Chaos Theory

By: cathal | September 25th, 2009

The situation in Rome just got even more chaotic in the aftermath of our defeat at home to newly-promoted, Parma. There are a million and one possible explanations as to why this team is currently misfiring but for the majority of fans, the finger is pointing in the direction of the president and the blame lies firmly on his shoulders. We all know why but let’s put the last few months aside and figure exactly what went wrong on Wednesday evening.

First things first, let’s look at the goals. Parma’s opener came from what can only be described as unsportsmanlike play. If you look at the highlights video below, you will realise that even their coach, Guidolin, was furious with the players for continuing the play even though it resulted in a goal. A moment like this changes the dynamic of a game and with only one central defender, it became difficult to defend against. On another day, this doesn’t happen but how often have I been saying this lately? We got an equaliser through a penalty that we might not have got on another day and then Parma take the lead right back with a penalty they might not have got on another day. On another day, Kolarov wouldn’t have got sent off either.

I don’t want to make excuses for the team but the game was virtually decided in the opening half through a combination of tough and potentially harsh decisions. That aside though, we failed to create a single clear-cut chance and while many will rant on about our defence being the suspect area of the team, I find the midfield more culpable. The defence are there to defend, a job they are not doing too well and our attack are there to put away chances but it’s not easy when you have to make your own. The common denominator here is the midfield and they are simply not doing enough. However, it’s hard to hold the players at fault when they are tired, when the likes of Brocchi are on the sidelines and when a player of Ledesma’s calibre is constantly being left out. Ballardini’s hands are tied here; I refuse to deflect the majority of blame onto Lotito and the dissidenti situation as for me, the simple facts of the matter are that those who warm our bench do not have the quality to replace a tired Lichtsteiner or a spent Baronio. It’s either that or they are injured. Right now, the reintegration of the dissidenti would probably solve the situation but it’s a long season with many games left to go and I’m no fan of a quick fix. Nevertheless, it appears to be the only sensible solution with the likes of Matuzalem and Lichtsteiner breaking the internal rules to express their disappointment at the continual non-showing of Goran and Cristian.

On to Palermo we go and we can only hope that we somehow find a way to turn things around. I would like to think that our friends in the Olimpico can spur on our guys but taking into account the tense atmosphere in the capital at present, I wouldn’t hold my breath. A change is as good as a rest and I’m hoping that something special will happen against the Sicilians that will turn our season around. Faint hope, perhaps but it’s still hope. Forza Lazio!

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Reaction:

“We didn’t start well.”

“We made a game of it but then the sending off came and made it difficult. Kolarov made a big mistake and you cannot leave the team in this position.”

“Parma close the space down well and it’s not easy to deal with this with matches so close together. We are still in a good position in the standings so we want to do well.” - Davide Ballardini

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“I noticed a player on the ground and I shouted at my players to kick the ball out of play. I did not want my players to score in this fashion. Zenoni didn’t realise and we scored.

“I exposed myself to the fair play rules a few seasons ago but I trust my players and explained that this should never happen again.” – Parma coach, Francesco Guidolin

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Highlights: