Yeah, makes sense in this case. Garcia has way too many rotten streaks like this to be considered a real top manager these days in my opinion. They have been falling behind in the title race in recent weeks and were lucky to get a point vs fucking Milan at home last week ffs.
Will be interesting to see how Spalletti will fare, he should get more out of those players and they have a squad that's on par with at least Inter and Fiore, at least 3rd place should be a realistic goal.
I think Garcia gets way too much criticism personally. He has certain flaws but they're blown way out of proportion without any consideration to the context. He managed one of the most notoriously difficult teams in Europe; a club that has no business being involved in a title challenge yet expects to be year after year. Roma is a little bit like the Liverpool of Italy that way. They are so lucky to have one of the greatest players of any generation ever who has devoted his life and career to the club. Without Totti they would already have been long, long gone as a force in Serie A.
In terms of talent, the quality just isn't there. In terms of finances, the money is lacking. In terms of stability, they're swapping owners and board members at the same rate Real Madrid are swapping managers.
When you operate on a relatively small budget with a small squad you're going to be subject to some uncomfortable circumstances. A signing or two flops, Kevin Strootman picks up an injury that rules him out for 2 years and increasingly looks like it will force him to retire at the age of 25... there just aren't any margins for these types of miscalculations.
My criticism is not about him not winning the league; as you say Roma aren't exactly favourites for the title, Juve are just blatantly better all over the pitch plus you can't calculate for your best player and one of Europe's most exciting prospects to have his career ended.
At the same time he has brought them to a high plateau only to repeatedly falter when the going gets tough, in each of his last few seasons he's had a run of about two or three months where his teams have averaged about a point per game. There seems to be a regular massive drop in performances from most of his players at certain points in the season which smacks of poor man management. Not even going to get into his European performances which are probably the worst of any manager to have ever managed a CL team for more than one season.
He reminds me of Lucien Favre in certain aspects, the streakiness of their performances plus their ability to make a lot out of little, but the lack of nous of how to get the last few percent to make it at the top. Maybe Roma will now go on a similar run as Gladbach did when Favre left.
And I think it's unfair to say he had a small budget. The quality of his players he had at his disposal is comfortably 2nd best in the league which he finished 2nd in each of his last 2 seasons, so it is not to his credit in my opinion. Had it not been his awful streaks in those seasons, they would have finished much closer to Juve or even won one. To put things into perspective, he went from 12 points ahead of Juve to now behind them this season.
The problem with him is that he is tactically too limited. He can only play on the counter attack and when he is forced to take initiative in games, his side couldn't which is why he always dropped points against lowly oppositions.
He finished 2nd because he was punching way above his weight. Let's be honest, Roma have a shit squad compared to Juventus and even Napoli, and they have a sporting director who keeps selling off their star performers instead of letting him build. That's not to say he's a brilliant manager but whatever shortcomings Garcia have he was better for Roma than they were for him.
Just seen this save from Consigli against Inter, probably one of the best in europe this season. How did he even reach that?
Neuer against Theo was better.
Dybala is looking like worth every penny Juventus spent on him in Summer.
2 goals and 2 assists for him tonight in the first half against Udinese.
Juve have now won 10 consecutive league games, to think they had the same kind of start as Chelsea and now have overtaken everyone bar Napoli.
Pound for pound Juve have the best squad in the league.
They were always going to be near the top once the new signings gelled in and their injured got back.
Of course but it's no certainty that they'd actually get it together quickly enough to be back in the title race by December/January already, I think Allegri has to get some credit for that. Look at Chelsea, even after changing managers they still look like horseshit on the pitch.
That's because Allegri is an actual coach and not just a celebrity manager. I agree he deserves credit for it. Juventus certainly didn't make his job easy in the summer when they sold Tevez and Vidal the same summer Pirlo left. Khedira arrived injured. And then Barzagli and Marchisio, who are their best defender and midfielder respectively, suffered medium-to-longterm injuries.
Do you now rate Allegri or is he still a houseboat manager? I think he is much better than he is given credit for. Don't forget he last won Milan their Scudetto which didn't happen for a long time as well.
Carlos Bacca looks like the only class player left in Milan.
I still think Allegri is a bit limited as a manager. He's good but limited. He still has the same love for physical players and it's just not going to end well in the case of someone like Pogba, who if anything needed to focus on technical and tactical discipline.
Mancini with some scathing criticism of Sarri in his post-match presser tonight. Apparently the latter was having one of those nights where he was hurling racial and homophobic slur around. Can't say I'm surprised. People have been saying for some time that he's a brilliant manager but an absolute asshole of a man.
piece on the Sarri incident:
Yep, Sarri's been doing this shit for years. The only reason no one cares is because Italy is fundamentally homophobic. I'm glad it's starting to get picked up by the English speaking press. It puts some pressure on the league from the outside to deal with scum like him.
New goal from Dybala to clinch a win against Roma. The bloke is amazing. He deserves to start ahead of Agüero for Argentina based on this season's form.
Klaus wrote:New goal from Dybala to clinch a win against Roma. The bloke is amazing. He deserves to start ahead of Agüero for Argentina based on this season's form.
Dybala's rise reminds me of when you talked about Felipe Anderson, who was once called Sleepy Anderson 
.
I remember hearing about him because he was recommended by Javier Zanetti for Inter when he played in the Argentine 2nd division. I think what really helped him grow was playing in Serie B and the fact that Palermo are more patient with youngsters (12m euros was spent on Dybala). It's all been a metoric rise since.
Dybala is really the real deal. Watched the match yesterday, his touches were fantastic and he has everything in his locker.
There was a moment in the 2nd half where Pogba opened up the Roma defence with an amazing backheel. Is there anything this guy can't do?
Bryant wrote:I remember hearing about him because he was recommended by Javier Zanetti for Inter when he played in the Argentine 2nd division. I think what really helped him grow was playing in Serie B and the fact that Palermo are more patient with youngsters (12m euros was spent on Dybala). It's all been a metoric rise since.
Palermo (or rather their owner Zamparini) are actually not exactly known to be very patient with youngsters. It was more luck than anything that he made it there, they paid big money for him and so were unable to cut their losses quickly after he looked like flopping. It was only until Vazquez returned to the first team after playing with the reserves for half a year that their form picked up again.
It's quite the incredible development for a kid who's younger than the Ox, 12 goals and 8 assists in 20 matches plus many of them game winning strikes. Juventus are in serious form at the moment, at the moment I reckon they're at least on par with last season's team and I can see them cause some damage even against Bayern if they continue to play like this.
Clrnc wrote:Dybala is really the real deal. Watched the match yesterday, his touches were fantastic and he has everything in his locker.
The lob in the first half where he was flagged off for offside was magnificent. One touch to bring the cross down, then another to dink the ball over Szczesny. Effortless. It hit the bar unfortunately but Mandzukic would have converted the rebound if the referee hadn't called the offside.
Klaus wrote:Clrnc wrote:Dybala is really the real deal. Watched the match yesterday, his touches were fantastic and he has everything in his locker.
The lob in the first half where he was flagged off for offside was magnificent. One touch to bring the cross down, then another to dink the ball over Szczesny. Effortless. It hit the bar unfortunately but Mandzukic would have converted the rebound if the referee hadn't called the offside.
At 0:23, outrageous stuff.
Pogba is showing that he's the real deal this season too. He used to be a Yaya type that would show a flash of brilliance now and then and decide a game but he's running and dominating games for 90 minutes these days. Frightening to think what kind of player he'll become if he continues at his current trajectory.
Pogba's still too Hollywood for me but yeah, he's got monster potential. What he has shown this season, imo, is that he should just give up any illusion he'll have of ever running a midfield. He's a power player if I've ever seen one. He'll never be able to do what Marchisio does but he could dominate on the ball if he only worked harder. He needs to fill Vidal's shoes this season. That's the guy he should model himself after. He's got enough talent to be one of the defining players of his generation if he puts himself about more.
I agree that he's not Marchisio, and it should be said that the latter has been very impressive in taking over from Pirlo this season. But I reckon if we still give Ox a chance to turn it around we can also expect 22 year old Pogba to mature, especially given the signs so far this season. He's putting himself about but has improved his distribution to a much higher level, can't really compare him to Vidal but then again there's barely anybody with his skill set.
The power player at Juventus is Khedira by the way, if he can get to his old level and they manage to keep him fit it'll look like a very shrewd piece of business to sell Vidal for 40m and get his replacement on a free. He's been in better form than Vidal has been for Bayern, and unlike Vidal Khedira is actually playing in a new league.
Not exactly a fan of Juve but Allegri and especially Marotta are doing an incredible job.
jones wrote:Klaus wrote:The lob in the first half where he was flagged off for offside was magnificent. One touch to bring the cross down, then another to dink the ball over Szczesny. Effortless. It hit the bar unfortunately but Mandzukic would have converted the rebound if the referee hadn't called the offside.
At 0:23, outrageous stuff.
:drool:
Klaus wrote:Clrnc wrote:Dybala is really the real deal. Watched the match yesterday, his touches were fantastic and he has everything in his locker.
The lob in the first half where he was flagged off for offside was magnificent. One touch to bring the cross down, then another to dink the ball over Szczesny. Effortless. It hit the bar unfortunately but Mandzukic would have converted the rebound if the referee hadn't called the offside.
At 32m euros, it seemed like a risky transfer but now after just half a season it's already a bargain. Sometimes I wish we do more of such risks with regards to potential young superstars. He has been involved half of Juve's league goals this season with 7 goals and 12 assists. He is not quite a number 10 but also not a true number 9, a bit like Berardi to me. It's Juve's perfect Tevez replacement though.
Speaking of Berardi, we should be all over him now. I don't think he will play much at Juve next season and Juve can't activate their clause until the summer.
So - it turns out that Sarri got banned for two games in the cup that Napoli have already been knocked out of for his homophobic slur.
Apparently it's not homophobic since Roberto Mancini isn't gay, so they gave him a small ticket to keep up appearances and a pat on the shoulder. Oh Italy. What an absolute shithole you are sometimes.
ESPN just published an article about Higuain and Dybala and the incredible seasons they're both having. It's a good read for people who don't watch Serie A much: http://www.espnfc.us/italian-serie-a/12/blog/post/2790606/higuain-of-napoli-and-dybala-of-juventus-in-scudetto-chase
Higuain, at 28, is entering his peak. Now 22, Dybala still has his entire career in front of him. Both have defenders quaking in their boots but for different reasons. Higuain has scored 20 goals in 20 league games. He leads the scoring charts in Europe's top five leagues this season. To put his exploits into context, only five players in history have been more prolific at this stage of a season in Serie A and the last one, Antonio Angelillo, did it at the end of the 1950s.
At this rate, Higuain will finish the season with more than 30 goals. Luca Toni is the only player to do that in Italy since Angelillo in 1959. The former River Plate and Real Madrid striker could even break the record for most goals in a single season, 36, which was set by Gino Rosetti almost 90 years ago. Higuain has scored 12 braces in the last calendar year, including five in his last seven league appearances, and matched Diego Maradona's record for goals in consecutive games (eight) at the San Paolo.
[...]
Sarri told Higuain he was "lazy" and that so far he had realised only "70 percent" of his potential. Just last month he added that "if he doesn't win the Ballon d'Or, he's a d-------." Crudeness aside, it's a measure of Sarri's belief in his talent, a talent that is commensurate with being the best centre-forward in the world right now and of doing what many Argentines of his generation only dream of: emulating Maradona by winning the Scudetto with Napoli.
It's a bit incredible that Agüero is, at best, Argentina's 4th best striker at the moment.
Injuries aside, I'd much rather have Aguero than Higuain at Arsenal, that's for sure.
Quincy Abeyie wrote:Injuries aside, I'd much rather have Aguero than Higuain at Arsenal, that's for sure.
Of course you would. Imagine how many goals he'd get in Serie A.
Quincy Abeyie wrote:Injuries aside, I'd much rather have Aguero than Higuain at Arsenal, that's for sure.
Think it's pointless to speculate what players would or wouldn't do if they could only stay fit. Agüero is never fit for an extended period of time, that's part of the issue with him. Higuain in the form he's in this season would have seen us well ahead of any other team in PL at this stage. It's a complete no-brainer.
Injuries aside Agüero would be on Ronaldo, if not Messi level and not a notch below like he currently is. This guy had his league debut in Argentina (hardly a pushover league) when he just turned 15 ffs, if it weren't for all the injuries who knows where he'd be now.
Klaus' ranking is pretty accurate by the way. Higuain this season is as deadly as Agüero is in absolute peak form, the way he's playing he'd score 40 league goals for us.
Klaus wrote:Quincy Abeyie wrote:Injuries aside, I'd much rather have Aguero than Higuain at Arsenal, that's for sure.
Think it's pointless to speculate what players would or wouldn't do if they could only stay fit. Agüero is never fit for an extended period of time, that's part of the issue with him. Higuain in the form he's in this season would have seen us well ahead of any other team in PL at this stage. It's a complete no-brainer.
Sometimes he is. And then he's much better than Higuain. I agree with your "ranking" this season, although Higuain doesn't find this form any more often than Agüero stays fit for an extended period of time.
Klaus wrote:Pogba's still too Hollywood for me but yeah, he's got monster potential. What he has shown this season, imo, is that he should just give up any illusion he'll have of ever running a midfield. He's a power player if I've ever seen one. He'll never be able to do what Marchisio does but he could dominate on the ball if he only worked harder. He needs to fill Vidal's shoes this season. That's the guy he should model himself after. He's got enough talent to be one of the defining players of his generation if he puts himself about more.
I think he's far better on the ball than Vidal. He used to do the Pirlo role about 2-3 seasons ago, but the guy is too much of a goal threat to hold back. His 1st outing for France was in that role too, put in a MOTM against Spain (who were out of this world at the time).
But I sort of agree with you, he's not a Pirlo or Xavi.He's a more tactically switched on Yaya Toure and I'd say he's more joga bonito/entertaining to watch/flashier. His touches are Zidane esque - see his ridiculous touch preceeding his shot that hit the bar in the dying seconds the other day.
Here it is.
El Shaarawy has had a good start to his Roma career. Two goals in two games since he signed. He's starting to look like the player he was before the injury again.
Clrnc wrote:Here it is.
Meh Neymar does that all the time
