Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte has been heavily criticised this season for the performances of his team.
The Londoners have picked up just two league wins from their last 5 matches and their chances of finishing in the Champions League positions have certainly suffered a blow in recent weeks.
Tottenham were beaten by the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City in recent weeks and some of the manager’s decisions have not gone down well with the BBC pundit Garth Crooks.
Crooks has claimed that the players are not responding to Antonio Conte’s methods anymore and the Italian manager seems to have given up.
Conte will be out of contract at the end of the season and Crooks believes that the Italian might not renew his deal with Tottenham. Furthermore, the BBC pundit also slammed the Tottenham manager’s decision to keep Hugo Lloris in the starting lineup. The French goalkeeper has been quite error-prone this season and he has cost his team dearly on a number of occasions.
Crooks claims that Lloris should have been replaced as the club first choice goalkeeper a long time ago. He was also bemused with the selection of midfielder Pape Matar Sarr in the north London Derby against a high-flying Arsenal side.
The occasion called for a more experienced head and Conte’s decision to throw the youngster at the deep end was confusing.
He wrote on BBC: “Antonio Conte said after the defeat against Manchester City that he thinks his Tottenham team are not ready to be at the top. He’s been in the job for the best part of 18 months and he’s only getting that now?
“I don’t know how much Spurs are paying the Italian but it will be a princely sum to pick the team, manage fans’ expectations and explain to the media why his team are leaking goals.
“While I have been a great admirer of Conte, the Italian seems to be a shadow of the man that lifted the Premier League title with Chelsea in 2017. Tottenham players appear not to be responding to his methods as they did when he first arrived.
“Furthermore, his judgement has been called into question. Hugo Lloris should have been replaced months ago while the selection of 20-year-old Pape Matar Sarr for his first north London derby against Martin Odegaard, Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka beggared belief.
“I fear Conte may have given up and I wouldn’t be surprised in the least if he eventually walks.”
Spurs returned to winning ways against Fulham in their last outing and it will be interesting to see if they can put together a winning run and finish in the top four now.
Missing out on Champions League qualification would be a devastating blow for the club and they could end up losing their manager and key players without the lure of Champions League football.
