Time To Get Shirty

By: cathal | May 18th, 2009

It’s poll time. A couple of weeks ago (there was no poll last week due to the Coppa hype), I asked you if you would rather see Pandev or Zarate stay at Lazio, hypothetically speaking of course and you voted as follows:

Zarate – 46%
Pandev – 54%

I’m tempted to call this one a draw but it seems a slight majority would rather Goran stayed. Personally, I tend to agree. Yes, I do believe Maurito has more talent than the Macedonian and could be a more valuable player but as the saying goes, it’s almost always better to stick to what you know and I think we all know what Goran’s capable of. I think a few people failed to understand why the poll was created so perhaps now is a good time to explain the current situation. It looks for all the world that Zarate has signed but it’s not 100%, neither done or dusted. Pandev, on the other hand, looks set to leave in the summer, in fact, I think he’s closer to the exit than the media realise. With the future of neither player set in stone, the choice could be one or the other. Hopefully this isn’t the case as both are good players but at the end of the day, nobody here is irreplaceable and as we are a team in transition, change is inevitable.

There’s a few others I expect to go in this mercato. Cribari appears definite to depart although his situation is strange. First of all, he said he was going to leave, then Rossi brought him back into the team, an injury followed that and now he is supposedly fit again but not getting picked, not even for the bench. I wonder about the three M’s too; Mauri, Meghni and Manfredini. None of them seem capable of breaking into the first team anymore and I truly feel that if good money comes along, Lotito will break hands and legs to take it. In addition to those, there is Rocchi who is clearly unhappy at not being played and obviously not a first team player. I wouldn’t be surprised if he moves on and not at all shocked if we sell him. The same could be said for Carrizo.

The flipside of all this is that the likes of Berni, Zauri, Stendardo, Scaloni, Firmani, Bonetto and Makinwa are all set to return at the end of the season. Add to that the emergence of Primavera starlets and all of a sudden our squad size is colossal. What Lotito decides to do about this is anyone’s guess but I predict a bargain clearout sale at the very least. The mercato is going to be hectic.

Anyway, on to this week’s poll and I’ve managed to get my hands on some pictures of what next season’s kit might be. Of course, these photos may not be the eventual strip but who goes out there and makes their own Lazio kit and takes a few snaps with his or her camera? That seems like too much time and effort to me. So, let’s just assume these are our new shirts. What do you think of them? Take a look at the images below and choose one of the options which you will see here. Forza Lazio!

Home Kit:

Away Kit (this must have been taken before we won the Coppa, notice how the Italian cockade is missing from the strip? I expect the badges to be arranged like the home kit in time):

PS. The Reggina game is now on Wednesday night. The tie was moved to facilitate the Champions League final which is to be played in our very own Stadio Olimpico. Presumably, they are trying to minimise damage to the pitch. Either that or they’re trying to annoy us. Take your pick.