"When you have so many games in a short period you can have less good performances" 📉Erik ten Hag on Man Utd's defeat to Newcastle 🔴 pic.twitter.com/gYSLUV2llX— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 3, 2023 Around 1 billion worth of players and this bald cnut still making this excuse Mourinho only have 13-14 good players at Roma yet he would be crucified if he said this
He’s been okay, his problem ultimately is there’s too many similar players to him in the team. Pellegrini and Aouar are having the same problem. They all want the ball and offer very little off it.
That is strange to see cuz Paredes has always been very reliable in defence, he is often deployed as a single 5. I think Roma doesn’t have the players to complement him like Argentina does. Aouar and Pellegrino have the technical abilities but not ball winning or De Paul & Lo Celso. maybe they should play a 4-4-2 diamond with Paredes as regista, Bove + Cristante as destroyer and Aouar/Pellegrini rotating as the trequartista? the only issue then is you’d be relying on the fullbacks a lot to provide width.
It isn’t from lack of effort from Paredes, Roma’s midfield is just really poorly constructed. In the middle there’s Cristante, Aouar, Pellegrini, and then Dybala sitting ahead of them. None of these players can defend so there’s zero control in midfield. As soon as Roma lose the ball the other team is running straight at their back line. It’s why Roma have to play with 3 CB’s. If Paredes had Lo Celso next to him he’d be balling.
Paredes quality has allowed Roma to shift gears. It was never the plan as Matric changed at the last minute and its altered the way Jose's thought he was going to play this year. However the silver lining is now Roma can move the ball around in build up effortlessly compared to previous years and there is no doubt that is due to Paredes. He oozes class in this role. For 2 years it was all very square passes but he gives the team 360 passing from here. Roma are starting to look slick in how they move the ball. Theres a reason for that and its having a player like him as the pivot. He also is showing his experience in reading play and being in the right place to break passes up. He is better defensively than he gets credit for. Flanked alongside him he has currently had 2 runners most games but this is where the imbalance starts. He has allowed Cristante to finally get a chance to play his more natural role. From day 1 with the 2 of them together I noticed Cristante getting in and around the box for the first time in 5 years. What Matic leaving made a problem. it opened up other possibilities. This was what needed time in the opening games that people would not acknowledge. The only imbalance is the next midfielder and than needs to be Pellegrini or Aouar stepping up. This now has the potential to create the most balanced midfield lineup Roma have had in years. So its not a classic Jose side with a true sitting dm but its has other elements of a Jose team with the work ethic and now potential to continue growing if they find the final piece which is the second cm who can take some of the creative burden away from Dybala. I have said from his first year. This is a building process and they are getting closer and closer now. Jose has had to adapt given the limited finances and take in a totally different style of player but its still coming together. They have done very well so far. The saying there is many ways to skin a cat fits here. We can remain defensively well balanced by holding the ball and dominating possession more now. Roma were very strong defensively last year but play the other end was rough. Paredes has been the starting point to the transition to a more ball playing side. With that we see more goals scored and more conceded. Has Lukaku helped..absolutely but if he was in this team last year service would still need an issue. The biggest spot to fine tuning the balance for good is the second CM. How they defend but also and most importantly how they interact with Dybala. We have seen that player on the ball is clearly Aouar. From preseason to the games he has played, he and Dybala understand each other very easily. I just hope he takes Jose's tough love the same way the likes of Rick has and is willing to take on board his defensive duty to make the 11 in a Jose team. If he does he will be twice the player when he leaves Roma. And to add, as above. They are not similar players at all just because they are technical. Paredes offers something very different in the deep position. We are blessed to have him back even if it was a last minute out of the blue addition.
Decent player in this team, generally dependable. Where Roma are at right now, he was/is a good pick-up. But overall he doesnt and wont move the dial a huge amount.
In an ideal world Cristante is pushing further up the field as more of an attacking midfielder. At Atalanta he was often playing right behind the strikers or was the midfielder getting the furthest forward. He’s been forced to play in a holding midfielder role because he’s the least bad in that position compared to the other midfielders. But he’s never been very good there.
Should get something from West Ham. Bayern already through. Maybe there as well. Bayern got walloped today. Didn't expect this score.
Interesting. Well then, maybe Roma should sign Lo Celso, play a double 8 between him and Cristante. Cristante could act like De Paul with his attacking abilities & work rate.
Zaniolo’s doing well it seems 🇮🇹 Nicolò Zaniolo's player characteristics: ✅ Strengths: 𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒐 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉𝒔❌ Weaknesses:🔴 Holding on to the ball 🔴 Passing 🔴 Aerial Duels 🔴 Finishing🔴 Crossing 🔴 Defensive contribution 🔴 Discipline pic.twitter.com/tybqpYZDGl— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) December 5, 2023
Its worth remembering who scored once had Jose Angel down as the best left back in the world when he played about 50 mins in the season to other players 20 games. So yeah, their opinion is solid.
Just saying.... Dog shit Sevilla finished with 2 points in the champions league. Incredibly how we could lose to that piece of shit team.
I never bought the hype despite injuries. Too many Totti comparisons for a guy not even a 3rd the player.
Got to bear in mind he has been played mostly as a left attacking midfielder. A new role for him and he was doing reasonably well before the betting incident came to light. Maybe not with end product but in general play he looked a threat. Since then he has fallen off a cliff but I would give him time yet to rebound. A busy Christmas spell in England could always spark somehthing. If he takes his chance, the 2nd half of the season can be totally different. He is a shadow of the player he was before injury though. The hype then was real, he was a generational talent. Not many teenagers debut at the Bernabeu and are arguably the best player on the pitch against that Madrid side. He was playing slow and intelligence. Simple effective passes and that is still there if he is willing to find it. Thats a life time ago now though and he is in danger of sliding towards a Balotelli type career. A drifting journeyman before he is 30. My bet is if there is a manager who will find him, he will give him a central attacking role and get him back to basics. He can still be effective here but they have to get it through to him to stop trying so hard. This has been his issue from the second injury at Roma. When a player goes through a long spell without form, the harder they try the more frustrated they get. Everything is forced and we see this in his play. He beats 2 players, great, lay it off for the tap in. No he takes on the 3rd and the chance is gone or he tries to shoot from a stupid angle. You have to let the game come to you and he hasnt done that in 3 years...apart from 6 months in the European MLS. So with him, Is making greedy decisions repeatedly a lack of brains or is he a victim of his circumstances in his career. I think the later and the right manager will get through to him somewhere along his career. People will see the talent but its unlikely he ever gets to where he could have went.