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AC Milan - Milanfan.com _ Matches _ CL - Round of Last 16 - Tottenham - Milan (2nd leg)
Posted by: Milan Are Brilliant Mar 4 2011, 04:36 PM
Date: Wednesday 9th March, 2011.
Kick Off: 19:45 GMT.
Venue: White Hart Lane, England.
1st Leg Score: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vVNvTCsOOY (away goal).
-------------------------------------------------------
For the eagerly anticipated away leg, revenge will be sweet.. hopefully!
Anyway, do remember that as of writing this we still have a tough game http://www.milanfan.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=7608 first!
Posted by: acid911 Mar 4 2011, 05:07 PM
Finally, a bit of an English touch to a match thread. 
You and Kurt rarely open them!
Anyway, I can safely say this is going to be the match of the season up till now as far as high-profile and knockout matches go. Half of that is because it is the second leg, half of it is because we seem to have made a mess out of the home leg by giving away the away goal. 
Whoever scores first will hold the key. Fingers crossed for a good 90 minutes, and 90 just. A two or three goal beating should put Spurs in their place. But for that to happen every player will need to give his 100%.
Posted by: X-Offender Mar 4 2011, 05:14 PM
Match of the season? Hm, I don't think the club gives as much consideration to the CL as it gives to the Serie A. I'd say the match of the season will be the coming derby.
Posted by: X-Offender Mar 4 2011, 05:16 PM
Thank god we have the Bari game in-between to catch our breath. Oh, and between Palermo and the derby I think there's a 2-week gap due to national teams.
Posted by: Jack Sparrow Mar 4 2011, 05:46 PM
Allegri will wipe out all the brownie points he earned from the Napoli match, if we get dumped out of the CL by Spurs. I kid you not. 
Posted by: acid911 Mar 4 2011, 06:53 PM
True, but the club should not take the Bari match as a bit of a breather. 
Complacency at that stage (a draw or a loss) will wipe off all the good work if we do show up in the bigger matches. Oh, how I would have liked a 6-8 points cushion if not more, that was there at the start of the year.
Posted by: acid911 Mar 4 2011, 07:05 PM
Match of the season in terms of hype and glamor (due to it being a knockout CL clash).
In terms of everything else nothing would top the the 6-pointer derby. Agreed. We have to win that one by any way possible (just like we did Napoli in), otherwise I sense we'll be seeing the title decided on the last match-day.Same here.
Though Nesta already feels like we are practically out of the Champions League. He was quoted in a news story where he said something like this team is built for the domestic league and next season, we may be able to mount a serious challenge to the CL. I agree with him.If it were anything but Spurs, then it would have been easier to digest the loss (if it came to it). United, Arsenal, Barca, Bayern, heck even the French clubs. But to go out after a home defeat again to an EPL club, ranked 5th, practically new to top flight European football and one that kills both Milan clubs in its first season is a tad too much to swallow. I personally think we will win, but there is as much of a chance to go out.
50-50 thanks to Allegri and his quest for the home goal after the 80th minute.You are at home, could not score for the bulk of the match, what good is a goal in the dying minute do that giving away a vital away (pun always intended) goal to a pacey EPL team is worth it.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Mar 4 2011, 11:51 PM
So, when do we find out who we're playing in the QFs?
Posted by: acid911 Mar 4 2011, 11:58 PM
Provided we qualify, March 18.
I kind of make it a point watching these draws live on TV, it's good fun!
Posted by: Rossoneri7 Mar 5 2011, 12:16 AM
Posted by: Rossoneri7 Mar 5 2011, 12:32 AM
If nothing bad happens during this week, we should take the field with the following formation:
-- Flamini -- Seedorf -- Boateng
-- Pato -- Ibra -- Robinho
Posted by: han2503 Mar 5 2011, 09:35 AM
-- Flamini -- Seedorf -- Boateng
-- Pato -- Ibra -- Robinho
Agreed, except for Urby at LB, who cannot even play in the CL btw
he doesn't really give me any confidence at LB. Janku or Zambro (if fit) should ge the start
Posted by: X-Offender Mar 6 2011, 04:31 AM
Boateng might be out for about 10 days, they said on Milan Channel. He left the stadium on crutches and his ankle is rather swollen. I'm guessing we'll be forced to play Thiago-Flamini-Seedorf-Robinho in midfield at this point. At any rate, I don't expect us to win. Too many injuries/absences.
Posted by: William405 Mar 6 2011, 10:28 AM
****'in Melo!
Posted by: Zed.D Mar 6 2011, 11:40 AM
Come on, it wasn't intentional. Melo himself was limping till the HT.
I'm surprised that Boateng returned to the game though. if he had requested for a sub right away, maybe his ankle would be in a better shape now.
Posted by: X-Offender Mar 6 2011, 12:53 PM
It's yet uncertain whether he'll be in London or not. The fact he played the whole first half very intensively might suggest that Allegri subbed him only as a precaution. But like I said, we'll have to wait and see.
Posted by: han2503 Mar 6 2011, 01:04 PM
Is Zambro going to be back?
If that's the case then it should be, Flamini, Seedorf, Janku in midfield with Robinho in front of them.
Keep Thiago in the defense FFS. Learn from your mistakes Allegri!!
Posted by: kurtsimonw Mar 6 2011, 02:00 PM
If that's the case then it should be, Flamini, Seedorf, Janku in midfield with Robinho in front of them.
Keep Thiago in the defense FFS. Learn from your mistakes Allegri!!
I worry with the players we have unavailable in midfield that Thiago will play there.
Posted by: X-Offender Mar 6 2011, 06:00 PM
I have no news regarding Zambrotta, but Antonini is back, and it looks like Allegri will opt for Janku in midfield. Our line-up should thus be:
Abate - Nesta - T. Silva - Antonini
Flamini - Seedorf - Jankulovski
Robinho
Pato - Ibrahimovic
Defense and attack are alright, midfield is grotesque. I'd rather play Strasser and Flamini in front of the defense, in a 4-2-3-1 line-up:
Abate - Nesta - T. Silva - Antonini
Flamini - Strasser
Pato - Seedorf - Robinho
Ibrahimovic
Adapt Max, adapt!
Posted by: Jack Bauer Mar 6 2011, 06:04 PM
^^^ Allegri gonna use the first line up.
I'm usually optimistic, but it's hard to see us winning there with that midfield.
Posted by: CHU-LIP Mar 6 2011, 06:09 PM
X-Offender. You pick Antonini over Jankulovski? Really?? And urgh, Seedorf, only if Merkel can't play. Or what's even worse, you make a weird 4-2-3-1 with Pato as winger to accomadate a finished Seedorf, awful!
Pato, Ibrahimovic
Robinho
Flamini, Strasser, Merkel
Jankulovski, Thiago Silva, Nesta, Abate
Abbiati
Because Merkel is better than Seedorf, and Jankulovski is better than Antonini.
Posted by: han2503 Mar 6 2011, 06:29 PM
Pato, Ibrahimovic
Robinho
Flamini, Strasser, Merkel
Jankulovski, Thiago Silva, Nesta, Abate
Abbiati
Because Merkel is better than Seedorf, and Jankulovski is better than Antonini.
That midfield would get trashed by spurs, imagine Merkel against Modric or Lennon FFS!!!
Either Janku or Strasser should get the nod if Boateng is not ready. Seedorf will have to play, we're short on mids and playing Merkel is not even an option in Allegri's mind and shouldn't be in all honesty. And removing Thiago from defense is not worth it when you limit a player like him in a position that is not his own.
Posted by: CHU-LIP Mar 6 2011, 06:36 PM
Either Janku or Strasser should get the nod if Boateng is not ready. Seedorf will have to play, we're short on mids and playing Merkel is not even an option in Allegri's mind and shouldn't be in all honesty. And removing Thiago from defense is not worth it when you limit a player like him in a position that is not his own.
Eh, but we don't have really other midfielders left to choose from, han. Oh wait! We have Seedorf! Our worst player!
Posted by: han2503 Mar 6 2011, 06:51 PM
I think you're just coming down way too hard on Seedorf because it's either him or Merkel. And for me in this kind of fixture, Merkel shouldn't be anywhere near the starting 11. Seedorf hasn't been playing regularly like he was before the first leg so he won't be tired like he was before. He can handle it. Janku can play in midfield and will be more adapt to doubling up to help Antonini defend, so it's not as bad as you make it out to be so that Merkel and Strasser can start.
Imo they should be our last solution. Especially Merkel, Strasser I would trust more, but he hasn't played for a while, and this game wouldn't be the right time to start him not when he's been out for so long
Posted by: X-Offender Mar 6 2011, 06:52 PM
Personally, I don't think Jankulovski is better than Antonini. They're more or less on the same level.
To play both Merkel and Strasser in such a game would be suicidal. Seedorf gives me much more confidence. Despite how crap he's become, you can always ask him for a wonder delivery when it comes to in-or-out games of this kind.
Weird 4-2-3-1? That's how we played under Leo, with Pato on the right. Nothing weird about it.
Posted by: CHU-LIP Mar 6 2011, 07:15 PM
Imo they should be our last solution. Especially Merkel, Strasser I would trust more, but he hasn't played for a while, and this game wouldn't be the right time to start him not when he's been out for so long
Han, what bothers me, is you keep saying Merkel should never play then/there before looking the situation we are in. You are zero procent open considering him. At least be open to consider someone, and then maybe make the decision not to pick one.
I know Jankulovski can play in midfield, but I want him as left-back if Antonini is the other choice, and we can play midfielders like Strasser, Merkel and Flamini.
Why should Merkel be the last solution? He plays better than Seedorf this season, and I mentioned more reasons before, but this being the main reason.
To play both Merkel and Strasser in such a game would be suicidal. Seedorf gives me much more confidence. Despite how crap he's become, you can always ask him for a wonder delivery when it comes to in-or-out games of this kind.
Weird 4-2-3-1? That's how we played under Leo, with Pato on the right. Nothing weird about it.
Jankulovski did better than Antonini in two games than Antonini in this whole season combined. Jankulovski showed to be not only the better attacker, but also a better defender than Antonini. I fully disagree they are on the same level. Jankulovski is a way better left-back than Antonini. Antonini has been playing bad this season, while Jankulovski played the last two games and did both times well, so it only makes sense to start him over Antonini.
Yeah, under Leonardo. Just like Huntelaar as RW was not weird? That formation was only there because of Ronaldinho. Pato is not a RW !!!!!!
Posted by: X-Offender Mar 6 2011, 07:33 PM
Yeah, right. I was the first to say he was great against Napoli, but last night he had a decent performance, like the rest of the team. Nothing worth of mentioning, except one running that led to Cassano's opportunity, and one horrible mistake that could have cost us the game. In his prime, yes, he was by far better than Antonini. But right now, I don't see any substantial difference between the two.I know Pato is not a RW, but unlike Huntelaar, he can play there no problem in emergency situations.
Posted by: CHU-LIP Mar 6 2011, 07:38 PM
Yeah, right. I was the first to say he was great against Napoli, but last night he had a decent performance, like the rest of the team. Nothing worth of mentioning, except one running that led to Cassano's opportunity, and one horrible mistake that could have cost us the game. In his prime, yes, he was by far better than Antonini. But right now, I don't see any substantial difference between the two.I know Pato is not a RW, but unlike Huntelaar, he can play there no problem in emergency situations.
He can play there, but it's not making sense... it makes more sense to put Pato and Zlatan up front, Robinho behind them, and Seedorf at LCM or RCM..... Strasser is the best choice of the three as CDM, so Flamini as LCM or RCM...
Maybe nothing special Jankulovski did, but Antonini is most of the times horrible and a whole lot weaker than the rest of the team. I see some difference! Jankulovski adds so much more attacking and he is even a better defender than Antonini! At least from what I'm seeing this season's games.
Jankulovski is doing well, unlike Antonini did, so how in earth can you pick Antonini over Jankulovski?
Posted by: han2503 Mar 6 2011, 08:09 PM
I know Jankulovski can play in midfield, but I want him as left-back if Antonini is the other choice, and we can play midfielders like Strasser, Merkel and Flamini.
Why should Merkel be the last solution? He plays better than Seedorf this season, and I mentioned more reasons before, but this being the main reason.
I only said that Merkel shouldn't play in games like this, and I stand by that. He's not even remotely ready for it, and to push him out there in a midfield along with the even less experienced Strasser, who hasn't even played in over a months btw, is just out of the question and incredibly naive, something that Allegri would never do, he's prefer to play Thiago there over either of them and I say this with the utmost confidence and something I support him hole heartedly in.
I'm more then ok with Merkel getting his chance is Coppa games and against small sides at home, but anything else is risking it, and we've seen him stumble a lot when he's put under pressure.
Like x-off said, the difference between the 2 is marginal, I think Janku has better positional sense then Antonini, while Antonini pushed forward better ans is faster. that's why playing Janku at LM is our best option, he'll help Antonini even better then a DM would plus can push forward make overlapping runs as well.
Merkel has had less games then Seedorf and looing at all those performances I woul say that Seedorf had the better ones so far. Sure he's had some really horrible performances like in the 1st leg and against Udine, but all the rest were good or acceptable, while Merkel ranges from decent to hesitant. You're giving Merkel way too much credit when someone like Strasser imo has far outshone him in the little amount of playing time he's gotten due to injury.
Posted by: CHU-LIP Mar 6 2011, 08:16 PM
Han, you assume Merkel is not ready for a game like this, that's a huge difference with him being ready or not. You can't know that. Actually, no one knows until given the chance. And I would give him the chance, if the other option is Seedorf. Our worst player in second half of this season. My eyes got hurt reading you saying Seedorf did better than Merkel for us. OMG, we will never agree.
Posted by: rip Mar 6 2011, 09:09 PM
I cant believe i am saying this, but i too would prefer Seedorf over Merkel. Merkel is better than Sedorf but he doesnt have the mental strength to play big matches like this. In the few matces i have seen merkel play, he had played well, but he seemed nervous sometimes and this game is not the place to build your confidence.
Posted by: han2503 Mar 6 2011, 09:24 PM
Looking at all the games each player played this season, then yes, Seedorf did better, providing some vital assists along the way, while Merkel had one really good game in the Coppa against Samp while all the others were pretty much meh, including one heart attack inducing showing against Catania.
I'm not assuming, I'm theorising based on what I saw from Merkel this season, and I'm sure that he's just not ready, or even good enough to play in a big CL game like this one, where it's either all or nothing
Posted by: kurtsimonw Mar 6 2011, 11:15 PM
Experience in CL games really shouldn't be underestimated. Young players or players new to the CL are more likely to get caught up in the moment of playing such a huge game, they try too hard. Players like Seedorf with the 'been there, done it' attitude are not going to get caught up in it at all.
Posted by: Fillipo Simone Mar 6 2011, 11:34 PM
I'm not assuming, I'm theorising based on what I saw from Merkel this season, and I'm sure that he's just not ready, or even good enough to play in a big CL game like this one, where it's either all or nothing
+1
It's obvious he isn't ready, it's a big match and he wouldn't stand a chance against the Spurs. A big nononono for me.
Posted by: X-Offender Mar 7 2011, 12:26 AM
Latest reports from Controcampo say we'll play with Seedorf-Flamini-Merkel in midfield.
Posted by: shevchenko_007 Mar 7 2011, 03:25 AM
Seedorf should be strictly a last 20 minutes player, that is the only way we will get anything remotely good out of him before he hopefully retires at the end of this season.
My line-up would be :
-----------Abbiati--------------
Abate--Nesta--Silva--Antonini
--Strasser--Flamini--Janku--
----------Robinho-------------
-------Pato-------Ibra--------
Janku can attack and more importantly help Antonini in containing Lennon.
Flamini needs to show discipline in this game and only go forward when given a clear opportunity to and when he does go forward Strasser needs to tuck in and cover for him.
Seedorf can come on in the last 20 mins and hopefully have a positive impact in the result.
This line up can work if everyone is 100% focused on their job and put these pommy pr!cks to bed.
Posted by: X-Offender Mar 7 2011, 03:42 AM
^ I'd put Flamini on the right and Strasser in front of the defense.
Posted by: il_diavolo_mtl Mar 7 2011, 05:26 AM
ordinarily i would agree, but with all the attention Flamini got on the Corluka tackle, i would not place him near people that can expose his aggression in VdV and Modric. I couldn't care less about the CL anyways, so why not place strasser in the middle. It could be worse, we could've been stuck with Seedorf, Ambro and Rino on the field...
Posted by: Jack Sparrow Mar 7 2011, 09:07 AM
Right now, everyone says they don't care about CL. Well getting dumped out by Tottenham f@ckin hurts!!!
Not going out to some newbie team without any CL heritage. NOT DOING THAT!! If we get Chelsea or United or Barca...in the next round, by all means play the primavera and get thrashed, I couldn't care less.
Posted by: CHU-LIP Mar 7 2011, 11:25 AM
Yup. That's pretty obvious for the ones knowing the players and the formation. Antonini is left-back worries me.
Posted by: shevchenko_007 Mar 7 2011, 11:26 AM
If Strasser can out in a disciplined performance then he would be good in the central midfield role and I think he may do a better job there than Flamini would.. he may give too many fouls away around the edge of the area... so yeh I will change my line up to switch those two over.
I dont think we are out of this by any means and the champions league is my favourite competition so i want to go as far as we can, we should be trying our best in every game we play... After all that is what the players get their massive salaries for.
Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Mar 7 2011, 01:59 PM
"I would put Flamini, Seedorf and Merkel." This is what gallaini said ( read on milannews) he even said that silva should not be considered for Midfield and start at CB
Posted by: kurtsimonw Mar 7 2011, 02:53 PM
Sack Allegri, sign Galliani. /porty
Posted by: han2503 Mar 7 2011, 03:01 PM
Way too attacking. We'd seriously get caught out with that. Flamini is not a holding midfielder, he pushes up way too much to be our only defensive presence there. Merkel would get eaten alive, aspecially without any real protection from a DM
Our midfield should be Flamini and 2 from Seedorf/Strasser/Janku
No Merkel!!!!
Oh and now I hear that Bale is fit, imagine Merkel up against him...
Posted by: CHU-LIP Mar 7 2011, 03:08 PM
Our midfield should be Flamini and 2 from Seedorf/Strasser/Janku
No Merkel!!!!
Oh and now I hear that Bale is fit, imagine Merkel up against him...
I agreed with the bolded part. But then what you said about Merkel, applies also for Seedorf. I don't get why you are not worried about Seedorf.
IMO it should be 1 of Seedorf and Merkel, and 2 more defensive minded players like Flamini and Strasser.
Posted by: han2503 Mar 7 2011, 03:16 PM
IMO it should be 1 of Seedorf and Merkel, and 2 more defensive minded players like Flamini and Strasser.
Seedorf is a very intelligent player and he knows how to handle himself, giving Merkel a role were he's not familiar and also has to cover defensively is a big no no. I would be more worried about players like Zlatan, Flamini and Robinho in a game like this then I would be about Seedorf.
Flamini is an obvious choice. And imo we need a creative edge in there, to me that is Seedorf, Merkel is out of the question for me. Then it's Janku or Strasser, both would offer very different things, depends on how Allegri wants us to come out, whether he wants us to push forward or try and frustrate them a bit then hit them on counters with Pato and Robinho's speed. If it's the former then Janku would get it, if it's the latter then Strasser would do a better job.
It all depends. Personally I'm expecing the usual out of Allegri, some dumb @ss move in tactics or selection that will cost us.
Posted by: CHU-LIP Mar 7 2011, 03:39 PM
WOW! You still believe Seedorf is a good player. That's amazing.
Merkel is familiar with playing such position. You really think Seedorf isn't a worry about covering defensively? He has been sucking as much as possible when it comes to that the last few months EVERY game he has played. Of course, Merkel is also a question mark to defensive cover, that's why only one of them should play in midfield. Since Seedorf has been that awful, I would go for Merkel.
Posted by: han2503 Mar 7 2011, 03:59 PM
Merkel is familiar with playing such position. You really think Seedorf isn't a worry about covering defensively? He has been sucking as much as possible when it comes to that the last few months EVERY game he has played. Of course, Merkel is also a question mark to defensive cover, that's why only one of them should play in midfield. Since Seedorf has been that awful, I would go for Merkel.
You give Merkel WAAAAAAAAYYYYY too much credit over absolutely nothing! While I've seen Seedorf in this type of game over many years now at Milan. Seedorf made a career out of playing in the midfield, pushing forward and helping out when needed, compare that to Merkel who has never really had a good game there, his best appearances were when playing in the AM position where he had no defensive responsability.
Seedorf is not a player who will get pushed around like Merkel would. I've sen Merkel commit horrible mistakes when pressured, while Seedorf always has a cool head, imo that counts for a whole lot in a CL match. Seedorf had 2 really terrible performances this season, no one is saying otherwise, but other then that he's been good. You're making it out as somehing it's not to have an excuse for advertising Merkel for some reason which I am not aware of.
Posted by: CHU-LIP Mar 7 2011, 04:16 PM
Seedorf is not a player who will get pushed around like Merkel would. I've sen Merkel commit horrible mistakes when pressured, while Seedorf always has a cool head, imo that counts for a whole lot in a CL match. Seedorf had 2 really terrible performances this season, no one is saying otherwise, but other then that he's been good. You're making it out as somehing it's not to have an excuse for advertising Merkel for some reason which I am not aware of.
AHA! I knew you were living in the past! I FULLY AGREE with Seedorf making career in midfield in CL, and so, and he has been awesome many years. But now it are different times! He is older, and WORSE!!!!!
Where do I give Merkel so much credit? I also questioned him in my last comment! I just think Seedorf is finished, so different from the awesome Seedorf in the past. So I choose Merkel. Make room for a prospect, when the old one can't do it anymore.
Merkel never had a good game??? WUT?!?!?! He has had better games than Seedorf, man, Seedorf has been bad OVER AND OVER again these months, especially in the 3 man midfield Seedorf was ALWAYS awful this season, Merkel done there so much better. Merkel pwns him!
Posted by: Jack Sparrow Mar 7 2011, 04:39 PM
I just don't get that last part. Which better games?? Bar the Sampdoria cup match...I'd actually say Strasser has been 3 times the performer that Merkel has been if you look at discharge of their respective playing duties as the criteria.
Posted by: Suhail 3 Mar 7 2011, 04:39 PM
we will probably see both merkel and seedorf feature alongside flamini, perhaps we ll also field janku as we dont really have any options left. The more i look at the spurs line up and midfield the more i fear this could get humiliating
Lennon Modric Palacious Bale
VDV
Crouch
god help us
Posted by: CHU-LIP Mar 7 2011, 04:45 PM
I agree with you there mate, Strasser pwns both Merkel and Seedorf easily. Strasser has been very solid whenever he played. It's just, Seedorf has been THAT bad, so many games in a row now, that also Merkel pwns Seedorf. Merkel, sometimes having a bad game, sure, but he also had better games. Overall, easily better than Seedorf.
And Merkel is growing, Seedorf is declining (he has A LOT this season). Give trust in the youngsters (when the older ones are letting down) (as in: Merkel over Seedorf).
Posted by: Fillipo Simone Mar 7 2011, 05:41 PM
Gee, you'd be a pretty bad advertising agent. With that kinds of slogans Don Draper would have fired you instantly
Posted by: CHU-LIP Mar 7 2011, 06:01 PM
Posted by: Suhail 3 Mar 7 2011, 07:21 PM
Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri is determined to rock Tottenham's Champions League hopes, and is confident they will collapse in Wednesday's last 16, second-leg affair by claiming they are not the strongest team in Europe.
Allegri feels Tottenham, who boast a 1-0 aggregate lead heading into the game at White Hart Lane, don't have the strongest of foundations on the continent.
"We should not have made mistakes against Tottenham at San Siro, but they took advantage of a counter attack to beat us," Allegri told Radio Crc.
"However, despite playing good football, they are not among the strongest teams in Europe."
Allegri sounds confident ahead of the return leg, but the Milan coach has his own problems to deal with as he sifts through the debris of a broken midfield.
"Andrea Pirlo and Massimo Ambrosini are both injured, and thus for half of our midfield we only have a limited number of players available," he added.
"Plus, the players who arrived in January are cup-tied."
And his message of transferring their Serie A winning form to Europe couldn't be clearer.
"It's not always possible to play 95 minutes of spectacular football, but what counts is winning," he said.
Source - http://www.goal.com/en/news/1716/champions-league/2011/03/07/2383639/tottenham-are-not-among-the-strongest-teams-in-the-champions
Posted by: acid911 Mar 7 2011, 07:52 PM
I am with CHU here, it's not just about the names, it's about giving any youngster (be it Strasser or Merkel, or anyone else for that matter) an opportunity if the need comes up, such as this. I guess it all comes down to dieing, who are you willing to die with? An old player who we know what he is capable of, or a young blood who just may come out good. Even if he doesn't, I'd much rather be willing to get knocked out because of the mistakes of a younger player than an old veteran - at least the younger player will learn and take something out of the experience.
Once again, it is not about the names. Merkel and Strasser probably should not have been upgraded to the first team just yet, and likewise Seedorf should not have been our number 10 after say 2008-09 season at most. But like I said you can swap the names out and put anyone else in for all that matters.
Posted by: han2503 Mar 7 2011, 08:14 PM
Where do I give Merkel so much credit? I also questioned him in my last comment! I just think Seedorf is finished, so different from the awesome Seedorf in the past. So I choose Merkel. Make room for a prospect, when the old one can't do it anymore.
Merkel never had a good game??? WUT?!?!?! He has had better games than Seedorf, man, Seedorf has been bad OVER AND OVER again these months, especially in the 3 man midfield Seedorf was ALWAYS awful this season, Merkel done there so much better. Merkel pwns him!
Merkel owns Seedorf???
Talk about going Over the Top!!!I said he never really played well when he was in the midfield 3! Big difference. His best performances were when he played behind the 2 strikers, when he plays in midfield he ends up looking like the inexperienced, average player he is. You're making him out to be like some Messi in the making FFS!!! Merkel has had a couple of decent games nothing else, to trust someone like him, in a position that is not his own and that would put him under immense pressure would be a mistake of massive proportions.
Living in the past? Sorry to disappoint you but had we had a better choice in midfield neither Seedorf nor Merkel would get anywhere near the pitch if it were up to me. Netiher one of them is good enough at this point in their career. But looking at the bigger picture, and as the lesser of 2 evils, Seedorf wins hands down over Merkel.
Merkel has found it difficuilt in little away games, how do you think he will fair in an away CL game were we're already starting on the back foot?? Not pretty!!
I'm all for giving kids a chance, but WTF?? I still want us to at least give this thing a shot and not go out ala last season at OT. And Merkel would surely help in that, his indecicive play, his hesitation, trying to dilly dally with the ball near our own box and then ending up getting himself into heaps of trouble, sorry to ruin your paty, but I'm 100% sure Seedorf wouldn't do any of that sh!t.
Also saying Seedorf has declined a LOT this season based on 2 performances is ridiculous! I remember him getting booed constantly in the San Siro n 06/07 because of similar performances, but when the going got tuff especially in the CL, he was the one who delivered
Agreed
Posted by: Fillipo Simone Mar 7 2011, 08:15 PM
I can't agree. It's simply that, other then age, there's no real quality in Merkel (yet). That's why this turned into an age-debate. I've seen Merkel play, none of his matches impressed me, most of the time his defending was poor, so I don't think he can be good against Tottenham in a CL match. That's to much pressure on someone who isn't Messi.
Posted by: CHU-LIP Mar 7 2011, 08:29 PM
''Merkel has had a couple of decent games nothing else'' - han
And that's enough to do better than Seedorf nowadays.
''Also saying Seedorf has declined a LOT this season based on 2 performances is ridiculous!'' - han
I was talking about a whole lot more games than 2.
The only thing we seem to agree with is that choosing between Merkel and Seedorf is not what we want. We won't agree with who to pick though. For some reason, you have faith in Seedorf, in my opinion too much based on the past, and too little faith in Merkel. In an ideal world we had Pirlo. 
'' sorry to ruin your paty, but I'm 100% sure Seedorf wouldn't do any of that sh!t ''
The last many many many games Seedorf has played, he has done very bad things for the team, every game of them, losing possession over and over again, so please don't act like Seedorf is not a liability and Merkel is the only one of the two who is likely to screw up. Like acid said, rather a prospect learning from his mistakes, than Seedorf seeing Seedorf playing almost whole the game awful like he has been doing too many games in a row now.
Posted by: Suhail 3 Mar 7 2011, 08:32 PM
Milan ace Robinho is convinced that his side can beat Tottenham in the Champions League this week.
The Rossoneri arrive for Wednesday’s White Hart Lane clash a goal down after their 1-0 San Siro reverse.
“I honestly believe we can win in England,” he told UEFA.com. “Our goal is to comeback from England having qualified for the next round of the Champions League.”
Milan were pretty disappointing against Spurs last month and Robinho has called for more focus from his teammates.
“We will have to change our attitude and be even more focused,” he added. “If we concede a goal things will become even more difficult, but anything can happen in football.
"Unfortunately, we lost the home leg in a difficult match. And we conceded a goal when we were playing better. But that does not mean we cannot win there.
"They play in a different way, focusing on physical strength, plenty of crosses into the box. I think they will play exactly the same way again."
Robinho joined Milan late in the summer transfer window and he has eyes on winning the greatest prize in European club football.
"It is a great competition and unfortunately I haven't had the opportunity to win it,” he added.
"So I hope to become a European champion here with Milan. It is a competition I love playing in, a difficult one, the toughest in European football. We hope to win it this season.
source - http://www.football-italia.net/mar07s.html
bit of optimism or call it dillusional from robinho
Posted by: Fillipo Simone Mar 7 2011, 09:48 PM
Chu, you're just exaggerating too much. I can't agree that Seedorf has been "that bad" nor can I say that it's Merkel has to play because he had "more good games." It's absurd. For god sake, Merkel played one good game, and it was a Coppa match. Beside that he's a manace to Milan from a defensive standpoint, Seedorf loosing possesion is nothing compared to that! I cannot understand the confidence you have in writing Seedorf totally off; 'many many games' - what does that mean? He was also good a few times, even more then Merkel.
Posted by: CHU-LIP Mar 7 2011, 09:55 PM
''Beside that he's a manace to Milan from a defensive standpoint'' F. Simone
And Seedorf isn't ?!?!?!?!
''He was also good a few times, even more then Merkel. '' F. Simone
Not in the second half of this season. Even in the games he makes assists, he played awful IMO, same goed for the match he scored - it was the only thing he did well, rest of the match he was AWFUL. Merkel did better IMO.
I don't believe Seedorf is able to play good matches anymore. He can do good things, as in giving a good pass, or score that one time. But for the rest, he will suck, ruining all our attacks, losing possesion all the time. It's ruining us. Merkel is not awesome, but Merkel is not THAT bad. I wish we had a better option than Merkel, but we haven't.
Posted by: Fillipo Simone Mar 7 2011, 11:06 PM
Okay, let's say we just disagree then and let's call it a day.
Posted by: CHU-LIP Mar 7 2011, 11:16 PM
Finally!
Posted by: X-Offender Mar 8 2011, 12:05 AM
Not before I say my word.
In the long run, (meaning throughout the entirety of a season), I'd pick Merkel over Seedorf any day as starter. Seedorf is a finished player that can't keep up with the pace of any major European football championship anymore. However, when we're talking about games like this against Tottenham, which Italians refer to as partita secca (like finals or derbies), then Seedorf gives me much more confidence. Why? Because Seedorf, despite his precarious conditions, is able to pull out a world class performance for 90 minutes that Merkel could never dream of achieving. His experience is so immense, and his class is so undisputed, that allow him to "bypass" his age, just for one game, and make the difference! And that's why we need him tomorrow night, considering our absences. But like I said, just for one game.
Posted by: Suhail 3 Mar 8 2011, 12:13 AM
In the long run, (meaning throughout the entirety of a season), I'd pick Merkel over Seedorf any day as starter. Seedorf is a finished player that can't keep up with the pace of any major European football championship anymore. However, when we're talking about games like this against Tottenham, which Italians refer to as partita secca (like finals or derbies), then Seedorf gives me much more confidence. Why? Because Seedorf, despite his precarious conditions, is able to pull out a world class performance for 90 minutes that Merkel could never dream of achieving. His experience is so immense, and his class is so undisputed, that allow him to "bypass" his age, just for one game, and make the difference! And that's why we need him tomorrow night, considering our absences. But like I said, just for one game.
+1 X bro
on another note im secretly praying and hoping that PATO explodes scores one or two and runs riot
Posted by: X-Offender Mar 8 2011, 12:45 AM
Same. I think (and hope) that Pato will be the key to this game.
Posted by: acid911 Mar 8 2011, 01:20 AM
Oh, he dreams alright.
This I can assure you! Most footballers and fans dream about being a hybrid cross between Kaka, Cristiano, Messi and characters like Superman, Batman and Terminator.
Posted by: Darunia Mar 8 2011, 01:26 AM
How fit is Strasser? I know he's been injured for awhile. If he's fit, he should be starting alongside Flamini and Seedorf.
Posted by: shevchenko_007 Mar 8 2011, 03:48 AM
Bottom line is that neither of Merkel and Seedorf should be playing from the start.
Seedorf is done and dusted and has been for a long time... he is so slow it hurts to watch and all he relies on now when he is on ball is to look for the foul. I am thankful for what he has done for the team but it's time to retire.
Merkel is an investment for the future, he shows some good qualities that need to be developed in time and we shouldn't be looking at him as a finished product yet, nor should he be playing in big games like this.
We should start with a flamini-strasser-janku midfield and if all is going well and we need to protect a lead then Seedorf can come on for the last 20 mins and slow the game down and draw the foul and use his experience in that way... 20 minutes is his maximum these days and he showed that against Juve where he looked like the most tired of the whole team when he was only on for 20 mins.
Posted by: X-Offender Mar 8 2011, 04:07 AM
Flamini-Strasser-Jankulovski... Lots of creativity there.
Posted by: drucurl Mar 8 2011, 08:10 AM
Tottenham Are Not Among The Strongest Teams In The Champions League - Milan Coach Massimiliano Allegri
Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri is determined to rock Tottenham's Champions League hopes, and is confident they will collapse in Wednesday's last 16, second-leg affair by claiming they are not the strongest team in Europe.
Allegri feels Tottenham, who boast a 1-0 aggregate lead heading into the game at White Hart Lane, don't have the strongest of foundations on the continent.
"We should not have made mistakes against Tottenham at San Siro, but they took advantage of a counter attack to beat us," Allegri told Radio Crc.
"However, despite playing good football, they are not among the strongest teams in Europe."
Allegri sounds confident ahead of the return leg, but the Milan coach has his own problems to deal with as he sifts through the debris of a broken midfield.
"Andrea Pirlo and Massimo Ambrosini are both injured, and thus for half of our midfield we only have a limited number of players available," he added.
"Plus, the players who arrived in January are cup-tied."
And his message of transferring their Serie A winning form to Europe couldn't be clearer.
"It's not always possible to play 95 minutes of spectacular football, but what counts is winning," he said.
goal.crap
Don't look but Allegri just motivated the Spurs to prove that they are a big team. Interview comes with the standard cop outs that his fans have been giving him all year long 
Posted by: kurtsimonw Mar 8 2011, 08:55 AM
What he said is true, but there's still no need to say it.
Posted by: shevchenko_007 Mar 8 2011, 09:17 AM
Yeh coz seedorf provides so much creativity..... For the other team when he loses the ball everytime he gets it?
Janku can push forward and put in some decent crosses and he likes to shoot and anything can happen as long as can get them on target, just like gattuso against juve.
Posted by: CHU-LIP Mar 8 2011, 09:50 AM
Janku can push forward and put in some decent crosses and he likes to shoot and anything can happen as long as can get them on target, just like gattuso against juve.
Agreed. We've played with midfields that had less creativity this season, and it went well. Rather than playing Seedorf who is a specialist in ruining our attacks.
Except, I want Jankulovski as left-back... Antonini? Oh, please no..
Posted by: Zed.D Mar 8 2011, 09:54 AM
In the long run, (meaning throughout the entirety of a season), I'd pick Merkel over Seedorf any day as starter. Seedorf is a finished player that can't keep up with the pace of any major European football championship anymore. However, when we're talking about games like this against Tottenham, which Italians refer to as partita secca (like finals or derbies), then Seedorf gives me much more confidence. Why? Because Seedorf, despite his precarious conditions, is able to pull out a world class performance for 90 minutes that Merkel could never dream of achieving. His experience is so immense, and his class is so undisputed, that allow him to "bypass" his age, just for one game, and make the difference! And that's why we need him tomorrow night, considering our absences. But like I said, just for one game.
Normally I'd agree with you, but lately Seedorf has been terrible in big games as well. remember the Madrid game at the Bernabeu? he was unwatchable.
That said, I'd still play him ahead of a rookie like Merkel in this game. Merkel should first be played in regular league games to learn a thing or two before setting foot in such important games.
Posted by: Dracoris Mar 8 2011, 06:18 PM
Boateng could play.
Posted by: Jack Bauer Mar 8 2011, 06:49 PM
Yes. He trained with everyone today and went with the team to London. Also, Pato is 100% fit.
Posted by: d'Arc.LP Mar 8 2011, 09:51 PM
MILANELLO - Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri has called up the following 22 players for his team's upcoming Champions League match against Tottenham:
Abbiati, Amelia, Roma; Abate, Antonini, Bonera, Jankulovski, Legrottaglie, Nesta, Oddo, Papastathopoulos, Thiago Silva, Zambrotta, Yepes; Boateng, Flamini, Merkel, Seedorf, Strasser; Ibrahimovic, Pato, Robinho.
Unavailable: Ambrosini, Pirlo, Inzaghi.
Suspended: Gattuso.
source: acmilan.com
--------------------------------------
In my opinion we should play like this :
Abate - Nesta - Silva - Antonini
Flamini - Seedorf - Merkel
Boateng
Pato - Ibrahimovic
Posted by: Dracoris Mar 8 2011, 10:30 PM
Considering our midfield situation we really should play:
Robinho
Prince Dorf Flamini
Janku Silva Nesta Abate
Abs
Posted by: William405 Mar 8 2011, 10:54 PM
Yeah,we really need Boateng in that midfeild.Robinho can manage playing behind the strikers for this one.
Posted by: Zed.D Mar 8 2011, 11:15 PM
I just got a bit more optimistic knowing the Boat could play!
Posted by: Rossoneri7 Mar 8 2011, 11:23 PM
I have been waiting a while now ... Glade it has arrived. I hope we don't face Barca next 
Posted by: Suhail 3 Mar 8 2011, 11:29 PM
ive been feeling worried,depressed and anxious and filled with negativity today for some bizzare reason and now im wondering why ?
WE ARE MILAN ... were gonnna win this thing
Posted by: arivanjj Mar 8 2011, 11:31 PM
thats the least of our worries right now
... we need to tackle this game from the first second. can't afford for tottenham to get comfortable.
Posted by: dst Mar 9 2011, 12:02 AM
you think we're already through!I myself believe we'll lose again, anyone else feeling the same way?
Posted by: X-Offender Mar 9 2011, 12:21 AM
Robinho
Prince Dorf Flamini
Janku Silva Nesta Abate
Abs
That's how I think we'll play. Honestly, if Seedorf will do his own and Jankulovski/Antonini hold on well, that's a quality formation there. IMO we can win this one.
Posted by: Suhail 3 Mar 9 2011, 12:31 AM
being negative just isnt the way forward as ive learnt, however judging from our camp's recent interviews an statements Milan are ready
Posted by: X-Offender Mar 9 2011, 12:33 AM
Aye. The players seem confident. And honestly, we're facing Tottenham, not Manchester or Barcelona. With the right mentality and spirit of sacrifice, we can do it.
Posted by: drucurl Mar 9 2011, 12:36 AM
BBBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
Posted by: Nova Mar 9 2011, 12:36 AM
Funny stadium here , in the middle of the projects and looks like a crappy stadium outside , but inside its actually quite modern and the pitch is in perfect condition .
But a terrible neighbourhood here in north London ... First thing I saw when I arrived at the tv compound was a man and a woman screaming and throwing punches at eachother :-) What a nice welcome
Anywho , Forza Milan !
Posted by: X-Offender Mar 9 2011, 12:47 AM
You went to London to see the game? Or do you live there?
Posted by: Nova Mar 9 2011, 12:53 AM
I'm there for work ( rai italia and sky ) , live in Belgium tough .
Posted by: Dracoris Mar 9 2011, 01:42 AM
I was not really looking forward to this game, but if Boateng can play, and play well....who knows what could happen.
Posted by: shevchenko_007 Mar 9 2011, 03:35 AM
What sort of work do u do? What is ur job title?
Posted by: KillerMax Mar 9 2011, 04:44 AM
And what is your mother's maiden name?
Posted by: Bluesummers Mar 9 2011, 05:02 AM
11 defenders called up ? lolololol
Posted by: TriniKing_CE Mar 9 2011, 06:26 AM
+1
Posted by: Jack Sparrow Mar 9 2011, 07:56 AM
I'm not sure if he's fit to start....though. He'll probably play with painkillers I imagine.
Posted by: acid911 Mar 9 2011, 08:34 AM
Yeah, just saw that.
Kinda weird, but such is the situation of our team, we lack in the attack department.
Posted by: d'Arc.LP Mar 9 2011, 08:47 AM
Is Zambrotta 100% ready to play in this game ?
Posted by: acid911 Mar 9 2011, 08:55 AM
Yup, but I doubt the coach will play him.
Not straight into the frying pan (in a high-profile game of this sorts) after coming off such a long injury. Think of him as ready, but rusty.
Posted by: Zed.D Mar 9 2011, 01:17 PM
http://www.goal.com/en/news/1717/editorial/2011/03/09/2386351/he-was-a-striker-for-milan-but-scored-very-few-goals-and-had
Loved this bit:
"Pato closed himself in the bathroom and didn’t want to come out. He was terrorised." poor Duck!
Posted by: kurtsimonw Mar 9 2011, 01:20 PM
Posted by: X-Offender Mar 9 2011, 02:03 PM
Probable line-ups.
TOTTENHAM (4-4-1-1) All. Redknapp: Gomes, Corluka, Gallas, Dawson, Assou-Ekotto, Lennon, Palacios, Modric, Pienaar, Van der Vaart, Crouch.
MILAN (4-3-1-2) All. Allegri: Abbiati, Abate, Nesta, Thiago Silva, Jankulovski, Boateng, Seedorf, Flamini, Robinho, Pato, Ibrahimovic.
Posted by: X-Offender Mar 9 2011, 02:03 PM
Probable line-ups.
TOTTENHAM (4-4-1-1) All. Redknapp: Gomes, Corluka, Gallas, Dawson, Assou-Ekotto, Lennon, Palacios, Modric, Pienaar, Van der Vaart, Crouch.
MILAN (4-3-1-2) All. Allegri: Abbiati, Abate, Nesta, Thiago Silva, Jankulovski, Boateng, Seedorf, Flamini, Robinho, Pato, Ibrahimovic.
Posted by: William405 Mar 9 2011, 02:09 PM
Yeah,that's the best formation Allegri can put for today.I think Seedorf will be the mystery in this game,if he manages to pull out a good performance,then we should be doing very good.You can always be optimistic .
Forza Milan!
Posted by: kurtsimonw Mar 9 2011, 02:31 PM
I'd be a little surprised if Bale doesn't start. He got through the last 25 minutes against Wolves at the weekend.
Posted by: X-Offender Mar 9 2011, 03:04 PM
He'll probably start, unless Redknapp wants to use him as an ace in the whole.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Mar 9 2011, 03:11 PM
It's not the Milan way, but we need to just play long ball. Gomes is prone to regular errors and Gallas is suspect, at best, in the air. It's all Wolves did at the weekend and it caused Spurs nightmares.
Posted by: pacang Mar 9 2011, 03:15 PM
Janku needs to pull a miracle on this one.. I don't think he can handle Lennon on his own..
Looks like there's a heavy burden placed on Boateng's shoulders on this one. And Pato's too..
Posted by: Ry4n Mar 9 2011, 04:14 PM
One reason i watch Serie A is for that not to happen
only when we need to do will we long ball it.
Posted by: servbot Mar 9 2011, 05:26 PM
Seedorf will have a great game today. He's rested, it's a huge game, and he's going to feel like he has something to prove. He also knows he can lay it all out there because he's not needed for the next matches.
Posted by: Danny Mar 9 2011, 05:34 PM
I think Spurs will win tonight - unless we play at a much higher level than the first leg. My personal priorities are with the Scudetto given how many times we've conquered the CL and made the final, but obviously I still want to see progress tonight.
It just isn't the be all and end all for me.
Posted by: X-Offender Mar 9 2011, 07:20 PM
Bale should start from the bench.
Posted by: KillerMax Mar 9 2011, 07:47 PM
I have been counting the seconds for this game...
Posted by: Zed.D Mar 9 2011, 07:53 PM
I feel very funny in my stomach! damn European nights!
Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Mar 9 2011, 07:54 PM
Tottenham: Gomes; Corluka, Gallas, Dawson, Assou-Ekotto; Lennon, Sandro, Modric, Pienaar; Van der Vaart; Crouch
Tottenham bench: Cudicini, Hutton, Bale, Jenas, Pavlyuchenko, Defoe, King
Milan: Abbiati; Abate, Nesta, Thiago Silva, Jankulovski; Seedorf, Boateng, Flamini; Robinho, Pato; Ibrahimovic
Milan bench: Amelia, Strasser, Papastathopoulos, Oddo, Merkel, Yepes, Antonini
Posted by: han2503 Mar 9 2011, 07:56 PM
Tottenham bench: Cudicini, Hutton, Bale, Jenas, Pavlyuchenko, Defoe, King
Milan: Abbiati; Abate, Nesta, Thiago Silva, Jankulovski; Seedorf, Boateng, Flamini; Robinho, Pato; Ibrahimovic
Milan bench: Amelia, Strasser, Papastathopoulos, Oddo, Merkel, Yepes, Antonini
No strikers or mids on the bench aside from Merkel. Not good
Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Mar 9 2011, 07:59 PM
yea if this linen up fails then u know we will fail...
Posted by: X-Offender Mar 9 2011, 08:13 PM
FORZA MILAN!!!
Posted by: KillerMax Mar 9 2011, 08:22 PM
That bench... is so toothless It looks like it belongs to Sampdoria reserves...
Posted by: servbot Mar 9 2011, 08:22 PM
I notice that too, but do we really have any other option? We need at least 2 goals to secure the win, might as well have our most offensive-minded lineup we can out there from the beginning, no?
Posted by: Ry4n Mar 9 2011, 08:23 PM
We can win this FORZA MILAN !!!!!!!
Posted by: woody Mar 9 2011, 08:30 PM
Anybody have a live stream?
Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Mar 9 2011, 08:31 PM
it is on itv here. Have u checked myp2p
Posted by: anano1214 Mar 9 2011, 08:44 PM
Seedorf is Captain
Posted by: servbot Mar 9 2011, 09:11 PM
wtf? That looked really close to crossing the goal line.
Where is everyone?
Posted by: drucurl Mar 9 2011, 09:32 PM
Where is everyone?
Here
Posted by: han2503 Mar 9 2011, 09:33 PM
We played well. We still need to do better though
How Crouch and Sandro are still walking around without a yellow is a mistery to me, Crouch has man handled his way to every ball he's touched, while Sandro has been fouling constantly! Ridiculous. 2 offside calls that were incorrect, especially the second one on Pato!!
Posted by: kurtsimonw Mar 9 2011, 09:33 PM
Pato poor, everyone else good.
KPB and Flamini have been superb.
Posted by: Ry4n Mar 9 2011, 09:34 PM
A goal is comming just need to concentrate more.
Posted by: drucurl Mar 9 2011, 09:34 PM
Where is everyone?
Here
Posted by: William405 Mar 9 2011, 09:36 PM
Pissed at Robinho not passing it to Ibra.
Posted by: han2503 Mar 9 2011, 09:36 PM
KPB and Flamini have been superb.
Pato poor? He's been ok, like the rest of our attackers. Robinho's misshit was criminal!!
Posted by: pacang Mar 9 2011, 09:36 PM
how Janku and Boateng have managed to handle Lennon was splendid.. But more problem will come, Bale and Defoe warming up..
How the team controlled possession and tempo was superb, it won't be long before Bale come on. Harry really need to change this.
Posted by: William405 Mar 9 2011, 09:37 PM
What was happening to Nesta at the beginning of the game,he almost cost us a goal.
Posted by: Zed.D Mar 9 2011, 09:38 PM
* OMG, can't believe this cantfinishinho! wasted our best chance just like that. RM Channel used to refer to him as the new Pele. yeah, sure.
* The linesman is obviously blind.
* Can Seedorf do anything except passing the ball back?
* Zlatan... I don't know what's wrong with him but he doesn't exist.
* I hate Crouch!
* I hate Redknapp. I want to punch him in the face and I don't know why!
* What's wrong with Nesta...
* SCORE A GOAL FFS!
Posted by: Ry4n Mar 9 2011, 09:39 PM
* The linesman is obviously blind.
* Can Seedorf do anything except passing the ball back?
* Zlatan... I don't know what's wrong with him but he doesn't exist.
* I hate Crouch!
* I hate Redknapp. I want to punch him in the face and I don't know why!
* What's wrong with Nesta...
* SCORE A GOAL FFS!
My sentiments exactly.
Posted by: dst Mar 9 2011, 09:39 PM
reminder: Ibrahimovic sucks in Europe
Posted by: Zed.D Mar 9 2011, 09:41 PM
KPB and Flamini have been superb.
We must be watching different games, then. like han said, Pato was one of our better players. provided a chance on a silver platter for cantfinishinho but cantfinishinho can't fucking finish.
Posted by: KillerMax Mar 9 2011, 09:41 PM
But he has been sucking for the past month.. Everywhere!
Posted by: William405 Mar 9 2011, 09:41 PM
Um,I thought Seedorf did just well...
Posted by: Zed.D Mar 9 2011, 09:42 PM
Yeah, but he was just as poor against Juve. he's burned out and that's bad news.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Mar 9 2011, 09:44 PM
Huh? It was an awful pass. Not only behind him, but the pass was delayed so a defender forced Robinho to rush the shot. All he had to do was play an early simple pass and it's 1-0. Pato got greedy in my opinion by looking for a chance to score himself before passing.
He's been the worst player for us. Lost the ball a few times and been offside.
Posted by: pacang Mar 9 2011, 09:44 PM
ah.. if only Inzaghi is around!
Posted by: han2503 Mar 9 2011, 09:44 PM
Agreed, he's been calm with his passing, didn't let the team lose their heads with the irratic play we saw against Napoli in the first half and against Spurs at San Siro
Posted by: Fillipo Simone Mar 9 2011, 09:44 PM
Me too. That long pass was brilliant.
Milan should have scored by now, that's what worries me. And Crouch.
Posted by: han2503 Mar 9 2011, 09:45 PM
He's been the worst player for us. Lost the ball a few times and been offside.
been offside?
2 out out those 3 times were incorrect calls, especially the 2nd time, were it was blatantly obvious
Posted by: William405 Mar 9 2011, 09:46 PM
Cmon!Zlatan,we need you!You'll rest against Bari,show them how it's done...
Posted by: Zed.D Mar 9 2011, 09:46 PM
He's been the worst player for us. Lost the ball a few times and been offside.
So now it's Pato's fault that Robinho couldn't finish a simple cross?
Bravo, Kurt.No offense but you must be as blind as the linesman cause two times he was ruled offside when he was clearly onside.
Posted by: servbot Mar 9 2011, 09:46 PM
+1
This seems like just the type of match he would score in as a late sub.
Posted by: Zed.D Mar 9 2011, 09:47 PM
2 out out those 3 times were incorrect calls, especially the 2nd time, were it was blatantly obvious
I think he's pulling our leg
Posted by: kurtsimonw Mar 9 2011, 09:52 PM
Fanboy in fanboy shocker. I'm ignoring you when it comes to Pato so don't bother responding. Awful pass because of greed.
Posted by: dst Mar 9 2011, 09:58 PM
Why are the cameras constantly showing Bale, are they so in love with him? I've never seen this before!
Posted by: KillerMax Mar 9 2011, 10:00 PM
Take that unintelligent, numbed-brain Flamini out and play Merkel.
Posted by: servbot Mar 9 2011, 10:01 PM
Crouch whines too much.
Posted by: drucurl Mar 9 2011, 10:04 PM
horrible call on flamini
Posted by: kurtsimonw Mar 9 2011, 10:04 PM
What a stupid yellow card.
Posted by: servbot Mar 9 2011, 10:06 PM
Seriously, I will cheer if someone two-foot tackles Crouch at this point. How many times has he shoved our guys down and then complained about the call?
Posted by: anano1214 Mar 9 2011, 10:07 PM
Bale is IN (
Posted by: drucurl Mar 9 2011, 10:07 PM
these fucking commentators are sooo biased. Defending crouch at all turns! **** off! 
Posted by: Jack Bauer Mar 9 2011, 10:08 PM
When will Robinho learn how to finish?
Posted by: anano1214 Mar 9 2011, 10:11 PM
never
((
Posted by: kurtsimonw Mar 9 2011, 10:11 PM
Good change. Has to be done with Janku on a yellow.
Posted by: servbot Mar 9 2011, 10:12 PM
83'
Posted by: anano1214 Mar 9 2011, 10:17 PM
OMG MERKEL is IN (((
Posted by: Jack Bauer Mar 9 2011, 10:19 PM
F@ck!!
Pato must at least hit it on target.
Posted by: drucurl Mar 9 2011, 10:25 PM
tottenham's gameplay= Allegri's usual gameplay=clear the ball when you're leading 
Posted by: kurtsimonw Mar 9 2011, 10:27 PM
Come on Pato FFS, make a pass.
Posted by: drucurl Mar 9 2011, 10:30 PM
did I mention that I hate Allegri? No? Well I hate that clueless ******
Posted by: kurtsimonw Mar 9 2011, 10:33 PM
What has he done wrong exactly?
Posted by: William405 Mar 9 2011, 10:34 PM
So sad.
Posted by: Darunia Mar 9 2011, 10:35 PM
We dominated.. spurs lucky.
Posted by: Ry4n Mar 9 2011, 10:35 PM
Ibra should have stayed at home. what a joke.
Posted by: jefri91 Mar 9 2011, 10:36 PM
I stopped watching football for a year but I thought maybe just MAYBE today would be the day Milan doesn't disappoint me. See you guys in another year !
Posted by: Dracoris Mar 9 2011, 10:36 PM
Im not that disappointed. We were the better team by far and we proved it. Tottenham got by on luck tonight, not skill or ability.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Mar 9 2011, 10:37 PM
Dominated the game. Allegri set up the team perfectly, this defeat is on the players.
Posted by: anano1214 Mar 9 2011, 10:37 PM
it's so sad (((
i agree with u
Posted by: KillerMax Mar 9 2011, 10:38 PM
I want Ibrahimovic and Flamini out of this team. Play Merkel. That one time against Catania he was played out of position and had defensive duties. He has potential. Long term.
Man of the match? Sandro. That guy killed our play every time it seemed.
Abate has developed into a class right back.
Posted by: Dracoris Mar 9 2011, 10:38 PM
I'd have to agree, though I don't even think the players played that poorly. Nothing to write home about, but not bad. We dominated that game, very unlucky.
Posted by: servbot Mar 9 2011, 10:38 PM
He didn't put the ball in the back of the net.
Posted by: Warchant Mar 9 2011, 10:39 PM
well that blew
Posted by: Ry4n Mar 9 2011, 10:39 PM
Man of the match? Sandro. That guy killed our play every time it seemed.
Abate has developed into a class right back.
Ibra is really starting to piss me off play or dont complain *****
Posted by: Zed.D Mar 9 2011, 10:39 PM
Haters shouldn't blame fanboys
Posted by: Jack Bauer Mar 9 2011, 10:39 PM
Can't believe that we couldn't score even once in 180 minutes against Spurs.
At least we won't be distracted in Serie A, if you want to take something positive.
Posted by: Fillipo Simone Mar 9 2011, 10:40 PM
Abate, Seedorf, Thiago, Boateng were excellent. Janku and Antonini did also well.
Sorry, but Seedorf showed off with intelligence and experience, just what we needed.
Milan lack's a additional CF, that should be clear now. And sorry han, but Flamini isn't Milan class.
Posted by: Dracoris Mar 9 2011, 10:40 PM
Blah, you're just angry we lost. Ibra wasn't bad.
Posted by: Suhail 3 Mar 9 2011, 10:41 PM
Seedorf was top notch tonight
Ibra let us down
Posted by: KillerMax Mar 9 2011, 10:41 PM
At least we won't be distracted in Serie A, if you want to take something positive.
That's not something positive to take away from this game. It's a side effect.
Posted by: han2503 Mar 9 2011, 10:41 PM
Tottenham will be out next round horrible stuff and we let them get away with it thanks to our non existant finishing.
What really p!ssed me off is that fact that we entered the 80th minutes and our players were still taking it easy, passing around the defence!!!!!Hurry it up FFS!!!
We were the better team overall, and Tottenham will be out so fast in the next round their heads will spin! Hoping they get Barca to show them up for what they really are, terrible stuff from them, their only weapong was to launch it at Crouch and I still cannot believe he didn't get a yellow!!! He literally pummelled into Nesta and Thiago elbow first everytime, ridiculous!!! That idiot is not a football player and the ref should have at least told him off for it.
Robinho really just frustrated the sh!t out of me, how could he miss when he literally was in the small box??? FFS!
Posted by: Ry4n Mar 9 2011, 10:42 PM
I'm not just talking about now hes been playing like this for a while now , and we did'nt lose we drew.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Mar 9 2011, 10:44 PM
I hate Pato so much I have him on the back of my shirt this season.
Stupid response as expected.Spurs will probably get Schalke now.
Posted by: Ry4n Mar 9 2011, 10:44 PM
Sorry, but Seedorf showed off with intelligence and experience, just what we needed.
Milan lack's a additional CF, that should be clear now. And sorry han, but Flamini isn't Milan class.
+100
Posted by: dst Mar 9 2011, 10:45 PM
I actually thought we'd lose again, I did not expect us to play even that well. None of us expected much from this team in the CL, I expected less. Simply because we have no "CL players", those that can raise their level for these special nights. Only one, Nesta and only a former one, Seedorf who was really helping Spurs out there, cooling the tempo every time he touched the ball. What else to say?
The ref has his own football rules, apparently it's an automatic violation whenever the ball is in the air!
Robinho was disgusting... always protecting his legs and shying away from contact. **** you!! you're not paid millions to do that, you idiot!
Why can't Pato pass? Please somebody teach him to be cool in tight situations!
Arsenal out, Tottenham through... thanks to Gallas!
Bale was phenomenal!! 
Posted by: pacang Mar 9 2011, 10:46 PM
Abate. wow! can he pull this off every week?
and can Ibra NOT pull this off every week?
Posted by: Zed.D Mar 9 2011, 10:46 PM
There was a huge hole between our strikers and our midfielders. we just couldn't get the ball to them from the middle. and our fullbacks are not that good so we couldn't for the most part get to ball to our strikers period. what we lacked tonight was 1 world class AM. end of story.
You're such a fanboy.
Posted by: han2503 Mar 9 2011, 10:47 PM
Sorry, but Seedorf showed off with intelligence and experience, just what we needed.
Milan lack's a additional CF, that should be clear now. And sorry han, but Flamini isn't Milan class.
Flamini played a great game. He got the ball when he was carded, 100%. And it wasn;t 2 footed so...
He made one challenge that should have gotten him a yellow, but it was not the one he was carded for. Other then that he ran the midfield, especially in the first half. He made 3 so so tackles in the second half, so what? Sandro and Crouch kept man handling our players. Other then that Flamini put in a flawless performance and I only see you trying to make something out of nothing, because you can't complain about his performance so you complain about an incedent that was called harshly.
Anywhoos, had we had Pirlo and the cup-tied players in, we would have ran with it. Sadly our management didn't take the CL as seriously and only brought in players who couldn't help us out in the CL. Next year we'll do better I'm sure of it, we played the perfect away match today, Allegri stepped up. The only thing that p!ssed me off was the lazy manner in which the players continued to play in even when the cloack started ticking against us, that was totally frustrating.
Kurt, Pato did nothing wrong today aside from missing that shot, he was better then Zlatan and certainly better then Robinho who should not show his face after his misses
Posted by: dst Mar 9 2011, 10:50 PM
That was a certain yellow for me personally, so certain I'm amazed you think otherwise actually but well...
really?
Posted by: Zed.D Mar 9 2011, 10:50 PM
Stupid response as expected.Stupid talk provokes stupid response.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Mar 9 2011, 10:50 PM
Hater.
Posted by: KillerMax Mar 9 2011, 10:52 PM
Sorry, but Seedorf showed off with intelligence and experience, just what we needed.
Milan lack's a additional CF, that should be clear now. And sorry han, but Flamini isn't Milan class.
Don't agree with Seedorf. He is only here because we lack a better option. If we had money, he wouldn't be playing for us right now. He has certainly lost his strength and stamina. Could play for Lazio. Not here.
Abate will be one right back to look out for. You can see that he has developed over time and this is not a one off. I actually am in a bit of disbelief regarding his tactical growth. He was almost perfect in that aspect of his game.
Flamini... where to start with this guy? Did you guys see how he completely f@cked up our offside attempt in that one occasion where Crouch could have scored with his head but mismanaged the ball? Our back four in a perfect straight line in front of Crouch and Flamini is roaming around behind him with some distance like a retarded electron circling its nucleolus... And how many times did he ruin technical movements of Robinho and others with his flimsy and sometimes downright amateurish presence in wrong places? Add to this his horrendous tackles and lack of any useful offensive attribute and you have a player that needs to get as far away from Milan. He can play for Nannes or something... I don't know.
Posted by: pacang Mar 9 2011, 10:53 PM
can't agree more.. both feet off ground AGAIN.. but the suspension won't really matter anyway..
Posted by: William405 Mar 9 2011, 10:53 PM
It was like dying slowly...for me at least.I knew we wouldn't get a goal,but their always remained hope as we kept them at bay.We play better in the 1st half really.
Seedorf was great,this is why he should be played in games like this.
Pato was too selfish,but had a few shots on goal that troubled Gomez,and could have helped us score.
Ibra I thought he would be our power in this game,but he just wasn't up to it physically,I can count the times he lost the ball purely because he didn't enforce his physicality,a thing he was really good at.Perhaps he's too tired,surely he should rest against Bari.We need him back for other games.
Robinho,eh,I won't even bother.
Boateng seemed to be playing with his injury,it seemed to be affecting his play a bit,but he was decent.He'll be much more useful to us playing behind the strikers in the Serie A.
Flamini,still performed his bad tackles,didn't perform really well.
Thiago was flawless as usual,but Nesta didn't play well at all,don't know why...
Abate is class,he's turning into a great fullback,cheers to him!
We'll start hearing now a lot of stuff about how Italian/Serie A Football has degraded and ****,pfft.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Mar 9 2011, 10:53 PM
Clearly you're a hater now, that's twice you've questioned Pato.
Clearly those shots would have gone in with a better linesman.
Posted by: Rossoneri7 Mar 9 2011, 10:56 PM
And this is just the start ... Bye bye magical Champions League nights
Posted by: Dracoris Mar 9 2011, 10:56 PM
If Abate keeps improving, we have the RB we always wanted. Just need that LB. Of course I said the same thing about Antonini last year, but look where he is now.
Seedorf rolled it back today, wouldn't expect to see another performance like this from him ever again. This was his last hurrah.
Merkel is our future, but to think he is only 18 and still probably has 3 years before reaching anything close to his potential is astonishing.
Perhaps Strasser should've started and Boateng could've been pushed to CAM infront of Pato and Ibra.
Posted by: Fillipo Simone Mar 9 2011, 10:57 PM
Stop it!!!!!!!!!!! This zed-kurt debate will stop this instant!!!
@han - Flamini played good, but he has a big hole in his head. Today he made a few dirty attempts and he's just proving that he should be on the same level as Van Bommel, while Marc will always be and remain a better overall player.
Robinho? What have I told you much earlier? He's expensive but his chance wasting is just unacceptable. I'd wish we somehow could trade him for a proper AM. Kaka in his best days would have run over this Tottenham with 50% of his strenght.
And once more, a big applause to Seedorf. This may have been the final appearance of Clarence in the Champions League - his homeland. We lost, but he made a great overall performance and ended as Milan's captain
Posted by: han2503 Mar 9 2011, 10:59 PM
really?
He got the ball, didn't touch the opposing players leg, went in one footed, no yellow...
Sure he was selfish at time, but please name one of our strikers who wasn't? At that point all of them were trying to pull off something individually because they couldn't link up at all. Aside from that, he got involved, got into good positions, and aimed his shot on goal most of the time...
Your assesment of Flamini is unfair. His job was to win the ball in the midfield, his offside incident I don't recall because I didn't notice it was him, as for him getting into attacking areas, well no one was making anything happen so he was pushing up to at least try to run into the box like it's been working so well in the Serie A, the time he got in Robinho's way wasn't really as bad as you're making it out to be, because we saw Robinho and Pato doing the same thing to eachother, as well as Ibra and Robinho doing just that against Juve. We seem to be lacking coherence in attack and we're suffering because of it
Posted by: Fillipo Simone Mar 9 2011, 10:59 PM
This.
Posted by: Dracoris Mar 9 2011, 10:59 PM
Robinho is a high quality substitute.
Posted by: Zed.D Mar 9 2011, 10:59 PM
Well, that's true. whether we like it or not. I know Inter are the reigning champions, but if you look at the whole picture, the performance of Italian clubs in CL and especially UEFA/Europa has been horrendous. what puzzles me is that it's not even about the lack of quality players...
Posted by: Zed.D Mar 9 2011, 11:02 PM
Eighteen?!
didn't know that.
Posted by: KillerMax Mar 9 2011, 11:03 PM
didn't know that.Yeah, the kid plays for Germany Under 19. He is someone to look out for. Looks like a player who will develop over time as opposed to someone like Pato.
Posted by: KillerMax Mar 9 2011, 11:06 PM
han... Please... Van Bommel's job is the same thing and he actually DOES DO THAT! He gets in, makes a challenge and more often than not come away with the ball and starts an attacking movement or just any movement depending on the situation. I watched this WHOLE game and didn't notice Flamini do that even ONCE. Please dude... Spare me the headache..
Posted by: Dracoris Mar 9 2011, 11:08 PM
This summer it might be time to say goodbye to Flamini. I always stood by him because his biggest flaw, dumb, harsh tackling, is coachable and should've been corrected by now. So either Allegri, Leo, and Carlo fail, or Flamini fails. I'm betting on the latter.
Posted by: han2503 Mar 9 2011, 11:14 PM
Why do you think we dominated the midfield, especially the first half? Flamini was doing a lot of work, whether you like it or not, is he dirty at times they way he goes into tackles? Sure. But he does his job, he's not the same type of DM as Van Bommel is so you can't compare how they play.
Anyways I'm not going to bother say he's cr@p all you want, that was my last reply on the subject, fact here is had we had a decent AM we would have won this easily. Robinho is not good enough simple as. As for your comment on Pato it really doesn't make any sense, he had no service from midfield, at least not the type of service he thrives on, again he was playing out of position most of the night yet it's all his fault! Merkel had one decent pass, let's not make a meal out of it like we usually do when that kid's involved, if he's still here in 3 years time then we can start talking, but I'm pretty sure that he'll get lost in the sea of almosts we had over the years that got loaned out and never returned as expected.
Posted by: KillerMax Mar 9 2011, 11:19 PM
Anyways I'm not going to bother say he's cr@p all you want, that was my last reply on the subject, fact here is had we had a decent AM we would have won this easily. Robinho is not good enough simple as. As for your comment on Pato it really doesn't make any sense, he had no service from midfield, at least not the type of service he thrives on, again he was playing out of position most of the night yet it's all his fault! Merkel had one decent pass, let's not make a meal out of it like we usually do when that kid's involved, if he's still here in 3 years time then we can start talking, but I'm pretty sure that he'll get lost in the sea of almosts we had over the years that got loaned out and never returned as expected.
I didn't say anything about Pato...
And We are going to disagree about Flamini.
And I can make the same argument you made about Flamini, about Merkel. Do you think it was a coincidence that all of a sudden we looked more dangerous when he came on? Certainly made some good passes that were missing in the area. Was I expecting him to dribble everyone and score? No, but this 18 year old kid who gets "killed" or whatever under pressure came in and certainly got involved in the game in a positive way which definitely says a lot about the kind of player he is and his potential for growth.
Posted by: Bluesummers Mar 9 2011, 11:21 PM
well it was a good attempt. At least we weren't humiliated. With all the injuries we have; its not surprising to lose.
Time to move on; we still have serie A to win
This summer will be instrumental and I hope galliani pulls a masterclass again. Good mercato and maybe we can start looking at the CL as something realistic again.
Posted by: dst Mar 9 2011, 11:22 PM
Sure he was selfish at time, but please name one of our strikers who wasn't? At that point all of them were trying to pull off something individually because they couldn't link up at all. Aside from that, he got involved, got into good positions, and aimed his shot on goal most of the time...
I saw it mate, no reason to try to convince me, I still think it was a certain yellow.
Pato did some things very well. But you said he did nothing wrong and I just can't agree with that. He did many things wrong and I expect much more from him.
Why can't Pato improve?
Posted by: han2503 Mar 9 2011, 11:26 PM
And We are going to disagree about Flamini.
And I can make the same argument you made about Flamini, about Merkel. Do you think it was a coincidence that all of a sudden we looked more dangerous when he came on? Certainly made some good passes that were missing in the area. Was I expecting him to dribble everyone and score? No, but this 18 year old kid who gets "killed" or whatever under pressure came in and certainly got involved in the game in a positive way which definitely says a lot about the kind of player he is and his potential for growth.
In the post above
What pressure was on Merkel at that point? Tottenham were barely evn playing, we've seen Merkel crumble in Serie A, when real pressure is put on him, yes we improved slightly, but before thatwe had a limping Boateng on, anything is an improvement on that, and considering the easy going pace we were playing at anyone who would have bothered to pass forward would have looked good, and that is what Merkel did.
Posted by: KillerMax Mar 9 2011, 11:30 PM
... Not what I meant... Meant to say that he is not starting off as a superstar like Pato... He need time to develop. Kind of like Abate. I am curious what you think of him now.. I saw a post someone compared him to Antonini... In Antonini I saw a player who over-compensated for his lack of tactical and defending skills with a lot of running and chaotic energy. But Abate looks composed and he definitely looks like he has learned a lot about defending and tactical presence.
Posted by: han2503 Mar 9 2011, 11:30 PM
Pato did some things very well. But you said he did nothing wrong and I just can't agree with that. He did many things wrong and I expect much more from him.
Why can't Pato improve?
When I say nothing wrong, it means that he didn't make mistakes like Robinho did, for example. In terms of overall performance, he made wrong decisions, either the final pass or shot, something that all the players did tonight I feel. We were controlling the game, but when it came down to just pulling off that one pass to get the job done every player was lacking. Then they started going the selfish route, all of them not just Pato, at one point, Merkel was wide open at the edge of the box, and Zlatan kept rolling it under his feet instand of just passing it to Merkel who was in a great position at the time
Posted by: KillerMax Mar 9 2011, 11:32 PM
What pressure was on Merkel at that point? Tottenham were barely evn playing, we've seen Merkel crumble in Serie A, when real pressure is put on him, yes we improved slightly, but before thatwe had a limping Boateng on, anything is an improvement on that, and considering the easy going pace we were playing at anyone who would have bothered to pass forward would have looked good, and that is what Merkel did.
Oh yeah.. such an easy walk in the park game... come on.... that is not an argument.
And I explained that Pato thing above. I am certainly not bashing him. He did all he could. And he will develop. That's not what I meant. I'm a fan.
Posted by: han2503 Mar 9 2011, 11:39 PM
And I explained that Pato thing above. I am certainly not bashing him. He did all he could. And he will develop. That's not what I meant. I'm a fan.
It is in fact, we've seen him in Serie A, when midfielders target him and put him under pressure, he loses his cool and starts making mistakes, like he expected to, he's a kid FFS!! Today what pressure was he under any time he was on the ball? You tell me. Tottenham were camped out trying to hit us on the counter, anywhere near halfway was free for our players to do as they pleased, and that is where Merkel stayed and fead his balls from, his passing is great as well as his movement, I'm not taking anything away from him, but come on!!!
Posted by: dst Mar 9 2011, 11:39 PM
... Not what I meant... Meant to say that he is not starting off as a superstar like Pato... He need time to develop. Kind of like Abate. I am curious what you think of him now.. I saw a post someone compared him to Antonini... In Antonini I saw a player who over-compensated for his lack of tactical and defending skills with a lot of running and chaotic energy. But Abate looks composed and he definitely looks like he has learned a lot about defending and tactical presence.Oh OK!
Abate has been a much better player the second half of this season... I did not expect anything from him really, he was just a guy that could run fast and only in a straight line but he has improved a lot, credit where it's due.I did not say Pato was the only one making mistakes. But I expect more from him... I certainly don't expect anything from Ibra or Roninho in the CL... they have proved they are useless in this competition... Pato has not proved he can make it but he has not been proven worthless either.
Posted by: KillerMax Mar 9 2011, 11:43 PM
That is all I am saying. Looks like someone who can develop over time to become a great player. The fact that he is 18 should say it all. I see the glass half full and there is no coincidence he has made it to the squad. Even if he doesn't end up playing for Milan, all I have to say that I like his playing style. There some players that just appeal to you and some that don't. Abate and Merkel certainly appeal to me as young players.
Posted by: han2503 Mar 9 2011, 11:44 PM
Ibra is just sucking everywhere at this point, next Sunday against Bari he should be rested, he's just not physically able to continue at this rate, we saw it against Napoli, Juve and again today. Robinho is a dud. While sure I expect a lot from Pato, but under the circumstances I think he did well aside from that miss from Merkel's pass. Again, he's not playing in his position, we don't have a good midfield, like zeddie said, we have a hole between midfield and attack our strikers or not supplied well due to this, so they suffer during the game, where they either have to drop deep or go out wide.
Had we had someone like Cassano playing who can work in tighter areas or a real true AM things could have been different, but again, what's done is done. Next year we'll do better I'm sure of this
Posted by: THFC6061 Mar 9 2011, 11:45 PM
Fantastic result for Spurs and a personal triumph for Harry Redknapp, who has just become the first English manager to lead his team into the UEFA Champions League Quarter Finals.
Special mention for Gallas and Sandro, who were outstanding for us today.
Posted by: KillerMax Mar 9 2011, 11:47 PM
Special mention for Gallas and Sandro, who were outstanding for us today.
Ajab giri dade in khar kosde... Boro gomsho martike...
Posted by: dst Mar 9 2011, 11:49 PM
Had we had someone like Cassano playing who can work in tighter areas or a real true AM things could have been different, but again, what's done is done. Next year we'll do better I'm sure of this
I'm not judging him on what he could not do and I'm not blaming this result on him. I simply think he could have done more when he had the ball and he made many mistakes.
Posted by: X-Offender Mar 9 2011, 11:50 PM
You expect more from Pato? Sorry, but he was the only one in our attack who was really trying tonight. He wanted to win this game. Ibrahimovic was absolutely null. I presume fatigue must have played its part, but he was as immobile as a rock. Really, really awful performance. Robinho... Well, what to say about this guy. He runs and works his @ss off, but his finishing is catastrophic. I still can't believe he didn't score that empty goal opportunity in the first half.
I really have nothing bad to say about the other players. We controlled the game, especially in the first half. Redknapp himself said it in the post-match interview I saw. What we lacked was the finishing touch. But hey, at least we leave the competition with our heads up!
Posted by: dst Mar 9 2011, 11:50 PM
Special mention for Gallas and Sandro, who were outstanding for us today.
Well done!
I don't know what you're saying but leave the guy alone... let him troll, he's not going to see this again in his life.
Posted by: Zed.D Mar 9 2011, 11:51 PM
Now I'm seeing why everyone wants to play Merkel... hm.
My ratings:
Abbiati: 1.5 OK, didn't have to do much.
Nesta: 2.5 apart from some clumsy passes, good.
Silva: 3 great.
Abate: 2 he's improved a lot recently. he was average, now he's good. we need world class.
Janku: 1.5 what can I say, he's old and finished.
Seedorf: 2 I can't see how he deserves all this praise. he played as a deep lying midfielder and made simple passes around (mostly backwards!) and beside that, won most of his challenges. if that's all we expect from Seedorf then he was amazing!
Flamini: 1.5 umm... not very good! I know they're supposed to act professionally, but he was booed every time he touched the ball. it's not easy to perform well under such circumstances especially when your team is going out.
KPB: 2 I felt he was still carrying that knock. I'm satisfied with him. only.. sometimes he can be a showoff and that's not really cool
Robinho: 1.5 we could still be in the competition if he'd not made a mess out of a single finish. can't forgive him for that.
Pato: 1.5 I thought he was decent in the 1st half but lost his concentration in the 2nd half and made the same old mistakes.
Ibra: 1 totally unwatchable, piss poor performance.
Antonini: 2
Merkel: 2
Strasser: NA
I'd like to mention once more that I'm totally disgusted by Crouch and his way of playing. and I'm amazed he didn't get booked for constantly falling over Nesta and Silva all game long.
And LOL @ everyone who made a monster out of Bale.
@ Kurt
You can be such a child but I'd like to offer truce! sorry for calling you blind, stupid and hater, among other things!
Posted by: KillerMax Mar 9 2011, 11:54 PM
Agreed. But Ibrahimovic has not exactly been the best role model for him. We also have to acknowledge that he and Ibra are not the best match either. I think Pato would enjoy playing with someone like Inzaghi or Sheva much more due to their characteristics to play off each others game. Ibra look like he wants to be alone up there or something...
Posted by: dst Mar 9 2011, 11:56 PM
Ahh! I'm certainly not getting across here...
Pato was trying I agree, it's not what I said. He just did not do the right things. It's not the same thing.Robinho is the best representative of the breed of players (of any sport) I can't stand, those that don't hustle at all. He's weak, I dislike him!
at least! it makes the first leg's display somewhat feel less awful.
Posted by: KillerMax Mar 9 2011, 11:56 PM
Are you being sarcastic? Read a couple posts before... I explained that whole quote better.
Posted by: Zed.D Mar 10 2011, 12:07 AM
Na valla! I was being serious!
Posted by: X-Offender Mar 10 2011, 12:12 AM
It looks like Seedorf cried at the end of the game.
Posted by: m1ke Mar 10 2011, 12:24 AM
I actually thought Milan played very well. I think if we'd found the first, it could have been a massacre. But, it wasn't to be.
Congratulations to Spurs. Time to focus on the league...
Posted by: Milan Are Brilliant Mar 10 2011, 12:55 AM
Played really well in the 1st half. Simply played them off the pitch, no doubt. Though at the time I was thinking we have to score, we have to score this is going to fizzle out. Then when Pato easily beat Gomes for pace and slotted it to Robinho I was thinking this is it, that miss was big though. It practically came off his heel then onto his other leg, that was the real turning point in my eyes.
Zlatan just can't do it against English sides, bar those 2 goals against Arsenal last year he's just terrible. Robinho seemed to give the ball away so many times though was pretty creative in spells. Pato wasn't terrible, there was just no clear chances or efforts. It didn't help Spurs had 11 men back for the whole of the 2nd half. Fair play to Clarence I thought he was brilliant tonight and Silva impressed me (again). Flamini did well for about 60 minutes then seemed like it was a matter of time before the sending off. Merkel did ok for the time he was on, I don't think I saw Strasser touch the ball. Antonini was a strange sub to me, unless Jankulovski was really struggling with his fitness late on. KPB was excellent, again proving his worth. Abate actually didn't do much wrong though was never tested defensively.
I was worried before the game that this could turn into embarrassment by that, I mean comfortably losing 2-0, 3-0 or something at WHL. That didn't happen though. Oh, and how bad was Bale when he came on?! That gave me a bit of comfort.
Fair play to Spurs, in my eyes we were the better side out of the 2 legs, but you don't get anywhere without scoring goals.
We can now focus on the league and hopefully that will turn out good.
Posted by: CHU-LIP Mar 10 2011, 01:00 AM
I hated to see how often we lost possession so unnecessary.
Posted by: drucurl Mar 10 2011, 02:48 AM
My goodness Allegri is SUCH A RUBBISH COACH Yes people will say we were unlucky and the strikers lacked the finishing touch etc etc.....but the truth is we had no attacking strategy whatsoever.....what was it anyway for the e-tactical pundits of the forum? because I saw none
Seedorf was stuck deep in CM where I admit he did admirably but also he had no time or space to provide the killer passes that we've all seen him dish time after time. He played his heart out today in both directions and it's REALLY sad to see us go out without much much of a struggle imho.
Once again iBra has shown himself to be a Swedish Rooney. MASSIVE vs the small league teams and totally invisible when we really need a CF.....AGAIN his and Pato's "partnership" sucked utter and complete monkey balls because I was yelling at my tv the times he could have made a simple lay-off to Alexandre and REFUSED to do it. Yes Pato is brilliant but he's only 21 and when crowded with a fucking catenaccio playing chicken **** team with an alleged world class strike partner who's about as visible as purified air- he's prone to make a couple silly decisions. All credit to him for trying though....except for the silly 40 yard shot....but AGAIN it's those unthinkable attempts that separate the true genius from the ordinary "good" players. Pato got praise for his solo goals vs Napoli and Chievo when in reality the "proper" decision was to pass. You can't have your cake and eat it.
Now back to $h!tlegri.....yeah we lacked a bit of creativity in the midfield but this is ABSOLTUELY no reason not to score a single goal vs Tottenham. Look at the quality of teams tottenham has conceeded goals to recently and tell me with a serious face that we needed Pirlo/Ganso/Lamela/Kaka/Zidane/Riquelme/Ibrahim Ba in midfield dishing killer ball after killer ball for the strikers 
Seriously if this guy needs the above to beat Tottenham when HE HIMSELF can say that they're not one of the powerhouses of the CL then he needs to GTFO. Other than the Robinho miss didn't have ONE proper chance for the entire match. That is simply unacceptable. The casual observer will say that we attacked all game but looking at it closely it's ALWAYS the same press press press nonsense that leads to NOTHING. The individual brilliance of Pato and iBra has been saving us ALL season long in Italy. But against any semi decent side (sorry a juve and inter in tatters doesn't count) with a semi organized team and we struggle...and if our strikers can't conjure up the magic it gets ugly.
Enough with the whining about the ref. That's for small teams and loser teams. We got away with quite a few hand balls in the box that a stricter ref would have called and then this "leaving with pride" result would have been exposed for the farce it was. Damn I wish we had Leonard or Ancelotti with this team. Yeah people go on and on about how Leo was tactically inept (incredibly despite it being his first season coaching ANY team)....but routinely excuse each and every of Allegri's fuckups. I'd rather see my team go out with a heavy defeat but showing we could do SOMETHING like we did vs Manchester United than leaving an English team with a clean sheet...but surely I stand alone in my opinion
Posted by: X-Offender Mar 10 2011, 04:01 AM
LOL, there's not much Allegri could have done. He played the best possible formation. You should consider the fact that 70% of how a team performs is due to the players and not the coach. Tonight, we rarely played long balls, which is a novelty. We dominated Tottenham for 90 minutes, and we had about 4-5 real goal opportunities. We didn't win because 1) our most important player was asleep the entire match, and 2) we didn't capitalize our chances to score. Could have we played better? Of course. But given the circumstances, I think we're leaving the competition with dignity.
Posted by: pacang Mar 10 2011, 04:11 AM
I still remember we were beaten 4-0 by manchester united at old trafford last season. what do you mean when you say we could do something like we did against them?
Posted by: X-Offender Mar 10 2011, 04:32 AM
Exactly. We did nothing against them.
Posted by: drucurl Mar 10 2011, 04:58 AM
Posted by: shevchenko_007 Mar 10 2011, 05:51 AM
I am so cut as I always am when we get knocked out of the tournament. 3 times by english opposition really hurts, and to be knocked out by this team of plebs is like a dagger in the heart.
When I saw the line-up I immediately had these comments:
Ibra should have been rested at the weekend, we could have won without him.
Robinho should have started on the bench so we could have had a good attacking option to come off the bench.
Boateng behind the forwards because he really gets into the box when we have the ball in wide areas and that what was lacking in this game... Bottom line, we needed PIPPO!!
Anyway, as someone mentioned earlier, the Champions League clearer wasn't part of the season objectives by the higher-ups otherwise we would have signed some good CL replacements considering how many injuries we had at the start of the season.
Some positives for next season include:
Cassano will be available in all competitions
Didac Vila will hopefully be played in some fixtures this season and be our new star left back
We will find a position for Emanuelson and he will be available in all competitions
We will not take up the option to buy Ibra and replace him with a quality striker that we don't need to rely on.
Posted by: drucurl Mar 10 2011, 05:53 AM
four words:
Play Merkel. Sack Allegri
Posted by: Dracoris Mar 10 2011, 06:25 AM
Yes people will say we were unlucky and the strikers lacked the finishing touch etc etc.....but the truth is we had no attacking strategy whatsoever.....what was it anyway for the e-tactical pundits of the forum? because I saw none Seedorf was stuck deep in CM where I admit he did admirably but also he had no time or space to provide the killer passes that we've all seen him dish time after time. He played his heart out today in both directions and it's REALLY sad to see us go out without much much of a struggle imho.
Once again iBra has shown himself to be a Swedish Rooney. MASSIVE vs the small league teams and totally invisible when we really need a CF.....AGAIN his and Pato's "partnership" sucked utter and complete monkey balls because I was yelling at my tv the times he could have made a simple lay-off to Alexandre and REFUSED to do it. Yes Pato is brilliant but he's only 21 and when crowded with a fucking catenaccio playing chicken **** team with an alleged world class strike partner who's about as visible as purified air- he's prone to make a couple silly decisions. All credit to him for trying though....except for the silly 40 yard shot....but AGAIN it's those unthinkable attempts that separate the true genius from the ordinary "good" players. Pato got praise for his solo goals vs Napoli and Chievo when in reality the "proper" decision was to pass. You can't have your cake and eat it.
Now back to $h!tlegri.....yeah we lacked a bit of creativity in the midfield but this is ABSOLTUELY no reason not to score a single goal vs Tottenham. Look at the quality of teams tottenham has conceeded goals to recently and tell me with a serious face that we needed Pirlo/Ganso/Lamela/Kaka/Zidane/Riquelme/Ibrahim Ba in midfield dishing killer ball after killer ball for the strikers
Seriously if this guy needs the above to beat Tottenham when HE HIMSELF can say that they're not one of the powerhouses of the CL then he needs to GTFO. Other than the Robinho miss didn't have ONE proper chance for the entire match. That is simply unacceptable. The casual observer will say that we attacked all game but looking at it closely it's ALWAYS the same press press press nonsense that leads to NOTHING. The individual brilliance of Pato and iBra has been saving us ALL season long in Italy. But against any semi decent side (sorry a juve and inter in tatters doesn't count) with a semi organized team and we struggle...and if our strikers can't conjure up the magic it gets ugly.
Enough with the whining about the ref. That's for small teams and loser teams. We got away with quite a few hand balls in the box that a stricter ref would have called and then this "leaving with pride" result would have been exposed for the farce it was. Damn I wish we had Leonard or Ancelotti with this team. Yeah people go on and on about how Leo was tactically inept (incredibly despite it being his first season coaching ANY team)....but routinely excuse each and every of Allegri's fuckups. I'd rather see my team go out with a heavy defeat but showing we could do SOMETHING like we did vs Manchester United than leaving an English team with a clean sheet...but surely I stand alone in my opinion
I think you should sit back and wonder why you are the only one blaming Allegri.
Posted by: KillerMax Mar 10 2011, 06:31 AM
Haha.. yep.
Posted by: rip Mar 10 2011, 06:45 AM
Some positives for next season include:
Cassano will be available in all competitions
Didac Vila will hopefully be played in some fixtures this season and be our new star left back
We will find a position for Emanuelson and he will be available in all competitions
We will not take up the option to buy Ibra and replace him with a quality striker that we don't need to rely on.
we REALLY did need pippo. we made some nice crosses into the box but no one was there to finish it. we might as well had played without Ibra. Pato wasnt bad. In fact he did well. If only casssano was able to play instead of robinho, he would have created very nice scoring chances.
IMO our mid field played well. Seedorf was excellent. too bad he cant play consistently like that anymore.
I would include extending the contract of Van Bommel and buying Prince Boateng to that list
.
Posted by: drucurl Mar 10 2011, 08:01 AM
Posted by: kurtsimonw Mar 10 2011, 08:07 AM
Special mention for Gallas and Sandro, who were outstanding for us today.
Congratulations. Though it's a shame you spoiled a great night by immediately singing about Arsenal. Inferiority complex much?
You can be such a child but I'd like to offer truce! sorry for calling you blind, stupid and hater, among other things!
I fail to see how I was being childish but fine.
I think we're leaving the competition with dignity.
Agreed on both counts. Bashing Allegri for this is just bashing him for the sake of it.
There's a few positives to take. A very good performance considering the injuries and we can now 100% focus on the Scudetto (though I would like to win the Coppa even though nobody else likes it!
).Hopefully this creates a distraction for Spurs and they go out in humiliating fashion in the next round and don't get 4th place so they won't be in it again next season either.
Posted by: drucurl Mar 10 2011, 08:28 AM
Last bit of Allegri hate for the night...some simple questions will help us put things into perspective?
- Have we beaten any quality opposition?
- Do we REALLY need a squad of superstars to beat Tottenham?
- If we do....do we need a squad full of super stars to score a single goal? Can you name the goalscorers from Wolves?
- Has our squad and depth improved dramatically improved this year?
- Is it conceivable that Ronaldinho might have been of assistance vs such a tight defensive team?
- What exactly is our attacking strategy other than mindlessly pressing?
- Pato doesn't play well he rides the bench...what about iBra?
- Have we ever come back to win ANYTHING from a goal down?
Posted by: kurtsimonw Mar 10 2011, 08:36 AM
Inter? Napoli?
How many quality teams have we played exactly?
They finished 4th in the EPL and are in the last 8 of the CL. Does this not suggest they're a pretty good team? They play long ball all game long which can be quite difficult to cope with since Crouch fouls all game.
Wolves didn't beat Spurs. One goal was a penalty, 2 were Gomes making a mistake. I fail to see how which players we have makes a difference on their defenders giving away a penalty/keeper making a mistake.
Yes. But then most of that depth and quality was injured/unable to play last night.
You can never know,, but he'd have been more of a negative slowing the game down in attacking positions.
I don't even get this question.
[/list]
We have players who can replace Pato. Who's replacing Ibra?
Posted by: drucurl Mar 10 2011, 08:59 AM
Well Allegri seems to think so anyway....so we'll keep using him till he can't walk....no matter he'll still be screaming at everyone who doesn't play the way he wants
Posted by: Jack Sparrow Mar 10 2011, 09:03 AM
What kurt said.
While Ibra provides a tactical outlet that Pato or Cassano or Robinho doesn't. He's the ONLY forward we've got who doesn't require the ball to be played to his feet to do something with it.
We had lots of attacking strategy. The fullbacks putting in crosses..Boateng's power. Midfield making runs etc. But tell me what exactly you define by attacking strategy.
We needed to play a perfect game, but we didn't. We failed to take our chances. If Robinho had played instead of his lousy twin Canfinishinho( thanks Z.. ) we wouldn't be complaining.
Will Ronaldinho have been of assistance, was the only non-Allegri/Ibra-hate based question you've truly asked and the answer is BOTH.
He'd have made passes and runs that Boateng can only jerk off to in his dreams. Seedorf would have had an amazing outlet for creativity.
But we would have gotten prison-F@cked down the left flank with Lennon running wild...coz the Boa and Janku really pulled a number on that side. Something R80 wouldn't have done.
It's fast becoming my belief that modern football cannot have more than 2 players who do absolutely no tracking back.
As for depth, if we had Pirlo back....we'd be in the QFs. Enough said. Did you see that bench?? What depth were you talking about?
Posted by: Fillipo Simone Mar 10 2011, 09:10 AM
As for the comebacks, Udinese crosses my mind first.
Can't belive we're making now Leonardo better then Allegri. Gee, the man lead us to two of the most humiliating moments of our entire modern history!
No...it simply cannot fall on the sholders of Allegri.
Posted by: Jack Sparrow Mar 10 2011, 09:25 AM
Oh puhleeze. Last night was not on Allegri. It was just not having the players ready.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Mar 10 2011, 09:27 AM
So are Spurs quality or not, make your mind up.
Though I'm beginning to see why you've been banned on another forum lately.
Posted by: Jack Sparrow Mar 10 2011, 09:31 AM
Though I'm beginning to see why you've been banned on another forum lately.
Nah! R&B is a weird place.
He has very strong unpopular opinions, but in general dru doesn't flout too many guidelines.
I know worse. Myself included. However I believe in R&B having strong unpopular opinion warrants you get banned. At least from Miz's and dru's experience.
Posted by: drucurl Mar 10 2011, 09:38 AM
Oh and whoever mentioned Udinese as one of the teams we came from behind to defeat....that game ended 4-4 so to date we still haven't come from behind to beat ANYONE. I'm really surprised at how strongly this guy is being defended. Clearly I'm missing something. And I'm not being sarcastic in any way about it it's just from my standpoint I think he's massively overrated and under performing.....just like iBra.
Posted by: drucurl Mar 10 2011, 09:48 AM
Though I'm beginning to see why you've been banned on another forum lately.
1)prestige
2)overall caliber of players ("the team on paper")
3)team ranking in the league
However to us they stood in the way of qualifying for progression in the CL so they are an important (hence my wrongly chosen choice of the word "quality") opponent.
Yeah I know you have your friends on R&B....really I think you guys should get your own forum instead of flooding yet another Milan forum with your EPL propaganda. All I can say is that it's truly a sad day when iBra is called "king iBra" in a team with someone like Nesta. Enjoy your protected life on R&B...who knows maybe you can incite the mods here against me too
Posted by: Zed.D Mar 10 2011, 09:48 AM
By blaming Pato for Robinho's big miss!
No one else here seems to agree with you on that since they all mentioned Robinho's poor finishing.
Anyway...
Posted by: kurtsimonw Mar 10 2011, 10:01 AM
None of this makes any sense.
1) I hate Harry Redknapp more than anyone on here.
2) I hate Tottenham more than anyone on here, with the exception of Locke.
3) I've never been on R&B in my life.
You either have me mistaken for someone else or you're being very paranoid.
@Zed. I'm not getting into this again. You think it was a good pass from Pato, I don't. That's it. I don't think having a different opinion than you makes me childish, regardless.
Posted by: drucurl Mar 10 2011, 10:08 AM
1) I hate Harry Redknapp more than anyone on here.
2) I hate Tottenham more than anyone on here, with the exception of Locke.
3) I've never been on R&B in my life.
You either have me mistaken for someone else or you're being very paranoid.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Mar 10 2011, 10:09 AM
Fair enough, no worries.
Posted by: Zed.D Mar 10 2011, 10:13 AM
I think it was a big miss from Robinho. that's it.
Posted by: acid911 Mar 10 2011, 10:25 AM
dru has a point, one that I agree with mostly. The biggest blame (not all of it, though) must fall on Allegri's shoulders. The guy has overworked Ibra, went in with the wrong players/formation, and generally seems to not have a plan to unlock very tight defenses. In other words he did most of the stuff right, but never once did the guy made a tactical masterstroke to really stamp his authority as a coach. You can call it vanilla-tactics if you want, when we needed strawberry or mango flavored ones.
Playing all three (Ibra, Robinho and Pato) up front, with not a creative soul behind them? Yeah. Who's gonna pass to the guys who are gonna score. Maybe hold Ibra up for the second half with the tired defenses, give Robinho (the forward who doesn't want to score goals) a more laid back role behind the strikers. Try something different for Pete's sake, disrupt the opposition's plans.
And did I mention the absolutely stupid last ten or so minutes in the first leg when he should just have closed shop instead of inviting a lethal counter attack? With the slow CB pairing? Against a fast, fast team? For all it's worth the tie was pretty much 90% over in the first leg. This is not a Milan of 2006-07 or before that, when even giving away two goals at home, one would expect to turn the deficit into something positive away.
It's moments like this when all the chips are down that a coach is require to step up. When everything is going your way, the players take the steering, but in situations like these (with players missing or ineligible, 1 away goal to the worse, and all that) should a coach take the reins, do something out of the ordinary to surprise the other team. And never underestimate the power of fresh legs taking on tiring ones after the 60 minutes. That's a surprising factor right there, one of the oldest tricks in the book.
Allegri tried to play it safe and hoped for the best. It rarely works this way in crucial knockout CL games.
Posted by: I_Rossoneri Mar 10 2011, 10:34 AM
I think you mean 1) Our most important player yet again choked in a big game
Posted by: Zed.D Mar 10 2011, 10:52 AM
I think we (and Italian sides in general) are finding it harder and harder to play EPL and Spanish teams, especially the former. Carlo's team lost to Arsenal. Leo's lost to Man U. Allegri's lost to Spurs. anyone sees the pattern?
Italian teams need to change their playing style and adapt something similar to what all the other leagues (France, Spain, Germany, England) play. less slower/defensive, and more faster/free-floating football. it may sound stupid but I really think that's where the problem lies especially since as I mentioned before, problem with the Italian sides is NOT the lack of quality players.
I can't see how possibly Italian football can change its style, though. future looks dark. we've already lost our 4th CL spot (deservedly so) and are getting worse every season in Europe.
Posted by: I_Rossoneri Mar 10 2011, 11:18 AM
Italian teams need to change their playing style and adapt something similar to what all the other leagues (France, Spain, Germany, England) play. less slower/defensive, and more faster/free-floating football. it may sound stupid but I really think that's where the problem lies especially since as I mentioned before, problem with the Italian sides is NOT the lack of quality players.
I can't see how possibly Italian football can change its style, though. future looks dark.
we've already lost our 4th CL spot (deservedly so) and are getting worse every season in Europe.Fast and free flowing football? Over 180 mins of footbal and hardly a shot on goal by both English teams! It seems they've taken catanaccio to new levels. Ironically had Milan adopted such tactics we'd be labelled as typical Italians with negative, boring tactics. Spurs and Arsenal though, are praised for stout defensive work
And don't forget, it was only a couple of years ago when we humiliated Manu(twice I believe), and it was only under Leo that Manu got their first win in San Siro in over 20 years or something! The problems we have are 1) Allegri is still a rookie coach with a lot to learn and 2) our team needs strengthening. We have some very good players but some of our 'big' name players choke in the big games. We need to get some quality players in the summer if we want to progress next year.
Posted by: dst Mar 10 2011, 01:25 PM
Italian teams need to change their playing style and adapt something similar to what all the other leagues (France, Spain, Germany, England) play. less slower/defensive, and more faster/free-floating football. it may sound stupid but I really think that's where the problem lies especially since as I mentioned before, problem with the Italian sides is NOT the lack of quality players.
I can't see how possibly Italian football can change its style, though. future looks dark.
we've already lost our 4th CL spot (deservedly so) and are getting worse every season in Europe.Though when we lost to Arsenal and even more against United, we were an inferior team... only this time against the Spurs we can say we were the better team but then you have to show it on the field and we did not and I did not see a problem with our style, I think it was lack of effort.
I don't think Italian clubs need to change anything regarding their game. The only thing they need to change is their attitude because for some reason those that qualify for the Europa League (and the UEFA Cup before) think they're too good for it and seem to not care...
It's a problem of snobbish attitude in my view and not one of playing style.First win they ever got and first goals they ever scored in San Siro...
it was going to happen at some point in history and it was bound to happen last season because ours was a bad team and I don't think it was Leo's fault. I do blame him for the way we lost and the score but I believe we were too bad to not lose.
Posted by: Danny Mar 10 2011, 01:35 PM
Played well, dominated the entire game, midfield controlled the middle of the pitch, attack fared decently but it just wasn't our night.
Yeah, Ibra had another of his legendary quiet games in a big match, but does it matter? He never really had a single good chance to bury.
Spurs got lucky, they were poor and we didn't take what chances we got. Scudetto, for me, remains #1 so as disappointed as I am by last night, it's not the end of the world.
Posted by: Milan Are Brilliant Mar 10 2011, 01:48 PM
At the end of the day if we went through, there is about 1 team I'd have fancied us against (if all the big boys go through). As someone said a few days ago we weren't ever going to really win it. Sure, we had to try but I'm not that disappointed that we are out of it, especially in the manner we went out.
It was extremely refreshing to see praise put on Milan from the English media for last night's performance. And I think they were taken a back when we bought a 19 year old on instead of a 39 year old!
We will be back stronger next season, remember we were missing about 5 key players last night from injury and being cup-tied etc that we have available normally in the league. I'll be really surprised if this Ganso plays consistently better than KPB he is top-notch. What a signing.
Posted by: I_Rossoneri Mar 10 2011, 01:55 PM
It was extremely refreshing to see praise put on Milan from the English media for last night's performance. And I think they were taken a back when we bought a 19 year old on instead of a 39 year old!
We will be back stronger next season, remember we were missing about 5 key players last night from injury and being cup-tied etc that we have available normally in the league. I'll be really surprised if this Ganso plays consistently better than KPB he is top-notch. What a signing.
Where did you see this praise? So far all I seem to have read is backhanded compliments saying we were better last night but our absence will hardly be a loss to the tournament!
But a team that plays catenaccio at home will be a gain for the tournament?????? God give me strength!!
Posted by: han2503 Mar 10 2011, 02:00 PM
It was extremely refreshing to see praise put on Milan from the English media for last night's performance. And I think they were taken a back when we bought a 19 year old on instead of a 39 year old!
We will be back stronger next season, remember we were missing about 5 key players last night from injury and being cup-tied etc that we have available normally in the league. I'll be really surprised if this Ganso plays consistently better than KPB he is top-notch. What a signing.
I agree completely. As for Boateng and Ganso, I believe they're totally different players and imo we need both next season.
@ dru, you know I'm a no fan of Allegri, but last night he went into the game with the best possible formation at his disposal, and n general terms without looking at finishing we played a perfect game, we controlled it from start to finish, never let their runners get in behind the defense, won the ball quickly etc, aside from the final pass it reminded me of Barca's performance the other night, obviously we're a lot slower and don't have Xavi or Iniesta, but in terms of how we controlled the game, you really cannot ask for more. Did Allegri ask Robinho to miss 2/3 clear cut chances? NO.
Anyways, had Pirlo, Cassano and VB been available we would have steam rolled Tottenham, I am 100% sure of this, they were just that bad and our finishing/lasck of creativity let them off the hook.
Next season with 3 or so more quality sugnings I truely believe that we'll do well in the CL. Before yesterday's performance I was certain that Allegri will come out short in the CL once again, but we played the perfect away game, had this been the first leg it would have been a great result. What we need next season is an easier group, we've been really suffering because of the tuff groups we've had both this season and last. Hopefully we'll be Italian Champions come next season's CL, that in itself will give the players a great boost and a lot more confidence
Posted by: han2503 Mar 10 2011, 02:06 PM
btw, Filippo can you open the Serie A match thread, you're giving us some great luck in the league
Posted by: Milan Are Brilliant Mar 10 2011, 02:07 PM
This was 0-0. So technically I didn't lose
Posted by: acid911 Mar 10 2011, 02:08 PM
Oh well, this is what 3 goals in 24 knockout games in the CL for Ibra?
Pathetic. More so when once considers what kind of a man-eater he is in the league, scores goals for pleasure when on song. But in the CL, a one-legged Kaka is better than this guy (when it comes to the bigger stage). Maybe he should really play as an attacking midfielder next time around. Set up goals, if he can't score them.
Posted by: han2503 Mar 10 2011, 02:20 PM
This was 0-0. So technically I didn't lose We didn't win either did we?
@acid Ibra hasn't been a man eater in the league either, so it's a mute point imo, he wasn't doing well when we played the first leg either. He hasn't been the real Ibra since before christams, and this is something that could be truely pinpointed back to Allegi, who hasn't given him a full match's rest the entire season, he's not a robot, and I won't condemn him becuse he's physically shut down recently.
We have 4 world class options in attack, Ibra can be rested no problem, next Sunday I don't want to see him anywhere near the pitch against Bari unless it's absolutely necassary
Posted by: THFC6061 Mar 10 2011, 02:37 PM
Did you know that Tottenham Hotspur's captain last night MICHAEL DAWSON is an anagram of SHOWED AC MILAN.
Posted by: dst Mar 10 2011, 02:40 PM
They're different players, Ganso is a true attacking midfielder while Boateng is a box-to-box midfielder. I think they can play together too. Let's see if we're really going to sign this kid anyway.
and maybe Robinho can put some effort on something for once and talk to this kid if he's good since they played together at Santos.
Posted by: acid911 Mar 10 2011, 02:43 PM
Haha, yeah, I was thinking about that. All in all, I wasn't too hopeful about this match anyway - not after giving away an away goal (pun always intended) in the first leg, and more importantly how we have been playing since the New Year. Oh well, now we can focus on the league, and maybe even the cup.We have 4 world class options in attack, Ibra can be rested no problem, next Sunday I don't want to see him anywhere near the pitch against Bari unless it's absolutely necassary
True. I meant before the New Year (or Christams, as you put it yourself) really, he was pretty good then.
But 200% agreed, Ibra is a man burned-out, thanks to the coach (who practically does not even sub him out after the hour mark in matches). The guy has played the most matches, touching almost 40 up till now in all competitions. Even more than Abbiati. Both Ibra and Cavani have been overworked by their respective coaches, and both have broken down it seems.Still, my biggest gripe with last night's match was the lack of urgency on display from Milan. We were playing like we were 3-0 up, but still looking for that 4th goal.
As in, we wanted to score the goal, tried even, but the heart or speed was just not there in the build ups and attacks. I still think either of Ibra or Robinho should have come from the bench, with Pato (or best finisher, in fact only finisher with Inzaghi out) the lone man upfront, at least during the first half. Our biggest problem was service. Service from the middle. All Seedorf did (and he did it well) was just pass the ball around when it came to him. Lack of a true AM really became our demise, among other things.
Posted by: acid911 Mar 10 2011, 02:44 PM
Well said, Mr. Harry Redknapp.
Totally agreed!
Posted by: dst Mar 10 2011, 02:45 PM
Did you know we don't care? And do you know you're a small club? Why? Because big club's fans don't troll on forums of fans of the team they beat... when Arsenal beat us, no Arsenal fan came here to celebrate... yeah, Arsenal are bigger than you, learn to like it!
Posted by: acid911 Mar 10 2011, 02:49 PM
Nice.
Posted by: Milan Are Brilliant Mar 10 2011, 03:02 PM
Did you know the team you played last night is AC MILAN it's an anagram of 7 EUROPEAN CUPS.
Posted by: X-Offender Mar 10 2011, 03:14 PM
@ dru, you know I'm a no fan of Allegri, but last night he went into the game with the best possible formation at his disposal, and n general terms without looking at finishing we played a perfect game, we controlled it from start to finish, never let their runners get in behind the defense, won the ball quickly etc, aside from the final pass it reminded me of Barca's performance the other night, obviously we're a lot slower and don't have Xavi or Iniesta, but in terms of how we controlled the game, you really cannot ask for more. Did Allegri ask Robinho to miss 2/3 clear cut chances? NO.
Anyways, had Pirlo, Cassano and VB been available we would have steam rolled Tottenham, I am 100% sure of this, they were just that bad and our finishing/lasck of creativity let them off the hook.
Next season with 3 or so more quality sugnings I truely believe that we'll do well in the CL. Before yesterday's performance I was certain that Allegri will come out short in the CL once again, but we played the perfect away game, had this been the first leg it would have been a great result. What we need next season is an easier group, we've been really suffering because of the tuff groups we've had both this season and last. Hopefully we'll be Italian Champions come next season's CL, that in itself will give the players a great boost and a lot more confidence
Bravo han, I totally agree with you.
Well said my friend, well said.
Posted by: dst Mar 10 2011, 03:24 PM
Posted by: drucurl Mar 10 2011, 03:35 PM
Allegri soundbites:
What does that make us?
So I guess scoring two goals was impossible
Posted by: X-Offender Mar 10 2011, 03:49 PM
What does that make us?
So I guess scoring two goals was impossible
Give it a rest, will ya pal.
Posted by: Ry4n Mar 10 2011, 04:02 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xK9XGwrS7As&feature=player_embedded
I think going by this it could be his last champions league with Milan , would be tragic if it is hope he stays on for next season where we will be more competitive !!
Posted by: X-Offender Mar 10 2011, 04:20 PM
He's going to leave, that is certain. He shouldn't be sad though. He's won more Champions Leagues than Inter in 105 years of history. Clarence legend!
Posted by: pacang Mar 10 2011, 04:24 PM
hahah.. well said!
Posted by: Dracoris Mar 10 2011, 04:50 PM
I'm wondering if Seedorf will be our manager one day...
Posted by: kurtsimonw Mar 10 2011, 04:51 PM
I should imagine so. He seems a very intelligent guy who would do well in management.
Posted by: Danny Mar 10 2011, 05:28 PM
Probably our best player last night, which is quite remarkable given his poor form this season.
Posted by: Jack Sparrow Mar 10 2011, 06:03 PM
I won't cry when Pirlo leaves. I will cry when Clarence does. F@CK!!!!! Don't leave Clarence. You can be the next Leonardo for us...stay!!!
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