Okay, fine.

By: salvatore | October 27th, 2008

Have you had your time to digest Sunday’s game yet? Yeah, me neither. Still, what are you going to do? Games like that are like shit. They just happen.

I know there are a lot of people who will watch a game like that and want to talk about luck, and about being unlucky, unlucky to concede, unlucky not to score, unlucky to lose, unlucky not to get a point, etc. Personally though, I don’t really buy into all that. I believe that for the most part, you make your own luck, and that while yes, you may occasionally be a bit fortunate, you can’t rely on it. Players, teams and coaches are just too good these days for you to live and die by luck alone.

What then, is the problem exactly? For one thing, our two best offensive players are playing like support strikers. What’s wrong with that? Well, there’s no one to support. Yep, both Goran and the Zarate Kid were about as isolated as the island of Corvo on Sunday, with very little in the way of service or link-up from the midfield. They’re both massively talented, but you’re not going to get far hoping they’ll simply create every offensive opportunity for themselves. When their finishing betrays them, as it has in the last couple of games, our offensive output just dries up.

This is partly why Simone Inzaghi is looking more useful lately than he has in years. It helps that he’s healthy, but it’s also that the presence of an out and out poacher opens up the play for Pandev and Zarate, and gives them another option. Simone, obviously, is not a long-term solution, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he saw more minutes in the near future. And I wouldn’t be surprised if he scores.

The other problem is in the midfield. Granted, a lot comes down to injuries, squad selection and tactics, but you have to wonder if it’s time for management to start looking for another puppet master, someone who can really pull the strings out there, organize the play, pass and spread it around. Ledesma is tactically important to the team, we know this, or should I say, we keep hearing about it, but I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing someone new. Put simply, I’m not convinced that Cristian is the one to be the focal point of the engine room, especially with the kind of depth that Rossi has to play with this year. Granted, starting Manfredini and Brocchi alongside him wasn’t going to open up the offensive floodgates, but we need more from Ledesma, or at least whoever is going to play that role.

Unless a solution can be found internally, I would love to see another midfielder brought in when the mercato opens up. Someone like Cigarini, for example, would be ideal. We’ll have to see what happens.

Let’s keep in mind that this is not a crisis. It’s just a moment to rethink things and start fresh. Napoli is a very strong team, and losing to them by a goal is nothing to be ashamed of, particularly with the Aquile playing as well as they did in the first half. Am I happy about the team losing at home? Fuck no, especially when you consider our away form, but you have to remember how long the season is. Tomorrow is another day, and Wednesday is another game.

Avanti.

The highlights from Sunday: