THE WOLF'S DEN - Tana dei Lupi II

[DavidP]

i guess the glaring difference between the roma that failed without a true, worthwhile centre-forward (2008-09, 2010-11) and the current one is totti's form and physical condition. we were fine until 2008, when he received the knee injury and gained weight - that's when spalletti started fucking up. now totti is close to being back to his best and we have a pragmatic coach again. maybe not bringing in a proper CF is a blessing in disguise; let's wait and see how the team does with francesco leading the line.

[maro]

Totti, Ljajic, Destro, Borriello, Gervinho, Florenzi, plus Caprari? Isn't that enough, in terms of simple numbers of bodies, to cover the front three positions? Poissonally (at the risk of sounding fishy), I'm glad they've kept hold of Borriello rather than bringing in Gilardino or Ba or Quagliarelli etc. etc. I'm not sure the team will work with both Borriello and Totti on the pitch as a general rule, but he's at least as good a player as any of the others we were linked with and any deal would have had us taking a financial hit too. Ljajic-Totti-Florenzi/Gervinho looks viable to me. Gervinho and Florenzi may not have the quality of Destro, but they'll make the runs in behind and I imagine Borriello will still chip in with a few goals. We may be short of quality, but I'm not sure we're short of numbers and we have more willing runners than Spags did (one of the things he always complained about with Vooch and Menez - always wanting balls to feet rather than being prepared to stretch play).

[DavidP]

i don't know if it is. a minor injury to totti or just plain fatigue and these are our CF options: borriello (he can chip in with a few goals, but being the starting cf for half of the season? god have mercy on sabatini), gervinho (well, at least he's a clinical finisher) and ljajic (probably the best option). watching borriello play makes me cringe. i know we accidentally signed a dude from tenerife and kept him on the payroll for 4 years once but borriello might just be the worst piece of business ever done by roma.

[DavidP]

Lotito: “Quagliarella wanted Lazio, Sabatini did it out of spite”

“Quagliarella would have rather come to Lazio because he would have had a better chance to play. I had completed the deal for €6 million to Juventus, but Sabatini did not give Borriello and Alberto Gilardino stayed at Genoa where he was.”

[AS Collie]

[DCGweez]

[RomaShield27]

[AS Collie]

[maro]

I'd be surprised if Garcia sees his natural position in this formation as part of the midfield three. For one thing - by his own admission - he's a bit short technically for the possesso palla aspect of the role. For another, I'm not sure he's physically strong enough. For me, his strength is his movement and that means he's likely to be best utilised as part of the front three. Wasn't he the top scorer in pre-season?

[maro]

[AS Collie]

Well, obviously, yes. With the players we have up front and in the midfield, I like him better as one of the front three.

[maro]

Sure, but, more specifically, either Florenzi or Gervinho - not both.

[AS Collie]

[maro]

Well, I thought he looked a lot more comfortable in the first game than in the second - which seemed to me to support your sense that he's better wider with someone else leading the line through the middle.

[DCGweez]

Florenzi should be on a 20 yard leash tied to Totti. He should do the off the ball running waiting for Totti's brilliance. In the same way that Simone did it 7 years ago.

[RomaShield27]

I guess a Caprari, Florenzi, Totti front three would be great. As would a DDR, Verre and Viviani midfield, with Romagnoli, Antei, Barba and Crescenzi back-line. With Curci in goal. And Spalletti as manager.

Florenzi may well be too lightweight to fit into a midfield like Garcia demands, I suppose, but I still think he can work in there. He is a small lad, but I don't think it should hold him back too much. He's roughly the same size as Pirlo, and while he obviously doesn't have his talents, he does have great energy and movement and work rate and those attributes would make him important in a midfield trio along with DDR to do the defensive work and Pjanic the more technical, even if that is not quite the way Garcia likes it. Strootman may be a better fit, as time may tell. Florenzi may well be the fourth midfielder in, as it were, along with Bradley and Marquinho.

It'll be interesting to see how he goes up front all the same, but like ye say, it depends on who else he plays along side.

[DCGweez]

I love how Davit and Ed are so hard core Romanisti that they would be happy with a Roman 11. I mean that genuinely.

I still love how Caprari played in those EL matches 2 years ago. That's really the most i've seen him play with proper competition. That said, we are 4 coaches in and none have him seeing even minor minutes.

[maro]

[maro]

[AS Collie]