[themaclad]

Manager

Antonio Conte



After retiring from playing, Conte worked as an assistant manager for Siena alongside Luigi De Canio in the 2005–06 season. In July 2006, he was appointed coach of Serie B side Arezzo. However, after a series of disappointing results, he was sacked on 31 October 2006.

On 13 March 2007, Conte was reinstated as Arezzo head coach as his predecessor Maurizio Sarri failed to gain any significant improvement with the club mired in a relegation struggle. He subsequently led the team to five consecutive wins, securing 19 points from 7 matches, which allowed the Tuscan side to close the points gap between them and safety. In spite of this turnaround in form, Arezzo was relegated to Serie C1 on the final day of the league season, finishing one point behind Spezia.

Bari
On 27 December 2007, Conte was appointed by Bari to replace Giuseppe Materazzi for the second half of their 2007–08 Serie B campaign. He oversaw a considerable upturn in form, leading the team out of the relegation battle and placing them comfortably mid-table. The following season, 2008–09, Bari were crowned Serie B champions, being promoted to Serie A for the 2009–10 season, Conte's first major honour as a manager.

In June 2009, after weeks of rumours linking Conte to the vacant managerial role at Juventus, he agreed in principle for a contract extension to keep him at Bari for the new season. However, on 23 June, Bari announced they had rescinded the contract with Conte by mutual consent.

After Claudio Ranieri was sacked by Juventus, Conte was again reported to be a potential replacement. Shortly prior to Ranieri's termination, Conte had made public his ambition to be Juventus coach at some stage and was confident he was ready for the demands of the role. Again, Juventus declined to hire their former midfielder and appointed Ciro Ferrara instead.

Atalanta

Conte managing Atalanta in a Serie A match
On 21 September 2009, Conte replaced Angelo Gregucci as manager of Atalanta. Despite a good start at the helm of the Orobici, the club found itself struggling by November, leading to protests from local supporters and friction between Conte and the club's ultra supporters.

On 6 January 2010, Conte was repeatedly confronted by Atalanta fans during a home game against Napoli which ended in a 0–2 defeat for the Nerazzurri. The match ended with Conte receiving police protection to avoid an altercation with the Atalanta ultras. The next day, Conte tendered his resignation to the club, leaving them in 19th place.

Siena
On 9 May 2010, Conte was announced as new head coach of Siena, with the aim of leading the Tuscan side back to the top flight after relegation to the 2010–11 Serie B. Conte successfully secured promotion for Siena, which would be competing in the 2011–12 Serie A season.

Juventus

Conte with Juventus in 2012
On 22 May 2011, Juventus sporting director Giuseppe Marotta announced Juventus had appointed Conte as its new head coach, replacing Luigi Delneri. Conte arrived amid high expectations that he, a former fan favourite as a midfielder for the club, would lead them back to the summit of the Italian and European game.

His first ten months as manager saw the club reach a number of landmarks such as, following a 5–0 win over rivals Fiorentina, equalling Fabio Capello's run of 28 unbeaten matches between November 2005 and May 2006. On 20 March 2012, Conte became the first coach to lead Juventus to a Coppa Italia final since Marcello Lippi in the 2004 Coppa Italia Final. On 25 March, following a 2–0 victory at the Juventus Stadium, he became the first coach to complete the league double in the Derby d'Italia against rivals Inter Milan since Capello in 2005–06. In November 2012, Conte was awarded the Trofeo Maestrelli, an award honouring the three best Italian coaches working in the professional league, the country's youth coaching system and outside Italy, respectively.Despite drawing a large number of matches during the season, on 6 May 2012 Conte led Juventus to their 28th league title with one match remaining by beating Cagliari 2–0. After beating Atalanta 3–1, Juventus finished the league unbeaten, the first team to do so since Serie A expanded to 20 teams and 38 rounds.

Conte's innovative 3–5–2 formation, which featured wingbacks and two box-to-box midfielders in a three-man midfield, gave more creative freedom to the newly acquired deep-lying playmaker Andrea Pirlo, who was key to the club's success that season. The club's strong and highly organised three-man back-line, which was predominantly composed of Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci, and Andrea Barzagli, was regarded to have played a large part in the title triumph, and only conceded 20 goals, finishing the league with the best defence in Italy. However, Juventus lost the 2012 Coppa Italia final to Napoli 2–0, their only defeat in domestic competitions that season.

Conte's Juventus won the 2012–13 Serie A title as they accumulated 87 points, three more than the previous season, nine more than second-placed Napoli and 15 more than third-placed Milan. Despite their dominance, Juventus's top goalscorers in the league were midfielder Arturo Vidal and forward Mirko Vučinić, both with just ten goals, making them joint 23rd in the goal-scoring chart. In his first Champions League campaign, Juventus was eliminated by eventual winners Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals, losing 4–0 on aggregate. After winning a second consecutive Supercoppa Italiana in 2013, Juventus won their third consecutive Serie A title under Conte during the 2013–14 season, winning the league with a Serie A record of 102 points. This was also the club's 30th league title. However, Juventus were eliminated from the group stage of the Champions League that season, although they subsequently managed to reach the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League. On 15 July 2014, Conte resigned as manager. During his three seasons as Juventus manager, he won the Panchina d'Oro for each one, for best Serie A coach of the season.

Italy national team

Conte in his technical area managing Italy against Azerbaijan, the match in which UEFA Euro 2016 qualification was achieved
On 14 August 2014, following Italy national team manager Cesare Prandelli's resignation, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) announced to have agreed a two-year deal with Conte as new head coach of the national team until Euro 2016. With the national side, Conte continued to field formations which he had employed during his successful spell with Juventus, varying between the 4–3–3, 4–2–4, 3–3–4, and the 3–5–2 in particular, with the latter being the tactical choice that ultimately replaced Prandelli's 4–3–1–2 midfield diamond formation. His first match as Italy manager was a 2–0 win over Netherlands, during which Ciro Immobile and Daniele De Rossi scored the goals for Gli Azzurri. Conte won his first competitive match on 9 September 2014, defeating Norway 2–0 in their opening Euro 2016 qualifying match in Oslo, with goals by Simone Zaza and Leonardo Bonucci. This was the first time Italy had managed to defeat the Norwegians in Norway since 1937.

After ten matches as Italy manager, Conte suffered his first defeat on 16 June 2015, in a 1–0 international friendly loss against Portugal.[49] He sealed Euro 2016 qualification for Italy on 10 October 2015, as Italy defeated Azerbaijan 3–1 in Baku. The result meant Italy had managed to go 50 matches unbeaten in European qualifiers.

On 15 March 2016, the FIGC confirmed Conte would step down as manager after Euro 2016.[51] Although many fans and members of the media were initially critical of Conte's tactics and the level of the Italian squad chosen for the competition,[52] Italy opened the tournament with a promising 2–0 victory over the number-one ranked European team Belgium on 13 June.[53] Following the win, Conte drew praise from the media for the team's unity, defensive strength, and for his tactical approach to the match, which impeded Belgium from creating many goalscoring opportunities.[ Conte led Italy out of the group to the Round of 16 with one match to spare on 17 June after a 1–0 victory against Sweden. Italy had not won the second group match in a major international tournament since Euro 2000, in which Conte had coincidentally appeared as a player. Conte also led Italy to the top of the group, the first time in a major tournament since the 2006 World Cup. After the 2–0 round of 16 win over defending champions Spain, Conte's Italy then faced off against rivals and reigning world champions Germany in the quarter-final, which ended 1–1 after extra time and 6–5 in favour of Germany after the resulting penalty shoot-out, ending his time as Italy manager. Speaking after the match, Conte said, "[T]he decision to leave the national team after two years was taken early," and that the reason for leaving was because he "wanted to return to the cut and thrust of club football".

Chelsea

Antonio Conte in 2017
On 4 April 2016, it was confirmed Conte would officially become the new first-team head coach of English side Chelsea from the 2016–17 season after signing a three-year contract, which would keep him at the club until 2019.

On 15 August, Chelsea started off the season with a 2–1 win over West Ham United.[63] On 17 December, Conte set a new club record with 11 consecutive league victories in a single season, following a 1–0 away triumph over Crystal Palace.[64] After securing a 4–2 home win over Stoke City on 31 December, Chelsea recorded a 13th consecutive league victory, equalling Arsenal's 2002 record for most consecutive league wins in a single season. The team's league winning streak came to an end in the following match, on 4 January 2017, in a 2–0 away loss to Tottenham Hotspur.

On 13 January 2017, Conte became the first manager in history to win three consecutive Premier League Manager of the Month awards (October, November and December).

On 12 May 2017, Conte's Chelsea side defeated West Bromwich Albion 1–0 away, with a late goal from substitute Michy Batshuayi, and secured the points required to win the 2016–17 Premier League title with two matches to spare. Following a 5–1 home win over Sunderland on 21 May, Chelsea also set a new Premier League record for the most wins in a single season, with 30 league victories out of 38 league matches. On 18 July 2017, Conte signed a new two-year contract with Chelsea.

Conte was sent to the stands for the first time in his Chelsea career during the first half of a home match against Swansea City on 29 November 2017. He argued with fourth official Lee Mason over referee Neil Swarbrick’s decision to award a goal kick rather than a corner for Chelsea, after which the referee dismissed him. Conte apologised afterwards but was nonetheless charged with misconduct by the FA

On 19 May 2018, Conte led Chelsea to a 1–0 victory over Manchester United in the 2018 FA Cup Final.

Chelsea finished fifth in the league at the end of the season, missing out on Champions League qualification. Conte was sacked as Chelsea manager on 13 July 2018 and was replaced by Maurizio Sarri.[75] During this period, the club is said to have lost £26.6m in paying off compensation to Conte, his team, and legal fees, as per Chelsea's accounts.

Inter Milan
On 31 May 2019, Conte was appointed head coach of Serie A club Inter Milan.[77] On 26 August 2019, Inter won their first league match of the season by 4–0 against Lecce.[78] Inter finished second behind Juventus in the Serie A title race.[79] Inter also reached the final of the Europa League, but suffered a 3–2 defeat to Sevilla in Cologne on 21 August 2020.[

Following Atalanta's draw against Sassuolo on 2 May 2021, Inter were confirmed as champions for the first time in eleven years, ending Juventus's run of nine consecutive titles.[

However, despite achieving Serie A glory, on 26 May 2021, Inter announced that Conte had left the club by mutual consent. The departure was reportedly due to disagreements Conte had with the club's board over transfers for the following season.

Tottenham Hotspur
Conte was appointed as head coach of Tottenham Hotspur on 2 November 2021 following the sacking of Nuno Espírito Santo the previous day. He signed an 18-month contract with the option of a further year.[84][85] His first match in-charge of Tottenham was a 3–2 win against Eredivisie side Vitesse.[86] His first Premier League game was a 0–0 draw away to Everton on 7 November 2021.[87] On 1 January 2022, following a late win against Watford, Conte became the first Tottenham manager to go unbeaten in their first eight league games.

Conte helped Tottenham qualify for the Champions League for the first time since 2019–20, after winning 5–0 away against Norwich City and finishing fourth in the 2021–22 Premier League season.

After a 2-0 victory against Everton, Conte had secured Tottenham their best ever start to a Premier League season.

LAST ROUND



LAST MEETING



With Lancastrian commentary


Think this lad is a quality player

DEJAN KULUSEVSKI

https://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/

https://thefightingcock.co.uk/forum/thre...bc1.47232/

https://www.glory-glory.co.uk/community/...s-views.2/

https://www.not606.com/forums/tottenham-hotspur.27/

First FA Cup Final I ever watched was 1962 they beat Burnley 3-1 not a bad side this

[themaclad]

In The Dressing Room

PNE will be without loanee Troy Parrott for this fixture, with the forward unavailable for selection against his parent club.

Liam Delap is also unable to feature, having represented Stoke City in their third round victory over Hartlepool United.

Manager Ryan Lowe will provide a further update on team news in his pre-match press conference.

A Look At Our Visitors


Tottenham Hotspur – who currently sit fifth in the Premier League table – booked their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup thanks to a 1-0 victory at home to Portsmouth.

Since that game, Spurs have suffered defeats to the division’s top two, Arsenal and Manchester City, before beating Fulham at the beginning of the week.

Antonio Conte will be keen for his side to progress in the competition, having been knocked out of the Carabao Cup at their point of entry, as Spurs look to add their first silverware since their League Cup success in the 2007/08 campaign.

Going Head To Head

Games played: 68
PNE wins: 30
Draws: 17
Spurs wins: 21
Last meeting: PNE 1-5 Tottenham Hotspur, 23rd September 2009

One To Watch

All eyes – even more than usual – will be on Harry Kane this weekend as he looks to become Tottenham Hotspur’s top goalscorer of all time.

The striker, who is also England’s joint-top scorer in international history, was said to have levelled Jimmy Greaves’ famous record of 266 goals for Spurs earlier in the week.

However, two goals which Greaves scored in the Charity Shield seem to have been left out of the legend’s tally and there is some dispute regarding whether or not these should count.

So, depending on who you ask, it will take either one or three goals for Kane to break free as the club’s top scorer but, either way, it appears just a matter of time.

Match Officials

Experienced referee Peter Bankes will take charge of his second fixture at Deepdale this season on Saturday.

Bankes, who officiates in the Premier League primarily, refereed the 1-1 home draw against Burnley earlier this season, and his only previous experience of taking charge of a PNE game in the FA Cup was back in 2018, when North End won 5-1 at Wycombe Wanderers.

So far this season, Bankes has shown 87 yellow cards and one red in 20 games, with that sole dismissal being Nottingham Forest’s Orel Mangala, incidentally in a match against Spurs.

MACS VIEW

A forward line of Evans and Cannon will scare this lot s**tless fully expect us to win maybe after extra time and penalties however in reality we have a slim chance, just have a go lads see what happens

[themaclad]

Preston North End 0 Tottenham Hotspur 3 Son 2 Danjuma

PNE line-up: Woodman; Storey, Lindsay, Hughes; Browne, McCann (Johnson, 78_, Whiteman, Ledson (Woodburn, 70), Brad (Fernández, 78); Evans (Cross-Adair, 90), Cannon. Subs not used: Cornell, Cunningham, Bauer, Diaby, Potts.

Tottenham Hotspur line-up: Forster; Tanganga, Sánchez, Lenglet; Doherty (Royal, 71), Bentancur (Skipp, 71), Bissouma, Sessegnon (Danjuma, 71); Kulusevski, Perišić, Son (Gil, 85). Subs not used: Austin, Hojbjerg, Kane, Dier, Davies.

Attendance: 21,219 (5,574 Spurs fans).

Referee: Mr P Bankes.

The Spurs fans who were there last night will have been satisfied with the result through to Round 5, for 50 minutes we kept them at bay until a super left foot effort from the best player on the pitch Son put them on their way.
We restricted them to two long range efforts from Son both saved by Woodman and an effort early on Kulusevski which was brilliantly blocked by Ledson.
Up to the goal it has to be said we rarely looked like scoring but given our minima goal scoring options on the pitch that was no surprise, have to say Ched showed his worth last night.
A soggy old Saturday night saw lots of people who had avoided turning up for the third round match against Huddersfield, some wearing the dreaded half and half scarf. TV was in attendance as was the trophy itself, the visiting fans were in good voice all the way through the game.
A decent strength Spurs side, all three forwards had been at the World Cup although Harry was on the bench we`re he remained, no record for him tonight.
First fiftenn we sat back and basically defended our own penalty area, worked in the main, we had brief passages of paly although didn't trouble Forster, got to half time level and still in it.
Son's effort changed that, following the goal we probably had our best period of play, the crowd got behind the team and we pressed them back, got corners, Whiteman effort went wide.
The second killed the tie with 20 minutes to go, He South Korean international skillfully worked a position forf himseelf in the box before firing past Woodman, the third was disappointing three minutes from time some poor defending led to Danjuma scoring his first for Spurs.
Cups over for this season, now it's time to rectify the woeful home league record

[themaclad]