nferno
Waiting for England to finally win the Euros-2024?
- Jan 7, 2007
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- 10,188
Ex-Manager watch: Antonio Conte
- Thread starter TheTanguy
- Start date
Gb160
Well done boys. Good process
- Jun 20, 2012
- 23,702
- 93,535
'grazie' i think.
CoopsieDeadpool
Well-Known Member
- Jun 8, 2012
- 18,257
- 70,419
Nope. Notice the scene that immediately follows it.
Winks walking into the dining area.
Someone clearly warning Conte about the grass.
rossdapep
Well-Known Member
- Aug 25, 2011
- 22,405
- 80,690
I don't know if it was mentioned before but I had seen some concerns about Conte's buys at Chelsea.
I couldn't remember why exactly Conte fell out with the squad/board at Chelsea, So I did some snooping.
In his last summer Chelsea spent huge sums on Morata, Drinkwater and Bakayoko plus Barkley in January, these players massively flopped at Chelsea which gave the impression Conte wasted loads of money. However, I discovered that none of these were in fact players he wanted.
He wanted Kane, not Morata, but I also seem to recall he wanted Lukaku but United were willing to pay the fee and Chelsea weren't.
It all seemed to start when he decided Diego Costa needed to be sold. Again, this wasn't actually his fault and was because Costa had been saying he wanted to go chase money in China or go back to Atletico, all in the midst of a title race. As soon as Chelsea won the title, Conte wanted to move on and text Costa telling him he was done at Chelsea and would be moved on.
Unfortunately, the Chelsea board did not see it the same and wanted Costa to stay. Costa didn't appreciate the text, even though her been asking for it, neither did Willian and players close to Costa. Despite Conte doing the right thing for the team.
I think this is when the Chelsea board started going against Conte's calls and started buying players against his wishes. I seem to recall him complaining about it a lot.
Hopefully Conte has learnt from that and will just allow Paratici to do the axing should he want players out.
But it certainly shows that Conte won't accept uncommitted players and that Chelsea's board were more in the wrong in this instance rather than Conte kicking off for no reason and wasting money.
I couldn't remember why exactly Conte fell out with the squad/board at Chelsea, So I did some snooping.
In his last summer Chelsea spent huge sums on Morata, Drinkwater and Bakayoko plus Barkley in January, these players massively flopped at Chelsea which gave the impression Conte wasted loads of money. However, I discovered that none of these were in fact players he wanted.
He wanted Kane, not Morata, but I also seem to recall he wanted Lukaku but United were willing to pay the fee and Chelsea weren't.
It all seemed to start when he decided Diego Costa needed to be sold. Again, this wasn't actually his fault and was because Costa had been saying he wanted to go chase money in China or go back to Atletico, all in the midst of a title race. As soon as Chelsea won the title, Conte wanted to move on and text Costa telling him he was done at Chelsea and would be moved on.
Unfortunately, the Chelsea board did not see it the same and wanted Costa to stay. Costa didn't appreciate the text, even though her been asking for it, neither did Willian and players close to Costa. Despite Conte doing the right thing for the team.
I think this is when the Chelsea board started going against Conte's calls and started buying players against his wishes. I seem to recall him complaining about it a lot.
Hopefully Conte has learnt from that and will just allow Paratici to do the axing should he want players out.
But it certainly shows that Conte won't accept uncommitted players and that Chelsea's board were more in the wrong in this instance rather than Conte kicking off for no reason and wasting money.
That was such a terrible window from Chelsea & they paid for it. It’s incredible to think the amount of money they wasted on that window only to spend more to correct it. I remember Conte getting alot of shit for that but i think his minimal usage of some of them proved his point. I think that was a window of a pissed off, completely disconnected board showing whose boss. And, given the quality of them, it’s not a shock they failed. The structure here should be different with Levy apparently largely leaving it to Paratici. We’ll see.
hellava_tough
Well-Known Member
- Apr 21, 2005
- 9,429
- 12,383
Yeah, the board didn't really support him during this time, especially with the Costa saga.
But Conte wanting Kane? Surely he knew that was never going to happen.
spursfan77
Well-Known Member
- Aug 13, 2005
- 46,701
- 105,003
Unfortunately we know that is going to happen. It’s just a question of when.
spids
Well-Known Member
- Jul 19, 2015
- 6,647
- 27,841
Hopefully having both a respected DoF and a world class manager who is notorious for causing a stink if he is not backed will stop Levy refusing to go a little bit higher to get a player we want. Im thinking of Grealish (when we wouldn’t go a couple of million higher as we thought they were screwed when he would still have been a massive bargain. Im also thinking of Mane and Winaldjum.
Spurslove
Well-Known Member
- Jul 6, 2012
- 6,627
- 9,281
You nailed it there, and with Fabio and Conte working together, all the problems Conte experienced at Chelsea as described above will not re-occur this time. When a club buys players without the Managers approval, they invite utter disaster.
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KaribYid
Well-Known Member
- Jul 2, 2012
- 1,311
- 7,857
Yup. He really just needs to set the budget and let Fab and Conte get on with it. He needs to refrain from giving his opinions on players and what they're worth or who we already have in the squad. Once a signing is within budget, he needs to give the football management free rein.
DarwinSpur
Well-Known Member
- Dec 30, 2020
- 6,019
- 10,625
The unbridled sense of optimism and faith on display in this thread simultaneously warms the cockles of my heart and fills me with a sense of existential dread.
Guernman
Well-Known Member
- Aug 24, 2013
- 1,533
- 7,918
I've said this before, but I can see Levy now leaving player targets and incoming transfers down to Conte and Paratici and giving them a budget to work with.
But where I see this blowing up is when it comes to outgoings. And I think this was the problem with previous managers and the crux of the issue I have with Levy.
It won't take long for Conte to realise, just as Poch and Jose did before him, that some of our players need to be axed for the good of the squad. But if (or when...) he wants to get rid of Dier, or Winks or Dele for example, this is when Levy starts digging in on unrealistic valuations.
It doesn't matter that Dele cost £5 million or whatever it was, Levy will be anchored to the fact that at one point he was considered a potential £100 million talent. Winks and Dier as homegrown and, until recently, key players for England must also be worth a premium price etc, etc.... Of course they can go Antonio, provided a reasonble bid comes in...
Player acquisitions are investments with potential upside, sometimes massive upside, and that's why Levy loves player acquisitions and always has. He has actually never been shy to splash the cash, (Traore aside). But, and this is the big BUT, getting him to sell players for what he deems a loss is like pulling teeth. This is where our transfer policy and squad management has always floundered.
Conte will expect players who don't meet his demanding standards to be out of the picture, no questions asked. This is even more important than who we bring in because his whole ethos demands we get rid of any bad apples. It doesn't matter what the financial cost to the club, every player must be on board or out.
It was the bad apples that undid Poch and Jose. Mourinho may have been past it, but he still knows more about football and players than Levy ever will. You just know that he would have been insisting that the likes of Winks and Alli be moved on at any cost, and you just know that the calculation going on inside Levy's head would have been, if I can get another manager to bring the best out of these players then I will be saving tens of millions.
So yes, Levy has always been willing to back his managers with player purchases, these are investments and that aligns with his DNA. But for him to really back Conte, and the thing we need him to do to prevent Conte blowing up and walking out, is to be prepared to jettison any player Conte demands at whatever the cost to the club or the imaginary loss based upon Levy's dream valuations. Cancel and buy out his contract if need be, but that is what will be required if this is to be a happy marriage.
My great concern is that this goes so completely against the grain for our dear Daniel.
But where I see this blowing up is when it comes to outgoings. And I think this was the problem with previous managers and the crux of the issue I have with Levy.
It won't take long for Conte to realise, just as Poch and Jose did before him, that some of our players need to be axed for the good of the squad. But if (or when...) he wants to get rid of Dier, or Winks or Dele for example, this is when Levy starts digging in on unrealistic valuations.
It doesn't matter that Dele cost £5 million or whatever it was, Levy will be anchored to the fact that at one point he was considered a potential £100 million talent. Winks and Dier as homegrown and, until recently, key players for England must also be worth a premium price etc, etc.... Of course they can go Antonio, provided a reasonble bid comes in...
Player acquisitions are investments with potential upside, sometimes massive upside, and that's why Levy loves player acquisitions and always has. He has actually never been shy to splash the cash, (Traore aside). But, and this is the big BUT, getting him to sell players for what he deems a loss is like pulling teeth. This is where our transfer policy and squad management has always floundered.
Conte will expect players who don't meet his demanding standards to be out of the picture, no questions asked. This is even more important than who we bring in because his whole ethos demands we get rid of any bad apples. It doesn't matter what the financial cost to the club, every player must be on board or out.
It was the bad apples that undid Poch and Jose. Mourinho may have been past it, but he still knows more about football and players than Levy ever will. You just know that he would have been insisting that the likes of Winks and Alli be moved on at any cost, and you just know that the calculation going on inside Levy's head would have been, if I can get another manager to bring the best out of these players then I will be saving tens of millions.
So yes, Levy has always been willing to back his managers with player purchases, these are investments and that aligns with his DNA. But for him to really back Conte, and the thing we need him to do to prevent Conte blowing up and walking out, is to be prepared to jettison any player Conte demands at whatever the cost to the club or the imaginary loss based upon Levy's dream valuations. Cancel and buy out his contract if need be, but that is what will be required if this is to be a happy marriage.
My great concern is that this goes so completely against the grain for our dear Daniel.
spids
Well-Known Member
- Jul 19, 2015
- 6,647
- 27,841
I am so disinterested in International football that I had not realised the 2nd England, Denmark, and Northern Ireland games are on Monday and thus Kane, Højbjerg, Doherty will be back with us on Tues for what is pretty much a full week of training. England U21 and France play on Tuesday so Skipp and Lloris will be back Weds. Argentina vs Brazil is also on Tuesday so realistically Romero, Lo Celso and Emerson back in training on Thursday. Son playing Tuesday in Iraq of all places (having recently played in Iran and Syria).
It has worked out well we're playing at 16:30 in Sunday as the players will have a decent few days training at HW with Conte.
It has worked out well we're playing at 16:30 in Sunday as the players will have a decent few days training at HW with Conte.
CanadaSpurs
Well-Known Member
- Aug 14, 2013
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Is Son playing? I thought he got hurt (again).
bat-chain
Well-Known Member
- Jan 4, 2009
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And he was in Newcastle just a few weeks ago, Son Heung-min vs the axis of evil.
Spurslove
Well-Known Member
- Jul 6, 2012
- 6,627
- 9,281
That's all fine and good, except none of it may be true. We know how the club has been run these past 20 years but let's be honest, we've never had a DoF like Fabio and I don't think Levy has ever effectively relinquished his responsibility to buy players off his own bat. Yes, he may well have set Fabio a budget, but the idea behind bringing him in in the first place place was so that he (Levy) could step away from the footballing side of the business and leave that to someone who actually knows something about football.
We've already seen the immediate financial effects of that change in the clubs' structure, with the Anthony Joshua fight, an upcoming Ariana Grande concert and some NFL games coming our way too.
I'm not expecting a massive window this January, but come summer I think we're going to go a bit bonkers. We need to be seriously challenging once again for the title and we're nowhere near it with this current squad.
I also feel preliminary discussions have already been taking place between Fabio and Conte regarding who he wants to come in and who needs to be upgraded. If we can grab a top 6 place by May, that might just about be acceptable but next season, I'm expecting and hoping we'll be kicking on.
Of course, none of that might be true either.
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Archibald-CPH
Well-Known Member
- Mar 15, 2005
- 961
- 1,006
Comolli and Arnesen springs to mind.. they are defintely up thereThat's all fine and good, except none of it may be true. We know how the club has been run these past 20 years but let's be honest, we've never had a DoF like Fabio and I don't think Levy has ever effectively relinquished his responsibility to buy players off his own bat. Yes, he may well have set Fabio a budget, but the idea behind bringing him in in the first place place was so that he (Levy) could step away from the footballing side of the business and leave that to someone who actually knows something about football.
We've already seen the immediate financial effects of that change in the clubs' structure, with the Anthony Joshua fight, an upcoming Ariana Grande concert and some NFL games coming our way too.
I'm not expecting a massive window this January, but come summer I think we're going to go a bit bonkers. We need to be seriously challenging once again for the title and we're nowhere near it with this current squad.
I also feel preliminary discussions have already been taking place between Fabio and Conte regarding who he wants to come in and who needs to be upgraded. If we can grab a top 6 place by May, that might just about be acceptable but next season, I'm expecting and hoping we'll be kicking on.
Of course, none of that might be true either.
.
spids
Well-Known Member
- Jul 19, 2015
- 6,647
- 27,841
I am not sure Commolli ever got to bring in his own manager. And Arnesen was not around for long enough for us to find out once Jol was in the hot seat.
Johno1470
The worst thing about prison was the dementors
- Aug 6, 2018
- 1,030
- 4,865
This was a genuine concern for me prior to the summer transfer window but we sold the following or let them go for free.
Gazzaniga - contract expired
Rose - contract expired
Aurier - contract terminated
Sissoko - sold for £3million (Source - BBC)
Toby - sold (transfer fee varies from different sources £3-£13million.
Lamela - he was sold to Sevilla in an exchange plus £21.6mill for Bryan Gil. Depending on what you value Gil, Lamela essentially went for peanuts.
It was evident in the summer we were willing to cut our losses and not just renew a players contract for the sake of it. We did a great job in the summer to start clearing the deadwood. All of the above plus trying to sell the likes of Winks, Alli and Moura in a market where money was tight would have been pretty unrealistic.
Spurslove
Well-Known Member
- Jul 6, 2012
- 6,627
- 9,281
Not sure either man was given the reins anything like what Fabio has, and as our friend said, Arnesen wasn't here 5 minutes before Chelsea tapped him up (and that incidentally, so I've heard, is the real reason why to this day, Levy refuses to do any business with them and good on him for that).
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