Paolo di Canio

canny_lad

I'm probably not the only one on here with a lifelong passion for football (or am I :shock: ) and a recently rediscovered passion for road cycling.

As an exiled mackem I must admit to feeling slightly perturbed at the furore that has erupted since we hired diCanio. I'm not saying he's perfect but one (feel free to correct me) stupid gesture a decade or more ago has seen him vilified from all quarters. As far as I'm aware he doesn't talk politics any more and no one gave a rat's @ss when he was at Swindon anyway. Would this have happened if David Milliband hadn't resigned - probably not is my guess?

All I'm saying is the guy deserves a chance, it's a clean slate in my eyes, what do you lot think? Are the press saying that SAFC is more important than STFC, cos that surely can't be right?

One of my best mates who is mackem/Hartlepool mongrel is outraged BTW.

sev112

I was told yesterday that he's going to be a Player-Manager

Stevo_666

At least it will make Sunderland's last 7 games in the Premier League a bit more interesting

It'll be good to have some North East company in the championship next season.

Yours,
A 'Boro supporter.

ballysmate

Yeah it's total Bollox. Nobody seemed to care when he was playing or as stated, when he managed Swindon. He has been employed as a football manager, not a political advisor.

cornerblock

The current furore does seem to be all a bit late considering he has already been employed as a football manager in this country, although Swindon Town's main sponsor at the time ( the trade union GMB) did feel uncomfortable enough about his connections to withdraw their backing of the club.

The media have certainly latched onto it a lot more with Sunderland a) because of Miliband resigning from their board and b) because it's a Premier Club.

However it is not all just because of a gesture made many years ago. The man has admitted to being a facist and even speaks of his admiration for Benito Mussolini in his autobiography. That is bound to make a lot of people feel he is not the type of person to represent their club , especially if they happened to have fought against such views in the past and now cannot bear to see a man like him at the helm of the club they love.

rick_chasey

Can anyone explain why this is coming up now rather than when he first started? ?

cornerblock

Well I'm 'anyone' and I've just tried.

tim_wand

Nowt wrong with admiring Mussolini he just wants to make sure "Training Runs On Time"

and theres always some one hanging on the back post at corners and set pieces.

S.A.F.C almost and anagram it IST!

the playing mantis

who gives, a sh*t typical non story just whipped up by a media with nothing better to do.

i think he will be great value, hes bonkers!

either way he wont be on wearside that long, if hes rubbish he will last a season before getting sacked, if hes any good he will last a season and then be poached by the shammers to replace the fat walrus.

tim_wand

the playing mantis wrote:

who gives, a sh*t typical non story just whipped up by a media with nothing better to do.

i think he will be great value, hes bonkers!

either way he wont be on wearside that long, if hes rubbish he will last a season before getting sacked, if hes any good he will last a season and then be poached by the shammers to replace the fat walrus.

Bloody hell , do you think they dare risk Him managing the Hammers with those Salutes in the Olympic Stadium :?:

Frank the tank

It shouldn't be an issue what his politics are far right, far left it's between him and the ballot box no one else.

The only time it would become an issue is if he allowed his political ideals cloud his judgement on team selection and the players he signed.

byke68

His political views aside, all that matters is if he can do what he was hired to do, keep the Makems in the Premier League.
I once worked for a company that was owned by the Mormons - did the fact that I'm an atheist make any difference? Of cause not! I done my work and everyone was happy.

iainment

I abhor his politics, but loved him when he played for Charlton.
A special talent who got the best out of the young players around him. Apparently he was really positive in the dressing room and there was no hint of any problems with other players about politics or racism - which is one of the fascist subtexts I guess.

dortmunder

Canny lad wrote:

As an exiled mackem I must admit to feeling slightly perturbed at the furore that has erupted since we hired diCanio. I'm not saying he's perfect but one (feel free to correct me) stupid gesture a decade or more ago has seen him vilified from all quarters. As far as I'm aware he doesn't talk politics any more and no one gave a rat's @ss when he was at Swindon anyway. Would this have happened if David Milliband hadn't resigned - probably not is my guess?

Personally I think milliband used this a piece of opportunistic points scoring. He is off to NY anyhow so rather than resign with quiet dignity he decided to get a bit of extra publicity. As a Sunderland fan, can you tell me what milliband actually did for the club to justify his wage?

iainment

I do think Sunderland will be in trouble with him in charge though - he's only going to play right wingers.

the playing mantis

dortmunder wrote:

Canny lad wrote:

As an exiled mackem I must admit to feeling slightly perturbed at the furore that has erupted since we hired diCanio. I'm not saying he's perfect but one (feel free to correct me) stupid gesture a decade or more ago has seen him vilified from all quarters. As far as I'm aware he doesn't talk politics any more and no one gave a rat's @ss when he was at Swindon anyway. Would this have happened if David Milliband hadn't resigned - probably not is my guess?

Personally I think milliband used this a piece of opportunistic points scoring. He is off to NY anyhow so rather than resign with quiet dignity he decided to get a bit of extra publicity. As a Sunderland fan, can you tell me what milliband actually did for the club to justify his wage?

milibands a gooner anyway. if i was a mack id be peed he was on a wage.

the playing mantis

tim wand wrote:

the playing mantis wrote:

who gives, a sh*t typical non story just whipped up by a media with nothing better to do.

i think he will be great value, hes bonkers!

either way he wont be on wearside that long, if hes rubbish he will last a season before getting sacked, if hes any good he will last a season and then be poached by the shammers to replace the fat walrus.

Bloody hell , do you think they dare risk Him managing the Hammers with those Salutes in the Olympic Stadium :?:

of course. even if hes remotely successfull he will end up at west ham. eventually.

canny_lad

dortmunder wrote:

Canny lad wrote:

As an exiled mackem I must admit to feeling slightly perturbed at the furore that has erupted since we hired diCanio. I'm not saying he's perfect but one (feel free to correct me) stupid gesture a decade or more ago has seen him vilified from all quarters. As far as I'm aware he doesn't talk politics any more and no one gave a rat's @ss when he was at Swindon anyway. Would this have happened if David Milliband hadn't resigned - probably not is my guess?

Personally I think milliband used this a piece of opportunistic points scoring. He is off to NY anyhow so rather than resign with quiet dignity he decided to get a bit of extra publicity. As a Sunderland fan, can you tell me what milliband actually did for the club to justify his wage?

In a word - no. Guess he was a figurehead, big labour territory the NE so probably seen by the club as good PR. As politicians go I thought Miliband was OK but don't think he played this very well.

cornerblock

Can someone change?

From what I've seen and read I actually believe that Paulo Di Canio, as a person, is a lot different today, to the man he was when he arrived in this country from Italy many years ago from Lazio, a club where he was a hero, and a club with a notoriously right-wing section of fans. There is no doubt he has certainly admitted in the past to sharing the same views as these 'fans'.

I think years of working here, in a country and an environment a lot more tolerant and multicultural than he was used to, has had a positive effect on him and probably changed his views and how he sees the world. I may be totally wrong about all this, but I would think it's possible for a person to completely change, when they are living and working alongside people of many different races and cultures.

There are those that are quick to knock this country, but I honestly think that it can have a positive effect on some people who arrive here from places that maybe aren't such a melting pot and as open minded.

All that aside I can't wait to see him and Pardew on the touchline together in a couple of weeks. Should be interesting!

random man

I heard a politics professor on the radio explaining how fascism and racism do not, by definition, go hand in hand. This is why di Canio has admitted to being a fascist but not a racist and has played alongside black players and signed black players as a manager.
If, by admitting that he's a fascist, he is merely saying that he believes in a dictatorship rather than democracy, then his views have sod all to do with football apart from the way he runs his team.

It's all Hitler's fault, he gave fascism a bad name

nathancom

@random man The professor was talking out of his arse. Italian fascism was always a racist political creed which believed in the supremacy of the Aryan/Mediterranean race of man over other peoples, the refounding of the Roman Empire (the symbology of which provides the name of fascism - fasces). Mussolini was never as consistent in his anti-semitism as Hitler but as early as 1919 he was speaking out against Jewish capital and he was fully engaged in the concept of a racial hierarchy that had grown up following on from the ideas of several late 19th century thinkers. For Di Canio to engage in the theatrics of Fascism and overtly espouse the philosophy marks him out as a racist. What other political beliefs are inherent and unique to Fascism?

Why does it matter now when it didn't matter before? Well it did matter before and people expressed their disquiet about his political beliefs. Now he is simply in a much more high profile job and hence the outcry is more widespread and louder. Anyway, I hope he keeps his job, because he has the right to his political views as much as anyone else.

verylonglegs

Ah Milliband, part of a party that took the country into war with Iraq...yeah he's more than justified in questioning the politics and morals of others.

dmclite-3.0

Jeez, first of all he is a chart topping gravelly voiced singer/songwriter from Paisley and now a football player/manager. Is ther no end to his talents ?

Kellym82

As a Swindon fan, and having a brother as the sports writer for Swindon's local paper, it really wasn't an issue at Swindon. I have absolutely no idea why the press have decided to drag this up... why not see how he performs as a manager first, and then judge him on his professional ability at the club? So long as his personal beliefs don't affect others (i.e. he doesn't bring them in to the open in the club) and he treats the players fairly, there shouldn't be a problem in my opinion!

noiseboyfeetman

I personally don't see what the fuss is about, no one cared when he was at Swindon so as others have said why bring it up now? I think he'll bring a bit character back to the Premier League that is severely lacking at present. He'll also play some nice attacking football down the right wing, just unfortunate Steven Fletcher won't be there to take advantage for a while!

Seems a bit double standards when you have footballers such as the two below with criminal records that still ply their trade week in week out without any fuss made about it. Footballers are the ones that kids looks up to and try to emulate, not managers.

Marlon King currently at Birmingham City:

Wounding = 80 hours community service
Fraudulent use of vehicle license, theft = fined £280
Credit card fraud = Community rehabilitation order
Obtaining property by deception and criminal damage = 6 months community rehabilitation order
Handling stolen cars = 18 months reduced to 5 months on appeal
Assault and unprovoked attack = fined £1000
Assault =fined £300
Sexual assault and assault occasioning actual bodily harm = 18 months

Lee Hughes currently at Port Vale:

Causing death by dangerous driving = 6 years

CiB

Comment in the paper the other day read something like

"It's a free country. We can believe in whatever we want. As long as it fits in with the liberal-left agenda obviously."

I don't see why it should matter. He can believe the world is flat if he likes - unless he starts forcing his players to vote BNP or do the salute before matches what difference does it make with him having views that are out of kilter with the BBC and the Fleet Street mass-market viewpoint? As he's already known to be quite happy playing alongside players of other ethnic origins that's hardly an issue is it? Sounds like a bit of moral high-grounding going on, ably led by Mr Milliband resigning on a point of principle just before he moved to NY. Nice one Dave.

Pross

Best quote on this subject I've heard came from my mother-in-law:

"He shouldn't have been given the job, fascist views shouldn't be allowed besides I don't think we should even have foreigners in all our football clubs"

When I pointed out she was a perfect recruit for the fascist party with views like that she got all upset!

Stevo_666

Pross wrote:

Best quote on this subject I've heard came from my mother-in-law:

"He shouldn't have been given the job, fascist views shouldn't be allowed besides I don't think we should even have foreigners in all our football clubs"

When I pointed out she was a perfect recruit for the fascist party with views like that she got all upset!

danlikesbikes

Pross wrote:

Best quote on this subject I've heard came from my mother-in-law:

"He shouldn't have been given the job, fascist views shouldn't be allowed besides I don't think we should even have foreigners in all our football clubs"

When I pointed out she was a perfect recruit for the fascist party with views like that she got all upset!

rick_chasey

nathancom wrote:

@random man The professor was talking out of his ars*. Italian fascism was always a racist political creed which believed in the supremacy of the Aryan/Mediterranean race of man over other peoples, the refounding of the Roman Empire (the symbology of which provides the name of fascism - fasces). Mussolini was never as consistent in his anti-semitism as Hitler but as early as 1919 he was speaking out against Jewish capital and he was fully engaged in the concept of a racial hierarchy that had grown up following on from the ideas of several late 19th century thinkers. For Di Canio to engage in the theatrics of Fascism and overtly espouse the philosophy marks him out as a racist. What other political beliefs are inherent and unique to Fascism?

Getting your timelines mixed up. Italian fascists were never preoccupied with race. An alliance with the Nazis meant the Nazis had to fit their racial bollocks in with the alliance. Italy was ( and, relatively, still is) very homogeneous.

And being anti semitic was very common then. To give context, even the uk had quotas for refugees from Nazi rule on the premise that they didn't want too many Jews and they were pretty forward thinking with regard to that.

That doesn't mean the 21st Century Facsism in Italy isn't racist, but don't get the history wrong.

Racism was a bigger deal in the UK than it was in Italy principally because it wasn't homogeneous. The Nazis were famously upset with the italians for their inability to do any of their racial cleansing.

Stevo_666

I reckon this will die down soon.

It's funny but we have quite a few swivel-eyed commies like Bob Crow the RMT leader running much more than a football club in the UK (and with much more potential influence on our lives) and nobody is kicking up a fuss about them...