Conte's controversial nomination
Conte had surgery to remove his gallbladder on February 1 and had to take a break from leading Tottenham. Assistant Cristian Stellini took on the task of leading Tottenham in the 1-0 victory over Man City in the 22nd round of the Premier League four days later.
The Italian coach returned in the 1-4 defeat at Leicester on February 11, but still had difficulty recovering from surgery. The doctor advised Conte to rest to focus on the recovery process, and the Tottenham manager admitted to having "underestimated" the process.
Conte missed the remaining matches of February, letting Stellini lead Tottenham to defeat West Ham and Chelsea with the same score of 2-0. Therefore, the fact that he is still on the list of the best coach nominations of the month is controversial. The Premier League homepage explains: "Conte helped Tottenham a lot from afar, making decisions and planning training sessions led by his assistant Stellini. That helped Tottenham win three games and rise to the top. 4".
According to British newspaper Sportmail, Conte still keeps in touch with Stellini during training sessions as well as the preparation process for Tottenham's match. Stellini himself stressed that the Italian coach was "involved in every situation and decision". Conte is expected to share the award with Stellini if honored by the Premier League organizers.
Conte will still be absent, and Stellini will continue to lead Tottenham as a guest of Wolves in the 26th round of the Premier League on March 4. According to Sky Sports, Conte will return from the match against Milan in the second leg of the 1/8 Champions League round on March 8.
The other two candidates competing for the best coach of the month with Conte are Marcos Silva and Erik ten Hag. In particular, Silva and Fulham won Nottingham Forest and Brighton, drew Chelsea and Wolves, conceding only one goal to rise to sixth. Similarly, Man Utd keeps an unbeaten record, when winning Crystal Palace 2-1, Leeds 2-0, Leicester 3-0 and drawing Leeds 2-2. Ten Hag helped the home team rise to third in the Premier League and beat Newcastle 2-0 in the League Cup final to win their first title since 2017.
In the player category, there are six nominees including Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester), Bernd Leno, Manor Solomon (Fulham), Marcus Rashford (Man Utd), Emerson Royal (Tottenham) and Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa). In particular, Rashford is the strongest candidate when he has scored five goals in four matches, including a brace against Leicester and goals against Crystal Palace, Leeds (two games). The English striker has won this individual award three times in January 2019, September 2022 and January 2023.
The organizers also announced two other awards. Candidates for the best goal award include Jeffrey Schlupp (in Crystal Palace vs Man Utd), Brennan Johnson (in Nottingham Forest vs Leeds), Willian (in Fulham vs Nottingham Forest), Nampalys Mendy (in Leicester match) against Tottenham), Kevin De Bruyne (in Man City vs Arsenal), Seamus Coleman (in Everton vs Leeds), Manor Solomon (Fulham vs Wolves), Oliver Skipp (Tottenham vs Chelsea).
Candidates for the title of best save include Kepa Arrizabalaga (before Ricardo Pereira's kick against Fulham), Aaron Ramsdale (Leon Bailey against Aston Villa), Alisson (Miguel Almiron against Newcastle), David De Gea (before John Barnes and Iheanacho's kicks against Leicester), Jordan Pickford (before Ollie Watkins' kick against Aston Villa).
Fans can vote on the Premier League homepage before March 6.
