How? How, in the name of all that is holy, is Ranieri still Inter manager?
It truly boggles the mind. In the past 9 matches, we'd have picked up a total of 2 points (if every match was league based). That's 2 out of 27!
Sure, it's not solely Ranieri's fault, the team needs a massive overhaul...
BUT, and as you can see it's a large one, Ranieri isn't the man to take Inter forward. Not by a long shot.
This is what has to happen. Ranieri needs to be sacked now. Not in may, now. Bring in whoever, Villas Boas, if possible. Let him assess the players and decide who's needed and who's not. Then in the summer, make Branca follow his instructions completely and to the letter. None of the shenanigans of last year, telling Gasperini that you'd sell Sneijder and then going behind both Gasperini and, supposedly, Moratti's back and selling Eto'o
This is what I'd personally like to see, in terms of in's and outs
Sell/Release:- Stankovic
- Lucio
- Maicon
- Sneijder
- Chivu
- Cordoba
- Castaignos
- Zaraté (Return from Loan)
- Forlan
Now, 6 of them were part of the treble winning team and I'm sure all Inter fans would be forever grateful for their service but the time has come to dismantle the team and try to begin a new era. Simple as
As for their replacements, it's not as easy as I'm going to make it sound but I'll throw out some names anyway
Buy:- Guarin
- Poli
- Verratti (I know, I know FM players but at 19 he's played 57 times for Pescara and has already garnered much interest from top clubs)
- Astori
- Lavezzi (never happen but I can dream)
- Isla (See Lavezzi)
- Lucas
- Destro
I know that's basically a fantasy list, especially as 4 are non-eu players, but you have to buy younger players. This team is too old. Simple as that. If we're talking realistic, take out Lavezzi and Isla
Julio César - 32
Maicon - 30
Lucio - 33
Samuel - 33
Nagatomo - 25
Cambiasso - 31
Zanetti - 38
Palombo - 30
Sneijder - 27
Milito - 32
Pazzini - 27
Average age of nearly 31 (30.72 to be exact). In all honestly, it's a ridiculous situation for a club to find itself in. No forward planning post-treble.
Now with some of the players above, as far-fetched as it is (Leaving out Lavezzi and Isla. Mainly because they're too far fetched):
Julio César - 32
Zanetti - 38
Astori - 25
Ranocchia - 23
Nagatomo - 25
Cambiasso - 31
Poli - 22
Guarin - 25
Coutinho - 19
Lucas/Alvarez - 19/23
Milito/Destro - 32/20
Average age with Lucas and Milito - 26.45
Average age with Alvarez and Destro - 25.72
Obviously there's 5 new signings there, at most and they'd cost money. I expect the likes of Lucas to be hefty in the fee department (that's if he'd join an declining club) but that team has more energy and promise than the current lineup and I'd imagine the wages would be lower to boot!
This is a wage list I found for this season. I've replaced Palombo with Stankovic, as Palombo's wages aren't shown.
Julio César - 4.5m
Maicon - 4m
Lucio - 3.5m
Samuel - 3m
Nagatomo - 0.7m
Cambiasso - 4m
Zanetti - 3m
Stankovic - 3m
Sneijder - 6m
Milito - 4.5m
Pazzini - 2.5m
Total wages of the starting 11 - €38.7m
Not exactly sky high, one might think. The total annual wage bill for Inter is €62.8m without taxes. With taxes, it's €110.2m which equates to some €2m a week in wages.
The reason I'm going on about wages are that the club is haemorrhaging money like some sort of haemorrhaging thing which means, as is the club surely can't meet FFP rules. So regardless of finishing in the European places, the club won't meet the rules.
The players I listed above to sell make €27m a year on wages. Some of them shouldn't be starting at all. Some don't. Cordoba hasn't played very much this season and he played 22 games last season. He makes €3m a year
The point of this whole rant is, the club need someone with a vision, an idea of how the club should be run. If the club has to spend in order to save, then that should be undertaken (if it's a viable option). As is the club will continue to decline unless someone can change the transfer structure and the playing personnel.
Mainly just needed to vent my frustrations at what I currently see on the pitch
For everyone who thinks Germany will just "show up" to Euro2012 and play Spain in the final got a rude awakening today. What a match! Both teams fielded strong squads but for large stretches of the match France took the game to Germany and deservidly won. Some outstanding football was on display it really was a footballers delight. All the talk is about Spain, Germany, and Holland for Euro2012, but if their's a surprise team that can win it outside those 3 my money would be on France. Blanc has done a fabulous job with this squad.
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not to sure if I'm happy
