What a pain in the hole
What a pain in the hole
In fairness, he could do with a kick in the arse after last season
The timing is awful though. He played brilliantly last match, even beyond the goal. And with Dovbyk injured this is a moment where he could have really nailed that place up top down. Hopefully not out too long but really gaining a reputation for not being that durable.
Doesn't sound too serious:
"He was unlucky. They are painful blows that semi-paralyse you and prevent you from playing. He took more than one. I feel sorry for him.
"We'll see tomorrow but I don’t think it’s a muscular thing that will take days."
Their new striker off to a flyer I see. Wouldn't be surprised if Ferguson is not a Roma player by the end of January.
Well Roma do have an obligation to buy unlike with Ferguson where it is an option. So its guaranteed that Malen will be a Roma player at the end of the season.Originally Posted by Eirambler
Malen is a good player and was probably sold by Villa because of their financial situation. I do think Gasperini seems to favour older players and be disparaging about a perceived lack of maturity with younger players. Malen is six years older than Ferguson but still only has a slightly better goalscoring rate over his career (outside Holland where good strikers can score a lot of goals) - about one in something less than four games (over six seasons and in a much better situation than Ferguson - i.e. without the mistreated injury and a coach that doesn't know how to use him) - to Ferguson's a little less than one in four.
If Ferguson leaves Roma I suspect there will be quite a few suitors - Betis and Napoli already mentioned and I wouldn't be surprised if Villa came in for him to replace Malen. I've seen Celtic mentioned but I think that would be a waste of five months.
Would it though? it revitalised both Robbie Keanes and Craig Belamys careers. If he goes to Celtic he will play and score goals, I think going to Napoli under Conte would be a disaster and definitely a waste of 5 months. Even Betis he would probably be back up to Cucho Hernandez.
Given Hearts' link to Brighton it may not be possible for him to go to Celtic anyway.
I would. I'd be absolutely stunned if Villa looked at Ferguson as a direct replacement for Malen. Or at all.
If I question Liam Scales ability to play intl football, refer me to this signature & his peformance at home at lb vs Port on Nov 13 2025.
Signed
Kingdom.
On from the start tonight at home to Stuttgart in the Europa League
Having a terrible game from what I've watched. I'd be surprised if he isn't taking off at half time. Unless he's following instructions or is still injured, I can't really understand his game plan. He looks exhausted
Edit: Roma just scored and Ferguson's run played a part in creating the space but still...he always does something decent when I post a criticism so maybe I should keep them in reserve until the march game 😂
Last edited by rebelmusic; 22/01/2026 at 8:44 PM.
Really poor first half from him. Always seemed to be wherever the ball wasn't. Absolutely no sign of any energy or willingness to chase down lost causes. Often just standing still as the ball was played around him. Teammates frequently seemed to be looking for him to make a bit of space so they could try a ball in but he wasn't doing it. Hasn't looked particularly fit or mobile, but then he hasn't looked fit or mobile since he was about 18.
Roma have scored - the best you could say from his point of view was that he had a great view of it. So there may be some more space for him in the second half if he is kept on beyond half time.
Interestingly Gasperini was full of praise for him after the match. He did take a knock to his ankle yet again, it's looks like he's going to have a persistent injury there for his career. Apparently it's already been decided he'll be on the bench on Sunday
He did improve in the second half it must be said and he did stay on for the whole game but I'm still surprised by the managers reaction. Maybe he was working to a game plan that wasn't so obvious to the audience
I only saw the last 10 minutes and I thought he looked alright. He won a couple of free kicks. He awkwardly did well to assist the assist for their second goal. Good to see him playing full matches too
Malen didn't do himself any favours against Milan tonight, missed a number of decent chances when played in before being taken off, so Ferguson should be able to return to the starting XI if/when he's fully fit again.
That's assuming he's still at the club to do it.
Ferguson included in Roma's Europa League squad for the knockout stages
There was a link with Galatasaray earlier in the week (Turkish transfer window closes tomorrow), but that should be the end of it
https://www.asroma.com/en/news/74821...e-second-phase
That does leave open the possibility though that his second half of this season ends up a lot like his second half of last season where he is out on loan but plays very little club football.
Seems to have recurring ankle problems. That can't be good.
https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2026...-ankle-issues/
"Every time he changes direction the ankle sprains". That maybe explains why all he's done all season for Roma is run in straight lines up and down between the centre circle and the opposition penalty area - he potentially doesn't trust his body to do anything more than that.
Unfortunately, him retiring by 25 due to persistent recurring injuries is a real possibility at this point. He's miles away from the player he was when he first broke through and seemed to have all the attributes needed to go right to the top.
A largely irrelevant side story, but I can actually relate a bit to this. I had recurring ankle problems for years playing football as well. Got over them in the end through a combination of wearing special ankle protectors over my socks and an absolutely ridiculous amount of stretching them out in every possible direction before every game, which I still do to this day. It did stop the problems I had, but I'm guessing Ferguson's ankle issues are a lot worse than mine.
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