Tottenham have confirmed that Antonio Conte has been relieved of his duties as manager just over a week after his astonishing press conference meltdown.
It’s happened again. Daniel Levy has twisted the knife on yet another Tottenham manager – the fourth time in four years for the Spurs chairman.
Antonio Conte has joined Mauricio Pochettino, Jose Mourinho and Nuno Espirito Santo on the list of managers who have tried and failed to bring Glory, Glory to Tottenham Hotspur.
The Italian took aim at his squad and the culture of the club following a 3-3 draw at Southampton. Conte was always expected to leave North London at the end of this season, but chairman Daniel Levy has clearly deemed the 56-year-old’s role as untenable and acted swiftly to remove him from his post.
And for the second time in 23 months, a caretaker will take them to the end of the season. In 2021 it was Ryan Mason, this time the former Spurs midfielder will act as assistant to Conte’s former assistant Cristian Stellini.
Spurs started this season brightly and Conte’s side went into an October north London derby at Arsenal unbeaten in the league and within touching distance of the summit.
But a 3-1 defeat at the Emirates ended up being a sign of things to come: Conte’s Spurs kept on losing to the teams around them and were never in the title picture after that. Defeats to Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle would follow before the World Cup.
Then, just like Mourinho, FA Cup and European exits brought about the beginning of the end.
It all feels a bit too familiar for Tottenham supporters. So has Levy taken Spurs back to square one by repeating what he did two years ago? In fact, you could copy the entire Mourinho scenario and paste it into this season.
In a short statement released on the club website late Sunday evening, Levy made clear why he felt he had little choice but to part ways with Conte at this stage of the season.
It is apparent that Levy felt Spurs’ charge for Champions League qualification was only going to end in tears and that the club’s best bet was to end Conte’s reign prematurely.
Speculation surrounding Conte’s future went up a notch once news broke that the Italian had flown back to his home country following the draw at St. Mary’s.
The rumour mill is likely to go into overdrive in regards to who could succeed Conte long-term. Former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino has often been touted with a return, but the recently sacked Julian Nagelsmann could also emerge as a front-runner.
For now, full-focus is on securing a top-four finish but Levy will surely have one eye on the next permanent appointment.
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