Impressed with:
- Ball possession. Definite improvement there, and mostly due to having a competent passer like Aquilani in there. Melo also shown improvement and Marchisio doesn't give the ball away too much.
- Krasic. The pacy winger we have needed for years to create a successful straight 4-4-2. A constant threat with his power, incisiveness, and efficiency. Looks to be the best signing from this past summer in Serie A.
- Aquilani. A midfielder who doesn't give the ball away when attempting a pass. Well ladi-freaking-da, it took us long enough to get one.
- Melo. Continues to put in improved performances, especially from a mental perspective. He also seems to have a little more confidence. And at least he's trying his backheels a long ways from our 18.
Not impressed with:
- Lecce. Had absolutely no idea how to attack or defend as a team. Most of the time in possession they had Olivera bringing the ball forward, and as everyone here knows, that's a rather impotent playa'. They threatened our goal a few times and improved in the second half, but they were pretty poor. Definitely relegation candidates.
- The strikers, Quagliarella and Amauri. Just not good enough. The former adds some movement and the latter adds physicality, but neither provides a scoring touch or consistent danger in the box. We definitely need a true poacher in there. At times, Quag looked like Iaquinta out there, missing chances with ease.
- Marchisio the winger. Sorry, I still can't stand him there. He doesn't make a lot of mistakes but without a true winger out there the spot is rather wasted. We've signed all these wingers yet we are still inclined to use a CM wide left. That is simply nonsensical.
Certainly an improvement over last year thus far. But we need to keep performing like this, garnering similar results against better teams if we want to get excited. The month of November should really dictate the outcome of the season.