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| Friday 15 February, 2008 |
| Blog: The slack market |
| The winter window may not be the ideal time to do business, but Paul Watson believes that Roma will regret their inactivity |
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January is a notoriously frustrating time for players, fans and clubs alike. After months of speculation and growing excitement, the big deals rarely come to pass. Nobody wants to lose a prize asset in mid-season, so prices are inflated and most transfers are consolation prizes or panic buys. However, the mercato di riparazione is a chance for the top transfer gurus to shine and one piece of shrewd business can turn a season.
That’s why Roma’s lethargy was so exasperating. Links with the likes of Antonio Di Natale and David Di Michele evaporated and no new faces arrived. Despite admitting that his side were a striker short, Luciano Spalletti wanted to send out the message that he was happy with his squad. Deciding to stick rather than twist with Inter running away with the silverware undoubtedly sent out a message – it was the football equivalent of a white flag.
The Giallorossi don’t have enough depth in their squad to compete for the Scudetto and maintain a Champions League campaign. They came up short last term and not enough has changed. If any of the top four needed reinforcements it was Roma, but while Juventus added Mohamed Sissoko, Milan unveiled Alexandre Pato and even Inter brought in the superfluous Maniche, Spalletti is drawing from the same shallow pool.
I’m no advocate of panic buys, but it seems to me that Roma have opted out of the title race. They possibly feel that this season is a lost cause and that they would do better to conduct a measured transfer campaign in the summer.
Admirable sentiments, but what better chance of winning a title will the capital club get than this? Juventus are rebuilding and Milan missed the starter’s gun this time around, but by next season they will be the juggernauts of old while Inter will only get stronger. Maybe there is some truth behind the unsubstantiated rumours of imminent financial collapse at the Stadio Olimpico – if not it is hard to see why Roma passed up their window of opportunity.
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Whilst I can see some valid points in Paul Watson's comments I believe that to ignore the transfer window in January was not so foolhardy as suggested.
It is glaringly obvious that Roma are missing a top striker and Di Natale is going to be top of their shopping list in the summer, the very nature of Roma’s tactical set up in the 4-2-3-1 system and the interchangeable positioning of the strikers has been nothing but an asset for the past couple of years. Mirko Vucinic is no where near the finished article and finds it hard to play in an exiled role up front. I think the real problems for the Giallorossi lie in the defence as Philippe Mexes has lost all confidence and Matteo Ferrari has never impressed me at all. Juan is superb and I think in summer an acquisition of a top class centre half and a 20 goals per season striker can see Il Lupi challenging for honours domestically and in Europe.
Steve Mitchell
Anyone who knows Italian football knows that Roma's finances are an absolute mess and they could not buy anyone even if they wanted to. They have no additional money to spend on their squad and many of the Romanisti feel that the time has come to concentrate on bringing young players through. Francesco Totti has been a great player, but if you build your team around one man then you only have to sop him and you stop the team. Despite his undoubted genius, many tifosi think that Roma are a better 'team' without him in the line up.
Brian La Piazza
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