For our inconsistent start to the season? Basically we have lost so many points it makes winning the scudetto pretty much impossible already, and we even find ourselves third now despite Milan's dreadful start. Inter play like shit most games but are still hard to beat and usually nick the games, that is the opposite of Juventus. We play better football but look like there is no spine, most suprising for Juventus and a former great defender as coach. Have we turned into Roma?

Thoughts?

I made a vote with 3 first points although I prefer that Juve give Ferrara more time...

I think it would more than likely boil down to varying percentages of all five of the options you gave Jay.

I think injuries to key players definitely don't help the rookie manager, the fact new signings haven't hit the heights expected of them also doesn't help the manager. The board have to take the blame for appointing the rookie manager also and i blame Morratti just because he's a vile old c**t to be honest.

i really think that injuries to key players have shattered your dreams for the scudetto, the fact that i dont totally blame Ferrara is that Guardiola was a rookie coach too but look how great he turned out to be, not because hes brilliant all by himself but for the fact that Messi played his best football ever alongside Eto and Henry who were in superb form as well, not to mention the jewels as the likes of Xavi and Iniesta + Puyol and Pique basically the whole team was tremendous as a unit and as individuals.

Exactly, Guardiola was very fortunate in that he had no serious injuries to deal with until early May (!), by which time the season was almost over. As you say, Ferrara has been very unlucky in that respect.

Melo must be kicking himself choosing Juve over us

I think its more like Arsenal are jumping up and down in joy that they did not dish out 25 million on Melo.

He had two world class games and the rest have been poor.

Yeah Melo has really been tearing it up lol.

I look at the performance against Bari again and the players really did put effort in, the same couldn't be said against Bayern however. I've come to the conclusion that it is actually a bit of all the reasons given. We could take the evil Moratti mafia empire on with a fit squad and a solid tactical system with players knowing their role and job. Next year then.......

As much as I liked Ciro Ferrara as a player, and he seems like a great guy, I think he has to take at least a share of the blame. Trezeguet is scoring and Amauri is not, yet he still starts Amauri regularly in basically the same role as Trezeguet, a striker leading the line. Better to play Del Piero or Giovinco behind Trez.

His tactics haven't worked so far and Juve also seem to be lacking in confidence, and not just in Europe like under Ranieri, but in Serie A as well which seems totally unthinkable. You could argue that patience pays off and point to Leonardo as an example, but at the same time, you could look at Parma, who last year sacked Luigi Cagni after only a few matches, and replaced him with Guidolin, who has Parma playing incredibly.

And obviously some of the blame also has to fall on the players many of whom have under-achieved.

But the current Juve directors also have to be faulted IMO. They've brought in nothing but flops since taking over, but hopefully the current generation of Juve academy graduates can fulfill the expectations placed upon them and Juve can build a new great team from within.

I think Diego will prove his class eventually, you can just see his quality watching him. In the right system he will flourish, remember Platini and Nedved struggled in their first seasons at Juve. Melo has the attributes to be a top player as well, but mentally he seems a bit slow right now, he makes the same mistakes over and over.

John Elkann and Andrea Agnelli (the big guns!) were at the Vinovo training ground today, giving the players their 'Christmas speech'

Hi Jay, should you change the banner of Juve sub-forum now until those figures return to their best?
Amauri : becoming a big flop...
Buffon : long absence...
DP : just gone missing...
Diego : not up to expectations...

I should change it to Marchisio, Sissoko, Caceres and Chiellini?

Guus Hiddink's agent confirmed in an interview that Juventus made an enquiry to his availability recently, as well as Man City.

Sacking Ranieri seems to have been your biggest mistake

Personally I don't think there is much difference in terms of league standing between him and Ferrara which is disappointing, but the teams are so different.

Ciro, the board and the new signings all take the blame. The main setbacks were injuries no doubt; they ultimately crippled the team and not to say Juve dont have depth but they dont have the same quality compared to league leaders Inter, who's whole bench can be considered starters elsewhere. More frustratingly the injured players were those of most significance, Chellieni held his own and covered for numerous players during a game, at certain times he was the one who would score the goal to give Juve the win, losing him was really bad for you.
Given all these injuries, Ciro didnt have the experience to deal with such a predicament. Im not sure whether to label him as a risky manager, but he should've been looking to make the team more stable and less prone to conceding. Instead he reshuffles and loses both Juve's ability to play as a unit and defensive stability. Moreover, Ciro's other 'risk' is that he places too much of a burden on two players who have not yet integrated enough into the squad, Diego and Melo. And ive said it a few times before, Amauri was a flop since the day he signed to Juve.
The board's biggest mistake for choosing Melo instead of D'agostino.

Injuries have been a big problem but the system still isn't stable and that has to be down to the coaches inexperience.

Perhaps so... But better someone else than Sissoko at the moment...

Blanc: 'No change for Bianconeri'

Juventus fans continue to protest and call for a new President, but current chief Jean-Claude Blanc insists neither he nor Ciro Ferrara will leave.

The ultras were already furious ahead of today's 2-1 home defeat to Catania, throwing eggs at the team bus, but extended their protest following the final whistle.

Around 3,000 fans gathered outside the Olimpico and held up banners calling for Andrea Agnelli to take over as President. It is also reported they have demanded a meeting with the club directors.

“The plan will not change and we maintain our faith in Ferrara and his staff,” assured Blanc.

“We need to work harder and this Christmas break comes at the right time for us. I understand the anger of the fans, as there are great expectations around Juventus.”

However, Blanc ruled out any changes to the squad during the January transfer window.

“We won't touch the squad. We have the capabilities to achieve better result, we just need to bring those qualities out.

“It is difficult to understand why some players are not able to give their best, but this is part of our job. Recently both Diego and Felipe Melo have shown they can do a lot better than what we're seeing now.”

There are theories that Roberto Bettega - a member of the Triade who resigned during the Calciopoli scandal - could return.

“If we need reinforcements within the club, then I am capable of making certain decisions,” replied Blanc.

------------------

Hahaha

Yes, all we need is hard work! Our players worked hard today you stupid fucking French idiot, it got us nowhere again, against the team who are bottom of the league who hadn't won away all season and hadn't won in god knows how many games. It got us nowhere because the rookie coach keeps playing players out of form, stupid systems no-one understands and ones that do not make the most of the key players in it.

Fuck off you stupid smug looking prick!

Disapointing, Inter has already won the league

Meh fuck Inter, we are not even looking at them right now, at this rate we will be challenging Roma and Genoa. This season is a horrible waste, a gamble that has backfired spectacularly.

Perhaps we should just give Ciro until the end of the season and hope for the best, ridiculous. They sacked Ranieri because we were at risk of losing 2nd. Fucking hell, I would take 2nd place right now if you asked me! And no, that does not mean Ranieri was unfairly sacked or that he should be coach, he is not good enough for Juve and right now Ferrara certainly isn't a good enough coach.

Catania had gone 8 games without a win.

Blanc is unbelievable, although I suppose saying those things doesn't really mean there won't be a change. If he doesn't change anything over the winter break then he's just a complete c**t.

The teams around Juventus will add to their squads and Juve are falling away as it is. Ridiculous.

The only plus is that we get important players back in the next couple of months.

Lippi fears for Juve

Italy boss Marcello Lippi has expressed his concern at the current form shown by former club Juventus.

The Bianconeri were knocked out of the title race last night, as Milan inflicted a heavy 3-0 defeat on them.

Juventus are now fourth in Serie A, 12 points behind League leaders Inter at the season's half way mark.

“At the moment, you see that Juventus are conditioned. They are suffering from various injuries and going through a moment of psychological insecurity,” Lippi explained.

“You see that they commit errors linked to this situation. We'll also see if Ferrara will soon find results more appropriate to Juventus”

Former President Giovanni Cobolli Gigli, who stepped down in November, also pleaded for patience.

“The directors have to take their decisions with calm. But I am convinced that Ferrara is the man who has all the chances of putting the team back in motion,” he said.

“It's clear that now the situation is complicated and things need to be taken in hand with determination. That there should be a critical process to put the situation in place is out of discussion. But the first person to engage the critical process is Ferrara.

“What's clear is that we need to find a way of not exaggerating because then there arrives some nervous tension. In fact it seems to me that yesterday around the stadium there was a little protest or two. I have seen some parts of the stands set alight. In short, things that aren't part of what makes a normal fan.”

http://www.football-italia.net/jan11j.html

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Hmmm, let's see Cobolli. So we have to sit and watch a terrible team get terrible results and not protest about it. Fans of Juventus, who are used to seeing success, or if not success then the team showing spirit and competing.

But yeah, there is no need to panic. This has only been going on for for more than two months. Just because we have had a couple of lucky results against small sides, beat Inter in a game we played at 100% capacity and thrashed a crap Sampdoria it doesn't disguise that fact.

Make no mistake, the other teams have clear weaknesses and seemingly more luck than us on and off the pitch, but we don't have a coach who can get results.

But it's ok, we'll just sit here and watch the great Juventus stutter in year 3 of the 5 YEAR PROJECT™, soon to be the TEN YEAR PROJECT™, when we had been making steady progress previously. Perhaps when we finish outside the top 4 we should 'behave like normal fans' and accept mediocrity, as if we are Parma or Genoa.

Blog: Ciao ciao Ciro



Following a heavy home defeat to Milan, Marco Picardi feels Juventus have no option but to show Ciro Ferrara the door

Those who jabbed Juventus’ capricious-needle into their veins last night, ritually sliding into the slouch of capitulation from the comfort of their armchairs, were justified in releasing a more angst-ridden junkie sigh than usual in response to the unfolding game. This game could and would define their season.

Since Calciopoli, Juve fans have become wont to a weaker and more volatile side, but never had they expected this level of humiliation. Losing 3-0 at home to a Milan side that, lumped with an equally inexperienced Coach, had also struggled to find their feet earlier in the season, portends only worse things to come. There is only one solution – Ciro Ferrara must go.

The salience of poor tactical innovation throughout this campaign has been a truly worrying feature. Ferrara has been bereft of any charisma or tactical nous. Last night his team was set out, at home, with a throw back 4-4-1-1.

In this shape, players were seemingly instructed to spend most of their time behind the ball. Failure to attack Milan’s biggest weakness, at full-back, made Ignazio Abate and Luca Antonini look like seasoned professionals. And, switching Diego to the right wing in the second half, exposed Ferrara’s inability to judge players’ strengths – the Brazilian consequently went missing.

Juve’s Coach had been legitimately beleaguered pre-Christmas for a worryingly long streak of poor results. He was given some breathing space due to a tired win over Parma midweek, a result that on paper made the late 2009 form seem that little bit more distant. But, as proved last night, this was merely superficial papering over of much deeper cracks.

Ferrara has done nothing to cajole fans that he is the right man to lead Juve for this turbulent time. With whispers circulating that the über-experienced Guus Hiddink has visited the peninsula in the last week, possibly to hold secret talks with delegates of the club, perhaps there is more reason than ever for fans to encumber the hitherto incompetent board with more demands for a change of tactician.

In this era of short-lived managerial stints it is never nice to advocate the termination of a young Coach’s contract. Maybe I have not given Milan enough credit. Nevertheless, on all available evidence, the board should reconsider its decision of a lifeline for Ferrara if it wants to safeguard the club’s long-term future.

http://www.football-italia.net/blogs/mp3.html

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There are massive tactical errors in most matches, basic things that even fans see. Sure, it would have been nice to have Camoranesi and Giovinco available to play there but he had a left winger on the bench and played our best central midfielder there instead. He played for a pissing 0-0 draw basically, with the hope of nicking a goal. Great stuff, one drawback there - we can't defend for shit.

One is for sure, Ciro will never give up, he is a fighter. But perhaps pride will get in his way in the end. We just have to turn a corner, but one win doesn't seem to make any difference to us because we never look convincing and then as soon as we play a team with any tactical awareness we struggle again. I don't see any purple patch coming, where we win 4 or 5 games.

13-01-2010 Coppa Italia Juventus - Napoli
17-01-2010 Serie A Chievo - Juventus
23-01-2010 Serie A Juventus - Roma
31-01-2010 Serie A Juventus - Lazio
06-02-2010 Serie A Livorno - Juventus
13-02-2010 Serie A Juventus - Genoa
18-02-2010 UEFA Europa … Ajax - Juventus
20-02-2010 Serie A Bologna - Juventus
25-02-2010 UEFA Europa … Juventus - Ajax
27-02-2010 Serie A Juventus - Palermo
06-03-2010 Serie A Fiorentina - Juventus


I don't care about those cups so whatever, in the league before we play Siena at home (surely 3 points, right? ) we have 8 games, 24 points to play for. Right now I see about 12 points from those games. If we get players back, then maybe more.

4 Oct, 19:45 Palermo 2 - 0 Juventus Serie A - shit happens, we had a really bad game
31 Oct, 17:00 Juventus 2 - 3 Napoli Serie A - totally unacceptable after leading
26 Nov, 3:45 Girondins Bordeaux 2 - 0 Juventus Champions League - shit happens
29 Nov, 22:00 Cagliari 2 - 0 Juventus Serie A - totally unacceptable
8 Dec, 19:45 Juventus 1-4 Bayern München Champions League - embarrassing
12 Dec, 19:45 Bari 3 - 1 Juventus Serie A - totally unacceptable
20 Dec, 14:00 Juventus 1 - 2 Catania Serie A - embarrassing
10 Jan, 19:45 Juventus 0 - 3 AC Milan Serie A - embarrassing

Seems that results are just getting worse.

I also read n this Italian Football article about Juventus that Flavio Briatore is set to join the board - Is this true? In which case what benefit would that bring to the club? It seems to me that all the political manoeuvrings at board level is unsettling the club form the top and hardly helping Ferriara, who I get th feeling is on his last chance as boss, I think he will be sacked soon for sure.

Juve were in trouble before Bettega came in, and Bettega is now the most competent man on our board. Cobolli Gigli didn't really do a lot, he was more an advisor and face than someone who was involved with the team. Blanc is the money guy, and is now president. What has hurt Juve on the pitch is overspending on the wrong players on the pitch (Blanc, Secco) and tactical inadequacies on the pitch (Ferrara), coupled with injuries (blame the physios or whatever, it can't be bad luck every season).

I'm sure Briatore knows what he is doing on a business level but I guess he would be another in bed with Ferrari/FIAT, the fuckers who abandoned us in 2006 in favour of their image.

- Injuries, and subsequently some players having to play too many games with no rotation
- No backup tactical system or players to play in it (no wingers, poor fullbacks), sometimes caused by the above
- Certain players playing below their expected level for parts of the season, this can normally be covered in a solid team

It's really frustrating as the club shouldn't be any near this sort of mess, there seems no end to it.

It starts at the very top of the club, squabbling between directors about direction and ownership, putting their business links ahead of the club, no leader. People only see the results on the pitch and it reflects badly on the players and coaches, but it really is a clueless rabble directing the club.

Under Agnelli it was his love and passion. The club brought in the best guys to do the job (Moggi, Giraudo, Bettega). Those guys brought in the best coach (Lippi, Ancelotti, Capello), and tried to bring in the best players for that coach, mostly with success.

Now the setup is that John Elkann has fleeting involvement with the club, is friendly with bitter rivals. He and his board bring in a good financial man (Blanc) and then trust an unproven sporting director (Secco), who between them bring in an average coach (Ranieri), then a rookie coach (Ferrara), and then a failed coach (Zaccheroni). They bring in expensive players who don't fit into a system.





We are being ruined from the inside out.

Calciopoli will seem like nothing compared to the fallout of this season.

Let's have a look over the last ten years:

34 games
1999-00 - W:21 D:8 L:5 +26 71pts (2nd)
2000-01 - W:21 D:10 L:3 +34 73pts (2nd)
2001-02 - W:20 D:11 L:3 +41 71pts (1st)
2002-03 - W:21 D:9 L:4 +35 72pts (1st)
2003-04 - W:21 D:6 L:7 +25 69pts (3rd)
38 games
2004-05 - W:26 D:8 L:4 +40 86pts (1st)
2005-06 - W:27 D:10 L:1 +47 91pts (1st)
2006-07 - W:28 D:10 L:4 +53 85pts (1st, Serie B, 42 games, -9 pts)
2007-08 - W:20 D:12 L:6 +35 72pts (3rd)
2008-09 - W:21 D:11 L:6 +32 74pts (2nd)
2009-10 - W:13 D:6 L:11 +3 45pts (7th - currently, after 30 rounds)

This season has been an absolute disaster by any comparison. I wonder where we will end up

it could be worse

It's apparently the third worst season Juventus have ever had. I read today Platini thinks Tardelli and Brio ought to be got for the Juve management team to help Bettega. That, I'd have to say would be a fine move for you though as a direct competitor I hope it doesn't happen...

Italy needs a strong Juve asap and this present lot are a far cry from Marcello Lippi's Juve Mk1 of the mid 1990's, the Grand Slam winners we all had to admire and who for my money were better than even Trap's Juve of the early to mid eighties, and that's taking into account Lippi could afford to let Ravanelli, Vialli and Baggio go! Some of that particular team's achievements were quite breathtaking, the absolute humbling of Paris St Germain for example who at that time were themselves nobody's fools...

The strongest Italian club I've ever seen though was Sacchi's grande Milan. 56 consecutive league matches unbeaten speaks volumes! If only la mia magica Roma had money...

La Juve è grande. They will recover, they always do.

Capello's Milan also wasn't too shabby, they weren't called the 'Invincibili' for nothing. Trappatoni's Juventus sides in the eighties (while well before my time) were also pretty awesome.

I think Juventus will bounce back sooner rather than later. What they need, though, is people with football brains running the club. Not Secco and Blanc.

Next season they will bring in Spaletti, who will be Capello 2.0 - disgraced Roma coach brought to Juve to turn the team back to greatness.

Really can't see Spalletti, but can't be sure in football. Prandelli is the obvious choice, even Capello himself has been mentioned.

I watched that Napoli match and they just are abysmal defensively. Get some defenders and you'll do the trick.

Capello? Another Roma boss. Are you saying Juve only like managers with a full head of hair?

Prandelli? I don't know how well Prandelli would do at Juventus if he's having the difficulty at a Fiorentina with less personnel crises. Besides, getting Prandelli would mean what for Melo? Melo is a good player, and maybe Prandelli knows how to use him, but I wonder if they would still offload him.

I think a French coach with guile is the next step, maybe Laurent Blanc

Blanc has been mentioned, seems to be popular with foreign Juve fans anyway, but then they tend to be quite anti-Italian everything

I just don't know the answer to our problems but pretty much everything went wrong this season. Without the injury crisis I think it would have made up for many of the other errors, but then Ranieri had 2nd last season (most of it) with just as many injuries.

Juventus Supporters Call For Club's Directors To Quit

The supporters are continuing to call for the heads of the club's directors...

After losing their last three games in all competitions and with just four wins in their last 15 league games, Juventus fans have continued their protests against the club's hierarchy.

According to Italian news agency ANSA, a great quantity of leaflets calling for president Jean-Claude Blanc and his colleagues to leave the club were found outside the club's headquarters at Corso Galileo Ferraris, thrown there by fans in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The leaflets are reported to have read, "Disgrace - directors, go away" and "Never so low in 103 years of history."

Bianconeri fans have already set fire to part of the Stadio Olimpico this year in protests against former coach Ciro Ferrara, while another group called for Blanc and sporting director Alessio Secco to resign after the humbling defeat to Fulham in the Europa League.

Fans have also recently clashed with Felipe Melo and Jonathan Zebina as their season descends further into the mire.

We know it's the custom amongst a certain minority in Italy to pelt the team "pullman" and/or the players with rotten eggs and tomatoes when things go wrong. I didn't want to comment right away on the different 'net news outlets over this recent episode with the Juve players. I wanted to look first for film clips to see what really happened. Sky Sport Italia today gave us a quick look at Zebina who seems to be getting singled out for criticism, being pushed by irate fans as he tried to board the bus.

I had to admire Cannavaro's guts...he came out, quickly but deliberately looked around him as if daring anyone to try it on him, and marched untouched to the bus. ADP was visibly shaken in his interview afterward...

Speaking as an Italian, I don't approve of this sort of thing at all.

Blog: Better out than in

Antonio Labbate on why missing out on qualification for the Europa League may actually be in the interests of a Champions League deprived Juventus

The Champions League dream is as good as over. Six points and four games separate Juventus from Sampdoria in fourth, while Palermo and Napoli – who perhaps crucially have better head to head records against the Old Lady this term – are also standing in between the Bianconeri and the Holy Grail of the European Cup.

After beginning the season with hopes of Scudetto and Champions League glory, the outfit’s objectives have become smaller and smaller with every defeat. Ambitions of second place, third place and now fourth place have been extinguished and with just 360 minutes of the campaign remaining the side are playing for Europa League qualification.

It would be the absolute minimum objective for a club with the grandeur of Juventus, but one must consider that failure to also land a top six or seven spot may inadvertently be a blessing in disguise for the Turin giants. If Champions League football isn’t on the agenda next term then it could be more beneficial to miss out on Europe altogether.

In terms of finances, the Europa League is a poor relation of its Champions League cousin. The difference in prize money is so significant that winning the old UEFA Cup would be more of an advantage in terms of prestige rather than economics.

With no Champions League next term the top priority would be to mount a serious Scudetto challenge after this season’s bluff. A Europa League campaign would only complicate matters and be an unnecessary distraction.

Without Europe, the new Coach, whomever that may be, will have a whole week to work with his players without having to worry about long-haul away games on Thursday nights. Those types of matches can never be good for weekend Serie A preparations.

No continental commitments would also benefit Juventus’ pre-season in Pinzolo. Without the need to play preliminary round Europa League games, the Old Lady can begin for the new campaign as one united squad rather than welcoming two waves of players at different times – those who didn’t play a part at the World Cup and those who did.

With just 38 League games to focus on, as well as the odd Coppa Italia tie thrown in for good measure, there is also the possibility that Juventus may not suffer the injury crisis which has crippled them over the last two seasons. Players will undoubtedly still pick up knocks, but less games could equate to less strains.

And lastly a reduced fixture list will probably equate to a smaller squad. That in turn would allow the club to sell a few players, those of the older variety, whom they may have wanted to keep hold of for a three-tournament future in 2010-11. That in turn could lead to more playing time for the likes of Sebastian Giovinco – remember him? – if he stays.

No Juventus official of course would admit to wanting to end a disastrous season with, in effect, just their Serie A status intact. But the reality is that nobody in Turin will care too much about the Europa League next season, so why care about it this?

http://www.football-italia.net/blogs/al136.html

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I said the same in another thread. If our board are actually going to put their hand in their pockets then the EL money lost would mean nothing, there is little to gain from Juve being in it. Just the Serie A and the reserves in the Coppa Italia would be perfect for us next season.

I voted for all 5 options...

First thing, Blanc and Secco have to go. Immediately. But Elkann doesn't seem to think so, unfortunately. Obviously he and Di Montozemolo are good businessmen, as evidenced by the fortunes of FIAT group in recent years, but neither have any clue whatsoever about running a football club. There's no chance whatsoever that Elkann will bring back Moggi, after the latter rightfully berated him publicly for throwing him and Juve to the wolves.

Yeah... but West Ham haven't won every trophy it's possible for a club to win... multiple times. No other club in Europe has done that. It's all a question of expectations.

Zac: 'I still believe in fourth place'

Alberto Zaccheroni “still believes in fourth place” for Juventus and claims their season was ruined only by injuries.

“I expect to see further improvement from the team after performances against Cagliari, Inter and Bari,” he said of Sunday’s encounter with Catania.

“We are facing a team that is very concentrated and gives its absolute best on home turf. It’s true that Sampdoria’s results have reduced our chances of finishing fourth, but we will not give in.

“We’ve got to do our job right to the end. I still believe in a Champions League place and the lads know it too.”

The focus, however, is already on next season with the announcement that Andrea Agnelli will be the new President. He’ll bring big changes, which should also include Rafa Benitez taking over from Zac.

“Seeing the family that own the club taking a more active role is a good sign of their ambitions.

“All the players want to give their best and prove they deserve to stay at Juve, both those who have longer contracts and whose future is more in the balance.

“However, I don’t think the team needs that much reinforcement. This Juve never got the chance to show its real worth because of the injuries. If you don’t train, you can’t play, and this side never really had the opportunity to train all season.

“That is obvious from the fact we almost always lost games in the second half, as our fitness levels just didn’t hold up. Now we’ve been training regularly for three weeks and there has been a vast improvement.

“This season has been so strange,” continued Zac. “At times I felt like I was the Coach of a national team rather than a club side, as I had to put together a team from whoever I had at my disposal.

“Let us also not forget that Juventus are the only team who really troubled Fulham in the Europa League on their way to the Final. We only went out because we were playing with 10 men.

“If we had the same number of injuries as all the other teams, Juve could’ve been a strong contender in the Europa League and the Scudetto.”

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Forget fourth place. But yeah, injuries have been a huge problem. Only in the last month have we had a near full squad to choose from, and it hasn't been 2 or 3 injuries at a time, more like 6-8. We just couldn't cope with that and a rookie coach.