Four Games In: Disaster Analysis

By: Steven | September 21st, 2009

The facts:

• 4 games
• 4 points
• 3 goals made
• 4 goals conceded
• 13th position
• Points on the road: 0/6

This is what you get when you bring in a retarded coach who keeps on screaming that a provincial team can win the Scudetto and shouldn’t have any problems getting into the CL. All we wanted, was a realistic finish: 6th. Let us get into Europe first, and then make a move for the CL the year after. Now you’re putting enormous pressure on a young team that still needed to gel. That, Mister Zenga, is not the way a good coach does is.

Are we impatient? Maybe. As Zenga said yesterday: a season lasts 38 matches, not 4. That’s right. But right now, you’re already a win behind your main competitors. And that after one of the ‘easiest’ starts possible. Sure, Napoli has talent, but they should be beaten every time if you want to get into Europe. Fiorentina was unfortunate, should’ve been a draw. But losing against newly promoted teams like Bari and Parma is inexcusable. If you win those two, you’re on 10 points. Now, you’re hanging out with the likes of Bologna, Livorno and Siena. Zenga might be used to it, but I’m not willing to get used to it. To come back to the impatient thing: I believe we have the right to be impatient. After two seasons of promises not being fulfilled, this has got to be the year where a) fans are thanked for their support during the last two disastrous years and b) we show Italy that we weren’t a one-trick pony when we returned to Serie A. Is it a sign of impatience to be angry after a 1/6 against Bari and Parma? Is it a sign of impatience to question your coach after four games? Is it a sign of impatience to be pissed off when you look at the table and wonder what teams like Sampdoria have more than your team? Yes. Yes to all three questions. But: we have the fucking right to be impatient. We have (and have had) one of the most talented teams in Italy for the past years, but somehow nobody knows how to convert that talent into results.

There is one thing that could help Zenga, and that’s the amount of errors the refs have made in our games. A summary:

Fiorentina – Palermo 1-0
Episodio A: Rigore non sanzionato per fallo netto su Cavani (aggancio del piede)
Episodio B: Fuorigioco inesistente fischiato a Miccoli che si sarebbe trovato solo davanti al portiere

Palermo – Bari 1-1
Rigore per fallo netto di mano in area barese non sanzionato

Parma – Palermo 1-0
Rigore netto non fischiato per fallo di braccio nell’area del Parma

But that’s life. I’m not going to go Calimero here and say that we’re being targeted by the refs. Why? Because blaming a loss of points against teams like Parma and Bari on a penalty not given is lame. We should’ve easily beaten these teams.

Is it all Zenga’s fault? No, of course not. First off: were just too Miccoli dependant. Just look at what happened yesterday. Also, people are not living up to the potential. Let me single out some players:

• Rubinho. Everyone was happy with the trade. Ever since, Unibrow was sketchy to say the least, while Amelia is becoming a commanding force in Genova. One thought comes to mind: could it be something about the team that makes keepers bad, rather than the players themselves?

• Bovo. Has been lucky during the last two games: last week there was the Bresciano disaster, yesterday it was Pastore. If not for those two, Bovo had been the worst player on the field in EVERY SINGLE GAME. I don’t get it: is Zenga fuckin’ blind?

• Cavani and Pastore. Insanely talented, but so inconsistent. On a good day they decide games, on a bad day they drag the entire team down with them.

• Midfield. We are so missing Liverani. Blasi and Nocerino are doing a good job, but Bertolo is already a huge candidate for the Bidone D’oro and Heckel and Jeckel (aka. Bald ‘n’ Brown) should never ever be put on the field again.

So, what’s next? We have a Roman double header coming up. On Wednesday it’s I Lick My Mothers Tit FC, and the weekend brings us SS Raise Your Right Arm High. In the state we’re in right now, I can’t see us pick up more than one point from those two games. Wednesday scares the shit out of me: I’m ready for another 4-0 or 5-1. By Sunday evening, this leaves us with 5 points max, somewhere around spot 16. Exit Zenga, enter Angelo Gregucci or another guy with a Serie B-reputation that has never won a game in Serie A. On days like this, I miss guys like Guidolin and Del Neri.

I’m really sorry for not giving you guys a review on yesterday’s game, but I just don’t know what I should say about it…