Would you take Conte at United?

[Murder on Zidane's Floor]

I said a week ago I didn't want him.

I've done a 180 tbh. We look abject and devoid of any tactical knowledge. Really poor.

Nostalgia and romanticism make me want Ole to succeed but the era of a manager building a decade long dynasty is over. Time to let the SAF dream go and get with the times.

 

[The Man Himself]

You are killing me. Yes, a lot!

Hmmm. My football watching over the years has really gone down. I don't watch a match not involving United so no idea/memory which manager sets up how. Some basic things associated with them come to mind.

Anyways, good coaches and managers always adapt and evolve. I don't want us to lose our exciting attacking talent and want a coach to find a way where two of Greenwood, Sancho and Rashford can start along with Ronaldo and Bruno. Do that, get chemistry going among them, keep defense solid and I am happy. Simple ask

 

[Godfather]

I'd take him in a heartbeat. Would prefer Ten Haag but don't think he's available

 

[Mickeza]

Or has he even won with a back 4 like ours?

Has anyone won with a back 4 like ours is currently playing?

 

[JPRouve]

Yes, it can be done with good coaching, but again, is it really what we want? Ideally you want to have some sort of continuity and playing style that stays the same regardless of manager(which why DOF are there), and even if we dont want that, I certainly dont want to see Conte's brand of football in Old trafford.

Yes, we want good coaching. And no I don't want continuity for the sake of continuity, I want continuity when things are working. Also Ole isn't an attacking manager and Conte doesn't play catenaccio or defensive football, his Chelsea team won the league scoring 85 goals which is 12 more than Ole's best record or the record of any United's season since 12/13.

 

[Cnaiür urs Skiötha]

Isn't this the guy who bought Lukaku, Sanchez and Young from us? I am afraid he would be one of those managers relying on the work-horses and the players putting a shift in.
What I want to see is a modern manager who will use the likes of DvB and Sancho in the first 11 and teach others like Bruno, Greenwood, Rashford etc. how to keep and move the ball better and quicker.

 

[Rex Banner]

Not for me.

I think Conte's a great manager but it would be a Mourinho esque appointment. All about the short term, with no actual plan or reasoning behind it. Do we have the players to fit Conte's system? Or would be it another case of giving a new manager £200 million plus to bring in his own players only to realise that they don't fit with whoever comes in afterward.

Saying that, I think it probably is the most likely appointment just knowing the board and how the club is run.

Personally, I'd like to see us go for someone like Potter but I don't think there's any chance of that.

 

[::sonny::]

Sent him via Instagram a message to prepare for the job (in August 2021)

He hates Mourinho very much: he said Mourinho was a little man in past, now and in the future, a fake one who suffers of dementia senile

 

[Highfather_24]

It doesn't matter if it's 433 or 343 or 352 though. In a 433 or 343, your front 3 doesn't change. Your midfield though you can only pick 1 of Bruno or Pogba in a 433, as 2 of them makes us horrendously unbalanced. In a 3-4-3, it's the same. With 3 at the back you can afford to play Pogba in midfield next to a more defensive guy. Or Bruno probably, but that's up in the air. So you have 4 players there. Or go 3-5-2 and play Pogba, Bruno in the midfield 3 and then 2 strikers. It's the same thing. Either way, it's 4 players between the attackers, Bruno and Pogba at an absolute max. The formation doesn't matter at all because the composition of those players doesn't change all that much. You still have to adjust for the same issues and can only play so many of them before we lose balance.

I dont think we can play Bruno and Pogba together. A 3-5-2 is not good for our forwards(not counting Bruno and Pogba, we still have 5 top forwards), and a 3-4-3 is bad news for Bruno. Any 3 in the back is a bad fit because we dont have any wingbacks. Please dont say Telles and Dalot.

A 4-3-3 is the best fit for our squad.

------------------------------DM/Matic
--------------------Fred/VdB---Bruno/Pogba
-Cavani/Lingard--Ronaldo/Mason--Rashford/Sancho

 

[Majima]

Why do people associate Conte with tumescent football? His 343 at Chelsea was very attractive, with their wingbacks pushed high and the inside forwards kept high up. They steamrolled the league. He was also the one who launched Pogba's career, turning him into a key player for Juve (winning Golden Boy award too) within a year and half after leaving us.

With all our attacking talent, Maguire's lack of pace, and no defensive mid, his 3 at the back system seems a perfect match for our squad.

One thing's for certain, is that we need a proper coach. I can see Conte doing big things for us.

 

[dinostar77]

People really dont do their homework do they? Conte played 424 at Juventus. He will play to the strengths of his players and a formation to suit.

Tactically he wont be found out and unlike Ole and co, he will train the squad to be able to switch between different types of formations.

Double training sessions daily, will ensure that the players will be fully prepared and fit enough to compete. Wont be any jokes about luke shaw and burgers when Conte gets hold of him.

Hes won the PL before, that's huge. Experience of the league, speaks the language.

He will improve our players, physically, tactically and mentally.

I know people are concerned he will be another Mourinho, but we have Murtough and fletcher now to help steer the longer term squad recruitment.

Conte is a winner, a serial winner. The football may not be the most spellbinding, but there were lots of periods under fergie when the football was dire but we ground out results which lead to points which lead to trophies.

 

[Giant Midget]

Desperate for a change, but even I can’t quite get enthusiastic about Conte.

He’s basically what we hoped Jose would be. We need someone to continue the Ole project with a bit more tactical know-how, not completely hit the reset button on the team and have a 2-3 year rebuild.

Can’t stand playing with a back-five as well. A modern, progressive 4-3-3 is the dream.

 

[Idxomer]

Has he ever won with a back 4?

He played a back 4 almost exclusively in his 1st season with Juve and went back to it again in his last one.

I think we're more suited to a back 5 more than people want to admit because it will mean some of our attacking talents won't be needed much.

 

[ConteIsLife]

"Conte is a short term fix."

Juve don't win the title in nearly a decade and finish 7th. They hire Conte and he wins 3 titles in a row, he leaves, they win 6 more in a row then they are stopped by....Antonio Conte at Inter Milan.

"Conte's teams are defensive"

His Inter team last season scored 89 goals in the league, in Europe's top 5 leagues only Bayern scored more. His Chelsea team scored more goals than any season we have since SAF retired with 85.

He's a world class manager. Get him in.

 

[SeanyC]

Folks unless we make a ridiculous offer for Ten Hag he’s staying out at Ajax…but go get him next summer. The only viable option is Conte, he’s not brilliant and the way he wants you to play is at odds of what we want but he will make the lads work and work hard

 

[VanDeBank]

How do you guys think Conte will line up? He always plays 3 at the back but he has played 3-4-3 before right?

Feel bad for all our attacking players, especially Sancho if it's a 5-3-2.

From what I saw at Dortmund he's an out and out winger. Will be interesting to see if he can adjust to playing wingback or a more central role.

 

[Mickeza]

He played a back 4 almost exclusively in his 1st season with Juve and went back to it again in his last one.

I think we're more suited to a back 5 more than people want to admit because it will mean some of our attacking talents won't be needed much.

It’s the only way to get Pogba and Bruno together. I’d be a bit pissed if I was sancho though…

 

[dinostar77]

Has he ever won with a back 4?

Juventus and multiple serie A titles say hello. 424 formation as well.

 

[Drizzle]

Conte is not Mourinho. Why are people lazily conflating the two?

Conte is NOT toxic, but there's a good chance he'll clash with the board. In which case all I can do is wish him well, because Ole being a yes man is not serving the interests of the club.

 

[elnorte]

To think we're about to sign a manager that given time will make the Caf an even more toxic place than it is with our current one.

 

[VanDeBank]

He played a back 4 almost exclusively in his 1st season with Juve and went back to it again in his last one.

I think we're more suited to a back 5 more than people want to admit because it will mean some of our attacking talents won't be needed much.

Yeah a back 5 is good for De Gea and Maguire, but awful for Sancho. We kind of lack a RWB but other than that we have the squad for it. The only downside is some brilliant wingers on the bench...

 

[Mickeza]

Juventus and multiple serie A titles say hello. 424 formation as well.

Please no more 4-2-4 What’s he like with youth?

 

[JPRouve]

Hmmm. My football watching over the years has really gone down. I don't watch a match not involving United so no idea/memory which manager sets up how. Some basic things associated with them come to mind.

Anyways, good coaches and managers always adapt and evolve. I don't want us to lose our exciting attacking talent and want a coach to find a way where two of Greenwood, Sancho and Rashford can start along with Ronaldo and Bruno. Do that, get chemistry going among them, keep defense solid and I am happy. Simple ask

The one big worry about Conte which shouldn't be one in ideal circumstances is that any player that doesn't fit his vision of winning football for this team is in trouble. He doesn't care about name, price or popularity, in a way he is a bit like Simeone and there is only one way to please him, it is by doing what he wants as much as possible which is what United have done for lesser managers.

PS: The more I talk about Conte and the more I want to change my vote to yes. Now I still prefer someone like ten Hag even if it's considerably riskier.

 

[dinostar77]

How do you guys think Conte will line up? He always plays 3 at the back but he has played 3-4-3 before right?

Feel bad for all our attacking players, especially Sancho if it's a 5-3-2.

From what I saw at Dortmund he's an out and out winger. Will be interesting to see if he can adjust to playing wingback or a more central role.

People do some homework, conte has played and won trophies with a back 4. Lazy argument that he only plays with a back 3 or back 5.

 

[humdinger]

I didn't want Conte originally and he still wouldn't be my first choice but would definitely bring him in over Ole. There's not many viable alternatives to choose from just now and I don't think a lot of the names bring thrown around are realistic mid-season. I also don't think our board is proactive enough to have planned for this so they will be reacting without a plan in place.

 

[Ødegaard]

At this point any manager taking over should have everything to prove and minimal support in the beginning. We've seen nothing but failures from coaches, players and managers now for years.
Personally I'd say no to Conte, but I'm desperate to see the back of Ole.

 

[Highfather_24]

Yes, we want good coaching. And no I don't want continuity for the sake of continuity, I want continuity when things are working. Also Ole isn't an attacking manager and Conte doesn't play catenaccio or defensive football, his Chelsea team won the league scoring 85 goals which is 12 more than Ole's best record or the record of any United's season since 12/13.

I dont want continuity for the sake of it either, just not completely random changes in style based on whoever is available.

Ole isnt attacking, but atleast he is no Mourinho. I dont want to go from Ole's football to Conte's. I'd rather have Zidane.

Also goals scored =/= good football. Same argument was made for Mourinho, not buying it.

 

[bakalopp]

DDG
Bailly - Varane - Maguire
Sancho/AWB ? Pogba Fred Shaw
Bruno Greenwood/Rashford
Ronaldo
What do you think ?

 

[VanDeBank]

People do some homework, conte has played and won trophies with a back 4. Lazy argument that he only plays with a back 3 or back 5.

Mate, I was clearly asking.
I don't watch a lot of Prem outside of United.Saw quite a bit of Inter last season and most of my impressions of Conte are from that side.

 

[TheMagicFoolBus]

Didn’t Conte win the league at Chelsea using a 343 with wide forwards? He should be able to find uses for our wide forwards then.

We had Hazard and Pedro in the front 3 either side of Costa, but they played much more in the halfspaces with width coming from the wingbacks. Feels like Rashford / Ronaldo would be competing for the LF spot, Cavani / Greenwood for the CF spot, and Bruno / Sancho for the RF in that system. Conte did quite a lot of tinkering to account for Hazard's lack of defensive workrate and made that work - I think he'd prefer to have that player in one of the inside forward roles as opposed to his CF.

We are a top heavy squad, with amazing players like Ronaldo, Cavani, Sancho, Rashford, Greenwood etc. Playing a 3-5-2 would be a criminal move. Also a 3-4-3 would mean Bruno is out.

If Conte comes here, I think he would play a 4-3-3 which he did use with Chelsea at times.

He really only played 4-1-4-1 at the very beginning upon arriving - this is probably the main stretch of time that Kante had as a lone 6 in his career, and it was a disaster. After Arsenal went 3-0 up at halftime in something like the 5th or 6th game that year, he changed to 3-4-3 and never looked back really. In large part he had to give Chelsea's old guard one last run out - going to 3-4-3 pushed Terry and Ivanovic out of the team and our defense was the better for it.

Those who have done detailed study of him, has he ever played with a formation not involving 3 at the back?

He played a lot of 4-2-4 at Siena prior to going to Juve. Also he used 4 at the back at various different times with Italy and gave it a go with Chelsea. I've had conversations about this elsewhere, but I truly believe that Conte isn't some sort of 3 at the back zealot - he prioritises winning over anything and would use 4 at the back should it suit the players available to him and give him the best chance of success.

 

[Artimities]

I am ok with 3 at the back because I feel like that is how we get caught out all the time anyway with Shaw and AWB so far forward. Also, watching us play from the back is cringe worthy...

 

[LoneStar]

Can someone tell me how he handles superstar egos? We have too many big name attackers, how would he manage them? Cause surely not all of them would start.

I can see him making someone like Lingard a RWB in his system. We do have enough CBs to play a back 3 if needed.

Also Ronaldo, he won't accept getting benched or being brought on as a sub for the majority of the games. And his presense (and commercial impact) will make the board hesistant on doing that. So Conte of any manager will have to deal with it.

 

[dinostar77]

Please no more 4-2-4 What’s he like with youth?

I dont know. Serie A normally loans younger players out to get experience. Chelsea used to loan them out to get experience so I dont know.

He might even turn the job down if offered. He wants to win multiple CL trophies and be considered the best manager in the world. We might not be ambitious enough for him. Though I think for a 2-3 year appointment he might be the right call for now.

 

[Adam-Utd]

3-4-3 with Shaw, Maguire, Varane, Telles, Fred, Pogba, AWB, Rashford, Ronaldo, Sancho

Would be an excellent side. Conte would have us properly drilled and any lazy feckers would be booted.

 

[Neil_Buchanan]

This is the same conte who signed Sanchez, Young and Darnian off us right? You want him?

 

[ConteIsLife]

This is the same conte who signed Sanchez, Young and Darnian off us right? You want him?

And then won the league stopping the 9 year streak he started at Juve.

 

[bosnian_red]

The one big worry about Conte which shouldn't be one in ideal circumstances is that any player that doesn't fit his vision of winning football for this team is in trouble. He doesn't care about name, price or popularity, in a way he is a bit like Simeone and there is only one way to please him, it is by doing what he wants as much as possible which is what United have done for lesser managers.

PS: The more I talk about Conte and the more I want to change my vote to yes. Now I still prefer someone like ten Hag even if it's considerably riskier.

Yeah; what this squad needs is a Conte. It's the lowest risk for the immediate 2-3 years, best security in terms of knowing he can coach them successfully very quickly, and I think we have the players that could thrive, similar to Chelsea with Tuchel. Being realistic, no manager is going to come in and be peak level Pep or Klopp inside 1 year. We can become compact, organized and slowly learn how to press and be a consistent team, combined with star attackers to become a top team. That's what this squad is built for. Whether it's a 3-4-3 or 3-5-2 (likely rotating), we have the players to thrive in both while also bring good depth options, especially in attack. Less in depth in other positions but there's a squad that Conte could turn into challengers for sure.

 

[dinostar77]

Can someone tell me how he handles superstar egos? We have too many big name attackers, how would he manage them? Cause surely not all of them would start.

I can see him making someone like Lingard a RWB in his system. We do have enough CBs to play a back 3 if needed.

Also Ronaldo, he won't accept getting benched or being brought on as a sub for the majority of the games. And his presense (and commercial impact) will make the board hesistant on doing that. So Conte of any manager will have to deal with it.

Ronaldo and Conte I think would get on well. Both are relentless and demand ultimate professionalism and commitment. I think they would work well together.

 

[Infra-red]

Has he ever won with a back 4?

He did alternate a bit between 4-2-4, 4-3-3 and 3-5-2 at Juve (with the latter being used most frequently). After a so-so start with a back 4, it was mostly 3-4-2-1/3-4-3 at Chelsea and then back to 3-5-2 with Inter.

 

[Majima]

Desperate for a change, but even I can’t quite get enthusiastic about Conte.

He’s basically what we hoped Jose would be. We need someone to continue the Ole project with a bit more tactical know-how, not completely hit the reset button on the team and have a 2-3 year rebuild.

Can’t stand playing with a back-five as well. A modern, progressive 4-3-3 is the dream.

That's exactly what Conte would come to do. He would drill us relentlessly, find the correct solutions to our weaknesses, and come to win trophies right now. Not in 2/3 years time.

Also if you want the team to play 4-3-3 Barca style. Then that's definately another 2-3 year rebuild.