Pat Nevin joined The Football Show to discuss Antonio Conte's fit with Tottenham.
After one 3-0 defeat, Antonio Conte went from the next Manchester United manager to the next Tottenham manager.
By most measures, that's a downgrade. But Conte will at least have a lot of leverage over Daniel Levy. The Chairperson of Tottenham has endured a tumultuous two years since replacing Mauricio Pochettino with Jose Mourinho. He needs his next manager to work so he has to back him.
Conte is a manager who demands power. He demands investment. He won't sign for Tottenham unless they guarantee him the ability to compete with the best. That means competing with Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City rather than competing for the fourth Champions League spot.
It's an exciting move if you're a Tottenham fan.
Pat Nevin is wary though. Nevin doesn't think Tottenham are big enough for Conte and he says that as someone who is a big Tottenham fan.
"When Mourinho went to Spurs, that was a stinking fit," Nevin said.
"That was an awful fit and we all knew it was an awful fit. I don't think Conte is a good fit for that club. Chelsea fans close your ears now, I actually really like Spurs. Their fans love open football, they've always loved it. There will always be an expectation. Some clubs have got that.
"They'd almost get fed up if they won things and played in a dour manner...That is the core and culture of the club."
That is one of the knocks on Conte. He doesn't necessarily play bad football but he won't bring an expansive attacking identity or a high press. Even if Tottenham are successful with him, they will look more like what Jose Mourinho envisioned or what Thomas Tuchel has implemented at Chelsea.
Conte is not what Tottenham fans have traditionally wanted. He may also remind them of Mourinho personally.
"He's very prescribed to the way his systems play. I'm not saying it's bad, it's often very, very successful in the short term. And also personality-wise, same as Mourinho. It's one of those ones [where you think] 'Really?' So the 18 month idea, I get that. Absolutely I get that.
"Any more than that doesn't make a lot of sense."
Nevin understands why Tottenham want Conte. They are desperate after settling for someone they didn't want in the Summer. But Conte has all the leverage so tying him down to an 18-month contract might not be easy.
"Whether he wants that really because as soon as you say 18 months, you're saying right that's how much we're going to pay you. They're not daft these managers. They know that if you give me a three-year deal, I might only be there 18 months but I'm going to get paid for the rest because you've got to get rid of me.
"These guns for hire like Conte and other big-name managers, they know other jobs will come up and other big jobs will come up."
Tottenham can always threaten to hire Steve Bruce if they want to speed up negotiations.
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