GENERAL DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THE SQUAD

In this topic you may discuss the main topics about the squad, not concerning one seperate player. Who will start in the next game? Who's in best shape? Who will be the topscorer?

We're opening this topic in order to concentrate the discussions about the players in their each topic, and make room for more general thoughts here.

Thanks for your co-operation
Laziofever Team

Seem that we scared you!
No one is posting any thoughts on the players because of Lotito?
Or maybe you re scared to know that your messages could be noticed by them, the players?
Or maybe the roster section is so ugly?

If you dare do it..if not

Well here we go then!

My main thoughts/concerns for the coming season is harmony within the squad and leadership.

It's seems that the team had internal conflicts the past season and some reports in the media also suggest this. The fact that both Zauri and Mutarelli is left behind in Rome at the moment more or less says that they had part in the conflicts, at least I make that interpretation. Foggia returns and he and Rossi had conflicts earlier seasons. Rossi also has conflicts with other players Stendardo, Baronio, Bonetto. So it's really important that we settle these conflicts before the start of the new season. We need to play as ONE team!

I hope that Tare might be the "spiritual leader" that the squad needs, hopefully he can unite the team!

And another thing is leadership .. last season we lacked leadership on the pitch .. no one to stand up and get the team going .. instead of "when teh going gets tough, the tough gets going" last season it seemed that we had "when the going gets tough, the Lazioplayers starts to fight among themselves or run and hide"
We need that(/those) natural leader(s) that we been lacking since Peruzzi retired!

In a way both problems are connected .. without leadership we have anarchy .. and in anarchy you can't have unity since everyone do what the want

So find leadership in the squad or sign players who can be the leaders we need .. (and as I said before, sign Domizzi & Pinzi .. lazialta and leadership embodied) .. and with the leadership in place the harmony should come by it self .. if it doesn't we should sell all those who think they are more important than the team!!!

Well just some thoughts to get things going!

I find it difficult to have any thoughts on the squad as we are very unaware of what exactly is going on behind the scenes.

My main concern is not too dissimilar to most. We need to resolve every existing problem before the season arises. That means securing the future of our star players (pandev, Ledesma etc.), getting rid of the troublemakers, whoever they were, making sure Rossi is on good terms with his squad (Foggia, Stendardo if they stay), cutting the wage bill to keep Mr. President happy and the list goes on.

If we can do this, a Top 6 place is on the cards.

I think last season shows that there is a big 5 in Serie A now. Our objective should be to make it a big 6, or else knock some other side from the big 5. I think our strikeforce of Pandev, Zarate and Rocchi is in the Top 6 of the league, I think our defence and midfield as it currently is can also be Top 6 quality, but only if everyone gives their all and if there's no problems. I still think we need 1 or 2 reinforcements in defence and midfield but I fear this may be difficult as Lotito needs to cut the squad size and salary bill before he can set about this.

Overall, I think things are looking brighter. Not bright yet, but certainly brighter.

ClockworkOrange wrote:

Well here we go then!

My main thoughts/concerns for the coming season is harmony within the squad and leadership.

It's seems that the team had internal conflicts the past season and some reports in the media also suggest this. The fact that both Zauri and Mutarelli is left behind in Rome at the moment more or less says that they had part in the conflicts, at least I make that interpretation. Foggia returns and he and Rossi had conflicts earlier seasons. Rossi also has conflicts with other players Stendardo, Baronio, Bonetto. So it's really important that we settle these conflicts before the start of the new season. We need to play as ONE team!

I hope that Tare might be the "spiritual leader" that the squad needs, hopefully he can unite the team!

And another thing is leadership .. last season we lacked leadership on the pitch .. no one to stand up and get the team going .. instead of "when teh going gets tough, the tough gets going" last season it seemed that we had "when the going gets tough, the Lazioplayers starts to fight among themselves or run and hide"
We need that(/those) natural leader(s) that we been lacking since Peruzzi retired!

In a way both problems are connected .. without leadership we have anarchy .. and in anarchy you can't have unity since everyone do what the want

So find leadership in the squad or sign players who can be the leaders we need .. (and as I said before, sign Domizzi & Pinzi .. lazialta and leadership embodied) .. and with the leadership in place the harmony should come by it self .. if it doesn't we should sell all those who think they are more important than the team!!!

Well just some thoughts to get things going!

Nothing to add

Caxi wrote:

If we can do this, a Top 6 place is on the cards.

I think last season shows that there is a big 5 in Serie A now. Our objective should be to make it a big 6, or else knock some other side from the big 5. I think our strikeforce of Pandev, Zarate and Rocchi is in the Top 6 of the league, I think our defence and midfield as it currently is can also be Top 6 quality, but only if everyone gives their all and if there's no problems. I still think we need 1 or 2 reinforcements in defence and midfield but I fear this may be difficult as Lotito needs to cut the squad size and salary bill before he can set about this.

oh I dont think there is a big 5.

there are the traditional big 3, plus merda who are very strong, Fiorentina with Lazio, Napoli, Sampdoria, Udinese and Genoa who could all challenge for 4th place with some good form and a bit of luck with injuries.

Everything is possible, one thing for sure, we are capable of top 4 again, top 6 more likely and I think 5th place will be our target.

ClockworkOrange wrote:

Well here we go then!


I hope that Tare might be the "spiritual leader" that the squad needs, hopefully he can unite the team!

!

He's still here?

it would be great too see Foggia again in lazio shirt, he is great player and deserves to play in our squad,
i am glad that meghni and rozehnal staying with us... Forza grande Lazio!!!

robi laziale wrote:

it would be great too see Foggia again in lazio shirt, he is great player and deserves to play in our squad,
i am glad that meghni and rozehnal staying with us... Forza grande Lazio!!!

Be in no hurry to rejoice, because Meghni and Foggia may not have many chances for appearance and exhibit.

I would like to see a quality midfeilder next to ledesma and dabo

Ali Alkatiri wrote:

AbedElkader wrote:

I would like to see a quality midfeilder next to ledesma and dabo

I agree with you, a real playmaker. In utopia words a "zidane like player"....

I would welcome a decent CB too...

Ali Alkatiri wrote:

AbedElkader wrote:

I would like to see a quality midfeilder next to ledesma and dabo

I agree with you, a real playmaker. In utopia words a "zidane like player"....

Meghni is supposed to be this player.

The Big Payback wrote:

Ali Alkatiri wrote:

AbedElkader wrote:

I would like to see a quality midfeilder next to ledesma and dabo

I agree with you, a real playmaker. In utopia words a "zidane like player"....

Meghni is supposed to be this player.

Meghni will never play as much as is needed to develop and become "the" player for us...I cant really see him in a startin eleven, and when he plays he ends up being injured anyways...

Meghni was signed as a back up
for a substitute I think he's pretty useful.

what we need to sign is a central defender, I wish Lotito wouldn't move so slowly but I'm impatient and there is still 6 weeks of the mercato left hahah

Yeah with the recent signings the only position that really needs strenghtening is central defence

And now that it's seems that both Stendardo and Mudingayi are on their way there should be money available to buy us a good defender .. and of course I'm thinking about Domizzi here .. €4M + Zauri should be enough

And since our latest acqusitions doesn't seem to bring the leadership I think we so badly need Domizzi would be a really good choice

100% agreed...also, love the fact that he is a Lazio product...

Until now,after the summer signings,I thought we have a squad which is strong on every position.But taking a look at the present squad,I realised that we have problems.We also have to pay attention to other clubs who made great signings,and then we realise we must strengthen our squad on at least 2 positions.I hear something in my mind....when Lotito came,he was talking about a 5 year plan.Until this summer our mercatos were poor and without sense.He must wake up!Take a look at my "philosophy",in the 4-4-2 tactics.
GK position:I say here everything is ok.We have Carrizo,Muslera,Degre.
RB position:Lichtsteiner,De Silvestri(Belleri if he remains).It's okay here too...
LB position:Kolarov,Radu.Ok...
CB position:Here we have a huge problem. In my opinion here are 2 people on who we can count:Rozehnal,Radu(in the worst case Cribari).Stendardo is not in Rossi's plan.The others(Siviglia,Tuia,Diakite)are only substitutes.Let's say we sign another CB and then we have 3 CB.But what if 2 of them get injured or banned?Who will play in their position?In crucial matches you cannot count on the substitutes,I say...Without any news regarding 2 CB's,I think Tuia or Diakite have a crucial role in our team for next season.In this position we aren't the best.If you take a look at our defendersyou realise it's the same,that last season has conceeded 51 goals. I know we aren't playing in Europe this year,and the number of injuries will be smaller,but what if....?I know also we cannot afford 1000 singings in a mercato,cause we aren't a rich club,but if we want to achieve something beautiful,we need real reinforcements.And I say we can afford two solid defenders.We'll see...
RM:Who will play here?After the departure of that bastard Behrami we have problems here too.Lichtsteiner is the man?
LM:Foggia,Mauri.I don't trust Mauri anymore!About Foggia I don't say anything cause I don't know how he plays with Rossi's tactics.Let's hope he'll be our hero in this position.
CM:Ledesma,Dabo,Matuzalem,Firmani(when he enters),Mutarelli??Hm...I'm curious how Matuzalem plays in Serie A.Let's say we're ok here too...
Attack:I think this is that position where we should not have problems.

I'm satisfied with our mercato until now,I only want to suggest that we deserve something more than last season.We don't need stars,expensive players.We need youngsters and near them some players with experience.We are on the right way,I say,we have only to complete the parts which are missing.Like a puzzle...Cause we don't know what will happen in the forthcoming season.And I say we cannot make experiments with players like Moti,in this moment.
We have a wonderful team,I have confidence in them,but I can't forget what was Lotito talking about some years ago.Until now he was sleeping....
And regarding our tactics,I say the 4-3-3 is the best option for us.You can't let Zarate or Pandev to stay on the bench.This 3 man in the defence,how somebody said,is pure suicide.But Rossi is the master,and probably untl the start of the season he will choose the best solution.
Forza LAZIOOOOOOOO!!!!

In my opinion the area where we should be most concerned is the defense. There is still far too much doubt in this area, Radu, Rozenhal, De Silvertri and Cribari (on his good days) are our best options. I do think that a 3 man defense can work but we would need two midfielders with good defense abilities to help out on defense, Ledesma and Dabo. If we dont have those two good defensive mids then a 3 man defense will be suicide because the CBs we have are not reliable in that formation as yet and to expect De Silvestri and Radu to be saviours here is madness, it would simply be to much pressure to be on these young guys shoulders so early.

For our midfield I think we are good, Rossi just has to make use of Foggia, Kolarov (L) and Lichsteiner, De Silvestri (R) and they can be very productive. Our CMs are good with the exception of Matuzalem whom I dont know.

In attack all is well as long as Rocchi and Pandev can quickly get to know Zarate the way they know each other.

mauri, baronio can be gotten rid of to help get some money for that defensive reinforcement.

I dont see us having a problem with the formation below if what i said before is taken into account:

- - - - - - - - - Carrizo - - - - - - - - - -
- - - Rozenhal - - Cribari - - Radu - - -
- - - - - Dabo - - - - Ledesma - - - - -
(RWB/RM/RW) - - - - - - - (LWB/LM/LW)
- - - - - - - - - Pandev - - - - - - - - - -
- - - Rocchi - - - - - - - Zarate - - - - -

(RWB/RM/RW) - De Silvestre/Lichsteiner
(LWB/LM/LW) - Foggia/Kolarov

My concerns with the squad at present lie with Rossi. It seems to me that Rossi has decided prior to the mercato, that he is going to play next season with a 3-4-1-2 formation. My reasoning behind this is simple; he's brought back Foggia and bought Lichtsteiner and players who slot nicely into this formation. What worries me greatly is that, I would estimate 80% of Laziofever would agree with me in saying that this formation is not our best. What I'm particularly worried about is that we may not be able to revert to a 4-4-2. With Kolarov at LM and Lichtsteiner at RM, I think our wing could be fairly susceptible to sides with attacking wingers.

We have a lot of youth on our wings, which is a concern. My other issue is that neither Foggia or Mauri are likely to be starters and these guys could cause problems behind the scenes. Rossi, for me, needs to start playing Tuia and Diakite more in pre-season until we assess how good these guys will be if they've to step in against the likes of Inter. I hope Rossi plays them together in a back 4 against Liverpool. I want to see these guys challenged a little more, because Cribari and Siviglia have failed their challenges thus far.

It's clear to me we have a weak defence and it's easier to address this problem by playing 2 centre backs instead of 3. Rossi must decide on his first choice defence and start playing them together in pre-season because I fear we will have confidence issues if he doesn't.

Ultimately, we can all see that our 3 man attack is fine and the majority of us would like a 4 man defence which leaves 3 centre midfielders. Ledesma, I think we can depend on, Dabo is getting a little older and I worry he may not keep his consistency for a full season now, but if he can, he's perfect. Matuzalem could be fantastic, but that's a could be, there's no certainty there. I think we could still do with a good all round midfielder, someone who can help Ledesma in the creativity stakes, whilst also being capable to break up play because I think we could make a big mistake and rely on Ledesma and Dabo too much.

What I want to see, at the end of the day, is a 4-3-3, where we have 2 solid centre backs, where we can rotate the likes of Kolarov, Radu, De Silvestri and Lichtsteiner, where Pandev, Rocchi and Zarate are confident that they can attack and a midfield that does not rely too heavily on Ledesma to create and Dabo to break up play. I also hope that Rossi gives the likes of Foggia a chance to shine. My suggestion? Rossi should start making firm decisions in his head, evaluate the quality of our first team and reserves, establish a team, a sense of balance and most importantly, find another centre back and all round midfielder quickly and integrate them as soon as can be. I have high hopes for this team, but I'm also very concerned that we could be languishing mid table come January if Rossi makes bad decisions.

I decided to look back in this thread and review our thoughts prior to the season's beginning and see if our opinions or views have changed. I couldn't remember what I thought back then but I see the above post was somewhat of a prophecy.

------------------------------

Caxi wrote:

I think our wing could be fairly susceptible to sides with attacking wingers.

Happened.

Caxi wrote:

We have a lot of youth on our wings, which is a concern.

I think that has turned out to be an issue and a few people in the forum expressed this. I wonder if Scaloni (who wants to return) and Zauri will play a part next season.

Caxi wrote:

Rossi, for me, needs to start playing Tuia and Diakite more in pre-season until we assess how good these guys will be if they've to step in against the likes of Inter.

Turned out to be a prophecy there. Diakite came in against Inter and didn't live up to the hype we created.

Caxi wrote:

Rossi must decide on his first choice defence and start playing them together in pre-season because I fear we will have confidence issues if he doesn't.

That's exactly what happened in my opinion. I think Cribari's outburst condirmed that.

Caxi wrote:

Dabo is getting a little older and I worry he may not keep his consistency for a full season now.

Brocchi was brought in after I wrote this if I remember correctly but Ousmane hasn't been consistent and is suffering from injury.

Caxi wrote:

Matuzalem could be fantastic, but that's a could be, there's no certainty there.

I think he has shown that in the few games he's played. Still could be fantastic, not a certainty

Caxi wrote:

I think we could still do with a good all round midfielder, someone who can help Ledesma in the creativity stakes, whilst also being capable to break up play because I think we could make a big mistake and rely on Ledesma and Dabo too much.

We have a colossal number of midfielders but not enough of them are playing well or staying fit. We have relied on Ledesma and Brocchi rather than Dabo

Caxi wrote:

I also hope that Rossi gives the likes of Foggia a chance to shine.

He did and thus far it has paid off.

Caxi wrote:

Rossi should find another centre back and all round midfielder quickly and integrate them as soon as can be.

He didn't do it and what were we looking for in January? A centre back and an all round midfielder. We're still waiting.

Caxi wrote:

I have high hopes for this team, but I'm also very concerned that we could be languishing mid table come January if Rossi makes bad decisions.

Another prophecy on my part.

---------------------------------

That was not an attempt to illustrate that I am some kind of football God who knows everything but it does show that all the fears I and many others had in pre-season were correct. Unless we turn the season around, I do think Rossi has to go. The fact he hasn't eradicated the problems we all saw in the summer suggests to me that he is too involved with this bunch of players to make correct decisions.

He has only a handful of games and this group of players to get it right.

Jeez you certainly broke the record on self-quoting, 10 times in one post, wow

Sile wrote:

Jeez you certainly broke the record on self-quoting, 10 times in one post, wow

Why would you bother counting?

Well, needs must when you know someone is going to come along, spend a good 15 minutes reading it and try and make out that I think we are a team full of superstars that are just unlucky.

You have self quoted 10 times. What a overweening. You should get a ban.

Well I can just add that I don't regret ranting about Brocchi coming. Mediocre all the way. Doesn't do much wrong but he sure as hell does not make much good. When I saw the goal we conceded against Catania and how he allowed Capuano or whoever to run behind his back into the box and assist Paolucci I was fucking furious. 2 seconds later I shrugged my shoulders and said to myself "Eh, well, that's that".
We have to accept it as a fact, this team has potential, but to win games that potential has to be realized somehow by somebody. One or 2 players might have a day off but 3 or 4 and you have a problem.

And Lichtsteiner is a pleasant surprise all the way.

Rossi has to start giving chances to our young talents from the primavera. Tuia, Mancini, Mendicino, Kozak all deserve a crack in the first team but as we can see Mr. Delio isn't the man who will start giving a chance to such players. He prefers to take in the match group Manfredini