Quote (Slanman @ Nov 25 2012 03:10am)
why is madrid so bad this year
good question, but hard to answer... there are a few explanations:
the team lacks the physical strength and stamina they had last year
some players are playing really bad most of the time (most notably Özil and Di Maria)
some injuries (specially Marcelo's) have done a lot more damage than expected to the team, most of the substitutes aren't performing well enough
the team has trouble defending cornerkicks and set pieces, the stat might have changed recently but a couple of weeks ago, 2/3 of the goals they conceded had been scored this way
the team relies too much on counterattacks, if the rival team is winning or is comfortable with the draw, then they just need to make sure they aren't countered to make Madrid a lot less dangerous
some players seem to be lacking attitude in some games, I'd like Mourinho to "punish" some layers like he did with Ramos, because it worked like a charm and now he's fighting and running non stop
sometimes the ref's decisions have costed points, but that's not an excuse, and most of the time Madrid brought it on themselves
the uncertainty regarding certain issues (such as the problesm Mourinho has with Castilla's manager, CR's "unhappiness", the club not defending the team from the media and some of the refs/UEFA/spanishFA's decisions like Mourinho asks, etc)