THE WOLF'S DEN - Tana dei Lupi II

[maro]

I think it was pretty understandable that the foul was given but it was hardly an unnecessary challenge, Carlo. DDR gets all the blame for that second goal. He made a terrible error which placed Andreolli under huge pressure. I should think you could play that situation 100 times with the worst attacker in Serie A against the best defender and I bet the attacker would win the free 98 times. The worst thing was that the mistake from DDR and the goal came at the point in the game at which we were playing our best football and with the greatest confidence. We suddenly, for a couple of minutes there, were moving the ball more quickly and passing Genoa to death. Equally, the non-red card was a huge call - I don't want to make too much of a fuss of it; we'll get soft calls our way too. However, given that Genoa's game plan at the back was to push as high as they possibly could, right up to the halfway, to squeeze space in the midfield and on the basis that Totti didn't have the pace to carry a threat in behind, you know that it only takes one mistake for that to come undone. It's a high risk strategy. Today, that one decisive moment at which the strategy came unstuck the ref was there to stick it back together again.

I thought we played quite well today at times against a good side and gave away three bad goals - the first one was messy at the top of the box and a bit piss-weak from Pizza; the second was DDR's glaring error; and the third was a poor one to concede at every stage - the freekick conceded, the first header given, the weak save, the slowness to the rebound. Three poor goals, then, and bits of pieces of quite good play. Menez looked excellent and full of confidence. How many times did he get pulled back by his shirt? That was ridiculous - and a sign of his pace. Burdisso looks like he'll add a lot - no doubt he'll make one or two horrific tackles over the season and we'll bemoan them, but he's a class above one or two of the CBs we've seen in giallorosso over the past 15 months.

[maro]

And Frence's right for sure - we need a true striker to carry a threat in behind if only to buy some space for the rest of the players in the middle of the pitch. Vooch can do this, but someone like Pavluychenko or Suazo would do it more naturally still, I think.

[Frenchesco]

We need yes...how is the system going to change however, I am not sure. Let's say we get Suazo, how are we going to play?
Anyway, only a few more days left and I am not very confident we'll get anyone.
This management is crazy, instead of making sure we have a chance to go back to the big money competition that is the Champions League and so manage to survive, they are acting like they do not need that money.
For Rosella and co. we are good enough and will be in the top 4. They are crazy. Instead of investing for a true striker and get chances to be back with the best, they are doing the minimum and will loose much more when not qualifying for the Champions league next year. What a planning...what a vision...

[maro]

Spags wants to play 4-4-2, Frence', with a proper striker in Menez's spot - just because he needs someone to make those runs in behind in there to give Totti a bit more room to come deep into. And then Menez will spend more time playing wide again. So the idea will be Vooch/?? alongside Totti and, equally, because Vooch can come short, he could play alongside the other striker when Totti's out. In a sense, I think he's just replacing Perrotta with a striker who will play up against the back four rather than coming from deeper.

[Frenchesco]

So are we seriously linked with anyone now? Do u believe we r going to buy a new player now?

[Frenchesco]

To me, it is not missing much to have a competitive team now, if only we could get a true striker.

[maro]

It will depend on whether or not Baptista and/or Cicinho is sold, I think, Frence'. If neither is (and it's kind of unlikely to think that Cicinho would go to Barca to sit on the bench or that Baptista's a really credible alternative for Inter after Sneijder et al.), then I suspect nothing will happen - it'll be Okaka and Vooch alongside Totti with Menez and Brighi as options in a 4-2-3-1.

[Giacomo]

[maro]

[Giacomo]

[maro]

[Italiamia]

[maro]

[Italiamia]

[maro]

[Italiamia]

[maro]

[Carlo Romano]

Tom, predictably the post-match inquest held by many giallorossi threw up the predictable moans and groans or at any rate none I haven't heard before. What has changed is the amount of venom I'm seeing being directed at il mister albeit on the back of the usual complaints...

The criticism of his tactics yesterday seems harsh given the players he had at his disposal. How could he have really varied it in fairness? Put Totti behind Menez and Brighi in a 4-3-1-2? There isn't a primo punto amongst them and Totti no longer has the pace to come from deep...

I hope we don't have to bear the cross this season as we did for much of last, of never really having our best XI for a long enough period of time to make it count. We all know it was that, even more than the tactics issue which ultimately cost us.

I tend to agree with all the points you made in your response to my previous post except to say I still maintain Andreolli must take his share of blame for that free kick conceded...incidentally it will be interesting to see if the Sky Italia comments on him going to Bari are true!

On the striker issue, to also bring Gio in here...we have seven days to find a loan deal or yet another bargain basement buy! Many of us in here have been saying for ages that someone of quality to partner Vučinić is exactly what we need, an almost impossible task in the time left to us and within our budget. If I firmly believed we'd buy someone in that category I'd say it's worth waiting until January to unload Baptista or Cicinho, rather than just taking anyone now who loosely fits the bill just for the sake of it. But heaven only knows in what state our finances will be then!

[romawi]

[romawi]