Hail ___ the Chief - Giancarlo Italiano

adidasbloke

Friar Tuck

Doloras

Reportsare

Is anyone else concerned that the guy who is in charge of our set piece defending (which has been woeful of late) is now in charge of everything?

Also, he has never held a head coach role in his life.

Mid to bottom table here we come.

That's where we live already.

Weird, I didn’t know that 5th in a league of 12 was mid to bottom.

Finishing 5th or 6th is pretty much mid table though, hardly great in a 12 team comp -  what really concerns me is the quality of our performances, a team needs to always look to improve, that's definitely not happening... Italiano has been involved with the team for over 3 years, yet we're still playing poorly, reckon that speaks volumes about him not been a good HC.

"Playing poorly" is totally inaccurate. In past seasons we've played some dire football, that has drastically improved during the Rudan and Talay years (Chiefy as part of that). Our reswults haven't been fatastic, sure. But some of the play has been decent to say the least. Finishing consitently 5/6 is the bare minimum that we can ask for, pretty sure Dome and Talay had said that they wanted/targetted top 4 to get a home final but being in the finals was the requirement. At the end of the day, results is what gets you into finals, not style. You can play god awful football and still win a league. sometimes I think we as fans put too much emphasis on style - personally I want wins. I dont really care how they come about. If we manage to grind out a series of 1-0 victories and managed to finish top of the league I can't see anyone complaining about how we managed that feat. 

This thread has become a depressing read. 

adidasbloke

Friar Tuck

Doloras

Reportsare

Is anyone else concerned that the guy who is in charge of our set piece defending (which has been woeful of late) is now in charge of everything?

Also, he has never held a head coach role in his life.

Mid to bottom table here we come.

That's where we live already.

Weird, I didn’t know that 5th in a league of 12 was mid to bottom.

Finishing 5th or 6th is pretty much mid table though, hardly great in a 12 team comp -  what really concerns me is the quality of our performances, a team needs to always look to improve, that's definitely not happening... Italiano has been involved with the team for over 3 years, yet we're still playing poorly, reckon that speaks volumes about him not been a good HC.

Absolute bollocks, yawn.

How much of our second-half-slippage can be attributed to poor conditioning?
Our late surge against Brisbane was probably the first time in a long time that I saw the Nix play with high intensity past 75 minute.

Jazzy Jeff

adidasbloke

Friar Tuck

Doloras

Reportsare

Is anyone else concerned that the guy who is in charge of our set piece defending (which has been woeful of late) is now in charge of everything?

Also, he has never held a head coach role in his life.

Mid to bottom table here we come.

That's where we live already.

Weird, I didn’t know that 5th in a league of 12 was mid to bottom.

Finishing 5th or 6th is pretty much mid table though, hardly great in a 12 team comp -  what really concerns me is the quality of our performances, a team needs to always look to improve, that's definitely not happening... Italiano has been involved with the team for over 3 years, yet we're still playing poorly, reckon that speaks volumes about him not been a good HC.

Absolute bollocks, yawn.

What rubbish ! ...you must be on drugs if you think we don't need to improve heaps in the defensive area.

adidasbloke

Jazzy Jeff

adidasbloke

Friar Tuck

Doloras

Reportsare

Is anyone else concerned that the guy who is in charge of our set piece defending (which has been woeful of late) is now in charge of everything?

Also, he has never held a head coach role in his life.

Mid to bottom table here we come.

That's where we live already.

Weird, I didn’t know that 5th in a league of 12 was mid to bottom.

Finishing 5th or 6th is pretty much mid table though, hardly great in a 12 team comp -  what really concerns me is the quality of our performances, a team needs to always look to improve, that's definitely not happening... Italiano has been involved with the team for over 3 years, yet we're still playing poorly, reckon that speaks volumes about him not been a good HC.

Absolute bollocks, yawn.

What rubbish ! ...you must be on drugs if you think we don't need to improve heaps in the defensive area.

the bollocks you mention has nothing about improving defensively - like always you've just come out swinging claiming everything is sharke and has been forever.

theprof

adidasbloke

Friar Tuck

Doloras

Reportsare

Is anyone else concerned that the guy who is in charge of our set piece defending (which has been woeful of late) is now in charge of everything?

Also, he has never held a head coach role in his life.

Mid to bottom table here we come.

That's where we live already.

Weird, I didn’t know that 5th in a league of 12 was mid to bottom.

Finishing 5th or 6th is pretty much mid table though, hardly great in a 12 team comp -  what really concerns me is the quality of our performances, a team needs to always look to improve, that's definitely not happening... Italiano has been involved with the team for over 3 years, yet we're still playing poorly, reckon that speaks volumes about him not been a good HC.

"Playing poorly" is totally inaccurate. In past seasons we've played some dire football, that has drastically improved during the Rudan and Talay years (Chiefy as part of that). Our reswults haven't been fatastic, sure. But some of the play has been decent to say the least. Finishing consitently 5/6 is the bare minimum that we can ask for, pretty sure Dome and Talay had said that they wanted/targetted top 4 to get a home final but being in the finals was the requirement. At the end of the day, results is what gets you into finals, not style. You can play god awful football and still win a league. sometimes I think we as fans put too much emphasis on style - personally I want wins. I dont really care how they come about. If we manage to grind out a series of 1-0 victories and managed to finish top of the league I can't see anyone complaining about how we managed that feat. 

I agree some of our play has been really good, have said that before, but we're very inconsistent, and the biggest part of our game that Italiano needs to address first when he's HC is our defence, he's looking for a couple of good defenders, but we also need to defend well as a whole unit - sometimes you win ugly, that's part of the the game, but in general would prefer us to play in a more positive manner, that way you increase your chances of winning matches, not park the bus & let the other team hammer our goal... to play out of the back really well though we do need a few more backs with good pace & skills like Elliot has.   

theprof

adidasbloke

Jazzy Jeff

adidasbloke

Friar Tuck

Doloras

Reportsare

Is anyone else concerned that the guy who is in charge of our set piece defending (which has been woeful of late) is now in charge of everything?

Also, he has never held a head coach role in his life.

Mid to bottom table here we come.

That's where we live already.

Weird, I didn’t know that 5th in a league of 12 was mid to bottom.

Finishing 5th or 6th is pretty much mid table though, hardly great in a 12 team comp -  what really concerns me is the quality of our performances, a team needs to always look to improve, that's definitely not happening... Italiano has been involved with the team for over 3 years, yet we're still playing poorly, reckon that speaks volumes about him not been a good HC.

Absolute bollocks, yawn.

What rubbish ! ...you must be on drugs if you think we don't need to improve heaps in the defensive area.

the bollocks you mention has nothing about improving defensively - like always you've just come out swinging claiming everything is sharke and has been forever.

How about thinking before you post ? ...doesn't matter if it's football, rugby or rugby league, the whole idea is to cut down the time & space of a player that has possession, that also increases your chances of turning over the ball, answer the question to that one ? or don't make stupid comments.

What is like the first time in 6 seasons that WSW made the finals? Think how much money they have spent relative to us and we've been into the finals 3 in the past 4 (only just missing out in one) and hopefully 4 out of the past 5, playing 2 and half seasons away from home, we've done pretty well. MV have finishes in that time 2nd last, last and are currently last. There's really only been 4 consistent teams across the past 5 seasons, us, City, SFC and Adelaide.

Bullion

What is like the first time in 6 seasons that WSW made the finals? Think how much money they have spent relative to us and we've been into the finals 3 in the past 4 (only just missing out in one) and hopefully 4 out of the past 5, playing 2 and half seasons away from home, we've done pretty well. MV have finishes in that time 2nd last, last and are currently last. There's really only been 4 consistent teams across the past 5 seasons, us, City, SFC and Adelaide.

Which considering the club's budget, and 2.5 of those 5 seasons badly Covid affected is very meritorious. A big pass mark for Talay on that. I think the worst winless run in his tenure has been 4 games - the current run, plus the first 4 games in his maiden season.

But as AV wrote in an article, he really needs that Playoff win, to cement himself as the best Nix coach in the club's short history. His enduring legacy all hangs on the next 2-3 weeks.

It will be a shame if his tenure ends with a whimper. Massive promise in the first two thirds of a season and then almost insurmountable obstacles until this one.

My mark of a man, is that he stays to his roots.

First game of next season, if this chief guy wears a suit on the touch line he loses all respect.

Until then he has it.

Nice footage of Chiefy doing his set piece directing around 37 minutes in today’s game. 
Unfortunately I didn’t note the exact time, so you’ll have to take the risk of catching some of that first half again if you are interested. Sorry

Reckon Paul Ifill would've done a good job as head coach... he'd have to be the best player the Phoenix have ever had, he could create plenty of opportunities for players & score goals too, was a smart thinker of the game, which I think makes him a very good candidate for the role.

adidasbloke

Reckon Paul Ifill would've done a good job as head coach... he'd have to be the best player the Phoenix have ever had, he could create plenty of opportunities for players & score goals too, was a smart thinker of the game, which I think makes him a very good candidate for the role.

You must be hilarious at parties!! Average coach at best, besides not having the necessary certificates to coach in the league.

theprof

adidasbloke

Reckon Paul Ifill would've done a good job as head coach... he'd have to be the best player the Phoenix have ever had, he could create plenty of opportunities for players & score goals too, was a smart thinker of the game, which I think makes him a very good candidate for the role.

You must be hilarious at parties!! Average coach at best, besides not having the necessary certificates to coach in the league.

I think there's a nostalgia issue. A lot of people are sadly stuck in the 2009-11 era, which was in terms of on-field results our best and drew the biggest crowds (and also the most attention from the press, but mainly due to negative reasons due to our ownership of the time). It's almost the football equivalent of Bring Back Buck (and that reference really ages me).

I'm not happy with our onfield performance these days, to understate the issue, but nostalgia is debilitating and catching. If I catch myself getting nostalgic, I prefer to focus on the club's current success with management, with the Academy, with producing young star players, and in becoming a part of the A-League in a way that they couldn't kick us out if they wanted to.

adidasbloke

Reckon Paul Ifill would've done a good job as head coach... he'd have to be the best player the Phoenix have ever had, he could create plenty of opportunities for players & score goals too, was a smart thinker of the game, which I think makes him a very good candidate for the role.

Maybe you missed the press release. 
We have a coach organised already.

adidasbloke

Reckon Paul Ifill would've done a good job as head coach... he'd have to be the best player the Phoenix have ever had, he could create plenty of opportunities for players & score goals too, was a smart thinker of the game, which I think makes him a very good candidate for the role.

Ifill might one day be a good coach but last season he was the coach of the second bottom team in the NZ Championship. If we wanted to look at the NZ domestic scene then Jose would be the stand out candidate, he kept Wellington competitive with a much bigger Auckland City and took Auckland United to third in it's first ever season.

theprof

adidasbloke

Reckon Paul Ifill would've done a good job as head coach... he'd have to be the best player the Phoenix have ever had, he could create plenty of opportunities for players & score goals too, was a smart thinker of the game, which I think makes him a very good candidate for the role.

You must be hilarious at parties!! Average coach at best, besides not having the necessary certificates to coach in the league.

I want someone coaching the team that has really good football sense, without doubt Ifill is one of those blokes, that's why I wanted him involved, he can't be any worse than the two current coaches... the sign of a good coach is having the ability to analsye well, identify problems & at least make good improvements, so peeves me off when the Coaches & players keep making the same dumb mistakes & they've basically done nothing about it, only have to look how we have played in the last 5 matches especially, any coach can look good when their team is performing well.

Would've liked to have seen NZ based coaches appointed, reckon a combo of Jose as head coach & Ifill as his assistant would be a very effective one. 

adidasbloke

theprof

adidasbloke

Reckon Paul Ifill would've done a good job as head coach... he'd have to be the best player the Phoenix have ever had, he could create plenty of opportunities for players & score goals too, was a smart thinker of the game, which I think makes him a very good candidate for the role.

You must be hilarious at parties!! Average coach at best, besides not having the necessary certificates to coach in the league.

I want someone coaching the team that has really good football sense, without doubt Ifill is one of those blokes, that's why I wanted him involved, he can't be any worse than the two current coaches... the sign of a good coach is having the ability to analsye well, identify problems & at least make good improvements, so peeves me off when the Coaches & players keep making the same dumb mistakes & they've basically done nothing about it, only have to look how we have played in the last 5 matches especially, any coach can look good when their team is performing well.

Would've liked to have seen NZ based coaches appointed, reckon a combo of Jose as head coach & Ifill as his assistant would be a very effective one. 

 Massive difference between being a good player/good commentator and being a good coach. He might have a great football sense from a players perspective but that is much easier to have than what a coach would need.

Let's give the man a chance and see how he goes. What he wants to do and how he goes about doing it before we judge him.

anaveragestem

adidasbloke

theprof

adidasbloke

Reckon Paul Ifill would've done a good job as head coach... he'd have to be the best player the Phoenix have ever had, he could create plenty of opportunities for players & score goals too, was a smart thinker of the game, which I think makes him a very good candidate for the role.

You must be hilarious at parties!! Average coach at best, besides not having the necessary certificates to coach in the league.

I want someone coaching the team that has really good football sense, without doubt Ifill is one of those blokes, that's why I wanted him involved, he can't be any worse than the two current coaches... the sign of a good coach is having the ability to analsye well, identify problems & at least make good improvements, so peeves me off when the Coaches & players keep making the same dumb mistakes & they've basically done nothing about it, only have to look how we have played in the last 5 matches especially, any coach can look good when their team is performing well.

Would've liked to have seen NZ based coaches appointed, reckon a combo of Jose as head coach & Ifill as his assistant would be a very effective one. 

 Massive difference between being a good player/good commentator and being a good coach. He might have a great football sense from a players perspective but that is much easier to have than what a coach would need.

True, top players in any sport can end up as awful head coaches, but what has Talay & Italiano done to make improvements in our last 5 matches ? in fact we've got worse going by our last match... our lack of budget isn't really an excuse, it is what it is, and a good coach should be able to get the best out of each individual anyway, that clearly isn't happening, if each player executes their roles efficiently, you then perform well as a team.

Is Ifill really a smart thinker of the game? He's a great character and tells a good yarn. A sharp football brain, I'm not so sure. Be interesting to see where his coaching journey goes.

But it's pointless promoting local coaches for the Nix head gaffer role, if they don't have the required badges.

Iffil aint a kiwi just another foreigner that talks a good game. But he could play football tbf. But a big NO from me.

Do you reckon this side of the world would adopt a Gaffer and actually have a couple of coaches below him that did all the work/coaching?

 

coochiee

Is Ifill really a smart thinker of the game? He's a great character and tells a good yarn. A sharp football brain, I'm not so sure. Be interesting to see where his coaching journey goes.

But it's pointless promoting local coaches for the Nix head gaffer role, if they don't have the required badges.

I definitely reckon Ifill is a smart thinker & has a sharp brain for the game, as a bit of a gauge his composure & skill sets in games were very good, it's whether he has the man managements skills to work with individuals.

It's definitely pointless playing the same way we are, unfortunately we will probably get more of the same stuff when Italiano is running the team.

It's so crucial to appoint the right head coach... only have to look at the ABs when the NZRU clowns appointed Foster as HC, heaps of supporters at the time knew he was a very poor choice, and he's gone on to show how incompetent he is.

Bringing up Iffy's name is part of the whole nostalgia for 2009-11 trip which I think causes fans to lose touch with contemporary reality

adidasbloke

coochiee

Is Ifill really a smart thinker of the game? He's a great character and tells a good yarn. A sharp football brain, I'm not so sure. Be interesting to see where his coaching journey goes.

But it's pointless promoting local coaches for the Nix head gaffer role, if they don't have the required badges.

I definitely reckon Ifill is a smart thinker & has a sharp brain for the game, as a bit of a gauge his composure & skill sets in games were very good, it's whether he has the man managements skills to work with individuals.

It's definitely pointless playing the same way we are, unfortunately we will probably get more of the same stuff when Italiano is running the team.

It's so crucial to appoint the right head coach... only have to look at the ABs when the NZRU clowns appointed Foster as HC, heaps of supporters at the time knew he was a very poor choice, and he's gone on to show how incompetent he is.

I dunno, I've watched ifill coaching on person a few times and there's nothing there that suggests he's anything special. What do you base you assumption that he'd be good on? He utterly failed with Christchurch United in the National League.

Doloras

Bringing up Iffy's name is part of the whole nostalgia for 2009-11 trip which I think causes fans to lose touch with contemporary reality

Tbf overall this is mostly why I watch (and discuss) football. 

adidasbloke

coochiee

Is Ifill really a smart thinker of the game? He's a great character and tells a good yarn. A sharp football brain, I'm not so sure. Be interesting to see where his coaching journey goes.

But it's pointless promoting local coaches for the Nix head gaffer role, if they don't have the required badges.

I definitely reckon Ifill is a smart thinker & has a sharp brain for the game, as a bit of a gauge his composure & skill sets in games were very good, it's whether he has the man managements skills to work with individuals.

It's definitely pointless playing the same way we are, unfortunately we will probably get more of the same stuff when Italiano is running the team.

It's so crucial to appoint the right head coach... only have to look at the ABs when the NZRU clowns appointed Foster as HC, heaps of supporters at the time knew he was a very poor choice, and he's gone on to show how incompetent he is.

 "probably get more of the same stuff when Italiano is running the team" - you literally have no clue whether or not that will happen. Nor do I, or anyone else on this forum for that matter, but it's ridiculous to already be cynical about Chiefy

I wish Chiefy all the best and I believe that he'll be an outstanding coach. Can't wait for him to start. 

kungfu panda

I wish Chiefy all the best and I believe that he'll be an outstanding coach. Can't wait for him to start. 

Well you do love all things Italian KP, and Giancarlo is at least half.

Jazzy Jeff

adidasbloke

coochiee

Is Ifill really a smart thinker of the game? He's a great character and tells a good yarn. A sharp football brain, I'm not so sure. Be interesting to see where his coaching journey goes.

But it's pointless promoting local coaches for the Nix head gaffer role, if they don't have the required badges.

I definitely reckon Ifill is a smart thinker & has a sharp brain for the game, as a bit of a gauge his composure & skill sets in games were very good, it's whether he has the man managements skills to work with individuals.

It's definitely pointless playing the same way we are, unfortunately we will probably get more of the same stuff when Italiano is running the team.

It's so crucial to appoint the right head coach... only have to look at the ABs when the NZRU clowns appointed Foster as HC, heaps of supporters at the time knew he was a very poor choice, and he's gone on to show how incompetent he is.

 "probably get more of the same stuff when Italiano is running the team" - you literally have no clue whether or not that will happen. Nor do I, or anyone else on this forum for that matter, but it's ridiculous to already be cynical about Chiefy

Yep, honestly don't think I've seen more clueless comments on this forum as I have the past few days.

kungfu panda

I wish Chiefy all the best and I believe that he'll be an outstanding coach. Can't wait for him to start. 

You reckon he will give Pennington more minutes? Ufuk doesn't seem to rate him. Personally I think Ugarkovic has been a dissapointment and think Pennington should of got more minutes, not sad to see him go. 

siac

kungfu panda

I wish Chiefy all the best and I believe that he'll be an outstanding coach. Can't wait for him to start. 

You reckon he will give Pennington more minutes? Ufuk doesn't seem to rate him. Personally I think Ugarkovic has been a dissapointment and think Pennington should of got more minutes, not sad to see him go. 

I’ve always liked pennington, just made me nervous though and seemed to be a ballerina on ice at times. Does strike me odd that he’s not had many mins but we don’t see how he is in training etc. 

Anyway, looking forward to and hoping the best for Italiano’s time. 

Ninja

Jazzy Jeff

adidasbloke

coochiee

Is Ifill really a smart thinker of the game? He's a great character and tells a good yarn. A sharp football brain, I'm not so sure. Be interesting to see where his coaching journey goes.

But it's pointless promoting local coaches for the Nix head gaffer role, if they don't have the required badges.

I definitely reckon Ifill is a smart thinker & has a sharp brain for the game, as a bit of a gauge his composure & skill sets in games were very good, it's whether he has the man managements skills to work with individuals.

It's definitely pointless playing the same way we are, unfortunately we will probably get more of the same stuff when Italiano is running the team.

It's so crucial to appoint the right head coach... only have to look at the ABs when the NZRU clowns appointed Foster as HC, heaps of supporters at the time knew he was a very poor choice, and he's gone on to show how incompetent he is.

 "probably get more of the same stuff when Italiano is running the team" - you literally have no clue whether or not that will happen. Nor do I, or anyone else on this forum for that matter, but it's ridiculous to already be cynical about Chiefy

Yep, honestly don't think I've seen more clueless comments on this forum as I have the past few days.

What an idiotic comment... try actually analysing in depth in all areas of the game.

Monto

adidasbloke

coochiee

Is Ifill really a smart thinker of the game? He's a great character and tells a good yarn. A sharp football brain, I'm not so sure. Be interesting to see where his coaching journey goes.

But it's pointless promoting local coaches for the Nix head gaffer role, if they don't have the required badges.

I definitely reckon Ifill is a smart thinker & has a sharp brain for the game, as a bit of a gauge his composure & skill sets in games were very good, it's whether he has the man managements skills to work with individuals.

It's definitely pointless playing the same way we are, unfortunately we will probably get more of the same stuff when Italiano is running the team.

It's so crucial to appoint the right head coach... only have to look at the ABs when the NZRU clowns appointed Foster as HC, heaps of supporters at the time knew he was a very poor choice, and he's gone on to show how incompetent he is.

I dunno, I've watched ifill coaching on person a few times and there's nothing there that suggests he's anything special. What do you base you assumption that he'd be good on? He utterly failed with Christchurch United in the National League.

There's nothing special about Talay's coaching either, if there was he'd have the ability to improve the team performances when they're struggling... only mentioned Ifill as another option.

Jazzy Jeff

adidasbloke

coochiee

Is Ifill really a smart thinker of the game? He's a great character and tells a good yarn. A sharp football brain, I'm not so sure. Be interesting to see where his coaching journey goes.

But it's pointless promoting local coaches for the Nix head gaffer role, if they don't have the required badges.

I definitely reckon Ifill is a smart thinker & has a sharp brain for the game, as a bit of a gauge his composure & skill sets in games were very good, it's whether he has the man managements skills to work with individuals.

It's definitely pointless playing the same way we are, unfortunately we will probably get more of the same stuff when Italiano is running the team.

It's so crucial to appoint the right head coach... only have to look at the ABs when the NZRU clowns appointed Foster as HC, heaps of supporters at the time knew he was a very poor choice, and he's gone on to show how incompetent he is.

 "probably get more of the same stuff when Italiano is running the team" - you literally have no clue whether or not that will happen. Nor do I, or anyone else on this forum for that matter, but it's ridiculous to already be cynical about Chiefy

They say part of Italiano's job as the assistant is to analyse video's, strategy etc, so till me how he has helped to make improvements in our last 5 matches ? as said our last game was the worst of the 5... those things give me a bit of a gauge on him. 

kungfu panda

• WanderingSheep

  siac

  kungfu panda

  I wish Chiefy all the best and I believe that he'll be an outstanding coach. Can't wait for him to start. 

  
  You reckon he will give Pennington more minutes? Ufuk doesn't seem to rate him. Personally I think Ugarkovic has been a dissapointment and think Pennington should of got more minutes, not sad to see him go. 

  
  I’ve always liked pennington, just made me nervous though and seemed to be a ballerina on ice at times. Does strike me odd that he’s not had many mins but we don’t see how he is in training etc. 
  
  Anyway, looking forward to and hoping the best for Italiano’s time. 

• Got to reply to this. Sorry.
• Pennington can't dribble and he can't shoot. That's why Talay who eye balls the game rather than properly reviewing the stats doesn't like him. What the stats showed last season were that he won the ball more than Rufer and Lewis combined. In the number 6 position that is the most important role. The results in the last 10 competitive games bore this fact out. It's true that we capitulated if things didn't go well, but the same has happened this season with Lewis and Ugarkovic. 
• Pennington's contract is up though. So maybe he's off?
• I think Italiano, who is a stats man will use Pennington if he stays.

Kungfu panda mate, I love you and your undying love for Pennington. I don't think you need to tell us that fact about him though because I feel like we've all heard it three times from you at least. You crack me up.

Surely you have some other wild facts about him? Like what is his favourite food? You must know him on a first name basis by now surely hahaha 

anaveragestem

kungfu panda

• WanderingSheep

  siac

  kungfu panda

  I wish Chiefy all the best and I believe that he'll be an outstanding coach. Can't wait for him to start. 

  
  You reckon he will give Pennington more minutes? Ufuk doesn't seem to rate him. Personally I think Ugarkovic has been a dissapointment and think Pennington should of got more minutes, not sad to see him go. 

  
  I’ve always liked pennington, just made me nervous though and seemed to be a ballerina on ice at times. Does strike me odd that he’s not had many mins but we don’t see how he is in training etc. 
  
  Anyway, looking forward to and hoping the best for Italiano’s time. 

• Got to reply to this. Sorry.
• Pennington can't dribble and he can't shoot. That's why Talay who eye balls the game rather than properly reviewing the stats doesn't like him. What the stats showed last season were that he won the ball more than Rufer and Lewis combined. In the number 6 position that is the most important role. The results in the last 10 competitive games bore this fact out. It's true that we capitulated if things didn't go well, but the same has happened this season with Lewis and Ugarkovic. 
• Pennington's contract is up though. So maybe he's off?
• I think Italiano, who is a stats man will use Pennington if he stays.

Kungfu panda mate, I love you and your undying love for Pennington. I don't think you need to tell us that fact about him though because I feel like we've all heard it three times from you at least. You crack me up.

Surely you have some other wild facts about him? Like what is his favourite food? You must know him on a first name basis by now surely hahaha 

To be fair I did bring up the topic, and his reply was relevant.