Tottenham legend Clive Allen says “born winner” Antonio Conte has built a launch-pad for Spurs to challenge for the title.
Since Bill Nicholson's Double winners in 1960-61 plundered 115 League goals on their way to glory in black and white, the closest Tottenham have come to the summit was five years ago – when Conte was ringmaster of Chelsea's Premier League triumph. Now the Italian firebrand, boosted by a £150million injection of capital from the club's owners in the summer, has landed six new players – Richarlison, Yves Bissouma, Djed Spence, Ivan Perisic, Clement Lenglet and Fraser Forster.
And when Spurs open their season at home to Southampton on Saturday, fans and players alike are convinced Conte will leave behind the 'Spursy' bad old days of bottling the big challenges when opportunity knocks. Allen scored 49 goals in all competitions, in an exotic team orchestrated by Glenn Hoddle's guile and Chris Waddle at full throttle, when Tottenham finished third on David Pleat's watch in 1986-87.
