Nice Win, but can we take the next step?

By: Jeremy | November 3rd, 2008

Even the most optimistic fan or pundit would not have predicted a 5-1 win against Bologna. We have not scored a lot of goals this year and we are still trying to catch up to our bad start where the first five games were all losses. Slowly however, the team has turned it around and is getting points where it must, against fellow relegation strugglers. Bologna was one of those teams and their inability to find the net combined with the fact that Cagliari is at home where they are a different team, should mean a victory. The question really was by how many goals.

For all the groundwork that would seem to indicate victory, Bologna got a shock goal in minute 18. While this kind of event might have forced complete panic causing us to give the game away, the team pushed for offense and once Acquafresca scored in minute 44, the game was essentially ours. Everyone got into the action with Conti scoring in minute 48, Acquafresca bagging his predicted brace(no applause necessary) in minute 52, and then Jeda adding to the fun in minutes 69 and 84. The 5-1 drubbing was a nice result and it could have been worse as many chances were missed. Its three points and nothing else as wins like these keep the heat off the manager and puts the heat on the Bologna manager who will likely be axed this week. Relegation is a bitch but a manager can only work with the talent he has.

Allegri seems to have calmed things down and continues to keep things in persepective. The win is great, but the teams position is still near the relegation line with some tough games coming up. Even Cellino has calmed down a bit and realizes that after surviving last year, this year was a gift and with less talented teams in Serie A this year compared to last, surivival is more likely and requires some stability so he is giving Allegri a long rope. We are so used to firing managers that I even called for his head after loss five. I really like the fact that he continues to put out the strongest offensive team possible. There has to be a way to make sure Jeda and Acquafresca are on the field at all times. With Conti providing leadership, if we can get Canini back healthy to stabilize the defense, we are not a bad team. This all sounds good, but we are only beating the bottom level teams and other then the draw with Milan, we have not gotten points off a top half of the table team.

As with the Genoa match where we had a chance to go on the road after a big win and get points against a team that wasnt quite top of the league, we now go to Catania to try and take points off them. Catania has dropped back after their great start and to me is still relegation fodder, but Zenga has brought some real enthusiasm to that team and they are playing good teams tough and always seem strong at home taking points where they must. The difference between them and us is that they have taken the next step and have beaten teams in the top half of the table. That puts them where we want to be which is mid table and relegation safe.

There is no doubt we should be excited about the win over Bologna, but we still must keep things in perspective. Teams like Siena and Lecce, who I predicted for relegation, are better then expected, and even Reggina, who sits bottom of the table, suffered a heart breaking loss against Inter this weekend and continue to show fighting spirit. While Bologna and Chievo seem to be emerging as relegation favorites, the standings are so close that we need to get points against teams like Catania as we cannot be expected to continue beating other relegation candidates regularly. Serie A is just too tough.

It is a great day in Sardinia and the early crisis seems to have been weathered, but our next two games against Catania and Fiorentina will tell us a lot. Are we ready to move away from relegation or are we going to get knocked back into the dogfight we have been expecting all year. After the bad start, no one can complain about our position, but this fan wants to see the momentum continue. Catania is the perfect place to do it.

Have a great week everyone.
FORZA CAGLIARI!