Daniel Levy committed another grave and costly mistake when he handed the Tottenham reins to Cristian Setllini after Antonio Conte was sent packing.
Another egregious error by Tottenham’s head honcho will almost assuredly prevent the Lilywhites from snatching a top-four spot.
Tottenham endured a dismal display in Saturday’s abject 3-2 defeat to Bournemouth. It was another performance that poorly reflected the club and Levy’s disastrous operational decision.
Stellini joined Conte at Siena in 2010, forging a coaching partnership that prevailed intermittently for the better part of a decade until about a month ago.
While Stellini previously enjoyed a solid record in Conte’s absence, giving him the interim tag for the remainder of the season was the wrong choice.
These are the three reasons Stellini shouldn’t have been entrusted with the lofty responsibility of trying to usher Tottenham into the 2023-24 Champions League.
3. Stellini’s tactics and formation mirror Conte’s
Unsurprisingly, Stellini employed precisely the same formation and tactics as his predecessor and long-time former colleague.
The pair coached together at several clubs in the past decade, so it’s inconceivable to think that Levy believed Conte’s sidekick would have ushered in a new formation or altered tactics.
He stayed true to Conte’s formational preference, starting his first three matches in charge with the identical 3-4-2-1 that Conte was unremittingly steadfast on.
As if that wasn’t predictable enough, Stellini hasn’t shown any ability to innovate tactically or try something new.
He’s stuck with the tried and tested tactics of Spurs’ former manager, which has yielded two bitterly disappointing results to teams battling to avoid the drop.
2. Poor substitution decisions
Conte was heavily criticized for bringing on Davinson Sanchez in the dying embers of the Champions League return leg at home against AC Milan. Spurs were down a man and a goal on aggregate, and Conte turned to a defensive option whose form this season has been abject.
Unfortunately for Spurs, Stellini made an even worse decision when he brought on an out-of-form and out-of-practice Lucas Moura for Son Heung-min.
Spurs were up a man and a goal when Stellini pulled the trigger, a decision that infamously backfired almost immediately.
Moura was sent off six minutes later for a cynical late challenge on Everton’s eventual hero Michael Keane.
That was his first egregious substitution as Tottenham’s interim boss but certainly not his last. In Saturday’s defeat to Bournemouth, Stellini brought Sanchez on when Clement Lenglet went off injured.
As Sanchez was Stellini’s only realistic defensive option — aside from a rusty-as-nails Japhet Tanganga — off the bench, the interim boss can’t be blamed for introducing the beleaguered Colombian.
However, he can be held fully accountable for withdrawing Sanchez after just 20 minutes of introducing him.
While Sanchez’s inexcusable mistake led to Bournemouth’s second goal, the knee-jerk reaction to take him off might be more detrimental to the Colombian in the long run. Supporters booed Sanchez after his costly mistake, but taking him off did more damage than good.
Whether Stellini thought he was protecting, even insulating, Sanchez from the jeers of his own supporters, it was still the wrong decision.
Sanchez was humiliated by his mistake, the embarrassment of which was immeasurably compounded by Stellini’s decision to withdraw him.
1. Tottenham robbed of galvanizing impact a new manager brings
One almost assured positive of seeing a manager sent packing is the immediate galvanizing effect his replacement has on the squad.
Teams usually enjoy a temporary surge, a revitalization of sorts, thanks to the departure of an old and stale regime and the fresh outlook of a new manager. But, unfortunately, Tottenham was neither inspired nor galvanized with Stellini captaining the ship.
It was much of the same from Stellini, who shares the same philosophy, mentality, and tactics as the outgoing gaffer.
Tottenham’s performance against Everton was as flat as their outing against Southampton in Conte’s final match in charge, an even more bitter pill to swallow after seeing several other teams hit new heights when a new manager entered the fray.
That same tedious approach was matched by a listless, uninspired group of underachievers, arguably the most devastating part of Levy’s decision to retain Stellini’s services.