[han2503]

Who: Cagliari Calcio vs. AC Milan



(IMG:http://i1381.photobucket.com/albums/ah232/hannvis/CagliariMilan_zps51e9270b.png)



Where: Stadio Sant'Elia



(IMG:http://i1381.photobucket.com/albums/ah232/hannvis/stadium_zpsfb862233.png)



When:
29th October 2014 @ 8:45pm CET


Head-to-Head Record



(IMG:http://i1381.photobucket.com/albums/ah232/hannvis/Cagliarimilanstats_zps22275dee.png)

[Danny]

Gave up on this one emotionally after we went behind. I'm not even angry, just feeling helpless at Pippo's increasingly shite management. He's just making ridiculous errors and not correcting them.

Ratings:

Abbiati: 6 Couple of good saves, couldn't do a thing with the goal.

Abate: 5 Quiet night from him, didn't get forward much and wasn't really threatened in defence.

Rami: 5 Cost us the goal and was atrocious for the first 30 minutes, but improved marginally in the second.

Alex: 7 Until Rami finally got his game on, was doing the work of two men. A collosus at the back and Pippo's best signing.

MDS: 4 Shambolic first half but I concede improvement from him to a level of 'OK' in the second. Nowhere near good enough but not as ghastly as Fiorentina.

Muntari: 3 Useless - once he got booked he was a passenger.

De Jong: 8 Titanic again. Just another superb display from him. But he can't win matches on his own.

Bona: 7 Wunder goal and did work hard but that SHOULDN'T BE HIS JOB FFS.

Honda: 3 Has hit a total shitter of form and is producing zero right now.

SES: 2 Wow, he is just cr*p cr*p cr*p.

Torres: 2 See SES.

Subs:

Poli: 5 solid enough.

Pazzo: 3 If we weren't making chances, why the f*ck bring Pazzo on?!

Menez: 2 Pathetic.

Pippo is doing my head in. This formation is NOT working - 4-3-3 DOES NOT WORK FILIPPO. The attack is non-existent and you're wasting both Honda and Menez. SES hasn't been in form since November 2012 FFS and Torres is worse than he was at Chelsea so far. But none of these f*ckers are being helped by this formation which is seeing a decline in form by match. Add to this the continued refusal to EVER PLAY OUR BEST TEAM and I'm less angry more bewildered.

They say the table doesn't lie, but how we are in third is an absolute miracle. Results around us have done us an amazing favour. No team in third should have 4 f*cking draws in 9 matches.

[han2503]

Gave up on this one emotionally after we went behind. I'm not even angry, just feeling helpless at Pippo's increasingly shite management. He's just making ridiculous errors and not correcting them.

Ratings:

Abbiati: 6 Couple of good saves, couldn't do a thing with the goal.

Abate: 5 Quiet night from him, didn't get forward much and wasn't really threatened in defence.

Rami: 5 Cost us the goal and was atrocious for the first 30 minutes, but improved marginally in the second.

Alex: 7 Until Rami finally got his game on, was doing the work of two men. A collosus at the back and Pippo's best signing.

MDS: 4 Shambolic first half but I concede improvement from him to a level of 'OK' in the second. Nowhere near good enough but not as ghastly as Fiorentina.

Muntari: 3 Useless - once he got booked he was a passenger.

De Jong: 8 Titanic again. Just another superb display from him. But he can't win matches on his own.

Bona: 7 Wunder goal and did work hard but that SHOULDN'T BE HIS JOB FFS.

Honda: 3 Has hit a total shitter of form and is producing zero right now.

SES: 2 Wow, he is just cr*p cr*p cr*p.

Torres: 2 See SES.

Subs:

Poli: 5 solid enough.

Pazzo: 3 If we weren't making chances, why the f*ck bring Pazzo on?!

Menez: 2 Pathetic.

Pippo is doing my head in. This formation is NOT working - 4-3-3 DOES NOT WORK FILIPPO. The attack is non-existent and you're wasting both Honda and Menez. SES hasn't been in form since November 2012 FFS and Torres is worse than he was at Chelsea so far. But none of these f*ckers are being helped by this formation which is seeing a decline in form by match. Add to this the continued refusal to EVER PLAY OUR BEST TEAM and I'm less angry more bewildered.

They say the table doesn't lie, but how we are in third is an absolute miracle. Results around us have done us an amazing favour. No team in third should have 4 f*cking draws in 9 matches.

Don't want to seem critical but I really want to comment on some of these ratings Danny.

First Abbiati... Cannot for the life of me understand why Pippo is picking him, he was passing out clangers all game long and imo he did make a mistake on the goal. He came flying out when there was no chance in hell that he was ever going to reach that.

Rami, he wasn't the only one at fault for the goal, he was second in a 4-bit sequence of errors imo. Also, he made an amazing goal line sliding clearance on a sure goal from Ibarbo a few minutes into the game. I thought he was solid overall aside from that slight blip on the goal. At this point we just have to accept that no matter who plays in defence we're going to concede. It's mostly due to the fact that the defenders have no cover from the midfield so it's very easy for teams to slice us open at will. We're very lucky to have drawn today imo

DS, no way he deserves just a 4 for today, he was one of the better players on the pitch for me today (not saying much I know). In fact I thought he was better than Abate today.

Abate, Rami and DS all made goal saving tackles/clearances today. Without their awareness and positioning we could be looking at a loss today (which sadly is what I think we need to give Pippo a good kick in the teeth, this drawing business and somehow miraculously finding ourselves in third must have him in some false sense of calm that he shouldn't be feeling)

The attackers in general... A this point I've given up on trying to see who's doing well and who isn't, who's **** and who isn't. The point is, these guys aren't getting any service, therefore they're not going to produce. You said it yourself, why bring on Pazzo when we're creating absolutely nothing but horse sh!t out there.

SES for me is just NOT a winger, end of. Playing him there, especially when everyone around him is so painfully static is just ridiculous. Notice that every time he gets the ball he's easily surrounded by 2 or 3 players and has not option but to pass it back to DS/Muntari. The only time that SES can work as a winger is if we're countering and he has acres of space to run into, aside from that it's a complete waste, he's not going to dribble 3 or 4 players and score.

Torres is just not getting any service, he's literally been forced to play a target man with long balls being punted at him or trying to shoot from balls that come loose after challenges. Just ridiculous, of course he's going to be utter sh!t and worse than at Chelsea, at least at Chelsea the guys behind him were creating chances for him to sky over the bar, here he's not even getting that

Honda, same argument as with SES really, he's been trying to do his best there and has mostly succeeded so far this season and that mostly goes to his sheer will and determination, he's still working his @ss off in the defensive phase of the game but he just cannot do what Pippo envisions for that right winger role. I really wish we could either see him as a CM or in the AM position, although neither will ever happen

Pretty much agree with the rest of you assessment, especially that last bit.

I absolutely cannot believe we're in 3rd! Just goes to show how weak the league is and my point about us having just as much of a chance to get 3rd simply on the bases that the other clubs competing for that position are just as terrible as we are

[Danny]

Don't want to seem critical but I really want to comment on some of these ratings Danny.

First Abbiati... Cannot for the life of me understand why Pippo is picking him, he was passing out clangers all game long and imo he did make a mistake on the goal. He came flying out when there was no chance in hell that he was ever going to reach that.

It was a 3-way c*ck up between he, Rami and MDS.

Rami, he wasn't the only one at fault for the goal, he was second in a 4-bit sequence of errors imo. Also, he made an amazing goal line sliding clearance on a sure goal from Ibarbo a few minutes into the game.

Yup, he did, his one good act in that first half.

I thought he was solid overall aside from that slight blip on the goal. At this point we just have to accept that no matter who plays in defence we're going to concede. It's mostly due to the fact that the defenders have no cover from the midfield so it's very easy for teams to slice us open at will. We're very lucky to have drawn today imo

We wouldn't concede if Pippo would pick the best defence. V Fio MDS cost us, today a combination of Rami (mostly) and Abbiati/MDS cost us. You were critical of Zapata who didn't cost us v Fio but praising of Rami who has. Your call, and I know you like Rami, but he is simply not our best option. Zapata would have been gutted, and Armero...well, his backside must be getting warm on that bench.

DS, no way he deserves just a 4 for today, he was one of the better players on the pitch for me today (not saying much I know). In fact I thought he was better than Abate today.

He was a 7 in the second and a 0 in the first. So that evens out at 4.

Abate, Rami and DS all made goal saving tackles/clearances today. Without their awareness and positioning we could be looking at a loss today (which sadly is what I think we need to give Pippo a good kick in the teeth, this drawing business and somehow miraculously finding ourselves in third must have him in some false sense of calm that he shouldn't be feeling)

You missed Alex in those vital clearances. Do you not rate Alex?

The attackers in general... A this point I've given up on trying to see who's doing well and who isn't, who's **** and who isn't. The point is, these guys aren't getting any service, therefore they're not going to produce. You said it yourself, why bring on Pazzo when we're creating absolutely nothing but horse sh!t out there.

SES for me is just NOT a winger, end of. Playing him there, especially when everyone around him is so painfully static is just ridiculous. Notice that every time he gets the ball he's easily surrounded by 2 or 3 players and has not option but to pass it back to DS/Muntari. The only time that SES can work as a winger is if we're countering and he has acres of space to run into, aside from that it's a complete waste, he's not going to dribble 3 or 4 players and score.

Agree on SES, he's being as wasted on the left as Honda is on the right. It's beyond frustrating and now is just plain ludicrous. Both work hard but they're being rendered impotent.

Torres is just not getting any service, he's literally been forced to play a target man with long balls being punted at him or trying to shoot from balls that come loose after challenges. Just ridiculous, of course he's going to be utter sh!t and worse than at Chelsea, at least at Chelsea the guys behind him were creating chances for him to sky over the bar, here he's not even getting that

I'll be critical when he sucks but happily ready to gush with praise when it kicks into gear for him, however, whenever and if it indeed does. He is a symptom of what is wrong with our attack.

Honda, same argument as with SES really, he's been trying to do his best there and has mostly succeeded so far this season and that mostly goes to his sheer will and determination, he's still working his @ss off in the defensive phase of the game but he just cannot do what Pippo envisions for that right winger role. I really wish we could either see him as a CM or in the AM position, although neither will ever happen

To have a 4-3-3 that works you MUST have 2 wingers comfortably with that notion. The old Ronaldinho Barca had him on the left, Guily on the right, and Eto' in the middle. 3 players happy with that combination and each placed to their strengths. Torres is being isolated alone because the other two cannot produce chances for him. SES simply NEVER crosses the ball, he always tries to dribble in and then loses it. Honda cuts back and crosses with the left. Exactly the same every time and it's no wonder it's easily nullified.

Pretty much agree with the rest of you assessment, especially that last bit.

I absolutely cannot believe we're in 3rd! Just goes to show how weak the league is and my point about us having just as much of a chance to get 3rd simply on the bases that the other clubs competing for that position are just as terrible as we are

Still aiming for 5th but after tonight I don't think we'll get it.

But yes, Serie A is absolutely horrendous. From its heyday in the 80s and 90s/early Noughties it's now behind England, Spain, Germany, Portugal, France, and vies with Turkey, Greece, Russia and Holland in terms of where we're at.

[han2503]

It was a 3-way c*ck up between he, Rami and MDS.

I don't think DS had anything to do with that. It was Rami's man, and he lost him, Abbiati came flying out which made it 10 times worse. However it all started with first Abate then Alex both letting whoever the Cagliari player that was who crossed to do it so comfortably and accurately. Therefore, for me, it's a 4-way f@ck up.

Yup, he did, his one good act in that first half.

I don't think he did any other thing wrong throughout the first half or the 2nd. Minor blip aside he was good, and saved a sure goal, which sort of balances out

We wouldn't concede if Pippo would pick the best defence. V Fio MDS cost us, today a combination of Rami (mostly) and Abbiati/MDS cost us. You were critical of Zapata who didn't cost us v Fio but praising of Rami who has. Your call, and I know you like Rami, but he is simply not our best option. Zapata would have been gutted, and Armero...well, his backside must be getting warm on that bench.

I think he is playing our best defence, for me our best defence atm is the one we played today, you prefer Zapata, I would even be okay with that for now as long as he kept it consistent for a good span of games, this changing things around each week is getting seriously old.

Yes, Zapata didn't cost us, but his mistakes last Sunday could have easily done so had he not been as lucky, fact is he can be a bit of liability, which is the only reason I choose Rami over him, simply because I don't trust him. He's simply terrible on the ball, yet instead of passing it on quickly to Alex or his FB, he chooses to hang onto it to try to dribble or make some ridiculous pass which usually ends badly, if he removed that aspect of his game I would trust him a lot more and would have zero issues with him being the starting CB

He was a 7 in the second and a 0 in the first. So that evens out at 4.

Nah, he had a solid first half, nothing great but was defensively sound, second half he was easily one of our best performers (again, not saying much, but that's how I personally see his overall performance today)

You missed Alex in those vital clearances. Do you not rate Alex?

Rami cleared off the goal line when Ibarbo had an open net to shoot at. Abate slid in with a last ditch tackle at the far post to clear a cross that would have reached the Cagliari player for an easy tap in and DS slid into a tackle inside our area to win the ball off a Cagliari player who was clear through on goal and just had Abbiati to beat. Alex was his usual solid self, made all the correct clearances, challenges and tackles. He's our saving grace in defence this season no question about that.

The other 3 just made 3 spectacular interventions though that have most likely saved our 1 point, that's why I mentioned them

Agree on SES, he's being as wasted on the left as Honda is on the right. It's beyond frustrating and now is just plain ludicrous. Both work hard but they're being rendered impotent.

Yep

I'll be critical when he sucks but happily ready to gush with praise when it kicks into gear for him, however, whenever and if it indeed does. He is a symptom of what is wrong with our attack.

I think at this point I'm finding it hard to be critical because he literally has nothing to play off of. If we were creating bucket loads of chances for him and he was pissing them away then yeah, I'd jump happily on that band wagon, but at this point I just feel sorry for him

To have a 4-3-3 that works you MUST have 2 wingers comfortably with that notion. The old Ronaldinho Barca had him on the left, Guily on the right, and Eto' in the middle. 3 players happy with that combination and each placed to their strengths. Torres is being isolated alone because the other two cannot produce chances for him. SES simply NEVER crosses the ball, he always tries to dribble in and then loses it. Honda cuts back and crosses with the left. Exactly the same every time and it's no wonder it's easily nullified.

Yep. A 4-3-1-2 would look so much better with the players we have. This 4-3-3 thing is so unnatural. Sadly I think Pippo will continue to persist with it until it dies a slow, agonising, natural death

Still aiming for 5th but after tonight I don't think we'll get it.

But yes, Serie A is absolutely horrendous. From its heyday in the 80s and 90s/early Noughties it's now behind England, Spain, Germany, Portugal, France, and vies with Turkey, Greece, Russia and Holland in terms of where we're at.

I don't think it's that bad, probably around the same level as Portugal and France at this point.

That being said, I'll continue to be hopeful for that 3rd spot for as long as the other teams continue to be the utter sh!t they currently are.