Man United have missed out on the right manager yet again.
A Premier League club are reportedly on the verge of appointing a world-class manager after sacking their underperforming head coach. No, it's not Manchester United, but Tottenham Hotspur who have taken this proactive step in an effort to rescue their season. Antonio Conte looks set to replace Nuno Espirito Santo, who lost his job on Monday morning after just four months in the role.
Spurs are taking a step that Manchester United should have done a week ago. The Red Devils have, yet again, missed out on the right manager for the club. And Conte's arrival at White Hart Lane could be a decisive moment for the fortunes of both clubs.
What Conte will bring to Tottenham.
Tottenham's appointment of Conte, an elite coach, will send shockwaves through the Premier League. It is the most ambitious move Spurs have made since appointing Mauricio Pochettino in 2014 and the best decision the club has made in the intervening seven years.
Conte is among the five best coaches in world football. The Italian has won the league title in five of the last seven seasons he has worked in club football. After becoming Chelsea manager in 2016, he oversaw a
43-point improvement on the Blues' previous league campaign. Conte took Chelsea from 10th place to champions with largely the same squad that had imploded under Jose Mourinho.
At Inter Milan, Conte helped the club win their first league title in 11 years. Juventus won three Serie A crowns under Conte between 2011 and 2014, having previously been also-rans for several seasons. Conte's presence will ensure that Tottenham go from mediocre mid-table fodder to top-four contenders overnight. Harry Kane will surely be rejuvenated and start scoring goals again. If Conte cannot shake the England captain from his sulk, then no Spurs coach will be able to.
Yes, Conte is a demanding coach. He has reportedly fallen out with the decision-makers at the clubs he has worked at. The 52-year-old has also only lasted two years in his last three jobs. But Spurs are rightly overlooking these concerns. Conte is a winner, one of the most tactically astute coaches in world football. He would improve almost any team in European football.
The Italian's sides are incredibly well-drilled, with nothing left to chance. He is a master of his craft. Spurs' move to appoint Conte also effectively weakens a direct Premier League rival for the Champions League places.
What Tottenham appointing Conte means for Man United.
Conte's imminent arrival at White Hart Lane represents terrible news for Man United, who opted to stick with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer despite the crushing 5-0 defeat to Liverpool. Worse still for the Red Devils, Solskjaer looks set to remain in his role due to the 3-0 victory over Spurs on Saturday - a result that sealed Nuno's faith and accelerated the process to appoint Conte.
The Norwegian will seemingly remain as Man United manager for the foreseeable future, until the end of the season at least. As a result, Man United have left itself open to being overtaken by another rival and are set to miss out on the right manager yet again.
The club made a mistake in not appointing Pochettino last year and will rue missing out on Conte. The list of successors to Solskjaer has also been shortened. If Man United lose their next two games - away to Atalanta and at home to Manchester City - who will they look to appoint? The Conte option will be gone.
In the months and even seasons to come, Man United's 3-0 victory over Tottenham could be regarded as a worse result for the Red Devils than the 5-0 defeat to Liverpool. The result forced Spurs to act but merely papered over the cracks for the winning team.
Man United fail to act on Solskjaer's shortcomings and miss out on Conte.
According to reports, Conte was keen on becoming Man United manager. He was waiting for the club to make an approach after the Red Devils lost 5-0 to Liverpool. The Italian would have instantly improved Man United. He would have put shape on a team that looked like they had not been sufficiently coached or given any coherent tactical instruction.
In the days following the defeat, there were well-sourced reports that many of the Man United players had lost faith in the manager's tactical acumen. There were other reports stating that the club were examining the possibility of appointing Conte. Brendan Rodgers was also mentioned, as was Graham Potter. Some reports claimed that Alex Ferguson was still keen on appointing Pochettino.
Yet, Man United took the lazy option and did nothing. The strongest argument the club seemed to have in favour of not replacing the manager was that they had not planned to change coaches at this point in the season.
https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1455117390900088841
Man United take the lazy option to do nothing.
Solskjaer has remained in the job despite almost three years of evidence to show he is not an elite coach. He at least picked the right team and formation against Spurs, so deserves some credit for the 3-0 win. But it will come to be seen as a pyrrhic victory for United if Spurs appoint Conte. The north London club took decisive action. They corrected a mistake by removing their head coach who was a poor fit from the start. Spurs now look set to appoint an elite coach.
Man United, meanwhile, will continue to flounder. They'll win more games than they lose as they have such talented players - but won't win a first Premier League title since 2013 if the current coaching staff remain in place. At this point, such a statement shouldn't be considered controversial or even harsh towards the current manager and his staff. Solskjaer is simply competing against much better coaches, and Man United are up against smarter clubs.
However, as the Conte episode has displayed, the issues at Old Trafford go beyond the dugout. Unless Man United take a proactive approach, as Spurs have, the manager will only be one of many problems at the club.
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