Conte factor has given Spurs and Kane lift-off
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FOR Tottenham, this has been half a season of two halves.
Firstly, the short-lived, miserable reign of Nuno Espirito Santo which played out under the cloud of Harry Kane’s attempts to get himself to Manchester City.
And, secondly, the brighter days of Antonio Conte, the man who replaced the Portuguese coach when chairman Daniel Levy ruthlessly, but rightly, removed him at the start of November.
Conte has overseen an uplift since taking over and, while Spurs don’t exactly match his own status as a serial winner of trophies, he certainly looks a better fit for the club than Nuno ever did.
Significantly, that’s something vice-captain Kane seemed to recognise quickly, too.
And the fact he was able to finally refocus after his twin disappointments of the summer – not just his failed City move, but England’s Euro 2020 final defeat as well – is something that has had a ripple effect through the club.
So much so that, despite their struggles under Nuno (below), a solid start to life under Conte means they are right in the mix for the top four again.
They have at least two games in hand on all of the clubs above them, in some cases three.
And, if they were to win them all, they would be riding high in a Champions League spot, something few would have imagined when Nuno was still at the helm.
In fairness to the former Wolves boss,
Tottenham won their first three Premier
League games of his watch 1-0.
And a defeat by the same scoreline at the hands of Portuguese side
Pacos Ferreira in the maligned Europa Conference League might have set more alarm bells ringing in north London had it not come after the first of those victories, against defending top-flight champions Manchester City.
It did not seem to matter that much at the time, but perhaps it was the first sign that the Spurs squad lacked the depth of recent years. And certainly, by the time they were beaten by NS Mura of Slovenia in the same competition early in Conte’s rule, it was not lost on the former Juventus, Chelsea and Inter Milan boss that the calibre of players he was used to was not available to him with this latest group.
That loss did, however, give him a clearer picture of the job he had in front of him, and Spurs fans can expect movement when the transfer window opens next month as he bids to build his own squad.
He was promised there would be money to spend when he came in and Spurs will look to see if they can move on Harry Winks and Dele Alli in January to generate even more spending power.
What will be fascinating to see – and not just for Tottenham, but all clubs – is what calibre of player will be available in January.
Loan deals are perhaps more likely with the Omicron variant kicking off and football, just like the rest of society, facing another period of real uncertainty. The future of keeper Hugo Lloris still needs sorting, but Conte’s arrival might just persuade him to extend his deal, which expires in the summer.
There have been plenty of positives for Tottenham in recent weeks, and even the postponements benefited them more than any other Premier League team.
That is because they handed Conte more time to work his players in training, to get them fitter and more used to the way he likes to play.
The rest of the season will be about the Spurs boss learning more and more about his team, and drilling those he wants to keep longterm into knowing exactly how he wants them to play.
And there’s little doubt that they will be more of a force to be reckoned with next season.
Fans will hope they can learn on the job, though.
And, while many will take Europa League qualification in what has been a season of transition, there will be large numbers still believing that Conte can get them right into the heart of the battle for fourth spot in the Premier League come May.