What is left to say that has not already been said, time and time again?
The club is lurching from disaster to disaster. Talk of arguments in the management are unsurprising and what the devil can John Elkann have made of the torment on show of late? Whilst he doesn’t have any known love for the game, he will have been able to judge first hand the atmosphere, the emotions, the mentality of the players, coach, directors and president. As of yet he will not act, though we know from the confidence stated in retaining Sarri last year when all was unravelling that we cannot take words at face value with our club. We can have no idea what has been decided behind closed doors.
I am aghast with no feeling but a hint of the long rusty despondency that has developed this season, yet to be fair it developed when the initial excitement of Ronaldo’s capture dissipated and the reality slowly began to set in. We have been on a downward spiral since then. The risk was a bold one, and it has failed, miserably. With the club now facing a very uncertain future.
Still some vague sense of hope can be spoken of, in regards to a top four finish. And yet Sassuolo have not only something to play for themselves, with a very slim chance of a European position, but are in good form>>>
I would like to believe that Pirlo will finally accept that if we are to play with wide attacking players, we should probably put one on either side of midfield. Chiesa on the left and Juan on the right. He can still use the same tactic – pass to Juan, fling the ball into the box, hope for the best, and if Dybala plays, we have someone who can drop and play with and off the Colombian.
Perhaps my mindset is not yet adjusted to reality for I cannot conjure much fear of a heavy defeat, though I could not imagine the 0-3 reverse to AC. Perhaps giving Ronaldo a day off training to take photos at the Ferrari centre and promising him an extra 10m if he scores the goals to get us CL football will lead to a victory…
That saga bothered me. The players should have been in for extra training, not any one of them given a day off for photo opportunities, and this is further confirmation of the focus of the club. Which is not sporting, its marketing. The issue there is that marketing a shit product is a hard sell. And we have become a shit product.
We have Lapo Elkann wailing, Trezeguet stating how the team were clearly not well prepared, Pirlo talking of not having the team he expected…which muddled my mind. What team was he expecting? How roughshod were the discussions last Summer which promoted him to the top job without a single minute of managerial experience? I fear to ever know the answer, but we have our answers on the field and all over the media, with the club facing potential fines of millions, possible expulsion from the CL even if we qualify…and if we do not, then it seems a simple business decision to jettison Ronaldo on a free, simply to save on his wages.
Not just Ronaldo will be leaving in that scenario. Others will likely follow, and it will be much harder to attract real talent.
The worst of this is that I sincerely fear that Agnelli is so stubborn that he will keep Pirlo, his choice. Regardless of the failures. With only his cousin John Elkann able to do what needs to be done and sack the lot of them. Which may well lead to further sinking, but a clean sweep is needed, for nothing good can come of the current shambles. Mistake after mistake from Pirlo, from Agnelli. Even Paratici has somehow moved lower down the list of those I wish to leave than these two in my ugly disconnect with the club.
It is certainly possible that we beat Sassuolo, with a loss at worst to Inter, followed by a victory on the last day at Bologna to secure the hugely needed millions from our (potential) CL qualification.
No idea what to expect, I just seek a few days where nothing awful happens. This is how dire and debilitating supporting Juve has long become.
