The comparison you made on the formation is totally invalid. Palacio and Alvarez didn't play together yesterday which means each of them had to play with someone they are not very familiar with or at least as familiar as Ricky-Palacio.
So in that case every new signing for a team should typically perform poorly on their debut simply because of a lack of chemistry? LOL
What a shitty argument tbh.
And remember they've been training together for weeks.
As for Cagliari:
Dessena has played 5 games this season. All as starter. Is he a sub?
Yes. Ekdal and Eriksson are the typical starters in the central midfield alongside Nainggolan and Conti. Lopez was giving those players a rest. Notice that Ekdal did in fact play in the Milan-Cagliari matchup, as well as Sau (in other words they fielded their best starting XI).
So yeah, Dessena is most definitely a substitute this season (considering Lopez's enthusiasm for the 4-3-1-2). Fitness concerns for specifically Ekdal have pushed him into the starting lineup.
Perico started 3 Serie A games this season out of 5. Is he a sub?
Perico is simply filling in for the injured Pisano. Ffs Perico has had a combined 15 appearances in the last two years, not because of injury.
On the other hand Pisano had 28 appearances last year alone, and 36 the year before. Go figure.
Rossettini played all 5 games as starter. Is he a sub?
Yes, Ariaudo is the usual starting CB for Cagliari alongside Astori. Not sure why he didn't play tbh.
You put Palacio who was our sub in the line-up, but why didn't you put Marco Sau instead of Pinilla?
Because Sau wasn't substituted into the match.
Rolando. yes he played in Serie A before, but I don't think he played for Inter and I don't think his partner was Ranocchia, Jesus, and Jonathan.
What about Taider? I don't think he's played for Inter, and I don't think he was partnered with the likes of Guarin, Cambiasso, or Kovacic in the past.
And again with this "new player = 0 chemistry" argument. Rolando's experienced, has played in Serie A, and has been training with his teammates for weeks (now more than a month).
Nothing changes the fact that it was an atrocious signing, and that we should've gone for a younger ball playing CB instead (Dragovic comes to mind tbh).
Kovacic was fit? I presume you didn't watch the game. Kovacic was being overrun by Cagliari couple times in the second half. After 65-70 minutes, he drained. He didn't do much anymore.
How long will the excuses last?
Jonathan didn't play well vs Fio, true. But, that doesn't deny the fact that he plays better than Pereira. Plus, he has played extremely well for Jonathan standard.
There is no fucking thing as "Jonathan standard". There is merely an absolute standard for our players, and he has been average to mediocre, especially considering the quality of the opposition in the games he has shined. All he has proven is that he's substitute quality.
He is not starting quality, and considering Pereira's performances of late, neither is he.
None of our attempts were considerably strong?
On top of my head now.. Nagatomo volley in the first 5 minutes. Guarin powershot which was saved by Agazzi. Guarin lob over Agazzi which he just managed to parry over the bar. Belfodil header which was unfortunately fell on Agazzi lap.
So every single shot on target that doesn't make it into the goal is unlucky? Especially the last example cracked me up. "Belfodil header which was unfortunately fell on Agazzi lap". In what world was it unfortunate? Or was it simply a poorly aimed header?
And Guarin's lob wasn't on target. Plus his powershot was poorly aimed, again. I would only rate Nagatomo's volley as a strong attempt on goal tbh.
I said it once and I'll say it again. We didn't create enough CONCRETE chances.
No one said we couldn't play better but given the condition of the pitch, the barely new and young team. They deserved the credit. Losing points is part of the game but their efforts must be appreciated. Perhaps you never played in those conditions. Ask the Indonesians in this forum who are 25-30 years old, I believe most of them grew up playing football on shitty swamp pitch 10-15 years ago. Today everyone plays indoor on astro turf.
Let me explain why it is difficult to play on that kind of pitch:
1. Ball doesn't roll on water.
2. Once the ball is wet, it is difficult to control
3. The ball that fall in a pool like that will soak the water and is heavier
4. When the ball is on the water, it is hard to get accurate passing or shooting. Why? because the ball is not on the pitch while we are standing on the pitch.
5. Running in water is more difficult.
6. The pitch is more slippery coz it's wet and shoes are wet too
7. Shoes are full of water, water don't drain from shoes, it stays with the shoes make them much heavier.
Of course, they are pro footballer but they are not used to that condition. Those are not excuses.
Except in those conditions, some players did well in that match and others didn't? Nagatomo was great, and Guarin was shit, even having played in the terrible on pitch conditions of the Liga Postobon?
So, yes, they are excuses.
The excuses need to stop? Tell that yourself. Stop making excuses cause you need a defence mechanism to feel better and have something to blame than facing the reality.
I don't believe you are familiar with what defence mechanism's are. I was never attacked. Rather, I attacked the performance of the team.
And you reacted.
Meaning that your own reactions are demonstrative of defence mechanisms in yourself. Plus it proves your own insecurity when you have to personally attack another user. :work:
- - - Updated - - -
Re read this, because it practically summarizes everything I've been saying, and you haven't directly clashed with THESE points for heavens sake.
And keep in mind Cagliari left their best attacking player on the bench
Not to mention that Ekdal and Murru were also benched as well, so they really didn't field their best lineup tonight
Also they placed 27 year old Matias Cabrera in the CAM spot, perhaps the most important position in a 4-3-1-2 formation, a player with zero experience in Europe prior to this match
And to replace Cabrera, they placed another player with zero experience in Europe's top leagues, Agim Ibraimi. This was his first game out of the Slovenian 1st and 2nd divisions
And Rolando was VERY slow today as always. Those attempts from Cagliari were also of a very poor quality, so I'm not surprised he managed to block at least two. And it's not unfortunate or unlucky that his calf wasn't enough to block Nainggolan's shot, rather, it's luck that his calf went near Nainggolan's shot.
Yes, we had possession, but we lacked dynamic passing and movement, and didn't make enough substantial attempts on goal, so I maintain my claim that we weren't proactive enough.
A goal simply requires one strong attempt, so it's meaningless when you make 50 terrible shots on net, and then claim you played the better game, even though the opposing side makes 1 good shot on goal that goes in (not saying this was the case in the Cagliari-Inter match though)
