Antonio Conte - Now Officially Manager

[JMaher94 1,270]

Expected to be our manager within the next ten days according to Sky Sports News

Happy with that, hopefully he's as good as the last Italian in the dugout here. Welcome Antonio!

[Theafonis 649]

I don't agree with this appointment because I can't see him succeeding in this league. 

 

He's too soft and comforting with his gentle blue eyes. We need a hard man like Simeone to grab the players by the throat and demand them to perform. 

[Sindre 1,307]

I don't agree with this appointment because I can't see him succeeding in this league. 

 

He's too soft and comforting with his gentle blue eyes. We need a hard man like Simeone to grab the players by the throat and demand them to perform. 

 

Everyone that thinks Conte will be too soft will be up for an awakening.

[Uxanga 102]

Don't like the fact that he was hiding in national team football for the last years. He better bloody improves his English.

Edited February 25, 2016 by Uxanga

[carrickblue 4,578]

I'm a bit worried about people's diction at the Bridge - if we get a new song for Conte we'd better pronounce that "o" nice and distinctly.

[Adam 3,944]

Good manager and all that, but he's also an exceptional advert for successful hair transplants.

 

[Uxanga 102]

Good manager and all that, but he's also an exceptional advert for successful hair transplants.

 

He is our Klopp then!

[offside 749]

Don't like the fact that he was hiding in national team football for the last years. He better bloody improves his English.

How is his English? Can he do a press conference in English?

I don't know why anyone thinks he's soft. He has a reputation of being super intense, Jose-like.

[Adam 3,944]

How is his English?

 

Better than several already in the premier league

 

[coco 9,605]

I don't agree with this appointment because I can't see him succeeding in this league. 

 

He's too soft and comforting with his gentle blue eyes. We need a hard man like Simeone to grab the players by the throat and demand them to perform. 

 

Conte doesnt need to grab people, his eyes do all the talking.

[dkw 21,799]

Don't like the fact that he was hiding in national team football for the last years. He better bloody improves his English.

My God the irony.....

[IliyaKrostin 1,676]

I guess welcome him?

[CFC_RFC_TID! 711]

Everyone that thinks Conte will be too soft will be up for an awakening.

This. He's notorious for being extremely intense. Anyone who thinks otherwise should read pirlo's quotes on him from his book

[Eight Times 2,036]

Very excited by this, I've good a good vibe.

[ShedEnder91 1,162]

Had Pirlo's book sitting on a shelf for a while so this provides impetus to finally read it.

 

Conte is about as exciting a prospect as I can imagine for this club right now. Let's be honest, it's hard to muster much enthusiasm when these appointments can feel slightly temporary and there's precedent for people not called Jose to have rather short shelf-lives.

 

But he does tick a lot of boxes. He's rebuilt great clubs before, he's got a style that suits our Kings Rd image, he speaks the language, he can play exciting football but he also plays with intensity and that's something I think we all look back fondly on. The names being thrown around like Nainngolen and Vidal harken back to the days of Essien when we'd overpower teams in the middle and then dance on their lifeless bodies.

 

I know people get bored of formation-talk but that's where part of the excitement is for me. We aren't a great team but we have some great players and they might excel in his team. Courtois, Costa, Fabregas and Hazard are the most irreplaceable players we have and if he does go with either a 352 or even a revised 433 then they can be huge for us. If Conte works to his players strengths then these will be the ones he builds around. 

 

I know that some players have spoken of how relaxed they feel under Guus but I don't think that's where we should be as a club. We should be pushing ourselves every day to be better and everything I've read and heard about Conte suggests that he is a man obsessed with that. I think that's what we want in a coach. 

 

We just need to hope that the club allows him to succeed and that means giving him freedom and backing him.

[Panda 23]

I don't agree with this appointment because I can't see him succeeding in this league. 

 

He's too soft and comforting with his gentle blue eyes. We need a hard man like Simeone to grab the players by the throat and demand them to perform. 

He's pretty much the opposite of soft. He's uber-intense, to the extent that one of the main criticisms of him at Juve was that he needed to bring down the intensity levels a notch.

[g3.7 2,847]

Would like this appointment, he's a very smart, very flexible coach.

I don't think we can really talk about his transfer work but increasingly that's a non factor in football and at the club- Jose was a break from that but I'm guessing we'll revert to the type of transfer work before him (for good and bad). I'm sure conte will ask for one or two specifically and surely the club will acquiesce to that.

Speaks English better than I thought.

This is also good because I'm not a fab of allegri and while I do like pellegrini I don't think the job he's done at city is all that impressive and the message signing a manager discarded by our rivals in a season where we finish mid table would not be encouraging.

P.s. I don't see us having the type of center backs to play his 352. Christensen and maybe jt aside.

[ShedEnder91 1,162]

P.s. I don't see us having the type of center backs to play his 352. Christensen and maybe jt aside.

 

I agree, but the problem is we don't really have the centre-backs to play 433 or 442 either. JT's off, Zouma's on one leg and that leaves Cahill and Ivanovic (Miazga is an unknown quantity). We also don't have the midfielders to play a dynamic 433 or 352 either.

 

Point is that we need to add to the squad whatever happens which gives Conte a certain amount of freedom to do what he wants.

[evissy 3,613]

Not signed yet but I like this appointment if it happens. Italian blood back at the bridge. Conte is far from soft as much as I know him.

I also remember him as a player. Not a flashy player but an important one to Juve.

I actually prefer him over Simeone. I hope he has the balls to break some of the barriers we have in this club regarding instant success. I mean he could play all youngster side in league cup and things like that.

Btw have read the Pirlo-book and he had some great words of Conte. Huge fan of Pirlo so this makes me think it is a good idea as well. Maybe he can get out of Cesc what he got out of Pirlo.

Edited February 26, 2016 by evissy

[Bobbywoodhogan 10,468]

I know next to nothing about him tbh

[TheChelseaBlues 1,831]

My God the irony.....

Lol beat me to it

[Malcolm9 146]

Conte would be a great appointment personally, his tactics and style would suit us and he would surely be given the backing to bring in a few players to strengthen the team in the right areas.

 

I think he can get us back to where we need to be going forward.

[Blueblur 5,000]

Conte sounds like a hard task-master. What he said to Buffon when he interrupted the team meeting to talk about bonuses is hilarious! 

[Zola 10,255]

Hope he's not a right Conte to work for

Boooom

[Womble 554]

He'll be our 5th Italien manager if his half has good as the previous goodfellas then i'll be quite happy...