[acid911]

Nocerino, I personally don't get the criticism going his way, no he's not in your face like Rino is, and doesn't give that high energy Rino does either. But he's a very tidy player, he wins balls cleanly and makes the simple pass.

Can't disagree with this, even if I tried. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/king.gif) Well said, and even better spoken. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif) Nocerino's pretty cool.

[Jack Sparrow]

Huh, I thought Nocerino was the most consistent one last night. He played a really tidy game, no mistakes or foolish outbursts. I really didn't see the errors Fillipo is talking about. I'd play him every time if he plays like last night.

As for Aquilani, yes, he was poor and I believe he will continue struggling until he finds a suitable position in midfield. We all know he's no trequartista, so don't be surprised if he doesn't perform there. However, he had a very good first half against Lazio as LCM and I think Allegri should insist on playing him there until he finally jells with our system.



Having more chances means dominate? Most of the game was played in Udinese's own half, especially in the second half they were struck in there and those saves by Abbiati you mentioned came only as a result of counterattacks. We were lucky to get a draw only because of our current situation regarding injuries. If we had everyone available and we played like we did last night, we would have crushed Udinese.

I don't know. I think his biggest mistake was how often Abate got run at by the opposition. We all think Abate is doing great. I think while his positioning has improved a bit, it's the fact that the mid-fielder on the right (usually Rino) supports him a great deal.

Abate is no Cafu who could single handedly handle a flank. Defend against wingers and fullbacks and still find time to get to the other team's byline. He needs support and Nocerino failed.

As for having more chances means dominate? Err...yes. Isn't that the point of football? To create chances to win the game aka dominate. Their chances came from counterattacks?? Yes...because that was their strategy. They probably saw the way Napoli used it to great effect and decided to employ the same. There was no way that Udinese side is set up for possession. It wasn't last season and it isn't this season either.

Surprising you should say this...since we used the same policy against Barca. Plus I've seen enough of this in the later Carlo days. When we'd have the ball a lot of the time (even more fluently than now)..yet simply pass it sideways and back while the other teams defended with 10 or 11..then hit us on the break.

As for Nocerino and Aquilani. Aquilani had a terrible game yesterday, he was very good against Lazio but struggled against Napoli and Udine, it's obvious he's not very comfortable in the position, he's played a more advanced role before but playing in the hole behind the strikers is something new to him so he's obviously finding it difficuilt, LCM suites him better, the defensive aspect he'll have to work on but having Zambro behind him is completely different to having Antonini. I think allegri should switch him and Seedorf around, I know, I know, Seedorf is slow, bla bla bla, but he's adapt to playing the position and is comfortable playing it.

Nocerino, I personally don't get the criticism going his way, no he's not in your face like Rino is, and doesn't give that high energy Rino does either. But he's a very tidy player, he wins balls cleanly and makes the simple pass. What worried me mostly is his advanced position, and we saw this happening with Rino as well, he runs into these great positions in the box and receives the ball, he's not the guy we want in those situations simply because his final ball is lacking a lot. This is why I think Boateng on the right would make more sense...

I actually think Aquilani needs to be given a free role...I can't explain it any better than to suggest the same role Luka Modric gets at Spurs. Somewhere between the halfway line and the final third of the opposition. But then Allegri plays the most one-dimensional 4-3-1-2 I've ever seen so I'm not sure it will happen.

Boateng on the right would be good on paper, but I'm telling you..Boateng's positioning is so bad defensively, I'd give two weeks before a bunch of people mis-guidedly say Abate has regressed and we must buy a new right back. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

You might Prince is running hard but half the time he's running coz he was out of position in the first place. I don't give a rat's a$$ about effort when it was not needed in the first place.

Nocerino is not Rino. For sure. Rino could be a one man battle tank and was after Pirlo the greatest component of the Carletto machine. It was BECAUSE of him that we could play 3 and sometimes 4 playmakers in the 11. As he broke down so did our team.

Nocerino is still not giving it his all I think. He still seems very hesitant to me. Needs to build into his rule and truly learn to boss the mid-field. He doesn't need to be in-your-face for that. He just does the basics right now. Not good enough for the ambitions we have of our mid-field.

[X-Offender]

I don't know. I think his biggest mistake was how often Abate got run at by the opposition. We all think Abate is doing great. I think while his positioning has improved a bit, it's the fact that the mid-fielder on the right (usually Rino) supports him a great deal.

Abate is no Cafu who could single handedly handle a flank. Defend against wingers and fullbacks and still find time to get to the other team's byline. He needs support and Nocerino failed.

Give him time. It's not even been a month since he joined us. No preparation and already playing consecutive games. I'm certain he'll attain a proper understanding of his role with time.

As for having more chances means dominate? Err...yes. Isn't that the point of football? To create chances to win the game aka dominate. Their chances came from counterattacks?? Yes...because that was their strategy. They probably saw the way Napoli used it to great effect and decided to employ the same. There was no way that Udinese side is set up for possession. It wasn't last season and it isn't this season either.

Surprising you should say this...since we used the same policy against Barca. Plus I've seen enough of this in the later Carlo days. When we'd have the ball a lot of the time (even more fluently than now)..yet simply pass it sideways and back while the other teams defended with 10 or 11..then hit us on the break.

And you honestly think Udinese dominated the game? Not in a million years. You speak of chances, but we had plenty of chances ourselves. Click. We were on par in that regard, and we had the game in control for most of the match. There is no way Udinese dominated us.

[Jack Sparrow]

Oh no...I agree with you there. We weren't dominated. But we weren't dominating them either. So i do actually think the match was a tie like that.

Agree with you on Nocerino. I wasn't saying he's useless to us. Just the areas he needs to make marked improvement in.

But the way our transfer market has gone down, it's vital that Aquilani and Nocerino step up to the plate sooner rather than later, else we could lose too much distance in the title race.

[Danny]

Yet another tough match. We've had a really hard start to this season. I suspect a draw in this one.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

Wonder when we'll get that elusive win.

[Danny]

FT...

Still no win. Looks like kurt predicted this perfectly

*COUGH* *SPLUTTER*