BIG EARS IN ALL ITS GLORY

By dixon9
October 21 2008

The queue outside the treatment room is still very long but our away performance against Middlesbrough at the weekend gives us every reason to feel optimistic for our match against Roma this Wednesday evening. We should also bear in mind that Roma are going through trials and tribulations at the moment but in Spalletti, they have a coach to be reckoned with.

True, they did get a bit of a pasting against Man Utd (but were also responsible for the exit of Real Madrid in the CL) last season but after that dire performance they went on to win the Copa Italia and finish 2^nd in the league (in fact, they have finished 2^nd in the league for the last 3 consecutive seasons).

Still, this season isn’t looking good for them so far – 14^th in Serie A having already lost 4 matches. 

The surprise result of the first round of CL matches was their 0-2 home defeat to Cluj although their 1-3 win away to Bordeaux went some way to patching that up.

The Special One has already did his bit for our cause with his Inter side beating Roma convincingly 4-0 at the weekend – a result which caused their new owner Roma president Rosella Sensi to cry at the final whistle.

Sensi became President after the death of the previous President, her father Franco last August and the family company Italpetroli who are the majority shareholders of Roma, are heavily in debt leaving no money for player re-strengthening without selling first. 

Francesco Totti started his first game in six months for Roma this weekend after a knee injury - and apparently looked surprisingly sharp but his arrival isn’t considered enough by Italian journalists to turn their season around.

Midfielder Daniele De Rossi is tiring from the strain of carrying Roma and playing for his country and Alberto Aquilani who links with him in midfield is described as promising but naïve.

Baptista has been signed to fill the gap created by Mancini and scored twice against Bordeaux.  Their natural striker Mirko Vucinic gets stuck out on the left wing (where he looks lost apparently) leaving Totti to get onto what he can in the centre.

Roma have been suffering from injuries and suspensions and we should note that against Inter they were missing Christian Panucci and Philippe Mexes who travel to the Bridge but their influential defender Marco Cassetti who also didn’t play is still injured.

To add to their defensive woes Roma have already tried six different centre-back pairings this season so far – the latest dynamic duo being Simone Loria alongside Juan. 

To top off their defence we have our old friend John Arne Riise!  What mood will he be in against us this time?  A 25 yarder in the first 5 minutes or a generous header into his own net to help us out of jail?

Spalletti normally plays his team in a 4-2-3-1 with the odd flutter with 4-1-4-1 – I wouldn´t be surprised to see him go for the latter against us on Wednesday with the extra width in midfield used to counter the flying runs of our full-backs.

So, in summary, they are all over the shop – but do get it right on the odd occasion.

So after that incisive yet burbling analysis onto our lot…

Terry is back and looks fit as does Bosingwa.  Ashley Cole?  Possibly tomorrow if not Sunday – ditto Cech.  Carvalho not ready but maybe ok for Liverpool.  Deco is back but looked out of sorts during his short cameo at the weekend – on the bench tomorrow I reckon.  Essien – no way.  Ballack – no way.  Joe Cole? Good question – probably on the bench and to get a run out in the 2^nd half.  Drogba – not tomorrow but should be on the bench for Sunday.

So really we should be looking at almost the same team which played against Boro – possibly 2-3 changes max.

And er....that´s it!

Chelsea v Roma Preview - Long Time No See

Discussion started by 50 Years Over 100 Years , 21/10/2008 09:44

50 Years Over 100 Years
21/10/2008 09:44

Chelsea v Roma Preview - Long Time No See

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dixon9
21/10/2008 19:31

This could be beautiful says Big Phil!

HERE




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"It is born out of hypocrisy and fundamental insecurity. There have been two kids on the block for the past 12 years. Suddenly, there is a third and that one is threatening to be more successful than the others and they don’t like it." P Kenyon.

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