Tough to say, but to be honest i don't think we'll win The league or the CL this season. Perhaps in 2-3 years time but not now.
Coppa italia...maybe.
Coppa italia...maybe.
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could we win anything this season..?? (5 Viewers)
- Thread starter Gandalf
- Start date
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I don't think Del Piero is the only problem, he was on the pitch too past two seasons, sure we will do better with him and we miss him, but the coach has a major role for these, I was pessimist like you all 1 week ago, before the Sampdoria match, I am not right now, Ferrara is using the right formation, and I think injuries were the main reason we lost against Napoli. If Ferrara keeps using this formation, we might be good.
I'll first give my thoughts about (1) the squad (2) the coach/tactics
(3) Management (4) Team spirit. Then I'll conclude
(1) The Squad:
(a) Strikers: We have good depth..just not good enough strikers. we have 3 strikers that are exactly alike, Very Physical yet very slow and majorly suck at dribbling. Then we have Del Piero, Physically weak, old, very slow but brilliant on set pieces and creating play. He has carried us on his shoulders since 2006.
We need a young del piero.. someone that has his play making abilities & has pace at least like the young alex. (I don't care if its cassano or someone else)
(b) Midfield: we lack depth when it comes to attack minded midfielders yet we have great 1st teamers.
Diego, Giovinco and Camo are doing great with the last formation. we finally have understanding between the midfield and the strikers & we have fluent passing, however;if anyone of the 3 is injured we will be doomed(all 3 are injury prone & have no replacements, especially Camo)
when it comes to defense minded midfielders, i think we are great. We have Marchisio, Melo, Sissoko as world class and Poulsen + Tiago (not sure if he can defend or attack) as average players.
(c) Defense: We have great CBs in Cannavaro and Chiellini. Legrotallie is a good sub, and ariaudo can grow. We need 1 more CB, young and good.
Full backs are our weakest spots, Grosso is doing okay yet we will need a replacement on the long-run. we also need subs better than Molinaro.
Grygera is terrible and so is Zebina.. we need a better 1st teamer and a better sub. De Ceglie isnt as good as i initially thought. (i am discussing Fullbacks in general).
(d) Goal Keeper: We have God between our sticks.. enough said.
(2) Coach/Tactics:
Ciro is not bad when he sets the general tactics before the game (better than Ranieri for sure) , especially under the new formation. However, he makes substitutions worse than Ranieri used to. Ranieri was a coward and settled for a draw so he made defensive subs all the time, Ciro is less a coward than Ranieri but he makes the wrong decisions which has often proved more costly than cowardice.
Our attacking flow is much better than before but whenever substitution time comes up we always get screwed up even when we are winning.
But in general, Ciro was always a huge risk.. Guardiola is not a common thing to see.
(3) Management:
I respect the current management. They have done what most clubs would have failed at. Surely, some bad decisions here and there but in general we are back as title challengers in a small time duration. They spent big & wise last summer so they are doing better with time. I don't have beef with them.
Our medical staff though is a mystery.. are our players that injury prone? or are the medics a bunch of idiots? either way we cannot know the truth but if they are idiots management should do something about it.
(4) Team Spirit:
We struggle in almost every match. We never have the usual 1-0, 2-0 routine wins inter does against smaller teams. We have stage fright for some reason and this was a problem with ranieri and still is a problem with Ciro. Inter make it look so easy while we make it look so hard (Milan have the same problem too while Inter have it in the CL). We miss the "we are the big team you are the small one! we kick your ass!" attitude.. we aren't scary.. we are vulnerable. This needs to change.
Conclusion:
We need
In the long Term:
- A Young Del Piero in attack (1st teamer)
- 3 Good subs for our attacking midfielders.
- 1 great first teamer fullback in Grygera's spot + a bunch of not so disastrous subs.
- 1 young sub in CB role
- a medical staff if they are really idiots.
In the short term:
- A great Coach with a great Mentality as well as tactics & winning experience.
- A young del piero.
- A sub for Camo specifically.
- A full back immidiately.
My own achievable Suggestions:
- Rafa Benitez is almost sacked.. we should snatch him before madrid does (maybe Hiddink is another option?).
- Cassano or preferrably someone of his qualities yet younger in age.
- I can't think for any good yet buyable players who can do camo's role.
- Rafinha if he is indeed as good as people claim.
Thats all, thank you for reading
Oh.. and the answer to the question is NO.. not unless something is done soon or Ciro and co start doing better.
(3) Management (4) Team spirit. Then I'll conclude
(1) The Squad:
(a) Strikers: We have good depth..just not good enough strikers. we have 3 strikers that are exactly alike, Very Physical yet very slow and majorly suck at dribbling. Then we have Del Piero, Physically weak, old, very slow but brilliant on set pieces and creating play. He has carried us on his shoulders since 2006.
We need a young del piero.. someone that has his play making abilities & has pace at least like the young alex. (I don't care if its cassano or someone else)
(b) Midfield: we lack depth when it comes to attack minded midfielders yet we have great 1st teamers.
Diego, Giovinco and Camo are doing great with the last formation. we finally have understanding between the midfield and the strikers & we have fluent passing, however;if anyone of the 3 is injured we will be doomed(all 3 are injury prone & have no replacements, especially Camo)
when it comes to defense minded midfielders, i think we are great. We have Marchisio, Melo, Sissoko as world class and Poulsen + Tiago (not sure if he can defend or attack) as average players.
(c) Defense: We have great CBs in Cannavaro and Chiellini. Legrotallie is a good sub, and ariaudo can grow. We need 1 more CB, young and good.
Full backs are our weakest spots, Grosso is doing okay yet we will need a replacement on the long-run. we also need subs better than Molinaro.
Grygera is terrible and so is Zebina.. we need a better 1st teamer and a better sub. De Ceglie isnt as good as i initially thought. (i am discussing Fullbacks in general).
(d) Goal Keeper: We have God between our sticks.. enough said.
(2) Coach/Tactics:
Ciro is not bad when he sets the general tactics before the game (better than Ranieri for sure) , especially under the new formation. However, he makes substitutions worse than Ranieri used to. Ranieri was a coward and settled for a draw so he made defensive subs all the time, Ciro is less a coward than Ranieri but he makes the wrong decisions which has often proved more costly than cowardice.
Our attacking flow is much better than before but whenever substitution time comes up we always get screwed up even when we are winning.
But in general, Ciro was always a huge risk.. Guardiola is not a common thing to see.
(3) Management:
I respect the current management. They have done what most clubs would have failed at. Surely, some bad decisions here and there but in general we are back as title challengers in a small time duration. They spent big & wise last summer so they are doing better with time. I don't have beef with them.
Our medical staff though is a mystery.. are our players that injury prone? or are the medics a bunch of idiots? either way we cannot know the truth but if they are idiots management should do something about it.
(4) Team Spirit:
We struggle in almost every match. We never have the usual 1-0, 2-0 routine wins inter does against smaller teams. We have stage fright for some reason and this was a problem with ranieri and still is a problem with Ciro. Inter make it look so easy while we make it look so hard (Milan have the same problem too while Inter have it in the CL). We miss the "we are the big team you are the small one! we kick your ass!" attitude.. we aren't scary.. we are vulnerable. This needs to change.
Conclusion:
We need
In the long Term:
- A Young Del Piero in attack (1st teamer)
- 3 Good subs for our attacking midfielders.
- 1 great first teamer fullback in Grygera's spot + a bunch of not so disastrous subs.
- 1 young sub in CB role
- a medical staff if they are really idiots.
In the short term:
- A great Coach with a great Mentality as well as tactics & winning experience.
- A young del piero.
- A sub for Camo specifically.
- A full back immidiately.
My own achievable Suggestions:
- Rafa Benitez is almost sacked.. we should snatch him before madrid does (maybe Hiddink is another option?).
- Cassano or preferrably someone of his qualities yet younger in age.
- I can't think for any good yet buyable players who can do camo's role.
- Rafinha if he is indeed as good as people claim.
Thats all, thank you for reading
Oh.. and the answer to the question is NO.. not unless something is done soon or Ciro and co start doing better.
It was a risk, but Guardiola inherited the best team in Europe, and probably the world. Barca would be demolishing with or without Guardiola. It's not like he turned them around from rubbish to greatness.
EDIT: screw Rafa Benitez, definitely not Juve material. Fatih Terim? Maybe Hiddink after the WC. I'm content with Ciro right now because he is young and his squad isn't the best. I say give him until the end of the season and then decide on his fate. If the situation doesn't deteriorate too much before then.
EDIT: screw Rafa Benitez, definitely not Juve material. Fatih Terim? Maybe Hiddink after the WC. I'm content with Ciro right now because he is young and his squad isn't the best. I say give him until the end of the season and then decide on his fate. If the situation doesn't deteriorate too much before then.
Barca did have a great squad but do not forget that this very same squad was available for Rijkaard and they were 3rd place in the league against the weak Schuster's madrid. Rijkaard had Ronaldinho & deco too in addition to barca's squad of last year. Guardiola also managed to make them the most beautiful team to watch & the strongest.. something Arsene Wenger did only once in his carreer. A treble on your first season as coach is something really big.. that no one came even close to before.
Rafa Benitez is Brilliant and i am telling you this as a Liverpool fan. He won the Uefa cup & 2 la liga titles with VALENCIA during madrid's REAL GALACTICOS. This is as good as Roma or fiorentina winning serie a twice during Inter or Juve's best Era. He also got Liverpool into 2 successive CL finals against Milan and actually WON the CL with a mediocre liverpool squad. He also carried liverpool 4 points behind MANU last season.
Rafa is brilliant.. Liverpool is the problem.. they have the worst management ever.. they do not fund the club at all and their squad is much worse than ours. we beat them in every department except for midfield only because of Gerrard. Give rafa half the cash that any of the big four (except for arsenal as they have the same problem) and liverpool will easily be champions. they are screwed this year because their only 2 world class players are always injured.
Hiddink doesn't need praise...i dont trust Fatih Terim though.
Rafa Benitez is Brilliant and i am telling you this as a Liverpool fan. He won the Uefa cup & 2 la liga titles with VALENCIA during madrid's REAL GALACTICOS. This is as good as Roma or fiorentina winning serie a twice during Inter or Juve's best Era. He also got Liverpool into 2 successive CL finals against Milan and actually WON the CL with a mediocre liverpool squad. He also carried liverpool 4 points behind MANU last season.
Rafa is brilliant.. Liverpool is the problem.. they have the worst management ever.. they do not fund the club at all and their squad is much worse than ours. we beat them in every department except for midfield only because of Gerrard. Give rafa half the cash that any of the big four (except for arsenal as they have the same problem) and liverpool will easily be champions. they are screwed this year because their only 2 world class players are always injured.
Hiddink doesn't need praise...i dont trust Fatih Terim though.
While it is early and there is still a lot of football to be played, I think there are several potentially troubling items that you can take from this match.
The old company line for many years was always "No Del Piero, No Party."
I have a new one. "No Camo, No Party". Given his age and the position he is being required to play, it is apparent that for the best interests of the team that to get the best out of him, he shouldn't be out there every match for 90 minutes. He's going to need a break, because when he gets fatigued, he starts to fall into those habits again of getting himself into trouble.
The REAL problem with this is that there is no suitable understudy of his characteristics on this team, who can provide the flair and movement when he is off the pitch.
Getting marchisio back will certainly help in regards to the depth, but does he have the creativity and spark that will be necessary?
Tiago's best attributes are as a deep lying midfielder in a 4-3-1-2. Given the opportunity to take over for Camo, he did nothing. Being inconsistent seems to be the only thing that he is consistent at.
The defense is slow. It is actually painfully slow. How many times did Datolo get the opportunity to run down the pitch with three defenders behind him? Too many to count, and he being put into the match totally turned the tides in Napoli's favor.
Del Piero coming back will certainly be a big boost, but I think that after watching this match, they are going to need more help than just his return.
Way too much space being given up inside the box and just outside the area as well. The lack of movement and players knowing their position for their defensive duties gave way too many opportunites against Napoli, who are possibly the fastest team in Serie A. These guys are quick.
The old company line for many years was always "No Del Piero, No Party."
I have a new one. "No Camo, No Party". Given his age and the position he is being required to play, it is apparent that for the best interests of the team that to get the best out of him, he shouldn't be out there every match for 90 minutes. He's going to need a break, because when he gets fatigued, he starts to fall into those habits again of getting himself into trouble.
The REAL problem with this is that there is no suitable understudy of his characteristics on this team, who can provide the flair and movement when he is off the pitch.
Getting marchisio back will certainly help in regards to the depth, but does he have the creativity and spark that will be necessary?
Tiago's best attributes are as a deep lying midfielder in a 4-3-1-2. Given the opportunity to take over for Camo, he did nothing. Being inconsistent seems to be the only thing that he is consistent at.
The defense is slow. It is actually painfully slow. How many times did Datolo get the opportunity to run down the pitch with three defenders behind him? Too many to count, and he being put into the match totally turned the tides in Napoli's favor.
Del Piero coming back will certainly be a big boost, but I think that after watching this match, they are going to need more help than just his return.
Way too much space being given up inside the box and just outside the area as well. The lack of movement and players knowing their position for their defensive duties gave way too many opportunites against Napoli, who are possibly the fastest team in Serie A. These guys are quick.
I have to agree with you on this. I don't think it is Benitez' fault. I've al;ways liked him, and compared him with Mourinho, especially considering that Benitez has always had less to work with, and performed miracles.
Tom Hicks and George Gillett, the current owners, are hemorraging money right now, and I think they got in way over their heads on this.
Tom Hicks and George Gillett, the current owners, are hemorraging money right now, and I think they got in way over their heads on this.
I think we just need to accept the fact that this team, no matter how much we love it, is simply not that good. We can blame individuals but the fact of the matter is that there are simply too many mediocre players on the pitch. The vast majority of our players would not have been on our wish list had they been playing for other clubs.
