Early Morning Odds and Ends, Or: Catching Up on Yesterday’s News

Oh yay!

(I can't wait to see what everyone's done with their hair. Hopefully Cambiasso is still going on with the bald thing.)

Linda, I have August 5 in my head, but don't quote me on that -- whenever it is, it's soon. I promise.

Speaking of Crespo (who's far from past it, IMHO): when do Inter's Argies get back to training? Don't take this as a snide comment, since I actually support Argentina, but Inter don't really look the same without them.

Inter are a more complete team if Suazo is the real deal, simply because he brings an extra element (speed) up front. And he's no kid either, so Mancini should play him immediately if he believes Suazo is his guy.

I prefer Crespo as a super-sub, but don't know what he'd think of that idea. At his age, Crespo is becoming increasingly one-dimensional and isn't as likely to create his own scoring opportunities , except maybe against Mexes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

Johnny, I'm going to just pretend Adriano doesn't exist until he shows signs of being a footballer again.

I'm glad I do not have to make a decision between Suazo or Crespo, I can tell you that. I am a big Cresp fan, he is always in the right spot to finish things off. On the other hand, Suazo has been on fire in this England tour. We know it will not be "own goal" Adriano upfront with Ibrahimovic. That own goal was one of the worst I have seen in a while. Adriano just looks like he forgot how to play the game entirely and he plays like he has 2 left feet.

Regarding, Crespo, We have been thinking on this lately.

Alot is going to depend on how loyal Mancini is going to be to him, I think, because Crespo won't even get to camp until next week, and it's going to be impossible for him to step in and compete with Suazo given the difference in fitness levels, etc.

On one hand, Crespo is aging and needs to be replaced, eventually -- why not start the process now, and give Suazo the chance he's so far shown he deserves to be part of the first-choice pairing? On the other, though, Crespo's performed in the past and deserves confidence, even if this other guy HAS performed well when he's not been around to show what he's got.

So, basically, I don't know. I'm hoping for Suazo, but could understand if Mancini wanted to show Crespo some loyalty, at least for the first few weeks.

What do you think, RT?

Didn't intend to imply you disliked Maxwell! I simply felt like praising him and hoping you'd all listen.

As for Samuel, he's usually done well when fielded, it's just that Materazzi has been even better and Mancini is reluctant to partner the two plodding left-footers. I'm worried about Cordoba though. He's been in steady decline and was terrible in Copa America. I am interested to learn how Rivas fits into all this though...

And with Suazo settling so well, do "we" think he could overtake Crespo in the pecking order?

Slip of the proverbial tongue, Chris. I meant to say "evil, dirty Inter." Won't happen again. (Or, when it does, it'll only be in the comment, I promise. No "we" in posts, unless it's the royal we.)

And RT, I actually quite like Maxwell, I'm just not sure I've got the confidence in him that you've got, so in my head I've been replacing him with Chivu and leaving Burdisso or Cordoba at the center. I've love to see Maxwell take a step up, both in consistency and quality; it'd certainly allow Mancini some nice flexibility at the back (particularly if Samuel can play like he did yesterday in game that mean something).

Considering how he hadn't played in a year and a half, needed to overcome Grosso, and also settle in at Inter/Serie A (no easy task), I'd say Maxwell did fairly well last season. He's a guy with pedigree (former Eredivisie player of the year) who's still young enough to get even better, especially with those obstacles now behind him.

Point of all that is I'm not entirely convinced Chivu is an upgrade at leftback. Ideally, Chivu could partner Materazzi in the center, since the latter isn't so compatible with Samuel, and I just don't have the faith in Cordoba or Burdisso. Nonetheless, Chivu's versatility provides interesting options.

And Inter have too many left-footed defenders.

"our choice"

You used to be coy about your Intermerda status. Now you're just shouting it to the world. What happened? Massimo grease your palms too?

Well that's good for you people, but our choice is between Chivu and Maxwell, not Chivu and Juan. I think he'll be an improvement (I know yesterday didn't matter, but the ghosts of 7-1 must have been all over him) on the left, but time will tell.

Just remember, Chivu is going to look like the second coming of Franz fucking Beckenbauer during the friendlies that don't matter. When it comes to the actual games it's a whole different story. Especially the big games.

Btw, Juan has already made everyone forget about Chivu. From an unbiased viewpoint, he is unbelievable. He has that extra bit of football je ne sais quoi that Chivu is lacking.

Agreed Johnny, those two are going to be a handful and a half. And Chivu looked livelier on the left than he has before, that was encouraging as well.

Inter looked good in that friendly yesterday, I can not wait for the season to start. Ibrahimovic and Suazo look like a deadly combination up front.

The coolest #13 of all time

Sorry to see Nesta give up but it had been in the air for a while. At least Man City are giving the Serie A fan some interest in the Premiership. At this rate there will be a little colony at the City of Manchester stadium this year!