Nice Nuno Out, Confident Conte In

Nuno Espírito Santo

Nuno and his coaching staff have been relieved of their duties following the dreadful 3-0 home defeat suffered at the hands of Manchester United last weekend.

He was far from first choice in the summer, and handed just a two year contract, Nuno was never truly backed. It's no surprise he failed to get the players onside during his 4 month stint in charge.

There's no hiding from the fact Spurs have covered the least distance on the pitch in the entire league so far. They're also bottom but for Norwich on goals scored, and joint bottom with Norwich for shots.

"It's four wasted months." As Alasdair Gold said. He also pointed out how press conferences are set to get a lot more entertaining. I agree, I used to watch most of Mourinho's, but haven't been taking notice of Nuno's.

The reserved, evasive approach to the media didn't help him – fans want to know what's going on behind closed doors when they're watching such shambolic performances on the pitch. It was one of the signs that he was out of his depth in the high pressure Spurs job.

Antonio Conte

Spurs have made a huge statement by replacing him with Serie A, Premier League and FA Cup winner, Antonio Conte.

Conte comes with a big reputation around Europe. He's a passionate and contentious character, and fans will be eager to see how his matter of fact nature goes down with the current Spurs squad, and the stubborn owners.

He already knows Spurs' Managing Director of Football, Fabio Paratici, who we signed in the summer – Paratici worked with Conte through his hugely successful reign at Juventus. This is thought to have been a major factor in the coup Spurs have pulled off in landing such a prestigious manager.

What's Changed Since the Summer?

Conte appeared to be Spurs' first choice in the mess of a manager search endured through the summer, only for him to have allegedly turned the deal down due to lack of assurances on the budget he'd be provided.

Does that mean he'll be given money to spend now? And if so, will he be spending it in January? It's rare for much business to be completed in the January window, but this could be a busy one with Newcastle also looking to spend. That could prove a thorn in Spurs' side – will they be going for the same players as us and offering higher wages?

Talking of competition in the league, an interesting point made by Mark Chapman, was whether the hierarchy are scared of West Ham becoming a bigger London club than Tottenham. Has it frightened the owners into throwing money at a proven manager?

Or perhaps Conte's perspective has changed. He may have wanted the Man United job, but feel they've missed their opportunity by granting Ole more time following, fittingly, a positive performance against Spurs.

Conte also has a competitive history with Mourinho – The pair shared a fiery feud when Mourinho was managing United and Conte Chelsea. This will be an opportunity for Conte to get one over Mourinho and achieve something he failed to do – Win a trophy at Tottenham.

Some may even consider whether Kane's relationship with the club is too far gone, and by allowing him his move to City in January, it'd create an increased transfer budget.

Surely Conte would want to work with Kane though, and vice versa.

Will he get Kane Scoring Again?

One positive of Mourinho's reign was how he had Harry Kane playing – Kane won awards for both the most goals, and the most assists, in the 2020/21 Premier League season.

He has been a shadow of his former self this season though, and it'll be interesting to see Conte's affect on him.

Conte is a Juventus legend, he won everything there was to win as a player for them, and went on to lead them to glory in the league as a manager.

Can he pass onto Kane the significance of becoming an absolute club legend? Or is it too late for Kane? Of course it isn't! All of this will be blamed on Nuno if he goes back to being the Kane we all know and love from here on out.

Can He Finish in The Top 4?

One of the most exciting things about this appointment is Spurs are getting a superstar manager in his prime. He hasn't fallen down the pecking order of top tier managers, he's still well and truly up there, and at 52 years of age, he'll see this job as a huge point in his career.

He has a reputation for going into clubs, spending a lot of money, being hugely demanding of his players with a no nonsense approach, and winning trophies within a short period of time.

Considering how bad things seem to have become under Nuno, it's quite surprising that we sit just 5 points off the top 4, with twenty-eight games to go.

I'm pleased the owners have dealt with it early. If they follow that by backing Conte with the resources to bolster the squad in January, then I believe we have every chance of qualifying for the Champions League this season.

It'll be interesting to see how it all pans out. We anticipate his first press conference soon, ahead of his first match in charge on Thursday, at home to Vitesse in the Europa Conference League.

The fans spoke out with their booing, and to be fair to the owners, they've listened.

COYS!

Sources:

· Jack Pitt-Brooke, 2021, We all knew how Nuno and Tottenham was going to end – the only question was when. The Athletic [online], TheAthletic.com

· “The View From The Lane”, 2021/11/1, produced by The Athletic, TheAthletic.com

· "The Athletic Football Podcast", 2021/11/1, produced by The Athletic, TheAthletic.com

· "Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham", 2021/11/1, pod.link/1577797587

· "The Fighting Cock (Tottenham Hotspur Podcast)", 2021/11/1, S11E25, thefightingcock.co.uk