North London Club Tottenham Hotspur have severed their relationship with Antonio Conte.
A message on the club website reads:
We can announce that Head Coach Antonio Conte has left the Club by mutual agreement. We achieved Champions League qualification in Antonio’s first season at the Club. We thank Antonio for his contribution and wish him well for the future.
Cristian Stellini will take the team as Acting Head Coach for the remainder of the season, along with Ryan Mason as Assistant Head Coach.
Daniel Levy, Chairman: “We have 10 Premier League games remaining and we have a fight on our hands for a Champions League place. We all need to pull together. Everyone has to step up to ensure the highest possible finish for our Club and amazing, loyal supporters.”
The parting of ways comes nine days after I said:
'The only other manager who would appear to be in imminent danger is Spurs Antonio Conte. For a team in Champions League contention that may seem strange to say, however there is a suggestion that he is disaffected with the club and there are already reports he will leave with the end of his contract at season's end. Should the club feel a need to pep things up for the run to secure a CL spot, he could very well be invited to leave early.'
That came the day before Conte unloaded on both the players and club following a disappointing 3-3 draw with bottom club Southampton, a game they led three times.
With 28 games played Spurs are in 4th place with 49 points, but 5th place Newcastle have 2 games in hand and are only 2 points behind with an 8 goal advantage. Two losses by two goals would see Newcastle move into 4th spot as things stand.
Rumours around Conte's disaffection have been swirling for a few months and the teams uptick during his medical absence made tongues wag.
Making the move during the International break buys Spurs time to settle on their new manager. An obvious choice would be Julian Nagelsman who was recently sacked by Bayern Munich. His record of 3 cups/titles in 59 games would be very welcome for the club, though regular qualification for the Champions League and a League cup would likely be sufficient to garner praise from both the fans and Daniel Levy. The trophy and regular European matches bringing pleasure to the fans, and the latter securing funds to Levy's joy.
With Conte's departure this season secures a joint record of 10 league managers having departed. There is still time for a new record to be set.
Saying that, I can only see two managers likely to become the record breaker.
Leicester and West Ham are both in dangerous positions and so Brendon Rodgers and David Moyes must be feeling the hot breath of expectation on their necks.
Of the two Rodgers is the more likely to be at risk. There are whispers of disaffection between him and the players & there are enough players in the team who were part of Leicester's EPL winning season to have sufficient sway with the board.
On the other hand, West Ham, despite struggling in the league, are going well in Europe and success their may jet be enough to see Moyes through to the end of the season, or at least their departure from European competition.