Inter - Genoa (28 Feb 21) [3-0]

[Rasha]

I think it is time to stop doubting our capabilities

Im not saying we will win a title but for love of god do we fans every single game have to be so cancerous

 

[Jnr]

Years of zeru tituli drought bro. Its not science.

 

[Candreva Crosses]

it's like as if playing Eriksen instead of log gaglolrdini pays off...who would have thought...bravo Conte for figuring this hard one out...clap clap

Miss you!!

 

[Puma]

Does nobody think that Conte has done an excellent job with Eriksen, teaching him discipline, showing him he's not above anyone, getting him integrated properly, getting him on board with the system etc?

I do. Wether you like Conte or not, Eriksen has been developed and managed right.

Of course this is my opinion...

I totally agree with your post.

Like I said in the Conte thread. Credit should be given where it is due. It took some time, but Eriksen is well and truly contributing to our overall game and the way we are performing. Unfortunately, there are some posters on here that have a double standard and take for granted what has actually happened with Eriksen (and Perisic) during his time at Inter.

It is important to say that this is not Football Manager. It is not easy to incorporate a player that has played in a designated role for most of his career and does not fit his coach's favoured formation. Conte needed time to find a solution and and so too did Eriksen to understand what was expected of him. Perhaps it took longer than expected because it is difficult to experiment when a team is playing every three or so days and there being expectations in relation to trying to win a championship. It is also likely that for Eriksen to understand and grasp what Conte wanted from him, the latter had to convey that the player was not a walk-in to our eleven and could not expect to play if he did not put in the effort and do what was required.

Because of his Juventus past, there is a double standard and an element of unreasonableness when it comes to the way Conte is assessed and judged by some Inter fans. Personally, I feel that if it were any other coach, posters on here would be saying how much of a genius that coach would be for transforming Perisic and finding a new role for Eriksen. But because it is Conte, a former Juventus Captain, posters on here are unwilling to acknowledge or recognise what he has done. They just take it for granted and complain as to why it was not done earlier. It is bullshit.

One thing I am asbosolutely loving at the moment is the way we are switched on from the very beginning of games and trying to control matches from beginning to end. I keep going on about this but it is the one thing that has grated and aggravated me for the best part of ten years. Do you remember how under Mazzarri, Pioli and Spalletti when we would play big games, the team never showed up or showed up too late? Or how they just seemed ill prepared? I just fucking love how we are bossing, bullying and harassing our opponents from the beginning of games. On the weekend, Conte spoke about his passion and transferring that to the players. The hunger, focus, determination, the fact that we do not stop playing: it is absolutely beautiful to watch.

The way I see it, there are posters on here that will never be satisfied or happy because of Conte's past. The snide remarks, sarcasm, criticism and inability to recognise and acknowledge his contribution will always be there. I ignore those posters because if we sit around reading and giving air to their posts, we stand to miss what is taking place each time our beloved team takes to the field.

Give credit where credit is due instead of being thankless cunts.

 

[Ed.]

I totally agree with your post.

Like I said in the Conte thread. Credit should be given where it is due. It took some time, but Eriksen is well and truly contributing to our overall game and the way we are performing. Unfortunately, there are some posters on here that have a double standard and take for granted what has actually happened with Eriksen (and Perisic) during his time at Inter.

It is important to say that this is not Football Manager. It is not easy to incorporate a player that has played in a designated role for most of his career and does not fit his coach's favoured formation. Conte needed time to find a solution and and so too did Eriksen to understand what was expected of him. Perhaps it took longer than expected because it is difficult to experiment when a team is playing every three or so days and there being expectations in relation to trying to win a championship. It is also likely that for Eriksen to understand and grasp what Conte wanted from him, the latter had to convey that the player was not a walk-in to our eleven and could not expect to play if he did not put in the effort and do what was required.

Because of his Juventus past, there is a double standard and an element of unreasonableness when it comes to the way Conte is assessed and judged by some Inter fans. Personally, I feel that if it were any other coach, posters on here would be saying how much of a genius that coach would be for transforming Perisic and finding a new role for Eriksen. But because it is Conte, a former Juventus Captain, posters on here are unwilling to acknowledge or recognise what he has done. They just take it for granted and complain as to why it was not done earlier. It is bullshit.

One thing I am asbosolutely loving at the moment is the way we are switched on from the very beginning of games and trying to control matches from beginning to end. I keep going on about this but it is the one thing that has grated and aggravated me for the best part of ten years. Do you remember how under Mazzarri, Pioli and Spalletti when we would play big games, the team never showed up or showed up too late? Or how they just seemed ill prepared? I just fucking love how we are bossing, bullying and harassing our opponents from the beginning of games. On the weekend, Conte spoke about his passion and transferring that to the players. The hunger, focus, determination, the fact that we do not stop playing: it is absolutely beautiful to watch.

The way I see it, there are posters on here that will never be satisfied or happy because of Conte's past. The snide remarks, sarcasm, criticism and inability to recognise and acknowledge his contribution will always be there. I ignore those posters because if we sit around reading and giving air to their posts, we stand to miss what is taking place each time our beloved team takes to the field.

Give credit where credit is due instead of being thankless cunts.

Agree with what you said. Some people even said that Conte's success is not worth to be celebrated because it's what is expected. I find this is nothing but pure hate. Imagine Liverpool, Bayern, Real Madrid or City fans do not celebrate their titles because it's what's expected from the coach. Some people keep nitpicking on his European failure. We're on the way to our first title in a decade and some people just care about playing 2 extra matches in CL.

People also tend to ignore psychosocial factors for players integration into the team. Eriksen arrived at Inter at the end of January 2020. 4-5 weeks after he arrived, Italy went into lockdown. There was time when rumour broke out that Eriksen was living in the training ground alone. That lasted for few months. When football returned, there was no time for experiment. We played football every 3 days. I can understand why Eriksen at times looked unmotivated and seemed difficult to settle. However, it's funny if people assume what happened right now with Eriksen is a matter of starting Eriksen in the match. This wasn't that easy. Eriksen and Conte have put aside their differences and worked together for this result. This is not something done overnight or a week or two. This is a result of few months of hard work.

The same thing with Perisic. People blame Conte for refusing Perisic and forget that Perisic also didn't want to play as LWB. Conte tried him as CF and it didn't work too. Perisic went to Bayern. When he returned, it was just few days before the beginning of the season. Again, Perisic and Conte have put aside their differences for the team.

What we are seeing from Inter is not because of Conte or the players alone. It's a result of the entire team effort. Everyone chipped in for this success. However, Conte is in the centre of the circle.

 

[Candreva Crosses]

Very good point Ed. Me myself has been questioning Conte because of the CL exit but if I could choose not go past the group stage but win the serie A then I would of course choose Serie A. But its too soon to determine if Conte has succeeded or failed which will be determined at the end of the season. But what I can say is that I fucking enjoy watching my team play for once.

 

[Bluenine]

Puma, Ed, I couldn't agree more. Good to see so many positive, happy posts after an Inter win. Sometimes it feels like some Inter fans here are disappointed after watching Conte's team win. Perhaps its not just Conte being singled out coz of his past. No Inter coach ever gets the credit here (unless he wins the treble and leaves immediately). Coaches are easy scapegoats for lazy posters.

Conte has done reasonably well so far. You can see the progress year on year, not just with Conte but starting from Spalletti's spell. Now we finally have great team spirit, most players are playing at or close to their best. We are peaking at the right time of the season. I think based on the talent we have in our squad, this is as good as it can realistically get.

In the last 40 seasons, there are only 4 times we had as many points as today after 24 rounds. 1988-89, 2006-07, 2007-08 & 2008-09. Each of those seasons we won the Scudetto. Thats saying something.

 

[Pimpin]

Please vote for our Players after our convincing win!

You are doing an amazing job brother

 

[bubba zanetti]

Conte wanted to sell Eriksen a month ago,only our fucked up situation and no good offers for him forced Inter to stay with Eriksen.Conte was wrong all the time.Don't credit Conte for Eriksen rise,credit only Eriksen.Eriksen came against Milan and we saw what happened next..Conte needed 12 months to finally realize that Eriksen can play in Brozo and Sensi position.Fans knew it,only our genius coach didnt knew.Finally he realizes and look,we play best football under Conte.I will give Conte only credit for resurrection of Perisic,not for Eriksen,no way. He should have done this a long ago,not playing fkn Gags that cost us points and trophys last season.

 

[Ed.]

Eriksen also wanted to leave himself too and Marotta confirmed it. Eriksen didn't just start playing great suddenly. He has been awful since he arrived. Conte accommodated Eriksen in his tactic. Our best formation had been 352. When Eriksen arrived, Conte started to try playing 3412. Eriksen also had a few games as AM. He played 1 good game but then busted afterwards. He never defended. Whenever he lost the ball, he never recovered. Today's Eriksen is different. He understands the importance of defence and work as a unit. Things started to get better when Conte played Eriksen in Brozovic place. However, if you believe this is just like FIFA where playing a player suddenly change everything, then I can see the reason why you are not a football coach.

I am saying this without any hate to Eriksen or Conte. I had called for Eriksen to join us since September 2019. I was ecstatic when he arrived and even made a dumb #interiksen for him. But, to say Eriksen did it all alone is ridiculous because Eriksen today is not the same as the one we know from Spurs.

 

[Harpsabu]

Conte wanted to sell Eriksen a month ago,only our fucked up situation and no good offers for him forced Inter to stay with Eriksen.Conte was wrong all the time.Don't credit Conte for Eriksen rise,credit only Eriksen.Eriksen came against Milan and we saw what happened next..Conte needed 12 months to finally realize that Eriksen can play in Brozo and Sensi position.Fans knew it,only our genius coach didnt knew.Finally he realizes and look,we play best football under Conte.I will give Conte only credit for resurrection of Perisic,not for Eriksen,no way. He should have done this a long ago,not playing fkn Gags that cost us points and trophys last season.

Ehm just not true. There was a game earlier in the season that eriksen started and was replaced with 20 minutes to go by Sensi. Brozovic had hit more passes in 20 minutes to Sensi than he did to eriksen. Siavoush f tweeted this, I can't remember what game it was, towards the start of the season. So it's complete eriksen was in tune with the system, with his team mates or with his role.
Now we are playing games once a week we finally have time to work on these things on the training ground and it's paying off.
People forget we only had 2 weeks pre season as well.

As tancredi palmieri said, some inter fans hate conte more than they love inter.

 

[Ed.]

Ehm just not true. There was a game earlier in the season that eriksen started and was replaced with 20 minutes to go by Sensi. Brozovic had hit more passes in 20 minutes to Sensi than he did to eriksen. Siavoush f tweeted this, I can't remember what game it was, towards the start of the season. So it's complete eriksen was in tune with the system, with his team mates or with his role.
Now we are playing games once a week we finally have time to work on these things on the training ground and it's paying off.
People forget we only had 2 weeks pre season as well.

As tancredi palmieri said, some inter fans hate conte more than they love inter.

Fiorentina game?

 

[Harpsabu]

Fiorentina game?

It may have been. I can't remember the game exactly, I just remember reading the stat and thinking it was crazy. But this is the reality of eriksen at the start of the year. It's took work, and I don't think it's a coincidence that now we finally have time to work on the training pitch we are seeing integration, rather than a game every 3 days.

 

[FairyTailed]

Don't forget to vote if you haven't yet! http://bit.ly/3aZbUGe

Sempre Forza Inter! ����

 

[Candreva Crosses]

Please vote for our Players after our convincing win!

Are you alone doing all that work or do you have any help? After every game too, amazing work rate from you.

 

[Universe]

Just RE this Conte v Eriksen debate:

Is it true that Conte's "hazing" of Eriksen somehow contributed to his motivation, and that behind the scenes he adjusted both his attitude and tactical application to better serve the team? Possibly. Personally I think that's a hard thing to prove or disprove so I don't feel it's the correct question to ask. If people want to assert that though, I won't disagree.

I would ask another question though, which, to me, seems the accurate question to ask: do those of you arguing this, honestly believe that Conte gave Eriksen a legitimately fair shot to begin with, and that we as a club, did as much as possible (or reasonable) to ensure the success of this sizeable investment?

For me the answer is a resounding no. And again, this trumps any possible outcome from the initial question asked. Even if Eriksen came here with a diva attitude (again, impossible to prove and highly unlikely given his history of professionalism and his quiet personality), even if he was tactically lacking for the system - these things do not validate or remove the bigger concerns I've mentioned.

Let's look at it from two perspectives: tactical vs man management.

From the tactical point of view, I like to think that it has been proven beyond all doubt that Conte's earlier tactical experiments were a failure. The fact that he no longer plays the "better-on-the-ball" Kolarov and D'Ambrosio as forward, wide CB's proves this. The fact that he completely ditched the 3412 proves this. (Yes I know D'Ambrosio was injured but even before the injury, he didn't play him much. Also not once has he played Darmian as a wide CB as speculated.)

I've referenced n4l's post many times but it goes into more detail why the 3412 was a disaster to begin with. Conte rotated practically every midfielder in the squad as that "1" in the 3412 and all of them were varying degrees of average at best. The system was broken and Conte fucked it off when he finally saw the light. I don't think that can be debated.

Now consider this: the vast majority of Eriksen's first months with us was spent playing as the 1 in this broken formation - a formation that would be ultimately abandoned for it's glaring deficiencies and deep structural faults - even though literally every possible player was tried in that position.

That proves that no matter who played as the "1", it didn't work. Conte realized this and thankfully reverted to the 352 flat. But only after having confused the shit out of Eriksen by playing him in the doomed 3412 experiment for months.

I advocated for him to be slotted into Sensi's position as LCM from the day his name was linked to us with any credibility. I wanted him afforded the time and patience it would've taken him to adjust, but this did not happen. This brings us nicely to the man management side of things.

Let's start with the obvious: Conte didn't want Eriksen, he wanted Vidal. Conte is notorious for heavily favoring physical, combative players, especially in midfield. It's obvious for coaches to seek certain kinds of players to do specific jobs - but at some point, there must be a balance, and to some extent, you must work with what you have. Conte clearly did not afford Eriksen the same kind of leniency or patience he afforded others to say the least.

Some say Eriksen is playing now that he knows what to do tactically speaking. Who's to say he wouldn't have learned this much earlier if Conte had actually given him consistent game time in a tactically feasible position? What was there to lose? Sensi was injured (as is he now and ever shall be) and the alternatives were an also-injured Vecino, and a rubbish Gagliardini.

Put simply, Conte has only recently recognized that when Gagliardini and Eriksen are both fit, and both tactically "up to speed", Eriksen is a clearly superior option. Maybe Eriksen would've reached this level significantly earlier with a bit more attentiveness and patience.

On that note, I don't expect Conte or Marotta to have assigned Eriksen a buddy to take him on fishing trips at Lake Como. I don't expect them to invite him to dinner and help him find the best school for his kids like Icardi used to with all our new South Americans yao. But the way we "helped him settle in" after shit went down with COVID, was just flat out garbage.

I don't care if you're earning €7.5m a year. You come to a foreign country, not knowing a word of the language, separated from your wife and children, and all of a sudden, you're locked down in a hotel and just 1 hour away from you, people start dying in their thousands from a new disease. That's stressful.

Eriksen mentioned he wanted to stay with Lukaku and/or Ashley Young for a few days to help get settled but that it didn't happen. You telling me that someone from the club couldn't have helped out in some small way? A fucking homeless shelter takes better care of transients than we did Eriksen in this time. This is not on Conte per se, but it goes to show the general lack of communication and planning with Eriksen's integration, both personally and tactically. We filmed a cool welcome video for him at Teatro alla Scala, big whoop. Next time actually help the person settle into the new environment and team.

------------------------------------------------

Now I respect that Conte is doing an excellent job of keeping the squad harmonious and focused during this very uncertain time. I respect that (as a 51 year old millionaire) he seems to be maturing in recent months and complaining less than he is used to. I also respect that he had the humility to admit his experiments (like 3412 and Kolarov) were not working. But despite the recent maturity and patience shown, he's a notoriously prickly personality and he certainly made his displeasure shown during Eriksen's time here. Those 93rd minute substitutions for example, were simply disgusting and petty.

Eriksen too arguably could've done more to learn the language or whatever. He could've.. trained harder... I guess..? You all clearly see which side of the fence I'm on. I don't disagree for a second that Eriksen was somewhat underwhelming on the pitch until very recently. The entire point of this post is to argue that it isn't half as much his fault as some of you make out, with all due respect.

Either way, I just want to move on and have Eriksen, even if late, make his mark on this team as he has begun to do in recent weeks. Let bygones be bygones and now that things have consolidated, finally, to some degree, I don't want to worry about us discarding or misusing a great player for fucking nonsensical reasons.

All players, great or otherwise, should be given the best possible chances to succeed. Throwing them to the wolves, giving them a baptism by fire and later saying "oh they didn't try hard enough" or "if they were better they would've made it", is such a Stone Age way of doing business. It costs us dearly, on the pitch, and in dollars. No more of this shit.

 

[Candreva Crosses]

That's a long way of saying fuck you to conte. i like:epicwin:

 

[NimAraya]

Well said Uni. Conte fans and apologists' memory works as good as last few weeks. There is 0 excuse for the treatment Conte gave to Eriksen prior to the past few weeks. Gaglairdini, Vidal and Brozovic were all playing poor, yet these people are defending Conte's decision to freeze Eriksen to the bench for these 3 and humiliate him with 2 minutes playing time every few weeks! No person on his right mind would defend such a treatment if they were not busy defending a coach whose job is to integrate the team and get the best out of the options he has.

I mean your team is getting out of the CL at home against a very inferior team and how many minutes you give to your best playmaker? 5 minutes!! I can't believe people are saying Conte was right in treating Eriksen like that!

 

[Kova10]

Eriksen had more than enough chances given even as LCM against Cagliari. Conte basically screamed half the Game for Eriksen to keep his position, as he freestyled his way into number 10 everytime. The point is that there were always better Performers, and even Gagliardini was tactically more sound. Why are substitutions an insult by the way? Why does noone say the same about Vidal and Ashley Young in the last two Games?

Above the Eriksen issue, the post contains flaws that are actively spreaded and contribute to some 'alternative' facts about Conte.

Kolarov and D'Ambrosio were never meant to be starters in this system. Conte was forced to use them in the games he used them because of either injuries, COVID or squad rotation.
He picked Kolarov because he was short on budget, and expected to win. So naturally he took the most experienced cheap option. Same with Vidal by the way. I doubt that he would have played with us If we had a bigger budget to operate. He doesn't love Vidal, he treats him like anyone else which can be seen in him being left out of the starting eleven, because of disciplinary problems.

The results we are delivering now should have been delivered on a weekly basis by the way, as realistically there has been only one game we have been literally outplayed (vs Napoli). We werent capable of finishing games (Lazio, Roma, Atalanta) and grab the games as soon as possible (Sampdoria) because of offensive individual fuck ups and Not because of the tactical aspect. Same goes for the games against Real Madrid, Juventus (Coppa), Gladbach, and Milan (the First one). There the individual fuck ups occured defensively.

 

[brehme1989]

Stop twisting the narrative with facts Uni