THE WOLF'S DEN - Tana dei Lupi I

[cg916]

[pocari_fenrir]

[cg916]

[pocari_fenrir]

[aba_bab]

jeez pocari.. easy on the brighi man crush...

I dunno.. Brighi has been fair when he's played for us.. but he is definately the most easily replacable cog in our midfield, but he's also different in the sense that he is one of those hard tackling ball busters. That being said.. he cant pass for his life, and thats been shown time and again in the few minutes that he's played for us. I'd get Dessena and send brighi the otherway in a heartbeat, and perhaps bring back barusso if we really need a toughtackling alternative on the bench. I say this because i havent seen Dossena play all that much, so cant really say for sure what exactly he'll rbing to the table, but that whatever it is that i've seen of him, he definatley looks like a better talent than brighi.

[Italiamia]

[maro]

[oily]

whats the situation with mancini .. is he leaving or staying? i havent heard anything about him in a long time

[Italiamia]

I am upset Maro, yes, and you have correctly described my mental state but let me clarify what I am saying. We have enough trouble keeping the quality players we have and we will not spend the money to bring in better players. We have the money. We can afford to spend 40-50 million to re-enforce this team and compete with any team in the world. But that will not be done because of this ownership. It all goes back to winning for me maro and you know that. I understand that it may not be as important to you, but as I have said, the purpose of all of this is to win something beyond the bloody Coppa Italia. Spalletti claims he is thinking about using a 4-3-1-2 next season. So who are we looking at as one of those forwards? Vincenzo Iaquinta. I like Iaquinta, but lets be serious. Yes, serious. If we want to win we need to bring in a serious striker. Also maro, where do you get the idea that we would spend 17 million on a striker? You don't strike me as the delusional type but I cannot immagine us ever dropping that kind of money on 1 player. Zamparini offered Luca to us for 12 in a straight up cash deal and we passed.

Our primary competitors will be spending their money on world class talent and what will we do? What is this all about anyway. Are you saying maro that you are satified with finishing 2nd every year, getting bounced out of the CL in the quarterfinals and playing in the final for the Coppa Italia? That's the right direction? As I said, we have the money. We don't have to spend 25 million on a Malouda. We can be smart and spread the money around on some quality players but we have to lock up the current players who are vital to the team. So you see, we can't do all this at the same time. What you call the right direction I call going around in circles doing the same thing year after year, and to what end? Every year we all have the same complaints. The team is not deep enough with talent to compete in the final stages of the CL.

I want to know from everybody if they are satisfied with what we have right now? Is finishing 2nd good enough for all of you? Is getting to the quarterfinals of the CL good enough? Lets hear the prognositication for nexts season.

[stefano]

Ita, the foundations of a promising team have been laid, but more needs to be done to productively build upon them. We cannot look to replace important players every year (Chivu, Mancini) we need to add quality depth in the form of dynamic players who bring something different to the squad. Vucinic has done this for us this season, but we will be hard at work just trying to hold on to him this summer. Roma is a step behind other big teams. We have 2nd place two years running and the same goes for the quarter finals of the CL. Any other team that managed to do the same in one of the big three leagues would not be worried about holding on to Vucinic. Any other such team would be methodically moving forward and making thoughtful player acquisitions to progress to the next level - league victory and competition in the final stages of the CL. Roma, by contrast, continues to tread water - hoping for something more, but struggling to keep its head above water. I too am sick of it.

[Jamoldo]

Grasso, very well put; I couldn't have said it any better.

Well... and we need an English website.

There .I said it again, for the thousanth time.

[maro]

Bollocks to the English website. "Building the Roma brand." Bleah. That kind of talk makes me ill.

I hear what you're saying, of course, Avvocato, and many of those are sentiments I share. When you're in need of a cutting-edge, bringing in a wooden mallet doesn't make an awful lot of sense. Still, I don't think we're quite going round in circles. It's more of a gyre - always a step backwards before we can take a couple forwards. It'd be nice just to have the latter without the former; still, it's pretty easy to mount a case that this club has moved forward considerably over the past two seasons. To be perfectly honest, I don't need us to win; I just need us to be competitive and that was why the second leg of the CL quarterfinal was hard to take for me - I really didn't feel as though we were ever actually competitive. Getting beaten in a tight contest by a top side at the top of its game - that happens - but at least make the bastards get out of second gear.

Anyway, I hear you. It'd be nice to make that proper step up in quality that, say, the signing of Fernando Torres would effect. Swooping for Villa or Joaquin might make a similar sort of statement, though no doubt their stock has fallen a little bit this season. And I understand your impatience. So long as the Spalletti project continues to grow, though, I will be more prepared to stick with it. A leap would be brilliant - though not at all costs - but progress, however subtle, is all I demand at this point.

[Jamoldo]

Maro, how much more can we squeeze out of Luciano and the spine of our team before they get sick of taking 1 step back for every 1.5 steps forward? Not everyone is Totti/De Rossi/Mexes, sadly and these guys are not ageless. Everyone else is spending money and we'll have to follow suit to simply keep up and compete, much less talk about significant steps or leaps forward. It does not help us to have a marginally better squad next year, when the likes of Juve, Milan, and Fiorentina etc will spend a fair bit more and take that extra half a step or two forward while we stagnate on a relative basis.

Note how I'm only talking about the domestic scene. Let's not even mention the strength of the pound combined with the current financial spending power the EPL has with the Spanish giants.

I'd say being competitive is fine as long as there's a concrete project with actual steps going forward. In this sense, we've been doing just fine the past 3 years or so. However, I think that we are riding the wave on Spalletti's talent and seeing how far we can go with as little as possible (which has worked thus far), rather than actually adding significant parts to our squad to keep up the pace with competition. Let us remember how fortunate we have been in the past 3 years in this sense given Calciopoli. Besides Inter, who have benefitted the most, we've done pretty well, but after all of this let's consider that: Juve will not always be Calciopoli ridden. Milan will decrease the average age of their squad and had a points penalty last year, while Fiorentina will continue to add a quality mix of players to their young and gifted team and also had a points penalty last year and recently made their way back into Serie A (with some help) from lower leagues (thanks Cecchi Gori). And that's not mentioning other sides who are looking to be pretty decent sides like Palermo, Napoli, Udine, Sampdoria...

We are theoretically the 11th richest football club according to Forbes. I mean my god...

[vtec]

maro, i understand your concerns about fake romanisti popping up with the growth of the roma brand, but i do not agree with them. you build the brand by winning, and an inevitable consequence of a winning club are fake fans. i stay away from other milan forums like the plague because of this, but that doesn't mean there are no real milanisti to be found, we actually have a pretty good, albeit small, group here. i am still glad i got to see my club win some important trophies over the years, though, those are some terrific memories. the only way to avoid the growth of a fake fanbase is for the club to consistently suck year after year, because regardless of whether you win the cl with all homegrown talent and minimum investment, or a chelsea or manure, you will gain fake fans just by winning it. however, over time, some of these fake fans may develop into real fans. so if you want to win something, you will have to "build the roma brand". so you might as well do that right.

[maro]

[Italiamia]

Blatter calls for limit on Europe soccer's power
May 7, 2008,

GENEVA (AP) - FIFA president Sepp Blatter renewed his campaign Wednesday to stop European soccer clubs from hoarding most of the world's best players.

"It cannot be that only one continent will be the focus of all football," Blatter said in a conference call with reporters.

He said European clubs were "drying out" soccer in Africa by signing the best young players and preventing professional leagues from developing.

Blatter was outlining his plans for a "six plus five" rule, which would force clubs by 2012 to field at least six homegrown players in their starting lineups and limit the number of foreigners to five.

The FIFA president believes the rule will reverse the trend among some of Europe's elite clubs - including Arsenal, Chelsea and Inter Milan - to field teams entirely made up of foreign players.

Blatter has railed against the practice in the past, but no international rules are currently in place to prevent teams from ignoring players in their own countries.

"If there is a FIFA regulation that there shall be this six-plus-five system, then players in Africa and Asia and especially South America will stay home," Blatter said. "It will be good for the development of football."

He said soccer federations outside Europe supported his plan "because the other continents are the suppliers of all the players in Europe."

"We are now stimulating new leagues where players can earn their living decently," he said. "At the same time we are fighting, let us say, the drying out of local leagues in Africa."

Blatter said African soccer federations were in favor of his plan when it was discussed at a January meeting in Ghana, even though it could mean that some African players would lose their positions with top clubs.

Blatter also believes the rule can be good for soccer in Europe. He wants it to help restore the traditional identity of clubs and national leagues, and strengthen national teams by offering more opportunities to homegrown players.

Blatter argued that the top European leagues suffer from being dominated by the richest clubs, who buy the best foreign players and then increase their wealth in the lucrative Champions League.

"Shall we let the rich become richer and just stay there and say nothing?" he said.


While calling the Champions League "the best in the world", he said 80 per cent of the income goes directly to the 32 clubs taking part.

"This season, there were four English teams in the last eight, three in the semifinals and two in the final," he said. "In the last years the Champions League was very successful in finances but it has also favored national inequality. That's why, being in charge of football, I have to bring this item to the attention of the FIFA Congress."

But Blatter is not supported by European soccer's governing body UEFA and European Union lawmakers, who say it would be illegal to prevent the free movement of players.

UEFA favors a rule on "locally trained" players which would set a quota of players, of any nationality, on the roster who have been with the club for at least three years between the ages of 15 and 21.

"I appeal here also to Europe, not only to European football but the European Union, to look also for this solidarity (with world soccer)," Blatter said. "It is not enough to put money in development clubs all around the world but you should also maintain in the sporting spirit, the spirit of fair play."

The rule will be discussed at the FIFA Congress from May 29-30 in Sydney, Australia.

Blatter will ask the 208 national federations for a mandate to approach the EU for support, and has arranged to meet UEFA President Michel Platini before July 1 when France takes up the presidency of the EU Council.

[Italiamia]

Roma focus on Rosina
Wednesday 7 May, 2008


Torino talent Alessandro Rosina has moved to the top of Roma’s shopping list, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Roma are keeping their eyes open for a possible replacement for Brazilian winger Amantino Mancini, who is refusing to sign a new contract at the Stadio Olimpico.

Yesterday, reports from Spain indicated that the capital club see Spanish star Joaquin as an option, but La Gazzetta dello Sport insists that the answer could lie closer to home.

Rosina has been outstanding for a struggling Toro side this term and many feel that the 24-year-old’s abilities are wasted with the Granata.

The Cosenza native was unhappy under former boss Walter Novellino and is reportedly keen to move to a bigger club in order to add to the maiden Italy cap he received in a friendly against South Africa last October.

With selection for Euro 2008 out of the question, Rosina will start to look towards World Cup 2010 and may feel that his chances of playing in South Africa will be improved by relocating to the Eternal City.

Toro tied Rosina to the club until 2011 with a contract extension earlier in the season and the former Parma man would be expected to command at least £5m.

[Jamoldo]

Haven't we been interested in Rosina for a long time now? It seems that these transfer stories are simply recycled every transfer window. Easy job for the reporter. Find the article, cut and paste and change around a few words.

[Dejan-Stankovic]

[Jamoldo]