Antonio Conte has been blamed as the motivating factor behind Tottenham Hotspur’s defensive woes.
Spurs came from behind to rescue a point away to Brentford on Boxing Day.
This was the sixth game in a row where Tottenham fell behind, according to the 42.
In the end, goals from Harry Kane and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg rescued a 2-2 draw away to the Bees.
But ESPN pundit Steve Nicol is claiming that this is happening far too regularly now, stating that the problem, at this stage, simply has to be the Italian manager.
He told ESPN: “You have to point the finger at Conte. This has happened too often for it not to be him, sending his team out with pretty much a conservative mindset.”
Conte, who earns the equivalent of around £384,000 per week [Mirror], is a world-class coach, which everyone knows.
But Nicol might just have a point.
Okay so Eric Dier’s horrendous clearance ultimately led to Ivan Toney firing the hosts 2-0 up on Monday.
But Conte has had a winter transfer window and a full summer one to solidify this Tottenham defence and you have to say, he hasn’t done that one bit.
Clement Lenglet on loan from Barcelona is the only central defender who came in last summer and obviously he isn’t up to scratch.
Even when Cristian Romero – absent on Monday after winning the World Cup last week – is available, the North Londoners still don’t inspire confidence at the back.
In January, Conte and Fabio Paratici must take a serious look at this problem.
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