Antonio Conte points to two very different clubs in Newcastle United and Tottenham | OneFootball

Antonio Conte has been making headlines.

As you will have seen, the Tottenham boss speaking / ranting after Saturday’s match at St Mary’s.

Spurs taking a 3-1 lead with 16 minutes to go and Antonio Conte manically celebrating with his backroom staff at the side of the pitch.

However, a very different story in his post-match press conference, as Antonio Conte reacted (see below) to Walcott and Ward-Prowse (in the 93rd minute!) scored two late goals for a final scoreline of (rock bottom of the table) Southampton 3 Tottenham 3.

Antonio Conte launched into his players, the club, the ownership…pretty much everybody and everything, questioning their motivations and motivation(s).

I couldn’t help thinking…just how different this all is to Newcastle United.

Antonio Conte giving a perfect illustration of a club where it appears to be anything but everybody pulling in the same direction, unlike NUFC.

Can you imagine Eddie Howe ranting on like this???

The thing is though, what exactly do Tottenham and their fans expect?

This is the Premier League table on Sunday ahead of the Arsenal v Palace match and then the international break:

What exactly is the problem?

Newcastle United fans are labelled delusional, having a supposed sense of entitlement, when nothing could be further from the truth / reality.

As for Tottenham fans, their team qualified for the Champions League last season in fourth and as things stand are fourth once again.

Just in these past forty months they have already forced out (Champions League finalist) Mauricio Pochettino, (Champions League winning) Jose Mourinho, Nuno (forced out only two and a half months after his first match in charge) and seemingly very soon (Premier League and Serie A winning) Antonio Conte.

Yet Newcastle United fans were slagged off (including by Tottenham fans) by all and sundry just because we were unhappy due to having Steve Bruce (and Mike Ashley) marching NUFC into the Championship!

You literally couldn’t make it up.

I’m not sure what exactly the problem is with Tottenham, apart from delusion engulfing the fanbase, ownership and now seemingly, the manager.

The talk now is of wanting Mauricio Pochettino, the manager who was forced out / sacked in November 2019, only four months after taking Tottenham to their first ever Champions League final and finishing fourth in the Premier League.

In contrast, Newcastle United fans always carry hope and enthusiasm, but not entitlement.

Tottenham fans are also not happy with what they see as lack of spending on players but again, the reality is very different, certainly compared to Newcastle fans.

These past four seasons have seen (stats / figures from Transfermarkt) spending by Tottenham of some £473m, whilst at the same time Newcastle United have spent £378m.

However, the Tottenham spending on new signings was on top of already having some really top world class players such as Son and Kane. Compared to Newcastle United having an existing squad that still contained a majority of players from the 2016/17 Championship season.

Plus, only around a third of that £378m spend was in the final five Mike Ashley transfer windows, with then two thirds of that total having to be spent by the new NUFC owners in these past three transfer windows, to first fight an instant mid-season desperate inherited relegation struggle and then try to close the chasm with not just those at the very top of the Premier League but indeed, the vast majority of other PL clubs as well.

It is a bonus to have the owners of a club pulling in the right direction but certainly as Newcastle fans, we know very well that it is essential to at least have manager, players and fans all signed up to the same belief in how things should be done.

At Newcastle United in this moment in time, it is difficult to imagine any other club, having a better sense of joint purpose than exists at St James’ Park.

Long may it continue.

Antonio Conte after the 3-3 draw with Southampton – 18 March 2023:

“For me this is unacceptable…we are winning 3-1, in control and then concede two goals.

“We are not a team…we are 11 players that go onto the pitch.

“I see selfish players, players that don’t want to help each other, don’t put their heart into it.

“When you are not a team you cannot improve.

“The fire in your eyes…if you have this, you don’t go out in the FA Cup [referring to Tottenham’s FA Cup exit to Championship Sheff Utd]

“Here we are used to this for a long time.

“The club has the responsibility for the transfer market, the coach has the responsibility, but the players, where are the players?

“I see only 11 players that play for themselves.

“Tottenham’s story is this, 20 years there is the owner and they never won something but why? The fault is only for the club, or for every manager that stay here. I have seen the managers that Tottenham had on the bench.

“You risk to disrupt the figure of the manager and to protect the other situation in every moment. Until now I try to hide the situation but now, no, because I repeat I don’t want to see what I have seen today.

“Everyone has to take their responsibility, not only the club, the manager, the staff…the players have to be involved in this situation, because it is time to change this situation, if Tottenham want to change…?

“They can change the manager, a lot of managers, but the situation cannot change. Believe me.”