On a plate of the scales they weigh 19 points at the debut in about twenty minutes on the pitch and the feeling that in his hands there is the security in attack that Edilnol so badly needs. On the other side, however, there is a problem with one foot, the one that has limited him since his arrival in Biella and that today puts doubts on himself even before the team. The fate of Tj Cromer, the designated leader of the rossoblù 2021/2022 edition, is in a precarious balance between the desire to give it all and the fear of not succeeding. And, like a sudden storm that emerged from the Biellese Alps, the club is facing it together with the player without ruling out the most drastic of decisions: saying goodbye before the start of the championship.
At the Forum (without the team enjoying an extra day off) yesterday it was not time for announcements or forecasts. The feeling is that the parties involved are thinking about it and this morning, upon returning to work, it is time for choices. Which will be agreed in any case: the atmosphere does not recall an arm wrestling like the one that led to the about-face for medical reasons in Malaga with the contract of the blue Marco Spissu. But the situation weighs, because Tj Cromer seemed just the right complement to give security to the class of apprentices of coach Zanchi’s college. His first outing in the preseason, Saturday in Orzinuovi, coincided with the leading role in the scorers’ table. His are reliable hands that heal the defects of the young Edilnol when the attack struggles to find outlets. Not only that: in a team that is also shaping off the pitch, he had entered with the right attitude. He did not go through training sessions, both those experienced at a reduced pace and the last, encouraging ones, finally at full capacity, without having a word for the new teammates: even when a pitch did not enter, it was his voice to accompany a pat of encouragement. He has already brought his family to Biella, that is, his wife and two girls.
These are all reasons that would suggest that it is worth gritting your teeth and hoping that the foot problem does not become chronic. But it doesn’t just depend on doctors’ assessments. The decision rests with the club and the player in equal measure: how much they are willing to risk, the former not to have a 100 percent leader and the latter to stay longer than it takes to solve the physical trouble. It will be a matter of hours to take a road, in one direction or another. If the choice were the most painful one, to end the relationship with Cromer here, an additional problem would arise: it is impossible to register a substitute in time for the first trip on Sunday to Trapani. And the start of a difficult championship would already be on the steep side of a climb where, like last year, bad luck has already begun to sow unexpected events and adversity.