[Firdaus]

Spezia are a tough team. We were talking about this a while back, lol. Very well organised, especially in terms of spacing and occupying gaps. They really know how to use all parts of the pitch. I've watched a number of matches with them this season and I think they deserve to be further up the table. There's no such thing as an easy time with them.

I wonder if Italiano will stay on with the American owners. I'm sure they'd like to keep him but I think a big club or two might be knocking on his door. Roma should certainly be thinking about him rn @Primo

 

[camelface]

Spezia are a tough team. We were talking about this a while back, lol. Very well organised, especially in terms of spacing and occupying gaps. They really know how to use all parts of the pitch. I've watched a number of matches with them this season and I think they deserve to be further up the table. There's no such thing as an easy time with them.

I wonder if Italiano will stay on with the American owners. I'm sure they'd like to keep him but I think a big club or two might be knocking on his door. Roma should certainly be thinking about him rn @Primo

I'd rather Italiano keep his fit with Spezia and push this team forward to become another challenger like Atalanta has become.

I wouldn't want Roma's problems to get transferred to another team especially when Roma has been a friedkin' black hole for managers in the last decade.

 

[Nerazzurri4life]

I agree that Spezia are organized but disagree about Roma going for their coach, no disrespect but they should aim higher.

Agudelo is a good player btw.

 

[camelface]

 

[Primo]

I'm embracing this Juve loss with big open arms and hearing Pirlo squeal makes it even more special. Italiano? He's certainly a thinker. I prefer my Italian coaches to be thinkers, not goons.

 

[Nerazzurri4life]

Milan losing to Spezia reminded me with their loss at Cesena in their last Scudetto season. Like Spezia, Cesena were newly promoted, wore identical colours...even the stadium looks similar. The Cesena of Giaccherini, Schelotto, Nagatomo, Parolo etc..

 

[camelface]

That is some seriously good memory @Nerazzurri4life That comes in a period during which I disconnected from Serie A almost completely.

Roma scores a huge victory against Udinese. Roma continues to be an intriguing team. Their record against weaker teams being impeccable is not insignificant. I actually think this could point in the favour of Fonseca doing a good job. My approach to this situation would be a similar one as to Napoli:

Are the players rallied around their manager?

If they are, I don't think there is enough of a reason to sack him.

 

[camelface]

Any chance Samp - Fiorentina is not a bore fest orchestrated between two old school managers? @ToniSamp

Also, a friend of mine here in Canada talked to me about this app called Draft Kings, where you can do a fantasy team for a single match day, play against other users for a pot of money. Its calcio offerings seem poor at the moment. Does anyone know of a good app for something similar with Serie A?

I think that betting against odds makers on single matches is a lost cause. They use way more data and statistics than I care to do. I'd rather bet against other users.

For single match betting this weekend, anyway, I probably would have looked at Lazio as underdogs. I don't think Lazio are that far from Inter and they play a similar cagey style, so I think a win by Inter would be difficult anyway.

 

[Firdaus]

Why don't we do our own if there isn't a good third party offering?

@camelface I take your point that Roma's wins against bread and butter can be to the Fonz's credit. Still, I think the team is underperforming when you look at the general potential.

 

[camelface]

Why don't we do our own if there isn't a good third party offering?

Good idea, but I know you guys to know your Serie A calcio. I'd rather play against people that may not watch as much as me, though if there is an internationally available app, I am more likely to play against Italians who know the calcio very well.

The other part of this Draft Kings game is that each player is assigned a salary, so that you have to build a team strategically under a salary cap. That would be difficult to do ourselves.

 

[Firdaus]

I think you'd do well whether it's here or worldwide. You're clearly following the league and know more about players than most. And you have an understanding of the different systems. Your picks for the Azzurri are also well grounded. I wouldn't be surprised at all if you did way better than me in a Draft...but then again, I don't know if I'm any good in the first place, lol. Draft would be a nice and fun way to test some of our views and predictions.

It's pretty cool that many of us are following the league like this, tbh. It's been a long time since I watched matches like this. I don't know if it's the league that's more exciting or if it's my general openness, but I'm enjoying watching different teams in the league more than ever.

 

[camelface]

I think you'd do well whether it's here or worldwide. You're clearly following the league and know more about players than most. And you have an understanding of the different systems. Your picks for the Azzurri are also well grounded. I wouldn't be surprised at all if you did way better than me in a Draft...but then again, I don't know if I'm any good in the first place, lol. Draft would be a nice and fun way to test some of our views and predictions.

It's pretty cool that many of us are following the league like this, tbh. It's been a long time since I watched matches like this. I don't know if it's the league that's more exciting or if it's my general openness, but I'm enjoying watching different teams in the league more than ever.

For sure, I think the lockdown has made it easier to justify staying home to watch calcio, but I'm enjoying it

The fact that Juve isn't a guaranteed winner has made it more exciting. VAR also imo has saved Serie A from the usual big teams getting favoured by refs (not intentionallly, but because they are more likely to get opportunities in the opponent box through fouls, handballs and offsides). Because of this, I think that watching a top team vs a middle to low tier team is still worth doing as the result is almost never settled.

Some weekends get a little less activity here but we have a good core group of posters that have been nice to connect with regularly, especially since most are not just fanatics of their team but have a genuine interest in all the games being played.

This Samp -Fiorentina game is better than expected. Keita Balde seems to be the clearly best player of Samp, and Fiorentina just scored a goal after a great FK by Pulgar. The Samp keeper made an extraordinary effort to keep the ball out but ultimately Vlahovic scored.

 

[ToniSamp]

Any chance Samp - Fiorentina is not a bore fest orchestrated between two old school managers? @ToniSamp

Also, a friend of mine here in Canada talked to me about this app called Draft Kings, where you can do a fantasy team for a single match day, play against other users for a pot of money. Its calcio offerings seem poor at the moment. Does anyone know of a good app for something similar with Serie A?

I think that betting against odds makers on single matches is a lost cause. They use way more data and statistics than I care to do. I'd rather bet against other users.

For single match betting this weekend, anyway, I probably would have looked at Lazio as underdogs. I don't think Lazio are that far from Inter and they play a similar cagey style, so I think a win by Inter would be difficult anyway.

First of all thank you for killing my new bet. Yesterday I lost money because of Milan, tonight I'm in the exact same situation with Inter. It would be crazy to lose two bets in the same weekend because of Milan before and Inter afterwards. Nothing beats Milan losing at La Spezia. I thought that money was already in my pocket.

Sampdoria - Fiorentina was was a game which could go either way. We were very lucky. We didn't play well. Neither did Fiorentina. Three heavy points for us.

 

[Laudrup]

Told you not to bet on Milan @ToniSamp 😖

 

[camelface]

First of all thank you for killing my new bet. Yesterday I lost money because of Milan, tonight I'm in the exact same situation with Inter. It would be crazy to lose two bets in the same weekend because of Milan before and Inter afterwards. Nothing beats Milan losing at La Spezia. I thought that money was already in my pocket.

Sampdoria - Fiorentina was was a game which could go either way. We were very lucky. We didn't play well. Neither did Fiorentina. Three heavy points for us.

You bet in favour of Inter? That seems a bit crazy to me given the odds that were presented for this game. The only superior positions Inter have are forwards. Otherwise they are pretty similar everywhere else.

I might be exaggerating there but oh well. I was more confident of Milan beating Spezia than Inter beating Lazio.

 

[ToniSamp]

You bet in favour of Inter? That seems a bit crazy to me given the odds that were presented for this game. The only superior positions Inter have are forwards. Otherwise they are pretty similar everywhere else.

I might be exaggerating there but oh well. I was more confident of Milan beating Spezia than Inter beating Lazio.

Odds are there to **** people's minds.

Lukaku I love you

 

[camelface]

I'm surprised by the scoreline but all goals were fair. Inter forwards are deadly. Lautaro has fucked with Hoedt two opportune times.

 

[camelface]

There have been quite a few players on Lazio's defense but I can't help but think Melinkovic-Savic has been the worst in terms of effort and what he can provide. He has looked completely content to give the ball to the players next to him, even though they are running like mad, and letting them cross the ball too instead of him. I don't remember him running into the box once. Terrible performance.

 

[Johan]

We look like dead team. I said this a few games earlier. That air of invincibility we had died at Atalanta and this game took away the last bit of it. I don't count the Juve game since we missed a whole squad of players back then.

I am not into jinxing. To understand how convinced i feel about this I just say I just quit watching football after that game. I'll spend my time on more important things for most of the rest of the season.

 

[Laudrup]

We look like dead team. I said this a few games earlier. That air of invincibility we had died at Atalanta and this game took away the last bit of it. I don't count the Juve game since we missed a whole squad of players back then.

I am not into jinxing. To understand how convinced i feel about this I just say I just quit watching football after that game. I'll spend my time on more important things for most of the rest of the season.

I do think we have a 30-35% chance of making the top 4 but I’m also known as an eternal optimist. I’ll keep watching until we’re officially dead. Serie A is very competitive this season, though, and even a top 6 position requires us not to choke badly.