Ask the average man on the street what they think of Paolo Di Canio and they will likely respond with some retort based upon his exploits on the field during his playing days, be that the majestic moments he was capable of conjuring up with the ball at his feet or the histrionics that came along with such genius. You may also come across someone who knows of the Italians venture into management, be it the turbulent yet ultimately successful stint with Swindon Town or, more recently, his appointment here at Sunderland. However the most common turn of phrase is likely to centre around the so-called controversial aspects of the man and his reported political beliefs. A recent comment that was levied at Di Canio by ex-Swindon Chief Exectutive Nick Watkins, back in March, has become somewhat of a tag line for the fledgling manager, with his style of management likened to that of a hand grenade. For sure it is easy why as the evidence swiftly stacks up, be it his scuffles with his own players in the tunnel at Swindon, hauling of his goalkeeper in the first half or more recently on Wearside his "rants" in press conferences, most notably following the last game of the season at Spurs last term. While such interactions with the press make for great headlines and quotes in newspapers across the land, a journalists wet dream, has there come a point now where if Di Canio is going to achieve any of the high expectations he has set himself he may, well, have to tone things down a little? Fans reveled in Di Canio's words following his arrival, pouring scorn on the state of the squad that Martin O'Neill had left behind and answering questions that we all had surrounding many players' fitness and indeed mentality, it was clear that Di Canio had broken some unwritten rule in football management by openly disparaging the former manager's style and methods. Sure, Di Canio was probably, if not definitely, right but by bringing such attention to the issue only further served to cast a spotlight on how he would set about installing his own style and ideology on the side. There was then the little matter of the Phil Bardsley saga to contend with. Of course Di Canio had no control whatsoever over the pictures which made their way into the public domain, however could the situation following their exposure have been managed better? I would argue yes. Of course Bardsley was undoubtedly in the wrong, you will struggle to find anyone soul brave enough to defend his recent indiscretions, yet having been given such a public flogging we have essentially created an asset with zero value with which we are now lumbered and could well be for the foreseeable future. Most recently we have seen a number of interesting managerial decisions that have raised a few eyebrows. Firstly Ji's "treatment", shall we say, during the Capital One Cup against MK Dons a week or so ago. Ji had a stinker and was noticeably struggling and as the first half wore on the fans' patience in the stands was wearing thin, especially given the scoreline. However rather than make the substitution that even my wife suggested during the break, Ji returned to the field for the second half, before a mistimed run saw the forward flagged offside just minutes into the second period, causing Di Canio to spring into action. The obviously rattled and nervous Ji then faced the walk of shame as fans rejoiced in his substitution. Yes, the substitution was correct, but the timing was way off and for the conspiracy theorists out there looked quite possibly to have been an exercise in embarrassing the striker. Secondly, was the treatment of John O'Shea following Sunderland's defeat at Crystal Palace at the weekend. I'll make no argument against the fact that O'Shea didn't exactly have the greatest performance of his career and was greatly at fault for his dismissal which brought about a penalty for the home side. However Di Canio's decision to tear O'Shea a new one after the match was a tad surprising, especially given the bond the pair appeared to have fostered over the summer as the former Manchester United man almost acted as his manager's confidant. Again, I'll make no argument with what Di Canio actually had to say, but are these not words that would be best kept behind closed doors, rather than drawing further attention and scrutiny to the situation? Of course Di Canio is a hugely passionate character, it is ingrained in his very DNA and makes for fantastic viewing when it is expressed in a positive manner, especially on touchlines at St. James' Park, however there has to be a line in the sand. With the transfer window now closed and his squad complete, at least until the winter, it is surely time for Di Canio to show a little restraint and composure, especially in front of the press. The time to express his authority and status as a stern disciplinarian have now passed, this is now a given and is the least that is expected. What we need to see now, more than ever given Sunderland's tough run of home fixtures, is solidarity and a measured approach from Di Canio. As the Italian himself has commented, the crows are circling, however I have my reservations that the way to get them off his back is with further hand grenades.
Short should tell him not to give any interviews until 2 days after a game, so he has time to cool down.
I think some of his public outbursts have been blown out of proportion, the O`Shea on "he apologised, I dont want apologies" is a prime example, that to me is him saying, if he didnt do the mistake in the first place, he wouldnt have to apologise, not snubbing O`Shea out of hand. Others like Bardsley he was well within his rights to slag off, but it is a fine line, especially when he is not a native English speaker, things can come out a bit abrupt and sound wrong to us and the media.
fans , players , ex players and the media are just getting on his back because of who he is . Its turning into a witch hunt again . As for as the players and ex players go it sound`s like a case of the tail wagging the dog .
Tone it down in public definitely - what he says in the dressing roomm is his own business but we don't need him coming out to bollock players in public
That's what I meant Marcus if he has issues with players tell them privately don't go spouting of to the media!
I would ordinarily think that keeping it "in house" could only be a good thing. But if players know that a crap display just means a PdC hairdryer after the game they'll get used to it. I do think there's a place for coming out and saying so-and-so was **** and that his display is unacceptable, as it means their performance is out in the wider domain for all to see. It's a tricky one to get right and I think PdC has gone OTT at times, but that's his style and I wouldn't want his "revolution" fettered in any way. So it's a "no" from me...
There is a genuine query as to why he would want to do it in public anyway. Any manager worth his salt will castigate his players when required and a half-decent player will take it when its due and dispute it when its not but what does Di Canio gain by doing it publicly? Surely its most likely to devalue a player (if you are trying to get rid of them) or make them less comfortable at the club. The only people who I think its for the benefit of is the fans. Nice though that is I think if the manager is confident in his role he shouldn't feel the need to keep the fans on side. I like to know how much a player is bought or sold for or how much they are getting paid but can see why its in the clubs best interests to keep it quiet so don't mind not knowing. I think Di Canio would be better off doing it behind closed doors and the fans can be confident the correct things are being said to the correct people without the need for it to be done in the public eye. Just look at how many times the great managers stand there and defend a player with a glint in their eye which lets you know they're just about to go into the dressing room and tear strips off them.
So much passion in the man. Take the facist crap, he absolutely thrived on it and came up with every answer to every question. the more he gets slagged the more outspoken he will become. Yes I would say keep some of it in house but genuinely think his mouth just runs away with it.......ten minutes before he thinks about what he's going to say. When the papers and hanger on ex-players find a new whipping boy, he will (I think) calm it down a bit.
Sorry Steve but can't agree with that - everyone is human on a football pitch at the end of the day and, occasionally, mistakes happen and, if I make a mistake, then my boss expects an apology from me even though he still thinks I shouldn't make the mistake in the first place - if we bollock our kids for apologising becasue they shouldn't do it in the first place then what do they learn? (Only an opinion mate)
Tone down what? In general ie, high training work loads, strict rules, Media frequency, dietary measures, everything together? Or is this specifically the way he speaks about his players to the media? Cause if it's tone down everything then it's a No and i'd live with the way he speaks about players in the press. But if you you mean just the way he manages his players with the media then it's a yes. He's over the top with everything and each of his traits and methods will have arguments for and against. I happen to agree with 95% of his extreme measures but there's that 5% I would change.
I think what Paolo means here, is apologies mean nothing. If you know it's a mistake you shouldn't be making then sod the apology, get your head down, work hard, show the right attitude learn from your mistake to make sure it doesn't happen again.
The article relates specifically to his public critisms of people like o'shea, the confidence shattering substitution of ji, no body is questioning anything else. When he first arrived he was giving away his tactics before the match, thankfully that stopped pretty sharpish. Fletcher put the marmite & mayo rumour to bed. The players (just today giacc has come out and said) are loving life under pdc. Generally at this point i'm happy as fook with pdc its just his gob
People wouldn't be posting these threads if we'd won the first three games, end of story ............
