[Danny]

Let's face it, we suck. Pure and simple. It doesn't take 3D glasses to see how utterly terrible this Milan squad and team is, and sadly it's not even a CL contender.

Let's look at each position and judge it.

1: GK - ok we got Lopez. We finally have a decent keeper, it's one area we are now decent in.

2: Defence: fullbacks are good, actually good. Abate, MDS and Armero - it's not quite Zabaleta but then we're not quite Man City. It's still pretty good. CH is absolutely abominable though. There is no clear-cut 'best defender:

We have powerful and aerially dominant Mexes but who lets himself down by being a liability.
We have quick and dynamic Zapata whose concentration could be better.
We have composed and positionally decent Rami who isn't especially good in the air and isn't the strongest.
We have aerially decent Bonera who is good at last-ditch tackles and blocks but is slow and gets caught a lot.
And Alex who is hard to really judge at all.

Impossible to pick the best two or a best pair there.

3: Midfield: De Jong is glorious in DM but that's as good as midfield gets. Essien, Muntari, Cristante, Poli - none of these names excites and some downright terrify. Monto out till November but was absolutely terrible last season anyway.

3: Attacking midfield: Niang keeps showing little signs of improvement, Honda's mince, Menez we haven't a clue about and Saponara is mediocrity personified.

4: Forward: SES - destined to be Pato mark 2 IMO, Balotelli - destined to spunk his talent away with a stinking attitude. Pazzo tries but doesn't fit the Pippo system nor has he been in any sort of form for over a year.

Put this utter mess together and if we can scrape the EL qualifying slot in 6th place I'd be overjoyed. Napoli, Roma, Juve, Fiorentina, Inter and even Parma & Torino are all justifiably ahead of us and half of them are utterly rubbish too.

Pippo has his work cut out but it's abundantly clear his hands are tied and he isn't going to succeed. With that squad, how can he?

[kurtsimonw]

I do think it's a bit outdated though. Width and pace is so important in todays game, so unless you have truly elite full backs to offer that width, playing a narrow 4-3-1-2 is going to be a struggle for the most part.

[han2503]

I do think it's a bit outdated though. Width and pace is so important in todays game, so unless you have truly elite full backs to offer that width, playing a narrow 4-3-1-2 is going to be a struggle for the most part.

Even with wingers we still don't attack with any pace as the midfield is as dumb as a door nail. Wingers can give you width and creativity but only if the midfield can get them involved in the game, I personally prefer the diamond for us, we were never a side that made wingers work properly, and I can't see Pippo doing it any time soon either.

As for the season's ambitions, I think Galliani proved where they are today by selling our best player on the cheap, they're basically in the toilet. I personally can't see us further ahead than the top 10 teams this season.