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One level too far... what needs to be done to rectify this?

1K views 57 replies 22 participants last post by  Deano 
#1 ·
I think with this Roma we have seen that at times there is just a level too far for us. Both mentally and even just in terms of ability. I will not deny the facts of this game v Man Utd. We were without Totti and Juan, also Perrotta... we did play rather decently and got undone with Man U's only 2 chances up until that point... and we have beaten the likes of Madrid and Milan over the last couple seasons. However just in terms of confidence, belief, attitude I think there has been a level too far. Even now with Inter choking, we choke back... something a team destines to win the scudetto should not do.

How do we fix this problem? Can it be fixed? Simple explanation is to sign better players and there are better players out there, but its not the only explanation. Spalletti is a great manager who has done wonderful for us. Took us from a mid-table team in crisis to the QFs of the CL twice. However he also has shown his limitations. About a year ago when we first played Man U we did surprise them with our game plan, but 4 games later Ferguson and the Man U players know the game, they know the tricks up our sleeves and Spalletti must always work to figure out new ones.

It would be easy for me, and the rest of you to sit here and start working up a plan for the summer mercato. Yes we need a few reinforcements, but this is not all... we need belief in this squad to achieve more.
 
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#2 ·
Bear in mind that you convincingly knocked out Real Madrid not one game ago.

I think the problem is specifically related to Manchester United. The team has cleary scarred you from the visit to Old Trafford last season. I always assumed that this fear was jointly shared by players and manager and therefore, it was a cautious Roma side that visited Old Trafford and lost 1-0 last season. The same cautious aspect saw you lose 2-0 last night despite more or less dominating the entirety of the match.

I'm afraid I'm going to have to disagree with you on this one Deano, I believe it's a matter of depth in the quality of your players. Fiorentina suffer from the same problem. To be honest, all Italian sides are suffering from this problem at the minute. Players like Tonetto, Pizarro, Perrotta and even Doni are not good enough.

You need to reinforce your sqaud, then you can add the belief back to the team. You are Roma for God's sake. You should really be the great team that you aspire for so many years to be. If you don't do this now, then once Totti has hung up his boots, you will be in some serious trouble.
 
#3 ·
I agree with the last part of your post... we must add those 2 or 3 quality players that are needed to become a truly top level team, both in Europe and also for the scudetto.... that said we still have chance with the latter this year, but it would be gift wrapped.
 
#4 ·
Three or four quality players. Proven players. Players with a good attitude and players who will be committed.

We need a quality striker, a goalkeeper (Amelia please), a full back (considering how much we rely on them in our system, I'm thinking Vargas) and another midfielder.
 
#5 ·
Not sure we need another midfielder, Id argue more that we need another fantasy player in our team. When Totti is injured we lack fantasy... Mutu, Di Natale etc. are the type of player we need... also bring Cerci back... he is class and deserves a chance with us.
 
#6 ·
Some classy new players will help, but not if we stubbornly cling to a single way of playing.
I think we're a little predictable at this point. Ferguson said it: He knows Roma, and he did. Mister pulled no surprises. Ferguson whipped his ass. Again. I'm not suggesting changing our general approach, but have a dual striker system or back up plan somewhere in your pouch to pull out when surprises are needed. Totti ain't getting any younger. Perrotta had a poor season. We need to consider mixing it up sometimes.
 
#7 ·
Spend big money, of course. We can talk about tactics and mentality all day, but they alone can only take you to a certain point. Currently we can beat any team on our day with luck (lack of injuries for us, a few lucky breaks in the games like Pizarro's deflection against Real, etc) and a spot on tactic, but to be able to do it more often you need experienced champion players or the best talents around, and those cost an awful lo of money.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Demandred is right, but remember, you get more for your money outside England than the EPL clubs spend. A player like Cicinho would cost a lot more than the 11m euros Roma paid for him.

A talent like Antunes - who Roma have reportedly just bought completely - would again cost a lot more if there was EPL interest.

Many of us agreed during this season that the squad is now deep enough, or almost deep enough, we just need to lift the quality a notch or 2.

Now it appears that Roma is free of debt, we should see this happen this summer.

Also, Manchester is a bad yardstick to use to measure Roma. Real Madrid failed to reach the CL 1/4 for the last 4 seasons (!!!!) despite spending a lot of money.

Roma will invest, I believe, but even that is not enough, you need to invest wisely.
 
#11 ·
To me its a combination of what has already been mentioned.

1. You cannot expect to win any trophies having only 2 forwards on the team. We have Totti and Vucinic...thats it. IMO neither are strikers. Totti is best as the second support forward and Vucinic seems to play better as the wing attacker where he can use his speed and skills to cut into the box. Vucinic isn't suited to play as a lone striker. We need to have 4 forwards on the team...Totti, Vucinic, a big time striker, and a decent reserve.

2. We also need another winger. With Taddei and Mancini out of form, we have Giuly (seems better as trequartista) and Esposito (who hasn't convinced Spalletti). I want Cerci on the team but as the 4th winger...to train with the big guys and get some experience. We can't expect him to be a major factor next season.

3. I think we're set in midfield honestly....De Rossi, Aquilani, Pizarro, Perrotta, and Brighi are just fine with me.

4. We need another true LB as I am tired of seeing the right footed Cassetti, Panucci, and even Cicinho being used at LB to replace/substitute for Tonetto. I wish we could see Antunes but Spalletti either doesn't believe in him or he is too young (how is that possible when he is a NT player?).

5. Obviously, like I said for 2 years, we need to get rid of Ferrari and bring in a good CB. Mexes-Juan is really good and I like Panucci as a 4th CB, but we need someone good and ready to play in big matches if the main 2 get injured.

6. As Primo said earlier (and as GO12 has said forever)...we need another game plan. We should not play the (4-2-3-1) without Totti. It just doesn't work the same and there is no real sub for Totti in the world, let alone Roma. If we had a Mutu, that would be different, but its not happening. We need to have another way of playing when main players are out. Even Aquilani said he was poor yesterday and kind of indicated it was for playing out of position as trequartista. We need to stop forcing players to play certain roles just to keep the system the same. This is Spalletti's only flaw to me.

Despite all this...until Rooney's cheap goal....we played well and had the better of them. We had numerous chances....Panucci had the 2 best chances unfortunately...as did Vucinic and Tonetto. It shows just how close we are to becoming a great team.

I don't care what anyone tells me....I pray the rumors are true and the Sensi family sell the club to the American investors. All rumored reports are that the Sensis, along with Conti, Prade, and Spalletti will retain all their control calcio wise. That braintrust with some serious cash behind it can bring not only the Scudetto...but a CL title to Rome.
 
#12 ·
1. You cannot expect to win any trophies having only 2 forwards on the team. We have Totti and Vucinic...thats it. IMO neither are strikers. Totti is best as the second support forward and Vucinic seems to play better as the wing attacker where he can use his speed and skills to cut into the box. Vucinic isn't suited to play as a lone striker. We need to have 4 forwards on the team...Totti, Vucinic, a big time striker, and a decent reserve.
I agree. I was kinda hoping Vucinic might get a prolonged stint as striker, just to see if he had the gusto for it, but based on last night and the very few games I've seen him in this year, he seems more fluid cutting in from the left. Sell Mancini, buy a bomber with the funds and have something like this I say:

---------Bomber dude
---Vucinic
------------Totti----Cicinho/Giuly/whoever.
 
#13 ·
Sell Mancini, buy a bomber with the funds.....
Hopefully, this is priority #1.

I tape numerous Roma matches and the Mancini of 2003/04 compared to now is scary. Back then, Mancini was thin, fast, in shape, and used to actually try to provide assists. The past 2 years, he is a shadow of what he used to be. I want him sold ASAP.
 
#14 ·
I believe we can sell Mancini for a bomber and maybe with some investment could still get a top quality wide player. Di natale is 30 but he can be class for another couple years. Mutu would be a dream... Totti behind Mutu and Vucinic or Borriello for example would be a dream :D Just a dream for now.

As we have all said, lets buy champions who are woth buying... we shouldnt spend recklessly (e.g even I wouldnt get Borriello for too much), but also aside from this we must buy players because they are great and we can then have a few flexible systems within the club. Not just signing players for 1 system.
 
#15 ·
If Roma ever want to be a superclub, they're going to need richer ownership.


Everything else is just a plus at this point; meaning Roma have some great players, a lot of good players, and a few average players. With this static growth the most you're going to get is a couple of really memorable games and if you're really lucky a scudetto/UEFA Cup.

The only real advantage that Roma has on the rest of the footballing world is the quality of their youth camps. But than again the Totti's of the world come every 20 to 50 years and now that money is ruling the game even if you do blood these players there are rich teams that will pluck them from underneath.

The good news is Roma has the foundation and the ability to make money because its a top 12 football club (just out of the G8 range by 4 places) all it needs now is to keep things the way they are but adopt the idea of investment who have much deeper pockets.
 
#16 ·
After watching Mancini fail to run down any ball when it was clearly there to be won i figure he is a goner....If you read Spalletti's comments i got to think he was talking about Mancini a little bit even if our whole team was shit in the decisive moments last night.
 
#21 ·
That will come with world class winners.

Names like Zambrotta, Crespo etc. etc. Players who have been there, done that. Players that know what it takes to win. But we can only buy these types of players with new ownership.

Sadly, I think we may have missed the boat for Mancini. How much would he be worth now? At the time I rejected the idea, but we should have sold him to Liverpool when they offered 20M. No use crying now, we should still get a decent sale.

From our starting side:

Tonetto and Cassetti. Both not good enough to be starters. Bench players? For sure. Both are very useful if we have some injuries, and their versatility means they can cover on the wings if need be. They are solid players, reliable, but should not be starting at Old Trafford in the CL. Good for squad depth. Neither should/would complain about not playing regularly either. Tonetto is 33 and Cassetti has never been first choice. Replacements? Vargas, for sure. Not proven, but from what I've seen would be perfect for us. Would come at an affordable price also. Antunes should be drafted in, he's rated highly by the Portugese. He should have received more game time this season. Cicinho obviously first choice RB.

Pizarro. Should not be starting in current tactical system. Does not cover enough ground and is a lightweight. Consistently loses/gives away the ball under pressure. He is simply a good player sometime a poor one, never great. Fine to keep in the squad. But should not be a regular. Thing is, he'll most likely complain if not given regular game time. Replacements? I have no idea on this one. Any suggestions?

Taddei. Not good enough to be starting against Man Utd at OT. IMO Giuly should start more often over Taddei, especially recently. Taddei is a solid, dependable player in bad form at the moment, but even in good form, he's not fantastic. We signed him on a free so we've got immense value out of him, but if we are competing against the likes of the superclubs, then he doesn't cut it as a starter. We should keep him in the squad definately. Replacements? Even though he is sometimes lazy and inconsistent, I'd love Quaresma. What other wingers should we target.

Mancini. Lazy, inconsistent, poor attitude. Vucinic is much better on the left than up front, so I have no qualms with him replacing Amantino in that spot. Mancini's sale should free up funds for a quality striker.

Perrotta. Off the ball work is overrated. He does his job but its not enough, especially in an attacking sense inside the final third of the pitch. He has poor ball control at the best of times and is a horrible finisher. He's blown numerous chances over the past few years, some of them unforgivable. I'd still keep him in the squad though as he can play a variery of positions if needed, but he should not be a regular starter. Replacements? Depends on what tactical system we use.

Once thats all done (nice to dream), I'd look at replacing Doni. Not good enough for a team with ambitions of getting into the semis of the CL and challenging for the scudetto.

Also, we need another centre back if Ferrari is leaving. I'd love to sign Barzagli who is quality IMO, but with Mexes and Juan first choice, there would have to be some rotation and I don't think thats plausible. Otherwise, we can just have Panucci as third choice CB - he is fairly reliable in this position.
 
#20 ·
I agree with Romanista10's assesments, basically.

Ideally, the midfield could use another hard-man besides De Rossi. Barusso was supposed to have been that man, I guess...? Anyway not the most pressing need.

The Mancini sale seems inevitable, €10-15m...?

Despite his poor form lately I still think he's definitly a better card than Giuly and Taddei (who are good squad-players for an elite team, but nothing more than that), but his situation does seem insustainable.

Romanista's post lacks one point, though: " - Buy a goalie"... Amelia?
 
#25 ·
Doni is a decent GK... and of course considering the budget we cant just throw money at a new GK... but if we had any chance of getting Amelia, I say we should go for it. Doni is a good shot stopper, but as Morierinho said, his handling at crossing is sometimes erghh. Apart from his mistake against us, Amelia is normally a decent GK at crossing and a decent shot stopper... his problem is he doesnt make the world class saves ala Buffon or maybe even Doni at times often enough, but there is not many that do. That said I dont see Amelia week in week out... and from what I have seen, he has surprised me and became a very good GK.
 
#27 ·
I disagree. Doni is IMO a far better goalkeeper than Amelia and plays with a lower fvck up-rate than Amelia does. Your point about Amelia not making world class saves, however, is something I agree with. He stops only what a goalkeeper should save and that's it. Sometimes he doesn't even save the easy ones. I don't think he's that impressive with his feet either.

Amelia had tons of potential, but hasn't progressed the way you'd hope. Maybe because everybody wanted him - according to media - and he got more and more psyched about his own greatness, which eventually made him feel too good for Livorno. I don't see why Amelia should be a better goalkeeper for us than Doni is. He is born in Rome and that's pretty much the only thing that's better about him :)
 
#26 ·
In the end, as long as we are owned by the Sensi family, everything will stay the same. The word is that we only have 15-20 million Euro to spend this summer and thats basically enough for just 1 impact player (hopefully a striker). And we still have to give contract extentions to De Rossi, Aquilani, and Doni. Not much will improve for next season, unless of course we sell Mancini and use that money for another impact player.

Juve and Milan will be 10 times better next season so assuming all stays the same ownership wise, we will be aiming for 4th place next season. I am not complaining about that...its nice to be a stable club and consistently playing well and qualifying for the CL, etc....its just very frustrating to know that we are only 2-3 major signings away from reaching the big time.
 
#28 ·
I think you under-rate Amelia slightly, but either way you would be correct in saying the difference between them are minimal.
 
#29 ·
Yeah well, even if I do under-rate Amelia; he is a little step below Doni. He would be a great squad player for us, but hardly what we should spend money on to take the next step and not a good signal to Curci. In fact, I think the GK position is the hardest position to improve on. There aren't really that many great goalkeepers around these days and that makes the good ones very expensive.

I think we should think about all other positions than GK. :)
 
#30 ·
I really don't get it. I mean, Mexes et al must be trembling when crosses come in.

... and I think Amelia does make Tv-saves -- excuse me -- world class saves.

He kept that shitty Livorno team in the game at Milan drawing 1-1.

It's obvious he hasn't had the encouragement to improve greatly when Spinelli keeps him locked up in that small town club year in year out.

In fact, I think the GK position is the hardest position to improve on. There aren't really that many great goalkeepers around these days and that makes the good ones very expensive.
...but it's easy to improve on Tonetto...with Modesto?
 
#31 ·
#32 ·
If we can not get Vargas... I would actually like us to go for Grosso... indeed this is if we get the takeover... Grosso shouldnt be too expensive anyway. Vargas or Grosso should be our LB market aim... we can keep Tonetto as reserve and lend Antunes to another Serie A team for experience.
 
#38 ·
We already have 2 left backs, Antunes and Tonetto, I do not see us adding a 3rd this summer.

I woiuld leave the defence alone, other than - ideally - loaning Curci and buying a new back up goalkeeper. Let Panucci back up Mexes and Juan, and renew Andreolli's loan. Andreolli is very highly rated and would be sufficient as 4th choice central defender. He grew up in Inter, a club that still has many great defenders and they rated him highly there. We should renew his co-ownership.

We should invest further up the field. We need a wide midfielder, 2 if Mancini leaves, and should buy younger players rather than older ones, because the age profile of the squad is getting quite high (Panucci, Juan, Cassetti, Tonetto, Giuly and Totti will all be 30 or 30+ some time next season). We also need to think strageically, so that any new players we buy now will be able to succeed players like Totti when they leave in a couple of years or so.

A striker who is world class or approaching it must also be bought and maybe a back up striker too. We cannot start another season with only one striker/support striker (Totti) and one support striker (Vucinic).

Last summer we went for quantity and have become more consistent, now we need to concentrate on quality to improve the quality of performance.
 
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