Two things. One - Mourinho was backed. Extensively. We spent fortunes. Anyone who thinks otherwise is in cuckoo land. The fact he didn’t rate either of the 2 CBs he paid 60m to bring in is on him. Two - this entire forum has been calling for a model where the club make signings. A structure that isn’t dependent on one man. They’ve done that - yes the manager is part of the process but he isn’t the process. Conte wants total control. Again, I totally understand why they’d be reluctant to give him that.
I fully agree on the Mourinho part. Neither he nor LvG can claim that they weren't backed by the board. And if either of them wishes to point toward Guardiola at City, the answer would be that the Catalan has produced both the results and the right aesthetics which justify his further backing.
I also subscribe to the notion that there should be an overarching philosophy in regard to the transfer policy and the overall shape of the squad. And it really should not have taken us five years (LvG and Mou eras) and having been burned twice to realize that. But the people who will be in charge of this should be looking forward and not backward when they're searching for the right answers.
For what it's worth, my opinion is that the chances of appointing Conte are very slim, even if the willingness on our part exists. He's very thorough and very straightforward. He may have said that he can work with this squad, but that doesn't necessarily mean that he's absolutely happy with it. If we decide to open talks with him, Conte will tell us -before he puts his signature on a contract- that he wants a, b and c done next summer. And unlike Solskjaer, who hinted early on toward a high line and a false #9 but then went on to sign Maguire and Ighalo/Cavani/Ronaldo, Conte has a ready-made system with specific roles in his mind. He's not going to keep patting Martial on the back for two seasons because (presumably) the higher-ups believe that he's a special talent.
And this is why i worry. If this top-heavy squad and the negligence of the midfield area is something that that's been agreed as the best way to go between the board and Solskjaer, we are in deep trouble. I'm saying this because i suspect that whenever they all sit down at the table to discuss these matters, they all think: "what would Fergie do?". The problem with this line of thinking is that things like playing two men upfront by sacrificing a body in the midfield was a well-thought, well-planned decision by the great man. Not a drawing on a piece of paper.
What i mean is that we decide to reject (someone like) Conte on the premise that he won't start all of Marcus, Mason, Jadon, Bruno, Ronnie and possibly Pogba in the same line-up and that he will throw his toys out of the pram because of that, we'll be the ones with the bigger problem a year or two down the line. Not Conte, who will find work elsewhere.
