Tuesday, 29 September 2009

Who is he trying to fool?

From the BBC website:
The Prime Minister spoke for just under an hour, ending with an attempt to boost the morale of party members shaken by polls suggesting they are heading for a massive defeat, telling them New Labour was "not done yet".
He urged activists to "dream big dreams and watch our country soar" and "reach inside ourselves for the strength of our convictions" and to "fight" for victory - earning a standing ovation in the hall.
Honestly, who is Brown trying to fool? Himself? His loyal followers (both of them I mean)? The British public?? I know that a week is a long time in politics (so they say) but Labour are dead and buried. There is no way that they are going to win the General Elections next year. The only way for Gordon Brown to avoid a crushing defeat at the polls next year is to step down as PM and hand over the poisoned chalice to someone else. After all Tony Blair played this trick on him when Labour had started to lose support so Brown may as well do the same.

Monday, 28 September 2009

Greedish Airways

Just before the last weekend I heard that British Airways are going to charge their customers pay to reserve specific seats. Those who want to make sure they sit in a group or have a preference for aisle, window or exit seats will be affected.
This really is what I call scraping the dregs of the barrel. They may as well paint a big harp in blue and yellow on their aircraft and start calling themselves Ryanair... as there will be very little distinction between these two airlines once this ludicrous charge is introduced.
British Airways are not exactly the cheapest airline as it is... now quite frankly I will think long and hard before booking another flight with them as this is just one step too far.

Wednesday, 23 September 2009

How to sound rather stupid

“What a fantastic dream to have, to keep winning promotions and get Notts County back into the Premier League”, by Sol Campbell.
For a start, a pedant may argue that Notts County (or any other club for that matter) cannot get back to where they have never been. They have played in the top flight before but the Premiership only started in 1992 and the last time that Notts County were in the top flight was many, many years before, definitely in ‘black and white’ (pun intended, considering these are their club colours).
Anyway it looks like Sol is offski after only one match played for the League Two outfit. So what happened to the dream of winning back-to-back promotions Sol? So much for loyalty to your new fans eh?! A decent footballer you may be but the sharpest tool in the box you ain’t Sol.

Monday, 21 September 2009

Bye-bye Briatore

To be honest with you I don’t give two hoots about Formula One as a sport. In fact, I don’t even consider it as a sport as – in my opinion – the role of the driver is far too minor compared to the car’s.
Anyway, even though I don’t follow F1, I couldn’t help raising a chuckle today when I heard about the life ban imposed on the above mentioned sleazebag.

Here is an excerpt from the Guardian's website:
The former Renault Formula One managing director Flavio Briatore was today effectively banned from motor sport for life, for his part in a scandal that the sport's governing body said was of "unparalleled severity".
However, the World Motor Sport Council effectively gave Renault a green light to continue in formula one. The team, who chose not to contest Nelson Piquet Jr's claims that he was asked to crash into a wall during the 2008 Singapore grand prix in order to hand an advantage to his team-mate, Fernando Alonso, will be permanently banned only if they commit a "comparable breach" by the end of 2011.
Although unable to take action against Briatore personally, after he left Renault last week, the 26-member WMSC said it would not sanction any event involving him "in any capacity whatsoever".
It also said it would refuse to renew licences to any driver associated with Briatore in any capacity, meaning that all those managed by him will have to extricate themselves from their contracts. They include Alonso, Piquet, Mark Webber and Heikki Kovalainen.

Sunday, 20 September 2009

Japanese Matsuri Festival

Yesterday I went to the Japanese Matsuri Festival in Spitalfields, near Liverpool Street, which featured Japanese art, crafts, food, and various performances. Apparently this festival was held in honour of 150 years of Anglo-Japanese relations.
To say that this event was mobbed from the early afternoon is a major understatement. In hindsight – which we all know is a great thing – the organisers should have arranged to have the stalls spread out over the whole Spitalfields area, not just a section of it.
It’s a shame that it was so popular as I was absolutely looking forward to trying some of the Japanese delicacies on offer. However the queues for any sort of food and drink were humongous and I had no intention of queuing up for 45 minutes so... it’ll have to be next time. Lesson learnt – never brave this sort of events on an empty tummy!
It was also very nice to meet up with Eva and Mark. We bumped into some of our colleagues and their partners and had a nice chat with them. Altogether it was a very pleasant way of spending a sunny afternoon in London.

Saturday, 19 September 2009

Basel away

Got to Basle just before 11am on the Easyjet flight from Gatwick. I was quickly reminded of how efficient the Swiss are as the bus into town left right on time and took exactly 17 minutes as promised. The same journey by taxi would have cost me approx. 40 CHF, which served as a reminder of how bloody expensive that country is.
I was unable to check into my room at the Youth Hostel until 3pm, which incidentally is also when my mates from Rome were meant to arrive in town, so had a little wander by myself around the city centre. Very nice, clean and organised, just as you’d expect a Swiss city to be.
Wherever I go I try to sample the local cuisine, however on this occasion the Basel Building Society had failed to advance the necessary funds for a decent lunch so yours truly had to make do with Turkey’s finest (pide and kebab).
Approaching 3pm, I went back to the Yoof Hostel to check in, and the reception guy cheerily told me that unfortunately I had to wait just five more minutes. I looked at my watch and it was 2.55pm. I thought he was joking.... he wasn’t (sad ‘James Blunt’). Before going to my room, he asked me to follow him into the next room, where I’d be able to pick up my bed sheets. Then he asked me ‘would you like to get a towel as well?’. Unfortunately I think that my sarcasm (‘I’ll take it, you never know, that could come in handy...’) flew well over his cuckoo’s head.
In the end it was a good turnout for the lads from Rome. We had almost 100 in the pub before the match, and another 50 or so joined us outside the ground. I’ll try and post a picture or two this time, I promise.
The least said about the match, the better. AS Roma players had better get their arse in gear or we may be in for just another very long, hard season.

Wednesday, 16 September 2009

Kenyon out

From the BBC website:
Chelsea have announced that Peter Kenyon will be leaving his chief executive role at the end of October. Kenyon, who left Manchester United in 2003 to join Chelsea, will continue at the Blues as a non-executive director. The 55-year-old will also continue to represent Chelsea invarious capacities, including committee roles with European governing body Uefa.
Am I being too cynical if I think that 1) there is a strong link between Chelsea's transfer ban and Kenyon's departure?; and 2) he will be completely out of the door within the next 12 months?
Personally I don't think it could have happened to a nicer bloke as I have NEVER liked Kenyon - first and foremost, he's a Manc and I was gobsmacked when Abramovich offered him a job at Chelsea. Secondly I don't think he has any style, he's just a glorified shirt seller FFS. That's what he's good at, that's what he should have kept doing, rather than darkening Chelsea's doorstep.

Tuesday, 15 September 2009

Made In Italy

Last Wednesday I went out for dinner with 8 of my colleagues. It was my turn to organise the team dinner so I thought we could do much worse than having some decent affordable Italian food.
I have never had a bad meal at Made In Italy on Kings Road and Wednesday was no exception. The main criticism that this restaurant gets on websites like londoneating.co.uk is about the rudeness of waiters/waitresses. In all fairness though I have to say that I have never been treated badly there. However I am also pretty sure that if I wasn’t Italian and didn’t speak the lingo it would be a completely different matter... but that’s another story.
We managed to leave work quite early so had time for a drink or two in the Cadogan Arms, also on Kings Road. This pub had been renovated quite recently and looks like an upmarket boozer, definitely fitting in in this affluent part of London.
My choice of starter consisted of melanzane alla parmigiana, that would probably score a 7.5 out of 10 on the tasteometer. Maybe just not as good as my mum makes but, still a pretty damn good imitation. Probably the best choice (in terms of starters) was Tom’s who went for a huge, yummy plate of mussels (‘cozze’).
For mains I had some sausage and pepper pizza, which was delicious and deserved a good 8 out of 10. I like pizza here at Made In Italy as it’s just like they... make it in Italy (funnily enough). It’s the real stuff, not the rubbish that’s served in most (fake??) Italian restaurants in London, where they can’t even spell dishes correctly on the menu.
Considering that this restaurant is in the heart of Chelsea, prices are rather reasonable. Also due to the fact that none of us had alcohol, we managed to get change out of £20 each, which is a right result.

Monday, 14 September 2009

Siena v Roma

La prima vittoria per la AS Roma in questo campionato (a Siena) e' foriera di buone notizie... ma anche di cattive. Cominciamo dalle buone notizie: 1) abbiamo portato a casa 3 punti che ci servivano come il pane; 2) abbiamo vinto su un campo dove l'anno scorso avevamo preso la sveglia, quindi diciamo che sono 3 punti guadagnati rispetto all'anno scorso; 3) hhhhhmmmmm..... anche a raschiare il fondo del barile non riesco proprio a trovare altre buone notizie.
Passiamo velocemente alle cattive notizie?? Abbiamo mostrato un gioco inguardabile per 75 minuti. Ranieri aveva messo tutti in allerta dicendo chiaramente "scordatevi il calcio champagne" ma quello che ho visto e' andato oltre le mie piu' funeste aspettative. Infatti - con l'eccezione dei primi 15 minuti - non si puo' neanche parlare di 'gioco' espresso dalla Roma. Nessuno che attaccava gli spazi, zero automatismi, svariati giocatori ridotti all'ombra di loro stessi.
Ci e' andata bene a Siena, ma mica ci puo' sempre dire bene. Siamo riusciti a segnare due gol negli ultimi 20 minuti quando il Siena ha finito la benzina. Gia' da giovedi' a Basilea bisognera' mostrare qualcosa di piu', altrimenti la nostra avventura in Europa League e' destinata a finire ben presto.

Sunday, 13 September 2009

Adebayor - what a self-abuser

I don’t have much time for neither Man City nor Arsenal, so I think I can have a neutral’s viewpoint on this issue.
What Adebayor did yesterday in Man City’s match vs. Arsenal was nothing short of a disgrace. What point was he trying to make when he ran the whole length of the pitch to go and celebrate his goal in front of the away fans? What a wanker. Apologising in front of the TV cameras is nowhere near good enough in my opinion. Six Arsenal fans were arrested as Adebayor’s celebration sparked a riot in the Arsenal end. Can these six fans just apologise for their behaviour when they’ll sit in court and get away with it? I don’t think so.
Anyway it was obvious that Adebayor had a major axe to grind with his old club as he stamped on Van Persie’s face. Don’t get me wrong, it couldn’t happen to a nicer lad... however you just can’t kick an opposition player in the face like Adebayor did. I hope the FA will have a look at this incident and ban him for a few games.

Saturday, 12 September 2009

AFC Wimbledon v Cambridge Utd.

Today I went to watch to my local ground (Kingsmeadow, 20 minutes walk from my house) to watch AFC Wimbledon play vs Cambridge United. I was in the away end with the Cambridge faithful, approx. 700 of them.
Have to say that the highlight of the day probably was the four pints of Kronenbourg 1664 that I had in the Albert pub, closely followed by a bag of chips from the chippy near the ground. The match ended 0-0, and rightly so as there was no worthy winner. Cambridge had most of the possession for the first hour, whilst AFC got increasingly threatening in the last 30 minutes. Anyway chances were at a premium today so one point each is a just reward for both teams.
I was pleasantly surprised by the attendance of 4,128 fans, which for a non-league match is no mean feat. I bet you that it’s going to be higher than the attendance in most matches in League 2 this weekend.

Thursday, 10 September 2009

Tifosi senza un briciolo di dignita'

Quei circa 500 tifosi della AS Roma che andranno in trasferta a Siena dovrebbero farsi un bell’esame di coscienza e chiedersi se una trasferta a Siena vale la totale perdita di dignita’ da parte loro.
Le condizioni poste da Rosella Sensi (in combutta con la Questura) per poter partecipare a questa trasferta sono una vergogna per ogni tifoso che abbia ancora un minimo di dignita’.
Ma dove sta scritto che se io voglio andare da qualsiasi parte (non solo a Siena) a seguire la mia squadra devo accettare delle condizioni che sono a meta’ strada tra il Cile di Pinochet e la scuola elementare?
Schedatura e rilascio del nulla osta da parte della Questura.... Acquisto del voucher per salire su pullman predisposto dalla AS Roma, affiancati da stewards.... Acquisto del biglietto presso determinate ricevitorie in accordo con la Questura al modico (!!!) prezzo di € 26,50.....
Siete dei tifosi dal cuore di latta – se aveste un minimo di dignita’, dovreste fare come la maggiorparte del popolo romanista che ha votato con i piedi e ha detto a Rosella, alla Questura e a Maroni che a Siena, se vogliono, ci possono andare loro. Noi, questa volta, ce ne restiamo a casa.

Wednesday, 9 September 2009

Ransacking youth schemes

I must been mellowing in my old age as (for once) I have to agree 100% with UEFA and FIFA in their recent stance about (big) clubs poaching young players from other (smaller) clubs.
I don't care if these big clubs are called Chelsea or Man United or Toorichtocare FC. Chelsea have been found guilty of inducing a young French player to breach his contract with Lens (his French club) and sign for them instead. The same fate may happen to Man Utd. for a similar incident.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg - Manyoo have been at it for years. It's very nice and righteous for Fergie to complain about Real madrid making illegal approaches for Cristiano Ronaldo when his own club has been ransacking the best talent in youth teams all over Europe and Africa.
Tapping players up.... inducing them to breach their contract.... exploiting loopholes in local laws to their advantage.... all sides of the same coin. It's just unfair and it must be stopped now. Now if clubs can adhere to some self-discipline, fine, otherwise I personally welcome UEFA's and FIFA's intervention to stamp out this unfair/unlawful practises that stink of bullyism and colonialism.

Tuesday, 8 September 2009

A plea

So Peter Andre and Jordan have finalised their acrimonious divorce today, after weeks and weeks of mudslinging. Every single detail of their split has been thrust upon us as these two don’t seem to know the meaning of the word ‘privacy’. In fact they are both so publicity-obsessed that they would turn up at the opening of a door.
Anyway now that their shambolic marriage is finally over, can both of them please disappear from the limelight for a little while? Only blondes named Sharon or Courtney are interested in the lives of these two non-entities. The vast majority of us couldn’t give a flying duck about either of them.... so please just go.

Monday, 7 September 2009

Basel

Following one my recent posts below about forthcoming trips in the Europa League, I made it quite clear that I wasn't very happy with the first trip (to Basel). I am not particularly forward to it as I'm not very keen about Switzerland altogether but didn't provide a reasoned explanation. Now that I have booked my accommodation, I had a good reminder of why I was not very keen on this pretty country.... because it's flippin expensive, that's why!!
40 quid for one night is not usually considered outrageously expensive.... however it is when the night in question is going to be spent at Basel's Yoof Hostel. The room includes the luxury of a sink (!!!) but obviously private facilities were deemed surplus to requirements and therefore done without.

Friday, 4 September 2009

Ja, oui, och aye.... let's cap bonuses for bankers

In many years in banking I have never earnt a big bonus and chances are I never will, therefore my interest in the pro-bonus vs anti-bonus debate is purely academic. Said that, I think that all this hysteria about capping bonuses is just a load of old bollocks.
The only way a cap on bonuses could possibly work is if it was implemented worldwide - and the chances of it happening are as big as.... well, as those of me getting a big bonus. Do you get the picture??
Anyway this morning I read this editorial in City AM, written by Allister Heath. I think it raises some very interesting points. A word of warning: it doesn't make comfortable reading for those of us working in the City of London.
This article below is courtesy of City AM:
What a waste; what a u-turn. For the past six months, the FSA, the Treasury and many top banks had been beavering away on innovative proposals to reform bonuses. Their idea, which had been gaining influence globally and even been accepted by the Tories, was to retain basic freedom of contract and the incentivising properties of bonuses, while making them less short-term and allowing them to be clawed back if the profits on which they are based eventually turn out to be illusory, subprime-style. The entire endeavour was a bit of a distraction given that no serious economist really believes bonuses were the primary driver of the crisis; but at least it was a calm, level-headed attempt at making financial markets function better.
All of this work has now been thrown away. Gordon Brown, who until a few days ago was an enthusiastic supporter of this measured, reformist approach, and had little time for hysterical opponents of all bonuses, has suddenly switched sides. The Prime Minister is now officially committed to crude, arbitrary limits to compensation, just as he was in the 1980s and 1990s before he grudgingly accepted capitalism. What was left of New Labour finally died yesterday.
The Franco-German letter signed by Brown says it all. “We should explore ways to limit total variable remuneration in a bank either to a certain proportion of total compensation or the bank’s revenues and/or profits”, it says. Yet capping bonuses in this way won’t work, even if every country in the world were foolish enough to sign up. Basic pay would jump; high performers would be given regular pay rises; poor performers would suffer pay cuts or be fired. Bonuses would reappear, albeit in hidden guise. Caps would severely damage efficiency and make banks even more likely to fail. Linking all bonuses to overall profit would make it impossible to reward star performers in loss-making organisations, a recipe for disaster. Even worse, the proposal would only apply to the largest banks, triggering an exodus of bankers to unregulated, smaller firms, hedge funds and start-ups.
The letter states that “our citizens are deeply shocked at the revival of reprehensible practices, despite taxpayers’ money having been mobilised to support the financial sector”, without defining “reprehensible”. Clearly, Brown and his new allies believe in the disgraceful concept of collective punishment: even banks such as HSBC, which didn’t take taxpayer cash, apparently deserve to be punished for the sins of others; individual bankers who weren’t involved in sub-prime lending or other defective practices need to pay for the minority who were (most of whom, by the way, have long since been fired). Brown used the wages and profits of the City to fuel his reckless spending spree; he now appears to consider all big bonuses, even those that don’t endanger stability, as “reprehensible”.
Many argue that nationalised banks should not award large payouts, even to key members of staff who create value for the taxpayer. I disagree – but at least this would be a principled approach. But then why did Brown sign off huge bonus schemes for RBS, a bank he owns? Brown’s inconsistency and hypocrisy are breathtaking.
He has no interest in creating an economy less prone to boom and bust; he just wants to stir up populist hate ahead of next year’s election. Let us hope the Tories have the guts to stand up to him.

Thursday, 3 September 2009

I am with Gandalf!!

I had more than a few doubts when Ancelotti joined Chelsea. Whilst he was a superb player (and AS Roma skipper to boot), he never particularly impressed me as manager. However having seen Chelsea since the start of the season, good old Carlo seems to have taken to the English Premiership like a duck to water.
Gandalf, if there's a slice of humble pie going spare, you can send it my way...

Wednesday, 2 September 2009

Vergogna

A seguito delle dimissioni/esonero di Spalletti, ci sono molte, moltissime persone che a Roma si dovrebbero vergognare per quello che e' successo.
Siamo - e dico siamo in senso molto lato, non perche' io mi senta responsabile - riusciti a mandare via un allenatore che ci ha fatto giocare per lunghi tratti il calcio migliore d'Italia e probabilmente tra i migliori d'Europa. Con risorse limitate, siamo entrati per 2 anni consecutivi ai quarti di finale di Champions League e abbiamo pure portato a casa qualche trofeo. Ora quanto dovremo aspettare prima di vedere ancora l'AS Roma giocare bene? E quando rivinceremo un altro trofeo? Spalletti se ne e' andato da vero signore, quale e', senza sbattere la porta, gettando in faccia a questa societa' di peracottari l'ingaggio che avrebbe dovuto percepire per i prossimi due anni. Comunque tornando al punto iniziale, ecco chi e' che si dovrebbe vergognare, in ordine di gravita':

LA SOCIETA': la AS Roma e' una societa' allo sbando, senza uno straccio di comunicazione o di pianificazione.... e senza un euro da poter spendere. La sessione di calciomercato che si e' appena conclusa e' stata una vera e propria umiliazione per noi tifosi. Giocatori sfilati sotto al naso sia in Italia che in Europa.... e noi sempre a cercare di fare le nozze coi fichi secchi, sempre ad elemosinare gli scarti degli altri. Persino uno Zamparini qualsiasi si permette di prenderci in giro e dire che non abbiamo una lira.... e noi sempre zitti. Alla fine ci siamo ridotti a prendere un portiere infortunato (!!!) ed un giovanotto di neanche troppo belle speranze. Questa e' una vera e propria presa per i fondelli ai danni della squadra. dell'allenatore e di tutto l'ambiente giallorosso.
LA SQUADRA: ci sono fin troppi giocatori della Roma che dovrebbero baciare la terra dove cammina Spalletti. Giocatori normali se non mediocri arrivati in Nazionale o alle sue porte grazie al gioco espresso dalla Roma e quindi grazie a Spalletti. E chi invece in Nazionale gia' ci stava.... si dovrebbe vergognare ancora di piu'. Quante volte abbiamo sentito di giocatori che chiedono alla societa' di tenere un allenatore in profumo di esonero? No, queste cose non succedono alla AS Roma. Alla Roma abbiamo giocatori che firmano contratti per 5 anni e ci fanno pure la grazia di ridursi lo stipendio a 4 milioni all'anno. Alla Roma abbiamo giocatori che nelle ultime due partite (Kosice e Juventus) si mangiano 4-5 occasioni soli davanti al portiere e poi protestano pure quando l'allenatore gli chiede di rientrare e dare una mano alla squadra.
I TIFOSI 'GIORNALISTI': a prescindere dal fatto che io chiuderei col fuoco tutte quelle radio private che forniscono ai tifosi di professione un palcoscenico virtuale per mezzo di tutte queste trasmissioni..... vergogna a tutti quei tifosi di professione per aver fatto a pezzi Spalletti lunedi' all'indomani della sconfitta con la Juve. Perche' invece non ve la prendete con quella scimmia vestita da donna che sta mortificando una citta' intera? Perche' non ve la prendete con quei giocatori che con il loro non-comportamento in campo hanno fatto si' che Spalletti si sentisse abbandonato?
Io purtroppo mi ricordo ancora in che stato penoso era la Roma prima che arrivasse Spalletti..... l'anno dei 4 allenatori..... disciplina inesistente nello spogliatoio..... per cui non posso non essere dispiaciuto per l'allontanamento del grande Luciano. L'unica speranza e' di rivederlo sulla panchina della Roma un giorno (non troppo lontano) con una nuova proprieta' che gli possa assicurare degli acquisti adeguati, senza dover andare a disturbare Lobont e Zamblera.

Tuesday, 1 September 2009

Presi in giro

Sotto riporto la maggiorparte dell'editoriale di Luigi Ferrajolo (pubblicato sul Corriere dello Sport di oggi) che mi trova d'accordo per ampi tratti. Vorrei solo aggiungere un paio di commenti personali a tale articolo.
LF sotto dice che Spalletti era gia' vicino alle dimissioni a luglio, rientrate poi dopo un colloquio con Rosella Sensi. Hhhhmmm.... magari gli sono state fatte alcune promesse riguardo il mercato in entrata che poi PUNTUALMENTE non sono state mantenute??
LF aggiunge anche che Spalletti ultimamente ha dato segni di insofferenza, prendendosela prima con la società e poi domenica scorsa con la squadra. Forse sono fatto all'antica, ma se il Capitone della mia squadra si mette a fare i colpetti di tacco nelle situazioni meno adatte, anche io - come Spalletti - mi incazzo. Se il Capitone si mangia 3 o 4 gol solo davanti al portiere nelle ultime due partite, forse anche io (al posto di Spalletti) potrei ragionevolmente pensare che la squadra mi vuole fare fuori.

Cruz ha preferito la Lazio, Crespo il Genoa. Negredo è andato al Siviglia, Pavlyuchenko è rimasto dov’era, al Tottenham. Anche Fred non si è mosso e persino Ghezzal sta benone a Siena. E’ arrivato invece Fabio Zamblera, 19 anni, bergamasco del Newcastle. E’ questa la punta che aspettava Spalletti, è questa la punta che cercava la Roma! Noi crediamo che ci sia un limite a tutto, superarlo non è segno di intelligenza. Che non ci fossero soldi si sapeva e da un pezzo e che per la Roma questo sarebbe stato un mercato di lacrime, anche. Che la società avesse bisogno di vendere Aquilani e magari anche un altro titolare di grido, era scontato, anche se doloroso. Che bisognasse preparasi al peggio e non credere troppo alle favole, anche. Che l’ultima pista disperata di Van Nistelrooy, peraltro lungodegente, promettesse poco era nell’aria. La società dice che ci ha provato sino alla fine e sarà pure vero, ma chiudere il mercato con Zamblera ci sembra uno sberleffo insopportabile, quasi una sfida alla pazienza e alla passione dei tifosi.
Ma sicuro, Zamblera non andrà da Spalletti, giocherà, a quanto pare, nella Primavera. Siamo felici per il papà di De Rossi, ma l’attaccante di peso, la prima punta di cui si blatera da anni, non serviva alla prima squadra?
Per Spalletti, in compenso ci sarà Lobont. Un portiere che non sarebbe nemmeno tanto male, se non fosse reduce da un intervento ai crociati. La Roma sapeva da maggio che avrebbe dovuto rinunciare a Doni per cinque, sei mesi. Non aver trovato sinora un dignitoso sostituto è molto grave, si conosceva bene il valore di Artur e Julio Sergio, prendere ora Lobont, che viene da un infortunio molto serio e che potrà esser pronto solo tra qualche settimana, sembra un’altra provocazione, più che una soluzione. Il mercatone della Roma si chiude, dunque, con la cessione di Aquilani e l’arrivo di Burdisso, cioè del quinto difensore dell’Inter, concesso generosamente da Moratti: dire troppo poco, è dire niente. Ormai la Roma è una società stremata, prossima alla paralisi: pensare che possa andare ancora avanti così per un’altra stagione è quasi folle. Il mercato però potrebbe riaprirsi all’improvviso, sia pur solo per la panchina.
Dopo la batosta con la Juve circolano voci insistenti: Spalletti sta pensando seriamente di dimettersi e la società, a sua volta, cerca il sostituto, con Ranieri davanti a tutti. Spalletti in queste settimane ha dato segni evidenti di insofferenza: se l’è presa prima con la società, domenica con la squadra. Spesso anche con se stesso. Che sia insoddisfatto, deluso, per i mancati arrivi è comprensibile, ma questo non giustifica il suo smarrimento, l’atteggiamento di chi si sente solo contro tutti, sempre in guerra col prossimo. E’ una situazione torbida che va avanti da tempo: già in estate si è parlato di un divorzio, poi è bastato un colloquio con la dottoressa Sensi per evitarlo.