Oh, The Things I'd Like To Say

Newell's Old Boys lost to Tigre 2-0. There's a lot of things I could say about this match, but I'd would like to keep this blog family friendly, so I'll do my best keep things civil.

I am sure that with this result there will be more hincha (fans) calling for Roberto Sensini to do the right thing and walk away from his position as coach, but I ask you, was it Sensini's fault that Leonel Vangioni was red carded? No matter how good or bad a coach is, he can not control everything his players do on the field. Even so, after Leo was expelled, Newell's still had the majority of possession. Is it his instructions that have the attacking players passing so poorly? How many passes did I see go directly to Tigre players, or directly to where Boghossian was standing, only for Bogho do the right thing by expecting the pass to go to open space in front of him? Is Sensini to blame for the fact that Boghossian has only three goals during the Clausura? With service like that?

That's not to say that I'm letting Sensini off the hook. I'd really like to know what was on his mind when he replaced Nacho Fideleff with Juan Quiroga. Fideleff was having a strong defensive game, and provided one of Newell's best chances in the first half, when his header was not too far off from providing what would have been an equalizer at the time. I have never been impressed with Quiroga's defensive work, and his short comings played a big part in Tigre's second goal. I don't know that Nacho would have done any better, but why sub out some one who is playing well?

That brings me to the other two substitutions: Cristian Nuñez for Cristian Díaz, Emanuel Dening for Joaquín Boghossian. Both Nuñez and Dening are forwards, which, in my opinion, wasn't the problem. The problem, as I see it, were the players who were supposed to be providing the forwards with chances. So why was Mauricio Sperdutti left sitting on the bench? Mauro Fórmica, anyone who's been following this blog knows I'm a big fan of his, but during this Clausura he's been doing everything he can to change my mind. Why was he still on the field by the end of the match?

For those who can stomach them, here are the goals:

I wish I could find a replay of Vangioni's red card offense, as I had a phone call to deal with at that moment, and thus missed it.

Up next, a midweek trip to El Monumental. Perhaps a match against the once mighty River Plate is just what La Lepra needs to get things turned around. Or maybe it will just be one more match to prove that Roberto really is the Senseless One.

I have no doubt that he knows a lot of things about futbol... but he has yet to prove that he knows how to lead a team from the bench.