The fiery Italian was many United fans' choice to shake things up last season, but the club made an inspired move by opting against bringing him in
October 30, 2021: Tottenham were hosting Manchester United and both Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Nuno Espirito Santos' jobs were on the line.
Solskjaer had just overseen a harrowing 5-0 home defeat at the hands of Liverpool, and the writing was on the wall for the Norwegian. In north London, his side overpowered Spurs, with goals from Edinson Cavani, Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcus Rashford ensuring Solskjaer lived to fight another day.
His opposite number was not so lucky. The defeat was the final straw for Daniel Levy and Nuno was sacked after only three months in charge.
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Spurs swiftly hired Antonio Conte, and 22 days after overseeing the 3-0 victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Solskjaer was let go by United after another humiliating defeat, this time to Watford.
With Conte no longer available, there was a serious shortage of top coaches on the market. United decided to adjourn their search for a permanent manager until the summer and install Ralf Rangnick, a sporting director for most of his recent career, as interim coach.
The results were disastrous. The players did not respect Rangnick, who Ronaldo would later claim to have never heard of, and United sunk to their lowest points total in 30 years in the Premier League.
Tottenham, meanwhile, staged a remarkable turnaround to clinch fourth spot and Champions League football.
At the time, the decision to keep faith with Solskjaer and allow Conte to go to Tottenham looked like yet another woeful move from United's hierarchy.
One year on, however, not hiring Conte appears to have been a masterstroke.
GettyAvoiding a short-term fix
Tottenham are now a laughing stock, having parted ways with Conte and then sacking his interim successor, Cristian Stellini, less than a month later.
United, meanwhile, are enjoying one of their best campaigns since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement under Erik ten Hag.
They have a trophy in the bag and are in a strong position to finish in the top four. They are six points ahead of Tottenham heading into Thursday's match, with two games in hand, and a win would practically doom Spurs' hopes of qualifying for the Champions League.
On the same day Tottenham were humiliated 6-1 by Newcastle, United were reaching the FA Cup final. The contrast in emotions between the two fanbases could not be greater.
While Conte was a tempting short-term fix, Ten Hag was a bet on the future, and United's much-maligned sporting director John Murtough and chief executive Richard Arnold deserve a huge amount of credit for having the vision to see that and making the right decision.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesAn antidote to Solskjaer's soft touch
But looking back to the chaos of last season under Solskjaer, it is easy to see why certain fans and pundits felt Conte was the right man to solve United's deep problems.
The Norwegian had fostered a culture of acceptance of being second best. He had allowed the squad to become too comfortable. According to one report, he barely criticised the team after a shock defeat by Sheffield United which derailed their title bid in the 2020-21 season.
To the chagrin of fans, he had also not put enough pressure on the board and the Glazer family to back him in the transfer market.
To cap it all, in almost three years in charge, he had failed to win a trophy.
GettyDragging teams back to glory
The contrast between Solskjaer and Conte couldn't have been bigger.
The Italian had won the league with practically every team he had coached, often dragging teams straight back to glory after years in the wilderness such as Juventus or Inter, or after a miserable season, as he did at Chelsea.
He instantly raised standards, and he was never afraid to tell those higher up his true feelings.
To United fans tired of managers being too passive with the Glazers, Conte was the perfect man to shake things up and lead the fightback.
GettyRanting and raving only gets you so far
However, Tottenham have realised that, rather like Jose Mourinho before him, Conte leaves scorched earth wherever he goes. And what he might see as high demands are interpreted by others as a tendency to lose his rag.
His ranting press conference after the draw with Southampton was the most flagrant example of him throwing his toys out of the pram and ultimately led to him leaving, but it was far from his first outburst.
Many fans and pundits thought he was about to resign just three months into his tenure after defeat at Burnley, when he said he was not capable of improving the team and questioned whether it was right for him to take a salary from the club.
Spurs’ players lived in constant fear of being laid into by the Italian, while fans constantly thought he was about to walk away.
Even though they achieved epic wins over the likes of Manchester City and Arsenal, there was always a chaotic feeling to the team. And that is no platform to build on, as his miserable second season proved.
