THE WOLF'S DEN - Tana dei Lupi I

[Italiamia]

Right man, wrong time
Chelsea's search for a new Coach has stopped in Italy and Richard Godden believes that they are finally looking at the right man for the job



According to the English Press, Chelsea will appoint an Italian as their next Coach after Mark Hughes opted for a switch to Manchester City and Portugal boss Luiz Felipe Scolari refused to make a decision before Euro 2008. Carlo Ancelotti's recent commitment to Milan means that he is no longer in the running - unless he betrays the club he claims to love - so that would leave former Inter boss Roberto Mancini as the only contender, right?

Well it seems that the Blues have finally decided to make a move for a man who many, myself included, rate as one of the best tacticians in the world. That person is Roma Coach Luciano Spalletti, the brain behind the 4-2-3-1 formation which seems to have become as popular a system as a standard 4-4-2 was in the 1990s.

Given the resources at his disposal - or, perhaps more importantly, his rivals - some could argue that the ex-Udinese man has taken the club as far as he can. The Chelsea job would be his next step up the ladder and allow him the opportunity to regularly compete for the big prizes, something which doesn't seem so assured in the Italian capital. Would any Giallorosso deny him that opportunity, considering the minor miracle he was worked at the Stadio Olimpico? Hopefully they won't have to.

I must admit to having split loyalties. My English club, as you might have guessed, are Chelsea. But I consider myself to be a football fan first - and for that reason I hope Spalletti stays put. He has built something truly spectacular at a club who tend to implode at the first sign of trouble. The 49-year-old has managed to get the best out of Francesco Totti, unlike so many of his predecessors, while he also seems to have given his players the confidence to play without their skipper. In an injury prone season for Er Pupone like the one just passed, it's remarkable that La Magica managed to take a vastly superior Inter squad all the way in the title race. For an hour on that final day it even looked as though Lo Scudetto would be heading south again.

I'm also intrigued by the prospect of Spalletti pitting his wits against Inter new boy Jose Mourinho for the first time, rather than filling the hot seat he vacated last September at Stamford Bridge. The duo are arguably the most talented young Coaches you can find, so it will be fascinating to see who comes out on top in that battle. But then there is a Juventus side who have already strengthened their squad after last season's impressive third-place finish, not to mention Milan buying big for a Scudetto run.

The next Serie A season has the potential of being the most fascinating in years, so let's hope that Spalletti can turn down Roman Abramovich's rubles to keep it that way…

_______________________________

Can any of us contemplate the state of affairs that will follow if Spalletti leaves? At this point, though it is early, we are looking at the prospect of losing a number of players in an already thin squad and our transfer market looks unfocused compared to our competitors. Beyond this we must solidify the future of the club by extending De Rossi and Aquilani. I don't know, but I see a real shit storm on the horizon.

Maro, make the bet. Show me the money. I don't want to create needless tension but I think Spalletti is going to leave. There are just too many whispers from credible sources that I rely on to think otherwise right now. I hope I am wrong. I want to be wrong. I want all of you to tell me that I was wrong if in fact I am wrong at present.

God help us.

[caos]

aquilani good enogh to play for italy
in roma only a reseve to pizzarro
how would that make the kid feels ,he said many time he prefear to play in front of the defence but pizzarro have the preference
spalletti refuse te job at chelsea , that show he is just a provincial coach
i wish roma can reapet this year performance but i see it to hard
320 million in debt is a lot of money

[Bagg10]

we'll take Aquilani off your hand.

[Jamoldo]

Bagg, so would any club.

Briz, Roma is not in debt, it's actually a profit making squad. The parent company, Italpetroli, is the one that's deep in the red.

I do have to say that I do want Aquilani to play more, but he is developing very well and he'll overtake Pizarro soon enough. As for the Italy argument, remember that Curci was good enough to make the italian squad in the past but still play second fiddle to Doni. I sincerely hope that he gets to go on loan this year and get some experience. If Spallettig refuses Chelsea, he's just a provincial coach? Disagree. Lippi refused it, as did Ancellotti. Are they both also provincial and not highly regarded?

[caos]

the difference is
that lippi and ancellotti reach the top spalletti this was is chance
and yea you are right italpetrol have the debt ,the problem is italpetroli own 66 per cent of roma
and the soros refusal did not go well with the creditor

[maro]

[vtec]

i agree with professor chaos that spaletti is not quite ready for the big stage yet, and i think maro was saying that as well. he could end up like maclaren if he fails, banished to some lower leagues.

[edge_xeno]

Now we are interested in Fredrik fuckin Ljungberg, yeah baby, thats the spirit, that is the kind of players i want to see Roma linked with, lets go for Robert Pires & Sol Campbell in the process, and maybe try to convince Dennis Bergkamp to come out of retirement?

[edge_xeno]

Well, it looks like Roma may be sold after all, and it looks like Fisher is back in fold, any news on that Ita?

[maro]

At least it's an improvement on Mido and his ilk.

[RomaShield27]

I just can't understand it, though. I mean what is going on. Our management is really making a major fecking blunder with this one. Ian Harte has been a free agent for over a week now and we still haven't snapped him up. Forget Vargas, for Zambrotta, forget Evra, Harte is the solution to all our left-full problems, and could be persuaded to take a pay-cut to meet our salary cap. Fucking sic.

[RomaShield27]

On a slightly more serious note, though, the Spalletti situation is indeed worrying. I would be inclined to agree with Maro and Glads sentiments, in that Spalletti himself would feel he is not ready for such a move and a this point in his career staying with Roma and continuing his project here is the best thing for him. However, considering the air of uncertainty surrounding the future of the club, the apparent failure of the Sensi's to be willing to commit to the club financially, the contractual problems of a number of players, and the promise of a pot of gold coming from Abramovich, you can just never know. Bruno Conti comes out and tells us there is no chance of him leaving, yet we have all these reports of a cloud of mystery hanging over his future and, more importantly, we have our very own fountain-of-Roma-knowledge Italiamia saying it could happen. Italiamia, you are just being pessimistic, right? A bit depressed, perhaps, over the future of the club, seeing all our rivals significantly strengthen while we sit on our arses and count our cents? Right? Surely Spalletti won't leave. He can't.

[maro]

I've just put 20 squid on Spags being the next Chelski coach at the local bookies. It's a 20 squid I would be more than happy to lose; if it comes through for me, though, it'll keep me in whisky while I'm drowning my sorrows for a week or three.

[arthurfonzarelli]

Off topic here. I'm in Dresden (long story) and watching the Portugal-Turkey game. I don't understand shit about what the German announcer is saying but everytime C.Ron gets anywhere close to the net with the ball, he raises his tone to the point that I think he's having an orgasm.
It's like: "Simao ... Gomes ... RONALDO DEUSTCHENFARFHUNUGENWUNDERBAR ... RONALDOOOOOOOO[b]".

[vtec]

well, then the commentator is not orgasming too much, because c.ron has hardly touched the ball this game.

[maro]

It's funny, though, isn't it. Twice in the first half Ronaldo did utterly terrible stuff - one, I think, was a shot on his left when he cut infield and things didn't open up and yet he still had a ridiculously speculative shot, and the other was a square ball with which he played Deco into traffic. In each case, the decision-making was quite simply dumb - there's no other word for it. And each time it gets sucked up as Ronaldo trying something or not quite having settled into the tournament yet. The kid is capable of real brilliance - he has bucket-loads of skill and pace and strength and is superb in the air for a wide-player. In terms of his overall contribution or the constructive intelligence of his play, he's not even a very good player. Recognising his weaknesses doesn't mean one can't also recognise his strengths, but it seems the propagandists going the other way aren't quite so comfortable with balance and accuracy.

[Dejan-Stankovic]

Unlucky that his free kick was deflected onto the post, though.

[arthurfonzarelli]

[RomaShield27]

Ronaldo is a fake. I don't care what anyone says, or how many flicks or fucking tricks he does, he is a fake. Johnny Giles summed him and the British media's obsession with him up perfectly (the quality of punditry on RTE in Ireland for tournaments like this is miles ahead to that of BBC or ITV, and I mean that) – he is not the best player in the world, he is the biggest star in the world. He is young, extremely marketable, exciting, controversial, a crowd pleaser, a money generating machine. The biggest star. That does not make him the best in anyway. Look at his performance out there tonight. For the "best player in the world", he sure has been quite, and Portugal's real best and most important players are Deco, Carvalho, Simao.

The Turks are dirty hackers all the same. Very poor side. Portugal could go far if they could finish they're chances. Shite game with the Swiss and Czechs earlier. I'm looking forward to tomorrows match with Germany and Poland.

[maro]

Sorry, in terms of his overall contribution, clearly he is still a superb player, but in terms of the overall intelligence of his play he has so much to learn - which is not all that surprising for a young kid.