My heart aches with disappointment. I thought that sleeping on it last night would make things easier this morning but right now, I have a few persistent thoughts that will not go away.
During last night’s match against Roma I felt a multitude of emotions. I was disappointed with our first half. Enthralled with how we played in the second half. Proud that we managed to claw our way back and take the lead. Angry that we conceded in the last 7 minutes. Apathetic and down when I went to bed.
I have not read any of the posts in this thread but our coach is surely to blame for us conceding in the last minutes. His substitutions were horrendous and came at a time when we were vulnerable. I am at a loss as to why he brought on Kolorov. The player has not played since the beginning of the season and when he came on, he looked dazed, as if he did not know where he was or what team he was playing for.
Gagliardini for Vidal: from what I have read, Vidal asked to come off due to injury. He has cost us numerous points due to general poor play, his decision making and conceding penalties but the way he was passing balls our wide for Hakimi was beautiful to watch. Gaglairdini came in and was weak and non-effective. We may as well have just played with ten men. And Perisic for Martinez simply highlights how we have no adequate replacements for our front men. How long is it going to take our management to sign a reserve that can play up front: one and a half seasons and still counting.
The only other thoughts I have are that Inter will not be contenders for any trophy until they learn to close out games. Part of closing out games is down to knowing how to play when the game is on the line. We do not know how to do that competently. The manner in which we conceded was terrible. The corner was taken quickly and we were caught flat footed. The other part is down to the playing personnel on the field at the time. That is where Conte’s substitutions come in to play and shitters like Kolorov, Gagliardini and Perisic playing out of position are never going to allow us to play with the confidence and competence required to do this.
And lastly, there is Hakimi. I am saddened by the fact that such a beautiful goal could not be rewarded with three points.
I do not want to end this post negatively but I feel that with no new signings coming in, we should not expect too much for the remainder of the season. We will continue to drop points in matches where we have clawed our way back or led and will not have any new tools to change this pattern or win against the likes of Juventus or Milan. Today, Inter is a club that aspires to reach the heights of its glorious past. But in reality, we are paupers: poor in mind, spirit, and determination and nowhere near reaching those heights. We do not have the players or composure to be contenders. It makes Milan’s turn around and season to date all the more miraculous as they have come from nowhere and deserve to be top of the standings.