Roma’s recent flirtation with the top of the Serie A table was all the more impressive given the range of doubts Gian Piero Gasperini may have about certain personnel at the moment.
We know Roma wanted to sign a left winger in the summer and didn’t manage to, leaving a gap in their squad. We don’t know for certain, but can assume, that Gasperini isn’t too happy with his centre-forward options either, since neither Artem Dovbyk nor Evan Ferguson are scoring regularly and the likes of Tommaso Baldanzi and Paulo Dybala have been filling in up front.
It seems like Gasperini hasn’t figured out his best team yet. Not since the first two games of the season has the Roma boss named an unchanged lineup. In fact, in every game since, Gasperini has gone with a combination of 11 players that he hasn’t started together yet.
That pattern is sometimes dictated by necessity; rotation is part and parcel of the game these days for a club juggling midweek commitments in Europe, and injuries do crop up. It also doesn’t have to be seen as cause for alarm, given the competitive form Roma have been in. Besides, it wasn’t really until January last season that Claudio Ranieri began to find a settled starting lineup.
Similarly, Gasperini’s Roma is still taking shape. Despite the positive results, few would argue Roma’s performances have reflected the style of play Gasperini became famous for with Atalanta. There have been glimpses, but not consistently.
That said, there’s little to criticise the coach for so far. However, over the past couple of weeks, one side-effect of his squad rotation has become apparent.
On 23rd November, Evan Ferguson scored his first goal for Roma. It had been a long time coming for the striker, whose goal drought at club level lasted just over a year. Teed up by Neil El Aynaoui, another summer addition, Ferguson finished a chance against Cremonese.
And yet, for the next game against Midtjylland, Ferguson wasn’t among the starters. Instead, Gasperini brought Paulo Dybala back in for his first appearance since injury.
Roma won the game 2-1, but Dybala didn’t score. Neither did Ferguson, who came on just after the hour mark, but would it have helped his confidence more to follow up his first goal for the club with a start?
Strikers, more than any other position except perhaps goalkeepers, are confidence players. Ferguson hasn’t been good enough to generate his own confidence anyway, but after the breakthrough he needed against Cremonese, Gasperini should have considered showing him more faith, especially over a half-fit Dybala who plays better in support of a centre-forward rather than as a lone one himself.
During the Midtjylland game, El Aynaoui scored his first goal for Roma. It was a sublime finish, as he volleyed the ball with finesse across goal. However, a few days later, he was dropped to the bench against Napoli.
Roma’s midfield was a weak spot in the 1-0 loss. Neither Bryan Cristante nor Manu Koné had a good game. El Aynaoui got about half an hour of gametime from the bench and didn’t influence things much either, but – considering Koné took a knock against Midtjylland – could have had reasonable expectations of starting, in a bid to continue his recent discovery of form.
Only Gasperini knows how much his players can handle, but in both of these examples, players who seemingly weren’t at 100% still got the nod ahead of teammates that could have done with building up some confidence.
Of course, there seems to be no word from Trigoria to suggest that the players aren’t confident at the moment. They should have every faith in their coach, who has achieved some positive results in the early weeks of his tenure and doesn’t seem to have any unwarranted favourites yet, with only Koné and Mile Svilar remaining ever-present in Serie A at the time of writing.
But if Roma are to make the most of what remains a squad with limitations, it would be prudent to capitalise on when some of their less-established players produce moments that could catapult their confidence.
Leave a Reply