Last night, I was reading through the last couple of pages of this thread and had a few thoughts. From the outset, it is important for me to say that some of the speculation about Conte’s future and whether he will be here next season was prompted by his own comments following the match against Verona. Those comments allowed the door to be opened after which the media and Italian football commentators invited themselves to a feast of speculation at Inter’s expense.
What struck me are some of the double standards and contradictions about Conte, his coaching, and the speculation regarding the appointment of a new coach. In an attempt to explain our results, I started looking for things that might not be there in terms of divisions in the paying group, issues between the players and Conte. But in the days that followed, I could not help but feel how wrong it was to be talking about a coaching change when the season has not even finished. Not to mention the fact that with the exception of recent lapses, we are doing quite well.
The thought I had is that our response and that of the media’s is more to do with us than Conte’s performance as a coach. We are so used to change and the accompanying dysfunction that comes with a new coach, new start and another Year Zero that we have absolutely no idea about what is normal or what the standard should be. At the moment, we are third in the standings and will qualify for the Champions League without too much drama but somehow there is speculation about a new coach.
I find it funny that the likes of Simeone and Mourinho were mentioned. In relation to the latter, he was described as “world class” in comparison to Conte. In relation to the former, it was even floated that he might have something to offer when Spurs are presently performing worse than Inter. On Simeone, we have heard for years about how much he wants to coach Inter but that supposed interest has never amounted to anything concrete. I think Brehme even stated that Conte was not a very convincing footballer and that his coaching is not much better. When did that even become a relevant criteria? And let's just say it was a criteria, Mourinho was a shit footballer and no one has ever tried to argue that his lack of pedigree as a player compromised his coaching. And how much better was Simeone than Conte as a player? In relation to Mourinho, most of us know that bringing him back would only tarnish his legacy. It is not like Spurs are setting the Premier League on fire. While I am writing this, I cannot help but dwell on the double standards, how ridiculous it is for me to be talking about new coaches and am wondering whether the problem actually lies with us, our reactionary responses and the way we buy into the speculation of the media. In terms of our responses, I feel that Interisti and Conte have more in common than we care to admit.
It goes without saying that we all want the best for Inter. We all want to see our club back where it belongs, performing at the highest level with the best possible players. We want the respect of our opponents and want them to fear us rather than laugh and know that we are going to blow a lead and drop three points. To reach that level, it is going to take some time and under Conte, we need to learn to walk before we can run. Putting it in perspective, Conte essentially has a decade of losing and shit mediocrity coupled with the psychological burden of always choking and never being good enough. I do not think it is reasonable for us to expect that those issues be addressed and dealt with in less than a season.
Management undoubtedly knew what they were getting when they hired him. They knew full well about his outbursts and his tendency to complain in public when things are not going right. But I guess the question I have is why do we have different expectations for Conte? Is it because he is a Hunchback? Why are our expectations of a first year coach who is yet to complete his first full season at the club so unreasonable? Do they stem from the start we had to the season? Or the wages he is receiving? Do we simply expect too much at this time? Should those expectations be tempered in anticipation of what we might be able to achieve next season?
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