As the old saying goes, ‘‘tis the season to be jolly!’ Try telling that to a Juventino right now. As bottom-of-the-table Catania celebrated a historic victory over the Bianconeri this weekend, the Sicilians must have thought it was Christmas-come-early. For us, the winter break could not have come quicker. Talk of a crisis is growing, and rightly so.

Tactical inexperience, inept playing staff and a boardroom comprising of more clowns than at a 6 year olds’ birthday party, all combined...and you have yourself a crisis. Having now lost four of the last five games, Ciro Ferrara is hanging on for dear life, and if rumours are true he has the first two games after the winter break to prove himself.

Following such a promising start, things seem to be getting continuously worse. We haven’t been unlucky, nor have we deserved more than what we have. We were battered and bullied by a more organised and committed Bayern Munich side who wanted it more. Our inability to create and finish chances against the minnows of Serie A, and perhaps more fundamentally to shut them out, has seen us fall to five defeats already, one shy of the total we suffered under the 36-game stewardship of Claudio Ranieri last term. Our old boss very poignantly said this week that if it were him in charge at this time, he would have been sacked already. Where does the problem lie?

As Coach, of course Ferrara will shoulder the majority of the blame. However, he hasn’t been helped by the supposed smorgasbord of talent at his disposal. What is clear is that Ciro has neither the experience nor the tactical-nous that is required at such a top club. It is the equivalent of attempting to go 12 rounds with Mike Tyson as a relative novice in the game. His decisions have failed to preserve what we have had in games, or more often to change the game and swing it in our favour when the chips are down. Of course it would have been the ideal scenario for an ex-Bianconeri favourite to follow the ‘Guardiola effect’. However, what he does not have is one Signor Messi, amongst other superstars, delivering the goods each and every week.

So, is it fair to blame the manager? Should we maintain faith in him and continue to hope he turns it around? More worryingly, with few capable successors available, who should come in to replace him if he were to go? I for one hope the situation is sorted sooner rather than later, or this will turn into another fruitless and rather disappointing season as a Juventus fan.