5 Things To Know As Antonio Conte Marks One-Year Anniversary At Tottenham Hotspur

“I think I am enjoying every single moment in my adventure in Tottenham,” Antonio Conte, the Tottenham Hotspur head coach, said before Saturday’s match against AFC Bournemouth.

Adventure is the right word. The match against Bournemouth, which Spurs won 3-2 after recovering from two goals down, might be seen as a microcosm of Conte’s time in charge.

Wednesday marks one-year since the Italian coach joined the North London club. The victory over Bournemouth featured some of the positives and negatives that have characterized Conte’s year. Spurs played poorly in the first half and looked shaky and short on confidence. It started the second half the same way and fell 2-0 behind.

Only then did the team start playing positively. It attacked relentlessly and, as Conte made a host of substitutions, added the grit needed to win a Premier League match.

Despite the win, bigger questions remain for Conte and Spurs this season. As he approaches his one-year anniversary in the hotseat, here are five things we know about his time in charge.

The soccer isn’t always attractive…

Tottenham Hotspur is a team that historically plays attractive, attacking soccer. The emphasis has been on keeping the ball and moving it quickly. It is a philosophy embedded in the club’s identity, from its motto, audere-est-facere (To dare is to do), to the famous comment from legendary captain Danny Blanchflower. “The game is about glory, it is about doing things in style and with a flourish, about going out and beating the lot, not waiting for them to die of boredom,” Blanchflower said.

Conte’s approach has not always been so thrilling. He favors a more cautious style, relying on direct attacking patterns through wingbacks and quick counter-attacks. Maybe it’s because Conte doesn’t have all the players he thinks he needs, but his side has rarely been easy on the eye this season.

… but it’s often effective

Conte’s style has served him well. As a coach he has won the Serie A title four times (three with Juventus, one with Inter Milan) and the Premier League with Chelsea. With Spurs, he secured a fourth-place finish last season and qualification for the Champions League, having joined when the club was eighth.

This season, results have generally been better than performances. Spurs is third in the Premier League table after 13 matches and top of its Champions League group. But, in recent weeks, results have started to slip. Before the Bournemouth match, Spurs had put in two of its worst performances of the season in losing to Manchester United and Newcastle United. That was followed by a desperately poor first half in the 1-1 Champions League fixture with Sporting Lisbon.

The fans back him

At least for now. Tottenham’s last trophy was in 2008 and the majority of supporters would be willing to compromise style in the short term for another piece of silverware. Conte also seems to have struck a chord with the fanbase. His record is and many fans see him as the man with the drive to take Spurs to the next level.

Fans have been frustrated that, for all the progress the club has made in the past decade or so, there has been no trophy to show for it. Conte makes it clear he wants to compete for titles. So, even if his side was booed off at half-time against both Newcastle and Sporting, plenty of fans will keep singing Conte’s name.

Conte expects the board to meet his demands

While Conte knew what he was getting into when he accepted the Spurs job, he has not been shy of making thinly-veiled demands of the Tottenham board. He has, not for the first time, spoken of the “importance of bringing in important players” in the January transfer window. Conte would argue that, with a better first 11 and a deeper squad, he could rotate his team more to cope with multiple competitions and play more attacking soccer.

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy also knew what he was signing up for when he recruited Conte. Levy has driven a transformation of Spurs off the field but, like the fans, craves a trophy to demonstrate the progression. Levy and his board will have a tough call to make in January: spend big on the players Conte demands or risk damaging the relationship in a way that is hard to repair.

This week could define Conte’s time at Spurs

The win at Bournemouth was much-needed ahead of a potentially season-defining week for Conte and Spurs. On Tuesday, Spurs travels to Marseille for a Champions League match from which it needs a draw to qualify. All four teams can still qualify from the group and Marseille is known as a hostile environment for visitors. To make matters worse, Conte will not be on the sidelines as he serves a one-match suspension.

Then, on Sunday, Spurs hosts Liverpool in the Premier League. A win against struggling Liverpool would damage a direct rival for a top-four finish and provide a big psychological boost. After Liverpool, Spurs has one more match, home to Leeds United, before the World Cup. Like the rest of his year at Tottenham, this week will be an adventure for Conte.