I think it’ll be a tough game tonight given our midfield absentees but we need to win it to keep the pressure on Juve. I’ll catch up with you guys again closer to kick-off.
With Strootman back in the side Roma will not be stopped
Paredes and Destro start for Roma.
Palermo take the lead after a horrendous error from Astori.
Absolutely awful mistake. Roma haven’t got things going at all so far.
Lovely run and through ball by Ljajic and good movement by Destro but his first touch let him down.
We need to get Totti on for the second half here.
Deeeeeeeeeessssssssssssssssttttttttttttrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrroooooooooooooooooooooo.
Massive save by De Sanctis from Dybala there. Roma have been dominant in the second half and that would have been totally against the run of play. Dybala is a very good player though.
Daniele Verde on for his Roma debut in place of Iturbe. Already had a nice dribble.
We need to push for the winner here.
Totti for Ljajic. Totti has the flu apparently and didn’t train for the last few days.
1-1. '79.
1-1. FT.
Dire first half display but much improved in the second half. Still a bit disappointing overall though.
[QUOTE=“Il Bomber Destro, post: 1075305, member: 2533”]Away to Palermo this evening.
De Rossi and Nainggolan are suspended with Keita and Gervinho on interntational duty. Castan is due to return to training next week but I imagine he is a long way off action yet. The big question for Garcia is does he change the shape of the team with the lack of orthodox central midfielders or will he drop Florenzi back in there. I think we have become far too predictable and conservative in the way we approach games, we look a bit toothless when teams sit back and Totti drops deep and there’s no space for the attackers to run into and we have no focal point in the penalty area. Destro simply has to play more, we need to take games by the scruff of the neck more, two of our last three games we had to chase 2-0 deficits in the second half, we should be starting games like a train and putting them out of sight.
I’d like to see the following side for tonight:
De Sanctis
Maicon
Manolas
Astori
Holebas
Pjanic
Strootman
Iturbe
Totti
Ljajic
Destro
Sabatini said we won’t be signing anyone in this window but we’ve been linked with Darmian and Mohamed Salah. I think Maicon is very close to being done, his game has always revolved around his pace and stamina and he’s getting on now, he had a great first season with us but he is slowly regressing and beginning to become a liability, Torosidis is decent but we need a better player for a first choice right back and I’m a big fan of Darmian. Salah hasn’t done too much at Chelsea and not sure how great the need for another winger is but if it’s a loan deal with an option to buy then the risk is not all that great. The reason for Mbwia’s absence from the team recently is due to the fact that if he plays another game then Roma will be required to pay £5m for him in the summer, Sabatini is trying to renegotiate the transfer fee at present.[/QUOTE]
Destro was very cryptic when asked about his future last night saying he’s a Roma player for now, Sabatini was also not all that convincing saying that he thinks he will be a Roma player come the end of January. He has scored in 5 of his 8 starts this season so I think his frustration is very understandable, Garcia needs to realise it doesn’t have to be a choice between Totti or Destro. We’ve suffered from slow starts in recent games and I think we should be lining up more offensively from the start.
Sabatini also hinted at an interest in Salah and didn’t rule out a move this month, I would suspect Salah would be Destro’s replacement which would annoy me as we need a goalscorer much more than another wide man. If Destro gets regular football I know he’ll get the goals on a regular basis, he has shown that throughout his young career.
What did we think of Paredes last night, lads? I think he has a lot of promise and would like to see more of him towards the end of the season, he should be alternated with Pjanic to give us a more creative presence in the middle of the pitch.
I thought Paredes was pretty decent but Pjanic has been pissing me off lately. A real dip in form for the last 6 weeks or so.
Yes he has been very poor, we have options now with Strootman shaking off his rustiness and all our other midfielders fit, when Keita returns as well we will be further boosted. I’m sure Paredes will get another chance in the Coppa midweek and hope he continues to impress.
Astori is another who doesn’t convince me, though Mbwia did alright last night although he did leave a lot of gaps when he went raiding forward but he is very cool on the ball at the back and reads the game relatively well. I don’t think this would be as much a problem when De Rossi is playing and can step back to cover him. Iturbe has struggled but when you look at the less than stellar first seasons Lamela, Destro, Ljajic and Pjanic (two seasons) had in recent seasons before they really came to the fore I’m more than willing to wait for him. Right now though Ljajic and Gervinho should be the first options on the wings when available.
Holebas has been a revelation this season.
Tin Jevadj has signed a permanent deal with Leverkusen for a fee around €7.5m.
Urby Emanuelson also set to sign for Atalanta.
Bit disappointed with the Jevadj sale as he was highly rated and is obviously doing well at Bayer but I suppose it’s a handy profit on a player who didn’t feature at all really.
According to reports in Italy we have agreed a deal to sign Mohammed Salah initially on a loan deal with an option to buy for €17m. It will certainly add a bit more depth to us in attack but I would have preferred if we focused on a right back like Darmian.
Fiorentina away tomorrow and as far as I’m concerned, that game is do or die for our title bids. Dropping points there could put us 7/8 points behind Juventus and even though we still have to welcome them to Rome I feel it would be an unassailable lead. I want us to be much more assertive and go for it right from the start. I’d like to see the following side:
---------------------------De Sanctis
Maicon----------Manolas----------Mbwia-----------Holebas
-------------------De Rossi--------Strootman
Iturbe----------------------Totti------------------------Ljajic
------------------------------Destro
Fiorentina: Tatarusanu; Tomovic, Gonzalo Rodriguez, Basanta; Joaquin, Mati Fernandez, Pizarro, Borja Valero, Pasqual; Cuadrado, Gomez
Fiorentina bench: Rosati, Richards, Hegazi, Marcos Alonso, Kurtic, Vargas, Diamanti, Ilicic, Babacar, Lezzerini
Roma: De Sanctis; Florenzi, Manolas, Yanga-Mbiwa, Holebas; Nainggolan, De Rossi, Strootman; Iturbe, Totti, Ljajic
Roma bench: Lobont, Skorupski, Maicon, Astori, Somma, Cole, Pjanic, Paredes, Ucan, Verde, Calabresi, Borriello, Destro
Now that Strootman is back fit and in the side I will start watching Roma again.
Game is live on Setanta Ireland
How are Richards and Cole doing in Italy?