THE WOLF'S DEN - Tana dei Lupi I

[giallo-rossi.ie]

Yeah guys, I seemed to have made a mistake. It's us at home for the first game, which is excellent! A trip to the San Paulo doesn't exactly come under the category of "dream starts to a season".

I am honestly thrilled at the Menez signing. It's one of the most exciting in years. It's very positive to see us taking a chance on a very promising youngster. When you consider that we paid for for him than Baptista, it's very encouraging indeed. I really feel that we are now ready for this season. If we manage to bring in Suazo on loan too, I would rate this as the best mercato in years.

[stefano]

Carlo, as Aba, Maro, and I briefly discussed yesterday, I think that Juve is extraordinarily over-hyped at the moment. Roma, Inter, and Milan (if their aged rear guard can hold up) should finish ahead of them in the table at the end of the year. Fiorentina is, as we all well know, another promising team that could do quite well this year. That said, I see no reason that we should be worried by these teams. We are stronger than last year. If we can put away the smaller teams (traditionally our biggest problem, altough we did improve some in this regard last season) we will be in the thick of it until the end of the season. I am excited and think that this squad has the potential to accomplish great things.

[aba_bab]

haha.. liverpuke is being held and the game is now in extra time.. i dont know if i want them out.. or if i want roma to face them in the group stages and beat them... or beat them in the final...

[maro]

I love the youtube clips. Have a look at this one - this kid is fecking class. Brilliant dribbling, great technique, lethal finishing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNynILbL ... re=related
Carlo, I don't know where we'll finish this season, but I can't help but feel we're a better squad, on paper, with Baptista for Giuly, Riise in to give an alternative at left-back, and perhaps even with Menez in instead of Mancini. I was for a very long time one of Mancini's staunchest defenders, but he fell off his game a lot and got lazy, which was what I always thought was his greatest strength - his work-rate up and down the flank. Technically he's very good without being brilliant. We shall see if Menez can bring the same things to the table - pace, the ability to take his man on one-on-one and goals. If he can, then we won't be too badly off. I wonder if Mancini's not a bit over-rated. No, that's not quite what I mean. I mean, I wonder if Mancini hasn't over-performed, as it were. He arrived unheralded and I'm not sure that when he's not quite at his best he brings enough to the table. Certainly he doesn't carry the same threat going forwards as someone like Mutu or Robinho, so without the work-rate to bring to the table, I'm not sure.

If Milan can click quickly, then without the CL I should think that they and Inter start a bit ahead of us, but Rube and Fiorentina have the CL to worry about this season, and they were a fair way behind us last season. I don't know where we'll finish, and so much will depend on injuries and form, but I'm quietly optimistic that we will have a good shot at all three competitions one way or another.

There are whispers on romanews that we may still be interested in Drenthe as well on a loan. Again, that wouldn't surprise me. It seems to me that Spags is looking for something a bit different in the wide positions - he's looking for a guy with a really high work-rate first and foremost, who can bring balance to the team when we don't have the ball. That's the only reason I can think we've not really pushed for Suazo. Rather than looking for a guy who could bring goals and be a bit more attack-minded to take advantage of the work-rate of guys like Perrotta and Taddei, I think Spags is actually looking to get that work-rate from all 9 guys behind Totti to ensure the team keeps its equilibrium. It's not quite what I was expecting - a kind of Suazo/Vooch alternative on one side and a Taddei/Cassetti on the other. He actually wants true midfielders, then, rather than wing-forwards. I like his thinking. Though it does mean that Esposito is surely gone-burger, poor fella.

[pocari_fenrir]

[Frenchesco]

[Jamoldo]

[maro]

[maro]

Big praise for Menez:
Le parole di Oscar Damiani, agente Fifa e profondo conoscitore del calcio francese, rilasciate al Corriere dello Sport:

"Menez? Parliamo di un giocatore forte, con qualità eccezionali. Credo che senza mezzi termini uno come lui, con il suo talento, possa essere accostato a Cristiano Ronaldo o Kakà. Questo per far capire di quali potenzialità parliamo a livello di mezzi tecnici. Menez ha un gran fisico ma anche una incredibile velocità. In Francia lo ritengo assolutamente più forte di Nasri e Ben Arfa, semmai ai livelli di Benzema. Come attaccante esterno nel 4-2-3-1 della Roma è perfetto se parte da sinistra. Come Mancini per intenderci. Perplessità? Adesso deve crescere sul piano del carattere, per quel che riguarda la qualità credo di poter dire che ha anche margini di ulteriore miglioramento".

We shall see, we shall see.

[Totti_10]

Maro, I loved the Taddei youtube clip. I've seen a couple of his clips before and every time Chris goes crazy over some kid because of his youtube clips I think of the Taddei clips. I am a big fan of Taddei but even the hard working players provide enough moments of brilliance over a couple year span to produce a great youtube c

[Kroo]

[maro]

[RomaShield27]

[SPqR]

[maro]

[SPqR]

Yes I figured that I had misread it.....just wondering why they would officially state that they hadn't made an offer....

[maro]

I imagine that if they're ever worried that speculation is affecting the share price, for instance, they're obliged to make an announcement of some kind. Presumably the same thing applied when all of the Soros stuff was gathering momentum. Huge praise for Menez in the press today which is good - from Candela, among others. At least Philippe will have some company when Domenech reverts to type and omits him from his squads. It's interesting for me to see the way he's been ranked by a couple alongside Benzema and ahead of Nasri and Ben Arfa, and it's interesting too that people keep picking out his real pace and pace off the mark as among his real strengths. Technical, quick, hard-working, and clever: it's hard to imagine a better combination. We shall see, though. We shall see.

[Totti_10]

The draw should start soon. Hopefully we get a nice draw.

[g.smiley]

Good oldbruno conti is picking some draws!

[g.smiley]

we got chelski