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Luca Martano from Roma Club New York, fan-writer Sam Bannister, and club supporter Enzo Minicucci are put to the test with three topical football questions…
The Roma Question: Which area of the pitch do you think Roma are strongest in?
Luca / @LucaMartano: “Overall I think Roma is pretty much complete in every area of the pitch even considering all the injuries we had. At the beginning of the season, I would have told you that our strongest area was in the midfield, but looking at how the season is going I would see that our defence is really going beyond expectations. Alisson is probably the best goalkeeper of Serie A, Manolas is finally back to his standard level, Fazio is literally a giant and Juan Jesus is more than a substitute. I'm also looking forward to Emerson’s return.”
Sam / @SamBanno1: “I wouldn’t have expected to be saying this at the start of the season, but I think we’re strongest at centre back. People doubted how good Fazio and Jesus were in a back four, but both are having great seasons. Obviously there’s Manolas, who is a top defender, and Moreno hasn’t looked bad either - the fact he isn’t playing much shows how much depth we have in that position.”
Enzo / @pure_romanista: “Some of you may disagree but I see the defence as the strongest, especially since the offence hasn’t been doing as well. Strootman and De Rossi haven’t been playing to their usual standards and Radja is just now starting to pick up the pace. If you look at our defence, we have Kolarov who has been outstanding, Manolas and Fazio who have been gelling well and Florenzi who, even when he isn’t at his best, is still good. We can’t forget Juan Jesus, who has been amazing when it comes to giving players a rest and rotating the team.”
The Serie A Question: Were AC Milan right to fire Vincenzo Montella?
@LucaMartano: “As a Romanista, I will always have great sympathy towards Montella, so seeing him failing always hurts a little bit. Of course he wasn't the only one responsible for the season Milan is having so far, but as we know the coach is always the one who pays first. I hope he will find a new team soon, maybe abroad, but this experience is big minus on his career.”
@SamBanno1: “I think so. Getting success from a team of so many new signings was always going to be difficult, but certain results haven’t helped him and given their big spending, they would’ve hoped to be doing better. I never thought they’d be Scudetto contenders this year, but I didn’t think they’d be down in seventh either, so it probably was time for them to change.”
@pure_romanista: “No doubt about it! Firing Montella was long overdue. He hasn’t been starting the correct players and what does Andre Silva have to do to get a starting place on the team? Montella had all the right players and had the entire summer to prepare the team for a Champions League spot push. But now they are ten points away from the relegation zone and 11 points away from a Champions League spot.”
The General Football Question: Who should be crowned African Footballer of the Year?
@LucaMartano: “I would say Salah. Last year he was one of the key players for Roma and he helped us reached the second place on the table. Then as a captain led Egypt to qualify for the next World Cup and he's doing pretty good with Liverpool too.”
@SamBanno1: “I hope Salah gets it, and I think he’s in with a good chance. It makes me proud to see him doing so well in the Premier League, since he had a lot of doubters there. He’s showing how good a player he’s become over the past couple of years. He’s had a great 2017 and I hope he wins it.”
@pure_romanista: “Players like Aubameyang, Naby Keita, Mane, and Salah are all possible winners but Salah has to be the one to win it. In 2017 he helped Dzeko become the Capocannoniere for the 2016-17 season, helped Roma qualify for the Champions League, helped Egypt qualify for the World Cup and at the time of me writing this he is the current English Premier League top goalscorer. Forza Momo!”
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