We can blame the coach and the players for underperforming, but perhaps the problem here is our expectations. We are consciously or sub-consciously comparing this Inter to the one 6 months ago, which was on fire. Its not the same Inter. We downgraded the coach. Dzeko is no Lukaku, Dumfries is no Hakimi, Hakan is too inconsistent, and while Correa is a good player, he doesn't score often enough to compensate for the goals we lost. These players will have good games, but I just can't see them giving us the consistent quality that we need. I have been saying this for a few months, but its still disappointing when your team plays as poorly as you expected.
The main issue here is that Suning did not spend the Lukaku money to bring sufficient quality into the squad. Dzeko is a good buy on a free even at this age, but as a 4th striker who is essentially a super-sub. Not as a starter. Correa is talented, but he is not the kind of striker we needed. Thats why I wanted Raspadori. He is one of those occasional talents that come up that you just know they will come good sooner or later. He can play as the main striker and as a 2nd striker. And he will only improve from here. 3 years ago I must have bugged many people here by going on and on about Inter must buy Chiesa, Barella and Tonali (who was more of a punt, a kid playing in Serie B then). Chiesa and Barella are already top players. Tonali had a poor first season at Milan, but you just know that he will come good. Raspadori IMO is one of those kind of players. You just know he will come good. Clearly Mancini knows, and he has good instinct about these things.
I was watching the Chelsea vs Zenit on Tuesday. Chelsea were struggling to create chances for Lukaku, and they don't use Lukaku as much as we did. Maybe that will come with time. But the first half chance that Chelsea created for Lukaku, the ball rippled the net. It was a copycat goal to several that he has scored for Inter. We have no one who can do that on a consistent basis anymore.
We lack quality upfront and on the wings. Martinez-Sanchez was our 3rd choice combination upfront last season. I suspect its our best combination this season. Get fit soon, Sanchez, you are our only hope.
So while these performances are disappointing, they are not a surprise. I still have hope - many of our players are winners, and if Inzaghi can use the momentum from last season (as he did in the first 2 games), we could win the Scudetto. However I wouldn't count Juventus out, even after 1 point from first 3 games. Allegri will organise them properly soon enough and they will finish in the top 2 IMO. I cannot say that about Inter yet, I worry that we will struggle against the top 6-7 teams in H2H games this season.
Also, fuck Suning. GTFO of my club.
Sorry for the long rant.