Assessing Pioli, beyond the obvious

[Fencer]

I'm getting my years mixed up, and am too lazy to straighten them out, but there were mid-season negotiations with Asante when he seemed to have "gotten" it after his practice with the nerf balls. And it turns out that wasn't a flash in the pan.

Pioli obviously thought there was excessive risk that it WAS a flash in the pan.

Also, there's a stylistic problem in which these negotiations are perceived by the players as contentious. Perhaps that's unavoidable, but at least on the margin I like to think he could do better.