THE WOLF'S DEN - Tana dei Lupi II

[maro]

lol. I don't think that's why it won't go anywhere, Giacomo. Poor old Philippe, such a downcast victim of such mismanagement.

[AlCapone]

I agree with Jamie. The management should have sold him to generate some cash, with which they could've signed a replacement straight out. Now we're here one year later not only having gifted Milan Mexes, but we're one man short and need to find a replacement of his quality with money we don't have, but could've had. That might not have bothered Rosella as it would eventually not be her job to find cash to fund that new centre back.

They did this with Chivu and Mancini. Heck, they even managed to renew Aquilani's contract only to cash in 20m for him two months later. Come on Mexes, Rosella might have moved you with her fairytales about families and how she didn't intend to sell one of her family members, but had you been in Aquilani's shoes she would've pushed to edge for you to be sold so she could have that money.

On the other hand, I find it ridiculous to claim Roma did not or did not intend to offer Mexes a new contract. You sit around the table and share thoughts and ideas before entering negotiations. If Mexes was clear about leaving, which I think he was, it is irrelevant to bring up he wasn't offered a new contract.

[RomaShield27]

I'm not sure about the criticism aimed at Philippe for not signing a new contract and for 'allowing' his contract to run down and leave on a free transfer. I think that is a far too simplistic view of it to take. Yes, he was a passionate and proud romanista and an adopted son of the city, but that doesn't in anyway mean he should of stayed at Roma and stay for this new 'project' regardless of all else. It would be nice to think this fucked up sport works like that, but it doesn't. Under the wrong circumstances, I don't think even the likes of Totti and DDR would stay at Roma in the face of adversity simply out of love for the club, and both have expressed an anguish at certain aspects of their careers while at Roma. As much as we like to think of players as fans of the club, they aren't really, because for them there is a lot more at stake then simply following a team or putting on a jersey.

This is not a case of a player not willing renew simply because he wants to get more money as a bosman. He stated several times throughout the last few years – the last being in November when driving out of Trigoria if I remember correctly – that he wanted to stay at Roma. What sort of an invitation were our management waiting for before offering him a new deal? I don't buy the theory that the reason the club never offered him a new deal was because they realistically knew he was never going to accept it, and besides, even if that were the case, it doesn't matter, a new deal with an extra million or whatever a year should have been offered and then, if those suspicions were correct, let him turn it down. If that happened, we could make it public, announce that Mexes has refused our renewals and so put him up for transfer. Its not that complicated really. That is the way in which you would expect a proper club to conduct business. Because thats what this is, a contract renewal of a valuable asset, one which our management has allowed to leave for nothing.

And there's no way in hell that we can lay any blame on Mexes for that, and to do so is silly. Mexes's was in a situation where it became clear he was not going to get anything above €3m a year. He was not going to get a pay increase which he deserved. He was not going to get the money which only De Rossi and Totti pull in. He was not worth an extra few million even though the club was throwing millions at the feet of the likes of Adriano. He had also fallen out of favour with Ranieri, and inexplicably fallen down the pecking order and found himself sitting on the bench. He found himself being alienated and perhaps felt he was not being treated as he should by the club, and there was even rumours he was used as makeweight in Rosella's promises to suck Galliani's dick. And then there's lots of other shit, all the shit which we don't know about behind the scenes, stuff with his family and his personal life and stuff which may become more clear with time. And at no point in time was there any effort to resolve the issue once and for all, to sit the fuck down at the table and sort his contract out, because that is simply what our management should have been doing, and i have maintained that all along. We should have been rolling out the red carpet, we should have been ringing his agent every week (we went for months without doing so – months), we should have been negotiating and offering him the deal he deserved, telling him how important he is to us, given him the money he is worth, but instead what did we do? Nothing. So in the final months, he bided his time, he listened around, he looked elsewhere, he remained tight-lipped, and sure why the fuck wouldn't he? Because that is not the way in which a club treats "one of the family".

[AlCapone]

Thought this might be interesting for some.

Villas Boas' scout report for Chelsea-Newcastle (2005).
http://www.bragafut.com/artigos/art18.pdf

[maro]

Very interesting, Al. How did you stumble across that?

[AlCapone]

I found it in a article about Villas Boas by a Norwegian newspaper.

They used this article as a source to cover his background. Very interesting:
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/foot ... 52798.html

[ASR1927]

What are the chances of him leaving Porto for Roma?

Slim to none I'd say.

[romawi]

[ASR1927]

[romawi]

Exactly. There was a lot of hate for Aquilani, and I never understood that either. He signed an extension knowing that he would be sold, rather than leave for free and probably get a bigger deal than he would have. I still hope that he finds his way back here next season, especially if Tom is right about Pizarro leaving.

[maro]

+1. I don't think anyone's particularly interested in defending the club's handling of the situation; it's the free ride bit that's strange.

[ASR1927]

[ASR1927]

[arthurfonzarelli]

[maro]

I don't like his name. Why would you invite a domestic python into your house?

[ASR1927]

[arthurfonzarelli]

[p_maldini_3]

the real question is if totti will take orders from somebody who is younger than him?

i can see totti taking a shit in a bag and lighting it on monty python's doorstep.

[arthurfonzarelli]

[maro]

Another domestic python, I meant. Actually the moglie's taken to calling me her Villa Boa of late.