Jesus Petry escreveu:
Welcome back, Vasco da Gama!
Thanks, JP!
I simply had no energy to write about it yesterday. After the final whistle
in Itu the feeling of relief was simply overwhelming, like that of taking a huge weight off our backs.
Vasco at some point was nine points clear of fifth place. The team made a huge, heartfelt effort to NOT earn promotion, but thankfully they failed and back to the top flight we go :-)
I know this sounds cliché, but what brought the club back to Serie A was its supporters in São Januário. Almost every home game a full house with a loud crowd
backing the team and pushing them ahead. Almost every away game as visitor (excepting the ones against big guns, obviously) with lots of support in the visitors' stand.
Although Vasco 2022 was a very revamped version of 2020/2021, if they also had to play in front of empty stadiums I fear the results would have been just as good as they were on those seasons - one relegation from Serie A, one 10th place
finish in Serie B without ever setting foot in the promotion zone. Indeed, I theorise that if you give these guys the jerseys of Vila Nova or Ponte Preta, they would leave Serie B as well... through the lower end of the table, that is. Oh well, that is over now.
For 2023, we need 10 or 11 new players for the starting XI and almost as many more for cover. From the current team I would keep three or four of the youngsters.
Andrey Santos seems to be the real deal and has quite some potential, Marlon Gomes
looks good and Figueiredo and Eguinaldo were ok. I'd keep Yuri Lara and maybe Thiago Rodrigues AS SQUAD PLAYERS too.
And honestly, I'm thinking even that may be a little too generous. Bring in 20 or
25 new faces if needed, and bid farewell to the rest of the squad. If we enter Serie A 2023 with anything resembling the current team, it's relegation time again
and possibly with a single digit points total.
And of course, that includes a new manager too: Jorginho must be the first out the door, indeed I hope he is already gone by now.
I'm glad this rough year is almost over. I fully intend to forget about the existence of club football until January at least. Mental health needs a break :-)
(hah, as if...)
And all the big guns are back in Série A at once.
First time since 2019, isn't it? I hope Ceará pulls a Houdini and avoids the drop
too, making room for Cuiabá in the relegation zone.
--
Lléo
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