You have to get ahead of Roma and Napoli before you can think about going ahead of Lazio and Inter. Yes the point gap is small between us and 3rd and 2nd places. But we need to thread lightly. We're still playing like cr@p in all honesty. We just have to hope that the results can keep coming. If we take over Roma then it's already 1 major hurdle

Well looking at the table today has changed everything...

Napoli's win has turned everything around.

Still getting ahead of Roma should be our main focus. Next week we have Samp while they have Catania away...

Han, I think you're complicating it unnecessary. Our goal is to get the 3rd place, and it's pretty much irrelevant if it is Roma, Napoli or Perugia. We must finish third, it's as simple as that.

+1

Giuseppe Rossi moved to Fiorentina for just €10m.

Makes me wonder if our interest in players is genuine sometimes. We talk up about wanting a player when he's not realistically attainable financially (What was it, 35m or so they wanted 18 months ago?). Now he's available for very little and we make no effort to sign him. He's had a bad injury which will be the excuse, it's not like he's exactly injury prone though, probably had less than 5 injuries in his career!

Though you gotta mention that his two injuries are big ones (gonna take almost two years in total) and in the same place - right knee.

Well sometimes this team makes the biggest meal out of the simplest ingredients.

We got ahead of ourselves before the Roma game and they wiped the floor with us. So I'm just going to look at our fixture list and Roma's. If other results go our way, I'm all for it. If not then oh well.

It's not like we deserve 3rd with the way we're playing anyway

@ the Rossi comments. Kurt is 100% right. It's just that Galliani and Co don't actually want to get anyone, so they circulate unrealistic names so they can come out with the tried and tested: "We tried our best but X or Y club wouldn't go down on their asking price" or "X or Y player wouldn't reduce his wage demands". We've seen this BS one too many times now. Rossi would have been hope for fans after the way Pato was sold, but instead Fiorentina got him. Now THAT is a team who is aspiring to be better in 3 years time. Not this huge fail of a "project" B & G are trying to shove down our throats.

Oh but han, this is not the Serie Deserved, this is Serie A.

It's pretty much unpredictable. We gotta do our best and try get the 3rd place. No matter who's our competitor - all are pretty similar bar Juventus: strong players + average players, shaky defensively and unstable. Including Milan as well.

As for Rossi...why not even simpler? Was there a real link with him? Media do tend to invent rumors as well, it's not just Galliani circulating false information's.

IIRC we were strongly linked with him this summer. And even so, there should be no excuse for our management as to why we shouldn't even try to go for him. Now you read Berlusconi's comments and all you can think is how they're going waaay overboard with all this signing youth cr@p!! This management is just way beyond it's expiary date. The senile fools will continue to run us into the ground. There needs to be a balance. First they went overboard with the experianced players and now they're going overboard with this.

As for Serie A. I do think that Inter are better than us and have played better as well. They're not inconsistant like the rest of the other teams. They tend to go into slumps rather than winning one game losing the next, etc. Roma, Fiorentina, Lazio all fall into the same bag for me. And I think we'll see their usual 2nd half of the season slump which they go through every season, especially Lazio. While Napoli are toothless when it comes to the do or die moments in the season. They can run riot against certain teams but when they hit that crucial moment, they crumble.

Having said that, if I were confident in our team I would say CL football next season is a sure thing because of these factors. But our team is just... There are no words that could really describe our season. All of this mostly stems from the lack of coaching and direction our players are receiving. All I know is that we'll make our objective as hard as possible

Senile fools is a bit harsh but I agree. We need balance.

As for Rossi and us being strongly linked...I don't think it was "strong". We never had serious talks, Mediaset never paid much attention to this rumor. So, no - IMO - we never really tried for Rossi.

So, Sneijder is very close to signing for Galatasaray. Weird destination for someone of his calibre, and age.

Very strange.

We should have gone in for him. So stupid!

And last I read the transfer fee was very minimal

With the Sneijder news bit, senile old fools does not seem like too harsh now, does it. We should have done a Cassano and Sneijder straight swap (even a gentleman's agreement) and we'd be sitting 3rd, if not 2nd comfortably. The guy still has it in him for foreseeable future, he was the world's best player two or so years back!

Well, if Galatasaray is the destination he's going for, it will be more then just a strange move. You could easily say all other managements are also fools for not getting him. But there must be a special angle in this transfer.

QUOTE

Sneijder agent: 'No Galatasaray talks'

Wesley Sneijder’s agent now insists “an imminent transfer to Galatasaray is impossible” as he won’t speak to the Turkish club, opening the door for Premier League offers.

Galatasaray say that they've reached an agreement with Inter, and now will negotiate with the player. The Turkish press claim it's a done deal.

Link

So, Napoli's '-2 points' was retracted. Now they have 42 points, just like Lazio, and we're 11 points from third place.

europa league, here we come..

Great, just great

On the other hand, the race for the title is open more than ever with both Lazio and Napoli only 3 points from Juve, who will win it in the end anyway.

I think Juve will win it easily in the end.

Lazio will slip off imo, can you really see them holding on for much longer? They do this every season, where they have a really great first half of the season and then a miserable second half.

2nd and 3rd will go between Inter and Napoli. Sadly, I can't see us in the mix come the season run-in. We'll end up fighting for those EL spots with Fiorentina, Lazio and Roma

At least that's what I can see happening if the state of our squad is left as is and Allegri is not removed or miraculously decides to change his ways

We'll see. Reja is the important difference. All his teams, including Napoli or Vicenza used to make a good start and then slump into a losing streak. But now they have a new coach, and it will be interesting to see if some improvements have been made.

I'm just gonna guess...

Juve - 82
Napoli - 75
Inter - 73
--------------
Lazio - 70
Milan - 68
Roma - 67

And I don't want teams like Genoa or Palermo going down.Pescara, Siena and hopefully Atalanta have a collapse.

Didn't Lazio have this sort of pattern under Delio Rossi as well?

I think the reason is mostly because they have a fairly strong side. They have a handful of talented players and the ones around them are all average to good. But beyond that 11 it's nothing to write home about. So as the season progresses and fatigue and injuries start to creep in the strength of the first 11 is highly compromised.

At least that's how I see it with teams of this caliber

Us on the other hand are constantly rotating because injuries are a constant pain. We usually have to lose the backup of the regular to really feel the hit in form and performances. Like last season, we still maintained a good run when we could barely string 11 players together because we had players who still made the difference on the pitch. Or even this season where our performances have remained at a steady level of mediocre no matter who's in or out

No. Under Delio Rossi Lazio played much more erratic and moody. It was Reja's doing.

Can't argue with you on that as I don't have a clear recollection but they always finished the season around the UEFA Cup places so they've always maintained that type of overall season performance

Yeah, but it was a completely different story back then. Erratic start, unpredictable till the end.

Well brace yourself acid, because I personally can't see past Inter and Napoli to get one of those 2 spots.

I think a EL spot would be humbling for our management. But just like the last time, they won't use it as a learning experiance or as one where we can seriously re-build like Juve did during their time out from Europe

I'm well prepared for the worse, in more ways than one. I really am now.

Anyone watching Juve-Udinese? What a strike from Pogba.

Jesus. Just the 2 30-yard screamers for Pogba.

Is that 2 great strikes from Pogba??

It's terrible to see how much Udine have fallen by selling all their top players.

But that Pogba is going to be Wrold Class in a few years time

Udinese have been in great form lately. This battering will keep them below us and knock their confidence a bit.

We can thank Alex Ferguson for that, na?

Compared to recent seasons they've been having a nightmare this term. Sure they've made a bit of a turn but this will be a major slap in the face for them to recover from.

But yeah. Anything that benefits us has me cheering for Juve. It's not as if their winning will effect usin any way. Tomorrow's fixtures though are the ones to watch in terms of our position in the table. Napoli - Fiorentina, Inter - Roma.


I don't get why they didn't do all they can to keep him. So what if he's demanding more money. If you think it's worth it down the line then go for it! Especially when your central midfield consists of guys like Anderson, Carrick, Scholes, etc

Yeah, totally. I've been perplexed ever since this little saga started.

Yeah, if Juve are playing any club (aside from us) in the top 7 or 8 I don't mind them winning. It's at the point now where I respect the way thay play and yesterday thy were missing key players and it didn't seem to matter, even against an in form team.


Exactly. Even if he does want more money, it's irrelevant anyway as now he's been given a chance to play. And what does some extra thousands a week matter? 5 years down the line United will probably spend £15m+ on someone like him.

I think last season they were a huff and puff team more then anything else. The amount of energy the expanded in each game was more then impressive. Conte made up for the lack of that something extra in his squad by making his players sweat blood out there. I admire him more then anything else, even if he can be a grade A ****, he's a top class coach, man manager and tactician. And this season they've added that something extra they were missing last season. They don't realy have any flashy players but they play some great football which is great to watch. I call this the football for the neutral, something that United for example have always had, and I used to believe that we had as well. Now fans themselves can barely stand to watch us let aloe a neutral.

I think Fergie can be a bit too pig headed and egotistical. Probably thought that the player would stick with United no matter what. Contracts should be given on merit, not on age. If a player is 35 and stll playing at the top level then he still deserves a good contract, same goes for someone who is 18 years old

Not often we've agreed lately, but I agree with every word of that.

Fiorentina 1-1 Napoli. An alright start to the day for us.

Napoli, Lazio, Fiorentina drew. If Roma and Inter could draw as well, it'd be great for us. Ah, if only we had won last Sunday.

Totti penalty, 1-0. Not sure about the penalty, Bradley jumped over Ranocchio and kicked him in the head.

I think the point of it is that Ranocchia slid in, yes he caught him with his head but the point is that he still took him down.

Roma are basically doing to Inter what they did to us. They look great against the bigger clubs while regularly losing points against mid-table sides...

Guarin is a good player.

HT 1-1

Perfect for us so far.

I don't think he did, Bradley jumped onto Ranocchia, that's Bradley initiating contact. That's no different to a player sticking his leg out and diving to make it seem a foul.

Anyway, Palacio scored right on HT, 1-1.

I agree with Kurt. That was a silly penalty.