Chelsea: Antonio Conte out-coaches and out-manages his “top six” peers
Last season Antonio Conte made a tactical change in formation that took Chelsea to the Premier League title. This season, the re-entry into the Champions League forced Conte not only to rotate his squad, but to come up with a genuine plan B for his formation.
The well-documented belief that the Chelsea board came up short in the summer’s transfer window have added to Antonio Conte’s perceived problems this season. Injuries to key players at critical times exacerbated the issue. The press have heaped on pressure the Italian simply does not deserve. But still, despite the negativity, he keeps Chelsea winning.
Conte’s ability to change and morph his team during games is rapidly putting him head and shoulders above his counterparts. Conte takes Claudio Ranieri’s title of “The Tinkerman” to a whole new level. He is constantly tinkering with formation and line-up. He’s both proactive and reactive. Just occasionally, his reactive side gets the better of him, as it did against Swansea when he was sent to the stands. However, in those terms, he has yet to reach the heights of one of his predecessors.
Jose Mourinho is hardly revolutionary in his tactical nous these days. His modus operandi sticks to proven methods that he knows work. To be fair, they do still work but he is no longer breaking new ground. His strength lies in man management and building a siege mentality amongst his players. His weakness is the paranoid belief the footballing world are against him. That belief denigrates the good work he does with his players on the training field, as does his inability to graciously accept defeat. Where Mourinho manages, Conte coaches.
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Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City are this season’s benchmark team. The City side has strength in depth across the whole squad. Guardiola is fortunate in having two players for every position, while Conte does not. There can be no doubting Guardiola’s coaching ability – he has a proven track record that speaks volumes.
However, as Chelsea were when Roman Abramovich bought the club, money has been no object when it comes to City’s acquisition of players. Guardiola knows who he wants, and the owners know how to get them. Were it not for the money City’s owners have spent, Guardiola would be right with Conte in managerial terms. If financial fair play ever truly comes into football, as has been promised, then let’s see how he does under those terms.
Jurgen Klopp sets his Liverpool team up to attack, attack, attack. They do it very well, but you can not win trophies by constantly being on the front foot. Sometimes there is a need to defend. There is a balance that needs to be struck in team formation, and therein lies his downfall. He may think he could write a book on defending in two hours, but it would probably be called ‘Attack Is The Best Form Of Defence,’ by Jurgen Klopp.
The German put all his summer transfer window eggs in the Virgil van Dijk basket and ultimately failed to get him – a significant embarrassment. Now in his third season, Klopp has delivered nothing. There is only so far ‘being a good bloke’ can take you. Liverpool’s trophy cabinet door has remained shut since a League Cup win in 2012. Until he starts to win things he is in no way on a par with Conte.
Arsene Wenger was once at the pinnacle of managerial innovation when he came to the Premier League in 1996. Not so now, though. Results over recent years show a decline in Arsenal’s fortunes on the pitch, if not off it. The Frenchman is more concerned with finances than trophies. Wenger’s Arsenal are the antithesis of Guardiola and the set-up at Manchester City, where money is no object and where that money gets spent on the team. Maybe that frivolousness is to Wenger’s credit, but it doesn’t win trophies.
Twenty years ago Wenger could have given Conte a run for his money. These days he just wants to save it.
Mauricio Pochettino, is now in his fourth season with Tottenham. He has yet to win a trophy. That in itself puts him below Conte in managerial terms. He has the potential to be a great coach, but he is not there yet. His ability to ‘blood the kids’ is a big positive, and something England fans could really appreciate come the World Cup.
But, with Tottenham having a wage structure that is likely not only to stifle his ability to attract top players but also keep the ones he has, he may have to move on to find success. With Tottenham likely to beat Real Madrid to top spot in their Champions League group, that victory will prove insignificant if they do not actually lift a trophy.
Antonio Conte may or may not be at Chelsea next season, but at present, he appears to be a man who is in charge of his players rather than vice versa. He does not tolerate insubordination in the ranks, as his run-ins with Diego Costa, David Luiz and Kenedy have recently proved.
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If he can survive the fallout from above, he could stay at the club for a very long time. However, this is Chelsea, so don’t be surprised if the axe falls on his Chelsea career come the end of the season.