You can't expect anything better from Cafu and Favalli. For me they're finished!

Gourcuff (IMG:http://cyrus.medialayer.net/~m1ke/milanfan.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) ...... why the hell Carlo doesn't play him? If he doesn't play in the easiest match of the season, when the f@ck he'll play???

Pippo won CH.L final for us, scored again in SuperCup, again against Benfica... but still he's gettin old and with today's football tempo he'll soon gonna find it very difficult.



Also one final thing:
I dont know if this is gonna be the year of failure for Milan, but that year will be soon (max 1-2 yrs) with this trasfer strategy that we're having. And, when we'll fail, we'll really fail, and that'll need a hell of a yrs to come back. That's why I want every year to introduce 1-2 good or great players (young of course) to the team. Every team find it difficult when it comes to generation change, and Milan will not be any different. (IMG:http://cyrus.medialayer.net/~m1ke/milanfan.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

What a horrible performance today !

Like Mishie said , Inzaghi is going the same way as Gilardino. We just dont have any strikers

Having to rely on Ronaldo's comeback and Pato's debut is sad.

All I want is that Milan will wake up now and start winning games , esspecially againts teams like catania & siena.


C'mon guys !! FORZA MILAN !!!

AC Milan's situation looks very very bad.

All of a sudden we are relying on Ronaldo. Who wasn't here most of last year and who by the way is injured and is prone to injuries. Of course he can help, but we cannot expect him to save us.

The best defense is a good attack and our attack is on the shoulders of a few players. That is not how the best teams in the world play now.

Don't tell me that this is the way we won the CL last season, I know we did! But why did the US Dream Team began losing games? We have to respect the other teams and as time passes by, the other teams begin to learn how to play against us .... especially if we are always showing the same formation.

Putting aside the feelings I have towards our players and trying to evaluate them objectively I've reached the following considerations (using the squad list listed in the official website) and trying to sound conservative and realistic and not like a dreamer:

Fowards

Pippo: still has the positioning and timing a box striker should have. He has his physical and technical limitations but his will and smell for the goal has saved us a lot. The problem is that because of his age we cannot expect him to give us more than 2 more years.

Ronaldo: he showed to us last year that he can still get the job done but we all know that he might get injured anytime. He is a technically gifted player that can also show strength and speed in his game when he is healthy.

Gilardino: I think Gilardino proved his value when he played along a good striker like Sheva. We cannot expect him to perform like a different player ... he is also a box striker that needs to play along an all-around striker to perform well. He's worthy in a formation using two strikers ... if he's alone in the field he stinks! He is not a technically gifted player, not a good passer, and is not very fast and strong but he can improve this to become more like the player Pippo became.

Aubameyang: has no experience has had no time to play ... the games we've had are not allowing him to play and he's not even been called up for several games. I don't even know what are the qualities he has!

Kaká: is NOT A FORWARD ... this is Ancelotti's BS and is a sad way of covering for the team's deficiencies.

Pato: he is not even here and we don't even know what the result of this will be.

Results:

We need at least 1 more striker. Let's say we can get only one. This striker has to be a strong and speedy guy who is able to give headaches to the opposing defenses. Of course we would like to have a player like Drobga or Eto'o but someone like Obafemi Martins would be very useful for us. We need speed in our attack. With the exeption of Kaka we have no speed when we go forward. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to part with Ricardo Oliveira. Right now it would have been great to have the option of using Oliveira and Gilardino or Oliveira and Pippo in a two forward formation. Kaka' is NOT A FORWARD!

Midfielders

Kaká: no comments just that he is the best midfielder in the world NOT A FORWARD. We cannot let him think that AC Milan is not the team for him. He is a winner.

Seedorf: he uses the number 10 in his shirt but we all know he is not the one running the show. Seedorf has never been the true number 10 in any of the teams he played but he has proven throughout his career that he is an excellent player and constitutes a marvelous sidekick. He is the only midfielder besides Kaká that takes care of our attack in the front of the game.

Pirlo: we just need to praise this guy and thank God we have him. Pirlo plays a defensive role but he is a player that can start an attack from our side of the field ... having him is priceless!

Gattuso: Pirlo's sidekick. We all know that Gattuso has technical limitations but he has proven his worth to our team on the defensive side. Great to have him.

Ba: not going to bother

Emerson, Ambrosini & Brocchi: All are defensive midfielders. They do not provide quality to our attack because they are not offensive players. They lack the skill they lack the shoot. They can all be considered as replacements for Gattuso. I know Ambrosini has scored good goals for us ... but Nesta also scored an important goal for us a few weeks ago.

Gourcuff: He will never deliver if he never plays. This young lad has the will but needs to play.

Results:

Besides Kaká, Seedorf & Pirlo (who plays in the back) all the other midfielders we have are defensive oriented players. This is exactly what is giving us trouble right now!!!!! AC Milan is not a team that plays counter attack ... our team likes to control the ball and go forward. If we play with 2 good forwards and in the midfield we play Pirlo, Gattuso, Kaká and Seedorf, we can own any league.

But if we do not have good forwards and find ourselves in the need of using only 1 box striker (Pippo or Gila) and play with 2 offensive midfielders (Kaká and Seedorf) and 3 defensive midfielders (Pirlo, Gattuso & Ambrosini) what happens???
If you look at our formation and the players in it, anybody might get the wrong idea that we are counterattacking BUT since we are not a team that counterattacks we expect Ambrosini and Gattuso to join the attack ........... are you kidding me? We can see that our attack looks like a mess sometimes during a game and since we are not providing a REAL threat ... the other teams are counterattacking us easily.

Just look at todays game how even our center backs were trying to joing the attack.

I we take the word of Ancelotti that says that Kaká is a forward ... the we played 2 good forwards (Pippo and Kaká) plus 1 offensive midfielder (Seedorf) and 3 defensive midfielders (Pirlo, Gattuso and Ambrosini) ..... and are we expecting to score like this?

We need to get at least one talented OFFENSIVE midfielder that can shoot long distance and join Kaká and Seedorf when it is needed and release Kaká to pound our opponents with his speed. Of course Ronaldinho is the wish of many but Riquelme might do the right job for us. If we need WILL, Gattuso has a lot to offer but we also need somebody with good feet to go forward sometimes.

Defenders

Oddo: He is fine.

Cafu: Good replacement for Oddo. Although we should get younger.

Jankulovski: He is fine.

Favalli: Good replacement for Janku. Although we should get younger.

Nesta: The best defense in the world.

Maldini: Experienced and good but very old. Excellent sidekick for Nesta.

Kaladze: He is a good replacement in the center.

Bonera: Good replacement in the center.

Simic: Good replacement in the center.

Matteo & Digao: Young they need more time to develop. But it is good to have young ones.

Serginho: He is more of a midfielder than a defender. Is also old.

Results:

If we play Oddo, Nesta, Maldini & Janku we can say that we are fine but injuries are always in the environment. Our replacements are not as bad as they sound. We cannot expect to have Terry & Alex in the bench. BUT ..... we have a lot of defensive replacements and I think we can sell several of them and look for a good centre back that makes us stop missing Maldini. We will never forget him but someday we will have to stop missing his game. We should also get younger on the flanks ... Cafu and Favalli are good replacements but we need fresher legs to run up and down.

SHORT TERM ACTIONS THE TEAM SHOULD TAKE:

1 young fast all-around forward

1 offensive midfielder

Remember right know we do not have options and we have been presenting the same scheme and tactic to our opponents for 1 year. They are not stupid and they are learning how to stop us. In the CL is different because we do not face those teams everyday as in the Calcio but the game against Celtic FC is really worrying me.

Our lack of offensive options is weakening our defense. We are not a counterattacking team and Kaká is NOT A FORWARD.

P.D. Martins and Riquelme were used as examples.

This post has been edited by Panama Devil: Sep 30 2007, 09:49 PM

Sure, this must be a translation error. Carlo did wanted to say offensive-wise, or?? (IMG:http://cyrus.medialayer.net/~m1ke/milanfan.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif)

If we reached the point that Seedorf counts as a striker,...that would only mean - poor Carletto is out of his mind.

But at least the rest of the statement is very rational and clear,.. (IMG:http://cyrus.medialayer.net/~m1ke/milanfan.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/cool.gif)

You're right.

I don't know how many of you remember watching the great Franco Baresi play. But for those who did, this year is starting to remind me of his last season - the season from h*ll when Milan finished 11th. (1996-1997) (IMG:http://cyrus.medialayer.net/~m1ke/milanfan.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

I do think that it's finally sinking in at the club though. The tone of Carletto's post-game interview (which is NOT conveyed in the channel 4 translation) is one of resignation. The last bit can be translated (roughly) as, "Catania played very well, it was the better team at the San Siro, Milan had an ugly performance." (link)

There's frustration in the dressing room too. I think Bonera expressed it best (again, rough quick translation): "In th ename of the dressing room, I want to say that Milan is interested in the championship, we go onto the pitch to win. We are Milan and should play to win whether in the Coppa Italia, the championship, or the Champions League. We are Milan and we should win whether it's Sunday or Wednesday." (link)

Great post @Panama!! But only,...


Never do that again!!!!!!

Carletto didn't say anything like that in the post-match comments that were put up on acmilan.com. Maybe he gave another interview to Sky or something? That Channel 4 article (I'm guessing that's where it's from? Or goal.com?) isn't anything like the post-match comments the club published.

It's from goal.com

Hmh,...something is wrong with this interview I think. But,...


I know what you mean by recalling the 1996/1997 season. We finished up 11th, changed 3 coaches (old Giorgio, Tabarez and Sacchi) and Baresi, Tassotti, F. Galli and Vierchowod ended their career in a horrific way. And then, there was the 1997/1998 season in which we ended up 10th. Hmh, I really hope this is not a replay. (IMG:http://cyrus.medialayer.net/~m1ke/milanfan.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

Just like them, Paolo, Cafu and Serginho will retire. My-o-my,..

You guys r just too dramatic !!

We wont finish 11th or 10th.

This is another version of Milan, forget 97 ... That was a dark era .. We have a world class team, that are lacking some key players who are suffering from injury. Just give it time, this team will come through as they did before.

Inter had only 4 defenders in their whole damn squad playing some important games and I didn't see them b1tch about it as much as we do about just a couple players that we have out injured. We basically are playing with the 11 that won us the CL. There is no excuse. Just the reality. We as fans have accepted it and want the management to do something about it. Now it's their turn.

I really dunno what to say about our current situation. I start to get the feeling that the kinda thing is happening I always feared. Our team seems to be too satisfied...not hungry enough for victories anymore. After our recent results I expected a clear win against Catania. And now that... Don't want to start a discussion about Carletto, he has done everything he could to keep Milan on the top. No other coach could have achieved what he did!
This team is just a shadow of what it used to be. Right now we lack almost everything it needs to win trophys. The Club WC---I don't care. Almost no one here does if we're honest with ourselves. It's a useless trophy....as well as the Supercup. In the end the only reasonable trophies are the Coppa, Serie A and the CL. I don't care for anything else. As R7 said it was obvious after the summer that our management isn't seriously trying to win the league. The CL? Other teams strengthened their squads while we only got Pato and while our key players are one year older again. That means one year less speed, one year less motivation etc.
I hope that Berlusconi and Galliani finally wake up and get us some new players instead of talking about getting new players...

Yes we have to accept the team as it is (IMG:http://cyrus.medialayer.net/~m1ke/milanfan.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/king.gif)

I don't know if that was what ur aiming for (IMG:http://cyrus.medialayer.net/~m1ke/milanfan.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) (IMG:http://cyrus.medialayer.net/~m1ke/milanfan.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Anyways ... I am not giving reasons, I am just saying that without R9. Our attack isn't as sufficient as should be. Now in the CL, (as Carlo would say..) the team has space to move around, which ultimately frees up Kaka' and Inzaghi. But in Serie A when Catania defend with 8 players, there really isn't much to do ..

With time, the team will get into gear and with R9 back we will have an even greater squad!

Max .. I am not blind, nor am I dumb ... I see where we lack and exactly what we lack. But this whole dramatic talk of Milan finishing in 11th place .. Well that sort of talk is too early for us to conclude! We need transfers? A blind man can see that, but it is irrelevant since our season has just started and this is the team! You either cheer for it or we get the point, there is no need to keep on repeating those rhetoric again and again ...

Milan under Carlo have rarely started out strong !! We always stumble at the beginning, but by mid season the team gets in gear ... This is very common and in time u will see.

This is a lame excuse... there is much we can do... if Inter do it, then we can do it too... we just lack something... it's as simple as that!

I'm starting to believe Carlo is only good for the big games... maybe he'll shine in the National teams level! But he just doesn't know how to beat a team that doesn't want to win, just not to lose...

Who knows (IMG:http://cyrus.medialayer.net/~m1ke/milanfan.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

But whatever we lack, please don't compare us to the merda ! You know better.

Calro has proven his worth on several occasions. If you think he is no good, that is ur opinion really .. I can do nothing about that, in light of the games that we have recently played. But in time, hopefully u will remember why he is so great (IMG:http://cyrus.medialayer.net/~m1ke/milanfan.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

It was not my intention to compare us with them... but teams like Catania should be beaten easily by Milan even if they were defending with 15 men in the box! It's not an excuse that's valid, Catania is not the first team that look for safety at the back first and nor will they be the last!

Carlo has had a great team in his hands ever since he took over at Milan. I think he owes a lot to all the players he ever coached. I think this last Milan generation would have won a lot with another coach too. But I do rate Carlo and I can tell that it's not all his fault that we can't claim victory in the last games. It's first and foremost the board's fault. Brocchi's should be 5th choice, not 2nd...

This post has been edited by dst: Oct 1 2007, 01:07 AM