It’s very easy indeed to dislike Spurs boss Antonio Conte who last night sent out a team determined to bully the Hammers with tactics which frankly often shamed the game.
He paid Jarrod Bowen the compliment by ensuring that he was targeted by any means before moving on to claim VAR in England needs to catch up with the rest of the world after a penalty, initially allowed, was ruled out against Cress.
Conte clearly had no clue on how to handle Jarrod other than using borderline fouling and downright rule breaking – The Italian Job if you like.
His outburst against the VAR decision was frankly ridiculous as pointed out by CandH Facebook follower John Peter Weir, who declared: “I have to say that I am getting increasingly annoyed and bored by Conte and his antics.
He sends out his team to target an opposition player – here it was Bowen.
His teams are top of the league! – on time wasting and “game management”
Then, he says the rules or the way they are interpreted in England are wrong. VAR should not have intervened for the penalty decision it seems.
I suggest that he goes back to studying the rule book that says where the ball deflects onto the arm from another part of the players body, it is NOT handball.
So, he must be saying that the rules need to be amended to say that the decision should always be in favour of his team.”
Another CandH FB follower Steve Paxman said: “They really are a poor advert for the game with their bully boy tactics and play acting .It’s obvious they follow their whinging managers instructions, he is incapable of losing gracefully .
What a shame Jarrod couldn’t find the net at the end with a last second shot which hurtled wide but that VAR got the spot kick right was a big result.
Whinging Conte – perfect manager for a sad club. And as for Sanchez – a disgrace!
“In England they have to learn much more to use the VAR in the right way. You have to study very well and be more accurate.”
Translation
“In England, VAR must always give my team the decision, so if like this one, we must have the penalty, but if it is other way, penalty must be overturned”
The fact that Conte and Spurs players had to resort to such tactics was a complement to us. Our team kept their cool and by the second half proved we were superior physically and mentally. Spurs were fortunate that winning goal for us was the only disappointment on an encouraging night!
His outburst didn’t surprise me one little bit as I half expected it if they didn’t beat us.
These rants seem to be a familiar theme with spuds bosses, because for some reason playing against us obviously means a great deal to their supporters, chairman Levy and manager.
I guess he is also having to justify his transfer spend at the same time. Will he still be the spuds manager in two years’ time?
I doubt it.
This is an excellent expose on Conte and his ‘professional cheating’. Tag-team clogging has been around in Italian football for years – targeting one player and getting several of your team to leave one on him, so nobody booked and the opposition crippled for the day. Then the complaining at every decision, and game management, where an opposition attack spell is disrupted by your players going down ‘injured’. Finally disputing a decision in defiance of the rules – a reputational attack, just shows him up as the blinkered lowlife that he is.
He acts like a hard man on the touch line with the safety of officials all around him, but hard men don’t act like spoilt little brats who whinge when they don’t get their own way, all the time.
Remember last season when he lost a couple of games and he started talking about quitting, what a laughable joke he is.
The football they play is boring to watch and he yes he wins trophies so there is no way to say he’s a bad manager but the fans would’ve much preferred watching Poch or ‘arry’s Spurs performances.
I really hope he doesn’t win anything, it’ll make Spurs more of a joke and the fans turn on his dire style of football (even Chelsea fans turned in him quickly after winning the league!)