Bologna (H) - CL League Stage, Wed 2nd Oct 2024 (8:00pm)

[Trumo]

Our first home match of the revamped Champions League see us take on a side we know very little about. Bologna were once one of the leading lights in Serie A, and last won the championship in 1964. Since then, they've flitted between mid-table in the top flight and several spells outside. Last season was their finest season in years as they finished 5th, ahead of the two Rome clubs no less. They are looking to renovate their picturesque Stadio Renato Dall'Ara so the income boost provided by a minimum of 8 Champions League games is a real bonus. As is generally the case with Italian clubs, such developments will heavily involve the local municipality having to foot (most of) the bill, which leads to endless talks and red tape. Juventus built a new stadium, and both Atalanta and Udinese have significantly redeveloped their stadiums, but Serie A stadiums are otherwise extremely dated. Even the big cathedrals like the San Siro, the Olimpico and the San Paolo (now named Diego Armando Maradona) are very much lipstick on a pig.

 

They've had a very patchy season so far. Having lost highly-rated coach Thiago Motta to Juventus, and having sold key players Calafiori and Zirkzee to Arsenal and United respectively, they've had to do a rebuild. They've also been without captain Lewis Ferguson, whose knee injury back in April kept him out of Scotland's Euro 2024 squad. They've signed Swiss midfielder Freuler permanently from Forest (who knows Serie A well from his time at Atalanta), and brought in Dutch striker Dallinga from Toulouse. We know all about him as he proved to be a real pest for us in last season's Europa League group stage. Bologna started their Champions League adventure with a goalless draw at home to Shakhtar Donetsk.

 

For us, we have 3 points on the board after the opening win in Milan, so this is a chance to give ourselves a real footing in the table prior to our next four games against Bundesliga and La Liga sides. Harvey will still be unavailable, and Robbo will be assessed having come off with a knock late on in the win at Wolves. I would expect that Slot will go with a similar line-up to the one that faced West Ham in the League Cup. Whatever the side that is put out, it badly needs to ditch the inkling of complacency and poor concentration that characterised the performance at Wolves. We also mustn't take Bologna for granted, as even though new coach Vincenzo Italiano doesn't have the settled system and experience of Gian Piero Gasperini at Atalanta, he has shown that he can get results in Europe with a mid-table outfit. Italiano was Fiorentina coach for the previous 3 seasons and they were Conference League runners-up twice.

 

How have our previous managers got on in their first game against Bologna? Well, for both Slot and the club this will be a first as we've never played against Bologna before, not even in a friendly.

 

I don't ask for much. Maximum motivation, control, application, attitude and concentration from minute one. 3 points please. Get it done!

[Scott_M]

Jones for Szoboszlai and I'd start the same team as v Wolves.

 

Like Milan, I wouldn't be surprised to see Tsmiskas or Gakpo start.

 

It would be nice to get a few early goals and make changes ahead of Palace, keep everybody fresh, ultimately, just fucking win.

[Chip Butty]

Chiesa, instead of Mo, as well.

[aws]

I think we should make a few changes.  Gakpo and Darwin if fit. Jones. Quansah and either Gomes or Tsimikas at LB.  

[El Rojo]

I think we need to give Quansah regular game time so that he doesn’t regress.
 

He showed great promise last season.

 

Bradley is similar in a way. 

[Anubis]

Just win.

[AngryOfTuebrook]

I don't know anything about Bologna, but I know they're in our way, so we need to dismantle their fanny-bone.  It's nothing personal; it's business.

 

Just get these beat, Reds.

[Pete]

Let’s make a sandwich out of them. 

[Jairzinho]

The new Champions League has stitched up the fans who go to European aways. Bologna is the nicest city in Italy.

[chrisbonnie]

It's my birthday on Wednesday. They'd better not ruin my day... They can leave that misery to the wife and kids! 

[Binomial]

Bologna are muck, comfortable win here..,..possibly even a riot. Time to really stick it on a side from minute 1-100.

 

Alisson

Bradley Konate Virgil Robbo

Endo Grav

Mac

Chiesa Jota Gakpo

 

 

[Moctezuma]

How much do we get as a winning fee fir each champions league group game?

 

Because of the returns I always think it's a but unrealistic when people say we're going to roll out the B team.

[Red Shift]

Joe for Kostas at LB.
Kostas does good things but he’s always got defensive errors in him & intermittent poor passing.

 

Szobo needs a break. Curtis in, please. Start Darwin? Just a thought.

[Smell The Glove]

I'd start Jones and Darwin in this game. Wouldn't make too many changes, get it won and use the bench.

[Freddo]

2 hours ago, Moctezuma said:

How much do we get as a winning fee fir each champions league group game?

 

Because of the returns I always think it's a but unrealistic when people say we're going to roll out the B team.

1.8 million 

[Jose Jones]

Any chance these will do an Atalanta on us? Or are they a normal team now Motta has left?

[Reckoner]

Long shot I know but I’m after a kop ticket for this, cheers.

[rubble-rouser]

 No complacency here. There’s no point having a favourable draw if we don’t put away the supposedly weaker teams at home. Experience shows us that most teams in the CL are dangerous, these seem to  know how to defend and our record against Italian teams isn’t great. If we don’t get 3 points here, we’ll be playing catch up and may be unable to rotate later in the competition, so this is a must win for me. Go as strong as possible without risking injuries.  

[coachpotato]

Never underestimate Italian teams.

They traditionally defend well, because of that, their strikers usually have to be efficient when chances come along, for Bologna, as with Atalanta, it will be a big deal coming to Anfield, so they’ll be up for this.

 

We have to be too.

[Jairzinho]

They're back to being a midtable Serie A team now. Their best midfielder is injured, and I think their best striker might be as well. 

[Pidge]

You have to give the manager respect as well, just for having the name "Vincenzo Italiano", which is incredible.

 

Like being called Dave English, or Rhodri Cymru. Guy sounds he's been written by JK Rowling.

[dave u]

13 minutes ago, Pidge said:

You have to give the manager respect as well, just for having the name "Vincenzo Italiano", which is incredible.

 

Like being called Dave English, or Rhodri Cymru. Guy sounds he's been written by JK Rowling.

 

Or Hamish McScottish.

[dave u]

Slot said these play man to man all over the pitch, so I'm interested to see how we deal with that considering how utterly abject and clueless Atalanta made us look.

[Kevin D]

Corporal Kolodny learned about it first in a phone call from Group and was so shaken by the news that he crossed the intelligence tent on tiptoe to Captain Black, who was resting drowsily with his bladed shins up on thedesk, and relayed the information to him in a shocked whisper.

 

Captain Black brightened immediately. “Bologna?” he exclaimed with delight. “Well, I’ll be damned.” He broke into loud laughter. “Bologna, huh?” He laughed again and shook his head in pleasant amazement. “Oh, boy! I can’t wait to see those bastards’ faces when they find out they’re going to Bologna. Ha, ha, ha!”

 

It was the first really good laugh Captain Black had enjoyed since the day Major Major outsmarted him and was appointed squadron commander, and he rose with torpid enthusiasm and stationed himself behind the front counter in order to wring the most enjoyment from the occasion when the bombardiers arrived for their map kits.

 

“That’s right, you bastards, Bologna,” he kept repeating to all the bombardiers who inquired incredulously if they were really going to Bologna. “Ha! Ha! Ha! Eat your livers, you bastards. This time you’re really in for it.”

 

Captain Black followed the last of them outside to observe with relish the effect of the knowledge upon all of the other officers and enlisted men who were assembling with their helmets, parachutes and flak suits around the four trucks idling in the center of the squadron area. He was a tall, narrow, disconsolate man who moved with acrabby listlessness. He shaved his pinched, pale face every third or fourth day, and most of the time he appeared to be growing a reddish-gold mustache over his skinny upper lip. He was not disappointed in the scene outside.

 

There was consternation darkening every expression, and Captain Black yawned deliciously, rubbed the last lethargy from his eyes and laughed gloatingly each time he told someone else to eat his liver.

[Arniepie]

they must have brought 1000's

town is choca with them