Time to rethink?

Sunday saw Lazio crash to an unexpected, although not necessarily surprising, 2-1 defeat at home to lowly Lecce. After the previous stalemate away to Genoa, this seemed the perfect opportunity for the boys in blue to pull out a top performance against a technically inferior opponent. This didn't happen. The reason I've written that I'm not too surprised by this is that it has got to the point where Reja's tactics are all too predictable, something De Canio worked out effectively. I didn't manage to see the game, but from what I have heard and read it was far from impressive and the need for a natural goalscorer is evident. Luck may not have been on our side, as Muslera's own goal was unlucky and Zarate couldn't convert a golden chance, but you make your own luck and it seems to me we need some more creativity from Reja to renew confidence. One of the major reasons for our explosive start to the season was the form of Hernanes and particularly Mauri. Hernanes now seems to get marked out of every game, and Mauri's form has dipped over the winter break. This has been widely noticed, leading to the appearance of some worrying articles. Maybe a new signing could spark another charge up the table, the way Hernanes' arrival did.

Other results:

Bari 0-2 Bologna

Catania 1-2 Inter

Cesena 0-0 Genoa

Chievo 0-0 Palermo

Fiorentina 3-2 Brescia

Lazio 1-2 Lecce

Milan 4-4 Udinese

Napoli 3-0 Juventus

Parma 1-2 Cagliari

Sampdoria 2-1 Roma

Back to the mercato.

The major talking point of my last post was the possibility of signing Roque Santa Cruz, a player linked with us for some time. However, he has returned to Blackburn Rovers as he feels settled in England and doesn't want a move away. We are now reportedly on the verge of a deal to sign Genoa's 29 year-old Giuseppe Sculli. He has said he doesn't want a loan move, and has been impressed with Reja, making this move look more than likely. To be honest, Sculli is not a player I know too much about, but am happy to give him a chance. I doubt he will contribute a vast amount of goals, but may prove useful to bring something a bit more fresh and unpredictable to our forward line. In my opinion it's also time we started using Gonzalez and Bresciano more, who have hardly been given a chance and are basically new signings themselves. Gonzalez particularly is a player who has impressed me when given a chance, and as he is still widely unknown he may be just what we need to start surprising teams again.

Other transfer gossip has included a possible Liverpool move for Mauro Zarate, apparently valued by Lotito at 16.5 million Euros. I don't honestly see this happening, I believe that any sale of Zarate will wait until the summer, and Lotito won't let him go easily. There has also been talk (again) of a move for David Trezeguet, although his wage demands are extortionate and apparently Ronaldo (fat one, not Cristiano) has urged him to join him at Brazilian side Corinthians. Watch this space.

Now, Sunday. Sampdoria, even without Cassano, have an extremely talented squad, technically superior to, for example, Lecce. Worryingly, Reja has reportedly chosen the same 4-2-3-1 formation as usual, with the only change being Diakite replacing Biava. I'll reserve judgement until the full time whistle, but hopefully Reja has reason to believe something has changed for this shape to work again. In fairness, with Rocchi out for around 3 weeks, he doesn't have many other options. Let's hope a striker arrives soon.

Forza Lazio!