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> Serie A 2021/2022 Season, Serie A Discussion

 
han2503
post Nov 28 2021, 05:16 PM
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QUOTE (X-Offender @ Nov 28 2021, 05:10 PM) *
True, true. Only difference is that against Fiorentina we played well for the most part. Today after they equalised we completely disappeared.

This also goes on Pioli. He clearly had not prepared the game properly. Playing Bakayoko from the start for example was a huge mistake.

Switching to the 4-4-2 in that 2nd half was also a terrible move.

Diaz was quite but he and Leao are the only players capable of running at the opposition. Taking him out to bring on Messias was a bad move. Florenzi should have also come off for Kalulu earlier.

As for Bakayoko, he has to play, because we're slowly moving towards a month where he will be one of 2 options in the midfield for us. But playing him today was probably not the wisest decision, especially when he could have just as easily played him at Genoa.


Rebic and Tomori are terribly missed that's for sure.

Tomori we simply cannot do without at this point. Kjear and Romagnoli are too slow next to each other. Romagnoli with a game full of brain farts didn't help either
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han2503
post Nov 28 2021, 05:23 PM
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Btw, I know we played terrible and it's pointless to talk about the ref

But Raspadori should have been sent off for that high boot on Bennacer early in the first half

And that should have been a penalty when Ferrari (I think) stopped the shot with his hand held up and in an unnatural position

We have been consistently getting the short end of the stick in every game with the refereeing. Inter yesterday got a ridiculous penalty for a ricochet when the player was on the ground, similar to the one we got called against us against Atalanta, yet this one was not called. When the player clearly obstructed the ball with his hand held up.
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X-Offender
post Nov 28 2021, 05:31 PM
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Pioli needs to work on the head of his players. He needs to make them understand that if you want to become a great team who aims for the Scudetto you need to consider every game like a final. There are no easy games at these levels. Concentration and determination are key.

Of course there's also the tactical aspect which today he completely botched as Dionisi had studied how to beat us to perfection, but if the players ain't conscious of the importance of each game then it's gonna be another crumble like last season.

I was angry after the Fiorentina defeat because we gifted them the win, but today I'm simply disappointed at the attitude of these players. To go to Madrid and dominate the champions of Spain (who, granted, aren't amazing this season, but still) and then put such a horror show at home against Sassuolo is UNACCEPTABLE.
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Fillipo Simone
post Nov 28 2021, 06:14 PM
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Horrendous game by the team captain.

QUOTE (X-Offender @ Nov 28 2021, 06:30 PM) *
So CL has nothing to do with anything. We're just bad.

We entered against Atletico all-in and gave our best. While we underestimated Fiorentina and Sassuolo and lost vital 6 points. It has much to do with the CL rush. Conte by no accident decided to disregard CL football in order to win the scudetto.

QUOTE (han2503 @ Nov 28 2021, 06:30 PM) *
I don't believe that

So we were good enough a month ago but now we're not good enough?

It's the usual complacency


QUOTE (han2503 @ Nov 28 2021, 06:31 PM) *
It's looking like the usual top 4 fight will be the order of the day for us. Just not good enough when the going gets tough

Contradictory. You do not think we're not good enough yet you conclude we won't be battling for the title.

I think we lack quality and more careful planning to be serious contenders. The summer transfer market operations proved to be inadequate or (for the most part) disappointing. We created another mess with contracts and destabilized one of our crucial players. And never replaced Hakan's departure. All this is understandable.

What's less understandable is that Pioli is not trying harder to grow. We still depend on one basic gameplan and show no tactical flexibility. Our mentality is still the same of last year, squandering points against weaker teams and underestimating midtable clubs. The form dip is also a constant: everytime around Christmas we start to fold.
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han2503
post Nov 28 2021, 06:27 PM
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QUOTE (Fillipo Simone @ Nov 28 2021, 06:14 PM) *
Horrendous game by the team captain.


We entered against Atletico all-in and gave our best. While we underestimated Fiorentina and Sassuolo and lost vital 6 points. It has much to do with the CL rush. Conte by no accident decided to disregard CL football in order to win the scudetto.




Contradictory. You do not think we're not good enough yet you conclude we won't be battling for the title.

I think we lack quality and more careful planning to be serious contenders. The summer transfer market operations proved to be inadequate or (for the most part) disappointing. We created another mess with contracts and destabilized one of our crucial players. And never replaced Hakan's departure. All this is understandable.

What's less understandable is that Pioli is not trying harder to grow. We still depend on one basic gameplan and show no tactical flexibility. Our mentality is still the same of last year, squandering points against weaker teams and underestimating midtable clubs. The form dip is also a constant: everytime around Christmas we start to fold.

Not good enough because we are complacent, you said so yourself.

I don't think it's a lack of quality

Players are just not concentrating throughout the 90 minutes, it's what leads to these individual errors.

We started this game well also. Has control of the game up to the goal, then we just lost our heads as we did vs Fiorentina. Only this time I personally think Pioli got it all wrong with his changes as we were even worse in the 2nd half

I agree that this squad is simply not good enough to fight on 2 fronts, especially not when we are contently dealing with an injury crisis. I've been banging on about this since last season, the medical and fitness staff should have been improved as there is clearly a serious problem there. This season if possible the situation with injuries is even worse than it was last year.

Inter run their first 11 into the ground and don't have a fraction of the problems that we do. No other team in Serie A actually has as many injuries as we do. Just not normal

And once again it will cost us. The rotation today by Pioli was completely wrong.
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han2503
post Nov 28 2021, 06:29 PM
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When I say not good enough it means the attitude, the concentration, the effort.

Quality has nothing to do with it. Especially not against Sassuolo. If we were being outplayed by the top teams than I would agree, but the f@ck ups have come against teams we should have beaten
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X-Offender
post Nov 28 2021, 06:47 PM
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QUOTE (Fillipo Simone @ Nov 28 2021, 06:14 PM) *
We entered against Atletico all-in and gave our best. While we underestimated Fiorentina and Sassuolo and lost vital 6 points. It has much to do with the CL rush. Conte by no accident decided to disregard CL football in order to win the scudetto.


First of all, you are gravely mistaken if you think Conte disregarded the CL by choice.

Secondly, our underestimating of Sassuolo has nothing to do with the CL. It is a trait that has been accompanying us for quite a while. Just think how many points we lost last season because we did not take certain games as seriously as we should have. And we did not play the CL last season. That is what I have been harping on in the last two pages of this thread. We need to work on our heads, i.e. on our concentration and determination. CL or no CL...

This post has been edited by X-Offender: Nov 28 2021, 09:08 PM
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Fillipo Simone
post Nov 29 2021, 02:06 PM
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QUOTE (han2503 @ Nov 28 2021, 08:29 PM) *
When I say not good enough it means the attitude, the concentration, the effort.

Quality has nothing to do with it. Especially not against Sassuolo. If we were being outplayed by the top teams than I would agree, but the f@ck ups have come against teams we should have beaten

For me it is all the same, with little difference. Yes, individually our players have quality. Same can be said about Cassano and Balotelli (these are of course extreme examples). But lack of concentration, focus and crucially, lack of consistently playing on a high level (see Romagnoli) - in my opinion - usually means lack of quality as well in a more broader sense.

QUOTE (X-Offender @ Nov 28 2021, 08:47 PM) *
First of all, you are gravely mistaken if you think Conte disregarded the CL by choice.

Secondly, our underestimating of Sassuolo has nothing to do with the CL. It is a trait that has been accompanying us for quite a while. Just think how many points we lost last season because we did not take certain games as seriously as we should have. And we did not play the CL last season. That is what I have been harping on in the last two pages of this thread. We need to work on our heads, i.e. on our concentration and determination. CL or no CL...

I really think Conte didn't try for the CL at all (with Inter).

I disagree. This was not the typical Milan mentality clusterf@ck. This is more. And the Italian media seem to agree with me that the focus on CL football made them drop the ball and mental exhaustion caused many of these individual errors.
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post Nov 29 2021, 02:43 PM
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QUOTE (Fillipo Simone @ Nov 29 2021, 02:06 PM) *
I really think Conte didn't try for the CL at all (with Inter).

Honestly it's the first time ever I hear that teams snub the CL. And I've heard it twice already in this forum. Once with Milan this season, and now with Inter last season. It's illogical to think any of this is actually true.

Inter went guns blazing in Gladbach last season to win the penultimate game in the group, which they did, but then just couldn't get that last win against Shakhtar despite having many goal opportunities. They were just unlucky. You think that was the attitude of a team snubbing the competition?

Inter were great last year. They had world class players in Lukaku and Hakimi on top of the quality ones they already have. To think they would have the audacity to get out of the CL intentionally, to me at least, sounds ludicrous. And I don't believe it one bit.

QUOTE (Fillipo Simone @ Nov 29 2021, 02:06 PM) *
I disagree. This was not the typical Milan mentality clusterf@ck. This is more. And the Italian media seem to agree with me that the focus on CL football made them drop the ball and mental exhaustion caused many of these individual errors.


Shouldn't it be the contrary? The win in Madrid should have increased the players' enthusiasm and self-confidence. I don't believe they were mentally exhausted, just didn't approach the match with the right intensity and concentration. It was a clear lack of focus.
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post Nov 29 2021, 05:15 PM
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Speaking about rotation, Inter have been playing Barella-Brozovic-Capanoglu nearly non-stop thus far, Serie A and CL, 3 players who also play all their NT games. Even against Venezia, and even against Spezia Mediaset has them still starting. I really don't understand why Pioli decided to experiment with Bennacer and Bakayoko in such a delicate match against a tough opponent like Sassuolo.

If we lost yesterday's match in any position on the pitch, it was in midfield. The two CMs didn't provide enough cover and made way too many mistakes, Bakayoko in primis. Bennacer was also quite poor. I feel the fact he's lost his starting spot to Tonali has affected him negatively. I think he's a player who always needs to play in order to achieve and maintain a top physical and psychological condition.

I will always keep saying that Tonali and Bennacer should be our starting pair, but for some reason people in here don't agree.
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Fillipo Simone
post Nov 29 2021, 06:19 PM
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Tonali is showing real signs of progress and he has stepped up very boldly, which made me reconsider my earlier criticism.

Maybe you are right regarding Bennacer, maybe him not playing affects his mentality. But overall he's showing very little. I think he's the kind of player that shines at Empoli or Fiorentina, but isn't ready for a bigger step forward. He lacks consistency. Injuries also don't help, but all in all I think he lacks mostly consistency.
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X-Offender
post Nov 29 2021, 07:23 PM
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But consistency is achieved also be playing regularly. The only time Bennacer was consistent in his showings was in the post Covid break in 2020, arguably his best few months with us. Then last year it was a calvary of injuries, and this year he's been frequently benched in favour of Tonali.

And I get Pioli's decision to play Tonali. Like you said, he's stepped up big time this season and he's earned that spot. But, for example, to prefer over Bennacer someone like Kessie who clearly doesn't give two shits about this team anymore is just wrong on so many levels.
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Fillipo Simone
post Nov 29 2021, 07:34 PM
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I don't think Kessie is not giving a damn for the team. That's complete und utter bullshit.
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post Nov 29 2021, 08:15 PM
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QUOTE (Fillipo Simone @ Nov 29 2021, 07:34 PM) *
I don't think Kessie is not giving a damn for the team. That's complete und utter bullshit.


So how do you justify his pathetic performances this season? Bar a couple of good matches here and there, he's been for the most part utter trash.
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X-Offender
post Nov 30 2021, 03:02 AM
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https://twitter.com/francefootball/status/1...418482607177730

So proud of Simon.
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