Roma head list of teams to fall short of expectations

As always happens, there are some teams for whom the campaign never pans out as planned in pre-season.

In 2008/09, clubs like Roma for instance, had their sights set on a top-four finish but eventually had to settle for a place in the less lucrative Europa League. Some clubs focused on a trouble-free mid-table spot but stuttered while others put Serie A survival on top of their agenda but ended up relegated just the same.

Roma misfired badly last season. Luciano Spalletti's team were off to a slow start and it took them weeks to recover.

Players like Amantino Mancini, Ludovic Giuly and Matteo Ferrari were not suitably replaced as new signings Julio Baptista, Jeremy Menez and Simone Loria all failed to lift the side let alone help Roma make the leap in quality to challenge Inter for the scudetto.

Roma finished sixth in the final classification. They were particularly disappointing in terms of goals conceded last term, 61.

Compared to the previous year, Roma collected no fewer than 19 points less and suffered 24 goals more. They were never in contention for the league title.

Towards the end of the season, Roma did show signs of improvement but Spalletti was faced with a high number of injuries, a restricted squad and lack of consistency. Roma finished outside the Champions League zone for the first time in many years.

This setback will leave a huge negative impact on the club's coffers as highly-rated Doni, Philippe Mexes and Mirko Vucinic could be off-loaded to balance the books.

Roma did not enjoy a good run in the cups either as they were ousted by Inter in the Coppa Italia second round and by Arsenal in the first knock-out round of the Champions League.

The prospects do not appear bright either for Roma particularly if the club owners remain the same. To compete with the likes of Inter, Milan and Juventus, Roma need some quality signings and a more resourceful squad. The present owners seem adamant to spend big especially now that Roma are out of the reckoning in Europe's top competition for clubs.

Milan did not have a good season either. Some clubs would be happy to finish third but not the Rossoneri who were never in real contention for the championship even though they had no Champions League commitments last year.

The club's policy to sign seasoned players in the twilight of their career again proved to be unsuccessful.

Such policy could have paid rich dividends in terms of marketing and gate money, but on the pitch Milan played second fiddle to Inter for most of the season.

They went on to finish 10 points behind the champions and were knocked out of the UEFA Cup by Werder Bremen, the eventual beaten finalists, in the second round.

Even in the Coppa Italia, Milan did not have a good run as they were ousted by cup winners Lazio in the second round.

Toro upset

The once-mighty Torino lost their Serie A status on the very last day of the season, making of them the biggest disappointment in the Serie A.

Club owner Urbano Cairo had hired three different coaches to steer Torino out of trouble for the third year running but to no avail as the Maroons went down following a 2-3 defeat at the hands of Roma last month.

Torino lost 20 out of their overall 38 league matches as the team failed to get going and relegation was an obvious conclusion to a club that has last tasted glory in 1993 with their fifth Coppa Italia triumph.

Torino badly need some stability in the club's administration. In the last two decades, the team was relegated in 1989, 1996, 2000, 2003, 2005 (due to the financial woes of the 'old' club) and 2009.

Lecce and Reggina also found their way out of the Serie A but it was highly expected from them to find life difficult among the elite.

Few additions of note meant that these two sides had a mountain to climb to keep their status intact and at the end of the season, it was no surprise that they were relegated.