Just Typical

By: cathal | April 29th, 2009

This is the first of, wait for it, four posts. There have been none in recent days as I have been ridiculously busy but there is a lot to catch up on so here we go.

Just typical. That’s the only words I can use to describe our loss to Atalanta last weekend. Credit to La Dea, they have done the double over us and you can’t say they haven’t deserved it but considering we beat them in the cup earlier in the season, one has to question how we can go down in such fashion to them.

I empathise with our boys. They gear themselves up for three critical games and it did take a lot out of them. Regardless of the physical fatigue, it is difficult to adjust the mindset and tackle a mid-table side at home after three astounding performances. We may have been confident, we may have been on form but ultimately, the heads were not in the right place. The disappointment didn’t come in losing the game; the disappointment came in the fact that we let the other three teams in the Europa League race get away with poor results. I think that explains where our focus is; clearly the Coppa Italia is the priority and with that being the case, why are we not resting some legs, giving youth some experience and avoiding injury to our stars? Mindboggling.

Anyway, Inter this weekend and it will be interesting to see Rossi’s approach for this one. I have no doubts that we can win; the question is, do we have the desire to get ourselves across the finish line? Forza Lazio!

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Reaction:

As young as he may be, I think Lollo has got it spot on:

“In the dressing room we were speaking about our regret in obtaining nice wins and then losing the grip.”

“However, our second half was positive, even though we did not manage to equalise. Unfortunately, we don’t find the mental balance in facing games in the same way.”

“The league position is good, but we shall try to obtain points again from Sunday in Milan against Inter, then we shall try to win the Coppa Italia at the Olimpico stadium in front of our fans. We shall do our best.” – Lorenzo De Silvestri

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Highlights:

The goal is offside. Trust me.

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Pictures: http://www.piazzadellaliberta.it/gallery/?album=2&gallery=87

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Player Ratings:

Average ratings taken from your comments.

Muslera – 6: Very solid since he has stepped in. Can’t fault him for the goal.

Kolarov – 6: Not his best match of late but improving step by step.

Rozehnal – 5.5: One word: average.

Siviglia – 5.5: Two words: very old.

Lichtsteiner – 5.5: He is doing well enough at the minute but not the player we saw six months ago. Give him time.

Foggia – 5.5: As much as he poses a threat to other teams, he has to improve his performances. We need him to kill sides.

Meghni – 4: The rating says it all. There’s so much he could offer to the team if he wasn’t injured most of the time and actually lived up to half of the hype.

Ledesma – 5.5: He must be tired. Looks like he is losing a lot of hair recently. That is a cause for concern. That, and his contract negotiations.

Brocchi – 6: An unsung hero of sorts, his pressure can really make the difference in these games. Pity the rest of the team didn’t follow his example.

Zarate – 6: Definitely not an unsung hero but I hope his inconsistency is simply his youth. Bags of talent.

Rocchi – 5.5: He has lost his legs, I am certain of that and at his age, I have my doubts that he will find them again. Should he be sold? Sounds like a poll question.

Subs

De Silvestri – 5.5: I think he is a liability at the back and I wonder if he could be converted into a right midfielder in time. He has the pace and the instincts to play there.

Del Nero – 6: I like this guy. He is a great back-up if he can stay fit. Plenty of skill.

Radu – 5.5: If he wants to claim Kola’s spot back, he needs to up the ante.