THEY built a cathedral, bright and shining.. a new gleaming home on hallowed club ground.
But as Antonio Conte becomes the fourth permanent manager in the two and a half years since the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was opened, there could be no arguing that Daniel Levy has to get this one right.
Because, if not, Spurs will have achieved what no other club has done – turning Conte into a loser.
Financially, despite grossing £6m from each home game, Spurs desperately need Conte to drag his under-performing side into the top four and a share of the Champions League bounty.
Yet even more crucially, for Levy to be seen as the chairman who ensured it could be done right ON as well as off the field.
Arsenal and Chelsea fans, in particular, laughed loudly as Tottenham passed the 5,000-day mark since they last lifted a trophy.
Indeed, the only reason there are no cobwebs in the empty trophy cabinet is that it was not built until 2019. They haven’t had the time to grow.
Yes, Spurs have come close since that 2008 win over Chelsea, sealed by a freak Jonathan Woodgate winner.
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Three League Cup finals. One Champions League final. Four FA Cup semi-finals. Second and third in the Premier League.
But no ‘W’. Not one.
Indeed, it is not just the other members of the Big Six who have won silverware since Spurs last did.
Despite money dominating, there have been glory days at Wembley and elsewhere for Portsmouth, Swansea, Wigan and Leicester. Just not Spurs.
Conte, of course, is a serial winner. Juventus, Chelsea, Inter Milan.
Turning clubs around. Taking them to the promised land. Proving his credentials.
Yet so was Jose Mourino. And that didn’t exactly last long.
Having got it so, so wrong with Nuno Espirito Santo, though, Levy will recognise that there will be no hiding place if this one does not work.
That will mean the chairman having to accept Conte’s combustible nature.
The confrontations and demands. The likely hissy fits, too.
Conte will be desperate to prove he is a managerial magician.
Turning Tottenham into winners again would be the ultimate proof of that, although any manager would be keen to work with Harry Kane and Son Heung-min.
Arguably, though, Levy, even more critically, needs the Italian to show why he has turned to him.
Sacking Nuno and luring Conte aboard, a remarkable response to the chorus of fan disapproval that cascaded around the ground on Saturday night, saw some of the discontent abated.
The fans, too, embraced Conte’s signature as a sign of ambition and determination – with the expectation that the players would respond as well.
But the genie cannot go fully back into the bottle.
And if it doesn’t pan out, or Conte leaves prematurely, pointing fingers in the direction of the chairman, all hell will be let loose.
This could be the start of a glorious new era. A team fitting for its beautiful new home. A side that wins.
Conte wants it, of course, even if not as much as the fans. But Levy NEEDS it.
- Illustration by Lovatto
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