Michah Richards, Sky Sports pundit and former Premier League defender, believes Conte’s players ‘won’t know what’s hitting them’ when they play in the Champions League this season (JOE).
Tottenham enjoyed a transitional season last year, starting the campaign with Nuno Esperito Santo after Jose Mourinho left the season before. After a string of poor results and backlash from fans, Nuno was fired, quickly followed by the arrival of Antonio Conte.
Despite inheriting a “really mediocre” squad, as Conte told Sky Sports after his side’s win over Southampton on Saturday, the Italian led Tottenham to fourth and the League places champions (Mirror).
In the same interview, Conte explained: “The message was very clear that we brought in new players to improve our team because our team was really poor last season and the Champions League place was a great achievement.
“Our first objective was to improve the team, not only physically but also mentally. We wanted the right players for my philosophy.
“Being happy or not happy wasn’t the problem. It was about finding a solution to play four competitions. To do that you need a team of 20-22 players and honestly last season was really bad on the medical aspect, we have improved this aspect.
Clearly, the club have taken Conte’s opinions into account, signing Richarlison, Ivan Perisic, Yves Bissouma, Djed Spence, Clement Lenglet and Fraser Forster to strengthen the squad this summer.
Perisic, Lenglet and Forster have a Champions League pedigree as well as a wealth of wisdom with which to mentor their less experienced team-mates. But make no mistake, there are plenty of existing Tottenham players who have a similar experience.
Players such as Harry Kane, Heung Min Son, Hugo Lloris, Eric Dier, Davinson Sanchez and Ben Davies were important parts of the squad when Tottenham played in the illustrious competition under Pochettino’s reign.
Antonio Conte himself will be playing his sixth Champions League campaign this term and therefore has extensive experience in the competition.
Michah Richards told JOE (8/10/22 11:59 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.): “If Kane and Son are tired and they’ve gone to overtime [in the Champions League]although they have Richarlison, it’s still a drop [in quality].
“A lot of these players won’t know what hits them when they play in the Champions League.”
Boosts web opinion:
Spurs haven’t played Champions League football for three years, so I can understand where Richards is coming from, but many of the club’s players, as well as their manager, have significant minutes in the competition under their belt.
The team has been significantly strengthened, which will allow Conte to shoot without a huge drop in quality. Any team has to suffer a drop in quality if they rest their best players, so I disagree with his argument that Richarlison comes to replace Kane or Son.
Moreover, Conte is solid defensively, but the lightning in transitional football could be perfect for the Champions League as Tottenham will be overlooked for most clashes against top sides.
Do you have something to tell us about this article?
Michah Richards, Sky Sports pundit and former Premier League defender, believes Conte’s players ‘won’t know what’s hitting them’ when they play in the Champions League this season (JOE).
Tottenham enjoyed a transitional season last year, starting the campaign with Nuno Esperito Santo after Jose Mourinho left the season before. After a string of poor results and backlash from fans, Nuno was fired, quickly followed by the arrival of Antonio Conte.
Despite inheriting a “really mediocre” squad, as Conte told Sky Sports after his side’s win over Southampton on Saturday, the Italian led Tottenham to fourth and the League places champions (Mirror).
In the same interview, Conte explained: “The message was very clear that we brought in new players to improve our team because our team was really poor last season and the Champions League place was a great achievement.
“Our first objective was to improve the team, not only physically but also mentally. We wanted the right players for my philosophy.
“Being happy or not happy wasn’t the problem. It was about finding a solution to play four competitions. To do that you need a team of 20-22 players and honestly last season was really bad on the medical aspect, we have improved this aspect.
Clearly, the club have taken Conte’s opinions into account, signing Richarlison, Ivan Perisic, Yves Bissouma, Djed Spence, Clement Lenglet and Fraser Forster to strengthen the squad this summer.
Perisic, Lenglet and Forster have a Champions League pedigree as well as a wealth of wisdom with which to mentor their less experienced team-mates. But make no mistake, there are plenty of existing Tottenham players who have a similar experience.
Players such as Harry Kane, Heung Min Son, Hugo Lloris, Eric Dier, Davinson Sanchez and Ben Davies were important parts of the squad when Tottenham played in the illustrious competition under Pochettino’s reign.
Antonio Conte himself will be playing his sixth Champions League campaign this term and therefore has extensive experience in the competition.
Michah Richards told JOE (8/10/22 11:59 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.): “If Kane and Son are tired and they’ve gone to overtime [in the Champions League]although they have Richarlison, it’s still a drop [in quality].
“A lot of these players won’t know what hits them when they play in the Champions League.”
Boosts web opinion:
Spurs haven’t played Champions League football for three years, so I can understand where Richards is coming from, but many of the club’s players, as well as their manager, have significant minutes in the competition under their belt.
The team has been significantly strengthened, which will allow Conte to shoot without a huge drop in quality. Any team has to suffer a drop in quality if they rest their best players, so I disagree with his argument that Richarlison comes to replace Kane or Son.
Moreover, Conte is solid defensively, but the lightning in transitional football could be perfect for the Champions League as Tottenham will be overlooked for most clashes against top sides.
Do you have something to tell us about this article?