Re: Tactics, Formations, and Strategy Thread

[ErPupone]

He's suited to play anywhere up field, it's a question of getting the best out of the players around him. Play him as a false 9, LW, whatever you want, but it has to work for the others.

We have to look at our key players and find a way to use them together and at this point in time, those people are Totti, Strootman, Pjanic, Lamela and De Rossi.

Now we could top that off with Osvaldo to be a finisher, but we would have no pace and only slightly more creativity and toughness than last year through Strootman. Or we could finish that with Gervinho and shift one between Lamela and Totti to the middle, therefore injecting a lot of pace but losing out on having someone who has physique up front. Then we have the Florenzi wild card and the back up options of Bradley and Marquinho.

If the season would start today, we would be looking at this:

De Sanctis

Torosidis (Maicon) Benatia Castan Balzaretti

Pjanic (Bradley) De Rossi Strootman

Lamela (Florenzi) Osvaldo Totti (Gervinho)

[flameas]

Im not convinced by the RB or the LB. Neither is Osvaldo a good finisher..

[ErPupone]

Not that I want to make a quick statement after one game, but I liked Maicon in our last friendly. A couple of Torosidis' friends tried to convince me otherwise, but I think the Brazilian will become our starter after he gets into better shape. They're quite similar in their playing styles, but Maicon has that extra step and more experience; when he goes forward, he's on a mission and knows exactly what he has to do, while Toro lacks that bit of confidence. This is what is going to be the main difference between the two of them this season, hoping that injuries don't plague either one.

[ErPupone]

The more I think about it and the more sense some of these moves make. To be honest, as sad as I am to see Lamela go, I had difficulty picturing him in our set up. It seemed as if we would be running into the same problems as last season with him on the right and Totti on the left.

Garcia tried out Lamela as a CF but didn't seem to like it. Meanwhile, when on the wing, he seems to get lost. The only time he was able to really show his worth is under Zeman who got him cutting towards goal the way he should. On the other hand, those cuts seem to come more naturally to Ljajic who will benefit from playing near Totti who, unless we sign Demba Ba, will play centrally.

At this point, we're looking at this:

De Sanctis

Maicon Benatia Castan Balzaretti

Pjanic De Rossi Strootman

Florenzi Totti Ljajic

I think having Ljajic on the left will help out Balzaretti who won't have to run for 2 any more. On the right, I liked the way Florenzi exploited the space in front of him against Livorno and if he could do that consistently, he will have his spot on the team. Gervinho is there to be the late sub on either wing and inject the pace that we are usually missing late on.

[flameas]

Atleat now Florenzi gets playing time.

Castan and Balza are the weak points of the formation. Maybe Jedvaj (or Sahko) will step up sometime and improve that area. Though, I would take an LB. Dunno who, but still..

And hopefully Pjanic doesnt get lost in that right position of the midfield three. DDR should benefit from the central position and the running / tacking of Strootman.


Gervinho is a good late sub, along with Marquniho.. I jus thope that Destro recovers, so we have depth too.

[ErPupone]

I would prefer a LB too, but it's tough to get a good full back for cheap. Anyone that we get at this point will not be better than Balzaretti. We still have Dodo but he is a defensive disaster, I rather see him on the wing in a wide 4-2-3-1. An emergency situation could see Castan shift to LB and take up a Chiellini-like role, but I don't think he's able to cover a flank for 90 minutes and be incisive going forward.

Pjanic will have to step up and make sure he doesn't get lost in midfield as he did at times last year under Zeman. He has to help De Rossi set the tempo in midfield, while Strootman links the two together along with our front three.

As for Marquinho, I agree that he's a good late sub as well, he has the energy and the attitude you need from a guy coming off the bench. However, he has not convinced me at all when playing in the front 3. Zeman used him there often as a back up and Garcia is doing the same, and the result is no different; he has trouble influencing the game when starting from an advanced position. On the other hand, when he plays in a side midfield role or even as a LB, he has that extra space in front of him which he exploits to near perfection.

[McLewis]

Wonder if Jedvaj could be tried out at LB

Toro can also play on the left if needed as well. Both might be better options there than Castan.

[ErPupone]

True, Toro could play there, I made my comment with a 'defence first' approach in mind. And of course Marquinho is able to take up that role but lacks some defensive awareness as well.

I believe Jedvaj would prefer playing on the right rather than the left. He played some minutes there during our pre-season. Meanwhile, I feel that if he is to be moved anywhere, its up to midfield in De Rossi's role.

[McLewis]

Well I'm thinking that if we bring in another CB, combined with a packed midfield and Maicon locking down the right flank, Tinny may not have much of a choice if he wants adequate playing time. Might be in the kid's best interest to adapt to LB and dislodge of Balza. That hinges on his ability to be factor at the other positions with the time he'll be given...elsewise, he might find himself on the bench more than he likes.

[DeviAngel]

Wonder if Jedvaj could be tried out at LB

Toro can also play on the left if needed as well. Both might be better options there than Castan.

I can't stop laughing at his name Jedvaj on some Macedonian dialects and x-yu kind of means ' ALMOST' ' NEARLY' :Dlol

[Katy Perry]

Is Florenzi still going to be a starter now that Roma has Gervinho and Ljajic?I heard Rudi Garcia saying that he really appreciates him as he often gets himself in goalscoring positions (like against Livorno). Or maybe is he going to play CM now that Bradley is injured?

[flameas]

Hard to say. Ljajic must start and Gervinho is Garcias favorite. No room in the midfield, with DDR, Strootman and Pjanic starting. Also, if Bradley is fit, then he would be the substitute.

[Lupi]

 ljajic-Totti-Florenzi

[flameas]

would be okay. we would have lots of balance. florenzi will work back all day long.

[Eivindo]

Destro could have had the time of his life as a forward linking up with this Roma midfield if he wasnt so glass.

[McLewis]

Destro was spotted at a Nike event in Rome along with Ljajic, Florenzi and Romagnoli.

Looks normal honestly...that pic just isn't very flattering.

[flameas]

Lets hope that he doesnt get injured again when he returns. Still some uncertainty about his knee - is it 100% okay or just mended up, so he can play a little?

[McLewis]

No idea yet. Still no timetable for his return.

[flameas]

Roma staff blamed Italys U21 medical staff for his injury, while the U21 doctors said they did everything right..

[McLewis]

Hence why no one knows when he'll return. Destro himself doesn't even know....a complete clusterfrak all the way around.

[Lupi]

once again we felt into the same trap like the one with spaletti , false 9 and hoping Totti can grab defenders forward to make space for wingers , and when defenders actually stay put , then there's no way out . why cant these managers have plan B ffs

[McLewis]

Well Rudi had a plan B and he put it into effect after we went down 2-0.

We actually played much better with a recognizable striker in Destro up front. I think that might be the way forward, but that would also mean an abandonment of the 4-3-3, which Garcia will never do.

He's got a selection headache, that's for sure. The way I see it, he could possibly shift Totti into a wing-role (relegating Ljajic to the bench, which I'm totally fine with after a performance like that) and play Destro as the true 9.

[Lupi]

also team seemingly have problem defending set pieces

[DeviAngel]

Well Rudi had a plan B and he put it into effect after we went down 2-0.

We actually played much better with a recognizable striker in Destro up front. I think that might be the way forward, but that would also mean an abandonment of the 4-3-3, which Garcia will never do.

He's got a selection headache, that's for sure. The way I see it, he could possibly shift Totti into a wing-role (relegating Ljajic to the bench, which I'm totally fine with after a performance like that) and play Destro as the true 9.

you did because breaking down defenses is easier with classical CF when you play the style you do. We ( Juve ) learned our lesson in the last two seasons with Vucinic - Giovinco and Vucinic and Quagliarella/Matri partnerships and

[Lupi]

I was thinking with arrival of Ninja and against teams like Juve who tend to close down spaces , reverting into 4-3-1-2 might be the way to go

[gb]

Projected starting line up for 14/15 season:

MDS

Maicon Benatia Castan Cole

De Rossi

Pjanic Nainggolan

Gervinho Totti Iturbe

Or

MDS

Maicon Benatia Castan Cole

DeRossi Pjanic

Gervinho Totti Iturbe

Destro

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