Thierry Henry has suggested that he wouldn’t sack under-fire Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri amid rumours that Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte could take over, as the Arsenal legend told CBS Sports on Paramount+ (25/10/22 at 10:10 pm).
The former France striker used Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta as an example and how it took him ‘two years’ to get the current Premier League leaders going, as Juventus were knocked out of the Champions League on Tuesday night after their 4-3 defeat at Benfica.
That just added to the drama, problems and struggles Juventus have been under since their trophyless campaign last season, with their one-time legendary coach, Allegri, under huge pressure and questions being asked about his future.
Tottenham boss Antonio Conte has previously held that post in Turin, although, he did leave on a sour note, but that hasn’t stopped his name from being mentioned to come in and stop the fire ripping through the club.
In Serie A, with Napoli unbeaten and sitting on top of the tree and champions AC Milan breathing down their necks, the previous dominant force aren’t even in the European places.
Yesterday’s loss to Benfica only puts further pressure on Allegri, but Henry tried to point out that the problems lie further up than the six-time Scudetto winner.
“I wouldn’t go there (on manager change),” said Henry. “I am on the other side of the line, it’s very difficult to call out on the manager. I think there are a lot of problems, from top to bottom.
“It’s not only at the bottom and on the field that things aren’t going well. I said it when Pirlo left. I said it when Sarri left. It’s not a bad coach. You need to be able to coach also.
“Now what’s happening behind closed doors we don’t know. But, as I said, it takes time, sometimes. It’s not because you bring Allegri that it’s going to work.
“Where are you going to go? What’s going to be the plan? Who are you going to bring? You need to let people work also for a little while in order to change. Change who has to leave and who is going to come in to play in his system. We have seen it with Arteta, it took him two years to put a decent team on the field and people were having a go.
“Are you going to stay with the man? Are you not going to stay with the man? But think about it carefully because you don’t know what could happen.”
WILL TOTTENHAM BACK CONTE AGAIN?
In the summer, Conte should have no complaints, he was backed by those upstairs, including a club-record transfer for Everton forward Richarlison.
But, after recent defeats to Manchester United and Newcastle United, it seems as though he wants the likes of Daniel Levy and Joe Lewis to dig deeper into their pockets.
As the Italian is proving once again, he does make a big fuss out of nothing sometimes and it could be frustrating for fans to listen to.
But those noises from Italy just won’t go away and if Juventus decide to sack Allegri, then things could become very interesting.
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