Saturday night with Palermo

By: Jeremy | February 9th, 2012

Nothing like a bad game following a good game to make fans wonder what is going on or more likely just accept that we have the most predictable unpredictable team in the league. How does one go from thrashing Genoa and playing Juve well to playing a boring 0-0 draw with Fiorentina? How does one go from a nice win against Roma to being the first team to fail to score against dead last almost relegated Novara? No one has any answers but lets hope this weekends opponents style plays to our strengths and allows us to pick up three points.

Last weekends game against Novara was a must win if the team was to have any ambition beyond midtable safety. To not only fail to win, but to play another 0-0 game is inexcusable. It seems clear that we cannot do much against teams who do not push the attack. While playing attacking teams does not mean we will do well, but it does mean that we will have some real chances to finish which could keep us in games and even allow for points against teams that are more talented.

As we head back to Sardinia trying to forget the lost opportunities in Novara, we sit in 11th place with 27 points and face a resurgent Palermo team who is now in 8th with 31 points and has provided the link to the formerly exclusive top seven where from a mental standpoint, teams like Palermo, Genoa, Fiorentina, and even us feels like European qualification is possible. Their entertaining game with Inter in the snow and Miccoli turning the clock back and scoring a ton, makes this game against Cagliari very interesting.

If you remember, Palermo played their aggressive style to beat us in Sicily 3-2 with new Cagliari player Pinilla playing an important role for Palermo. While 3-2 does not show that we we were beaten much worse, Palermos style plays into our hands much like Romas. They will attack and push for goal and will try to outscore us. They were not afraid of Inter and are not afraid of us so the teams should combine for an enjoyable game for the few hundred that show up to watch.

Cagliari will be boosted by the return of Cossu who was suspended for the Novara game. Who thought we would have needed him last week but we do this week. With Nainggolans Juve chase atleast on hold until the summer, he can get back to concentrating on Cagliari, a team he really does not want to leave. That issue will get resolved later but he still has to improve his play and create more chances for the strikers.

Thiago Ribeiro seems to have pushed Ibarbo to the bench as he and Ballardini have developed a bond and he will be given every chance to break out. If Pinilla can show strong play, this might be a nice pair with Ibarbo ready to provide a burst of speed late in the game. I dont think any player is guaranteed a spot until there is a run of real goal scoring.

The atmosphere will hopefully be amped up a bit as the game is on Saturday night but the weather is still a factor as we have not warmed up for spring weather yet. The game should mirror the Roma game in many ways and lets hope we can be on the positive end of the result. We need to start putting together some wins rather then these inconsistent results or the players could get indifferent like they have in the past couple of years as we solidify safety fairly soon yet cant win enough games to get us in the European conversation. This pattern is either something Cellino is happy with deep down while hes bitching or he has to understand that more needs to be done to get the team to the next level and that he is not getting the right players to make it happen.

The game should be on in the USA on FSC so enjoy as I certainly will.