THE WOLF'S DEN - Tana dei Lupi II

[Lupa]

[Carlo Romano]

To be honest Lupa, I'm glad I don't have Rai Int. I don't care for the interruptions. Sky Italia gives you the goals update as an option. With Rai Int. it seems to be a fixture. But it will give you an HD picture and you won't have to play around with links.

Ed, I'm not so surprised to see ESPN UK not covering our match with Bari being bottom of the table. Remember they have to take the Italian equivalent of "Match of the Day..."


I'm glad to see Totti finally putting some thought and inventiveness into a free kick. I think a lot of people must have got on his case last time out, prompting his My feet are getting old too comment! I remember he used to do that sort of indirect play much more often. He was getting into too much of a habit with his more recent approaches, made worse by the fact they weren't working!

[RomaShield27]

Hope to see Okaka come on in the second-half at some stage, actually. He's our only attacking option on the bench, but more than that he deserves a run out, and should be ahead of fAtdriano in the pecking order.

[RomaShield27]

[Deini]

Menez is something else. Great runs, if only he could get Totti's vision.

Carlo, i'll post tomorrow my ideal 3-4-1-2 formation. Was busy the last week and now i'm posting here with my phone.

Pocari, i'm interested too in the fb pages of the primavera. I got on myself. Fb page for this sounds good also.

[Italiamia]

[Deini]

[Carlo Romano]

Johnny, if our midfield can start performing more, as many football critics are saying ours needs to, then such an attack minded format with a backline of three central defenders could certainly have merit, despite it being as some of the lads here were saying, an old fashioned idea. But it couldn't work as we are. I hope we get the two new midfielders Ranieri wants in January. If our mid section picks up in quality and services the front three as it should do, then it's workably possible and I'd like to see it tried, but our mister then becomes the weak link. It's too adventurous a format for him. Who knows though, with no contracts being discussed just now, he might not be with us come summer.

[Carlo Romano]

Juan scraped a victory over Bari despite Francesco Totti seeing his penalty saved.

The Giallorossi were buoyed by their qualification to the Champions League knock-outs this week, but needed to pick up the pace in Serie A after one point from two games. Mirko Vucinic, Adriano, Simone Perrotta, Julio Sergio and the suspended Daniele De Rossi were out, so Francesco Totti didn't get an opportunity to rest. Bari were missing 10 players: Salvatore Masiello, Paulo Barreto, Vitalii Kutuzov, Abdel Ghezzal, Alessandro Parisi, Nacho Castillo, Nicola Belmonte, Sergio Almiron, Edgar Alvarez and the suspended Marco Rossi.

Gianluca Galasso, a Roma youth product, risked giving away a penalty with a clumsy handling offence. Bari created a good chance early on, but Massimo Donati drilled wide of the near post. Rinaldi was judged to have pulled down Marco Borriello in the six-yard box for a penalty, though it seemed to be a bit of a mutual tussle. The referee pointed to the spot anyway and Francesco Totti's timid finish was well smothered by Jean-Francois Gillet.

Roma did take the lead on the half-hour with defender Juan. A Totti free kick was chipped delightfully for Juan to tap in from six yards as Gillet came tearing off his line. Borriello got a nasty knock during the move and needed treatment for a head injury, but was able to carry on.
Jeremy Menez went on a smart solo run only to shave a coat of paint off the base of the near post. Bogdan Lobont picked up a knock during the first half and couldn't make it back for the restart, so third-choice goalkeeper Alexander Doni was given his first game of the season.

Nico Pulzetti's ball across the face of goal was too long for an Emanuel Rivas tap-in. Borriello should've scored a second when he sprinted into the area and seemed to draw out the goalkeeper, but the finish was deflected wide of the near post. From the resulting corner, Marco Cassetti cracked his header against the upright.

Menez was a constant danger and tested Gillet on several occasions, particularly a mazy run with powerful angled drive on 77 minutes.
Borriello thought he had made it 2-0 in the final moments when he chested down the ball to thump an angled drive across the goalkeeper into the far bottom corner. However, the linesman claimed he had used his arm and Borriello was livid. The replays are inconclusive.

It was still only 1-0 and at the 90th minute Bari threatened a shock equaliser. Crimi got to the by-line and pulled it back for Romero, but Marco Cassetti almost accidentally found himself in the way to deflect it out for a corner from five yards.


Roma: Lobont (Doni 46); Cassetti, Mexes, Juan, Castellini; Greco, Simplicio, Brighi; Menez (Taddei 88); Borriello, Totti (Okaka 71)

Bari: Gillet; Galasso, A Masiello, Rinaldi, Raggi; Gazzi, Donati, Pulzetti, Strambelli (Crimi 81); Rivas (Romero 61), Caputo (D'Alessandro 67)

Ref: Romeo

Missed penalty: Totti 20







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A 1-0 home win! In terms of our performance, it's hard to be positive other than in to praise a very few individual efforts. We could say this match ought to have been a 3-0 victory for us but the fact is we'd be clutching at straws with Borriello's ruled out "goal." Certainly, things might have been different had Totti not missed his rigore. By the time he had taken that nicely inventive free kick with which Juan scored, that would have put a different complexion on the entire matter. Nonetheless, the records show we weren't able to beat an injury stricken Bari by more than one goal...and it's all too painfully obvious we must raise our game drastically come next Saturday against the rossoneri in Milano.

At this point I haven't the enthusiasm to read the different reports. I will watch the highlights on Rai Due. Perhaps on a large screen tv some of what I will see can actually be termed as highlights...I am consoling myself with the thought that at least we have the three points. Somebody may be thinking I am not making allowances for the fact we played in Romania last Tuesday and if we had struggled against Inter or Juve today as we did against Bari I would agree. This just isn't good enough.

[Lupa]

[Lupa]

[Deini]

Leggo coming with an article today saying that Roma has already an agreement in place with Ancelotti to become the new coach in June. My question is with whom management? What if the new owners (if that happens) want someone else as a coach?

[ASR1927]

To add to Johnny's post above...


Carlo Ancelotti Agrees To Quit Chelsea & Join Roma - Report

Carlo Ancelotti will wave arrivederci to Chelsea and join Roma in June as he prepares to clear his desk at Stamford Bridge early, according to a report from Italy.

Impero Romanista claims Ancelotti may arrive in June to replace Claudio Ranieri. The current Roma boss has not renewed his deal in the capital.

Varying results, coupled with the uncertainty over the club's future, have put any talk of an extension into the background.

Ancelotti meanwhile has seen his relationship with Chelsea thrown into doubt.

The Blues boss seems to have lost his grip on the way of life in the Premiershit, and he has made a pact with Roma director Bruno Conti to join them under the instruction of current president Rosella Sensi.

Ancelotti's Roma ties make him a favourite among fans and chiefs at the club, especially if Ranieri fail to deliver meaningful results this season.

Despite the exit claims, Ancelotti said Blues owner Roman Abramovich ensured his job was secure.


[Italiamia]

What is the source of the report, Jeff?

[Italiamia]

[RomaShield27]

Yes the news of Ancelotti's arrival does seem a little premature at this stage. I'd be interested to know where these rumours came from for sure, but article from goal.com says that it was Impero Romanista who made the claim. Its probably just all bullshit at this stage, what with Ancelotti coming under pressure from Abramovich and the uncertainty surrounding Ranieri's future, but I think its a strong possibility to happen at the end of the season, especially if Chelsea don't win anything. I'd very much welcome Ancelotti.

[ASR1927]

[romawi]

Do not want Ancellotti. Bring back Spalletti, or a coach who can make us play similar to the way that Spalletti did.

I want us to play like this again:

[maro]

Ahhhh. Che bello.

[Carlo Romano]

Lupa, agreed, our French pair did have a good game and that's what I meant by certain individual performances. I'm only sorry we saw just one Totti-esque act of inventiveness...this little piece below verifies your post above on Marco Borriello.



From Sport.it: Fracture of the right anterior wall of the maxillary sinus for Borriello!

Marco Borriello, hit hard by Michele Rinaldi of Bari during the goal mouth action involving Juan, will play play against his former team (December 18, Stadio San Siro, 20:45CET) wearing a protective mask. He will then go under the knife, taking advantage of the Christmas break to be able to return in January without his competitive ability affected.

This image shows what the support will supposedly look like and makes him appear like we've employed the services of a mercenary from the Middle East to try to take down Milan, Saturday evening! I'm not convinced and I think we'll see something a little more "reserved" in appearance...



I was not pleased at all to read on Rai tv text service that our presidentessa in an in interview on Center Sport told everyone that we will wait for Adriano to prove he is a World Champion and that he is not leaving in January. I honestly hope this is just some kind of smoke screen to cover exactly where he is going. Damn, can't Rosella see he would return from his Christmas holiday in Rio almost as heavy as he was last summer!

Fortunately, Forza Roma assures us that despite that interview, Big Fatso is edging ever nearer to Corinthians.



From LaRoma24.it, among others, the news we have all feared is at his moment in time, poised to happen. Doni will be in goal for us following Lobont's injury. We had all hoped Julio Sergio would make it back in time but with no news yet on him...

We can only in the meantime We can substitute the prayer mat for that as necessary the longer the week progresses with no better news on JS. Unless Ranieri has already decided to let him fully recuparate over the holiday break.


From Sky Italia...Signor Claudio appears reluctant to comment on David Pizarro. The media seems to think there is more than injury or flu going on and il mister was very curt with his non committed comments.



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La classifica...not that it makes a great difference at this point but Inter, had they played at the weekend and won would be sitting level on 26 points with us, but above us on goals difference.




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We all know I too would love to see Carletto Ancelotti as our allenatore but as I keep saying, and Johnny has also now made the point, under which management? Can we see him come to us to work on a shoestring budget? Not after what he has been used to with Juventus, Milan, Chelsea, etc. I too would love to see us play the free flowing champagne football we used under Spalletti but not with the amount of defensive errors we had to endure, or missed opportunities up front without a true designated primo punto. For now it seems we still have those defensive failings though to a point have corrected our missed goalscoring chances. But we are no longer playing attractive football. Spalletti had a collectively powerful and effective midfield, almost our entire strength. Now we have indidviduals who aren't creating as many chances for Borriello & Co. to feed off.

If we get Angelucci as our owner, we know no great changes will happen and that unfortunately means no Carlo Ancelotti. A great pity because I am with those who feel he would bring us a compromise between attractive football and tighter more stable defensive work, which would require squad additions...damn but that prayer mat is becoming mighty worn!