[m1ke]

There seems to be a general consensus amongst Rossoneri faithful at the moment that whilst Milan have done well in this summers transfer market, we're still unsure if our defence is up to the task.

I was looking through our 07/08 results the other day, and noticed that during our last 16 games, we only kept 1 clean sheet (March 22nd, away to Torino - 0:1). I know we're keen to forget the 07/08 season for obvious reasons, but these kind of facts don't lie - that's simply not good enough for a club who've had the likes of Baresi, Costacurta, both Maldini's, Tassoti (etc etc etc) on their books in recent times. I don't usually put too much emphasis on preseason games, but the recent loss to Chelsea has only compounded these problems.

Is it just a case of Carlo not picking the right pairing? I think most of us our in agreement that Nesta should start when fit (if you don't agree, please let us know (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) ) - but who should partner him? Is Carlo showing too much faith in Kaladze? Should we be giving youth a chance, and playing the likes of Darmian? Have we got enough talent on our books, or do we need to make further moves in the market to bring in re-enforcements? (if so, who?)

[Jack Sparrow]

Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti talked about the team's injury problems and the goalkeepers situation.


Carlo Ancelotti talked about Milan's injury crisis, admitting the team have serious problems in defence. The Rossoneri's coach held a meeting with manager Adriano Galliani yesterday after the team's disastrous 5-0 defeat to Chelsea.

"Right now we have quite a few problems in defence, so we can't think about the attack yet," said Ancelotti. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

At the moment Milan are missing Kaká, Marco Borriello, Filippo Inzaghi, and Alexandre Pato and Ronaldinho, who are both involved in the Olympics.

"Even though Paolo Maldini is 40 years old now and he's coming off a long-term injury, he's still reliable. Also Daniele Bonera is a guarantee," the coach continued.

Zeljko Kalac's mistakes against Chelsea probably puts Christian Abbiati in pole position, but Dida will get a chance in Saturday's friendly against Manchester City.

"We have three first choice goalkeepers. During this period we are looking at them and so far Abbiati has certainly done better than Kalac. Now we'll see how Dida performs," Ancelotti concluded.

Looking at the statements, (goal.com, but this is a news report without any conjectures so..) I would guess the following:

* Defence is certainly identified as a trouble area, and we're not sticking our heads in the sand
* Kaladze is no longer considered a 'guarantee'. Bonera and Maldini are. So is it actually going to be Maldini-Bonera-Kaladze? Just like misha and kurt wanted?
* Abbiati is indeed number 1 for now, unless Dida does something interesting against Manchester City. Reckon, we might defend shabbily to give Dida a work out? Oh wait..we don't need to 'defend shabbily'...we just need to defend, the shabby part takes care of itself. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

Christian Panucci's agent revealed that his client has peaked the interest of AC Milan...


Milan have had somewhat of an injury crisis during this pre-season period and may yet be forced back into the transfer market due to certain gaps remaining in the squad.

One of the positions that seems most unstable at the moment is that of the centre back role. The club is sorely missing the qualities of injury prone Alessandro Nesta and suffering to a certain degree from the lack of a true centre back, with full backs often having to deputise in the heart of defence.


This has lead to speculation that the Rossoneri may be scouting the market for a defender that can potentially fill this role. The names of Thiago Silva and Christian Panucci have done the media rounds. Now, Panucci's agent has revealed that Milan have made their interest known.


The Roma player is not naturally a centre back as he plays right-back for the Giallorossi. During Euro 2008, though, he impressed in a solid central partnership with Giorgio Chiellini.


However, this particular transfer target may be too far out of reach for Il Diavolo. Milan could be forced to look elsewhere, with the agent revealing that Panucci is keen on finishing his career in Rome.

Would have been a good choice to partner Nesta. He doesn't seem to need a lot of time to pick up vibes with a defensive partner. He did it well with Chiellini. But would Roma want to sell? He does have a history with us before he left with Madrid...so might be an option. In any case, a quick fix is what we need for the next season.