No courage, no heart, no desire

PDC: After last week describing his players as better than himself, after Saturday's game he told the chairman he wanted to sign four or five players in the January transfer window, saying that five of the players had "no courage, no heart, no desire". Just to finish off the week, PDC then claimed his regime at Swindon was "more organised than some Barclays Premier League clubs".

My top striker is lazy and I think he is stupid

From the BBC site
Swindon manager Paolo di Canio has warned striker Mehdi Kerrouche he must improve his attitude
Di Canio told BBC Wiltshire: "He's professional but he can be lazy."

From the Football League Paper
"In early January we play Wigan and then have the JPT area final.
If he doesn't react well in the period before then I think he is stupid"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/16099714.stm

The players are better than myself

PDC has managed to describe his players this week without resorting to donkeys, stallions, chihuahua or rottweiler analogies. Instead he compares them to himself: "They are all good guys, all good professionals but some of them are even better than myself ... I could not expect this at League Two level. I have some idea - in the Premier League I played many years there ...so I have to say that many of them surprised me in some way"

Thank you for the loan player, West Ham

Paolo Di Canio's West Ham connections seem to be turning sour. Having been loaned striker Cristian Montano for a month, PDC has publically questioned Montano's commitment, and stated he is dropped for their game against Port Vale.

Donkeys and stallions

Swindon Town manager Paolo di Canio tells BBC Points West that his players are transforming from "donkeys into stallions".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/15493323.stm

I can't make a chihuahua into a rottweiler

And Di Canio believes his side need to develop a "nasty" streak if they want to be keep up with the promotion-chasing pack in League Two.   "Ritchie's moment was the picture of the game.  We are not a nasty team. And this is what makes me not very happy sometimes because we don't have a nasty player.  I don't know how much I can improve my team in this way.  With some players, if he has a chihuahua character I can't make a chihuahua into a rottweiler. He could be a proud chihuahua but he remains a chihuahua.   So many of the players at the moment are chihuahuas away from home - this is the truth."

Squadron A420- DIVE!!!!

Swindon Town manager Paolo di Canio has said he will encourage his players to dive in order to win penalties.

He made the remarks after their 2-0 defeat by Macclesfield, in which Matt Ritchie had a penalty appeal dismissed because he stayed on his feet after being clipped by keeper Jose Veiga.
"From now on I will tell my players to dive," Di Canio told BBC Wiltshire.
"From now on I will bring in a different culture because this was a red card and penalty."
He added: "I'd prefer that they risk getting a yellow card for simulation. My team are the only ones who do not dive somewhere around the field.

"It's not fair but it's the only way to receive something.
"He [Ritchie] was too honest but it wasn't malicious - he [Veiga] had no intentions. You can't stay on your feet just because you want to be honest."
Although Swindon have been in impressive form at the County Ground, with four wins from five games, Friday night's defeat at the Moss Rose was their fifth loss of the season away from home.

Keep on running

PDC was supposed to be just starting PigHill's half-marathon, and then take part in the two-mile fun run.

But he then supposedly took a wrong turn and ended up running the full 13.1 miles in one hour 49 minutes - 36 minutes behind race winner Dave Roper.

"I couldn't stop, there was a challenge," he told BBC Wiltshire. "There were three options, I thought I should start with the [fun run] marathon but unfortunately we changed direction, kept going and followed the first group.

"Unfortunately I ended up doing a full half marathon plus 800 metres.

"At the end I was very happy because I finished without stopping, even for one second. I wasn't ready but I never stopped running. I'm very happy but it was very tough." 

Better cut the prices

Ticket prices seem to be an issue for Hereford fans travelling away - they were charged £21 for adults at Whaddon Road, resulting in just 370 making the short trip.  Swindon Town have perhaps sensed that £25 for the Arkells Stand is excessive, and have offered Hereford advance tickets for £20. 

I've played in front of the mafia

Steve Evans's Crawley Town host Paolo Di Canio's Swindon Town.  Yet again, the managerial mind games are most entertaining :- 

Evans : "My memories of Di Canio are watching him play as he was a fantastic footballer and wonderful to watch.  Whether if I was a chairman I would want him as my manager though is a totally different question, although it's not really my place to say.  All I know it's a massive week for us and the Di Canio Circus rolls into town next Tuesday."

PDC : "I've played in front of mafia people. People like him make me laugh - I laugh in the face of them. I laughed in the face of 70,000 Man Utd fans when I scored, you could imagine what it would be like if I was worried by the words of him who I've never heard of before."

Off you go, Leon Clarke

Ex QPR striker Leon Richard's short career at Swindon Town has ended for now as he was shifted out on loan to L1 Chesterfield for three months, following his pitch side and players' tunnel bust up with PDC.

No more running please

Leon Knight has played his last game for Swindon Town FC:  apparently wanting away after just seven days, he was involved in a televised tussle with PDC at the end of the Southampton Carling Cup game after being asked in for 'extra running' the next day by one of the coaches.  PDC survives to manage for another game, but faces a tough home game in the lunchtime kick off against Rotherham.  

Paolo Di Canio's thoughts ahead of the derby game

Paolo Di Canio's thoughts ahead of the derby game

Swindon Town manager : Paolo Di Canio
Since yesterday morning I woke up thinking about Oxford and I felt straight away the butterflies in my stomach.

I think this rivalry is bigger than Lazio and Roma. In Rome the rivalry is big but they play twice a year. Here, they don't play often, so the rivalry has grown.

It's the most important derby of my career.

This is absolutely a very special game and for us it should be a World Cup final.

"He's [Oxford United Striker, No. 9 James Constable] a big Swindon fan through and through - the Oxford fans know it.

If my players put in even 10 per cent of the fans’ desire for this game, they will be okay, with 100 per cent we will win easy but even if they bring with them 10 per cent of the fans’ desire to give their best then I will be very happy because then we are in a right way.

The 11 who will start on Sunday must be an 11 who can play football but also give their heart. I don’t mean that a good technical player will not play but they have to show that even if they are not proper nasty people, that is what they have to become in a positive and professional way.”


Oxford United Manager : Chris Wilder
We will keep our heads down and let them get on with it. You don’t win anything with articles or quotes in the paper, but every manager has their own approach.  But it’s not about me, it’s about my players and it’s about the supporters getting behind us like they always do. 

My Tottenham-supporting number nine will be all out to get the goals for Oxford on Sunday.