When A Draw Feels Like A Loss

By: Neil | November 24th, 2008

Napoli 2 Cagliari 2

I really don’t know what to make of this game. Napoli was average, and didn’t deserve to win, but were in position to do so until the 95th minute. Cagliari was average, and didn’t deserve a draw, but snatched one at the death. In fact, if Lavezzi hadn’t scored an 85th minute goal, they might have even found a way to win. Or else Napoli could have won by two clear goals if Lavezzi didn’t get in the way of a Russotto shot at the beginning of injury time. There was no real story to the game, which was boring at times, just a series of incidents that ended with two goals apiece.

Napoli were dominant at the beginning of each half, but went to sleep after the first half hour, and again after the first ten minutes of the second half. And still once more after Russotto’s disallowed goal. Cagliari had three shots on net, and scored two of them. That kind of sums up the kind of day Napoli had, but you can’t blame it on bad luck. Although I’m wondering where the six minutes of injury time came from? I was expecting three or maybe four, but I couldn’t believe the game was still going when Conti smashed the equalizer into the roof of the net. In any case, Napoli lost concentration too many times and ended up getting punished for it.

And there was also Reja’s substitutions. In the 78th minute, with the score 1-1 and Napoli pressing for a goal, Reja decides to take off our team’s leading goal scorer, who had already scored earlier in the day. Before that, the Bogliacino for Mannini switch caught me by surprise. I have no idea what Reja was hoping to achieve with these moves. It’s true that Bogliacino is more likely to score than Mannini, but the Uruguayan’s lack of defence was exposed when Jeda waltzed down Napoli’s left side to set up an easy goal for Conti. As for putting in Russotto for Hamsik, it ended up working out as it was a foul on Russotto that led to Lavezzi’s free kick. But the move simply goes against common sense, and if Napoli didn’t score a second goal it makes Reja look incompetent.

And why didn’t Reja switch to a 4-4-2 after Lavezzi’s goal? Contini and Cannavaro had been struggling most of the game and could of used some help. Even though all the substitutions were used, what was wrong with sticking Pazienza between Cannavaro and Santacroce? Playing four at the back worked perfectly against Lazio, but Reja didn’t try it against Sampdoria or Cagliari after being up a goal in the second half.

This game created more questions for Napoli than it solved. Why do we struggle against weaker teams that sometimes put nine or ten men behind the ball? Why does the team come out strong, but tail off and let the other team back in the game? Is losing concentration a sign of immaturity, or is it something else? Why do we always play to the other team’s level? Who is going to take over from Reja at the end of the year?

At this point I have no idea in what direction our season is heading. If someone had told me before the season that after 13 weeks Napoli would be tied for third place with Juve I would have been ecstatic. But given the last few weeks, it looks like all the problems from last year are starting to crop up again, and Reja isn’t able or willing to adapt to find new solutions. My biggest concern now is the left side of our defence. Contini isn’t a complete defender, which you need when you’re playing with three at the back. Cannavaro has an off game every once in a while, which you can’t have from a one man centre defence. If we switched to a 4-4-2 we would lose our midfield advantage that puts the other team’s defence under pressure. Although 4-4-2 might be a better option for some games, in the long run I don’t think it would get us any more points.

At this point we definitely need a new striker and a new left defence. With Contini, Aronica, and Rinaudo we have three very good defenders but none of them have reached the level of Cannavaro at his best or Santacroce. Marino is always spoken of as a transfer genius, but they way he’s assembled the defence is open to some criticism. And Denis is still on a different tactical page than the rest of the team. I would like to see Russotto get some starts at forward alongside Lavezzi.

Le pagelle:

Iezzo – 6.5 Hung out to dry on both Cagliari goals
Santacroce – 6.5 Easily the best Napoli defender
Cannavaro – 5.5 A shadow of the Canna we saw in Milan
Contini – 5.0 Cannot defend against quick and talented attackers
Maggio – 6.0 Should have done better with two second half chances
Blasi – 5.5 No longer controlling the middle as he was earlier in the season
Gargano – 6.0 Quiet game from Mighty Mouse
Hamsik – 6.5 Well taken goal
Mannini – 6.0 Not a left footed player, and struggles to get crosses in
Denis – 5.5 Blows hot and cold
Lavezzi – 7.5 Always dangerous, creates goals out of nothing

Subs – Bogliacino 5.0, Russotto 6.5, Pazienza 5.5

Reja – 5.0

Next week we have the most difficult game in Serie A – Inter away. If Napoli’s current form holds up this one could get ugly.