Yes its going to be a looong wait till January. Unless we buy better players, we are screwed the whole season.

Couldn't agree more with pretty much all of this

So frustrating to watch our team taking it easy with 15 minutes to go and a goal down, when we should have been pressing every ball.

We simply don't play smart. What's the point of having Bertolacci or Bonaventura chasing around after a player and no one helping to press him? It just wastes time and energy. It simply makes zero logical sense, yet that's what we did for the majority of the game

We foul so much it's getting beyond the point of irritating.

And next week we have to face Napoli. Did you watch them against Juve? They were so quick, aggressive and direct. We'll barely be able to hold on to a respectable loss against them playing like this

I don't think Miha can do better in terms of player selection. In my opinion he played the best possible line-up, considering Bacca was tired and Kucka was coming from an injury. But it's the mentality of the team that hurts us. Just like in the second of Udine, when our players are pressed up high they conpletely lose it and can't make two decent passes to save their lives, regardless of the opponent.

Balo was the only one who really tried. Bertolacci improved in the second half, but you expect more from someone who cost 20M. Kucka has been a much better signing than him so far.

I think some players in our roster are simply not good enough

Yes, it's a whole team mentality that we buckle or don't fight for the win when it doesn't come easy.

But individual errors are avoidable, and continue to create an even worse situation for an already vulnerable team.

I think Calabria is a very talented kid, but tbh, I can't wait to have Abate back.

Zapata is someone we've gone over ad nauseam, but it's simply unacceptable for a player to make the kind of errors he does. And this is not something that came about this season, it's simply a part of his game and until Mexes is back, I prefer to have Alex play instead. And Miha should also recognise this.

DS is very inconsistent, he needs to do a lot better

With regards to the entire midfield. I think aside from the individuals being not that great, it's also the tactics that coach deploys. why was De Jong being used as a mezalla for example? If you're going to play him as a CM then he needs to play as a destroyer, and I expect him to help out his FB as well as Monto a lot more instead of just running up and down the pitch aimlessly which is what he did for most of the half.

The entire midfield needs to help the defence a lot better, they simply don't compact themselves and drop back to form a unit with the defenders when we're under pressure, they simply run after the opposing players without much aim.

Bertolacci had some decent moments in the second but I simply expect so much more from him.

Also, Bonaventura was so and so today, he's played better in midfield these last few weeks, but if him playing in the AM position means Honda sits, I'm fine with it. But we seriously need someone so much better for that trequartista position.

I agree I was advocating for this lineup, except Bacca for Adriano, but it seems that I was completely wrong. NDJ was useless on the right, and Berto was useless down the left. The only time he woke up was when our midfield was rendered completely useless through the loss of the man.

Every position on the field is a question mark, every single one. It's tough to get a read on the forwards without any service, but I don't think the Bacca-Adriano deal will be working out. One of them can play (preferably Bacca) but they need someone who can run at the defense, has quickness, and who can play outside of the box. At this point the best player for that is Balo. I would like to see Menez return at some point and see if he can generate any sort of momentum or cohesion.

The midfield is in shambles, at this point I think its time to get creative, lets see some experimentation. I think that Berto's price tag is going to mean that he will play almost every game he is fit, which is a shame. It's one thing to blow 20 mil on a guy you thought would be good, its another to shove him down everyone's throat by playing him over and over. It shows that they believe they have too much pride to bench the guy which is just making a bad situation worse. Wasn't Jose Mauri supposed to be a great promising player? I understand that he is 19 but at this point the guy deserves a shot, the only one of the 4 who started today that should have a week in week out spot is Bonaventura, and Monto would come second on that list.

At the back we need to find a partnership that works, and we have to do it quickly. Have we shut anyone out this year? I don't think so, our defense leaks goals like crazy. This wouldn't be a problem if we were firing on all cylinders offensively but the team is broken on both sides of the field. Zapata can't play, it's too far gone for him, he doesn't just make errors, that would be natural and semi acceptable. His errors are horror show plays. If you can't make a simple pass ten feet to your left, TO A TEAMMATE, you shouldn't have a place in the starting lineup. This should be a general rule. Next week we will be without Romagnoli, so I'd say Alex Ely might have to be our starting pair. Finally getting out real speedsters out there (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sleep.gif) . Going to be a tough game against the blazing forwards that Napoli have.

EDIT: I agree han, our midfield is our greatest problem area, the coach just can't seem to get it right. Its a shame because a strong midfield can turn mediocre forwards into goal machines and average defenders into stars.

This post has been edited by maldini03: Sep 27 2015, 02:05 PM

Well that didnt pan out.. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

I hate to be pessimistic but it's games like this that come end of the season we may well just look back on if we lose out on qualification to either CL or Europa league.

Having said that, I still think this team can come good, the potential is there and the season is long, still hoping for the region of the 3rd to 5th - a return to Europe

The reason this team doesn't produce is because there's a lack of collectivity. Look at Genoa. Even though they have very poor players, you could tell they were playing as a unit, pressing high and showing great team spirit. Instead, every time we had the ball, you never got the impression of teamwork, but that of individualism, hoping one of our long balls would get through or Balo would pull something out of his @ss.

If this was last season, I would have already rested my hopes, just like I did after that Juve game. But I really think Miha has what it takes to makes this team perform as a collective, not as just individuals trying their best to win the game. We'll see...

This post has been edited by X-Offender: Sep 27 2015, 03:36 PM

I agree that we shouldn't lose hope.

This individualistic approach was something that really came in during the Allegri era. And it has been festering and growing ever since.

It won't simply be shaken off in the span of a few months. I just hope that we can really start to see some improvements over the next few weeks