THE WOLF'S DEN - Tana dei Lupi II

[Lupa]

I was hoping he'd go to PSG, although Rube seemed most likely. I hate players going to other Italian teams as I feel like they will come back to haunt us.

[DCGweez]

Agreed

[RomaShield27]

I don't mind seeing him join a rival in Italy. Maybe I'm used to it, what with Mexes and the former LitM (and also Aquilani, Chivu, Samuel etc etc). I like Borriello and think he's a good player and so its unfortunate to see him go, but LE obviously wasn't a fan or didn't think he could fit in his project, so no hard feelings. Besides, its possible we'll see him back again, should Juventus not take up the option to buy him outright. Its a strange move in the sense that he'll only be a back-up player there, though, I would have thought a move to Genoa of Fiorentina, say, would have granted him move playing time. Seeing Pizza following him up north would be harder to take, lets hope that doesn't happen.

Here's the PDF of the official statement on Borriello's move:

http://109.75.174.100/~asroma/downloads ... riello.pdf

[Lupa]

Having a glass of sauvignon blanc (Kim Crawford), so here's a toast to our absent kiwi.

Yeah, a lot of players have left, but a few if those you mentioned went to other teams first and not to direct rivals immediately. O

[DCGweez]

I'm having a Malborough county Sav myself. Where is our NZ boy?

[Lupa]

I see that we're united in drinking as well as our choice in teams.

I don't know where our kiwi is, but I think he's at home. I hope he was only stirred, not shaken, with the last earthquake.

[stefano]

Edzo, Pallotta probably gets along well with KG and thus offered him a piece (likely quite small) of Roma. The potential for marketing synergies of some sort exists, but aside from that I'd be surprised to see KG in any other role related to Roma. Celebrity minority owner and not much more.

By the way, you guys should check out Jim Pallotta's house sometime.

[Lupa]

Yeah, I can't imagine he has enough shares to have power, but I find it amusing to imagine him confronting a lazy-ass player.

It does seem possible that they are looking to a north american tour of games next year, I'm guessing.

[DonSimon]

A North American tour would seem to be on the cards, as would the Gamper Trophy in Barcelona if Luis Enrique ends the season in a strong position and is secure in his role for 2012-13.

[Deini]

Osvaldo got injured at the training today. Word going around he is out for 2 months...

[DCGweez]

Thigh strain. Stretchered off.

[RomaShield27]

[forzaitalia]

Nightmare that he's got injured, especially after Borriello's move yesterday. He's been our only consistent scorer throughout the season.

What'll happen now? More use of Pjanic as part of the front three? I think he's been tried there a couple of times, correct me if I'm wrong. Or Borini, when fit, to get more game time perhaps?

[RomaShield27]

I believe Borini is now alright (along with Kjaer and Pizza), so should be back in contention. As for who could replace Osvaldo at prima punta, I reckon we could see Totti moved forward to that position, or perhaps maybe Lamela could be moved there? It may not be Lamela's most natural position (but neither is seconda punta), but he does have the physical attributes to play there. Bojan and Borini then to play on the outsides. I wonder if we'll also see Okaka get involved more, at least from off the bench?

[Lupa]

Wow, that's bad news about Osvaldo, especially as we just sent Borriello packing. Let's hope someone steps up and provides those goals we were getting from Osvaldo.

[DavidP]

so, looking a bit ahead, i think some players need to leave roma. pizarro should be the first because he simply doesn't fit le's system and if we want to get a decent amount of money out of him, this will probably be the last chance (he's also on relatively big wages). the same goes for borriello if juve don't take up the option to permanently buy the fucker. cicinho also needs to leave. however, given how frequently we're plagued with injuries and suspensions (and how we might be competing in the europa league next year), we still do need to have a pretty big squad. the only midfielder that might not get much playing time is perrotta, but it's already a big enough benefit for the team if he's just there in the dressing room to let him go. i'd like to see him retire at roma.

as for the cb positions, i think we should buy at least one excellent defender and one fairly good one (subotic and one of corluka/otamdeni/garay, for example). we shouldn't let any of the ones we already have go, either, because burdisso will be suspended half of the time, juan will be injured for the same amount, and heinze is a liability, although a good presence to have in the dressing room (with a very low salary, too). what i'm saying is that we probably will eventually need each one of those 6 cbs enough for them to have them in the team next season.

totti i think should be used more wisely starting next year. if we want him to go for another 2-3 years, we can't just play him for 90 minutes almost every game. of course, he should start many games, but he should also be on the bench for some. this will also let lamela shine in his spot, i think.


Roma 2012-13, make it happen Saba:



(nico lopez, valerio verre and loic nego can be called up for the first team in time of need (and europa league fixtures?) if they aren't loaned out)



basically, i'm fucking loving this. in 2-3 years, we'll be looking at a team with the ultimate mix between home-grown and foreign players. in addition, we will be winning things. crazy right?

eeh, im gonna ballpark it




(lol, speculating is so much fun)

[RomaShield27]

Nice line-ups, Davey. I disagree that Pizza should be the first to go. Even if LE doesn't see him as working in his system, he is still a unique player and offers something which no one else can. And besides, there are several others who should leave ahead of him like Barusso and Cici, and maybe even Simplicio and Okaka. And do you think we should make these changes and make moves for players like Subotic and Corluka (not a fan of him at all) now or wait until the end of the season? Like myself and DCGweez said, I think its better to wait until the summer before making big changes like this.

I like your use of homegrown players, although I'd like to think in 2-3 years we see a few more of them as regulars in the first team, like Viviani in midfield and Crescenzi at full-back.


Pizarro a nervi tesi: lascia il campo e “ignora" Lucho
/ Giovedì 05 Gennaio 2012 08:41

(Corriere dello Sport) Saranno state le continue esclusioni di Luis Enrique, che non lo ha mai preso in considerazione dopo Roma-Milan del 29 ottobre (...).

O forse è stato un giorno di luna storta. Quale che sia la verità, David Pizarro ha creato agitazione a Trigoria per un gesto di insubordinazione nei confronti dell'allenatore.

RABBIA - Al termine dell'allenamento di ieri, pochi minuti dopo l'infortunio di Osvaldo che aveva già messo di malumore la squadra, Pizarro non si è fermato con i compagni per gli esercizi di stretching ordinati dal preparatore Pol Cabanellas. Ha tirato dritto verso gli spogliatoi. A quel punto Luis Enrique lo ha chiamato, due o tre volte, ma Pizarro non ha risposto, non si è neppure voltato. E ha abbandonato il campo, nello stupore generale (...). Alla scena hanno assistito non solo gli altri giocatori ma anche i dirigenti, a cominciare da Sabatini.

ANCORA - Non è la prima volta che Pizarro dimostra in maniera evidente il proprio disappunto. Al primo anno di Roma, dopo una sostituzione del mentore Spalletti corse infuriato sotto la doccia senza neppure avvicinarsi alla panchina. E lo scorso anno, dopo un litigio con Ranieri, prolungò autonomamente le vacanze natalizie in Cile scegliendo di curare i suoi problemi fisici nel suo Paese. Tornò in Italia ma non giocò più fino alle dimissioni di Ranieri, rientrando in squadra dopo la nomina di Montella. Quest'anno sembrava più felice, aveva parlato bene di Luis Enrique in un'intervista nella quale lo definiva «un uomo sincero». Ma i problemi e le incertezze sul futuro gli hanno ancora fatto perdere fiducia nelle regole.
rob.mai.


Not good news with Pizarro. He walked off the field before training was over yesterday and apparently LE called after him a few times but he ignored him and headed straight for the dressing rooms. The rest of the players and Sabatini all witnessed it. He's not one to hide his disgruntlement but this time it could signal a transfer away.

Video from training of Osvaldo's injury here. You can see he hurt his thigh in attempting to back-heel the ball. Keep an eye on the 14 second, it looks like Sabatini in the background showing his displeasure at seeing Osvaldo down, lol:

[Lupa]

I see we're linked with Amauri now. Yesterday it crossed my mind that Rube might try to pawn him off on us, but I didn't think we'd be that desperate. The original source is Tuttosport, though, so maybe nothing to worry about.

It does seem like Pizarro is on his way out from various reports.

http://www.football-italia.net/node/14321

[red]

The Amauri link has been denied.

[RomaShield27]

De Rossi to snub City riches - Agent thinks emotional pull of Roma is too much for Italian
/ Last Updated: January 5, 2012 4:44pm

Daniele De Rossi will ignore a potentially lucrative move to Manchester City and sign a contract extension at Roma, according to his agent. City boss Roberto Mancini has been a long-time admirer of the 28-year-old Italy midfielder, while Chelsea have also been linked with a bid. But, despite drawn-out contract talks, De Rossi's emotional attachment to hometown club Roma appears to be too strong for him to consider a move elsewhere.

His representative, Claudio Pasqualin, instead expects an initial deal to be struck with Roma before a new contract is finalised in the summer when the existing terms expire.

"De Rossi wants to stay at Roma, even though, as a professional, he wants to optimise his (financial) situation. My feeling is that an agreement will be reached."

Pasqualin revealed he is still discussing with Roma the size of a release clause in the new deal. "The stumbling block is the figure with which the player can release himself in June, which is a sufficient period within which to re-evaluate the situation," he said.

-----------------

DDR leaving Trigoria this afternoon:



Osvaldo will undergo an ultrasound scan to establish the extent of the damage to his right thigh.

Transcript of Pjanic conferenza stampa . When asked about DDR he said “I don’t even want to think about it. He is a player that is so strong, I hope that he stays. It would be hard to lose a player that is so influential, the team would remain strong, if weakened, but the Coach and the directors will do their best to keep him."