Thetownend.com

Paolo is and will remain a legend to me and it disheartens me to see the vitriol poured his way in certain quarters by our own red kith and kin.

Do you foresee a chance for him at West Ham as the situation could not be more ripe (next manager market might be worth a tickle) for a glorious return - and if anyone can sort out the languidness that has set in at the Boleyn Ground it's Signor Di Canio.

For my tuppence, I think the hatchet job done on him by the mass media, re: politics re: authoritarian approach, has sullied any likelihood of a top flight job. I think he is waiting in the wings for a whiff of an opportunity in East London but otherwise it's just not going to happen elsewhere.

He can talk ten to the dozen in fractured English but I wonder if speaking in his native tongue he is rendered more eloquent and punctual in his prognostications, or is he equally as stream-of-consciousness, bordering upon lunatic, devil-may-care-for-the-consequences attitude. I mention this because he may be deemed in Serie A/B circles as an utter liability as much as he is over here.

I think the only fit would be an eccentric chairman taking a roll of the dice in the last chance saloon.

Cue comments of "he's yesterday's news".

Gold and Sullivan wouldn't touch him with a barge pole.

But down the line one idiotic desperate moron of a chairman will take the chance and it will end sooner than it starts

Yeh Fitton

I think Gold's Jewishness (or, more so, the expectation among his co-religionists that he will shun Di Canio as a possible successor because of the Italian's "fascist" tag) is a big big obstacle to the potential appointment.

If I was his agent I'd be punting him around Major League Soccer, particularly among the teams with a staunch Italian origin fanbase. You heard it here first

Not gonna lie, i think hes a bit of a cunt

 :pint: :pint:  :popcorn: :pint:

That's what some knee jerk reactionists said about Hoddle when he jumped ship. You'll mellow with age, and further still, Paolo will be very fondly reminisced about in Tans-Towers in years' to come. Depend upon it.

I doubt it, he hasnt got DD tits and a shaven snatch

I really don't care. Which is why I'm bothering to tell you all.

An episodic burst of colour is what we have become accustomed to as Swindonians, whether it be Macari, Ardilles, or Hoddle. And Paolo's shotgun reign will ignite fires in even the sallowest of Town fans' hearts.

A question for you Sonic. If Paolo was to make a discreet visit back to the County Ground, stood in The Town End, and you found yourself shoulder to shoulder, would you treat him with apathy or adulation? I suspect the latter.

For my worth (as little as it is esteemed) Paolo rose the flag when we needed inspiration.

Please say it's not only Cola Fola and me who see this.

I think he's a bit of a dick right now and I'm pretty sure I'll still think the same in 10 or 20 years from now.*+

*assuming I'm still alive of course.

+my opinion of him has nothing to do with him 'jumping ship'.

Apathy - no question about it. So presumably you would 'treat him with adulation'? What would that actually involve? What would you do? Would you grovel at his feet? Hand feed him grapes? Please expand.

Im guessing undo his flies and perform fellatio

I'd paint him with mercury fulminate -"he who burns brightest, Montgomery burns"

I would dare to suggest that were he (incognito - but *only* you recognised him in the Town End one afternoon) stood by your side you'd give him a gentle nudge and say "Thanks ever so much for the period of staggering excitement and animation you gave our sleepy team, we truly lived the dream with you at the helm. I wont squeal and break your disguise and I am honoured to be stood shoulder to shoulder with you on this frost bitten noon."

You would ask him if he would like a beer after the game

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAjVnq9xtE

We all know the truth, were we that one special person in Di Canio's counsel for one afternoon in the Town End, a unique situation, the truth would out. We loved that guy and don't forget it.

Nope
Cant argue with his results while here but always was a bellend and will continue to be one.

Yes we did. Until we found out the whole truth and that tarnished his image somewhat. Thankfully we still have a club, and a league club at that.

There is no possibility that I would say any of those things.

Nope, but you are entitled with your opinion

The bloke is a fruit loop. He brought lots of colour, passion and media attention to the club. Internally he appears to have left a trail of destruction (not just to the walls when he 'broke in') and not been too popular.

Looks as if he did the same at Sunderland. However, the players turned on him, as they were multimillionaires rather than people who were still building careers or looking for their final big payday.

Showed from that experience that he is far too much of a narcissistic egomaniac to be put in charge of a multi-million pound business!

Yes he will and he will succeed.
We should be playing championship football.
Big Sam will go if West Ham lose today.

I wouldn't ask him for a beer. When you got to the pub he would say 'give me the money,  I will get them - two pints of fosters is it'. He would then come back with a pint of Leffe having also ordered himself pie and chips, he would then have a mouthful of both,  decide he didn't like it and ask for money for something else - before fucking off without saying anything whilst you were taking a slash.

It was fun while it lasted but winning the fourth division with a budget around 2-3 times anyone else's does not make a 'legend',

Post of the year! Brilliant!

I'm staggered that some people still rate him despite the evidence of his two managerial jobs.
There are plenty of idiots running football clubs so no doubt he will get the chance to cause damage somewhere else eventually.

Three strikes and your out then. After that he'll have to slope off to some lower league in another country.

No-one has called him a legend

Except in the 7th word of the first post in the thread...

So what damage did he cause at Swindon?...on the contrary i would sugest.

I would have him back here in a flash.....i especialy thought that after the debacle of a showing at Sheffield Utd where i saw more passion in my half time meat pie.
In my opinion he was one of our best ever managers and in nearly forty years watching i have seen a few.
Bell End no doubt at times,but still a very good manager in my opinion.
In answer to the question on whether he will be back i believe a maverick chairman with a bit of dosh may take a punt one day,and that will be great for football because just at present it is as boring as i ever remember it...in general that is not just here at Swindon.

I'll give you the near bankruptcy, the lack of any long term plan, the lawsuits and the complete ostracisation of the youth team for starters.

 :zzz: :zzz: :zzz:

I'd probably move away for fear of him hitting me in the face when he whirls his arms around.

Paolo had a successful spell with us in favourable circumstances where he was largely allowed free reign and this resulted in a untenable turnover of players and staff with a wake of casualties. We won the league and a had a (crap) day out at Wembley. We may even have achieved back-to-back promotions but for a number of reasons he chose to leave us in the lurch. Of course, I don't know the full story and don't claim to but whereas some feel that he had no option but to walk away, I can't help but feel that after his espousal of passion, dedication and loyalty that he failed to live up to that when it mattered.

I was relieved when he left because I never felt comfortable with him representing the club. I didn't like him, I didn't like the way we were Paolo Di Canio's Swindon Town, I didn't like the way he bombed out players, I didn't like the high turnover of players and I didn't like the financial issues related to that. I like and respect Cooper because he's working towards developing a future for the club and not just throwing everything at instant success.

I guess I do care a little bit.

He's answered your question. You really are a bell end.

Weil it feels a lot less lonely being anti di Canio these days.

Sexism and insults towards the physio who was driven out from her job.

 Shunning of the youth team coach from day 1 including embarrassing him at the pre season team photo.

Making the youth team stay away from the club and facilities, completely washing his hands with the entire set up.

Spending ridiculous amounts of money on players, many of which he ditched almost immediately at huge cost to the club in wages alone.

Abysmal man management.

Extreme demands of his players which affected their family lives on numerous occasions.

To be honest the examples are just scraping the surface and we could go on and on about it. Yes he won the league and results to most are everything but when we look back at it the damage caused outweighs everything else.
Look at the Sunderland farce too. The bloke is a terrible manager of people as human beings,the most important part of being a manager.
 

I thought I'd save leefer the effort.

Leefer's in denial

Hasn't the 'PdC - is he a cunt or not' thing been done to death?

Yes, it has.

That'll be doss on the ale again.

He wasn't in charge of the finances, so a lot of the points made are null and void.

he asked to sign various players. admittedly he wouldn't have cared if he was clearing the finances totally, but the deciding factor for me in this argument is - he still signed a lot of shit that cost us money.

Black and Wray don't get as much criticism as Paolo does regarding the finances, which is ludicrous considering they were in charge of them.

i think my issue is that he asked for players and black and wray said yup (i agree that element is fine).
but i'd say there were more poop than success looking at the massive raft of players brought in

Loved Paolo when he was here but when as soon as the money man went he fucked off. For someone who preached so much about loyalty when he was here that was a smack in the chops!

Surely that's a criticism of what he spent the money on, rather than causing us financial difficulties

Can't be too many managers that wouldn't spend what they were told they could.

anyone with a sense of realism (another flaw for PDC?) would know that you can't just sign every prick and nothing would happen if/when they turned out to be a turd

Agree with you Paolo, and he never did get that tattoo!

Great for us at the time after relegation, Prutton, Hart......

But...his ego is the size of a third world country...too big for us and our budget!

balanced comment but China, Russia and USA combined might have been more realistic?

Will balance the thread as a whole when I have a moment.

I think PDC will get another job in English football at some point if he wants to. There is enough about him that will attract a club, especially one that needs rebuilding.

Let's not forget that he graduated top of the class from the Calcio coaching school in Italy (where Capello, Ancelotti etc graduated). there are positives such as his attention to detail (e.g telling which side of the goal to shoot because he had researched a keepers weaker side), tactical knowledge, the focus on training, fitness and leading a professional lifestyle and complete dedication to achieving the maximum from your ability (how many of the squad from the last 2 years have gone backwards after he left).

He needs to address his interaction with players and learning to resolve issues with players and improving their performance rather than just bombing them out of the club. Where he came unstuck was he ran before he could walk and jumped into the Premier League with all it's media attention. There were a stack of pundits waiting for him to fail and to say 'you can't criticise players in public (usually the ones who have never or failed as managers and keep coming up with the same old excuses for underperformance - we're unlucky, bad day at the office etc etc.

In hindsight, Di Canio could/should have stuck with us to the end of the season despite the change in ownership. At worse, he makes the playoffs and can walk away with a glorious failure citing the changes or takes us into the Championship and walks/stays.

I'm sure the Championship would be the right home as if he takes a club forward towards the playoffs then he get's the supporter goodwill especially if he reached the Premier League (look at the goodwill Nigel Adkins, Brian McDermott, Malky McKay have got for not doing very well in the PL but they took their clubs up. There are enough clubs desperate for a shot at the big time and enough money splashing around in parachute money to indulge his turnover of players.

Whether he proves a success will depend on him becoming more balanced and playing the game rather than trying to do all his way. He may end up another Roy Keane, who gives it a go for a couple of clubs, has some success but ultimately disallusioned with most modern players attitude. Will be fun, whatever happens!

Fuck me that's an essay

An essay yes in the sense that there was more substance and insight about it than the previous three and a half pages of this thread.

Just be careful you don't take over the 25% football quota, Oaksey

 I was amazed he got the Sunderland gig. Passion is laudable but so is decency and a sense of fair play. He demanded total loyalty from players but dumped proper dedicated lads when they were surplus to his needs(Paul Benson...). Ardiles took over a team that hoofed the ball and turned them into a cultured passing joy. Di Canio only ever cared about himself and if I had my way he would be thrown in the same shitty pit of oblivion currently occupied by Ince and Macari.

Excuse me ??

Why would Macari be in there?

Whatever your personal opinion I think the manner in which he left us will prove a barrier to him getting future work.

Publically threatening legal action will not endear him to many chairman, Curbishley tried the same trick at West Ham and he's only just got back into the game 6 years later and only as an assistant.

And he, unlike Paolo, doesn't also come with enough baggage to bankrupt a billionaire checking onto a Ryan Air flight

Also chairman don't like a reputation for spending - just look at Roy Keane's career and Ferguson's book making specific, bitter, comment about him needing cash to succeed.

Oh, and after Sunderland he looks even more of a tit/nutter/loon/bad manager than ever.

And why not McMahon?

That's odd. It didn't stop him getting the Sunderland job.

Was rumbling on after he took it. Plus Sunderland needed a short term shot in the arm. I think if anyone was looking for a long term managerial prospect Paolos negatives would probably already out weigh his positives. The possibility that he'd then walk out and take you to court would probably tip the scales further

Won't he have wet feet?

I just hope that Swindon Town won't be forever defined as pre-Di Canio and post-Di Canio.

Whatever fence you're on, it really is history now.

 :nod: