Many fingers have been pointed at AS Roma’s current chairman for being the cause of their underwhelming standing this term but it is difficult to agree with accusations that James Pallotta is actually mishandling the club.
One figure has to be thrown out there: Roma have been the champions of Italy on only three (3!) occasions since its founding in 1927.
Therefore, missing out on the title cannot be considered as an immense failure.
Using more facts as reference, 7th, 6th, 2nd, 2nd, 3rd, 2nd have been where the team has finished in the table since the American takeover and of course, there is a painful defeat in the Coppa Italia final to add to that.
For a club looking to gradually grow its brand and size, this should be considered as progress regardless of how slow it might appear to be from the view of some impatient fans.
Indeed, judging by the results from a bar chart and statistical perspective, it honestly seems as though Roma are a team on the brink of success.
Whether they are going to take a step back this season remains to be seen, but it will not be for a lack of owner intervention.
And on the subject of owners and how they have handled transfer market business, mistakes have been made, but it has not been from negligence as much as naivety.
Those who live in Rome are aware that any new construction does not reach completion status overnight, even when all the plans are laid out in immaculate order.
The stadium is key to stabilizing the club’s revenue stream and being able to control its destiny.
Even if there have been any errors, Pallotta is not the only one responsible for that.
Afterall, from 2010-2016, Roma was 9th in gross spending across Europe’s big five leagues.
This is certainly consistent with his long-term plans of playing with the big boys and therefore, the chairman has every reason to believe that he has taken care of his part of the Roma agenda.
Also on that note, it is fair to suggest that Eusebio Di Francesco’s steadfast adherence to the 4-3-3 formation which has already proven to be faulty is perhaps what should be questioned more.
Matters in the dressing room are far more directly related to Roma’s issues on the pitch because the truth is that the men upstairs are actually pulling their weight, contrary to popular belief.
