THE WOLF'S DEN - Tana dei Lupi II

[arthurfonzarelli]

[stefano]

[stefano]

[RomaShield27]

lol. What media storms are you referring too? I have eyes, Stefano. I seen the way he acts when coming off the pitch when he is subbed like against Inter and Bari. I seen with my eyes that he did not sit on the bench, that he disappeared down the tunnel and presumably out of the stadium. I have seen the way he acts on the times when he comes off the bench, the way he struts around with an arrogance as if he couldn't be bothered. I have seen the extremely disappointing performances. I have seen with my eyes the stuff that he has said when he has been critical of Ranieri's decisions. They were his own words. I have rarely seen him encouraging others as of late either on or off the pitch (from the bench).

But never mind all that, lets all just pretend there are no problems at all with Totti, that this is the type of standard stuff which comes when a player is dropped, and that everything will work out rosy in the end.

[stefano]

I'll grant you Totti's own words, but has his criticism of Ranieri's decisions been unwarranted? As for the rest of it, there is very little that you've seen. Totti rarely sits on the bench once he's been taken off the field, but that's nothing new. Criticize him for it if you will, but why start now and not ten years ago? What else have you seen with your eyes? Perhaps you have rarely seen him encouraging others from the bench because the television cameras are showing you the game. We simply have no way of knowing what goes on beyond that we can see - and we see very little.

[RomaShield27]

lol, of course his criticism has been unwarranted. No footballer should ever publicly criticise his managers choices, and if he does he should be reprimanded by the club for it. Thats never happened. Granted, what he said was not all that bad but he still should not have said it, especially as he is the club captain.

[stefano]

Why shouldn't any footballer criticize his manager's choices when his manager's choice where wrong?

[RomaShield27]

Because he's the manager.

[stefano]

That is an insufficient answer to the question.

[RomaShield27]

It is not a players place or job to criticise anything his manager does or says. Especially not in the media. He is the manager for a reason: to manage. Any issues with him need to be addressed from those above him.

[stefano]

When the club is broken above and thing need addressing, things must be addressed from below.

[Italiamia]

[RomaShield27]

[stefano]

I've long said that Totti should have made better use of his public voice. In my opinion, he should have been criticizing club management for years. I'm not suggesting that FT should be "player/manager/club presidente" but he has a unique voice and should use it to better Roma.

[RomaShield27]

Yes, I agree in a sense. He does have a unique voice, thats why Vodafone snapped him up. Seriously, he does hold a special position and so could be more public over matters like say the future ownership and direction of the club, certain club policies, dealing with the fans, attracting new players to join Roma (which he has done), that sort of thing. But not criticising his manager publically. That is not his position, nor should it ever be any players.

[stefano]

That's where we disagree. If what he says is wrong, then I'll happily criticize him. If not, I'm happy to hear him speak (or read his words, as it were).

[RomaShield27]

Ok. But where would you draw the line? If what Totti has said against Ranieri recently is right – and I'm not saying that it is not – you think its ok for him to continue to speak out on such matters, even for the club to endorse what he says? But what if he were to say some silly things on tactical matters or choices which Ranieri does? Should it be allowed then? We know Totti is not the brightest spark there is and won't become a manager or coach after he retires, so he perhaps isn't best suited to judge such things. You just can't allow it at all from the start, in my opinion.

[stefano]

As of now there is not really a club above him to speak of. Once the ownership situation is figured out along with next year's managerial situations the powers that be will do as they will.

I simply think that some Romanisti are making a stink about very little.

[Lupa]

I don't think any player is ever happy to be subbed out. There's appearing unhappy about it and sitting down, and there's being unhappy about it and stalking off, not supporting your teammates by sticking around to see the end of the game. If Totti has issues with Ranieri, there are ways for him to address them rather than speaking out through the media. I'm not saying Ranieri's always right, (nooooo, not at all) just that he is the manager, and Totti shouldn't be publicly questioning him and undermining him. It also doesn't encourage other players to respect the manager, then, so we get a lot of toddlers throwing tantrums.

I also agree that the media are happy to create a storm of controversy, but why give them material?

[p_maldini_3]

totti isn't aging gracefully, regardless of the media exaggerations, it has been well established that he is unhaPpy with not playing and it is causing disharmony to the club.