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LONDON. — Antonio Conte’s departure as Tottenham Hotspur manager was a mere formality from the moment he concluded his incendiary unmasking of his squad’s frailties and the culture of failure at the English Premiership football club.
The Italian could not be bolstered by the protection of results or performances as a shield from an outburst that was always going to receive an ice-cold welcome from chairman Daniel Levy after Spurs cast aside a 3-1 lead to draw at Southampton.
The 53-year-old Conte’s words were heavily laced with self-preservation, both for his previously stellar reputation and for the deadly dull fare served up under his stewardship.
For too long he has carried the appearance of someone feeling he was doing Spurs a large favour by managing them.
The monologue was mischievously described by one observer in the room at St Mary’s Stadium, following that late Spurs collapse, as a “come and sack me plea”.
It put Levy right in the frontline for criticism from fans — and that invariably only ends one way.
And so it proved as Conte took his leave from the north London club by “mutual consent” late on Sunday evening.
The inescapable problem for Levy is that while there was a lot wrong with what Conte said — especially how he carefully loaded responsibility on to his players while taking precisely none himself — there was actually a lot that was right.
It effectively lobbed a verbal hand grenade through the door of Levy’s office.
Conte may have insisted his brief reference to “the owner” and 20 years of under-achievement was part of a wider attack on his players, but it brought the entire stewardship of Levy under scrutiny and posed many questions about Spurs’ future. — BBC Sport
Online Reporter