THE WOLF'S DEN - Tana dei Lupi II

[RomaShield27]

Yes, quite a bold move by Leonardo... its a statement he wants all three point here, but hopefully it will backfire on him. Perrotta and Vucinic will be key for us here, creating space and stretching that Milan defense.

[RomaShield27]

Milan's forward three is limiting our full-backs from getting forward – as I'm sure the Tinkerman has instructed them not to get too far away from Dinho and Huntelaar – and as a result we're failing to offer support and make the ball stick in the middle of the park, and overall are surrendering the midfield area to them too easily. At half-time its: Leonardo 1-0 Tinkerman.

I feel sorry for Baptista. I think he's trying quite hard and putting in the work but he just doesn't have the football brian to play as trequartista in this lineup. I wouldn't be surprised to see Toni on after the break, and us switching to the rombo. Perrotta has looked out of sorts and must of gave the ball away about six or seven times with some sloppy passing, while Taddei and Cassetti on the right-hand side have offered no attacking threat whatsoever. Cassetti cannot also cross to save his life.

[maro]

We started excellently for the first 15 minutes or so, but thereafter Milan were much the better side. I don't quite understand why Ranieri has us conceding quite so much ground at home. Perhaps he's waiting for the fullbacks to over-commit and open something up, but we hardly played any football for long stretches there. Riise's penned back, Vooch is isolated, Pizza's done some good stuff when we've had the ball, but there have been too many long stretches when we've not even seen the ball. Burdisso, Juan, and Riise also don't seem to know what to do when Huntelaar comes narrow and Bonera and Flamini have been giving us real trouble down that right every time Riise goes inside with Huntelaar. Admittedly, Milan have created just about nothing, but they've looked much the more likely side to create something.

[maro]

I'm surprised he didn't go straight to the Rombo with the guys he's got out there, nedzo. I suspect Ranieri was thinking the ball might stick to Vooch and Baptista a bit more than it has and so allow us to get forward, but we're not carrying enough of a threat as it is.

[RomaShield27]

Yes, well I think switching to the rombo regardless of any personnel changes would be a good move. We need to compete more in the midfield since our full-backs aren't pushing up as much, since Taddei is practically an extra defender and because we need to press them more in the middle.

Doesn't look like there are any changes...

[maro]

Wow. That was shocking. Seriously horrible. If Ambro weren't such an outrageous diver he might have had a penalty and that high foot from Burdisso was a penalty for sure. We were shocking. I blame Ranieri almost entirely - he set the team out appallingly tonight and they played accordingly. Juan was horrifically poor and Burdisso just a whisker better. How we got away with 0-0 is beyond me.

[maro]

Oh, and credit to Milan. Pirlo bossed the game; Ronnie did some horrible stuff but also some good stuff and grew into the game; their fullbacks totally outplayed ours; Flamini was the best player on the pitch in the first half.

[ASR1927]

Well that was frustrating to watch! But I suppose a point each is a fair result. Considering how poor we were tonight it's actually quite flattering to us.

[maro]

Ranieri ruined my evening - at least playing beautiful stuff and getting beaten gives you something to enjoy. That was dross.

[Carlo Romano]

All I really feel like adding is...since most football sources will record the stats and not the happenings of the match, then we must concede when coldly looking at the facts in black and white, that as Milan had more of the possession and slightly more attempts on goal, this was a point won rather than two lost, even though we had home advantage.

I won't dwell on the fact that De Rossi and Vučinić ought to have at least hit the target, De Rossi with his early shot and Vuci with his second half header. Sky Italia named Pirlo as migliore in campo and Vučinić as our best player. Ranieri said yesterday, once again, that the Scudetto is and has been Inter's from the start of the season. I point out that they don't like to play under pressure but on tonight's evidence I'm thinking all we or Milan can really now do is make things awkward for them because neither of us is going to stop them.

For our part we must now make sure to not drop out of the top four!

[aba_bab]

Cassettti is awful... I wish i could see past that and pass judegment on other players. But I just can't.. I can even see myself warming up to Baptista... maybe.. one day... but not that clown.. no way

[p_maldini_3]

[Lupa]

[Carlo Romano]

I thought it was time to break out the colours again, resurrect il mio centurione romano as a sign of solidarity. Yesterday was supposed to be the game which would show us just how far we have really climbed back up the ladder, our "shock of reality" as it were and we saw...

We know all the reasons for only managing to take one point from a home game and it's time to move on. I have, and am now thinking of our coming awkward trasferta with Livorno, followed by Di Natale's zebrettini and then Bologna before we face Inter in our own back yard. I'm looking for all nine points (at worst seven) before Mou and his merry men pay us a visit! That's not nonsense talk on the nine points from the three pre-Inter matches. Unless things were to sour badly, maintaining third place ought to be well within our power.

Hey Lupa, I hope you enjoyed your break. Now if Deini reappears, we have two more regular posters back with us. You'll forgive me I'm sure if I say I have no interest in Borriello's hairstyle. Tell me, do you remember that idiot Gaucci who was at one time presidente of Perugia and led them to near ruin with his buffoonery? He was set on having female players in Serie A along with the guys. I might have been motivated into commenting on their appearance but truthfully, I'm glad it didn't happen.

[maro]

Carlo, you do protest an awful lot about your lack of desire for other men. Borriello's hair was appalling last night - fortunately his finishing was as bad. As I said two weeks ago - if we come out of the games against Napoli and Milan no further behind Inter than we were two weeks ago, I'd be prepared to consider a tilt at the Scudetto just about not entirely a foolish dream. Presumably Inter will struggle to come away with minus a point from tonight, though we can certainly hope. Lupa, the problem is that with Totti and Toni fit, I suspect we'll see us playing even more like this - defending very deep, getting the ball forward quickly, and hoping that the front two can manufacture something from very little.

[maro]

Wow, this is not the way I saw the game at all:
http://www.romanews.eu/news.asp?newsID=3649&pag=66
I thought Juan had a horrible game - he didn't know when to step in to help Riise and to send Riise on to the overlapping run of Flamini or Bonera, and all through the game I thought he was a step off the pace. He's been playing superbly, but last night I thought he was as poor as anyone.

[RomaShield27]

Yesterdays performance was certainly very disappointing, and I think it would be fair to say we were a little bit fortunate to even get a point out of the game. Its extra disappointing, really, when you think that we had built ourselves up as being the second best side in the league and worthy contenders to challenge even the mighty Intermerda. I'm not saying we're not, but yesterdays performance failed to live up to that belief. I don't why we didn't play to the best of our abilities, but I think it comes back to the mentality factor and the lack of self-confidence that seems to haunt this bunch of players. We should of been reveling in this game; a showdown for second place in our own back yard, a sold-out and highly charged and buzzing Olimpico, a near full strength side (minus Il Capitano, of course, but he has been missing for a while now) with key players in good form (Vuc, Juan, Pizza), and so we really needed to step up to the plate and show that we worthy of being the second best team and show we have the confidence in ourselves to back that up, but unfortunately it never happened. Not having Toni starting was a blow, but Baptista has showed, in fairness to him, that he is in decent form, but he just can't play as he did he that formation. I thought Ranieri should of went with a rombo which would set us up better to compete with Milan's midfield, while still leaving two upfront and then having Perrotta and co bomb forward. The way we were set up last night our full-backs were too pinned back and Taddei, DDR and even Perrotta couldn't get forward enough to help support a very isolated and frustrated Vucinic. Vucinic himself showed his class but perhaps also showed that he's perhaps not made to play as a lone prima-punta with such little help. Baptista was willing but could never and was never going to be able to be that lynchpin to link the midfield and Vuc together. As a rombo, however, Baptista could of proved a lot more effective in assisting Vuc, as we seen when big Luca came on. I was also disappointed Ranieri didn't try changes things more in the second-half, when we were struggling for long periods and Milan took full control of the game. We could of done with a change, namely Menez on for Perrotta or Taddei to play in behind the front two (in a rombo). It would of been quite an attacking and risky move, which is why Ranieri wasn't prepared to do it (as he said himself after the game), and he was clearly happy with the draw. I know Perrotta and Taddei were energetic and important to help out our defence, but it seriously hurt us offensively. It was a home game and one which we should of been looking to take by the scruff of the neck, but Ranieri showed he wasn't prepared to do that, and I think thats a weakness and a sign of our apparent issues with our mental approach and lack of self-confidence. If such signs come from the top like that then its inevitable it will come through to the players. We wanted to be big boys on the big stage but we just couldn't believe in ourselves enough when it mattered.

[romawi]

[Carlo Romano]

Tom, I wish you hadn't said what you have about what you think will happen once we finally get a Totti-Toni front pair. It sounds just what we'd do, that's to say, if Ed's assessment is accurate also.

At this stage, rather than thinking Ranieri showed weakness, I'd prefer to think he wasn't prepared to risk anything because he didn't want to push the lads he has available beyond his personal belief of their capabilities. But, in holding back, if his best shot is he's waiting for a fully fit Totti and Toni to work miracles, then much of the progress we have made up to now is going to fall away. Which brings us back to the same old but true moan and groan that we have little quality in reserve when we lose starting choice players.

For the record, anyone else here who may have watched "Novantesimo Minuto" on Rai Due this late afternoon will have heard the much respected Gian Piero Galeazzi echo my sentiments of a week or so ago that Totti is too busy to be on the pitch as he is making all these adverts! Of course, he and I were half joking...and yes, I know he was at the game, we saw enough camera shots of him! He didn't look too happy, did he? Maybe he was thinking he could have been with the slinky brunette in his two poker commercials instead of watching his team struggle! Did anyone notice how tense Rosella was, just as a point of interest?

I've read several opinions in a variety of places pointing to the need for Ménez to have come on against Milan but I'm wondering, the way he has been playing when he has been given the chance to, under Ranieri's instruction, he hasn't exactly set the woods on fire, has he? The way il mister went about things yesterday, Ménez would have probably been a direct replacement for Taddei rather than being part of a formation change which wouldn't have achieved much beyond a player swap.

Forget Borriello's damn hair, I'm more concerned with what he'll do for our Azzurri in Sth Africa this June. We didn't give him much opportunity to do anything yesterday but if he has the talent I think he does then he needs to step it up because he's going to face better defences than ours in just over three months!

[red]

The Milan game was certainly a glimpse of what was a regular occurrence when Juve was at Juve.

The teams defending deep and desperately hoping The Waterboy and whoever he was playing with could win the game, because there was no danger of more than one other player, usually Nedved, supporting them at any given time.

Roma might get away with it when Totti is in the team, but it's unlikely to work without him.