Jamie O’Hara has urged Antonio Conte to leave Tottenham Hotspur if he refuses to change his three-at-the-back formation.
The Lowdown: Conte may be forced to change
Their Champions League clash against AC Milan could indeed be the time when Conte switches things up – albeit more through having no choice as he deals with a raft of absentees on Tuesday evening.
Spurs are to be without Rodrigo Bentancur for the remainder of the season, while Yves Bissouma has recently undergone ankle surgery and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is suspended for the first leg at the San Siro, which could force Conte into some changes.
The Latest: Spurs need to change something
O’Hara claimed live on TalkSport that if Conte refuses to divert from his favoured three-at-the-back formation amid Bentacur and Hojbjerg’s absences, he has to leave the club.
He said: “If anyone at Tottenham is listening, you have got to change the formation now. You cannot play two in midfield. You cannot play 3-4-3 without Bentancur, you have to play three in midfield.”
Co-host and fellow Spurs man Jason Cundy then insisted that Conte wouldn’t veer away from his favoured formation that’s been so successful during his career, to which O’Hara said:
“Then he should go, because honestly, I don’t even enjoy watching Tottenham anymore. I don’t enjoy watching it.
“I used to get so passionate, so into watching Spurs play, and now, I’m looking and watching going, I’m not enjoying this. It’s not enjoyable to watch.
“We never have the ball; when we have the ball, we’ve got no creativity; we’re awful at the back.”
The Verdict: Tottenham could benefit from fresh ideas
Conte has been very stubborn in his ways when it comes to formations, but that hasn’t achieved any material success as of yet, with Spurs outside of the top four and struggling for consistency after beating Manchester City before being thrashed by Leicester City at the weekend.
Considering the number of absentees that Conte must cope with in midweek, it could be a chance to alter things slightly and maybe try a few players in different roles so that Tottenham have a Plan B when things aren’t going well.
Spurs will know that their fans will be expecting a positive result tonight and will want to see a reaction from Saturday’s humbling defeat given that AC Milan are struggling this season, with the reigning Serie A champions sitting in fifth place.
Source: msn
