Sorry! Mea Culpa!! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sleep.gif)

I know everyone is expecting us to win something now, but I wouldn't mind a trophy-less season as long as we fight till the very end on every front.

I would... that is simply awful....... we should win Scudetto, else season sucks (unless we win CL instead)

Well, we'll probably win it anyway. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) Early contender for quote of the month!

Inter are still clear favourites imo. They have a better well rounded squad then we do, yes Rafa is a big hindrance for them but I don't think he'll sink them to the ground in just one season, he'll take longer to undo all the good Mourinho did.

Having said that, it's their's to lose at this point. We can only do our best, we have the team to push them all the way for it so we'll see

Clear favourites? That is simply not true. If anything, it should be very close between AC Milan and Inter. We got 4 awesome forwards, Inter only got 3 good forwards, their backups are average since Balotelli left. We have got the better forward which was our weakness last season. Our starting central defense is really awesome so is our depth in it. Fullbacks Inter of course beats us. Both have a good midfield, but Inter is relying a lot on Sneijder when it comes to creativity. We have more creativity in our squad.

Only positions in which merda has a clear advantage is a keeper and RB. Other than that, we can match them and more. Last season we lacked depth when Pato and Nesta were out, but this sertainly not a problem now. With these new additions Milan made, we shouldn't feel inferior at all, especially when merda became only weaker even if not by much.

We've only played 1 match. We've bought 2 great players, no doubt, but we've also brought in personalties that could clash and we'll have a massive disaster on our hands.

Not to mention that non of them have played with eachother yet, while Inter have an already coherent squad that has won everything playing with eachother.

They also have a better overall squad, yes we have the better attack on paper, but they trump us in both midfield and defence, the starting center back issue is debatable as to who has the better central defenders, while they kill us on the FB front.

Our midfield compared to Inter's is very bare, an injury to Pirlo could easily do us in. Just like an injury to Nesta could be fatal for us. Sure we have better CB cover this season but Nesta is not someone you replace easily and simply go on, especially if we're facing top opposition.

So until we're at least in November and our new players have proved otherwise, I'm going to say there is still a big question mark hanging over us. For me Inter are tte favourites, for now by a good distance. They started with a draw for the last couple of seasons, so I wouldn't read too much into that result for now

Word. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/king.gif)

I think you're overshadowing our bench's potential this season, han.

If Nesta gets injured, we have Sokratis, whom is a very, very good CB and a worthy backup for Sandro. We also have Yepes and Bonera, which are not bad.

If Pirlo gets injured, we can easily play Seedorf in his position along with Boateng and Ambro/Flamini - still very good options.

If Pato gets injured, we have your excellency Robinho to substitute him.

You'll see our key players this time around can be easily backed up without the team losing much quality. Now, do I think we're superior to Inter? No, but I think we have both equal chances to winning the scudetto.

Han, where did I mention the first match results (which you keep mentioning in your post)? And I'm shocked what you said about the central defense. Nesta and Thiago Silva FTW,and our first two backups are good that we don't need to worry about Nesta being out. We beat Inter when it comes to central defense, how is that debatable? You talk easily down our good sides while ignoring too easy the downsides Inter got. You talk about Pirlo being out as a problem, but we got a good backup in Seedorf. You don't mention Sneijder, they got Stankovic as backup for him, lol, and they don't got players like Ronaldinho and Zlatan either for creativity.

It's debatable which team is better, but calling Inter clear favourites says more about you than about the teams. You are a pessimist. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)

edit: I forgot that Coutinho guy when mentioning Stankovic...

This post has been edited by CHU-LIP: Sep 1 2010, 09:54 PM

Oh, boy, I sense a monster Han post coming straight ahead. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) Fasten your seat belt guys!

Sokratis may be a very good alternative, but last season when we lost Nesta at a huge part of our season, when we faced Man U, Nesta is a huge loss for these types of games, and Sokratis, no matter how good he is, would be a major step down no matter which way you look at it. He'll be more then good in Serie A, but this is what worries me. Last season was ended in the span of 2 weeks, simply because we lost Nesta and Pato at such a crucial point in the season.

Yes Robinho is a WC player and isn't really even a step down from Pato, we have the same quality no matter who plays imo, but you also ignored what I osted regarding his attitude and how we'll be able to handle him. And the personality clashes that are bound to happen if Allegri is not careful enough.

I personally don't like Seedorf in Pirlo's position, he cannot do what Pirlo does, not in a million years. And yes we do have great backups, but our starting midfield is old. We're going to face problems in this area no doubt, especially id Allegri doesn't find a way to rotate them effectively.

I completely agree that we do have a better overall squad to last season. But we've also added a lot of factors that could turn around and bite us in the @ss. So we'll see


I mentioned the first match once, but imo it's a big reason for all this talk, along with the star signings.

I'm not a pessimist, I'm a realist, and while I am hopeful for this season, I am also keeping my feet firmly on the ground. There are a lot of question marks that are yet to be answered, from how the players will gel together to how the dressing room atmosphere will be once all the euphoria dies down and these player get into the nitty gritty of the season.

The center back issue is debatable for many people in fact. I personally think ours is better but it will also depend on how the teams will play, last season Inter were impenatrable, simply because of how the entire team play, if we leave Nesta and Silva exposed, they could be Baresi and Paolo back in the hey days, we'll still conceed.

All of these factors are the reasons why there are question marks, at least for me.

Like I said, we'll see, but I'm going to keep saying that Inter are the clear favourites until this team proves otherwise. And like i said, atm the Scudetto is Inter's to lose

It seems like you are forgetting that Inter have as backups Cordoba, Chivu and Materazzi. I really can't see how Sokratis, Bonera and Yepes can be inferior to them. In fact, I think we have better backups than them.

Stop bringing last season's example. Last season we didn't have alternatives. When Nesta go injured, we played Favalli. When Pato got injured, we played Beckham/Huntelaar/Seedorf. This time around we have no problems of such nature.

Personally, I think the attitude matter some of your bring up every now and then is a lame excuse. Milan's locker room has never had personality issues over the course of the years, regardless of the various players who've played for us. The only negative rumor I can think of is Kaladze's recent one, and that had only to do with the board, not with the players/coach.

Of course, playing Seedorf in front of the defense is not the same as playing Pirlo, they're both different players. But Clarence has proved during his career he can adapt to almost every position on the pitch. Our game might lose some brilliance, but the quality is still there.