Friday Poll: How much longer does Montella have?

There’s never a good time to lose 5-2 to Cagliari, but waiting until right before an international break is probably the worst; instead of moving onto the next match, the supporters and press have an extra week to stew. Perhaps it’s no surprise, then, that some of the less-hinged sectors of the fanbase are calling for Vincenzo Montella’s job.

That’s definitely an overreaction; while you never want to give up 5 goals in an hour, sometimes you just get a bad performance as an outlier. After all, this is the first time the Viola have conceded more than twice since the opener against Napoli, so it’s not like this is a persistent problem. It’s just a confluence of bad factors.

It has, however, gotten some folks wondering about Cousin Vinnie’s long-term viability in his role. Given Rocco Commisso’s mantra of “fast, fast, fast,” it seems safe to say that steadily mid-table isn’t going to last too long in this new Fiorentina. While Rocco showed admirable restraint in keeping the manager aboard this summer, he was clearly frustrated with the performance in Sardinia and will be expecting much better things going forward.

The return of Franck Ribery should help paper over a lot of cracks on the pitch in the short term, and we expect Daniele Pradè and Joe Barone to be quite active in the January transfer window. Beyond that, though, who knows? We’ve heard whispers of Luciano Spalletti and (shiver) Genarro Gattuso as candidates, although we think those are mighty premature. After all, Rocco and company have explicitly stated that there isn’t a hard target this year for a spot in the table. It sounds like the goal is to figure out a core of players, a mid- to long-term plan, and most importantly, and identity. Should that be the case, steady improvement is the goal.

Here’s your weekend thread to talk soccer, books, cats, or whatever else is rattling around in your head. Stay loose, y'all.