Champions League

ANTONIO CONTE has launched a stinging attack on impatient Spurs fans and his “selfish” £50million flop Richarlison.Tottenham fans booed during and after Wednesday’s limp Champions League exit to AC Milan, which ended a week from hell as they also crashed out of the FA Cup.
Antonio Conte launched a stinging attack on RicharlisonCredit: Alamy
And the Italian, set to leave when his contract expires in the summer, slammed the supporters, saying: “The patience of the fans has finished. And we feel this. I feel this. The players feel this.
“This does not help the situation because there are many players in this moment, also young players that are playing, and they need to improve and go step by step to grow.
“The club has patience. But the problem is the club also has to make the fans (be patient) because the fans for many, many years are waiting to win something.”
Richarlison’s outburst means he is unlikely to start at home to Nottingham Forest today,  where the atmosphere could become very uncomfortable for the manager if his side make a poor start.
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The exit to Milan left the club facing a 15th successive season without a trophy, with chairman Daniel Levy set to wield the axe on Conte’s reign.
Former Everton striker Richarlison appeared to blast Conte for not explaining why he had been benched for the last two games.
But Conte said: “The guy understood very well that he made a mistake because when you speak with ‘I, I and I’, not with ‘we’, it means you are thinking only about yourself and you are selfish.
“If he deserves to play, I give him an opportunity otherwise we will play another player.
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“I watched the whole interview and he didn’t criticise me. He said his season is ‘s***’ and he is right because his season is no good.
“Because he had a lot of injuries. He started well with us, he then had injury in the Champions League and then he went to World Cup and he had another serious injury.
“He came back and stayed one month out. Then another injury.
“He scored zero goals with us, only two goals in Champions League and I think the guy was really honest to tell that his season is not good.
“His season and our season has still not finished and he has time to recover. ”
Richarlison has rarely started, with the Italian boss preferring Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski up front.
Conte’s other option is to start January loan signing Arnaut Danjuma, who has had just 47 minutes of action since arriving.
Arnaut Danjuma has hardly featured under Antonio ConteCredit: Reuters
But worryingly, Conte admitted it was the club’s choice to sign the Dutchman — and  questioned if he could fit into his favoured line-up.
He said: “I am sorry for (Danjuma) because he arrived in January and the club wanted to sign on loan this player.
“Maybe he has not specific characteristics to be a No 10.  Maybe he is more a second striker or a winger.”
Conte also claimed that he was doomed to fail in his spell at Tottenham as his trophy-laden career meant fan expectations were miles too high from day one.
But he insisted that he is “ready to die for this club” until his contract expires at the end of the season.
He said: “The problem for me is only one — that every club where I coached, I won. Expectation has always been very, very high.
“I remember very well when I arrived at this club everybody said, ‘Now, we have Conte — he won in the past, so now we are going to win!’
“But we have to win together. We have to create the right situation.
“I can teach you the path to win, but you have to follow me. And have patience. I need time and patience.
“Maybe I do have time, because the club can give me that. But I am seeing there is no patience (from the fans). For me it’s really, really difficult. Maybe my past penalises me.”
This was the man with the midas touch, who had tasted success everywhere he went, securing league titles at Juventus, Chelsea and Inter Milan. Surely he would be the one to finally deliver the silverware that Tottenham supporters have been craving.
Richarlison looks set to be left out again against Nottingham ForestCredit: PA
But 15 months into his tenure and after a week from hell, Conte feels any grace from the terraces has evaporated.
Emergency gallbladder surgery saw assistant Cristian Stellini stand in for four games before he returned for a second time for Wednesday’s Champions League nightmare against AC Milan.
It is a matter of when, not if, Conte leaves, but the fiery boss is adamant he will give his all until the end of the campaign.
The Premier League winner said: “Until the end of the season I am ready to die for this club and then we will see because I am not so stupid to continue to kill myself.
“You know with the club we signed a contract, a strange contract – one-year-and-a-half.
“Usually you sign a contract for three years but I think it was for the club and also for myself to see the situation.
“For the club to understand my personality, my capacity as a coach and for me from my side it was also the same. To understand if we were on the same page and if we wanted to do something important.
“Now after one year and a half, the club knows me, I know the club and it is clear this situation.”
Spurs are currently in fourth and now, after their cup exits, have free weeks leading up to ten of their remaining 12 league games.
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That extra time to prepare certainly helped them finish strongly last season and they have a favourable run coming up too, starting with Forest.
Still, Conte claimed finishing in the top four will be harder than it was last season, adding: “For us, it is like winning the Premier League in this moment.” More

AFTER Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain were eliminated from the Champions League this week, one transfer makes perfect sense to me — Harry Kane to PSG.It is clear that Harry wants a move from Spurs and, with just one year left on his contract, this summer will be the last chance for his club to bring in a substantial transfer fee.
Tottenham superstar Harry Kane should consider joining Paris Saint-GermainCredit: Getty
SunSport columnist Troy Deeney claims Harry Kane would finally win trophies at PSGCredit: The Sun
The England captain could have done no more than he has in his attempts to win a trophy for the North London side.
He is the club’s all-time record goalscorer and he has been hugely influential but, yet again, the team has gone another season without coming anywhere near winning a trophy.
I was flicking between Tottenham’s hugely disappointing goalless draw with AC Milan and PSG’s 2-0 Last-16 second-leg defeat at Bayern Munich on Wednesday night.
And the French champions, for all their attacking talent, really do seem to lack a proper centre-forward.
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Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi are possibly the best two players on the planet — but they are always looking to go out wide, likewise Neymar when he is fit.
They would really benefit from a world-class player to go through the middle and Kane would be outstanding for them.
Kane wants medals and he would win bagfuls of them in French domestic football with PSG. You could call them “easy medals” but if anyone deserves them, then Harry does.
He would score 30 or 40 goals a season there and he could be the man who finally makes the difference in that club winning a Champions League.
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I don’t see Spurs winning  trophies any time soon.
As a club, they need a major rebuild, which will take two or three seasons at least.
Spurs fans won’t want to hear it but they need to follow Arsenal’s example —  to build a new, young, fresh team under a hungry young manager. That means things might get worse before they get better.
 And Kane, who turns 30 this summer, hasn’t got time for that.
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The spine of this Spurs team is unconvincing.
When fit, Hugo Lloris is still the No 1 keeper and we know he is going to chuck a few goals in every season.
Likewise, Eric Dier in central defence — he makes too many costly errors.
In midfield, against AC Milan, they had Oliver Skipp and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. 
Those two are not going to win you major trophies.
Hojbjerg is a combative player but he came from Southampton, he is not a player who is used to winning every week.
Up front, there’s Son Heung-min, who enjoyed such a richly productive partnership with Kane for so long but whose form has slumped completely this season.
Dejan Kulusevski is young and inconsistent. Then there’s Richarlison — who I know well as a team-mate when we were at Watford.
I like Richarlison but I didn’t want to hear him moaning about a lack of game-time after the Milan match.
He hasn’t scored in the Premier League all season. He needs to keep quiet, knuckle down and get some work done.
SPURS NO COMPARISON TO ARSENAL
When I look at the spine of Tottenham’s team with that of Arsenal, well, there really is no comparison.
Aaron Ramsdale is so solid, so too the centre-backs William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes.
Thomas Partey is probably the best defensive midfielder in the league, Martin Odegaard has been outstanding and — when he is fit — I really like Gabriel Jesus up front as well.
I never got the feeling that Spurs were going to score against Milan. I’m sure Harry himself will admit that he didn’t have a great game. There was a header in injury-time, which forced a good save, but that was it.
There was so little service. His England team-mate Harry Maguire has now been linked with a move to PSG — and I think they should go for Kane as well.
Paris is not far from his family base in London and, while we always assume that if he left Spurs he would stay in England, I think he would benefit from a totally fresh start.
Manchester United feels like the most obvious move for Kane this summer and Erik ten Hag is clearly after a centre-forward.
But Spurs chairman Daniel Levy would still be reluctant to do business with a domestic rival.
If PSG came in, he might be more tempted to cash in.
Kane is an excellent pro, he will never allow his head to go down, he will never become petulant.
It’s obvious, though, that he is getting  frustrated. Every time you see him dropping deep into midfield to try and influence play, you know that the team is not functioning properly.
Spurs do have the best stadium in the country — but they don’t have a team to match. Nowhere near.
It looks almost certain that Antonio Conte will leave soon — and they have to make sure they get the next managerial appointment right.
I’m not sure whether going back for Mauricio Pochettino would be the right move, I’d go for a younger coach on the way up and then show some patience.
Whoever they appoint, it feels the time is right for Kane to go.
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If he leaves, he will go with a heavy heart, he’s “one of their own” at Spurs and that means a lot to him.
But a player with Harry’s quality and dedication deserves to win things — and I reckon Paris could be the perfect place. More

ARSENAL legend Paul Merson has told Tottenham to sack Antonio Conte NOW and replace him with the man everyone knows will replace him.The Italian’s future was plunged into serious doubt this week after they meekly bowed out of the Champions League.
Antonio Conte’s future at Tottenham remains unclearCredit: Rex
Spurs produced a tepid performance as they failed to overturn a 1-0 deficit against AC Milan with their manager receiving boos and jeers from supporters when he replaced attacker Dejan Kulusevski with centre-back Davinson Sanchez for the final minutes.
Conte’s future had already been the subject of much scrutiny with his lucrative contract set to expire this summer and no talks to extend his stay.
That has led to speculation over potential replacements for him at Spurs, with many wanting their ex-boss Mauricio Pochettino, who is out of work currently, to return.
And former England attacker Merson has told the Daily Star to just get on with it.
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He said: “Mauricio Pochettino is going to be appointed the manager of Tottenham in the summer, so why not get him now? There is no point messing about.
“What’s the point in keeping Antonio Conte, do you want to get in the top four or not? Spurs have just gone out of two competitions and it’s now been 15 years since their last trophy.
“I really don’t like to see managers get the sack as they are humans but at the same time you’ve got to shake things up.
“I would do it now. Spurs are a big football club and are currently going nowhere.
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“I was talking to a Tottenham season ticket holder on the school run in midweek and I told him that Wednesday night against AC Milan was the worst I’ve ever seen from a Spurs side. It really was that bad. He agreed.”
Merson added: “For me, Pochettino should come on board as soon as possible. He could lift the players in the race for fourth and it also gives him time to prepare for next season.
“It’s such a win-win as Conte no longer looks like he wants to be there anymore.”
Spurs sacked Poch was sacked by Tottenham after five-and-a-half years in charge back in November 2019.
Despite not winning a trophy for Spurs, he guided the club to four consecutive Champions League finishes.
Prior to his arrival, Spurs had finished in the top four in just two of their previous 22 seasons in the Premier League.
He also took the club to the Champions League final in 2019, but Liverpool prevailed as they won 2-0.
After replacing Tim Sherwood in 2014, Poch took charge of 293 games, winning 159, losing 72 and drawing on 62 occasions.
Mauricio Pochettino is the man that many fans want to return to SpursCredit: AFP More