Di Canio: Wants half a new team or 'otherwise I will discuss my contract'
Swindon Town manager Paolo Di Canio wants more dosh for players, about half a squad, or he will consider his future at the club that ended the Shrimpers long unbeaten run last Tuesday.
They only conceded a late equaliser at Bristol Rovers but that was enough to set the tempremental Italian off on another one of his rants against players and the Robins boardroom!
Di Canio told www.thisisswindontownfc.co.uk: “I have already asked the chairman for three players, but now I want four or five, otherwise I will discuss my contract. With this mentality I can not win the league.” Today I do not recognise this team as my team, and that confirms I have improved a lot as a manager. After two minutes I turned to Fabrizio (Piccareta, assistant manager) and said ‘If we are going to win this game we are going to have to be lucky,’ because four or five players did not show the courage, heart or the desire. I can say that I played a miracle out there with my seven or eight players who always guarantee me a great performance with quality and heart, but it is not enough.”
Blimey, what's he going to say when they lose!
He continued: “The point is positive, but today I would prefer to lose and play like we did in the second half at Southend. I prefer to lose the game and play better, than draw and think we have played better than we did. Bristol were better today and we were absolutely terrible. We did not deserve to win and were lucky to draw, and Bristol deserved more. Bristol used lots of energy in the first half and in the second half they were stretched and they were struggling, and this is the best situation for us. We made five, six or seven mistakes in the middle of midfield, and in the last six minutes there was not any pressure from the opponents. From now on I will not treat them anymore as a man, because six or seven do not deserve to be treated as men. I am sorry for the six or seven who normally give their best but, as a group, everybody has to pay the price. If they don’t win at Morecambe then we stay at home.”
Err.......
Anyway, It's all Santa's fault, the bastard!
Di Canio concluded: “I have some experience of football, and Christmas is coming. For some of our players it is unusual for them to play in the Christmas period. They would like a winter break and they are thinking about shopping and thinking about going somewhere for two or three days. If we play like today we deserve to be relegated. Some foreign players, and some English, do not know what it means to play with heart, desire and passion. I don’t like this. Today I would have liked to have changed seven players, but we can’t change the rules. The problem was we did not have the approach we had a few games ago. In a local derby like this you have got to expect that players will give all their desire.”
Never a dull moment, report below.
League Two Results and Match Reports
Cheltenham Town 3 Southend United 0; Report; http://news.bbc.co.uk
 |
(Click on the fixture to get the report and match statistics)
League Two reports supplied by http://news.bbc.co.uk
News Update
Plenty of action on the i-player if you go to 1 hour 1 min. for the League Two action starting with a feature on triumphant Cheltenham followed by the x-rated highlights for Shrimpers fans!: http://www.bbc.co.uk
For the full S24 report on Robins v Shrimpers, with player markings: www.southendunited-mad.co.uk
A local view: www.ctfc.com
The Robins faithful speak: www.robinsnestforum.co.uk
Quotes from the lads: www.southendunited-mad.co.uk
Official gallery from the game: www.southendunited.co.uk
Listen with managers: http://news.bbc.co.uk
Post match views from Graham Coughlan: www.southendunited-mad.co.uk
& Mark Yates: www.southendunited-mad.co.uk
Fixtures
FA Cup Second Round Replays
Tuesday, December 13th; (all kick-offs 19.45 unless stated): Yeolvil Town v Fleetwood Town (kick-off 19.30, live on ESPN), Grimsby Town v Sailsbury City, Walsall v Dagenham & Redbridge, Oldham Athletic v Southend United.
Wednesday, December 14th: Macclesfield Town v Chelmsford City (k-o 20.05; live on ESPN.)
League Two
Friday, December 16th; (both kick-offs 19.45): Barnet v Cheltenham, Southend v Bradford City.
Saturday, December 17th; (all kick-offs 19.45): Accrington Stanley v Torquay, Burton Albion v Dag & Red, Crewe v Crawley Town, Gillingham v Bristol Rovers, Oxford Utd v Northampton, Plymouth v Hereford, Port Vale v Aldershot, Rotherham v AFC Wimbledon, Shrewsbury v Macclesfield, Swindon v Morecambe.
| 1 | Crawley Town | 20 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 27 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 43 | 25 | 45 | +18 | ||||
| 2 | Southend United | 20 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 20 | 14 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 37 | 21 | 42 | +16 | ||||
| 3 | Cheltenham Town | 20 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 16 | 12 | 13 | 2 | 5 | 32 | 18 | 41 | +14 | ||||
| 4 | Shrewsbury Town | 20 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 16 | 15 | 11 | 4 | 5 | 32 | 20 | 37 | +12 | ||||
| 5 | Burton Albion | 20 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 15 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 17 | 19 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 32 | 29 | 35 | +3 | ||||
| 6 | Swindon Town | 20 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 20 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 31 | 17 | 34 | +14 | ||||
| 7 | Gillingham | 20 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 19 | 18 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 33 | 25 | 32 | +8 | ||||
| 8 | Morecambe | 20 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 18 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 17 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 35 | 21 | 31 | +14 | ||||
| 9 | Oxford United | 20 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 18 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 13 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 28 | 23 | 30 | +5 | ||||
| 10 | Rotherham United | 20 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 13 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 24 | 24 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 37 | 35 | 30 | +2 | ||||
| 11 | Port Vale | 20 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 18 | 17 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 16 | 12 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 34 | 29 | 29 | +5 | ||||
| 12 | Torquay United | 19 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 23 | 17 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 31 | 26 | 28 | +5 | ||||
| 13 | Macclesfield Town | 20 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 13 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 21 | 20 | 26 | +1 | ||||
| 14 | Aldershot Town | 20 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 14 | 15 | 8 | 2 | 10 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 0 | ||||
| 15 | Accrington Stanley | 20 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 12 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 22 | 23 | 26 | -1 | ||||
| 16 | Crewe Alexandra | 20 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 11 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 12 | 14 | 8 | 2 | 10 | 23 | 28 | 26 | -5 | ||||
| 17 | AFC Wimbledon | 20 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 18 | 23 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 29 | 37 | 26 | -8 | ||||
| 18 | Bristol Rovers | 20 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 13 | 15 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 12 | 18 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 25 | 33 | 23 | -8 | ||||
| 19 | Barnet | 19 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 13 | 20 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 18 | 5 | 4 | 10 | 24 | 38 | 19 | -14 | ||||
| 20 | Northampton Town | 20 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 19 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 24 | 40 | 17 | -16 | ||||
| 21 | Hereford United | 20 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 10 | 23 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 18 | 35 | 17 | -17 | ||||
| 22 | Bradford City | 20 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 14 | 15 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 21 | 29 | 16 | -8 | ||||
| 23 | Plymouth Argyle | 20 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 9 | 25 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 19 | 39 | 13 | -20 | ||||
| 24 | Dagenham & Redbridge | 20 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 12 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 15 | 18 | 38 | 13 | -20 | ||||