Thetownend.com

Frustrated Di Canio lets fly in 20-minute rant
           
           


  PAOLO Di Canio feels he is working in a “hostile environment” at Swindon Town.

           

http://www.thisisswindontownfc.co.uk/news/headlines/10107954.Frustrated_Di_Canio_lets_fly_in_20_minute_rant/?ref=rss
           
           
           

Arguably player of the year last season,skipper and developed at a top club in Scotland slated. Think anyone with a brain can see past these pathetic rants by now. If the man is so fucking wonderful he should fuck off to a club that meets his needs. Good luck finding one Paolo

Just as I suspected. Not news.

Nevertheless, there'll be plenty who'll want a Wilson/Hart back....I'll settle for a win at Oldham.

Hear, hear.  Roll on Saturday.

I'm not even going to bother reading the latest whinge.  It's all about results.  Nothing else.

There's really not much to read anyway Ardiles. I even read it twice because I thought I may have missed something the first time.

Absolutely.

There's nothing new there except a slating of Caddis and I'm not surprised after he used the press himself to slate the club this week.

Caddis can fucking do one, I'm with Di Canio on that.

This! It is typical Paolo and i expect that after this rant - as with previous rants - we'll now go out and get a great result tomorrow.

I thought today was Thursday, I had to check.

Woo hoo. Thanks Ports.

everytime he opens his mouth the chances of another chairman taking him on slightly recede....

So what this boils down to is he's been told:

"No Paolo when we said you could have money for loans but that would mean there was nothing left for January, we meant it"

and

"No we're not going to sack the youth dept just because you say so, because we all know you're going to flounce out of here in a few months anyway and we'll have enough of a job replacing the first team backroom staff, thanks"

and he's gone all Kevin the Manager. "It's SO UNFAIR!!!! If you didn't want me, why did you even bother HAVING me??? I HATE YOU!!!! I'm going round to Perry's."

Man up, you big girl's blouse, and get on with the job.

Heh heh.. Only our fans could slate their manager for wanting to instill some discipline and professionalism. No wonder we are small time.

If he'd show some of either himself, maybe he wouldn't be "small time"?

Di canio is extreme in every way. This will lead to conflict. When it does he attacks those who don't share his view. He has said he could leave numerous times now. He's slated individuals numerous times too. Yet the man is so arrogant that he is always right and aint shy in telling everyone that. If he doesn't leave he will lose the dressing room eventually. Only think he hasn't up to now due to  the high player turnover. I have concluded that his style isn't suited to a club like ours and isn't sustainable

Oh yeah I keep forgetting, he's Kevin the Manager isn't he, and he's going round Perry's.

Well said

He's the manager, let him get on with it.

We have had to settle for so much shite over the past 20 years that it's actually refreshing to see a manager actually having some balls to say things how they are.

Everyone seems to think 'poor players, they would be so much better if that nasty di Canio cut them a bit of slack' when the truth is probably they would be averagely shite without him.

While I can understand Arriba saying a club like ours is not a perfect fit for PdC - which club would be?

If some want to go back to the usual platitudes spouted by 99% of managers that's up to them - you'll only appreciate him when he's gone

I've read it and it didn't seem any great shakes to me?  Was it even a rant (anyone listened to the tone?) or just a pretty long response to an initial question where his passion came out and he, as usual, responded to every question going - even some of his own.

I completely prefer this to previous Managers and I'm also wondering if he's learned one skill from Harry Redknapp.  Arriba, you mention about losing the dressing room, but I think he's got the same approach as Harry in the turnover of players.  Everyone rated Harry for being a motivator, yet his true skill was being able to refresh the squad on an almost annual basis, but have them playing the right way straight away.  Every so often he'd pick up a nugget of a player who cleary got his ways and they stuck around with him and followed him between clubs.

The real challenge when having a Manager with that approach is the funding - Portsmouth is a good example of a club who gave Harry everything he ever asked for, and now is paying the price.  On the other hand, Spurs won't take much longer to realise what he did for them (but they had a much tighter reign on the purse).  It's one reason I always thought Harry would do well for England.

Di Canio clearly airs all the dirty linen in public, it was the same within weeks of him joining us so I have no issue with that from the perspective of this was always going to be his way.  He also talks way too fast (passion coming out) for someone using a 2nd language, which means he often uses poorly translated words and phrases I think.  He is creating a pretty good seige mentality as well, which is tough in a team doing well!  Ferguson managed it at Man Utd, refusing to speak to the BBC for several years (imagine the response if Di Canio did that, it was bad enough when he stopped talking to the Adver for a week or two), throwing out players who were no longer towing the party line (Beckham, Ince etc).

Aren't we on course to have at least the 3rd most successful season in the last 15 years or so?

Spot on Paolo. Spoken like a fucking winner.

Bring on the change.

Definition of insanity : Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results.

The tried and tested conventional managers have us in league 1, with the odd yo yo into league 2. Di Canio is a different thing. He's mad, yet maybe, just maybe his way will  work.

Gonna be bloody expensive then. Can't see it happening myself.

Now, I think Paolo is doing a good job and everything, but professionalism is not a word you could associate with his management style.

Fuck me, you don't half spout some bollocks sometimes!!
As a club we've been in the doldrums for years, and finally we have someone who's taken the club by the scruff of the neck, put us back on the map and given us half a chance of seeing the good times again.
What would you prefer some no mark, journeyman manager or stick with what we have?
You may not agree with his methods or outbursts, but I'd rather this than going back to being a dull, faceless club with no ambition.

If we stay down here and don't change our youth set up, arriba's kid has a better chance of making the grade....

Posted this on the other thread too but I'd be interested to see what our results have been like after each of these bigger Paolo rants. I suspect they are probably pretty good. I also think most of the players are on his side, particularly the older pros like Miller, Ward and Navarro and the youngsters like Flint etc will be learning every day under Paolo. Whilst he's always been a nutter he's clearly and intelligent man, more so than I think a lot of us give him credit for, and lets not forget he was one hell of a player.

Big win tomorrow and this will all be forgotten but the adver should watch their step, they're clearly using Paolo's limelight to try and make a name for themselves and I don't like it.

That's well below the belt. Not least because arriba's already said his kid got fed up and left the youth setup so that's not a factor.

Do you mean like the team in yellow 30 miles or so down the road? They must be having a great time this season, excitement central down there!

I dont dispute what you're saying but my points still stand. Di canios methods come at a price. I don't think stfc can sustain them.

I'm not saying he's shit, more that last I knew he had a personal interest. Ah well.

Which he no longer does, so no need to bring it up is there?

quit. Had offers from 2 league clubs and 1conference side since. Not chasing the dream anymore and couldn't be happier.  :smugfu:

Good on him, happiness is much more important.


Well I wouldn't have if I'd known now, would I? Come on.

I read it twice and most of it made little sense to me.

The digs at Caddis were a bit unfair but otherwise I thought it was fairly tame by his standards.

Agreed SY.

Getting used to this about once a month now, Di Canio comment/interview that looks much worse than it is; followed by a rabid overreaction from commenters on the adver site who haven't even read it properly.

I'm more interested in how we're going to turn around our shit home form and get players like Roberts performing to their potential than snipes at former players and vague whinges about working environments anyway.

I think what's different this season is there used to be an 'us against them' atmosphere in his post-match interviews, like Mourinho created at Chelsea, which I think was the best atmosphere for uniting all the fans behind the manager and team.

Now, since the transfer embargo particularly and the Jeremy Wray situation, it seems to have turned into a 'me against the club' atmosphere, which has created more tensions with the fans and made it harder for us all to unite behind him.

I'm 100% behind Di Canio as the man that manages on the pitch and on the training ground. I honestly can't think of anyone available who I'd rather have in the way he wants to play football, the way he wants to improve the players and the passion he shows on the touchline.

But I do wish we could get back to the Di Canio of last season off the pitch who said he didn't know who Steve Evans was, went on rants against the FA and proclaimed 'we will win this league anyway' after getting sent off for the third time. That was a Di Canio I could really identify with. I think one of the problems this season is the special leeway Di Canio has been allowed for his touchline antics (no other managers would be able to get away with repeatedly running onto the pitch during play) which I can only assume has come down from above, and now there is no external body to project that anger onto its reflecting back onto the club instead.

In conclusion, we need Di Canio to get sent off more or for us to be treated unfairly in some way by the FA (come on FA, just like the old days). Rant over*

* (Sam Morsehead definition)

Its less of a rant and more of a rambling answer which actually says very little.

Incidentally how fucking slowly does he talk if that is a 20 minute rant?

I'd much rather have a debate on the points i made you disagree with, rather than have to clear up bollocks  that had no bearing n my views anyway. My lad isn't good enough to make pro and both he and I knew that. Scholar yes but that would be 2 years wasted.he will end up playing the same level as released scholars and will have a levels in the bag.   I'm probably one of the most level headed parents you could meet regarding football.

I agree with a lot of what arriba says but i have been watching for nearly 40 odd years now and for me  the manager is just another part of the jigsaw....if he gets us up great and to be honest what he says and does wont bother me.....i have a manager at work....he does his own thing what he thinks is best for the buisness....Paolo brings passion and puts the club in the shop window.....but if bringing a manager in who says nothing gets the results to me thats all that matters to me.
I didn't like the Fotherington situation dragging him off and i feel there was something a little fishy with the Tehoue episode.
But for the moment the good things he has done puts him in front for me....but of course it aint Christmas yet and a lot can happen come May.

I've never really understood your defence of the youth set up. You may have a point about not being able to sustain Paolo's method but success will lead to more investment the higher up we are.

We shouldn't be afraid of looking upwards. This club has been utter shite since I've been supporting. I was 7 when we were in the Prem and our best days were behind us. If Paolo feels the youth set up needs an overhaul, I can't see much, if any evidence that he's wrong. He's right in trying to keep Storey under wraps, who have actually produced though? Nobody other than Bodin and fucking Pook have actually been here since kids and gone all the way through to the first team and look at them! Bodin isn't even that good.
People like Storey and Morrison were dropped in during their teens so I can't see how we can take much credit for them and then you have those kids that went to City and Liverpool, whether they become success stories remain to be seen.

I for one would love to see Paolo drag this club up by the scruff of it's neck.

He clearly thrives in the 'hostile environment' and if he creates one that he can manage then fucking bring it on but oh no, better not upset the chairman that turns up 3 times a month.

Oh yeah and fuck Caddis. Best of a terrible bunch in L1, different animal completely after the pre-season regime of you know who. Utterly indifferent about the club extending his contract (probably because it'd make it harder to leave)



 

Spot on. I love Paolo, best manager for 20 years.

More sensationalism from the adver, no rant to be seen.  ::)

What Paolo has been saying for a while is that this club will be mediocre unless a lot of change happens. That doesn't just happen with the starting eleven, we need change all across the club and I agree with that.

If the club was changed to Paolo's liking all across the board (whether it would ultimately work or not is another matter) we would see far less player turnover etc. I get the feeling he's trying to implement medium-long term change (plans) which of cause are going to cause a hell of a lot of conflict early on.

Personally I think PDC can see a lot of pitfalls with the way English football is run and has his own ideas of how to improve it. In his mind, if we are one of the few clubs below Premier League level which can do that, then we'll have long term success.

A lot of people have come to the conclusion that these are mindless rants. To some extent they are (not the time and place) but the reality is his 'rants' are pretty consistent in theme and nature. They don't wind me up because I've heard it before. To a massive extent, it's better than Danny 'Everything's going to be fine soon' Wilson.

I think it's unfair for him to demand medium/long term change to his liking if he doesn't plan on staying long. But by all means if he's in it for the long term..

Well the fact that he keeps saying he could have left but he will stay because he needs to finish the 'revolution' indicates to me that he wants to stay on.

I think the loss of Wray is massive in this respect. He and Paolo shared the same vision. Patey just seems to be a voice for investors who have realised they've sunk too much money into something which isn't going to return them any money. I'm starting to doubt we'll get worthy investment for a stadium redevelopment now either.

Benzel. Clearly you haven't read what ive said previously regarding the youth set up so pointless continuing a debate. I've no issue if the manager wants to change the youth set up. What he wants to do at stfc will cost money and goes  back to my point about his ways being sustainable. 

It's interesting that the main anti PDC person on here sees it like this eh Paul ?

I interpret it something more like this :

The guy who was the "interim chairman" - who I was closest to outside the playing staff at the club - was roundly turned upon by the main money man (who incidently was supposed to be his best mate) and shoved out so the money man could bring another guy in - that left me feeling very frustrated and I could have walked at that point - but I didn't.  I decided that I had made a commitment to the club and I want to see it through, even if working with the new guy is more difficult than the close friend i had before.

I want to stay and see through the job, and I see the youth team as a big part of the set up in the future.  Therefore when I see it not being run in the way I think it should, I am going to say something about it.  Unfortunately as much as Paul B is a nice bloke he hasn't exactly set the world alight in terms of bringing players through to challenge for the first team - I believe someone else could do a better job.  Unfortunately history tells us this is true - Morrison, Jukewitz, Tozer, Storey and The Thompson brothers were all bought on through Budgies time here, and I think if we are serious as a club trying to reach the Championship and beyond, we need to massively improve our youth set up.

Sounds completely and utterly reasonable to me - unfortunately some people will choose to see otherwise.....

I just wish he would keep it to the confines of his office or the fucking boardroom, like any manager in any organisation should do and would do.

The lunatic is seriously getting on my tits now, and I have had enough of people massaging his fragile ego.

His plans are not sustainable, simple as that.

Jeremy Wray (nice guy that he is) did not have the bollocks to keep him on a short leash so was replaced by someone that would not pander to his every whim.

I completely get that

I have said it before and I will say it again, it will all end in tears and I suspect that will happen sometime during the January transfer window

And if it was just me you might have a point there. But it's not is it?
As you put it, it sounds more reasonable, yes. If, as Fred said, expressed calmly and quietly behind closed doors. And without the "hostile environment" shit and implicit threats to flounce out. But as he did none of that, and instead used his weekly press conference to have yet another tantrum in public, it comes across as, well, less reasonable.

And the stuff with Bodin is increasingly coming across more and more as just a personal vendetta between the two of them.

As I (and others) have said before, isn't it time for Patey to start earning that salary and bang some heads together?

Sheepshagger.too much credit to byrne as he had little-nothing to do with some players you mention. Its not about the youth boss anyway its a collective effort. Kids will have a few coaches not 1.
If the boss has radical idea which will change things then he should get on with it. But the board clearly have had enough of the money being spent so it aint an open cheque book

"And the stuff with Bodin is increasingly coming across more and more as just a personal vendetta between the two of them."

Paul Bodin hasn't come out and said anything its Paolo doing all the shouting, it appears its Paolo who has the issue with Paul Bodin for some reason unknown to everyone bar Paolo.

People keep quoting Dave Byrne but although involved in the club never coached the apprentices on a daily basis


I personally don't think the Youth setup is as bad as people are making out on here and other websites, how many people know exactly what is spent on it or how it actually runs?

Paolo speaks his mind.

BURN HIM

Throwing money we don't have around willy nilly doesn't exactly shout "discipline and professionalism" - I am getting sick and tired of this 'breath of fresh air' bollocks as well.

Shouting the odds in the press doesn't make him a revolutionary, it makes him a loudmouth.

Arriba summed it up best - PDC's wants outweigh our means. If you want an unlimited pit of money, he better get himself the Man City job.

Let's be really mediocre and shit again, and then moan that we appoint nobody's.
 I really wish we had players of the calibre of Royce Brownlie & Charlie Comyn-Platt again! :-)

There is a time and a place mate, shouting the odds in public to who ever will listen is certainly not the place and just smacks of an attention seeking 5 yr old

If the main concern at the club is whether or not the manager should be saying stuff to the press then, in my opinion, things are looking pretty good.

Carry on saying whatever the fuck you like Paolo*

*Should it transpire his actions are harming the club I withhold my right as a football fan to be fickle and demand a stop to it.

To be fair to Budgie (and sheepshagger!) arriba, of the players ss mentioned, pretty sure he brought at least Morrison, Jukebox, Tozer and the Thompsons with him from Plymouth didn't he? (And Ben Joyce come to that?)

And by way of some perspective that, as FH points out, things could be much much worse:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/20728701

Yeah

they were far worse than

Easyjet
both Rooneys
Bessoni
Cox
Risser
Lanzano

You're right Fred - they were MUCH worse !

All this talk of 'ranting' and 'lunacy' and shit like this is just bollocks in my opinion

It's good he says what he feels - I also like the fact he does most of it in public

I personally think he knows exactly what he is saying - and he is bloody clever about it

The fact that people want him to shut up amazes me - we wouldn't have had half the fun in the last 18 months if he had been quiet !

Morrison and tozer for sure. Thompsons already at the club and although not 100% sure think jukebox was already here too.
For me it isn't a byrne vs bodin thing for reasons men5ioned previously . Someone being critical of 1whilst praising another when undue is why I countered that point. Both did good things for us imo

Jutkiewicz came from Southampton, although quite young.

Yes, because that is the only possible alternative

ADHD

From memory...Iffy Onuora was youth team manager when we got Lukas...King told him he'd seen enough small players in the youth set up...likes of Alan Young and Chris Taylor, so go and sign some big lads. A policy which brought Tozer and Morrison.

It seems to me PdC wants to get the club as a whole singing from the same hymn sheet - from the youths to the first team - just as any progressive club should.

And the very fact that this is what he wants to achieve says to me he is in it for the long haul - if he is given the backing to do it

I've just come in from the pub, so will probably get shouted down, but it seems to me that there are two types of people in the world -

Those that appreciate everything that Paolo has done for the club, in turning things around, and making everyone energised about Swindon again  - I will call these people "the Knowledgeable guys"

The other people that know fuck all about passion or football, and want to go back to the dark days - I will call these people ""Cunts"

Its Paolo, not Paolo

Or you could acknowledge that Paolo is neither God nor Satan and has his good points and bad. It's possible to appreciate everything that Paolo has done for the club without giving him a limitless mandate to do whatever the hell he fancies.

It's, Paolo, it's Paolo. Not its Paolo, not Paolo.

It's, "Paolo, it's Paolo." Not "its Paolo, not Paolo." not It's, Paolo, it's Paolo. Not its Paolo, not Paolo.

Oh for the love of god

All of this. It's amazing how black and white everything he does is in the eyes of a lot of our fanbase

Why so serious?
When did you have that sense of humour bypass operation? :-)

I know the dark days probably more intimately than most.

But to label people cunts because they question the way the manager conducts himself is quite frankly ridiculous.

Don't get me wrong, I loved what happened last season but I am finding his open criticism of people that are quite clearly doing their best with what is available to them has got more than a little tiresome for me

Nothing would please me more than allowing Di Canio to run the place from top to bottom how he wants to do it. I cannot see how he could run it without huge expenditure though. It's obvious with the removal of the previous chairman that the board wanted somebody stronger to deal with the manager.It looks to me like the board have had enough of the way things were with players coming in etc and wont simply bank roll signing after signing anymore. there have been a fair few failures in that regard and not cheap ones.
The amount of money forked out regardless of the youth set up has been more generous than previous managers had at their disposal. Changing the youth system would take money and also time.

I like Di Canio but i'm tired of his rants and threats. Don't kid yourselves that STFC is on the map as it aint. The Manager is all they are interested in. He's bigger than the club and that is a potentially dangerous situation.
If he can manage the team and change the youth set up under a budget set by the board then great. I doubt he can though and if he's fucking off after 2 seasons as he has predicted then what is the point in revolutionising the whole set up? The problem with youth isnt that they are doing anything wrong currently. It is a problem across the board as virtually all clubs like ours operate similarly. Clubs don't have the dosh to throw at it and wont risk it as it's money that could buy players for their respective first teams.

As expected all the relevant views have already been expressed on this thread and I have just come to accept that PdC is  basically out there on his own and as such is a gift to the media which they are never going to turn down.

Last season was a one off unlikely to be seen again, and a very large percentage of people were quite happy to see and hear Paolo in full flight. This season is not quite the same and views change, yes there have been some reported "quotes" that perhaps were better kept behind closed doors but if he works that way then so be it.

As another who has experienced the real scrapings of the barrel where the Town have been I would much rather put up with the current scenario and Pdc/Staff/Players/Board giving a real try to get us into the Championship.

I notice that in today's Adver Sam Morshead takes a little swipe at "anonymous posters etc." but can see where he is coming from as it is his job to report on what is said - far easier with PdC than certain other managers we have had I would guess.

I happen to think there is a fairly significant number who grievously undervalue PDC - going beyond a mere expression of taste for openness or distaste for ranting.

There are some good points made by the dissenters that now carry more weight due to the apparent loss of shared vision between the STFC investors (as represented by the Board) and PDC.  Advantage to the "I told you so" insustainibilli of our negativistas who have taken the cup upsets, the Johnstones and a rare Championship and now find all that "ranting" too much, bless 'em.

PDC was an outspoken maverick when employed by us, as well as a qualified and charismatic coach.  For me he is entitled on the back of his achievements to fight his corner to maintain the vision formerly shared with the Board for STFC.  If PDC judges a behind closed doors chat won't help that shared vision of the Championship, I don't see why he should pretend to be the yes man he never was when his job spec changes. 

A manager is generally remembered for his on field success and that involves attracting investment into the club and its playing resources.  Compare and contrast Redknapp and Mourinho to Wenger and Aidy Boothroyd who managed Watford when they went straight back down.  Perhaps we could poach him from Northampton, mmmm nice.

I still think Paolo and civil war has a better chance of fluking the Championship than some journeyman "yes man" or inadequate rookie.  I admit I would not re-structure the Youth set up based on PDC's vision when the ambition seems to be to recoup or at least dilute our existing investor overexposure.

In PDC some of us still hope.

Genuine question

Has hope replaced trust ?

PDC is flawed - even if I happen to think he's a flawed genius

The backing he received from the board was critical last year.

Don't know the ins and outs but the Clarke incident backing at a time when the league position was poor sent a strong message to the boardroom.  Tehoue may have been a fat whinger but again I'd guess PDC benefited from Board backing again.  This all sent a message to the players that PDC was boss - if they start getting mixed messages I think that will make his task harder.

Hence the hope rather than the trust as PDC needs his Board.  He is that strange mix of strongman leader in need of a bit of love.

I fear both Board and PDC may be performing some kind of exit ritual dance - I'd just love it (really love it) if PDC did it again and forced more Board backing!

Agreed

But board backing should not be forced, and I really hope to god that sustainability comes before pandering to tantrums

Agreed!

Agreed too in fact  The "forcing" being done by achieving success on the pitch and promotion. 

Results and a second Promotion is PDC's job and sustainability (but not fossilization) the Board's.

If the plan has changed to make on pitch success less likely, don't employ a a driven but maverick manager like PDC if you want some faceless corporate spokesman as your manager. 

"Don't employ" might mean sack/engineer an exit sadly.  Let's just enjoy it all while it lasts and hope for yet more success.  I doubt that we would be as high as League One at all this year without either our backers or PDC.

Good win today with goals from a top Italian signing

He did say after today's match that there is not hostility with the board.

That would be good.  He sounded a bit more coherent than usual, even if that is a low bar

No I trust him 100%, best manager we've ever had. Yes, ever.

What a stupid fucking statement.

Oh my days

You might have a point if we ignore all the history of the club before the early 90's, if not then its quite an amusing statement

Anyone who includes "in PDC we trust " in any of their posts on this forum (or anywhere else) is a  massive massive cunt

He is a born winner and a revolutionary, our win ratio under him is fantastic.

100% agree. It's quality having such a bloke as manager of our club.

Throughout their entire managerial careers Paolo is up there with the best.

Alex Ferguson - 58.16%
Paolo Di Canio - 56.98% (His League win ratio is 66%)
Roberto Mancini - 55.75%
Arsene Wenger - 53.30%
David Moyes - 43.80%

Interestingly, In 120 games in charge, Wilson won 43 games, in 86 games as our manager PdC has won 49.

I may be a cunt, but in Paolo I still trust

Something you can relate to at last

I really like Paolo's general approach to management and definitely love the way he tries to get the whole club pulling in the same direction. People often say bring back the Macari days, or we need a rookie manager like Ardiles or Hoddle who will tear up the way Swindon Town are supposed to play and do it differently. Well here we have a manager trying to do all of that and all anyone can really talk about is how he talks to the press. I'd rather Di Canio, pushing us towards promotion with his mad media interviews than some boring bastard who is failing miserably to get us out of the bottom four.

I'm actually indifferent to his interviews now. It's either some cliched bollocks or him sounding off about something or other. It's become just as boring as Wilson giving the same bullshit answers about how he and the team were going to turn things around. I'm quite surprised as it was the 'circus act' scenario which made me reserved about Di Canio's appointment - whilst 90% of the people on here were practically knocking one out. What did people expect ffs?!

The only difference between this year and last is that we're not winning every game at home. But we're 7th in League One, a division that two seasons ago we finished bottom in. I'll let the odd crazy monologue from our manager slide as long as we keep on the up like the way that we are.

I wonder if half of his frustration is about fans picking holes in his successful approach. That's not to say he should be immune from criticism but the focus on his PR is too great in my opinion.

This, a million times this.

Some good points Sie but maybe Paolo himself should focus a little less on his PR.
His continual moaning and whinging is becoming boring and will draw all kinds of comments.
Its not the fans who are moaning Sie.....most of the time it is the manager.

Needs to start towing the line a little. The Board are not going to put up with this continual swipe at them. Something is going to give.

The gist of this is that he is doing a decent job and thus we are high in the league, whilst he is doing this he has some leeway with the fans and I suggest the board although how far this goes I don't know.

I am happy with what he is doing but the interviews do grate, although i remain convinced that this is not helped to a degree by the interviewers seeking a sensational quote and knowing what buttons to press and the fact that he is being interviewed in a second language, Italian is a very blunt and direct language (as is French infact) and thus even though he is speaking English it its possible that a lot is being lost in translation.

But in my eyes he is here to manage, not to provide sound bites and on that basis I hav to admit now that if I ever see an interview with him in the paper I tend to ignore or scan it at the very most as to me its really of little point.

The one interesting test will be how he ever reacts when a poor run happens and the fans get on his back, that I fear would not be pretty!

I s'pose what I am rambling to say is, if his interviews irritate you, dont read them.

If Paladini takes over at Brum with Italian backing, it could be interesting.

Paolo should focus more on his PR if he's making us fans feel like that, no?

Fans are moaning about it and have been since a few weeks into the season. That's not to say they're wrong, he probably should learn how to handle himself in the media.

He's not going to change and showing him the door based on what he says in interviews would be ridiculous. Which is what some people have suggested in this very thread. That's what I mean about fans having too much focus on his PR.