THE WOLF'S DEN - Tana dei Lupi II

[Lupa]

[maro]

Well, a lot of tourists want the chance to see Trajan's column.

[Carlo Romano]

In between the exposure comments...

It would appear I too picked the right day to be unable to watch our match live...I've not long finished watching the extended highlights on ESPN. (about an hour.)

I can only add a couple of points to what has already been written, both by all of you and by what has been done elsewhere. The old sayings, "a game of two halves" and "records were made to be broken" come very much to mind because that's just what we saw. The first 45 was mostly ours, the second was Napoli's and that thirteen year derby del sud winning streak in our favour has come to an end.

I don't at all blame Lobont for the two Napoli goals. It's clear the guy is growing in confidence and did some good work today. Quite aside from the result, the other big annoying factor for me today was our waste of set plays. That, if you all remember, was my ongoing moan last season too and once again I was cursing our inability to even make one of those corner and free kick opportunities count though one, as it happened, nearly did...

Signor Claudio has said Napoli showed more determination, and going by the second half, that's so. I'm waiting to see what he says about the fact we have lost every away game so far this season! As to what he has said, giving the reason of tiredness as his explanation for his substitution of Borriello by Vučinić, and continuing by remarking that we are not the Roma of last season...he has sparked a response from Borriello along the lines that this Roma is a good side and that he wasn't tired! All very predictable under the circs but the unarguable fact now is we are back where we were last weekend...in a "must win" situation and one which requires our mister to work even harder than he has done to boost morale and keep control. We are at home to Genoa so it has to happen then, nothing less will do!

As for Signor Claudio's reasoning behind our second half formation change, going from the 3-4-1-2 of the first half to the more defensive or "containing" line up of a 3-5-2 just because it worked for him last season...well we saw what that did today! Like most of you, I'm wondering why in hell didn't he just continue with what gave us the upper hand in the first half?

[ASR1927]

I missed the first half wish I hadn't seen the second because whilst it was unfolding in front of me I had a familiar sense of dread that I get and I am sure most of you get sometimes when watching Roma. It doesn't look like we are capable of creating anything and it sure as hell looks like we will concede!
I can't claim to be knowledgable enough to qualify as even an armchair football manager but even I don't understand some of Il Mister's decisions made today. I don't know why he started Totti after he played a full 90 against Cluj? Never mind taking off Borriello and Menez?! Also the formation changes mentioned above by Carlo don't make sense either. I don't see why a trident of Vucinic and Borriello and Menez behind them to start wouldn't work?
Anyway back to the drawing board. Don't know if I really added anything but that's my two cents.

[maro]

Agreed, Goffredo. We were terrible in the second half having been pretty solid in the first. A tridente with those three would work for sure. In the comments I saw, Carlo, Ranieri didn't say anything about Brighi for Menez being a defensive move or a move to give us greater solidity; he said it was about getting beyond the other midfielders and giving us a threat in behind. One of the things that most annoys me at the moment - and has annoyed me even while we were getting the previous two good results - is that we don't seem to have a playing-style, an identity as a team. Claudio is always making so many changes that we haven't had a chance to develop any kind of continuity, any settled style of play. So again today - and let's be fair, the 3-5-2 worked well in the first half - he said he couldn't play 4-4-2 with the players available, but why not 4-3-1-2? As Giacomo says, a straight swap of Brighi for Perrotta and settled tactics would have been the obvious way to go. If you don't develop a core way of playing you can't play with any instinctiveness, any basic, established pattern. One of Spags's faults may have been that he only had one way for us to play; you do need at least one essential style, though, otherwise the team will never properly express itself.

Totti's biggest problem at the moment is that he's adjusting to a different team shape and a different role. In the 4-2-3-1 (and the variations that we played last year when he was playing instead of rather than as well as Luca) Totti was always surrounded by a number of runners; he also tended to have those runners coming from deep which meant that when he picked the ball up with his back to goal he could actually see the movement of the players as they were getting beyond him (so the effect was almost as though he had eyes in the back of his head). He doesn't have the same options at the moment and so he isn't able to get the same mileage out of his vision: there aren't things to see, as it were, the things that only he can see. I can't see how his - or the team's - adjustment is going to be any easier or swifter with so many changes all over the shop. Coutinho played 90 minutes tonight - in part because of Inter's injury problems, to be sure. You can't tell me he's more 'ready' for Serie A than Menez is at this point in time.

[Lupa]

[Carlo Romano]

...and now you know why I prefer not to read their posts!

Tom and Jeff ask some good questions above...as did you earlier! Much more like the required article!

[ASR1927]

[Italiamia]

[Italiamia]

[maro]

[Lupa]

[Carlo Romano]

The Roma matchday player/coach ratings. A consensus with my own comments added in places...


Bogdan Lobont: 7.5
Made at least three brilliant stops during the match to keep Roma in it. He even almost kept out the opener, his team-mates let him down. He put in a very good display.

Marco Cassetti: 5.0
Absolutely lit up by Lavezzi and tormented by Dossena time and time again. He did himself no favours of cementing a first-place team at right-back.

Juan: 5.5
A few crucial interceptions, but he looked flat-footed in the second half as Napoli came forward.

Nico Burdisso: 5.5
Certainly not up to the level he played against Inter last weekend. He, like his centre-back partner Juan, appeared a step slower than their opponents.

Cicinho: 6.0
Impressed in the first-half in a midfield role, but his lack of match practice caught up with him in the second-half as he failed to have a consistent impact.

Daniele De Rossi: 6.0
Very good in the first-half, sitting in front of the defence and keeping his position perfectly. However, he failed to track back on Hamsik's goal and could not impose himself in the second 45.

David Pizarro: 5.0
A very sloppy match from the fiery Chilean. Too many misplaced passes and poor challenges. Another player who is not performing as he did last season for the Giallorossi.

John Arne Riise: 5.5
Should have scored when he collected the ball in the penalty area, early doors, but shot wide. As always offered support down the left both in defensive and offensive terms.

Jérémy Ménez: 4.5
Flop of the match. Was rarely in a position to get the ball and when he did it was often wasted. Removed at half-time.

Marco Borriello: 6.0
Worked very hard to lead the line and Roma were worse when he was removed. The Napoli backline was just too good for him on this occasion.

Francesco Totti: 5.5
He was the last to give up for the Giallorossi, but he simply was not invovled enough even if he pulled off a nice trick here and there. Roma need more from their captain.

Aleandro Rosi: 5.5
The 23-year-old ran quite a bit after coming on, but overall needs a bit more refining. Still, you can see his potential.

Mirko Vučinić: 5.5
Failed to take two opportunities in the area, often wanting too long on the ball when it came to him. Could not repeat his heroics from last week's clash with Inter.

Matteo Brighi: 5.5
He did not have the effect Ranieri was looking for and the match passed him by after his half-time entrance.

Claudio Ranieri: 5.5
My own addition...il mister failed us today in the second 45. As I have already said, we are now where we were last weekend, in a "must win" situation. We will be at home to il grifone genovese next week end. There are no certainties in this life but I'm as sure as I can be we will win though I cannot imagine us bettering a 2-1. Away to Parma following that however, I can't imagine us doing more than taking a draw. We then have Lecce at home following a home CL match with Basilea. Signor Claudio can't say he isn't getting ample opportunity there to gain some much needed continuity. It's absolutely imperative we get our act together as then we have the return with Basilea in Switzerland and the derby with i bastardi laziali! They are laughing as it is...if we lose to them and do badly in the CL then our coach can very quickly afterward think of his giallorossi adventure as being all but over!



...and last but not least, the Tabellino!

[Italiamia]

Holy Mother of God, take a look at that classifica. Carlo, I mean, what the hell. Do you have to put that right in front of our faces. I can only take solice in the fact that the utter filth of a fan base that supports the lazzie manure eaters are deluding themselves into actually believing they have a chance to do something positive this year.

Tommaso, yes, I am sorry but I am of the opinion that Totti, Vucinic and Borriello can play together. If that is not popular among the "experts", then all I can say is go straight to hell.

[Carlo Romano]

Gio, it's a gesture of defiance really...

If enough of these are thrust under certain noses in Trigoria, then to coin a very British phrase, perhaps certain fingers will get pulled out and a positive difference made!

But who'd have thought la Viola, la Samp, and i zebrettini would be where they are too?

[Italiamia]

[ASR1927]

[Italiamia]

You guys are up late tonight. What's the deal men?

[ASR1927]

Couldn't get to sleep but I am off to try again. Bit of insomnia is all Gio. :-)

[Carlo Romano]

These are my usual hours, I thought you knew that?