AS Roma isn't currently suitable for children either.
You need answers, I need answers and Roma needs answers. We're going to search for the answer, starting today, find it and then PDF that bad mama jama back to the hierarchy - see how they like it.
Benches & Subs
The easy place to start is with the substitutions, an understood minefield coming in with Ranieri: might work, might not, might blow off a leg - it'll always be a grand mystery and leave many grown men with soiled trousers.
Since they're critiqued and put to trial more than anything else, at least from a quick skim, they're worth a look for the pursuit of knowledge and answers. Plus the occasional headscratcher: I find it hard to believe Ranieri has only left four subs in the chamber this year, but this is what I'm told.
Knowledge: It'll get you when you least expect it.
-
Cesena:
1 Bogdan Lobont
11 Rodrigo Taddei
33 Matteo Brighi
30 Fabio Simplicio
89 Stefano Okaka Chuka
87 Aleandro Rosi
25 Guillermo BurdissoRodrigo Taddei for Jérémy Menez (64)
Matteo Brighi for Daniele De Rossi (75)
Stefano Okaka Chuka for Simone Perrotta (78) -
Cagliari:
1 Bogdan Lobont
33 Matteo Brighi
19 Júlio Baptista
30 Fabio Simplicio
2 Cicinho
87 Aleandro Rosi
25 Guillermo BurdissoAleandro Rosi for Paolo Castellini (14)
Guillermo Burdisso for Francesco Totti (25)
Júlio Baptista for Jérémy Menez (64)* - Castellini came off injured and then Roma Burdisso channeled his inner Inter Burdisso, requiring Rosario's Burdisso. Handcuffed.
-
Bayern:
1 Bogdan Lobont
8 Adriano
30 Fabio Simplicio
2 Cicinho
23 Leandro Greco
94 Jérémy Menez
25 Guillermo BurdissoJérémy Menez for Francesco Totti (79)
* - Having seen everyone but Greco play/defend this year - and really, let's not bank on Leandro to light up the Allianz anytime soon - this becomes far more understandable.
Though Simplicio's still looming there, looking half decent whilst planning his How To Be Fit But Still Spherical fitness DVD, co-presented by David Pizarro.
-
Bologna:
1 Bogdan Lobont
33 Matteo Brighi
9 Mirko Vucinic
8 Adriano
30 Fabio Simplicio
2 Cicinho
25 Guillermo BurdissoGuillermo Burdisso for Marco Cassetti (33)
Matteo Brighi for Daniele De Rossi (54)
Fabio Simplicio for Jérémy Menez (69)* - Another day, another double of forced defensive changes. This one turned out to be decisive, though it's not like starting Cassetti at leftback was from the realm of the ideal either.
-
Brescia:
1 Bogdan Lobont
19 Júlio Baptista
8 Adriano
30 Fabio Simplicio
2 Cicinho
23 Leandro Greco
25 Guillermo BurdissoCicinho for Aleandro Rosi (31)
Adriano for Jérémy Menez (45)
Júlio Baptista for Mirko Vucinic (61)* - Rosi had to be removed from the field (and team consideration) for doing his very best to get sent off, while Mirko was unfit and necessitated a sub not long after the half. Hell, he can barely make it 70 when fit.
Fitness, homicidal intent, atrocious refereeing, etc.
-
Inter:
33 Matteo Brighi
9 Mirko Vucinic
19 Júlio Baptista
8 Adriano
2 Cicinho
32 Doni
25 Guillermo BurdissoMirko Vucinic for Francesco Totti (76)
Júlio Baptista for Marco Borriello (87)
Matteo Brighi for Jérémy Menez (88)* - Normal circumstances, though Adriano defaulted due to disinterest which...well, yeah: normal circumstances. (He and Mancini should co-own a nightclub called Maybe.)
-
Cluj:
33 Matteo Brighi
77 Marco Cassetti
4 Juan
22 Marco Borriello
19 Júlio Baptista
8 Adriano
32 DoniAdriano for Jérémy Menez (45)
Marco Borriello for Mirko Vucinic (64)
Marco Cassetti for Cicinho (64)* - Normal circumstances.
-
Napoli:
33 Matteo Brighi
9 Mirko Vucinic
3 Paolo Castellini
19 Júlio Baptista
87 Aleandro Rosi
32 Doni
25 Guillermo BurdissoMatteo Brighi for Jérémy Menez (45)
Mirko Vucinic for Marco Borriello (67)
Aleandro Rosi for Cicinho (73)* - Not good from Ranieri across the board, the problems beginning from the off with that 3-4-1-2. Got too fancy in times of instability and it ended up yanking the noose.
-
Genoa:
5 Philippe Mexes
3 Paolo Castellini
19 Júlio Baptista
30 Fabio Simplicio
2 Cicinho
89 Stefano Okaka Chuka
32 DoniPaolo Castellini for Simone Perrotta (79)
Fabio Simplicio for David Pizarro (79)* - Closing out an important victory while leaving one in the bag, but doing so because leaving a few winded legs on the pitch was better than any of the options on the bench. Half a handcuff, maybe even of the toy variety - much like the pair Adriano in his nightstand.
-
Basel:
3 Paolo Castellini
4 Juan
19 Júlio Baptista
30 Fabio Simplicio
2 Cicinho
89 Stefano Okaka Chuka
32 DoniPaolo Castellini for John Arne Riise (60)
Júlio Baptista for Simone Perrotta (74) -
Parma:
11 Rodrigo Taddei
3 Paolo Castellini
19 Júlio Baptista
29 Nicolás Burdisso
30 Fabio Simplicio
89 Stefano Okaka Chuka
32 DoniFabio Simplicio for Francesco Totti (45)
Júlio Baptista for Mirko Vucinic (52)
Stefano Okaka Chuka for Cicinho (72)* - Outside of continuing to thrust Julio Baptista into games which are yet decided - again, partially a lack of options - the calls were good, just not executed.
* - Your standard variety. The left wing of Cesena causing a ruckus, thus Taddei; DDR in WC hangover, thus Brighi; putting in a striker to score a goal, thus Okakachukamuthafucka. The type of stuff you find filed under 'basics'.
* - Attempted to patch the leaks but really had few options with which to even attempt a comeback.
Knowledge Pt. II: Ranieri prefers tired legs in the right positions to fresh square pegs in round holes. Write that down, remember it or tattoo it on your arm like Ibra to remember birthday cards - no banner in Curva Sud can change that, so it's just good to mutter late in the game when Simone Perrotta is running the 40 yard dash in three turns of the sundial on a cloudy day.
Knowledge Pt. III: You'll notice those under normal circumstances, when substitutions were allowed to be made almost wholly on a tactical basis, ended up much more favorably than those of the abnormal variety. Though the 'abnormal' seems far more normal these days.
Ah, Roma.
Not Knowledge:
One of the symmetries between this and last year has been the early injury and fitness substitutions, some of which won't show in the minutes column (such as Perrotta v Basel or Mirko in nearly every game he's played). This year, however, the balance seems to shift - and I have zero actual evidence to produce this, though I'm sure with enough time it could be illustrated nicely - in that the problems are more of fitness and aggravating pre-existing conditions than fresh injuries suffered during the game. This means you're not getting that effective first half performance with which to either grab a goal, grab a lead or, at the very least, to build a rhythm throughout the remaining eleven. A small thing, and largely theoretical, but a very large problem when it becomes a pattern, particularly with so many unfit playing simultaneously.
The magic he worked last year doesn't seem as mystical with this as a consideration, nor do the subs of this year seem so poor in hindsight. Maybe what they say is true: the coach gets too much credit, too much blame.
But more to the point, when has Ranieri had time to find a rhythm, find a rotation? Last year the players were new, so it took some time, with a few eventually dropping off the face of the earth despite decent playing time before he found his healthy core (ahem - Guberti, Cerci, Andreolli, etc), a comfortable system and some sort of consistency. That didn't happen until November. He's had a summer, sure, but he's being posed a new problem each and every game, as though July and August meant nothing, with a different variation of some players being offered based on the musculoskeletal system, airborne viruses and whether or not they require a helmet and/or the the very chic gauze turban. Yes, it's a normal part of the game, but the consistency with which they find a way to lose players for even minor spurts is not. I can't in good conscience dub it a crisis, as I lived (barely) through 08-09 (something like being on the Titanic and then two years later, your dingy springing a leak on the pond: the ship's sure as shit sinking, but it ain't quite the same); however, it's something - maybe death by a thousand cuts.
And with that, Rodrigo Taddei, whose one game showing against Genoa is the posterchild for the benefits of a rhythmic system over all else, is now out for six weeks.
The hits just keep on coming.