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Serie A 2018/2019

4K views 117 replies 10 participants last post by  ToniSamp 
#1 ·
The first game vs Fiorentina has been postponed as a consequence of the desaster of the Morandi bridge in Genova. The game will be played on September the 19th.
 
#4 ·
Udinese - Sampdoria 1-0

Very poor performance and defeat to a very poor opponent, so poor that we even deserved to equalize!

Audero 5.5 - a few not so difficult saves and a pair of ugly mistakes when coming out of the goal which could cost us dear. Viviano-esque.
Bereszysnki 5.5 - could have done better on the goal
Andersen 6 - decent
Colley 5.5 - caught out of position a few times
Murru 5 - the usual problems when defending
Linetty 6 - improved near the end of the game when he also had a pair of good chances to score but had been annoying for most of the game
Barreto 4 - a nightmare in the playmaker position, bad but less bad when Ekdal came in and he was switched to mezzala position
Jankto 4 - the supporters of Udinese booed him and he disappeared completely till the substitution (Ekdal 6 - a huge improvement to Barreto as playmaker)
Ramirez 4 - if this is his standard of commitment for the season then he can fùck off (Saponara 6.5 - changed the game with classy plays, he must start)
Defrel 6 - hit a post but did very little more
Quagliarella 5 - hardly got the ball (Kownacki 6 - at least strong-willed)
 
#7 · (Edited)
Different starting lineup, different performance and different score: 3-0 to a very nervous and ineffective Napoli. In the first half Napoli did absolutely nothing worth being mentioned. In the second half after a strong start of Napoli a fantastic Quagliarella killed the game with a formidable goal (see the other thread).

My ratings:


Audero 5.5 - I'm sorry but even in a night like this one I can't give him good ratings. A few blunders and he was extremely lucky that no one costed us a goal.
Bereszynski 7 - the assist to Quagliarella was the icing on the cake
Tonelli 7 - I'm sorry for Colley who didn't play and is surely a good defender, but Tonelli is the leader our defense needed
Andersen 6.5 - surely helped by the presence of Tonelli
Murru 7 - the performance no one expected. Too bad that he had to leave the pitch in the second half very likely for an injury (Sala 6 - controlled Ounas somehow)
Barreto 6.5 - on the right side of the midfield his mistakes are less dangerous than in the middle. Relentless.
Ekdal 7 - another surprise, at least for me. Superb in front of the defense (Ronaldo Vieira nv - in for a formidable kick in Allan's shins)
Linetty 7 - the player we appreciated is back with a solid performance
Saponara 7 - classy but injury prone. Left near the end of the first half (Ramirez 5.5 - lost way too many balls)
Defrel 7.5 - two goals and classy movements
Quagliarella 10 - an assist to Defrel and a formidable goal


Giampaolo 8 - after the poor performance at Udine changed the team and all his choice were winning ones.
 
#9 ·
Spot-on for the ratings! I only watched the first half but the performance was inspiring. Credit to Giampaolo (I would have given him a 10 for this game!) and the players.

Hope Saponara's injury wasn't serious. From what I saw, our performance this season may hang dearly on his fitness.

I was impressed with Defrel, Quagliarella, Saponara, Ekdal, Bereszynski, Tonelli, Barreto. And the team played well with the short passing and quick movement routine that I didn't see us play last season, hopefully we continue to improve this aspect.

Forza Samp!
 
#10 ·
No games this week, but the Sampdoria players who are not with their own NTs are training in Bogliasco and preparing the next game at Stirpe in Frosinone. Praet might be ready for it but I really hope that the medical staff will be very careful before giving him to Giampaolo. The injury of the knee ligaments is the kind of injury which is easily leads to half a season absences when the recovery is accelerated beyond reason. Saponara unfortunately will be out for 3-4 weeks instead.

There will a friendly with Spezia at Picco in La Spezia tomorrow at 18 (GMT+2). Tickets sale revenue will be given to the families of the 43 victims of Morandi bridge.
 
#12 ·
Tomorrow might at Stirpe we miss Saponara, Praet and Regini. Ekdal is doubtful.

The lineup might be: Audero - Bereszynski, Andersen, Tonelli (Colley), Murru - Barreto, Ekdal (Jankto), Linetty - Caprari (Ramirez) - Defrel, Quagliarella.

Caprari more likely than Ramirez as the trequartista, Tonelli or Colley for center back position, if Ekdal can't play then Jankto plays as a half wing and Barreto is moved to the center.
 
#13 ·
5-0 to a hopeless Frosinone. What are they going to do in serie A in this season? Is it the worst team in a while? Worse than Benevento 2017/18 for sure.
All our four forwards in the roster scored. I can't even rate the players because it was a sort of TKO after 2 minutes in the second half.
 
#14 ·
Sampdoria - Fiorentina 1-1

I missed the game. It is not easy at 7 PM. :rolleyes: I read it was a game which could go either way even if Fiorentina had more chances. Giampaolo changed few players in the starting lineup respect to the game vs Frosinone: Sala for Bereszynski and Tonelli for Colley. Praet came in for Linetty after 10 minutes in the second half, Ramirez replaced Caprari for the last 20 minutes and finally Kownacki came in for an angry Quagliarella ("Quagliarella must respect my choices" said Giampaolo at the end of the game). Jankto didn't even play 1 minute for the third game in a row!
 
#15 ·
A good half of a hour deceived us then the better quality of Inter made the difference and the Milanese club deserved the final win, no matter whether they gained it in the loss time. The performance of the team was overall decent if we consider the quality of the opponent, with some notable exceptions which are worrysome.

Audero 5 - this guy is confirming, game after the game, my first feelings: he is mediocre. Weak both on the goal of Nainggolan (cancelled by the VAR) and on the goal of Brozovic (good).
Bereszynski 6 - good on Politano, but Perisic was a different thing and the Polish right back suffered.
Tonelli 6.5 - tough game with lots of crosses entering the PK area, near the end of the game. He did what he could and in the end the biggest dangers came from the wing forwards and midfielders.
Andersen 6 - same as Tonelli, but less convincing
Murru 6 - after a very good first half Murru started to suffer Candreva badly in the second half till the Italian right wing left the pitch
Linetty 5.5 - a yellow card after few minutes, a chance to score then a performance which went down (Barreto 5.5 - usual performance)
Ekdal 6 - solid till the very end
Praet 5.5 - well under his standards (Jankto 5 - with Audero he is the exception I was referring to)
Ramirez 5 - another chance to play thanks to the injuries of his teamates and another chance to regain positions was wasted (Sala nv - but in few minutes he made some clumsy mistakes)
Defrel 5.5 - he scored but was clearly offside (there was no need of the VAR honestly).
Quagliarella 6 - the usual fighter but a bit nervous
 
#16 ·
This time Sampdoria had a very poor first half but grew in the second half in which they really wasted a big chance to win, in particular with the penalty Kownacki missed near the end of the game. Solid defense, hopefully the attacking players will recover from injuries, poor mental or physical shape. I watched the last half of a hour and our team was pretty dominant.
 
#18 ·
Hi

I'm new here, my name is Natan and I live in Israel. I've been a Sampdoria fan since the 93/94 season - Gullit, Mancini, Lombardo and all of those great names.

I've been looking for an English-language Samp forum for a couple of years now, so I hope there will be a lot of discussion, although it seems only one guy really posts here.

It's halftime of the SPAL game now, and I think I can definitely say this year's team is inferior to the last two years, which isn't surprising considering all the players they've lost. Especially in goal, Audero looks really shaky.
 
#19 ·
Place is emptier than envelope given to Drexel
 
#20 ·
Welcome Natan. Yeah, unfortunately this forum is no more what used to be in the past.

As regards our team, before the season started I thought that our team would be inferior but the truth is that the players I rated the least are impressing me. I thought Torreira could never be replaced by Ekdal but it is possible that Ekdal fits our team in a better way. Obviously it's just the start of the season and Ekdal might get injured/unfit or just underperform, but up to now the Swedish midfielder has given solidity to our team not even Torreira gave. The other surprise is Defrel. I was sorry when we sold Zapata and was all but a fan of Defrel but the disappointing player of AS Roma has disappeared and he looks even better than the one who was brilliant for Sassuolo. Tonelli and Colley have both been great alongside Andersen in the middle of the defense. Jankto has disappointed up to now but his biggest problem is that Linetty has been very brilliant and hard to replace. Too bad that Saponara got injured pretty soon. He is a fantastic player, but injury prone. Audero is a young goalie and like all young goalies he makes a lot of mistakes. I think we should have replaced Viviano with another veteran instead.

Tonight we defeated SPAL after a pretty poor performance. 2-1 the final score. SPAL pushed a lot in the second half, after the goal scored by Defrel, but luckily never really came close to equalize. Petagna had a pair of chances. Luckily both times did everything right but the final shot. Awful performance of all our reserves!

My ratings:

Audero 5 - Bereszynski 6, Tonelli 6, Andersen 6, Murru 6 - Barreto 6.5, Ekdal 6, Linetty 7 (Jankto 5) - Praet 5 - Quagliarella 6.5 (Kownacki 5), Defrel 6.5 (Caprari 5)
 
#21 ·
Oh well, even if there aren't many people around, we can still have a good discussion.

Didn't Viviano go to Sporting Lisbon or something like that? Why would he do that? It's not like Barcelona came calling...

I was also sorry to see Zapata leave, but, so far, Defrel is really pleasing.

I have a general observation: I hate that this team sells everything, every summer. Can't they try to build something? I'm not naive, and I know how soccer works, and that the "big" clubs buy everything, all the time, but, still...Samp used to be one of the top teams in Italy. I mean, the team finishes 8th and everyone is so happy... and this is a team that had Vialli, Mancini, Lombardo, Pagliuca, Michajlovic, Platt, Gullit, Seedorf, Karembeu, Veron, Montella (not all at the same time obviously). Those were top-level players. Now we're excited about Ekdal, with all due respect
 
#22 ·
Didn't Viviano go to Sporting Lisbon or something like that? Why would he do that? It's not like Barcelona came calling...
The management told him he was no more part of the project and he looked for a different club. There are rumors that it was Giampaolo who wanted the club to get rid of Silvestre and him.

I have a general observation: I hate that this team sells everything, every summer. Can't they try to build something? I'm not naive, and I know how soccer works, and that the "big" clubs buy everything, all the time, but, still...Samp used to be one of the top teams in Italy. I mean, the team finishes 8th and everyone is so happy... and this is a team that had Vialli, Mancini, Lombardo, Pagliuca, Michajlovic, Platt, Gullit, Seedorf, Karembeu, Veron, Montella (not all at the same time obviously). Those were top-level players. Now we're excited about Ekdal, with all due respect
yeah, I wish the club could be back what used to be in the past. We have to hope that someone very rich buys the club.
 
#23 ·
Another great defensive performance and a brilliant win at Bergamo thanks to a goal scored by a defender, Tonelli. Atalanta had a two, maybe three chances to score in all the game: a post hit by the former sampdoriano Zapata and El Papu Gomez wide shot in he first half, one save of Audero on Toloi's shot in the second half. The goalie of Atalanta surely had two more diffcult saves: on Andersen's header in the first half, on Ramirez in the second half.

My ratings: Audero 6.5 - Besreszynski 7, Tonelli 8, Andersen 7.5, Murru 7.5 - Praet 6.5, Ekdal 6.5, Linetty 6.5 (Barreto 6) - Caprari 5 (Ramirez 6) - Quagliarella 6, Defrel 5.5 (Kownacki nv)

Caprari is lost again, after a promising start of the season, Ramirez was definitely better than him this time.
 
#26 ·
Sassuolo Game

Boy, what a snorefest. Awful game, very disappointing performance from Sampdoria. I thought that Ramirez was awful, and should have been substituted earlier. Praet was scatterbrained, and Quagliarella was unusually subdued. One bright spot: I think Andersen and Tonelli are a really good defensive pairing. For Sassuolo, Berardi was a pain in the neck, and Babacar seems like nothing more than a crybaby. Boy, Saponara was ever so close with that volley. If only it would have gone in.
One question: why was Quagliarella substituted in the 86th minute? I mean, seriously, who is more likely to pull off some brilliant move that turns around a drab game in a flash: Kownacki or Quagliarella? There were only 4 minutes left, so it's not like fatigue should be an issue.

Do you think Samp tend to play down to their opponents level?
 
#27 ·
Boy, what a snorefest. Awful game, very disappointing performance from Sampdoria. I thought that Ramirez was awful, and should have been substituted earlier. Praet was scatterbrained, and Quagliarella was unusually subdued. One bright spot: I think Andersen and Tonelli are a really good defensive pairing. For Sassuolo, Berardi was a pain in the neck, and Babacar seems like nothing more than a crybaby. Boy, Saponara was ever so close with that volley. If only it would have gone in.
One question: why was Quagliarella substituted in the 86th minute? I mean, seriously, who is more likely to pull off some brilliant move that turns around a drab game in a flash: Kownacki or Quagliarella? There were only 4 minutes left, so it's not like fatigue should be an issue.

Do you think Samp tend to play down to their opponents level?
The last question is a very interesting one. I wish I could have an answer for it. The trend is similar to the one of the past season, but defense has improved badly. So much that our opponents hardly shoot and challenge our goalie, who has been glorified by the Italian newspapers for conceding few goals, but hardly deserves the praise.
Unfortunately, after the brilliant start, our forwards can't hit a barn door right now and Ramirez can hardly provide assists anyway. This guy has the techncal skills but clearly lacks what is needed to keep the starting spot and a healthy Saponara will surely start over him.
As regards the Quagliarella-Kownacki question... again, I do not have an answer. All I know is that Kownacki hardly has a positive impact in games no matter whether he plays 5 minutes or half the game and if he doesnt improve we should consider the option to sell/loan him out at the end of the season.

The next game at Milan will be very interesting.
 
#28 ·
The performance was good, at least until we had the best player, Saponara, on the pitch, and until Quagliarella wasn't done (and alone). The difference in quality wasn't huge until the subs came in. Obviously we do not have Higuain and Suso, but Quagliarella and Saponara in the first half were comparable. Milan rely badly on them, while we try to play as a team. This is the difference between Gattuso and Giampaolo.

My ratings:
Audero 6 - Bereszynski 6, Andersen 5.5, Tonelli 5, Murru 6 (Sala 5) - Linetty 5.5, Ekdal 6, Praet 6 - Saponara 7 (Caprari 5.5) - Quagliarella 6.5, Defrel 5.5 (Kownacki 4)
 
#29 ·
Suso and Higuain were decisive but this was actually one of the better team performances. And despite Rino's many errors he actually deserves credit for switching to a formation that worked and outplayed Samp. Only a few days ago against Betis, Milan looked a much worse team.

The thing that made the game close was a combination of Quagliarella's quality combined with two moments of defensive lapse for Milan.
 
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