Simplicio Solution

By: cathal | June 27th, 2009

In my opinion and in the opinion of many others, our midfield is the area that looks particularly vulnerable at present. With Ledesma set to leave and with negotiations for Matuzalem becoming a seemingly endless process, I am worried that we could go into the Europa League qualifiers in six weeks’ time with a centre that just is not good enough. That in mind, I have to ask myself; why haven’t we snapped up Simplicio?

I realise the jury is out on him with many citing inconsistency and simply (excuse the pun) a lack of ability as the main reasons why we should avoid making a bid but I can’t empathise with that viewpoint. Statistics may obscure the truth from time to time but they certainly don’t lie and when you compare Fabio’s stats for last season with our current midfield, I am almost ashamed to even display them. Keep in mind, this only takes Serie A into account (as Palermo were immediately dumped from the cup).

Fabio Simplicio – 37 games played, 8 goals, 9 assists.
Cristian Ledesma – 34 games played, 2 goals, 1 assist.
Francelino Matuzalem – 14 games played, 0 goals, 0 assists.

The above statistics make embarrassing reading. Don’t get me wrong, I like our guys. I think Cristian’s dirty work and defensive help is severely under-appreciated by the majority of fans and I firmly believe Francy, with his guts and guile, improved our performances when he played. However, Simplicio has got everything we need in my opinion; he poses a goal threat, he can create, he stays fit, he is solid, he is a Serie A veteran and perhaps most importantly, he is in the prime of his life. In this period of uncertainty, where we can’t be sure if any of our centre-midfielders will remain, I think the 6million Zamp is asking for is a price we should accept instantaneously. Considering many hope or even expect Cristian to go for 15-20million and Francelino to be snatched for a sum in excess of 7million, I think 6million for Fabio is a very small price to pay. Forza Lazio!