By Well, it is safe to say that the season has not started as well as we had hoped. Four games played, three losses and a boring draw against Frosinone. A lot of things have irritated me this season, besides the most obvious like not winning and not scoring goals.
What is most irritating is the fact that there is still no apparent plan in regards to how we approach games. As was often the case when Roberto Donadoni was in charge, there is no evident idea behind how we approach games.
This ties together with a fundamental lack of cohesion between the players. There has often been too much space between the midfield and attack, which has made it very difficult for the attackers to get into the game. This happens because, in my humble opinion, there is a lack of creativity and, at times, cleverness in midfield.
Do not get me wrong, players like Blerim Dzemaili and Andrea Poli are very good, and they play an important role in our setup. However, neither of them provides the midfield with any form of creativity. They are both hard-working box to box players, and they excel at it, but we should try to include a more creative player in the midfield trio.
Against Genoa, as soon as we got Mattias Svaberg and Riccardo Orsolini onto the field, we witnessed way more forward momentum, as those two bring another type of skill set. With Erick Pulgar suspended for the next game, hopefully one of them will step into the team from minute one.
Moving on, our attack has been catastrophic so far. As mentioned above, this comes as a result of a nonfunctioning midfield. Nevertheless, our attackers have not performed as expected this season, and Simone Verdi is well and truly missed.
Against Genoa, Filippo Inzaghi chose to start with Mattia Destro and Orji Okwonkwo up front. The Nigerian prodigy was bright throughout the game, working hard, at times harassing the opposition defenders. Destro, on the other hand, was not good. He set the standard with a yellow card a minute into the game, and never really got into it after that.
Federico Santander came on, but never managed to impose himself on the opposition, whilst Diego Falcinelli remained on the bench. Rodrigo Palacio cannot become fit soon enough.
Bologna desperately need a goal scorer, and right now, it is impossible to say who that player is. If Inzaghi finds a way to fix the midfield problem, more chances should come the attackers’ way though. I think that a change in formation is needed, for instance a 3-4-3 variety. With one more player in attack, we can include a more creative player alongside the two strikers.
In the next game, against Roma, I would start the following team:
Skorupski; De Maio, Danilo, Gonzalez; Mattiello, Poli, Dzemaili, Krejci; Orsolini, Falcinelli (Palacio if fit), Svanberg
Why, I hear you ask. For one thing, even though this might leave us a bit more vulnerable in defence, we should create a lot more going forward. Mitchell Dijks has done nothing wrong so far, but Ladislav Krejci provides more going forward. His pace and ability to hit an inch-perfect cross could be handy against a shady Roma defence.
The front three of Orsolini, Svanberg and Falcinelli will provide a lot of pace and creativity, and the former two should create a lot of chances for Falcinelli.
So, Pippo, take my advice and we will beat Roma without problem. As long as you start with Krejci, everything will be ok.
Until next time.
Photo: Bologna FC
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