Juventus Official Announcements and Interviews

[RomaShield27]

Why, Dino, what did he do do wrong in todays match, in your opinion?

[red]

The team seems to have no motivation and no gameplan.

Allowances can be made because of injuries and his inexperience, but there is no sign of improvement and the players show no inclination to fight for him.

I will always respect Ferrara as a player, but I don't see why he should keep his job at the moment.

[Zoff82]

If you had been watching/following Juve Shield, it would've been obvious as to why Ferrara should be let go. Since it isn't, red summarized it very well. Most of the time, things are right there in front of your face and don't need an explanation.

[Italiamia]

[Zoff82]

[juventino_italiano]

[Italiamia]

[Bagg10]

[juventino_italiano]

[juventino_italiano]

[tonykart]

[tonykart]

[ricky2882]

Our biggest mistakes were made in the summer, and I'm not talking of making Ferrara our permanent coach. We needed a new, young CB, not Cannavaro as a starter. We made NO improvement in that part of defense. We needed to get rid of Molinaro, and when I saw Ferrara using Brazzo and De Ceglie during the warm-up games and at the start of the season, I was optimistic. Buying Grosso made me even more optimistic. However, once the season started, with Brazzo out injured for more than half the season so far, and with Grosso's age showing, Ferrara went back to using Molinaro.

Firstly, I blame Secco for the state we are in right now. Instead of the D'Agostino saga, we should probably have gone for Zapata from Udinese. We REALLY should have made a serious bid for Criscito. With Diego joining our squad, it was apparent that we would absolutely need attacking fullbacks. Grygera and Molinaro would have been of no use.

I do blame Ferrara for making us over-reliant on Diego. For too long, Diego was the only link between midfield and the strikers. Not making use of a Giovinco-Diego combination was criminal. Mark out Diego from the game, and we suffer to get a shot on goal.

We can't blame anyone for Melo's sudden loss of form, but I do have a problem with us not having enough creative/attacking midfielders (like Camoranesi) in midfield.

Tiago, Molinaro, Zebina/Grygera, maybe Legrottaglie, should have been gotten rid off in the summer itself, and we're paying for that now.

This team has no strategy and no identity.

[tonykart]

We dont need more attacking CMs, we have Marchisio and Camoranesi who assist the attack plenty. The problem is that Diego is not someone who can be relied on to link the play alone. We should be running with Giovinco and Diego.

DEFENSE:
Ranocchia must be purchased as soon as possible. Zapata is good, but he is not as heady as the young Italian. We need some savvy at the back to counter-act Chiellini's rage. We need Criscito back to share time with Grosso and send De Ceglie on loan. I have no idea why we didn't make a move for Maggio a few years ago. 4-4-2 or 4-3-1-2, fast wide players are key. Caceres can do the job on the right side as long as Camoranesi continues to play... This is the problem though.

DF TRANSFER OPTIONS
In the center we need to get some good, young players. Not necessarily players who will be called upon to start immediately, but someone who can play mid to low table games and sit in bigger games. This is why I want us to sign Ranocchia. I beleive he is the better of the two Bari CBs and has the physical tools to become a top notch CB. If you want a guy who can start now (and someone we should have bought years ago), look no further than Lugano who is affordable and pure class. At 29 Lugano is fully capable of supporting Chiellini in the center of the defense.

Criscito must be brought back to take time away from Grosso who is only good with less playing time. Grosso is not a 90 minute a week player. I don't think he ever has been. Grosso is great in big games... let him start those, otherwise roll with Criscito.

Caceres is a capable RB, but he is young and lacks discipline. Grygera is not capable of playing this role in this formation. We need to sell him or keep him as a depth player for emergencies. I think this is a waste because in the 4-3-1-2 Brazzo or Zebina are better RB options that Zdenek. We should not purchase here in my opinion in order to save money for other roles.

If we do need to buy another RB, we can go the cheap route and snag someone like Mesto from Genoa to backup and support Caceres. Otherwise, we should look for Maggio, Behrami and Rafinha.

CB List:
Ranocchia (Bari)
Lugano (Fenerbahce)
Bruno Alves (Porto)
Esposito (Genoa)
Barzagli (Wolfsburg)
Coloccini (New Castle)
Planus (Bordeaux)
Kjaer (Palermo)

SB List:
Criscito (Genoa)
Mesto (Genoa)
Rafinha (Schalke)
Maggio (Napoli)
Behrami (West Ham)
Mathieu (Valencia)

MIDFIELD
Camoranesi is one of those players who is unjured all year but only miraculously heals when we have games vs. Inter or the Champions League. So, we need someone who can play that attacking right side CM role. Lucho Gonzalez was just signed by Marseille, so there goes what I think is a perfect fit for that role. But, we have Marchisio. Marchisio needs to be playing on the right flank NOT Sissoko, to help aide Caceres who cannot be the sole attacking force on that side. I do believe in two DM's playing in our midfield, but we have it completely backwards when Camoranesi is out.

Sissoko or Melo need to play on the left side of the CM 3. This will allow Criscio or Grosso to attack more freely. Melo is perfect for this role, it is where he prefers to play and where he belongs. He can cover the attacking runs by the LB and gobble up poor clearances by the opposing defense. Sissoko can play this role as well, but we need to make sure when he is here that he understands his positional responsibilities. You see, if you have a right side of Sissoko and Caceres, and a left side of Marchisio and Grosso, you have an extremely unbalanced team.

Why is our midfield still not better after 3 years in Serie A. Because we lack that disciplined stopper in front of the defense. Melo started out playing well in that role, but lost confidence and tried to correct his struggles but attacking more.... wrong idea. We need a guy in this role who understand the game, not just a talented beast or skilled player.

CM TRANSFER OPTIONS
If we sign D'Agostino at this point we will need to adjust everything. A CM of Camoranesi, D'Agostino and Melo is once again unbalanced. D'Agostino can play a deep central role, but will definitely cheat up (and he should). With Camoranesi beside him this leaves the right flank completely open and forces Melo to have to cover a ton of ground, therefore switching him back to the stopper role he fails in. A D'Agostino signing would require us to sign a more attack minded RB and to bench Camoranesi for Sissoko. Playing with two destroyers on each side of D'Agostino allows him to to push up and support the attack from deep, aide Diego in the creative process with little restriction and with proper flankers he has outlets he can use to conduct.

In my opinion, this team needs a player like a Gilberto Silva (someone we should have picked up on a free 3 years ago), or A.Diarra. I would list Toulalan, A. Diarra, and Veloso (as a last option) for this role. Diarra is a very underrated player, he will be relatively cheap and bring size and positioning to the table. He is a real force in the air and is very sound positionally. Toulalan is the perfect destroyer... perfect. His positioning is flawless, he reads the game like a master, and is an effective and clean tackler. Too bad we didn't pay Flamini that extra 1m huh. Veloso is a good player in this role as well, but we will have to outbid some top clubs to get him, making him too expensive. He also likes to cheat up more than I like from a player in this role. If we are going to invest heavily in this position, Mascherano (another guy we should have signed years ago) is the best DM option we have a realistic shot at.

The most important thing is that, besides Veloso, these players are ready to start now. They dont need to 'mature'. They are more than just talented young players, they are seasoned footballer who understand the day-to-day professionalism required to stay at the top of the game. Young players are cute if you are playing video games, but in the Italian game (a game of tactical rigidity) we need a balance of experience and talent.

DM list:
Cana (Sunderland)
Toulalan (Lyon)
Veloso (Sporting)
A.Diarra (Bordeaux)
Nocerino (Palermo) yes... I did.

ATTACK SUPPORT
Diego, Giovinco, and The Waterboy is a really nice core group. The problem is that we are relying solely on Diego for support play. Giovinco might as well be loaned out because apparently he is worse than Molinaro (who has more PT this season). I still think Giovinco is a more effective player than Diego and needs to be used almost every game. The Waterboy has been injured and is really starting to show his age. However, it is common that players have a year of injuries then rebound next season and go crazy. Hopefully, ADP has this happen.

I would change nothing here... this team has plenty of creativity and if we somehow have all three of these players unavailable we can use Camoranesi in this role, or change the formation for emergency reasons.

ATTACK
Here is the biggest problem of all. The Diego signing was a big deal. Listen, I know Diego is capable of being a world class player. His career with Werder was a passionate example of what he can do for us, but he was not the right fit for this team. Diego is not capable of playing the AM role alone in a 4-3-1-2, unless we sign a guy like D'Agostino and roll with two destroyers behind them. OR, if we start using another AM with him like Giovinco. ADPs presense will help the situation as well, but he is too old to play 90 minutes each week. We need to start with Giovinco and throw ADP in as a sub.

I will remind everyone that Cassano should have been the signing, but I promise that will only be said once here. When Iaquinta comes back, you have a player that is capable of playing behind a striker as well. But, should only be used if Giovinco and ADP are unavailable, or for tactical reasons. Iaquinta should be backing up a striker.

Trezeguet is still, by far and away, the best striker in this side. But, his game no longer fits into this teams tactical setup. In a 4-3-2-1 as I have proposed, this requires a striker who can make runs behind the defense (not to the corner like Amauri, but behind the defense). I like Benzema, but he is young and has only really had one good season. He is also better in a two striker system. I think he could work, but I prefer to have Luis Fabiano. Fabiano is a proven goal scorer and is the closest thing to a guaranteed performer this club has seen since Moggi left.

Chamakh I would hold out on because he really only had one good season, Gignac is still developing, Pazzini is far from a sure thing, and Gilardino failed once at a large club.

AT List:
Fabiano (Sevilla)
Benzema (Real Madrid)
Chamakh (Bordeaux)
Gignac (Toulouse)
Pazzini (Sampdoria)
Gilardino (Fiorentina)

4-3-2-1 System:

--------------------- BUFFON

CACERES - LUGANO - CHIELLINI - CRISCITO

------ CAMORANESI - TOULALAN - MELO

------------- DIEGO ---- GIOVINCO

----------------- LUIS FABIANO

Bench: Manninger; Grygera, Brazzo, Legrottaglie, Cannavaro, Grosso; Marchisio, Poulsen, Sissoko; The Waterboy; Iaquinta, Trezeguet.

4-3-1-2 System:

--------------------- BUFFON

BEHRAMI - LUGANO - CHIELLINI - CRISCITO

------- SISSOKO - D'AGOSTINO - MELO

--------------------- DIEGO

------------- IAQUINTA - FABIANO

Bench: Manninger; Zebina, Brazzo, Legrottaglie, Cannavaro, Grosso; Camoranesi, Poulsen Marchisio; Giovinco; The Waterboy, Trezeguet.

4-2-3-1 System:

--------------------- BUFFON

CACERES - LUGANO - CHIELLINI - CRISCITO

-------------- SISSOKO -- MELO

CAMORANESI ------- DIEGO ------ GIOVINCO

-------------------- FABIANO

Bench: Manninger; Grygera, Legrottaglie, Cannavaro, Grosso; Brazzo, Poulsen, Marchisio, Sessegnon, The Waterboy; Trezeguet, Iaquinta.

I wish these formations had more Italian players in it, but this team is so F-ed from this management that this is the only affordable way to make it work. We need to take the next step.

[Bagg10]

[RomaShield27]

[juventino_italiano]

[morra10]

Still think Benzema is a better buy than Fabiano. Which is basically the only thing worth mentioning from TK's ridiculously long post.

[tonykart]

[RomaShield27]