Yes, in a heartbeat. He’s won the title at the last 3 clubs he’s been at (Juventus, Chelsea and Inter) and rebuilt Italy. Crucially, he’s PL proven and won’t need time to adapt. In fact, he only took 2 losses to adapt in his first time managing in England, which shows the quality of this manager.
We will be playing 3-4-3 or 3-5-2, but I am entirely comfortable with that. Chelsea won the CL playing the former formation, and I’m not buying that he is a defensive manager. He is simply a manager who makes his teams more defensively solid, two statements which have very different meanings. It’s not true that he has no patterns of play either, and us PL fans should know after watching his 93 point title winning Chelsea team. The football was quality, and you don’t get those results anyway without playing actual football and a coherent plan. Otherwise, they’d have ended up like us over these past few seasons.
He wouldn’t be my ultimate first choice after Ten Hag’s Ajax exploits over the past 4 seasons, but in terms of currently attainable managers, he’s right at the top next to Zidane. Having said that, while Zidane’s case is helped by his insane record in Europe, I think Conte is the better fit. Juventus and Chelsea were both in crisis when he took over, finishing 7th and 10th respectively the seasons before. He won both the title instantly and went invincible with Juve, an achievement that needs to be mentioned far more. Hiring him is the closest you can get to guaranteed success no matter how dire the situation is, and he’ll have an even better squad here to have this impact no matter how awful we have been recently. Zidane might also be able to do that, but he hasn’t proven it.
I don’t get the Mourinho comparisons as well, as if it’s supposed to be a negative thing. Yes, he has a similar man-management style, but prime Mourinho managed to even rival Fergie in fighting for major trophies. Conte is also a serial winner who will lead our players with a strong hand, if not a bit autocratic, which is for me just what this young group needs. Don’t tell me Shaw, Rashford, Sancho and Mason won’t benefit from working under this guy. He will also command respect from the likes of Varane, Ronaldo and Pogba, who he brought into Juventus and nurtured, rather than Allegri as is the common tale. It is also untrue that he is finished or always ends up losing the dressing room. He’s ended at each of his last 3 clubs with titles, whether in the league or domestic cup. That, and the fact most of his former players speak glowingly of him, should crush these ridiculous myths.
Get him in. Whether you agree with this post or not, I think we can all come to a consensus that going from Ole to Conte is an indescribable upgrade.