THE WOLF'S DEN - Tana dei Lupi II

[maro]

Without Totti I mean, of course, when he's not in the 11 for whatever reason. Perhaps Sanabria or Paredes or Ucan might do something of that sort?

[DavidP]

[maro]

A decent point, well made. Were we to be a little more exacting, though, I suppose we'd have to observe that there are different degrees of the speculative. Perhaps we should sign Kaladze to replace Benatia?

[DavidP]

[DavidP]

[maro]

Not much, Davit - it was a genuine, open question. To be honest, I was more impressed by Romulo when I watched Verona last season. I gathered from some pundit's comments that he's seriously quick and I'd imagine that's why he's being considered a step above other gifted kids. Less hard-working than Florenzi (who wouldn't be), less quick than Gervinho (aren't almost all), but hard-working, quick, and better on the ball than either? When one spends that sort of money, one isn't (shouldn't be) taking a punt - one is investing in a fuoriclasse who will be sold for no less when he leaves and perhaps much more.

[DavidP]

it just doesn't seem like iturbe was their #1 choice, especially considering the current of all the rumors over the summer. rudi made up his mind 2 months ago about getting a new winger, so presumably when shaqiri, cuadrado or yarmolenko didn't work out, for whatever reason, they had to make-do with this guy. that said, i would take sabatini's 4th pick over prade's 1st pick any day of the week, but that's not enough for me to feel confident about this transfer.

[maro]

I don't think so, actually. I think he was their first choice, but they were playing a game of cat-and-mouse with the other suitors. I think when Rube dithered over the weekend, ahead of Cunty's resignation, Sabre pounced. I think he decided that the money hadn't quite gotten out of hand. The others were the back-ups. Word has it that Cunty resigned, in the end, because Iturbe had gone to us. I think Sabre waited for others to show their hands and when Verona had shown how much, in the end, they were going to settle for he jumped in.

[DavidP]

interesting, i hadn't seen that about conte. it's always hard to tell who the #1 pick is with sabatini, but your version of the story makes a lot of sense too.

[DCGweez]

[DCGweez]

[maro]

As we were discussing yesterday, DCG -

LUCA VALDISERRI (Rete Sport): “Si parla di Ljajic in partenza? L’arrivo di Iturbe non significa una cessione di Ljajic. Il serbo io non lo venderei. Può giocare in più ruoli dell’attacco di Garcia, e con i tanti impegni sarà un’ottima alternativa. Ljajic non è un esterno puro come per esempio Shaquiri. Scambio Ljajic-Shaquiri? No, il serbo offre più soluzioni”

[DCGweez]

I had a lot of hope for Ljajic, he just seemed the one guy that didn't drink the koolaide when it came to Rudi and his system. I agree he gives us more options, i just wonder if Rudi even wants him at all. Still if we are setup for Totti and he's injured i don't see anyone other than him playing that roll.

Even Pjanic who has some of the skill really seems to struggle when he's pushed up front.

[RomaShield27]

Away at the moment, and for the weekend, but I have to say I'm very happy with the Iturbe signing (unlike some of our other signings). Yep, he cost a fair bit, but I think he has the quality to be a great player for us, and will fit very nicely into our system. I think Garcia wanted him badly, too, and he was one of our first targets. It's also a big signing in terms of intent and ambitions for the season ahead, with making us competitive on the biggest stage in European football, and also, dare I say it, domestic glory (won't say the s word).

I was never that big a fan of ljajic, so don't mind if he goes. We may be replacing him with Shaquiri, but not sure if that will happen.

Are we playing a friendly today?

[DCGweez]

Have a good time Ed. I believe we have a friendly against Indonesia U-23.

The people of Indonesia will love us whether they like it or not, it appears.

[maro]

It sounds like Ucan and Florenzi played well in the first third of the three-part game this afternoon. Such games are, of course, pretty much meaningless, but it's still important for a new player to settle in as quickly as he can - it always seems to me that an early injury or a bad start has a disproportionate effect and sometimes entirely derails a move.

[Lupa]

What's up with Roma making these transfer moves so early? It's making our team look like they have an actual strategy in place, rather than the usual last minute deals. I hadn't checked any news for a few days and came here to see all these moves already completed.

I guess, with the money already spent, it's clear that Benatia's as good as gone? That's too bad.

[DCGweez]

He had an "injury" so he didn't play in the friendly yesterday which isn't a good sign.

Who knows, i thought we'd fund some moves with Ljajic's sale but Maro has sort of made me doubt that.

[DCGweez]

[FedaynULTRA83]