When It Rains, It Pours

Thoughts

• Ivan Piris is either moderately warm or Arctic frost. There is no in-between with him. Yes, that is the most predominant thought in my mind stemming from this derby. Yes, that means right-back should be a priority in the winter again.
• Roman shepherd's crook should probably come out pregame now.
• Zeman's system is predicated upon quick, technical, fluid movement - and lots of it. The worst thing imaginable for it is pitch conditions like the ones seen today or against Parma (conditions which were far worse for the most part).
  
  I long ago accepted things with him will not change; he was hired under no delusions. This is his way, it's always going to be his way, and his play will not be conditional. The misfortune, really, is that Roma have suffered two such games in such a short span.
  
• Well, perhaps second worst - number one is a keeper who punches free kicks into his own net. The ball didn't really appear to swerve all that much from the replays these eyes have seen, but then I wasn't there. Aside from that, he was good, if a little jumpy off his line. Of course, "aside from..." are death knells when the topic of discussion is a goalkeeper.
• Osvaldo strikes me as playing more hurt than perhaps anyone's letting on, and has been for a little bit now.
  
  That said, he misses an awful lot of easy goals. Erik Lamela's rise in an indication of what a striker could and should be doing under Zeman; Pablo ain't. Playing for ZZ is free money for strikers.
• The Lamela sub baffled me, to be honest. Against Parma he was the best for long stretches under suboptimal conditions because of his technique and creativity - the ability to almost juggle the ball out of situations in which the ball would get muddled. Perhaps it was a reflection solely of what Zeman wanted at ten, but taking him off the pitch only a goal down seemed unwise. He and Totti are on another level for this side.
• Having accepted Zeman's wants, I rarely question his decisions, instead looking - often finding - the logic from his perspective.
  
  The Pjanic thing has confuddled me all year. Kid should be on the pitch. Somewhere.
• Having Florenzi and Bradley in the same midfield is probably a bit too easily out-classed over the course of matters. Rumbling has its limits.
• Pjanic has claimed he was not insulting Zeman, rather bemoaning the situation at hand, when looking toward the sidelines after his outrageous goal. You can choose to believe him or not.
• Mauri's red card was not a red card. Then again, he puts on sales pitches for the referee like a bankrupt used car salesman, so on the balance of things, it was deserved.
• The referee was too card happy for a derby and a pitch under these conditions. Combine the two and he was an idiot.
• Daniele, Daniele, Daniele...
  
  Perk up, this is important: this only his fourth red card for Roma. Ever. Osvaldo has three in the last year and two months. Hell, Daniele's chalked off, as a DM for defensively crippled teams, double-digit yellows exactly twice in his career - last year (spent largely as a CB too), and 07-08, when they damn near won the scudetto. Perhaps, then, his reputation is undeserved; he's far from a walking threat.
  
  The manner in which he beckons them from the referee's back pocket is of concern, however. They're entirely unnecessary. This was entirely unnecessary.
  
  But let's not make him out to be something he ain't. This was stupid, yes, but it's a Roman derby, someone one one side or both was bound to do something idiotic, and it was a passionate, born-and-bred Roman. Who's surprised? Anyone? Frankly, I wasn't so much concerned at the time as curious when Lazio would inevitably go down to ten. It took a little longer than Roma needed.
  
  The individual act, if the intent didn't parallel, was idiotic, but a liability he's not.