[Steph!]

To what end do you preach the faithful? We all have eyes to see and keyboards to write down virulent prose. Bottom line is Andy, we have no-one else at the moment - Salihamidzic, Nedved, Stendardo, you can't be serious. The ordeal will go on until the mercato reopens.

PS/ What's El Matador have to do with anything?

 

[Steph!]

Yeah

Everyone in the secret, give us a wink

 

[Steph!]

at least he (Salihamidzic) has shown himself to have a little ability in his career

Yesterday's truth is, well... yesterday's truth.

Salihamidzic has been shambolic for us, especially as a right-back. What makes you think he'll improve on his wrong foot? He's not any better than Molinaro is at defending and he doesn't even have the latter's marathonian-like athleticism which means 1/ there will be less runs at defenders and less crosses (which won't be better calibrated than Molinaro's) and, 2/ there will be less regularly a pivot out wide to create spaces and combine with which is a real problem for our DM's since they can't create sh*t on their own.

 

[Steph!]

Btw Andy, I'm still eager to know why you involved Salas...

 

[Steph!]

Because Salas was piss poor.
Not like Molinaro... but still no good.

Andy's a big boy, he doesn't need someone making statements for him.

 

[Steph!]

your justification for grygera makes little sense because when the season started we already had 4 CBs (chiellini, andrade, criscito, legrotagglie) and i don't know too many teams who carry 5 CBs. with only zebina, molinaro and half of birindelli, logic would suggest he was brought in for the RB which is the spot he regularly played with ajax and the czech republic.

in interviews he says he's more of a terzino destro because of his characteristics. the czechs always use him there but yet if you guys say he's a CB, all the power to you. i'm not going to waste any more time arguing this futile point.

as for sala, i think you misunderstood me. i never said he's useful as a RM i said he's useful to close down the wing IN THE LATTER PART OF THE MATCHES SHOULD THE NEED PERSIST.

Stop being a revisionist! Chiellini had brief spells as CB under Deschamps (that's when we spotted a potential there), but he nevertheless started as LB under Ranieri - Andrade, Criscito and Grygera started in central defence before Chiellini was considered again for a central spot.

Despite the role he's given with the Czech national team, Grygera last played with Ajax... as a CB.

 

[Steph!]

We never should have sold Balzaretti, it's as simple as that.

He made way for Molinaro.

http://www.xtratime.org/forum/showpost.php?p=5370920&postcount=16

 

[Steph!]

http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/sa0708/rom-juv.html

revisionist eh? seems to me he first started with juve as a RB.

as for chiellini i think he had more than a brief spell as a CB under deschamps especially when the regular backline featured birindelli, boumsong, chiellini and balzaretti.

It was by no means an unchanging backline. Kovac had some games as well before losing Deschamps' good graces, Zebina alternated with Birindelli on the right-hand side, Balzaretti kept switching flanks while Chiellini kept sliding central and sideways. 'Brief' may have been an understatement, yet the fact remains that he was considered primarily a LB in spite of the many fans, me included, calling early on for him to become a permanent fixture in the center.

Then in came Ranieri. Chiellini was still considered a LB and since you're so keen on C4 reports to prove your point, you'll have noticed that Chiello played on the left from matchday 1 to 5 before the combined fall from grace of Criscito and Andrade's ligaments injury forced him back.

Ranieri saw fit to play Grygera as a RB, but as I said he'd last played at club level, and succesfully so, as a CB and he wasn't Ranieri's signing.

 

[Steph!]

I don't know if you remember correctly when Camo first came, but he was rediculously bad. He wasnt anything special untilthe last 4 years ...then he started to have consistency.

He was so ridiculously bad he was an immediate starter after the summer camp and Lippi had to improvise so that Zambrotta could find a spot on the pitch.

What's wrong with you?

 

[Steph!]

I'm not confused, you are.

If the fact that Camoranesi wasn't as consistent when he joined as he became in 2005-2006 was the point you held dear, you could as well have acknowledged that the ridiculously bad tag was nonsensical in the first place and we'd not be having this truistic conversation.

Of course we're not being as patient nor lenient towards Molinaro as we've been to some of his predecessors. What baffles me here though is that in order to make your point, you actually compare the early days of someone whose talent, if nonchalant, was clear enough to everyone to a mediocre player like Molinaro whose lack thereof is equally patent and who'd still be warming the bench if it wasn't for a bad series of injuries.

In retrospect, Zambrotta moved to terzino sinsitro for the better. But Lippi took the decision because Camoranesi stellar debut had left him but no other choice. If Camoranesi hadn't impressed Lippi as well as respected opionisti like very much missed Tosatti (a costi-rendimenti, un giocatore estraordinario) and more importantly, the fans (thereat I invite you to browse the XT archive for confirmation), Lippi would've had reintegrated Zambrotta at RW when his injury lay-off was over, because that's the spot that had earned him to become a permanent fixture for the Azzurri despite the 'unspectacularity' you say he displayed there.

The Oliseh mention was obviously a brain-fart from you.

 

[Steph!]

Is Juventuz not up and running again anyway?...

 

[Steph!]

He never gets to be where he is needed the most,
every time we attack he is not there to provide solution and even if he wouls be there,
he couldnt help, as he is totally useless...
And every time we are caught defending a counter-attack, Molianro is forgotten somewhere near the center line.
He does that on purpose. After half a season i ve noticed,
despite being our only LB in the squad, imposed for this and there dark reasons in our squad, he always lacked the courage to make a decision, or stand his ground.

Think again. (*_°)