Pepe- Why did we buy him and then try to sell him? I don't know but he sucks. Cost way too much.
3
Motta- Even worse than Pepe but didn't cost that much.
3
Quagliarella- Had a great half season with us before getting injured. Can he repeat that form? Will his injuries come back to haunt us (we've some niggling recurrences already). For the qulity he gave us, he didn't cost too much but maybe we could have got him for less considering the injury.
6.5
Matri- Was good for us in the 2nd half of last season but his form died down (maybe he was just dragged down with the rest of the team) and finished the season with an all-time high of 20 goals. But where were these goals before that season? One-hit wonder or late bloomer? Cost a bit much too and his preseason was rather worrying.
6
Ziegler- Originally I thought it was a solid transfer--decent player, cost nothing. Then we find out Conte doesn't want him; he was a signing for Delneri. But when he signed, the thought of firing Delneri would've surely been ongoing. Why go through with it when there's doubt that he'll be the coach next season? So we try to sell him right at the end of the mercato and the deal falls through. We have a player who the coach does not rate, with shattered confidence and we are without a quality signing for our weakspot of last season.
4
Pazienza- Okay, so we wanted to sell Sissoko and this guy was free. He was a starter for Napoli who had a wonderful season. Yet I feel we shouldn't be replacing our players with others or equal or lesser quality. Still, he's just a backup and cost nothing.
5
Pirlo- At first I was against this one--he's old, we should be looking for quality in younger players, not washed up players who've won everything and lack hunger. But Pirlo is Pirlo--he's still got his class. He may be a bit slower and less fit than he was 5 years ago, but even then he was a slow and "lazy" but still a midfield God. And since he's been here, I've been in awe at the amount of running and defending he's been doing and the passes he's been spraying all over have been as beautiful as ever. Probably going to be our most important player and I dread the day he's not in our starting lineup. Oh yeah, and he's free.
7.5
Lichtsteiner- I've rated this guy highly since he first joined Lazio. He's one of the best fullbacks in Serie A, maybe only Maicon is better. This is the guy I wanted for RB and I'm glad we got him. He wasn't too expensive either.
8
Vidal- To be honest, I knew nothing about him when we were first linked but by all accounts he sounded like an outstanding player. We beat Bayern to him--some would say that Leverkusen just refused to sell to them, whatever--and we got a good price for him considering his last season. However, is the type of player that should be sitting next to Pirlo to do the dirty work. He's apparently an all-action guy and not a defensive midfielder. Was he the right signing for this midfield? Will we change to 4-3-3 eventually to get the best of him and Pirlo?
7
Vucinic- It's Vucinic, a quality player who can win games on his own--something we were lacking in this team. He loves the big games but maybe not the not so big games i.e. questions over his inconsistency. Or was it just sucky, ol' Roma? Anyway, he's a great player on his day and I expect a lot from him. Good price and Roma should be pissed.
7
Giaccherini- When we were interested, I was pissed. Another typical Marotta signing--cheap, provincial, mediocre, Italian. But then I learned he's coming as Krasic's backup. Not so bad... Unless Conte really doesn't like Krasic and plans to use Giaccherini more often than not
We'll see. Was cheap at least.
6
Estigarribia- At first I was like :excited: but then I was like :depressed. I had just known him as the guy that tore up the Copa America (or at least the 1 or 2 games I saw of him). Then I checked his career info... Not that young, not good goal and assist stats (fine, they're only stats; see Iniesta) and not good enough for Le Mans in Ligue 2. So what's the deal, scouts? Fine. Cheap and backup and we'll be helping him find a new home in a year's time. Should I even give this one a pass?
5
Elia- Great. Just the guy I didn't want. Yeah sure, a 24-year old who's been a promising talent for the last 5 years. The epitome of headless chicken--the new Babel they call him. They say he's a great dribbler... not in the games I've seen. Okay, he's fast, right-footed and Conte wanted him. Very underwhelming.
5
So the areas that needed bolstering most were RB, LB, CB and LM. RB was strengthened satisfactorily. LB was a failure in the end. CB was not only not improved, it was worsened since now Bonucci is an unwanted man and we'll probably be using Barzagli. LM, the main guy is crap and the backup is basically an unknown to me. We added some class in midfield and attack. We lost a midfielder in Melo--who I don't miss but is better than Pazienza--and could have done with for next to nothing.
All in all, we improved a bit but we also got a lot of trash and have an oversized squad. We still lack in critical areas and we're gonna be back in the market replacing these same players in the same positions next year, wasting more money. Pray to Delpie that we make CL.
6 for me.
Edit- I forgot to take the hiring of Conte into account.
5
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