Better results and form do not mean a better squad? Isn't that quite obvious?

I was talking about your assessment of Juve gap, Roma & Lazio gap, others

When we talked about this it was always about the squad, as in the talent and quality in those squads compared to others.

And imo, Lazio are still Fiorentina level and below us, Inter and Napoli when you're looking at squads.

As I said, they're on an amazing run, which could just as easily stop as suddenly as it began. Form is temporary and all that. They've just managed to hit their peak at the exact right time in the season .i.e while Roma are in a dreadful slump and the others are all inconsistently faltering

Got to the stage of the season where the cream has to rise. We're in 8th. Lazio are second.

That tells its own story. We can whine about mismanagement and B&G all we want (believe me, I've been having a lengthy debate with BT Sports' James Horncastle on Twitter about this over the past 24 hours) but ultimately results are the currency in football.

I remember X saying Atletico were one season wonders. That they couldn't do it this season like they did last. And yet plainly they are.

But no one will convince anyone they have a better squad than either Barca or Real.

So yes, form is temporary, but the right team and management can punch above its weight regardless and achieve more than the sum of its parts.

How are Atletico doing it again? Being 3rd and reaching the quarters isn't quite a replay?

Well they sure as hell can't be in the CL final yet can they!

And as for La Liga, sure, they're not exactly top of the table but they're only 9 points off it and that's having lost their star striker and goalkeeper, not to mention fullback.

Are you seriously telling me you think they're in no way close to the level they were at last season?

Despite, for example, being yet to lose to Real at ALL this season?

I don't think you can compare Lazio to Atletico at all imo

I'm sorry but I don't think the current Serie A table reflects the quality of the teams, AT ALL. For me it only reflects the dismal quality currently in the league

Lazio as I said before are simply going through a purple patch, they have a decent coach who's doing well to get the best out of his players. You really think they'll be second next season?

Atletico, have some really good players, and even though they do not have a squad comparable to that of Barca and Real Simeone is the type of coach that can get absolutely everything out of his team, even if it isn't so great, last season was great, but they're not repeating themselves in the league this season, simply because no matter how much of a great team Simeone constructed, the quality of Barca and Real simply eclipses theirs and in the end it's going to become evident as it has done this season following the loss of top class players Atletico had to go through. Because in the end, great form and sheer determination can only carry you for so long, you need the top names to sometimes carry you through or pull you out of a sticky situation. Which is what Costa did for them

I think the fact that as opposed to having someone like Simeone, or a crafty guy like Pioli we have an inexperienced Pippo says it all

I don't speak in general terms. X-O said Atletico is a one-season wonder, meaning they won't be able to win or maintain winning silverware. Surely, no one can predict the future. But IMO Atletico are on Dortmund corse: after a season of won Championships and a season marked by the CL final, they now slowly die off.

Again, Atletico have been good this season. No argument here.


Let's be honest here, shall we. You can call Pioli a "crafty guy" now, but he's been nothing but a shot in the dark, just like Inzaghi. This one turned good, the other one not so.

Honestly, I don't expect Atletico to repeat last season's course. Third place in the league and making it to the QF in the CL when their Round of 16 opponent was Leverkusen (which they barely managed to beat on penalties) is not impressive. However, if they do somehow manage to beat Real, then consider me impressed.



Only difference is that Pioli has experience whilst Inzaghi is a noob.

This, at least Pioli has been around the block once or twice with other Serie A sides, Inzaghi had barely made it around the block once with the Primavera before getting this job.

And let's face it, Pippo was as wiley and crafty as they come as a player, but he clearly didn't carry over that trait into his coaching methods as he's as naiive as one can get

So, two italian teams in Europa League's semifinals, one of them in Champions League semi-finals.

Italy's outscoring Germany in UEFA points for the first time in ages (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Like I said EL is what matters most, Germany outperformed Italy in the CL, while it's the opposite case in the EL

Allegri has been doing spectacularly well. He learned from mistakes done at Milan. He is well on course to lift another Scudetto and participate in a CL blockbuster. Hope they got through.

Yes, I agree that he seems to have learned from his past mistakes, which were A LOT!

I don't think that's what it is

I think he was smart enough to not mess up a good thing, which Juve already were under Conte.

If Juve have to suddenly lose their 2 best players, I think we'll start to see the Allegrisms once again. I think that when he has his back to the wall he simply has no answer in terms of how to turn things around. And that's what I hated most about him. It's all fine and dandy when things are all going well but when things take a turn his decision making is a bit of a travesty