Time for a Deep Breath

One of the most up and down seasons in recent Cagliari memory is now over. How fitting it end with a home tie with Reggina whose season very much mirrored ours. Its hard to analyze this game as both teams came in with nothing to play for and had to be very relaxed for the first time all year. The end result was a good game but you never like to see your team give up an equalizing goal at home in the last five minutes. But at this point, all that matter is we live to see another season in Serie A so the result of this game is just for the record and not to be discussed with any meaning.

The final total of 42 points and a 14th place finish is where they should have ended up if you were making a prediction at the beginning of the year, but after the horrible start, the premature firing of Giampaolo, and the deduction of three points for no reason, to finish out of the relegation zone is as surprising as not seeing Milan in the Champions League.

Now we get a little bit of a break before we get the leftovers of the summer transfer market. As I discussed more in depth after the victory over Udinese, this team has many questions. In addition to what I previously mentioned, some of which are repetitive, here are a few that must be answered, some sooner rather then later, before we can start looking at whether we can take a step up next year or whether we will be relegation fodder once again:

Does Marco Storari stay with us or return to Milan to take over their goalkeeping? If Milan was smart, they bring him back and let him lead them to the Scudetto, but if they think they can do better, he will stay here, even if it is on loan again. This is the most important decision that will determine our clubs future. Canini may have to be sacrificed to Milan to keep him. As much as I love Canini, it would be a good move if we are forced to choose. This is why big clubs just buy everyone. They can own a player like Storari, who if he blossoms while on loan, can be traded to another club for an up and coming youngster the big club failed to get their hands on originally while they were buying the world up.

Does Acquafresca stay or return to Inter? We own half of him and Inters Scudetto win has to take the pressure off them to make a bold move. He still needs another year at a smaller club before he is ready for the big stage. While there are always negotiations to buy rights etc, I think we can keep him for another year. Pair him with a veteran striker and he will really fill the nets next year.

Who takes over for Cellino? Cellino has made it pretty clear that he is stepping down this summer. Who takes his place and what kind of reputation that person has is huge for the clubs future. Say what you want about Cellino, he loves the team and nothing beats passion. With his winter transfer of Storari and Jeda, he saved the club from relegation and that scores a lot of points with fans. While we all were calling for his head at some point this season, he will be missed when he leaves.

What happens with Foggia? I believe we co own him with Lazio. He does not want to play here and would prefer to return to Napoli. I think it would be huge if we could bring him back, but the key is what will we be getting for our share. If we cannot agree on players to come back, I think we need to do all we can to keep him or buy him if that option becomes available. He is undervalued as his second half injuries and attitude took him from an appearance for the national side to barely cracking the Cagliari lineup. He will cost a lot less then his value will be next year. Whatever we may get offered for him in the form of cash or players will not nearly equal his value. Expect him to be a player we hear more about no matter who he plays for as his star is on the rise once he gets a little attitude adjustment.

Matri and Larrivey need to be replaced. Larrivey finally scored in his final game when it meant nothing. No doubt he has talent, but some players cannot transfer that to a big stage. We need to send him back to Argentina unless we can somehow loan him to a Serie B team for the first half of the year and bring him back if we need him and he lights the world on fire in a lesser league. Maybe he could be next years Cossu, but I doubt it. Matri is not much better but if played in a supporting attacking midfield role he could have some value. I doubt Milan wants him back but they will use him as a bargaining chip. Hopefully we do not overvalue him and give up a bunch for his rights. You do not give them Canini for him.

Once these questions are answered, it will determine where we go in the transfer market. We cant afford the big names so we must make moves as we did last winter and hope the players stand out. The summer is fun to watch because you see players youve grown to root for leave and new players, typically without much of a reputation come in to replace them and you wonder how the team is better. You see players move to big clubs and flame out because they dont get to play ie Suazo. To think we could survive without Suazo was amazing, but it just shows that even if you lose a great player, sometimes the replacements can make up the difference.

Expect us to be a little more active with players this summer as opposed to last summer as many will want to come to Sardinia. Winning and a great environment can do that and we have shown we can be mid table club. How much we go above that is open for debate, but surviving this season was huge as the three promoted sides(Juve, Napoli, Genoa) were basically two solid Serie A type sides and a Genoa side who surprised all year. The three coming up from B next year wont be as strong and will be immediate candidates to go back down.

For fans of a smaller club, it is as much to celebrate survival as it is for a big club to make the Champions League. However, this team has the foundation in place to do better. The experience gained this year is immesurable and should lead to a better start next year. With the right players kept and proper replacements brought in, we wont have to deal with such an up and down season next year and we may push for what Napoli did this year.

Ill do my best to keep everyone up to date on real transfer possibilities and not just make stuff up for the sake of posting. It will be an interesting summer in Sardinia and it was a really enjoyable season as writing about the ups and downs is great therapy for any fan.

Category: Cagliari, Serie A

Tags: Cagliari, Serie A

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