Storari- 6.5. Made a few decent saves preventing at least two more goals. Commanding in the air, decent positional play. Solid.
Chiellini- 6. His usual aggression in the tackle, strode out of defence a couple of times, but didnt make his presence felt in attacking set pieces. Still needs time to marry Bonucci, but his job is made so much harder with De ceglie next to him, as he has to cover both centre back and left back positions.
Bonucci. 6. Fairly solid, especially in the air. It didn't help his cause that Motta was having a bad day at right back.
Motta 4. He didn't seem physically ready for this game. Off the pace. Passing was average, less useful offensively than in previous showings. Much to learn.
Marchisio 6.5. It is going to take time to decide upon and gel together our prime central midfield duo, but there were signs in this game that the Melo/Marchisio combination could work. Took his goal very well indeed, i was so happy for him as well as the team. Could do with more tackling, but at least his passing game is returning to his feet.
Melo 7. Made a few errors in the first half, but then grew into the toughest man in midfield. Showed good stamina, good pace, good tackling, and played the ball simple when called upon. In this form, he looks like a different player. Long may it continue.
Pepe. 7. The little man is finding his feet in our team. Swapped flanks twice in the game, and looked more effective on his less favoured left side. Scored a goal, created other chances. Consistently decent deliveries, good pace, his spirit and tenacity is welcome.
Krasic. 7.5. Its taken less than two games for the Serb to start showing the kind of form which we paid 15m for, and chased all Summer. Once he had found his rhythm, he was a greater attacking threat than I have seen in our squad for seveal seasons. he loves to run at players, has the skills, can cross, and his acceleration is intense. Could have scored at least one, but once he moved from pilot flame to anywhere near full blast, he was borderline unplayable. Very impressive. Likely to be a thorn in the side of many teams we play.
Quagiarella. 6. I am happy to see a little pace up front, especially when the slowest player in Serie A, DP, is starting. Moves around too much to play as a target man, but worked hard for the cause and did create problems for the Samp defence.
DP. 4. Other than his free kicks, two of which were mighty close, he was a ghost on the pitch. Completely inneffective, outmuscled in every physical confrontation, won nothing in the air. With Amauri injured and Iaquinta returning slowly from injury, why not give a youngster the chance to lead the line??? As shown by his free kicks, DP still has huge talent, but such is his ultra frail physique and complte lack of pace, he should be on the bench, at best.
SUbS:
grygera goblin 5. Added better positioning to the right back position, but as with the opposite flank, right fullback remains an area of weakness for our squad. Which is a shame, bearing in mind that the fullbacks in our system create the base for our wingers to forage forward.
Iaquinta n/a
Aquilani n/a
Conclusion.
We put more decent balls into the box in that game than we did in any game I watched last season. Admittedly we weren't playing an Attack From the Flanks formation last season...but still, we had only one player who could cross, Camo, and he was poor and injured all season. If Pepe and Krasic can improve upon and maintain this kind of form, Amauri is going to score plenty this season. I was hugely impressed with the wingers, especially Krasic...Also Melo did very well. I expected DP to be shocking, and was annoyed when Del Neri didnt sub him, for Martinez perhaps...It was a strange move to take off our most obvious threat, but I suppose he needs time to adjust. Still...when he is on fire, we should let him burn people until he runs out of fuel. And he looked far from running low when subbed.
I can see Del neri's logic in changing to a 4-3-3, giving both Aquilani and Iaquinta some time to start regaining match fitness. But I personally would not have changed formation or our wingers, who were both causing problems for Samp.
Our most serious problems, remain what they were last season. BOTH fullback positions. Its horrible to be finally seeing such improvement in our offensive play, then see all the good work done by krasic and pepe and melo, rendered pointless, by our constant failings at fullback. Motta can do better than that, but De Ceglie can't. That is his usual form. Why not give Traore a pop when De Ceglie is out of his depth??? As for the right back position, its more sturdy with Motta and Grygera, but still a massive weak point. BOTH fullback positions should have been greatly improved over the summer, especially the left side. This was clear to everyone who saw us last season. If Grosso is still with us, better he starts than De Ceglie.
It was an exciting match, which had me on the edge of my seat...my heart was racing. Encouraging signs all round. We can fight for 4th, at best 3rd, this season. But we must be patient. The wingers seem potentially wicked. Melo is proving his worth. Marchisio slowly regaining form. Quag, Krasic, Pepe, Bonucci, all seem like decent signings...I would add in Motta, but he seems presently inconsistent.
Early days, but I enjoyed that draw. Good passion. Signs of the new system working. What more can I expect...
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