Siena 1 - Roma 3: Touch The Flag

Siena 1 - Roma 3

Tis rare I miss a Roma game. Tis even rarer I fall asleep any time other than 4am, waking up shortly thereafter. And this was possibly the first time I'd ever fallen asleep during and through a Roma match, snapping the neck up and down.

Might offer some commentary on the first half performance. Or maybe I need to drink more coffee. Or less. Or both.

After watching the replay...

One could get used to this whole "results" business. Then again, one could also get quite used to play Pescara, Torino and Siena on loop. A solid performance against a solid defense. Again.

Never slaves to the result, but they're currently heeding its advice.

Notes

• The pitch was recently used for mogul training.
• The entire midfield was yesterday's lunch recycled through Thursday's dinner. Bradley was awful. Taxi was awful. Florenzi was less awful, but far from brilliant.
  
  * - This was typed out before checking RomaNews' ratings:
  
  Bradley - 5
  Taxi - 5
  Florenzi - 5.5
  
  Or: what they said.
• Balzaretti's speed is decreasing weekly. I want to know what types of cancer and/or recreation drugs he's being tested for at Trigoria during the week to determine the reason for his current retardation. I mean retarding. Whatever.
  
  This dropping of pace, however, isn't causing problems exclusive to the leftback position. You'll notice that the DM on a given day is giving an awful lot of help to that side - markedly so. Football teams are machines; one gear not working properly and suddenly...
• Destro's 2nd degree sexual assault on a corner flag. Twice.
  
  If for his next goal he pretends to pull a roofie out of his back pocket before grinding up on the flag, I will buy his iTunes collection and listen to it on loop for a whole twelve minutes.Assuming an inevitable and abrupt cessation of life in this scenario, bury me in Margiela and a scuba mask.
• One could argue Totti is more the midfielder under Zeman, which means this one featured 5 midfielders, 2 bombing fullbacks and Destro. We've learned this is not a recipe for Zemanlandia, and No Lamela, No Fiesta is growing by the week. His dynamism - the pace of his diagonal runs, technical ability, and overall Coconess - is an cheek-slapping omission from the side. In ways, Erik does less of what Zeman demands than most, yet this team is less Zeman without him.
  
  That's supposed to make sense somehow.
• A substantial difference between Destro and Osvaldo which took the rest of the team some time to which to adjust: Pablo is more likely to run onto balls either aerially or in line with the defender, situations in which he and the defender are often competing for the ball, choosing to use quality positioning, astute runs and strength to win the battle, oftentimes camping as close to the six as possible. Destro, meanwhile, would prefer to have the ball played to his feet if he's not in open space, even dropping back to do so. This is a small difference, but not, and their improved attack over the course of the game was partly aided by the team's understanding of this, what with the center forward being a crucial playing point in any attack.
  
  Neither is better, simply a matter of playing style, and one to which the team needs adjust based on who's in the lineup.
• Destro's also constantly pulling up his runs such that he won't go offside. The timing between he and the men who buttle him is clearly a work in progress for several reasons, among them Mattia being a good bit quicker than Pablo and adjustments needing be made. This is a matter of Mattia's time on the pitch.
• Nico "Teen" Lopez.
  
  Why isn't Zeman playing him for this reason alone.
  
  Why.
• One gets the feeling Luis Neto will be playing in Milan by this time next year. If not, Roma's kinship with Siena should serve well as Sabatini offers five million, five Swedish fish, one actual fish, and five Primavera studs on co-ownership.
  
  Sometimes, it's good to have friends in low places, too.
• The finish on Destro's second, just...so, so smooth.
  
  The boy looks like he's got that much ballyhooedIt.
• Marquinho's injury time cameo seemed oddly out of place. Perhaps because he's made 11 substitute appearances and 7 of those 11 came within minutes 60-70.
  
  Ho's your thirty minute man.
• At the beginning of the year, I was of the opinion Simone Perrotta could be of great service to a Zeman side. Perhaps it ain't 2007 anymore, but the man's natural instinct is to run and disrupt and run and pull defenders and run and shoot wide better than Marquinho and run and then run some more. Plus he spent his prime in the quick moving, slick passing Spalletti era. There are several reasons why he should be getting some minutes, just to see what comes of it. One could even argue he'd offer more to the side than a post-September Florenzi.
  
  Goals from outside the box, though? Well ain't that Christmas come early.
  
  

Next week is a rather large game on a number of levels, one would think, standing for more than the three points. Not only will Roma likely compete for Fiorentina in regard to Europe, but they'll go up against Mr. Woulda Shoulda Coulda & Friends.