THE WOLF'S DEN - Tana dei Lupi I

[cg916]

Shield, fantastic job on that addict photo gallery - lots of quality pics. They will get a lot of love at the page.

At what point can we put this Aquilani/Pizza debate to a rest? Is now a good time?

[Jamoldo]

Anyone else having trouble downloading the goals? Then again, I am back in China, so it could just be the firewall again...

[pocari_fenrir]

[RomaShield27]

[maro]

Shieldypoo, that's got to hurt. The two-point loss, I mean, though doubtless the hangover does too. At least your boys won the really important game of the weekend. Palermo only lost by two too.

Chris, I trust you're joking. I didn't get to see the first half, though I shall have a look today thanks to the multimedia boys, and I gather the little eagle played fabulously which is most good indeed. It looks as though Pizza's injury may have the very happy effect of really launching the little eagle into the season (and beyond). Regardless, surely I wasn't the only one crying out for Perrotta and Pizza when we came under the cosh in the second half? Of course Spags did his best to compensate for the loss of Perrotta by bringing Brighi on for Giuly to secure the middle of the park a little more. We still didn't have anyone in the midfield, though, who was willing to get on the ball, hold play up, slow things down, and take the sting out of Palermo's momentum. Composure under fire. DDR is getting better at it - one of the most interesting things for me is to watch the difference in Totti's and DDR's play without Pizza. DDR gets on the ball more and distributes play much more, as he's been more often asked to do for the Azzurri while Totti tends to come even deeper to pick the ball up - partly because there's not quite the same playmaker there without Pizza, but also because if he comes deep, the little eagle is prepared to get beyond him, into the space he's left, in a way the Pizza is very rarely inclined to do.

Certainly the little eagle scored a cracking goal and it's probably true that defensively he's helped us cope with the loss of Perrotta better than the Pizza might have. He's a fabulous talent and playing some fine football at the moment, but I just can't shake the feeling that you don't quite understand what it is that the Pizza brings to the table - so, for instance, the defensive advantages which come from a regista who does almost all his playmaking from behind the ball.

As for the management's performance over the transfer market - excellent. They've strengthened the squad intelligently and brought in a cluster of players who ought to fit in very well with the side's style of play. If you think this equates to praise for the way they handled the Chivu saga then I'm sorry but I can't agree. Do I think the squad's stronger with Juan and Cicinho instead of Chivu? As I believe I've said all along, I think it probably is. Do I think the squad would be stronger still without Andreolli, without, say, Cassetti, without, say, Brighi, and with Chivu? Evidently, and enough stronger still to make the 6 or 7 mil euros it would have cost money well spent.

Actually I think I tend to be less hard on the management than most here - the Avvocato usually gives me stick for pleading for more patience with the team and the societa'. And, indeed, it's on the back of the potential of players like Aquilani (and Vucinic (and Faty????)) that I've tended to plead for patience. And I've also defended the Juan-for-Chivu swap a few times in terms of Juan's greater physical strengths which will come into play when he gets isolated as tends to happen to our CBs when we overstretch going forward. None of this, however, is going to persuade me that the Chivu situation was elegantly handled by Rosella and Prade'.

[vtec]

congratulations on a well played game yesterday, it was easily the best game of the round. aquilani was indeed superb, probably the best player on the pitch in the first half, but lost a bit of composure in the second when you were being swamped. as maro mentioned, you really needed someone to slow the game down a little a la seedorf when palermo turned the heat up, and without pizarro there, there wasn't anyone to do it.

mexes was a rock yet again. between him and nesta it's tough to pick out who had the better game yesterday. giuly was terrific as well; calling him a football terrorist is not a stretch at all, and i expect him to be a thorn in our side when we face off against you, not unlike the last time we played against him. fontana made some tremendous saves the other way, or the score could have been even higher.

[Italiamia]

[Frenchesco]

[Italiamia]

How about these Adriano rumours circulating in Rome and Milan these days. It seems that Adriano wants to get as far away from Inter as humanly possible and his preferred destination is Roma. Why? Is it not obvious. Roma has become a second home for talented Brazilian players.

It is quite obvious that these Brazilian players have their own little network. The word within this network is that Roma is a wonderful place for a Brazilian player. I think we all know that already. But I found it quite interesting that Cicinho said last week that he was influenced by Doni, Mancini and Emerson in coming to his decision to choose Roma. I can see Doni and Mancini, but Emerson? Now that is something. Then, I am sure Adriano watched in amazement as Cicinho was given a hero's welcome upon arriving at Fiumicino, complete with a new 'Cincinho chant' and all. So I suppose Adriano got a sense of what it could be like at Roma.

Apparently he would be willing to leave for a loan spell if possible.

[SPqR]

[g.smiley]

[arthurfonzarelli]

[Italiamia]

[vtec]

[arthurfonzarelli]

[maro]

[vtec]

[maro]

[Italiamia]

[arthurfonzarelli]