Morning Glory isn’t as good as Definitely Maybe. I’ll just say it. That’s not to say that Morning Glory isn’t great. It’s fantastic. But Definitely Maybe was one of the most seminal albums of our time, surprising us all with its depth as well as the musical talent on record. Second albums have always presented a conundrum to artists with seminal breakout albums. You’ve probably got an artist in your mind right now, and you’re probably right.
So, what of a second season to follow one where you power your team through to a league title – only their fourth ever – and win the league’s MVP award. Scott McTominay delivered us Definitely Maybe last season. Twelve league goals in 33 appearances with four assists, an average rating on Whoscored.com of 7.26 ranked him first in Serie A. The league noticed and made him their MVP, the first time any award in Italy had been awarded to a Brit.
This season is more of a Morning Glory. Scott McTominay is still a good player, but is he reaching the heights he showed us all in his first album? Most would say no. So far this season the Scot ranks in 45th on Whoscored.com on average rating, his two goals and one assist in 10 matches isn’t a bad return for a central midfielder in a league where goals are hard to come by.
So, what’s the reason? It’s easy to just shout about Napoli also competing in Europe this season, something they weren’t doing last season. This accusation is often thrown at Antonio Conte, and the prophecy appears to be fulfilling itself this season again. It’s too easy to say that though. McTominay is a professional athlete, playing two games in a week shouldn’t be beyond the realms of possibility for him.
“Heavy is the head that wears the crown” is a line from a recent Noel Gallagher album. It’s not the only quote from him that could explain McTominay’s difficulties with Napoli this season. Noel once said in an interview with NME that, “I’m still trying to live up to the first two Oasis albums”. Is expectation the issue? Or was the bar simply set too high in season one? Did we just see a one off last season, to be appreciated for what it was – an overachievement by a decent enough player.
I don’t think so, personally. Scott McTominay proved enough last season that he has what it takes to dazzle Serie A for years to come. The problem lies deeper here and it’s Napoli as a whole this season, one player can’t do everything himself. Noel can’t keep carrying the band by writing all the songs. Last season Anguissa, Lobotka and McTominay all seemed to dovetail nicely in that midfield. Lukaku stayed fit for an entire season and fired in goals for fun. Defensively Napoli were hard to break down. Conte seemed assured, knew his team and his own mind and life was rosy.
This season, behind the scenes there’s turmoil. Napoli just about held on to Conte over the summer, providing him the backing he wanted – something that now appears to be a problem for him, quoting that he has too many players to gel into a team after an embarrassing European night in the Netherlands. Conte doesn’t seem to know where McTominay, De Bruyne, Anguissa et al fit together on the pitch. Perhaps this will be less of a problem going forward, given De Bruyne and Anguissa are both set for long spells on the sidelines. Lobotka himself has been in and out of the team with injuries. Lukaku is just about to return to the side after an extended period on the sidelines, having not kicked a ball this season yet.
How can you write a great album when the drummer is always in rehab? Or the singer is doing interviews slating the band? Napoli has been a tumultuous place to be this season, and it’s affecting their metronome. He’s still ticking along fairly nicely, but not churning out the same hits as he has done. Perhaps then, a more fitting musical metaphor is British band The Libertines. Album number one, Up the Bracket, was era defining, explosive. Album two, The Libertines, is brilliant in parts, but too overshadowed by the internal chaos behind the scenes. I don’t see Pete Doherty and Scott McTominay having too much in common outside of this, but the parallels shown between album one and season two are hard to ignore.
There’s still a long way to go this season, and we could still get a With the Beatles season to follow Please Please Me. McTominay, and Napoli have it within themselves to turn it around and the return of Lukaku (expected after the international break) will go a long way to reigniting a stuttering follow up season. One thing is for sure, if we get served up a Be Here Now season next year, it might be time for a line up change in the band.