Some thoughts on Dan Friedkin buying #ASRoma

I won’t miss the Pallotta *era*, of player trading and ever-diminishing returns. The entire strategy of the club was built on being able to keep changing parts (even essential ones) of the team and keep all the plates spinning on the fingers of the DS.

(Turns out that was even harder than we/they thought! And that Walter Sabatini, for the well-documented flaws, was really really good at his job. Not sure it should have worked as long as it did.)

new ownership at least brings with it hope of a change in course. But apart from being someone else, I don’t see any real reason for optimism here. Player trading as a philosophy, and trying everything *just* to minimize significant sales to one a summer, is hopefully gone...

... but probably not. But that’s not what I’m thinking about now: it’s that Friedkin buying Roma highlights the absurdity of football today.

A venture capitalist from Boston sold the club to a Texan. In the middle remains Roma, and the massive importance it has to an entire city. (And not only in Rome btw, which I myself am proof of if nothing else.)

It’s patently absurd we get no say in this. Roma gets passed around, we fans are held hostage to the predisposition and whims of an anonymous billionaire we’ve never heard of and who never heard of us until 15 minutes ago.

This type of ownership brings out the worst tendencies of fans, which the embarassing Newcastle-story showed lately.

Not that club democracy is always well-working. I mean *gesticulates at Barcelona*, and the fact that Florentino Perez has for all effects and purposes stolen Real Madrid by making it ~ impossible to challenge him for the presidency.

So what does it all boil down to? I don’t know other than it depresses me, but Roma is playing in the game of the season in less than 6 h. Forza Roma.