Ex-Manager watch: Antonio Conte

[GutBucket]

Dropping Sarr for no reason in return CL match against them probably helped his job interview. Just kidding, he's a legend in Seria A and will probably win few trophies with them.

 

[EssexSH27]

Least he’s got that team he always dreamed of with all that history.

Would love to play them next year if that prat is in away dugout.

 

[Arden]

I think initially he was happy to be here. In his first season his touchline reactions and press conferences were completely different to his second season. I think he was promised things that never materialised I think the club pushed players on him he didn't want and refused him the players he did. Now we can all sit here and say it was right not to buy him aging experienced players for high fee's, but I don't believe that is whet he was told when Levy was convincing him to take the job, because if it were he wouldn't have taken it. My opinion is the Summer window he asked for abc and got xyz and he just felt like fuck this it's not what I signed up for. Then he started losing close friends, became ill, and being away from his family, it all just got too much for him until he exploded in that press conference.

He 100% didn't want to be here in those final months, but I don't believe he was unhappy here in that first season he came in.

What I can never understand is why he didn’t walk away then in the Summer.

 

[Trix]

What I can never understand is why he didn’t walk away then in the Summer.

It didn't all happen in the Summer though did it. As far as his losses, it was like a soap opera that went on for months, and every few weeks another one died. I think as the weeks went by it just got worse and worse for everyone especially Conte.

 

[Gassin's finest]

Juve legend and Inter coach managing Milan? Oof.

 

[Japhet]

I just thank God he didn't sign the contract extension that was allegedly on his desk. We'd have either been stuck with him for another stint or would have paid him a fortune to fuck off like we did with Mourinho. Both options would have been horrific.

 

[Styopa]

What I can never understand is why he didn’t walk away then in the Summer.

We finished the previous season very strongly and, in theory at least, we strengthened our squad during the summer: Richarlison, Bissouma and Perisic were seen as exciting signings at the time. People in here were literally talking about competing for the league.

Conte may not have got every signing he wanted but the window wasn’t a total disaster either. Especially as Kulu and Bentancur had joined just six months earlier. And we still had Kane of course. It would have been surprising if Conte had walked that summer.

 

[jonnyp]

Poor Milan fans

 

[BorjeSpurs]

Juve legend and Inter coach managing Milan? Oof.

I think that's just Italian football. The number of players that jump between the top clubs are endless.

 

[ERO]

I think that's just Italian football. The number of players that jump between the top clubs are endless.

Pirlo, Baggio and Zlatan all played for Juve, Inter and Milan to name a few.

 

[Trix]

That makes a fair bit of sense. In my view though it was (or should have been) pretty obvious to literally any manager taking on the spurs job that you have to make some allowances for the fact that you won’t get your preferred transfers every time. I share Conte’s frustrations over the summer 2022 transfer window but he really didn’t help himself by refusing to integrate Bissouma, for example.

I do have sympathy for his personal losses but if that in combination with a disappointing transfer window really was too much for him he should’ve done the honourable thing and stood aside, rather than go into full on self-destruct mode over a period of months (to ensure a payout, let’s be in no doubt about that). Oh well, thank god it’s over. I doubt any half decent PL club would touch him now.

That all depends what you were told prior to taking the job doesn't it, and the Bissouma thing is the biggest myth during the Conte era, he nearly always featured when he was fit.

 

[Tucker]

I think that's just Italian football. The number of players that jump between the top clubs are endless.

Yeah I don’t think they think about rivalry the way we do. Yes there’s rivalry, but having ownership of a player or coach as part of that rivalry doesn’t seem as important.

 

[talkshowhost86]

It's a shame he didn't take over there earlier.

We could have sold him some of the negative players he insisted on playing week in week out.

I wouldn't want to be a creative midfielder at Milan right now.

 

[Thenewcat]

That all depends what you were told prior to taking the job doesn't it, and the Bissouma thing is the biggest myth during the Conte era, he nearly always featured when he was fit.

That depends on what you mean by ‘featured’. He was picked in 21 match day squads by conte but only played an hour or more 7 times. I’m not commenting on whether he was right to do so, but he certainly didn’t make him an integral part of the team or maximise his talent

 

[RuskyM]

Going out on a limb here by suggesting he'll buy a load of players on big wages, still insist he wasn't given enough money, play dour football and then alienate everyone before leaving acrimoniously in about eighteen months.

 

[Styopa]

That depends on what you mean by ‘featured’. He was picked in 21 match day squads by conte but only played an hour or more 7 times. I’m not commenting on whether he was right to do so, but he certainly didn’t make him an integral part of the team or maximise his talent

As you point out, Conte never seemed particularly keen on Bissouma. Maybe Conte would claim Biss never got up to full fitness that season, hence the lack of minutes, even when in the squad; also looking back at his player thread, there seem to be a lot of comments about him playing within himself. Anyway, Something felt off about it all.

 

[parj]

As you point out, Conte never seemed particularly keen on Bissouma. Maybe Conte would claim Biss never got up to full fitness that season, hence the lack of minutes, even when in the squad; also looking back at his player thread, there seem to be a lot of comments about him playing within himself. Anyway, Something felt off about it all.

For me, Biss under Conte was wasted. It was clear he could carry the ball, but most of our players were well within our half last season when he or any midfielder would get the ball. Who do u release it to? It's a sideways or backwards pass. Or the midfielder would get tackled.

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

I think initially he was happy to be here. In his first season his touchline reactions and press conferences were completely different to his second season. I think he was promised things that never materialised I think the club pushed players on him he didn't want and refused him the players he did. Now we can all sit here and say it was right not to buy him aging experienced players for high fee's, but I don't believe that is whet he was told when Levy was convincing him to take the job, because if it were he wouldn't have taken it. My opinion is the Summer window he asked for abc and got xyz and he just felt like fuck this it's not what I signed up for. Then he started losing close friends, became ill, and being away from his family, it all just got too much for him until he exploded in that press conference.

He 100% didn't want to be here in those final months, but I don't believe he was unhappy here in that first season he came in.

All very true however its usually the same cycle with Conte just like with Jose so he was going to always explode and leave in a fury of flames at some point regardless.

 

[Japhet]

For me, Biss under Conte was wasted. It was clear he could carry the ball, but most of our players were well within our half last season when he or any midfielder would get the ball. Who do u release it to? It's a sideways or backwards pass. Or the midfielder would get tackled.

Not forgetting Conte's insistence on playing 2 in midfield when virtually everybody else would put 3 in there. Ours' were pretty much always outnumbered and chasing shadows.

 

[Tucker]

Going out on a limb here by suggesting he'll buy a load of players on big wages, still insist he wasn't given enough money, play dour football and then alienate everyone before leaving acrimoniously in about eighteen months.

Reckon he’ll be lucky to get as much money to spend there as he did while with us. Italian football is skint right now.