Let me guess how that went: Di Francesco said something about Zeman. Media took it out of context, making people believe he's Zeman 2.0. Fortunately, he's not.
"I keep myself very separate. I would make a lot more mistakes if I paid attention to the gossip." #ASRoma #DiFrahttps://t.co/r3HT4iQVt0— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) October 9, 2017
Offense is just broken and its the same reason as under Garcia. When you depend on your wingers and wide play, those wingers better be able to attack the box. Opposition teams have no problem keeping the ball wide and having you put in endless crosses. Dzeko gets like no good service so he has to go out looking for it. Nainggolan needs to play behind Dzeko so that he can occupy defenders and free up Dzeko through the middle. EDF needs to figure it out fast. Dzeko has to get back on track for us to have success.
I've said this about Dzeko before recently and I'll say it again. His movement in the box is rubbish. It's either put it on a dime for him or forget about it. I accept that we put our fair share of useless balls into the box that he has no chance of getting on the end of, but there's also, as I see it, no shortage of good balls going into the box too over the course of a match. Balls that Dzeko never gets on the end of because they require a little bit of anticipation and movement from the striker. There was one absolutely perfect example of this in the match yesterday. For me the problem is less about service and more about Dzeko himself actually.
Not that I'm one of those clamouring for a change in set-up just yet but, talking purely about formation, and oh how this feels like deja vu, the system that would seem to best suit our squad and individual strengths is the 3-5-2 (again). CB - Mano/Fazio/JJ(Moreno) RWB - Flo/Peres LWB - Kolarov/Emerson CM - Stroot(Pelle)/DDR(Gonalons/Radja) ACM - Perotti/Radja/Gerson/Pelle FW - Dzeko/El Sha(Schick/Defrel/Under)
Rudi's Roma was very good at attacking one way. If you shut that down, game over. This Roma is decent at everything, great at nothing.
On the Rai they are saying it’s EDF’s time for crisis mode. Funny how he can go from hero to goat I’m a matter of weeks....
At the moment we are on course to finish fifth and that is where I expect us to finish unless we can significantly improve. Realistically, the highest we can finish is fourth because I expect Lazio to finish third.
EdF's job is only under threat if 4th starts to look like it's in real danger. It's too early for that. But I tell you, if the rest of our games this month go badly, that may well change.
I think by the time we play the second leg against Shaktar on 13 March fourth place would have already gone and the only route to CL will be to win it this season which is impossible, so I am preparing for the EL next season.
Why not use 4312? It is not my favourite formation but seems well suited to our squad because Schick could support Dzeko with Perrotti or Gerson in their natural role as the trequartista behind the two strikers. This could help resolve our inability to create clear chances for Dzeko and Schick and lift the burden of creativity currently hanging over our not so creative midifield.
I hate this formation but for once it might be the better option. EDF has no desire to start using it though.
Lazio could well be +4 on us after the next match day, and their game in hand is at home to Udinese while ours is at Sampdoria. It could even be over by the time we play the second leg against Shaktar on 13 March. The problem with 4312 is that it marginalises SES and Under, players we should be using a fair bit. We could try 442 instead, with Schick supporting Dzeko in attack and Defrel as the back up. That way we get to utilise our wide players and have the "luxury" of playing only two midfielders - I think our midfield is the lowest quality part of the squad - like Pellegrini and Nainggolan for example. When we have been in trouble during games EDF has usually removed a midfielder rather than a defender and switched to something like 442, so perhaps it is the most likely alternative to 433.
Scrap my idea above! I think EDF is entitled to stick to his philosophy and principles of play. We hired him to cultivate a style of play that we trust will bring rewards in terms of attractive play and eventually titles. If you read Italian or are prepared to use a translation tool, this article explains his approach very well. http://www.ultimouomo.com/la-crescita-della-roma-di-di-francesco/
I think it is a real dilema: does Di Francesco stick to his principles or adapt to what he has available which is probably more suited to 4312. The thing is he absolutely has to finish at least fourth to get another year. Maybe next summer he can then demand from Monchi the type of players he needs to implement his preferred tactic: that would be a compromise with - hopefully - a happy ending.
I just don't see a small formation change making a huge difference here. Even in a 4-2-3-1 we still don't have a proper RW or any creative influence in the middle. And in a 4-3-1-2 we will just play one more defensive minded midfielder than usual. It's a player problem. We need a big signing or two in January. A Radja or Perotti level player.
If you move to a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-1-2 you don't need the same type of pure winger that you need in a 4-3-3 and in both formations you are able to flood the MF without forcing a winger to keep coming inside. In a 4-3-3 you need a MF force to be successful, not so much in the other formations
Personally, 3-5-2 has always been my own favoured formation. But for it to work you need, above all else, quality wingbacks. Are ours good enough? I couldn't be sure. It would be a big change from the current norm however and probably not feasible at this point. Besides I'm not sure if EdF is a fan of 3 at the back. But you cant deny that, at least on paper, we look to have the personnel for it.
IMO, Florenzi, Peres and Emerson would all be better as wingbacks. I like the 3-5-2 much more but I just don't see EdF moving to that formation
Technically they are all variations of the 4-3-3 with little difference when you break it down. No matter how you slice it, we need another creator in midfield on the pitch with Perotti. I would say no player can go through a season, carry the whole burden with a top side and be expected to be competing at the end of the season.
Perotti had had a massive drop in form lately, actually a lot of players are in the same situation after that 2nd Chelsea game. Im really not sure what happened... Dzeko was scoring like crazy, 8 goals in 9 games smthg like that, now 1 or 2 in the last 8? Perotti, Kolarov, even Ninja. Arrogance? Complacency? Im not sure but its extremely weird