I finally saw A Milan match this season, and I'm pretty much on my knees with shock.
Our game play without that second striker is like yeesh I dunno...really impossible.
Actually there isn't much rocket science now, to stopping Milan. It's called the 'suffocate Pirlo' play. Pirlo being second only to God in making plays has still got technique and skill to make a pass like 10-15 yards through a crowd, but he needs space to make those killer long range passes. And to think until now I thought it was a loss of form on his part.
Right now, the only way for us to get that ball through is for Kaka to drop deep, and when Kaka does that Gila gets isolated.
Seedorf is not too adept at dropping deep and carrying the ball up front. His natural area in that pitch is the last 20-30 yards. And of course this match I wanted to see Seedorf replaced by Forrest Gump (Run Forrest run!!).
We need that second striker rather desperately. I dunno if Pato is that person. Because if Kaka can play just off Pirlo, the opposition man marking Pirlo doesn't help much.
Ronaldo is not really what I'd call a playmaking forward. He's a finisher too, it's just that he's got much better technique than a penalty boxer like Gila so he can occasionally play that position. Even with R99, our usual tactic was for Gila to drag defenders away, and for R99 to latch onto the ball and score.
So yeah someone in the R10 mode would be a huuuge necessity. R10 would repay 10% of his transfer fee in the first 4 months with jersey sales. (IMG:
http://cyrus.medialayer.net/~m1ke/milanfan.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) After that maybe he has to start to play well.
How many other playmaking forwards do we know of? Yes there is Kaka who plays that role to perfection, but he's already said he doesn't like it much. He likes to run at defenders, and that's not something he's been able to do. And besides as a trequartista he is far more lethal for us. He won best player of the year for his performance as a second forward, but it still isn't what could be Best for the team.