fishhhandaricecake
Well-Known Member
- Nov 15, 2018
- 19,543
- 48,826
You're so spot on here mate. Us Italians are easily pleased mate, there may be some emotional up and down immediate reactions to certain things but that will usually cool off and reality will set in but honesty is always the n.o1 thing.
Obviously everyone is different and there is not really one set rule but my Nonna is literally from the same area in Italy that Conte grew up in (Lecce) in Puglia and it is quite an Italian trait imo especially from that Southernly region to communicate quite directly and to really value honesty.
I think some people misunderstand Conte if they've not followed him deeply they perceive that he's hot headed and walks out on clubs and never wants to stay a long time etc, that is not exactly the case, if the circumstances are right and he is given the backing and control that he has asked for and that doesn't change then for sure I think it is not unreasonable for him to want to stay at a club for a good 3-4 seasons. I don't think he will ever be a Ferguson type to spend 5-10-20 years at one club because once he's scratched an itch so to speak and built a team up and won something against difficult odds then he might try to win one more thing or better what he's previously won but generally there will come a point where he will seek a new challenge as he enjoys the building process because the 'hard work' that goes into that then means if/when he does win it is far more satisfactory.
Thanks for sharing the inside info about us being up front with him about the money we had to work with and that he's not been demanding world class superstars, that absolutely doesn't surprise me at all, as you've even said before Conte wants players with a very specific physical and technical skillset as well as strong mentality and willingness to work hard and run and fight so quite a few 'superstars' actually won't interest him. And again great to hear he isn't the 'diva you expected him to be' but again this is a media portrayal of him which is slightly inaccurate.
I actually think he will work well and be good for Levy because as much as Levy tries to portray the tough negotiator act it is clear that he is also ambitious and to an extent caring and tries to understand but I think a big issue previously with other managers and DofF set-ups has been two things:
1) Managers haven't been honest enough and strong enough with Levy and/or if they have he has overruled them because he retained a lot of the say in terms of the football decision making
2) Apart from possibly Jose and at times Poch, I don't believe Levy has fully believed in a manager being 'The one' to realise the ambition he has set out. We know that Jose plays all sorts of games and will lie through his teeth at times and Poch was very stubborn so neither of those things actually are helpful when dealing with Levy, Levy needs to work with strong characters who will tell him how it is but ones who he respects enough to trust their decisions.
So when you then add Paratici to this mix who has achieved so much success at Juve and add the fan pressure etc well Levy now has the perfect recipe to hand over far more control to the manager and DofF set-up and hence we now have a better chance than ever to achieve success on the pitch.
That is my take on it all anyway.
