[han2503]

I'm honestly afraid to watch this.

[maldini03]

Gotta say that I agree with X-Off. To me, it seems like the coach is not a motivator like I thought he was. Most of the players who were brought in were done so with a chip on their shoulder - they should all be out to prove something. Montella either a. doesn't understand the ability of the players at his disposal which is why he is deploying them incorrectly or b. is so set on his idea of how the team should play that he is ignoring the obvious change in formation. I think it's a combination of both.

The best coaches can get the players to buy in on them and thus sacrifice or change to fit the system. Other coaches are better at finding the system to suit the players. Montella is trapped somewhere in between. He can't figure out the right system and he can't get anyone to buy into his idea of how the team should play. We need a change, otherwise, the season will be lost before it gets started.

We should have splurged on a real game changing midfielder because that is seriously where we lack. I have been really disappointed by Biglia, at Lazio he accessed a different element to his game. Here he has been a terrible metronome. Hakan has been the biggest disappointment for me. I really thought he would come in like Sneijder when Inter brought him over and set the league aflame, but he has been dull in his passing, and his ability to change the game was completely overblown in Germany.

Silva was good today, he has the talent and the ability to become great, but with the team, as it is he has to try and be the creator and the playmaker and the SS. It's too much weight to put on a kid to carry the entire creative flow of the team. I thought Borini was our best player tbh. He ran for days showed some creativity and hunger which impressed me, it could stem from the fact that he is ex-Roma if I'm not mistaken.

RR at this point looks like our best signing of the summer. He delivers dangerous crosses and works that left flank. Kessie has that unique brand of hustle and muscle but he is being asked to do so much. He has to defend and attack and generally make up for the two mediocre midfielders (Biglia, Hakan) next to him.