And Someone Shall Lead Them Through. Possibly.

By: chris | January 31st, 2012

17985651_roma-marquinho-sbarca-nella-capitale-scopriamo-il-brasiliano-11

Daniele Conti FC 4 – Roma 2

There’s a lot to say about that game and what it says about Roma. None of it is a reflection of what everyone thought roughly two weeks ago.

Game

93′ Ibarbo’s been more productive in the past 5 minutes than the entire Roman attack. Obviously it was set that way given the score, but still.

91′ Cagliari clinch it. Ekdal. Ibarbo was fucking brilliant in getting by Juan and leaving Ekdal the tap-in.

3′ added.

90′ Coming up on injury time with Ibarbo causing problems again. This doesn’t bode well.

And Miralem goes just wide. Brilliant free kick that was easily going in were it just a foot to the right.

87′ Excellent free kick spot just outside the box for Roma. Pjanic is the new taker, yes….

85′ And here he goes versus Kjaer…..and there’s his chance on net, but he fluffs it. It may be smart to duck and cover for the remainder of this game.

83′ Cagliari perfectly content with attacking with three. At most. They’re just sitting numbers and begging for some possession football.

Although here comes Ibarbo, the counterattacking release threat. He gets one chance on net minimum.

82′ And here comes the Cagliari late break after Bojan loses possession in the ball. Pinilla’s attempting to waste time, while Angels is happy enough to remove him from the ball.

Erik off for Bojan, not a razor to be seen.

79′ Ariaudo for Cossu. Not defensive at all. Nope.

Nice of Ballardini to remove Cagliari’s best two attackers.

77′ Gago’s actually been throwing in some nice passes in the last ten or so minutes, but it seems like Dessena always has a beat on them somehow.

76′ Holy shite – someone tackled Cossu.

75′ Totti finally has a moment in the sun, but he’s been exceedingly poor today.

Pjanic into the channel in the box, and fires just wide. Excellent pass by Lady G.

72′ Cossu giving the entire left side of Roma a lesson.

71′ Astori currently playing fast and loose with remaining on the pitch.

70′ Ekdal on for Ribeiro. Thanks?

69′ Angel shakes and bakes Pisano (I think) brilliantly, then fires a cross twenty yards beyond the closest white shirt. Roma in miniature.

68′ Borini heads wide. Glazed Sprinkles off, Greco on. And Luchio Gonzalez in Porto.

Borini yellow for tackling like a poacher. And it turns out, his previous shot was saved by Michele Agazzi’s man marbles.

63′ Borini played in with a tremendous ball by Lamela, only to be foiled by Cagliari’s ghost of Marco Storari.

Kjaer wants a PK on the resulting corner. Astori had the majority of Simon’s shirt in his hand.

62′ Now Cagliari attacking like they know what they’re doin’. How dare they. And Cossu just oozes class every single time he touches the ball.

Hey! Rosi does something! Cuts into the box on the end of a pass by Pjanic(?), flashes one across the six to Lamela, who couldn’t tap it in. Well that was nice.

60′ Daniele’s contract demands are being met without him doing anything right now

58′ Rosi’s just convinced LE to motion to the bench with yet another poor pass. On a scale of 1-10, he gets a -72 for today.

56′ Pjanic gets cheeky with a lofty corner to Gago waiting to volley from behind the box. Excellent thought, just a rather difficult execution.

54′ And another excellent ball by Totti, Rosi flubbing the shot. He’s just terrible today.

Simply Simplicio is fumbling all over the place. I blame Adriano’s workout plan.

53′ Francesco with his first quasi-remarkable pass of the day. It amounts to nothing after a deflected pass by Erik, but it’s something.

51′ Scrum in then Cagliari box now, a claim for a peno on Fabius (twas actually a foul on Agazzi after a handball on Simplicio – what a shit show), before Cagliari break the other way.

50′ Both goals were extremely excellent, no doubt about that, but he shouldn’t have been given the chance to score either.

And Conti hasn’t even scored yet.

He was just placed too easily behind the Roman defense. Like candy from a baby.

48′ Cagliari break, Ribeiro 2.0. Fucking phenomenal shot once again.

47′ Lamela hauled down, Astori with the yellow.

Kickoff 2.0

I will also say this: Roma’s enjoyed a solid amount of luck in their goals starting the Cesena rout and also today. I guess Cagliari enjoyed some luck in the form of Roma not defending as well.

Cagliari was better – not terribly, but clearly, especially in midfield – and much of the blame rests with the man on the right – this defense is fucking abysmal.

Half

44′ Yellow for Lamela after a late hack on Pisano, who only got the ball after a late hack on Cossu by Gago. Defending is an issue here this evening. (Not that you expect it from Lamela, but still.)

42′ Hey, matches against Cagliari are never, ever boring – so that’s something.

Cagliari goal. Pinilla. Defense is just so, so easily torn apart and a great ball from Cossu finds him in the box after he beat Rosi for an outside-o-the-boot-chip. (Might’ve been an OG, actually.)

40′ Totti and Lamela have combined to put in a half-performance.

37′ Kjaer foul. Nothing malicious, but Heinze best get warming for his halftime substitution.

35′ It’s unthinkable for Roma to be winning, since Cagliari have been the better team – as Pinilla gets a great chance – but then are they really? Already tabulating Conti’s goal?

A poacher’s effort. Pjanic with a bomb on net and Borini simply ran in to bury the rebound like a true striker. Lightning quick acceleration to the ball. Osvaldo, take a seat.

BORINIGOL

(A bit of luck on Juan’s goal, by the by. Canini was marking him but slipped, allowing J-Smooth the free header.)

32′ Woeful pass by Francesco results in a counter and Kjaer earning a yellow.

Anyone for a wager on the minute of his inevitable sending off? Anyone?

30′ Cagliari really seem to be focusing on attacking their right/Roma’s left. And Ribeiro is gifted another great chance but this one closed down a little better than the last.

28′ Conti bundles Lamela. That’s it, he needs to be taken out.

26′ And mind, the midfield and front seem to be into the game, but the defense just seemed to be taking an approach which is far too casual. At least until being called into the attack.

25′ Fabio looks like he ate his last paycheck.

23′ Dessena flubs a header from near the spot in the box, Maaarten is not called into duty.

20′ Seven blue/red shirts, two white shirts in the attack. That’s not going to do much.

18′ Tis a bit unfortunate to see players like Pizarro and Borriello, who, for all their faults, never gave less than 100% on the pitch, dumped only to now see things like Ribeiro given target practice and Dessena winning balls so easily inside the Roman box.

17′ Nothing comes of the corner, but it’s plainly evident which team is planning to do more work today.

15′ Angels gets flat roasted and outworked by Dessena when Roma should’ve cleared possession rather easily. Today is not reflecting well on the defense’s ability to give a shit. Now a corner for Cagliari.

Come on.

14′ Roma nabs the call of the day – Pinilla was skirting in 1v1 against Stek and it was called offside when he and Cossu, right next to him, were clearly on. Whistle and walk away. Whistle and walk away.

And I come back in time to find Juan scoring a header off a corner. That’ll do.

12′ Stream keeps dropping out. Apologies.

8′ Obviously, Ribeiro had more opportunity than really necessary. I blame…well, I blame a lot of people. But the defense is less than convincing as a (w)hole.

That was a fucking bullet. Not sure Maaaaarten had a chance.

6′ Wow. Out of absolutely nowhere, it’s a Cagliari goal NOT SCORED BY DANIELE CONTI.

Which means Roma’s now -2 in the hole, given Conti’s inevitable contribution to the scoresheet.

4′ Borini appears to be starting on the left and Lamela on the right. Does it even matter on the rotating top line?

3′ Roma’s attempting to set up base camp in the Cagliari half.

1′ The pregame lineups on the stream had Larrivey in the XI, and all I could think is that he’s the type of player who only has a career because Serie A exists.

…Did I miss something? The stadium is empty. (Well, that side – the rest of it’s okay.)

Kickoff

My stream just opened up to Saba walking across the pitch, cigarette in hand. Good juju? Or best juju?

Of note: I plan to spend much of this game baffled by the winter mercato. Because I’m pretty sure another tweener at fullback isn’t the answer for a team so easily picked apart at the back. Of course, maybe it’s just letting Kjaer run out his cobwebs each week. If he can, one would assume.

Streaming is criminally thin today, unfortunately. I seem to recall this being a pattern with games at the Sant’Elia. Perhaps it’s a gift to Roma fans who want Matteo Ferrari to die a slow and painful death?

(I’m over it. Swear.)

Official

Stekelenburg
Rosi, Kjaer, Juan, Angels
Pjanic, Gago, Simplicio
Totti, Borini, Lamela

In theory, that should be Roma’s best defense.

In practice, however…

***

Why the hell not?

First, the most surprising news of the last 24-48h: Lucho Gonzalez snuck away from Marseille for somewhere in the range of 0-2m euros. (UEFA says it’s a free, FIFA says €2m. Either way, it’s a bargain.) After all the effort they put in during the summer, DDR unsigned and Lady G merely on loan? Something seems amiss.

Next most surprising news: David Pizarro and Marco Borriello made it out of Rome while Luis Enrique remained with his life. (I think. Has anyone done a welfare check on Luis in the last sixish hours?)

Also of note: both deemed useless by Enrique, yet both were handed spots in a title race. Granted, they may make as much of an impression on their respective benches as they did in Rome…

Now, Marquinho…is it so wrong to be skeptical of South American talents who don’t make it to Europe before their 25th birthday? Is that what’s become of the great rape and pillage of South American football? (The little I’ve seen of him seems exactly what I imagine Aleandro Rosi would look like in Brazil, but on the left side. To the point that it’s eerie.)

Actually, go ahead and name a Brazilian star in Europe who crossed the seas after their 25th. [Insert Jeopardy theme music here.] Not that he need be a star, but it’s a fun little brain teaser. (First inclination was Maicon, but he was only 22. Dude needs some plastic surgery.)

And Cagliari…

Fuck off and die, Daniele Conti.

Serious note: testing, once again, how well Roma does against a side which can sit numbers and blitz the counter. And this time likely with Ibarbo, who’s not quite as useless as I thought him to be, from the off.

XI

Stekelenburg
Rosi, Juan, Heinze, Taddei
[Whothefuckcaresrightnow], Gago, [WhothefuckcaresrightnowptII]
Totti, Bo____, Lamela

I realized the actual formation long ago, I just couldn’t in good conscience plant a 35yo Totti on the wing.

They could really use a pint-sized Chilean in midfield and a hard-working Italian prima punta right about now. (Ahem.) What with having no faith in Enrique’s ability to write Borini’s name over Bojan’s consistently at the moment.

Some Related Roma Posts:

Category: Team News

« The Second Time Around | Home | Hole In The Heart »

Benattore

So, any news on when Marquinho is joining the squad?
iosanguinaregiallerosso

All I can say guys is onto the next one. It's Roma afterall. Win or lose I will follow you.

But yes we need to do something about our awful D. Lacking the killer pass, too many passes back and forth with no intent to push forward with any purpose to actually score a half decent goal. Who ever we are playing next should feel pretty confident in securing the 3 points.
Zzzzurzolo

I feel I need to vent like everyone else. I've been listening to Rete Sport, and all of Rome is feeling the same disgust and frustration with the team recently.

-Enrique's style of play and formation simply does not work with our current roster. On top of that, I'd question whether or not his philosophy would succeed even with the ideal roster because of Serie A's defensive and counter-attacking style...

-It is clear that re-signing Danielino is essential. Without him our entire midfield and defense fall apart. Just give the man his 6.5 million contract already, he deserves even more.

-Selling Pizzarro, and not buying any defensive reinforcements during the Mercato just seems like sheer stupidity. We've been desperate for a Right Back for over 3 years now! My only hope is that they are planning some major signings over summer and are saving up their war chest. Let's hope...

-While Lamela, Pjanic and Gago have shown glimpses of talent, they still need time to adjust to Serie A. They get a pass, for now.

-Stekelenburg and Heinze have been immense. Solid signings. Still not convinced on Osvaldo, but I'll admit his scoring and fighting spirit have impressed me.

Let's be realistic: If we get 4th place that would be an achievement with this squad and manager..
Loazzi

The REAL question is upon the slightest physical contact with her, did he "dive???"

http://www.forzaroma.info/news...
Loazzi

FANTASTIC!!!

http://www.forzaroma.info/calc...
ForzaTotti

Don't believe it.
philipp_sebastian

I loooove Jonas remark: "Lesson learned: never be optimistic after a win against Cesena". It's soooo true !!!! we were all seeing a scudetto contender in our team because they got few impressive attacks resulting in early goals, against weak defense (including keeper who was below usual performance against us). That was it.

After last night I must say that I probably should slow down. I can't take this roller-coaster emotion every few days. It's not good for my health and my marriage (my wife got really angry with me as I was screaming and kicking stuff to almost wake up our kids
Jonas

watching Roma makes me want to punch kids and women all day my friend, thou are not alone lol
Benattore

You're not alone in feeling like that, I was kinda depressed yesterday and it was pay day!
michele97

I AM NO LONGER FARTING OPTIMISM. (again)

-also whoever does the photoshop for asromastreaming is my hero.
Jonas

Conte sure is a fan of CATenaccio ey?

(chicks love my humor)
Dani

Where's Cassetti???
Benattore

My guess is halfway to here
Jonas

against Inter, this would be my 11:

--------Stek-------
----4 grandma's-----
-------DDR---------
-------Totti--------

all the rest we can do without, maybe it's a shame this game wasn't played in january, maybe then Saba would have ejected his head out of the asses of 12 year old Argentinan kids and actually bought QUALITY ones
Mostafa El-Beheiry

I would have a different XI:

--------Stek--------
--------Nico-------
--------DDR-------
---Totti---Osvaldo--
Jonas

lesson learned: never be optimistic after a Cesena win...
ASR_Martino

You are forgetting our embarrassing Coppa loss to Juve. We are plummeting right now...
ASR

OK! I saw the game and I know what we lack...its not LE's tactics that are at fault; although it would be better if he could employ more flexibility. But, we lack the quality in our squad. We are lacking the "players" to carry out the tactic. If you look at the game, we did create more chances and that is a good sign that LE's system works; but, if you look at our players, there is no coherence and no desire to win the game. As LE said we must commit to 100% winning mentality...our mentality sets the tone of how well we play.

I do not think our players are bad (except Greco); they do have potential. Some players lose their confidence ex. Kjaer and Angel, while others want to prove everyone wrong ex. Bojan. We need to be balanced in our approach and put our emotions behind us until we win. But, this mentality of 100% winning should be engraved in training. And times like these is when our teams needs support the most.

2012 is a year of revolution, of change; but only those who look at the bright side of it will be happy and will benefit. Its time to say bye to the old and embrace our future.

Have faith people...Totti, DDR and Mr. LE will show us the way!

FORZA ROMA
ASR_Martino

I agree about player confidence and the fact that Greco sucks. Bojan wants to prove but has not and may not. Too bad he has lost his mojo.

We are also so attack minded that everyone in defense pushes to far forward and then the counters kill us. Everyone knows it and is playing us that way. Backs should push forward at different times during the game. Mix-it-up. We should be able to attack with forwards and mid-fielders and if not, replace the ones that are shit, like Greco.

Wish Nicolas was back, but really wish we had a more defensive-minded coach. I mean the way LE has us playing, we should be beating everyone 4-1, but we don't. Meaning our defensive strategies are piss-poor.

It's time for experience to take us along, DDR, Totti, yes, LE, Show HIM the way to the door.
sloane

i admire your optimism but it will not make anything better in this situation.

you say we lack players but we had 8 new players on the field that came in under luis enrique.

you say have faith in totti, ddr, le. absolutely totti and ddr can hold up this team but how long? totti is 35 and de rossi won't sign until he get a 2 dollar buyout it feels like! and to have faith in luis enrique at this point after he show all year he is not right for roma is just foolish. people say after cesena win "suck it!" "where are le haters now?" i was here just could not form a sentence to respond to a roma fan boasting about a cesena win.

they see our weakness and do nothing about it! that is amazing to me. not only they do nothing they get rid off players who could help situation. yes winter mercato is always weaker but i have to think maybe players are out there and just don't want this roma.

i don't know. on a serious note...will you be my life coach?
whill4

But look at those 8 players that been brought in. Hardly any of them have had any Serie A experience and are fairly young.

Out of those new players:
-we have four promising young players that still aren't quite there yet (Lamela, Pjanic, Gago)
-3 promising players that have turned into duds (Kjaer, Angel, and Bojan)
-And three players that for the most part have been hits (Stek, Heinze, and Osvaldo for the most part)

Two out of three of our defensive signings have been flops. And Heinze was only meant to come in as a back up for Nic, Kjaer, and Juan. Rosi looks great going forward, but is terrible at tracking back. Burdisso is hurt, Juan like the majority of our bench is on his last legs, and Taddei is our wing back....

No doubt we have an incredible offense in the making. But our defense is too awful to support these kind of tactics. If Angel and Kjaer had been the kind of signings we hoped for perhaps it would be another story. But for now we just have to pray Heinze doesn't break a hip and for De Rossi to recover quickly.
whill4

Sorry meant to add Borini to the list of promising players ;)
philipp_sebastian

The random (hangover) morning afterthoughts (yes, it's already time for "reality check" I'm afraid):

- What happened to our fluid Lamela-Totti combinations and precise shots in attack ? I saw one botched back-heel from Francesco early one, and Lamela missing tap in. That's about it.

- I know it's only 2 bad games in a row but I am already sending Alarm bells. I realize we were missing crucial players, and the growing pains period has not expired etc. .... Still, the way our guys were so easily losing control and momentum (starting with Rosi's second decisive mistake - wasn't he supposed to be the faster D player to catch their strikers on counters ?): this was shocking. The morale seemed to collapse so quickly, despite producing several good chances in 2 HT it was doomed, and I never had the confidence they can muster another comeback. It was almost like the strikers felt even if they would score, our D would let another goal slip through ... So, what's the point ?

- Sorry but I feel our "congrats, LE, great job !!" statements 2 weeks ago were bit premature. No, I will not ask for Rainieri or Montella to come back, or believe that Perrotta would have been our saviour but something is still amiss if we can't win at Cagliari (where Lazio got a 3:0 just few weeks ago).

- Yes, our Defense was the weakest link: clusterfuck attempts of offside trap but also overall slow positioning and bad tackles (I recall the yellow card scene: very clumsy, slow reaction disguised body check from Kjaer - that looked very amateurish). Both Angel and Rosi were awful. Overall, unless Juan's Mojo is fully on (which it wasnt yesterday despite scoring another crucial goal) our entire back line is a full liability to fall apart and allow goals galore - and this was only Cagliari, imagine Inter this WE ...

Conclusion: This was a hard awakening after few "fluffy unicorn" weeks. As always, mental state and motivation can win or lose games - right now, the body language of our players (especially young ones) doesn't show the needed attitude (Chris was right pointing out that even early one Cagliari players showed more work rate and motivation).

God help us against Inter (at least DDR should be back) !!
Марио Марко Вила

And again the story begins! Fuck LE fuck all of them, he needs to go! From 6 points we should have taken, we got 1, hahhaha we wont even play Europa League next year..Lame menagment...Im so frustrated and dissapointed that i dont have strenght to write any more about this team, coach, decisions that are made.... Im just gona wacth this circus untill the end of season or until LE gets fired..Juve 3-0, bologna 1-1 calgiari 4-2 thats all im gona say! Improvment my ass
McGill

Montella did better with all the Vet's last year....... were playing a system that doesn't work with these players, let alone the possibility it could work in Serie A..... This has gotten so frustrating... I really don't know what the answer is. I suppose you could say we have seen some improvements but in all honesty we thump cellar dwellers and pull out some undeserved draws i.e. Juve. We play Totti light years away from the net .... Send fullbacks with little to no crossing abilities high up the pitch & leave 2 questionable at best central defenders out to dry just on talent alone. How we let Pek go and leave Perrotta on the bench when we could use someone with a little speed and heart in the midfield makes me furious. Yes Simone's best days are gone but any day he could out perform Simplicio and Rosi I'm sorry just doesn't have it. Yes injuries have hampered us but as long as poor decisions are made by the coach for supposedly the future or so management would say... we are in trouble. We can develop little by little but we have to play to get into C.L. now or lost money and the ability to get better pieces will be lost for another season!
iosanguinaregiallerosso

Why Conti ! WHY
masonio

Just watched the match.

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr...

This new level of mediocrity will be the end of me. That is all. Goodnight.
ForzaTotti

I honestly can't believe how terrible of a player Kjaer has become. I do think part of the reason he is struggling is due to the tactics we are using where we basically have two defenders in defense. Part of it is obviously confidence too, or lack thereof. Perhaps another reason is LE keeps rotating the starting lineup. I know he is young but how many more chances do we give him before we give up on him and move on? He doesn't seem to be improving much...
ASR_Martino

100% Agree!
Eijan Ochoco

I think his man marking one on one is ok (a bit clumsy but gets the job done), and he is winning almost all the aerial battles against his man. in my opinion, the thing he is struggling at is familiarity or communication with his partner. If we look back, almost all the goal he allowed was when he tried to played the trap but his partner usually reacting slow (sometimes a bit surprised also when Kjaer is playing the trap, esp. Heinze) and plays Kjaer's man onside and this leads to an easy goal.
philipp_sebastian

I agree on the stupid trap attempts but also see serious deficiency in his marking. He mostly gets to ball late, and reverts to stupid fouls and awkward tackles (often getting him in serious red card territory). His aerial clearances are probably the only strong piece so far.

As you say, his communication and confidence is shattered, even simple passes he makes very tentatively and with clear nervousness not to commit another mistake. Not sure what to do except for serious mental training (he needs positive karma) as he had several months of training with squad....
ForzaTotti

Most surprising fact from todays game. Cagliari: 4 goals. Conti: 0 goals. He didn't score! Success!! Well..kind of..no..no not really..
Dhaw

What worries me is Daniele DeRossi wont be liking what he is seeing :(
ASR_Martino

Or anyone else that in in Rome to try and win trophies. You are right...:(
ForzaTotti

I would hope not. I don't think anyone likes seeing their team lose. We need him back on the pitch ASAP. Our midfield and defense are both lacking without him.
whill4

I almost wonder if we should just play with one designated wing back while the other stays back for the most part unless given the opportunity to move forward.

Watching Barca you see Dani playing high but that's because Puyol moves over to cover him, Pique stays in the middle with Busquets hovering just ahead of him, and Abidal stays back for the most part as well unless he gets a good chance.
ASR_Martino

Yep, but the trick is to alternate the frequency and your attacks. Milan does it extremely well also. Abate isn't always attacking, and when he does, they shift to cover him. He of course also has the speed to get back the the counter comes...
Eijan Ochoco

*expecting a lot of hate

Sorry for the Long Post,but had to share my opinion

Am i part of the few who still believes in LE and this team. I know this team needs a lot of work, but honestly our game against Caglairi wasn't bad in a sense (if you are not looking at the scoreline), we had twice the chances in front of goal than caglairi but the only difference is that they finished their chances and got a lot of luck with the post. Even Totti said that "it was everyone's mistake but 90% belongs to the players because we didn't follow what the coach wanted, its one of those bad days that affected our energy. We could have won this game with the chances we made" .....Gago playing the anchor was bad choice because of his speed to get back but who do we have besides DDR, Viviani is still a bit raw n lacks the muscle to defend.

Regarding the market and the loan of Boriello and Pek, according to Baldini, Roma wanted to give a chance to the youth to play heavy minutes and learn the game and work with their chemistry. ALA Baptism of Fire.. Which i feel is the right move, (I think they are grooming Kjaer for the future thats why he keeps starting even though he is having bad games)the team is still adjusting with the chemistry especially with Borini, he still having a hard time connecting with totti and Lamela and how he likes the ball to be passed to him and it shows,passes were a bit late or on his weaker foot. Similar to what happened to Osvaldo, he look lost at the beginning but came alive towards the end of the year because they now knew how to feed the ball to him and to his liking. IMO,They are building a team that everybody is being a part of, where if one goes down, one can easily replace him, that's why we are seeing a lot of lineup changes to give chance to the other and improve their game with their teammates. Look at Milan, when Zlatan goes down they don't know crap in front of the goal. If Di Natale goes down is it the same Udinese?!? Or when a star defender of a team goes down, everybody is already expecting a fuck up by his replacement. Now for us, if ever totti goes down this season w/ an injury, i think it doesn't affect our game because we know we have the players (lamela or Pjanic) to replace him and somewhat replicate what he gives.

Finally regarding the CL, its my philosophy that money can't buy a championship immediately, even the Real Madrid in the early part of the century didn't win the championship and they had Beckham, Ronaldo, Figo, Zidane, even both Manchester team are out this season. Chemistry plays a huge part, thats why teams like Shaktar,Monaco (03), Porto (03) and even Liverpool performed great in the CL even if they lack the star studded names. Even Barca played poor in the early part of the century when xavi and iniesta were just younglings (they were labeled as slow and predictable) but look at them now, their chemistry is maybe the best in football and everyone on that team are looking good and considered one of the best in the world in their position.
whill4

Despite the hatred on here I think sacking LE would be horrible. Who would we replace him with Gasperini lol? No quality managers are available. I know everyone wants Spall but he isn't coming. He's busy in the Champions league.

Injuries are our biggest foe at the moment. Think about how much better our we'd look with Burdisso on instead of Kjaer? DDR for Greco? Osvaldo for Bojan?

We just have to bite the bullet for a little longer as fans and pray for 5th place which is still very possible with our game in hand. I don't think we will start seeing a consistently strong Roma until next season when LE has a proper preseason with his players and when he gets a proper back line.
whill4

The only problem I have with the management at the moment is Borriello being loaned. If Osvaldo was healthy I'd understand why but right now is time we could really use him. Bojan is slowly but surely becoming a Torres of the Serie A, and I love Borini but I'm not sure if we can rely on him every game for the rest of the season.

Marco is the type of player that has the potential to win games by himself. Which is the type of player we need at the moment.
Giallorossi56

And this all has to do with LE's awful system. Guys like Bojan don't make it in Serie A. Borriello has a proven track record of scoring. No idea why he couldn't find a place here.
Stefan15

Because Roma are trying to be a fast pace passing team. They fail at doing so but borriello doesn't fit into the system. He has power but lacks speed.
Giallorossi56

LE is the problem. This type of football doesn't work in Italy. We've been saying for 6 months now "just give it time". How much more time does he need?

His system where you play with virtually 3 in the back doesn't work. This possession football that he employs is not the answer in Italy. Maybe in Spain or England it may work but this is Italy, where teams are BUILT on defense. We don't have ANY defense. The hell with LE' "attacking" football style. Go back to Spain. I'm sorry but if you've watched football long enough, you should know that in Italy, you win with defense.
whill4

No matter what style you play with you aren't going to win with the shitty defense we have at the moment. We could play with 8 defenders and Kjaer would probably still find a way to fuck it up.

DDR was our best defender and was the main reason our defense wasn't completely overrun.

I just don't think you can put it all on LE's shoulders for these recent bad results.
Benito

team needs to defend as a unit, you cant concede 3 or 4 and expect to win, simple as that. its on the mid to control the midfield, teams are always 1 pass away from scoring on us because of our barca-like style. itll also help if our D werent so prone to fcuk ups... ugh italian CB's per favore... look at juve... their barzagli - bonucci - chiellini partnership has been a rock this season.

this season will be another rollercoaster ride.. go unbeaten in 5 or 6, lose a couple, and repeat.

#romatifosiproblems
Chicken little

I've missed you all soooooo much welcome back.

Can you believe we aren't a CL winner quality team? I mean teams go from rotting and bankrupt all the time.

40 million dollars for youth should be enough to put you in that Elite category overnight.

You buy teens to win now.

It's so simple, it's all LEs fault. Had Spal been our manager we'd be table toppers and better than teams like Milan who have spent 4 times the amount we have on players.

I've missed you all, welcome back.
Giallorossi56

Okay, had a few hours to digest this loss. Just looking up and down this roster, we have to stop kidding ourselves: You don't win the Champions League with some of the guys we have in our starting XI.

Let's be honest, guys like Rosi, Juan, Gago, Bojan, Angel, Taddei, and Simplicio will NEVER win you a Champion's League. Isn't that what we're striving for? Isn't that the ultimate goal? To create a team worthy of competing with the best in Europe?

It really just hit me tonight, but this is going to take A LOT more time. I'm VERY frustrated at this point because I don't think that LE is the right guy for this job. La Liga tactics just simply DO NOT work in Serie A. I sincerely think the current project needs to be scrapped, we need an experienced tactician at the helm. I think DiBenedetto needs to beg Spal to come back. Except for Ancelotti, I think Spal is the ONLY answer.

This entire thing comes down personnel. We do not have the personnel worthy of the damn Europa League. I think the only players currently on the roster who could sniff the rosters of a top, European club are: Stek, Kjaer (maybe), Pjanic, DDR, Lamela, Totti, and MAYBE Osvaldo.

We're still honestly 4 - 5 TOP players away from being among the top in Serie A and Europe. 3 of those players should fill the back lines, along with a top midfielder, and a world class finisher.

We're still light years behind the top in Europe; the rest of this season is going to be painful and I, like lots of you, are going to have a hard dealing with it.
Loazzi

Let me make it REAL simple. You can't win in Serie A playing a 2-5-3.

Gago was not bad, but when DDR plays, he really plays as a 3rd defender as well as a midfielder....which makes a HUGE difference. A 3-4-3 is doable.
Johnny

Just when everyone thought it was all coming together
ForzaTotti

It all comes crashing down again....
HN

What pisses me off the most is that we didnt reinforce our midfield or defense this winter. Absolutely unacceptable...
ForzaTotti

You have to wonder why we weren't more active in the transfer market. We obviously had some glaring needs on the squad and we have the cash now. Maybe they wan't the team to do average in the standings so they have an excuse to get rid of LE in the summer? Who knows... :\
davidk8

Carlo Zampa is not happy:

"Bacheca riaperta. Brutta, bruttissima prestazione della Roma, un'involuzione che ha del preoccupante. Tra le tante, troppo cose negative da evidenziare ne sottolineo una: continuo a non capire il perchè non si possa decidere una coppia di centrali di difesa da schierare per due partite consecutive. Luis Enrique è deluso, figuriamoci quanto lo siamo noi..........."
ForzaTotti

And neither am I.
ASR

Management needs to wake up! The fans are not liking this! They are only giving importance by promoting Roma's brand name, and not actually bothering about what Roma really is...FOOTBALL! They need to focus on getting the right players and the right staff...

I think LE is a mediocre coach who can improve, but he needs to adapt to Serie A and become a technical mastermind like Conte! If he as stubborn as he is now, he will destroy himself; he needs to be flexible and adapt to the opponent...at least for now because we do not have the right players in our team. Once, we get those players, we can slowly focus on playing Roman style of football; not saying that we should ignore it completely now, but we need to be technically flexible in this point in our development.

This was a bitter loss. I have not actually watched the match, but I am sure the fault lies in our strategy. And yes, as some people already said, possession is nothing if you cannot penetrate the defense.

We need to wake up!

FORZA ROMA!!!
ForzaRoma2001

Does anyone remember the last time we lost to Cagliari twice in the same season....? Has it ever happened??
Mostafa El-Beheiry

We have never beaten them away since 04, and Conti always scored so their not our best of rivals...
ForzaRoma2001

I know, but we've never lost both home and away I don't think?
SS-LAZIO

LOL @ ASS ROMA , Back to Serie B losers
donc

where do I start with this cretin...

1. Roma have participated in the top-tier of Italian football for all of their existence but one season in the early 50s (1951–52). For their 60th season in a row (79th overall), Roma are competing in Serie A in the2011–12 season.

2. Lazio was relegated for the first time in 1961 to the Serie B, but returned in the top flight two years later. After a number of mid-table placements, another relegation followed in 1970–71......Lazio were forcibly relegated to Serie B in 1980 due to a remarkable scandal concerning illegal bets on their own matches, along with AC Milan. They remained in Italy's second division for three seasons in what would mark the darkest period in Lazio's history. They would return in 1983 and manage a last-day escape from relegation (back to serie B) the following season. 1984–85 would prove harrowing, with a pitiful 15 points and bottom place finish.....In 1986, Lazio was hit with a 9-point deduction (a true deathblow back in the day of the two-point win) for a betting scandal involving player Claudio Vinazzani. An epic struggle against relegation followed the same season in Serie B, with the club led by trainer Eugenio Fascetti only avoiding relegation to the Serie C after play-off wins over Taranto and Campobasso.

3. As for the pitiful "ASS ROMA" barb and the fact you took the time to come to our wallpost to gloat, that speaks fot itself.

and with this i bid you adieu ...goat fcuker..

Alla mamma del laziale...je piace er sesso oralee se je metti un dito raja come un muloje piace piallo ar c**o !
iosanguinaregiallerosso

And that's how you get served.
RomaDurs

Isn't there a goat some where you should be seducing?
philipp_sebastian

I don't know how to fall sleep, still vexed. We all suspect Cagliari games are somehow jinxed but today was new low. I will never accept how we totally lost control against midtable team like this (growing pains my ass ...) and Chris was right: they were better than us, not only in converting their chances !!

Next season: let's mail them 3 points and not bother to travel to Sardegna (Breitner said something like this during Bayern's similar away streak at Kaiserslautern in 1980s). It would safe us all unnecessary anger, Valium, sleeping pills etc. It just makes sense !
Madra_Rua

I have been patient with LE up to this point and always hoped that he would eventually come good; but this has got to end and that is only possible by replacing the coach.
You can't play a system with such disregard for tactical play in a league as technical as Serie A, even the Cesena's and Lecce's of the world are drilled better than this. This team is solid enough and any half decent Italian coach would have us placed above Lazio in the league I'm sure.

Enrique looked so clueless on the sidelines today, completely bereft of any idea on how to counter the opponents superiority.

Flabbergasted how he let Pizarro and Borriello leave without any replacements; it's not as if midfield is a position that we have much dept in and Borriello is someone who can always be relied upon to get you a goal. Everyone here could see that reinforcements would be necessary to ensure the team avoided a slip down the table with these tactics, or lack there of. However, we managed to weaken our squad during the only time in the season that in could be improved upon, I don't think that Marquinhos will add more than Pizarro and Borriello combined.I crave the days of Spalletti and dream of the days of Ranieri and all things considered I would adore if there was a newsflash tomorrow morning stating Montella's return to Rome.

Enrique out, it's the only way to end the pain.
Giallorossi56

Agree completely. I've never liked LE, even when things were going good. His system just doesn't work in Serie A. Get Spal back here.
Siraj

So tell me again, why no defensive signings????

Unless it was Pizzaro that wanted to leave, why did we let him go???

DDR please be there for Inter on Saturday, scratch that, please be there for us ALWAYS

Welcome to Serie A LE! (I actually like him)
Giallorossi57

Now I do!!!
Giallorossi56

Extremely clever, going 1 number up from me.
Giallorossi56

At this point, I don't even know where Roma can start? There is no finishing, no defense, the midfield isn't connecting smoothly with the attack.

It's just a total mess right now. There is no consistency with any player on this team right now.
Giallorossi56

That's cause you don't know much in your small brain!!!!!!
Giallorossi57

Im Gay wanna come to my gloryhole???!???
FreeBorini

Ya, I'm in!
Arfaestnes

I vote for a Barba-Heinze central pairing against Inter. Juan and Kjaer are both in a horrible run of form.
brikkz

barba?
Jonas

primavera CB
Romaniandeadman

Truth is we where close to winning we had chances that we couldn't capitalize on them. We need Osvaldo in the box for sure and rosi was to blame for 2 of the 3 goals scored on us. The last one we cocided we b/c we were pushing up. Hope me have De Rossi back for the inter game because we despretely need him back there helping the defense. And on another note why wasn't Heinze playing? would have been needed for his experience in this one. LE and his dumb tactics to change the team every game is really stupid. :(
Tottinio

We miss our best players in each line - Burdisso, De Rossi and Osvaldo and still we were the better team on the pitch that second half. So many chances, such a bad luck.
Jcsol85

These past few games prove how essential De Rossi is for this team.
Arfaestnes

Or perhaps how essential it is for Gago not to play in Daniele's role. Gago's been good playing in the further-forward midfield positions, but he just has no idea how to play that anchor position. Just like against Bologna he never dropped back to help Stek get the ball out and thus left it to a shit-show of long balls. Plus he always manages to choose the worst time to go forward.
ASR_Martino

Agree, but that should not be the case. We should be quality when one key player is out... but we are not. DDR out = swiss cheese defense.

LE doesn't know shit about defending or where his players should be... Always Roma's problem this year, and other years as well. A really good team can attack but have the discipline to hold on a counter.
davidk8

We lose to Cagliari again..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
Armoracia

Bad finishing, missing DDR (Simplicio is not good enough and Greco is pure shit), defence was crap as well (again, Rosi is bad, Juan needs his mojo back and Kjaer... who the hell knows).
We just don't have players for this style :-/
ASR_Martino

Angel who? What happened to that kid that showed-up at our trigoria 6 months ago?..., and you are right, Greco is shit and has been since his first 4 games.

This is depressing.
Jacob

For Inter, Heinze instead of Kjaer, Taddei instead of Angel, DDR instead of Simplico, and I dont care but bring in Verre for the subs, need some sort of creativity other than pjanic.
Sammy10

Check out that Conti celebration. Oh Bruno, I rue the day you procreated.
philipp_sebastian

The dagger had to come like this. What a disgrace !!! I hate watching games like this. We make 1 modest step forward and 3 big backwards !!!

Fuck this shit team, especially the entire D-line !!!
ASR_Martino

No Shit, and the announcers talking about keeping our "non-loosing streak alive". Drawing every game with shit team is a loosing streak if you ask me!
Jacob

The end, Sabatini, I honestly hope you dont renew your contract. Your obsession with mediocre south american players and past buys has maken this team utter crap. We want to be like Barcelona not like Arsenal. We have got shitty full backs. One decent cb and another shit one. And the end of the season I want Kjaer gone, Angel gone and simplico and greco out as well.
FreeBorini

I hope you don't quit your day job, cause I highly doubt you could do better than Sabatini
FreeBorini

I'm sorry, my dad's sperm was contaminated when he impregnated my mom. I don't mean half of the things I say.
Giallorossi56

Really me too!
Giallorossi56

That's odd, I don't have a picture in my comment?
Benattore

That's it for me
Giallorossi56

NO don't go I wanted to know if you wanted to go for dinner and maybe a back rub?
Benattore

O_O I have no idea how to answer to that
Giallorossi56

Lol, Juan is completely done as a defender.

Just fucking embarrassing.
FreeBorini

that was Juans fault knows how much you know about football
Fadayn

seriously that was kjaer all day. he just stood there, what a fucking embarrassment.
FreeBorini

Thank you someone who knows what they are talking about.
Giallorossi56

That comment made zero sense.

Nice try, retard. Get the fuck out of here. Nobody knows who the fuck you are.