MANAGER IS RUNNING OUT OF EXCUSES FOR FAILURES

EYES DOWN for Antonio Conte excuse bingo. What would he blame Tottenham’s latest loss on? Tiredness? Transfers? The World Cup? The weather? They’re young? They’re inexperienced? That old chestnut about this only being the start of his journey with Tottenham? Conte loves dipping into his big book of excuses. But really, his team’s performances have been poor this season and that’s largely down to the head coach, who chooses the way they play. This defeat was uninspiring in the extreme. Usually, when seven minutes of stoppage time are announced, there’s a rumble of excitement in the crowd. But Tottenham’s supporters weren’t expecting anything exciting from their team in the final few moments. The boos at full-time said it all. Conte complained afterwards about Tottenham’s lack of creativity. He said they don’t have any creative players. Nobody who can beat a man, apparently. Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski were missing, granted, but Harry Kane and Son Heung-min were starters and Tottenham couldn’t trouble Villa. I tipped Spurs to finish in the top four at the start of the season. I thought they’d kick on. But with each rigid performance and poor result, that’s looking less likely. Tottenham are treading water right now. Conte has been at the club long enough that he cannot keep making excuses. The bottom line is this wasn’t a bad Tottenham XI who started against Villa but they couldn’t avoid going behind for the 10th game in a row. Another poor display of Conte-ball. Another defeat.