In the 13th round of the Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur played against 18th-placed relegated side Burnley. It was supposed to be a great opportunity for Conte to lead the team into the top 4, but once again it was messed up and Burnley's goal in the 71st minute of the second half carried the victory. After 4 defeats in the last 5 rounds, Conte's mood can be imagined.
In an interview with reporters after the game, Conte, who has always been straight forward, did not hide his anger at all. "I came to Tottenham to improve the situation of the team, but maybe at this stage, I don't know, I'm not that good at it. Maybe I'm not that good, yes, maybe I'm not that good. It's frustrating that result, I work very hard, put in a lot of effort, try to inspire the highest level of the players, I'm too honest to close my eyes. ”
"It's really disappointing at the moment, I'm not used to seeing situations like this, I try to do everything possible to make a change, but the situation hasn't changed. We've played like a relegation team in the last 5 rounds, maybe something went wrong and I want to take responsibility and if it's on me, I'm willing to accept any decision. From the first day I came to Tottenham, I wanted to bring help and of course I took my salary, but the current situation is not right and I will go and talk to the club. ”
From Conte's past coaching experience, it can be seen that he is a manager with an extreme desire for success. In order to realize his ideals and ambitions in the new team, he will try everything. He would make requests for reinforcements from the top and complain publicly if they were not met; if the players did not meet his requirements on the field, he would roar angrily on the sidelines or even abandon them. If the whole team does not perform as he expected, his emotions will explode directly after the game.
But unlike before, this time, Conte expressed a deep sense of powerlessness in addition to disappointment in his words. He desperately wanted to lead Spurs to a successful performance, but after some effort, he found that the final outcome was not what he wanted. This feeling is actually easy to understand, before joining Tottenham, Conte must have come with confidence. On the one hand, it is based on their own ability, on the other hand, Tottenham's still good squad. But after the latest wave of 5 rounds and 4 losses, Conte has begun to doubt himself, doubting whether he can take Tottenham Hotspur well.
And a manager is starting to doubt himself, and the impact on the confidence of the entire team is likely to be fatal. Therefore, after this remark, Conte was also widely criticized. Former Crystal Palace President Simon Jordan said of a guest on talkSPORT radio: "A shockingly childish interview, grumpy and emotional reaction at the time... Very unprofessional. This is not leadership! He said Tottenham fans deserve better treatment and these fans deserve better treatment from Conte! ”
This is where "Kong Erlang" is most criticized, he never hides his ideas in front of the media, which is why the Manchester United executives refused to hire him in the first place.
With United's current squad, if given to Conte to carry, the "explosive effect" will be even worse than Tottenham. Tottenham's attacking line has top attackers such as Son Heung-min and Harry Kane, and Lucas Jr. and Belwyn are not below Rashford. All United can count on now is 37-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo. In addition, Manchester United players are notoriously less running, the assist ability of the two full-backs is average, the center-backs are full of loopholes, and Conte's tactical play is simply impossible to implement smoothly at Manchester United.
Once the record falls short of expectations and the harsh demands breed and spread player discontent, Conte will surely go mad, and Mourinho's similar plot will begin to play out again. It has to be said that the Manchester United top brass was right to reject Conte's decision this time.