I agree about looking forward. But I also think Max didn't have a chance to build a team. It was always tinkering, always changing cogs on a drive. And that's nobodies fault because Beppe & his team probably thought (and I agreed with him) that parts we had are not good enough, or selling the best part might help us take another step.
Ffs, Max was notorious in playing 3 in midfield, he made his thesis about 3 in midfield, but he took us to CL final with Khedira and Pjanic, that's a fucking genius if I ever saw one.
And more from the realm of "feels". With Conte, I knew that if his plan works out, we will win. But if another coach outsmarts him, figure him out, we are in trouble. Same shit with Sarri. With Max, I've felt we always had a fighting chance.