lol that was some timing...
I still feel like your memory is too short... just 5 years ago Roma was languishing around the 6th-7th place in the league, and the Serie A victory in 2000 was soon followed by finishing 8th in the league. It is what it is, Roma is a selling club and will have some mediocre seasons until their finances finally improve.
And worry not, I think there's little chance of Zaniolo leaving, mostly because once the hype train slows down there won't be that many suitors (for the time being). What's his best position? He's supposedly an attacking midfielder... but he can't pass the ball at all. He's (no exaggeration) the worst passer in the league for his position. He does seem like a decent dribbler, he's very tall, and his finishing has been good (we'll have to see whether he can keep that up), which makes me wonder if he isn't miscast as a midfielder, worth exploring whether he'd be better as a pure striker. He better be because there's no way he'll be a star as a playmaker unless his passing drastically improves.
As for Ranieri... as long as he's just a caretaker until the end of the season it might not be that terrible. Roma's main issue the last 2 seasons has been that Di Francesco's high defensive line was totally incompatible with the defensive personnel at hand. Having to watch slow defenders like Fazio, Marcano and Cristante, plus a goalkeeper who absolutely never comes off the line in Olsen trying to play like that was frustrating. Ranieri might not be amazing but I would assume he'll improve the defense at the very least.
A second place finish and a place in the semifinals of the Champions League turning into a potential Europa League spot is a huge disappointment, considering the way Monchi was hyped as some kind of guru. We legitimately had no reason to sell Alisson so early. I don't think he was going to have a huge dip in form that would significantly decrease his value this summer if he were to stay. Consistently getting to the knockout stages of the Champions League would have been a more steady source of income rather than relying on the hit-or-miss ability of Monchi to find young players to flip for a profit.
Looking at his purchases since he got here, the only players who seem to have been good buys out of the 20-ish he got are who, Under and Zaniolo? Nzonzi, Pastore, Schick, Defrel, Olsen, Marcano, Moreno, Gonalons, Silva etc have all been garbage. Bianda and Coric are TBD I guess, and we haven't seen enough of Kluivert. And I'm already not comparing them to the players they were supposed to replace. I'd much rather have stuck with
Jorah Mormont Sabatini. Even though he had his flops like Iturbe, Trashley Cole (free transfer though), Doumbia, Ibarbo, he also got us absolute steals in Manolas, Nainggolan, Salah, and Alisson.
Zaniolo's still raw, but clubs who want him now have the cash to throw around and are banking on that potential, as am I.
I'm all for firing Di Francesco. We aren't top four in Serie A right now so it's not like we're gambling on a Champions League spot. Fazio's incompetence has been completely exposed this season with Alisson no longer there to cover for his mistakes. Despite the first half of the season showing that, Monchi did fuck all in winter to improve the squad. Absolute joke.
EDIT: So apparently this selling club doesn't care about the release clause that Arsenal would have paid to get Monchi this summer lmfao.
MONCHI OUT.