Agreed

We're weaker then last season imo, no Pirlo, Seedorf is only getting older and therefore we cannot rely on his sparrodic patches of form anymore. Our midfield is decimated with only 2 quality players in there. Forget about the CL, if we don't improve our midfield we'll struggle to maintain out Serie A title. Inter won't be weak like last season while other teams have, as you said, vastly improved.


Exactly


The problem is that those veterans are our captain/co-captains, so we'll be seeing one of them starting in most games. Gattuso and Ambro being at the forefront. And imo those 2 simply cannot start games for us anymore. Imo keeping them all on was a mistake because it gives the management a false sense of security and more excuses not to transfer in some much needed players for that midfield

Well, IMO their staying gave the management the needed and necessary time. It gave them time to deal with the AM/creative solutions now, and delayed the Dm problem for a bit. Granted, this is a risky job and both Ambro and Rino are in decline, but I still have faith and believe they can hold on. If we manage to solve the creative problem this summer and in January, it will look more brighter and we'll have a whole summer to lament whether Lass Diarra is more suitable then Asamoah etc.

Also, our management isn't prepared to let go of all veterans at once. I think they found a solution to the "veteran problem" last year and will hang on to it as long as they can. Whereas in 2008. or 2009. Milan had a big age issue and the "veteran problem" was immanent, it think we're now safe and sound. I still think that Ambro and Rino have something to offer; will they start matches? Sure, but I'm positive Allegri will bench both if the under perform while at the same time Urby or Flamini do substantially better.

Albeit this summer offers us a chance to pick up a okay/good DM (Lass) for cheap money, I am not convinced we'll found in him what we had with Rino or Ambro at their peak. People are generally more sensitive when it comes to replacing players like Pirlo, Sheva or even Nesta, but are willing to see the DM position as a position that can easily be filled with "just another solid DM". But IMO Flamini proved how rare a quality DM of Rino's or Ambro's caliber shows up. While he did decent in his last season from time to time, he did not convince me a second as a heir or a natural starter solution.

So, my punchline is - now we're dealing with the problem of a creative player, afterwards with the DM problem.
I know we could have avoided it with keeping Pirlo and letting Ambro+Rino go, but our management decided to pick the easy way.

Rino and Ambro's quality has been gone a long time, so we've been playing with them starting for at least 2 seasons now with them under-performing. Last season mostly, Rino on the right was like having a little kid running around with no aim,. Quality DMs are easier to find then say, FBs, Flamini might not have turned out as we've expected but I'd rather see him starting then either Rino or Ambro. We simply cannot continue this way, especially not in Europe where they get exposed for what they are every time.

With Seedorf staying, at least one of Rino or Ambro should have been let go. I really don't see what they have left to offer, and personally I don't think this is the last season for them at Milan.

+1

Quality is hard to find, yet Milan always seem to find a gem ... I hope they replace Ambro/Gattuso with one (IMG:style_emoticons/default/96.gif)

I think Ambro still has it in him for another year. I think he's perfect as vice-Van Bommel. Gattuso, on the other hand, is another story. The guy is so bad I can't see him in any possible position in midfield.

Very much agreed. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) I was of the view that we should have kept Pirlo and Ambro, and said graceful goodbyes to Gattuso and Seedorf. The first one because he still had something to give, and the second one because he is not just the club captain, but still a utility player, and one that can play for another 1-2 years.

Of course, none of it happened, we let the wrong guy guy go (for free, I may add) and kept almost all of our seniors.

I understand your point...but the bolded parts are questionable to me at least.

Long time is a relative thing, if you consider 1-1,5 years as a long time, that's sure. I think Ambro has been undeniably good under Leo which wasn't that awfully long ago. Rino wasn't exactly bad last season, but yes, he's been finished for at least 2 or 3 years.

And you had to take the FB example...I mean, is there a more harder position to fill then the fullback? Maybe only the regista position or from times to time the AM, but IMO quality fullbacks can be counted on the fingers of two hands maybe.

Ambro had a good few months under Leo, but looking at the overall picture he hasn't had a really good season in a long time imo. Gattuso is a moot point, last season was average/bad compared to what Rino could really do in his good days

I think it's harder to find a top class central creative mid then it is to find a top DM.

We are two goals away from 2000 during the Berlusconi era.

here's most of the scorers:

(IMG:http://www.gazzetta.it/Media/Foto/2011/09/28/gol.jpg)

Maldini. 33 Goals. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wub.gif) Bliss! Pure bliss!

Silvio Berlusconi just stepped down as Italy's PM. It's a gain for both Italy and Milan.

And not a moment too late. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sleep.gif) He went nice and easy, sadly his time at the post was anything but.

I really don't feel sorry for Italy, they're the ones that elected him for I don't know how many times. The big f@ck up is that if they go down, they'll take all of us with them at this point

Yeah, I know man, been reading up about it for the past few weeks. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) What concerns me is the fact that knowing Mr. B I wouldn't elect him as the president of my local "Theater Owners Association", let alone the man to lead the country in a time of such crisis. I don't know how (and why) they did it. I mean, any sane Milan fan would think a dozen times.

I respect him for what he does for the club, and it's a two-way street, afterall. But PM? Of Italy? Again? And Again?

Well, it has to do with the political situation of the 90'ies and the modern history of Italy. It's very complicated.

But if you say I can vote either for Prodi or Berlusconi, I'd take Silvio in a minute. One of the crucial Italian points in electing Berlusconi is that you could rely on having a government that lasts at least 2-3 years.