Two things I took away from this game: (1) our attack is badly in need of some width. Eto'o and Pandev like to cut inwards towards goal too much, which is not a criticism since they are both natural strikers and it is what they are inclined to do, but this means that even in a formation like 4-2-3-1, most of our attack comes up the middle. We need a guy who can penetrate the wings and send in dangerous crosses if we are to have some versatility in attack.
(2) We need to take more shots! It seems no one wants to take a chance and shoot the ball unless they've got a clean, sure-fire, open shot on goal. Granted, Palermo did pack their half of the field with bodies, but still, I can recall countless situations where we surrounded their penalty box and just kept passing the ball around, with no one willing to shoot. I suppose it's because we don't want to waste possession, but I think we need to be a bit more adventurous when it comes to taking chances on goal.
Perhaps it's a personnel matter. Aside from Sneijder, we don't really have anyone with a decent outside shot. Milito is clinical, but he does most of his scoring from inside the penalty area. Eto'o is definitely not accurate from range, and when he does score, usually does it from one-on-ones or situations where he is otherwise close to the keeper. And neither Cambiasso, Motta, or Deki are terribly accurate or even shoot that frequently from range. Chuchu and Deki definitely have their moments, but they don't shoot with any kind of regularity.
Whatever the case, Jose should tell the boys to take more shots when we have possession. Better to take a shot, have it go wide and give up the goal kick than to pass it around endlessly only to have it taken away by an opposition defender without ever having taken a chance on goal.
