THE WOLF'S DEN - Tana dei Lupi II

[DCGweez]

Cerci has said he's a Romanista and may go back to Roma one day. That he'd never play for Lazio.

It's amazing now that Ozvaldo has been removed from this team how much the team dynamic has improved and now all the players who left want to come back.

He was truly a blight on Roma and the entire city itself. They say the GDP of Rome has raised nearly 3% since he left.

[DCGweez]

@OfficialASRoma: #RomaBologna ROMA (4-3-3) De Sanctis; Torosidis, Benatia, Castan, Balzaretti; Pjanic, De Rossi, Strootman; Florenzi, Totti, Gervinho

[RomaShield27]

Nice line-up (except fathead, obviously). Good to see Torosidis in, interesting to see how he does. He should offer us a bit more balance and hopefully can get up and down the pitch as effectively as Maicon, providing he's fully fit.

Game live on BT Sport 2 here, nice to watch a live posticipo home game on TV – can't recall the last time that happened.

They even just showed the full official Roma Totti-Derby-fan video thing.

ZZ: "I like seeing Roma top of the table, I have always been a fan. I hope they stay there for a long time. If someone wins 5 games out of 5, it has to mean that he's good."

[RomaShield27]

From our friend Edge:

@AhmedAsh_: Francesco Totti this season so far: 6 games. 1 Goal. 6 Assists. Grande Capitano, Grazie Roma. #ASRoma

Super result. Always said Gervinho has bags of talent and would come good for us under Garcia.

[p_maldini_3]

you bitches are sure missing lamela and marquinhos.

[maro]

This: "La Roma è bellissima nel fraseggio stretto, meravigliosa quando può distendersi negli spazi." That is what this side has for the moment. For the first time in something like 12 years they can keep the ball without relying on Totti to be an integral part of that. And then they have runners too.

[maro]

By which I mean not that Totti can't still keep the ball but that the back seven can, too, even without him.

[DCGweez]

Class finish by Yayich at the end there. Thought we'd be stacked at CM but it appears we'll need at least one more in Jan. window.

Wonder where Destro fits into this squad. Our curse of the CF continues.

Sorry, i've been a Roma fan for too long, i can't enjoy anything i must fret over impending sadness.

[Lupa]

[DavidP]

let me say what's on everyone's mind right now: i think our midfield is the best in italy.

each of de rossi, strootman and pjanic has been given a role that helps bring out his very best, while maintaining a perfect balance as a unit. they have great team chemistry: confidence in themselves as well as each other. i know it was just bologna but the way we knocked it around in midfield a couple of times left me in awe. somewhere, luis enrique was smiling. this "unit" is essentially more than the sum of it's parts, rather than equal to, or less than (zeman). and eriksen who? i wouldn't change a damn thing about this midfield if i were sabatini and had 100m in my pocket. . as for strootman, he is far from the most gifted player in that midfield, but i would venture to say that he has made the biggest contribution of the 3 so far. he has brought something that has been missing for a while: the winner's mentality. more often than not you need to be a bit of a cunt to have it, and it's something that every great team needs. it's the the stepping stone from good to great. the difference bettween capello and ranieri, a team managed by ferguson and the same team managed by moyes. a league title and none. it's about having balls and tolerating nothing other than excellence and 100% effort from everyone around you, from the big boys of the team to the backup keepers and medical staff. once it gets into the team it spreads like a virus, manifesting itself during every training session, every warm-up and even every minute spent off the pitch. ibra brought it to milan in 2010, and cunti brought it to rube 2 years ago. strootman and de sanctis have brought it to us today. this, my friends, could be the start of something special.

[RomaShield27]

I agree, Dave. Well, at least until next season when our management sell Strootman to Chelsea or Man City for €35m. To balance the books. We're a selling club, now.

It had to be said.

[DavidP]

i don't know if we are, fred. the marcos case is an exception. we've been over this issue a lot but now that time has passed it offers some of us a different perspective. rich club or not, you will not turn down 30m of profit for a defender who has one season under his belt. he either becomes one of the best in the world, raising his price by another 5-10m, or teams start to see his deficiencies that didn't show in his 30 or so professional games as a football player, bringing his price down by 5-20m. sell him for 35m and buy benatia for 14m? that's shrewd business - dortmund-like, not udinese-like.

for lamela: he was only sold after the ljajic deal was a sure thing. like i said before he was sold - we could probably find someone more to garcia's liking for less. does rudi prefer gervinho+ljajic to osavldo+lamela? maybe. would lamela and osvaldo have been sold even if he didn't? we don't know, so don't jump the gun. there will be plenty of time to call the management out for building a selling club model if they really do.

[maro]

[DCGweez]

Davit-I'll take Pogba, Marchisio, Vidal and Pirlo over our lot. The gulf isn't as great as i once thought it'd be but we have played one team that even attempted to challenge us for possession and the first half was a slight victory for their midfield (lazio) in my opinion.


Lamela>Gervs but i'm not sure Lamela/Totti>Gervs/Totti. I think Gervs is probably an excellent partner for Totti.

[DCGweez]

Parma at the death!!! Fiorentina drop points again.

Neto is horrible.

[RomaShield27]

http://afootballreport.com/post/6243234 ... y-john-ray

[DavidP]

Six wins, six ‘Elders’: Rudi Garcia has set his ‘Council’ at AS Roma, with one player more than during his experience at Lille.Il Tempo reveals that at the first ‘Council’ during the pre-season the six Giallorossi players taking part were Totti, De Rossi, Strootman, De Sanctis, Maicon, and Bradley.

[DCGweez]

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/pit ... 06245.html

[DCGweez]

[Lupa]

I wasn't familiar with Rudi Garcia's Lille. Hipster-lite?

Pjanic wasn't one of the pre-season 'elders' because of the possibility of his leaving. He's certainly been part of the mix on the field thus far.