just to get our first 11 to a competitive level. Then we need squad upgrades for the likes of Sanchez, Davies, Moura, Tanganga, Lo Celso, Tanguy.

An awful lot to be done and won't happen quickly but if Conte is prepared to sign a contract and oversee it then I'd keep him. If not, jog on.
 
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braineclipse said:
Bad news is that the same issues that have plagued our season so far cost us again. And they seem no closer to be resolved unless we have a really good January window.

I don't understand how Son stayed on the pitch.
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A really good January window is 2 signings similar to last Jan, and we might get there again with Porro and possible Zaniolo.

If those were to arrive then you have Porro, Romeo, Udogie, Sarr, Bentancur, Kulu, Zaniolo, Richie who are new and young enough to form the basis of a new team (formation and manager TBC).

Add to them 3-4 arrivals in the summer, mainly at CB and GK, plus the likes of Skipp, Spence (possibly the Brighton-Bisouma) and the twylight years of Kane and Son if we decide to keep them, and the squad starts to look quite refreshed

We have a lot to shift out though: NDombelo, Reguilon, GLC, Sanchez, Dier, Sessegnon, Tanganga, PEH, Moura, Royal, Doherty etc etc
 
You do wonder what goes on behind the scenes, we seem to have a few Teflon players that never get dropped. Is there a clique from Poch's time that has too much sway or a contract situation that prevents them from being dropped.

I'm not talking about knee jerk rotation on a game by game basis but Lloris has always escaped manager scrutiny (I would have taken the captaincy off him for drink driving too) Dier and Son have missed one game based on form and were immediately restored, in the case of the latter with a 60m sub on the bench.

Explosive characters like Mourinho and Conte both persist with players and delay subs, is this because the modern day player isn't allowed to be unsettled because of their huge wages or their status among the senior members of the squad?
 
Lilbaz said:
Arteta had less experience when he took over arsenal.
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But he was under the tutelage of a successful Guardiola who played creative attacking football. Not sure I want a young manager who is learning from this current version of Conte who is playing boring defensive football.
 
NaijaSpurs said:
But he was under the tutelage of a successful Guardiola who played creative attacking football. Not sure I want a young manager who is learning from this current version of Conte who is playing boring defensive football.
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He's also learned from poch. That was the type of football we played when mourinho was sacked.
 
We play Defensive football that’s shipped 21 in the last 10 games. That’s a relegation defence.

Romero only decent defender in our back line. Dier , Davies , Sanchez have been at the club way too long. All mediocre at best. Lenglet panic loan made similar errors at Barca that’s why they wanted rid of him.

We had a good Summer window I’ve been told. Not one of the signings has been good enough ? Or particularly trusted to play many minutes apart from Peresic who’s been a bit iffiy on the whole.

Who’s to blame ? Conte and his dull football ? Without the tools to play his preferred system.

The Club and arguably mediocre recruitment over the past years. Some of these players were making similar errors under previous managers.

The club is in Limbo. We can’t bring Poch back until there are no players left from his previous tenure. Why give Conte a load of Money unless there’s some commitment from him. It just feels a bit of a stalemate.
 
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