It would be great if the season started 6 rounds ago. Those howlers against Udinese, Chievo and Frosinone will haunt us for another 5-10 rounds, until we eventually get among top 3.
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[Serie A] Empoli 1-3 JUVENTUS (November 8th 2015) (4 Viewers)
- Thread starter Azzurri7
- Start date
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missed the game and for some reason no site has the replay of the game but from the highlights i saw, seems Cuadrado had 2 assists (the header to Mandzu for the goal and the corner for Evra's goal) so why are people saying he was sh*t (please I missed the game so my judgement is based off of the highlights)
Game results can be deceptive. We played better in many of the games we lost.
Looking at the table now, although we are now 7th. The gap to 1st is 9 points but the gap to 3rd is 8 points. That is a big gap. Based on the points per game at this stage, we would need a 10 straight winning streak to close in on 3rd and a 12 game winning streak to be level with 1st. Based on how close the top is at the moment, the team who wins the scudetto, I think would end up with around 84 points. For us to get that total of points, we would need to average 2.54 points per game - to put that into perspective that is similar to the kind of pace we achieved during Conte's last scudetto when we got around 100 points.
The scudetto is not impossible but highly improbable. We need to aspire to 3rd which is still quite possible - although 3rd place will probably need more than 70 points as it did last year.
If I want to be positive we have the following things in our favor: 1) Of all of the top teams, Juventus had the biggest revolution so in theory we would have more "room" to improve. 2) The key teams above us (Inter, Roma, Napoli) we played in the 1st half of the season away. We will be playing the returns at home and our first match against Fiorentina will be at home as well.
Form of players like Pogba, Marchisio, Mandzukic and Morata are below par within the league and Khedira has looked good but is yet to be fully fit.
I think Allegri needs to stick with a winning starting 11 and avoid chopping and changing to much at least for the next 3 or 4 league games just to get some continuity.
Also, our luck is not really there this season. I watched the Torino-Inter game. Torino completely outplayed Inter. Inter had a few shots on goal and won 1-0 and Torino was very wasteful. In these kinds of matches we concede with the 1st shot. Hopefully will have some luck come back.
Looking at the table now, although we are now 7th. The gap to 1st is 9 points but the gap to 3rd is 8 points. That is a big gap. Based on the points per game at this stage, we would need a 10 straight winning streak to close in on 3rd and a 12 game winning streak to be level with 1st. Based on how close the top is at the moment, the team who wins the scudetto, I think would end up with around 84 points. For us to get that total of points, we would need to average 2.54 points per game - to put that into perspective that is similar to the kind of pace we achieved during Conte's last scudetto when we got around 100 points.
The scudetto is not impossible but highly improbable. We need to aspire to 3rd which is still quite possible - although 3rd place will probably need more than 70 points as it did last year.
If I want to be positive we have the following things in our favor: 1) Of all of the top teams, Juventus had the biggest revolution so in theory we would have more "room" to improve. 2) The key teams above us (Inter, Roma, Napoli) we played in the 1st half of the season away. We will be playing the returns at home and our first match against Fiorentina will be at home as well.
Form of players like Pogba, Marchisio, Mandzukic and Morata are below par within the league and Khedira has looked good but is yet to be fully fit.
I think Allegri needs to stick with a winning starting 11 and avoid chopping and changing to much at least for the next 3 or 4 league games just to get some continuity.
Also, our luck is not really there this season. I watched the Torino-Inter game. Torino completely outplayed Inter. Inter had a few shots on goal and won 1-0 and Torino was very wasteful. In these kinds of matches we concede with the 1st shot. Hopefully will have some luck come back.
Strangely enough, I'm still cautiously optimistic. Some will call me naive, but there is a lot of quality in our lineup. There really is.
Juve has been putrid, an absolute abomination in the league so far... but... it's still only a 9 point gap, with 26 rounds to go. A long season yet, and none of the other squads in the top 7 have anywhere near the depth Juve has. These are not world beating squads.
FFS, Inter has scored 12 goals in 12 games, and they're tied for first! They can't keep that pace up! What happens if you take Higuain's 9 goals in 12 games out of Naples soccer club, or Radja blows a knee, and Roma starts conceding 15 goals a game?
These teams will hit their rough patches.
Those are obviously overly simplistic examples, and I know today wasn't pretty (at all), but I can't shake the idea that if Juve can get to the winter break down 6 points or less, those other squads are going to buckle under the pressure. Meanwhile, by midseason I expect our group to have hit their stride, and the championship mentality that is instilled in our boys to take over.
Fino alla fine... and keep it in mind, folks. This. Aint. Close. To. Over.
Juve has been putrid, an absolute abomination in the league so far... but... it's still only a 9 point gap, with 26 rounds to go. A long season yet, and none of the other squads in the top 7 have anywhere near the depth Juve has. These are not world beating squads.
FFS, Inter has scored 12 goals in 12 games, and they're tied for first! They can't keep that pace up! What happens if you take Higuain's 9 goals in 12 games out of Naples soccer club, or Radja blows a knee, and Roma starts conceding 15 goals a game?
These teams will hit their rough patches.Those are obviously overly simplistic examples, and I know today wasn't pretty (at all), but I can't shake the idea that if Juve can get to the winter break down 6 points or less, those other squads are going to buckle under the pressure. Meanwhile, by midseason I expect our group to have hit their stride, and the championship mentality that is instilled in our boys to take over.
Fino alla fine... and keep it in mind, folks. This. Aint. Close. To. Over.
As Allegri says, we need to see where we are in Feb-March. That'll obviously give us a much clearer picture. I know everyone loves doomsday scenarios on this forum, but there is no way teams like Inter and Fiorentina (especially) can keep up these streaks, great form and good luck theyve been showing.
In saying that, I do think Napoli and Roma are both very good squads and both will be the main challengers for the Scudetto. I hope we can get ourselves in that top 3 in the next few months. I think we can do it, people might not see it now, but I think slowly (too slowly) our mentality and experience as a group is getting better.
In saying that, I do think Napoli and Roma are both very good squads and both will be the main challengers for the Scudetto. I hope we can get ourselves in that top 3 in the next few months. I think we can do it, people might not see it now, but I think slowly (too slowly) our mentality and experience as a group is getting better.