The Conte Thread

[Magic Lamps 11,449]

what we need is a manager to see us through the huge transition this club is going through. For the next few years we are going to be like the Milan teams. 10, 15 years of mediocrity again until we are back where we were 2005-2015. We used to have some not so good squads then too but we always had that leadership, that winning mentality, that edge in the players that always got us CL qualification + the odd trophy.

Conte's title was a masterstroke especially given the players the board gave him. But it somehow threw us back in this transition because the board obviously thought we could carry on like this and not upgrade the squad anymore and now we got a squad without an identity. Are we a defensive team? well we are not really good at that anymore, are we a counter attacking team? we can't play out a counter attack to save our life? we got no midfield to be either, our strikers are misfiring and we got a manager who knows fuck all about how to deal with this situation. What we need is someone who backs youth, who knows how to bring the best out of them, who freezes out the deadwood, who finds a new strategy, a new formation, brings out the best in the qualtiy we have left. knows how to deal with the board and does so on a budget. That guy is not Conte. LvG actually did a similar thing at Bayern but I don't think he got it in him anymore + he's an ass.

[Alabama 1,992]

5 minutes ago, MrExcalibur100 said:

I couldn't agree more with the bolded part. 

another frustrating aspect of his game is the tactics and game management...its been a period of eon now that this fucking 343 formation is nothing to write home about...we have fucking shit wing backs why insistence on 343...that is why we rely heavily on the front to produce some magic even they are having off days...try something that wont expose our weakness...I aint a fan of this 343 bullshit anymore...

[Alabama 1,992]

3 minutes ago, Magic Lamps said:

what we need is a manager to see us through the huge transition this club is going through. For the next few years we are going to be like the Milan teams. 10, 15 years of mediocrity again until we are back where we were 2005-2015. We used to have some not so good squads then too but we always had that leadership, that winning mentality, that edge in the players that always got us CL qualification + the odd trophy.

Conte's title was a masterstroke especially given the players the board gave him. But it somehow threw us back in this transition because the board obviously thought we could carry on like this and not upgrade the squad anymore and now we got a squad without an identity. Are we a defensive team? well we are not really good at that anymore, are we a counter attacking team? we can't play out a counter attack to save our life? we got no midfield to be either, our strikers are misfiring and we got a manager who knows fuck all about how to deal with this situation. What we need is someone who backs youth, who knows how to bring the best out of them, who freezes out the deadwood, who finds a new strategy, a new formation, brings out the best in the qualtiy we have left. knows how to deal with the board and does so on a budget. That guy is not Conte. LvG actually did a similar thing at Bayern but I don't think he got it in him anymore + he's an ass.

I dont even care at this point...just get a manager not afraid of going toe to toe against the big teams....and play proper attacking football....not using piss poor wingbacks in moses and alonso...

[OneMoSalah 8,614]

21 minutes ago, Belgiannutt said:

What are you talking about ? False 9 ? Just stick Giroud up top instead of Morata ? That would have been a more logical choice if Conte actually wanted to change our attack and actually go for the win. 

Also could you tell me what Willian did in the second half that gave you the impression he was gonna score or create ? Both Hazard and Willian faded in the second half. 

I remember Willian losing the ball several times 5-10 minutes prior to the Pedro-Hazard substitution. He looked knackered at that point imo.

Well people keep banging on about subbing Morata instead of Hazard so for Pedro to come on for them it would of meant a false 9? Although I agree Giroud should of come on earlier yes and Cesc also should have come on a lot earlier but regardless of who should have come on and who shouldn't have the way I'm looking at it is, Willian in the last 2 games today and against Barca has looked better and much more decisive than Hazard. He looked tired too but I think it was the right move to keep him on as he was more lively and I'd imagine the chances of him scoring/assisting second half were higher than Eden and fair enough he lost the ball a lot more but he was our best player again and to be fair to him in the last wee while has been in better form. Would you honestly have taken Willian off if it was Willian or Hazard for Pedro? Not a chance. If Pedro came on and had a positive impact nobody would say anything. Hazard's disappearing act in a huge match wouldn't be mentioned either. Lets face it Hazard was anonymous, shit, whatever other word you want to put in, in the second half. 

Maybe Conte settled for a draw maybe not with the sub, my problem is as well people keep bringing up stupid stats about dribbles and key passes like they are vital to who gets subbed or who shouldn't get subbed (I reckon 75% of those stats he picked up in the first half too), regardless of performance, the only thing vital in terms of statistics is the score in the top left of the television screen and we lost today because we conceded two shit goals, played an overall poor second half after being more than good enough first half, not because we subbed our best player who was under performing while it was 1-1. United came out second half and were quicker all over the pitch than we were. People complaining about one little substitute, when in all fairness like I've said its not like Hazard was playing excellently or warranting not to be substituted. 

Not even surprised anymore that it is more Hazard FC than Chelsea FC. Conte thread as well, just would like to say that the manager always trumps players. 

[Belgiannutt 3,201]

2 minutes ago, OneMoSalah said:

Well people keep banging on about subbing Morata instead of Hazard so for Pedro to come on for them it would of meant a false 9? Although I agree Giroud should of come on earlier yes and Cesc also should have come on a lot earlier but regardless of who should have come on and who shouldn't have the way I'm looking at it is, Willian in the last 2 games today and against Barca has looked better and much more decisive than Hazard. He looked tired too but I think it was the right move to keep him on as he was more lively and I'd imagine the chances of him scoring/assisting second half were higher than Eden and fair enough he lost the ball a lot more but he was our best player again and to be fair to him in the last wee while has been in better form. Would you honestly have taken Willian off if it was Willian or Hazard for Pedro? Not a chance. If Pedro came on and had a positive impact nobody would say anything. Hazard's disappearing act in a huge match wouldn't be mentioned either. Lets face it Hazard was anonymous, shit, whatever other word you want to put in, in the second half. 

Maybe Conte settled for a draw maybe not with the sub, my problem is as well people keep bringing up stupid stats about dribbles and key passes like they are vital to who gets subbed or who shouldn't get subbed (I reckon 75% of those stats he picked up in the first half too), regardless of performance, the only thing vital in terms of statistics is the score in the top left of the television screen and we lost today because we conceded two shit goals, played an overall poor second half after being more than good enough first half, not because we subbed our best player who was under performing while it was 1-1. United came out second half and were quicker all over the pitch than we were. People complaining about one little substitute, when in all fairness like I've said its not like Hazard was playing excellently or warranting not to be substituted. 

Not even surprised anymore that it is more Hazard FC than Chelsea FC.

Again in what way was he more lively in the second half ? I really would like you to tell me. Between the start of the second half and the Pedro-Hazard sub what did Willian do ? I can only remember that one shot that went wide. What chances did he create ?

Like i said Willian looked knackered to me and was starting to lose the ball a lot 5-10 minutes or so before the sub. So yes i would have taken Willian off. Although i would have also hauled Morata off at halftime and played Giroud.

Hazard really wasn't as bad as you're making him out to be.  

Conte clearly settled for a draw. 

The problem with the substitution is that it unveiled the mindset that Conte had. Settling for a draw. That's what's pissing people off. 

We didn't go for the win, we settled. Only when we went behind did he decide to bring on more attacking players. Reactive, as always too late.

[Azpinator 2,325]

My issue with Conte's choices is not subbing Hazard, but leaving Alonso there who offered almost nothing. Emerson should have had a chance in my opinion since he can't be any worse. Hell, I'd even put Zappacosta there!

[OneMoSalah 8,614]

26 minutes ago, Belgiannutt said:

Again in what way was he more lively in the second half ? I really would like you to tell me. Between the start of the second half and the Pedro-Hazard sub what did Willian do ? I can only remember that one shot that went wide. What chances did he create ?

Like i said Willian looked knackered to me and was starting to lose the ball a lot 5-10 minutes or so before the sub. So yes i would have taken Willian off. Although i would have also hauled Morata off at halftime and played Giroud.

Hazard really wasn't as bad as you're making him out to be.  

Conte clearly settled for a draw. 

The problem with the substitution is that it unveiled the mindset that Conte had. Settling for a draw. That's what's pissing people off. 

We didn't go for the win, we settled. Only when we went behind did he decide to bring on more attacking players. Reactive, as always too late.

He had a few shots, was always willing to take people on, maybe he overdone it at times, maybe not but he always was more likely to do something than Eden was in the second half, where we were quite poor in comparison to the first half. Eden took the easy option almost every time.

"Hazard really wasn't as bad as you're making him out to be?" He vanished again in the second half of the second big match we've played in the space of maybe a week... he 'wasn't that bad', ok mate, if he played like he did in the first half in the second half I could see why you'd say that but he didn't, he was anonymous. Its a bit of a recurring theme in some matches, when we play good hes outstanding but when it gets a bit tougher he can fold, fair enough everyone can at times but his ability seems to buy him a lot of slack, when we play badly so many other players get criticised but when anybody tries to say anything about Hazard its too far or stupid or its not his fault its the managers fault etc. I'm just as much of a fan of him as anybody but nobody is immune to criticism, nobody is far too good that when they don't play well that they don't deserve to be criticised. Christensen has made 2 or 3 mistakes in the space of 2 games, although hes had a very good season but still people have said (myself included) that they were his errors. People pointing out Hazard disappearing/playing poorly or calling him a back heel merchant and it becomes fucking DEFCON 1. In contrast saying Gary Cahill or Marcos Alonso had a decent game and its "what the fuck are you on about?"

Tbf the way that second half was going, if we could of gotten 1-1, fair enough. First half we should of scored more, Morata was unlucky with that chance that hit the bar and also in second half he wasn't offside but this issue has been affecting the team for a while, we never kill teams off or get that crucial second goal, 1-0 up we concede the equaliser but we were much better than United in the first half. United probably went in at the break lucky that they were still in the match but then they came out a different proposition all together. Even in the past in big games, we could play shit and still win because big personalities like Drogba, Terry, Lampard, these leaders on the pitch knew how to help the team and to grind out poor periods of matches. I don't see anyone in our team in that mould. If we got the 1-1 after that second half it would be that's actually not that bad, lets be honest because we didn't follow up our first half performance. Mourinho used to do it for years when he was here in PL and Europe. Conte isn't spectacular with his subs I'll agree and was surprised with Drinkwater inclusion today but thought that generally over his time here he has got the bigger calls right, maybe not as often this season but generally in his time as a whole, we've done alright in that regard to when to close up a game or when not to. Its a weird one though, 75 mins in at Old Trafford, 1-1, you've been outplayed since HT, I'd of preferred to see Giroud come on maybe and go a bit more direct but again Pedro's a good option on the counter too.He could of done any and if the result was the same, forum would meltdown.  

[El P. 1,354]

Good first XI. I'm not even mad at starting Morata, good thing he wanted to start with striker in this one. But terrible subs. Timing, players, everything. Giroud should have been sent in action earlier, at least after hour-mark at 60' with 1-1 on the scoreboard. If that didn't help and we still conceded that goal for 2-1, send Fabregas for Drinky and Pedro for Moses immediately. Disappointed.

It seems like Conte always learns, but very often it happens too late. Better late than never? Not in this year's Premier League, late is not good enough.

[Alabama 1,992]

52 minutes ago, Azpinator said:

My issue with Conte's choices is not subbing Hazard, but leaving Alonso there who offered almost nothing. Emerson should have had a chance in my opinion since he can't be any worse. Hell, I'd even put Zappacosta there!

another side of conte team management I couldnt comprehend...Emerson offers attacking quality than Alonso..

[Irakozium257 350]

He keeps on doing pathetic stuff hoping for different results. Alonso, oh how I hate that degenerate, keeps getting selected,  3 at the back, which is more obsolete than the use of Latin and Autotune, using a weak-minded Morata when we have a physical Giroud etc.etc. PS there was nothing special about his tactics against Barça. Bournemouth used the same basic tactics against us. 

The overall squad quality isn't worse than Liverpool's or Spuds'. I f**king hate him and the way he's dragging the club  down while so many naively make him some kind of martyr because of the board. Yes we definitely need to buy more quality to compete against the likea of Real, PSG, Barça, City, Bayern, but come on!! Liverpool and Spuds' overall squads are not f**king better than ours.  Most fans are blinded by his empty and superficial charisma. Hell, someone like Mark Hughes or Chris Hughton would do much better with this squad. F**k him!!!!! 

[Footballover 222]

7 minutes ago, Irakozium257 said:

He keeps on doing pathetic stuff hoping for different results. Alonso, oh how I hate that degenerate, keeps getting selected,  3 at the back, which is more obsolete than the use of Latin and Autotune, using a weak-minded Morata when we have a physical Giroud etc.etc. PS there was nothing special about his tactics against Barça. Bournemouth used the same basic tactics against us. 

The overall squad quality isn't worse than Liverpool's or Spuds'. I f**king hate him and the way he's dragging the club  down while so many naively make him some kind of martyr because of the board. Yes we definitely need to buy more quality to compete against the likea of Real, PSG, Barça, City, Bayern, but come on!! Liverpool and Spuds' overall squads are not f**king better than ours.  Most fans are blinded by his empty and superficial charisma. Hell, someone like Mark Hughes or Chris Hughton would do much better with this squad. F**k him!!!!! 

[It's too big 625]

The thing is, managers very often never go more than 2-3 years, so it doesn't matter who we bring in, their ideas will likely grow tiresome after that time span and we'll need to bring in a new manager. It isn't so much the manager, but Roman needs to decide what kind of football he wants and find a successful coach who can implement that style. After that manager leaves, we can focus on bringing in another coach with a similar mindset who can work with the players we buy. We would need to buy more technically proficient players too, which is welcomed highly by me. 

[Azpinator 2,325]

44 minutes ago, Irakozium257 said:

He keeps on doing pathetic stuff hoping for different results. Alonso, oh how I hate that degenerate, keeps getting selected,  3 at the back, which is more obsolete than the use of Latin and Autotune, using a weak-minded Morata when we have a physical Giroud etc.etc. PS there was nothing special about his tactics against Barça. Bournemouth used the same basic tactics against us. 

The overall squad quality isn't worse than Liverpool's or Spuds'. I f**king hate him and the way he's dragging the club  down while so many naively make him some kind of martyr because of the board. Yes we definitely need to buy more quality to compete against the likea of Real, PSG, Barça, City, Bayern, but come on!! Liverpool and Spuds' overall squads are not f**king better than ours.  Most fans are blinded by his empty and superficial charisma. Hell, someone like Mark Hughes or Chris Hughton would do much better with this squad. F**k him!!!!! 

For me, I'm not blinded by his charisma, I'm satisfied with having 7 shots on target away from home in a big match. That's something Mourinho almost never does, let alone Hughes or Hughton. I think you are exaggerating way too much.

[OneMoSalah 8,614]

29 minutes ago, It's too big said:

The thing is, managers very often never go more than 2-3 years, so it doesn't matter who we bring in, their ideas will likely grow tiresome after that time span and we'll need to bring in a new manager. It isn't so much the manager, but Roman needs to decide what kind of football he wants and find a successful coach who can implement that style. After that manager leaves, we can focus on bringing in another coach with a similar mindset who can work with the players we buy. We would need to buy more technically proficient players too, which is welcomed highly by me. 

100% but even then the club has to compete financially with the bigger clubs again in order to really progress, regardless of the coach or style. The transfer markets so inflated now a days 40m gets you Bakayoko, 5 years ago 40m got you Ozil or Sanchez etc so we cannot afford to dilly dally about penny pinching for the more established players if they are what we need or the coach wants. I generally hope Conte gets another summer and season to try and fix the problems we have and try another title challenge because he has shown that he can build a team like he did at Juventus. More technically proficient players would be a bonus as well, although Id still like to see us get another one or two bigger athletic players who have a pretty good technical skill set as well, Matic's been a huge loss and today showed that big time.  

[Pizy 17,860]

Much as I love Conte and wish he could stay for a few more years and build something, I think it's pretty clear that he'll see out the season and then walk. He's got far too much professional pride to just give up now, but it's clear there's something missing that he had last season. Gives off the impression that he's just waiting for it all to be over with so he can go to a club that suits his methods more.

Really sucks because I don't trust the club to appoint the right man to replace him. It'll probably be the clubs biggest transfer window in years and the favorite to come in is the unproven Luis Enrique. Hazard ain't sticking around and wasting another of his prime years playing in the Europa League. So imagine a new managers task of taking over for yet another rebuild without our best player while doing so when the other top clubs are getting stronger and stronger.

I truly fear for us.

[Fulham Broadway 16,392]

Oy vey, Bring back Uncle Avram.

[Laylabelle 9,296]

9 minutes ago, Fulham Broadway said:

Oy vey, Bring back Uncle Avram.

Yeahhhh let's not to there yet haha. Though in fairness to him was one kick away from the Champions league... 

[Jase 43,479]

16 minutes ago, Fulham Broadway said:

Oy vey, Bring back Uncle Avram.

Big Phil is available too, by the way.