[X-Offender]

What a terrible match. We got lucky with the win.

I don't know what happened but the players seemed completely out of it.

Calhanoglu needs to wake up. We have great expectations for him. He's wearing the #10 shirt so it's time he started playing like a #10 instead of tripping on his feet and losing balls left and right. He's young with great talent, so I'm only assuming it's a matter of physical condition.

Enough with Borini. FFS the guy is useless! He runs a lot, but he adds NOTHING to our game. Even as a sub he's subpar. Thankfully we'll have Bonaventura available after the break.

The 4-3-3 system is not suited to our players. Either go with 4-2-3-1 or start applying 3-5-2 already.

[han2503]

I'm reading this thread and amused that I barely agree with a single word anyone is saying. When do I ever.

But what I will say is "back to earth with a bump".

What do you mean, I feel like there's been a general consensus on the overall performance and which players weren't good

Do you think the refereeing was good, because I thought the ref shat his pants on each occasion he was called upon, and not just for situations which went against us but against Cagliari as well.

That Kessie goal was the icing though, it shouldn't have been disallowed imo

A bigger worry is how poor defence is. We've spent 7,000,0000,0000000000000,00000000 and it doesn't look much better than it did last season. There is absolutely no understanding between Bonucci and Musacchio - neither of them look comfortable at all.

The fullbacks have really improved from the first 2 games I saw, so that's something I've happy about

Agreed about the CBs. Bonucci is clearly more comfortable in a back 3. He played in a back 4 at Juve last season, but he's generally not used to getting that exposed by his midfield. Him and Musacchio need to gain better understanding, I agreed there. Problem is Montella has so far kept changing the CB duo for each game. That's one area you shouldn't be messing around in and I don't understand why he keeps changing it. Also, of we're going with 3 at the back the change needs to happen ASAP, we're wasting precious time that could be used to adapt to the system against these weaker sides. If we don't do it now then I can't see how we'll switch to it in more difficult games


Anyway, we knew it wasn't going to be plain sailing. It's a brand new team, imo, it's still missing some elements as well, we knew that we'd have to deal with games like this before the season started. It was never going to be a seamless transition. I'm just glad we still managed to get away with all 3 points

[William405]

I thought it was a really entertaining game! Montella took some time to get the change done. In my opinion, he should have done something coming out of the second half because clearly something was going bad there.

But, you know what, even if it was late, he did a change. And, it totally changed the team around! Suddenly, Kessie was a bomb again(too bad that goal was disallowed), and the midfield looked more in control of the game.

Although Monto is obviously not the best pick to play behind the strikers, but he did well for the occasion. I think a younger Monto could play there, but currently he is in no shape to do that. But, he does cover his space pretty well, and provides us with extra coverage that Hakan per say might not provide.

The fullbacks were really positive. They provide some really nice attacking options, although, I thought at times they were somewhat lacking on the defensive side. But, the game was probably out of our hands at the moment, so I would be more likely to blame a broken midfield for that.

The centerbacks were also sometimes rocky, but they did have to defend a lot!

So, I think the formation and the tactics were part of the problem for the first half more than the individuals. Obviously, I don't think Borini should start, and specially as a winger. But, then again that is his only he is starting for us, because he would be so down in the pecking order as a striker. Honestly, Niang would have been much better there.

So, in conclusion, I think this was a really good match because it taught us lots of valuable lessons. In addition, we did also get the 3 points.

Man of the match has to be Suso
Flop of the match: Borini

[William405]

A bigger worry is how poor defence is. We've spent 7,000,0000,0000000000000,00000000 and it doesn't look much better than it did last season. There is absolutely no understanding between Bonucci and Musacchio - neither of them look comfortable at all.

Fully agreed there. But, really the price-tag has nothing to do with it. You can't buy understanding. It's just something that has to click between the center-backs, and this takes time. No money can buy you through that in my opinion! Put Thiago Silva in a new Milan and he would struggle.

[William405]

FT

3 Points but there needs to be improvement and this time I'm pointing at Montella and not the players.

He needs to find a system that works and stick to it

Aside from the obvious (Suso), I thought our MVPs were the FBs today, both Conti and Rodriguez were great


Why are the players doing the run up to the fans? We're not in May and leading the table FFS, just go in and be glad we managed to get the win.

Totally agreed.

It's something that they do always for the fans who came to watch them. It shows an appreciation for the fans coming. I like it.

[William405]

I'm reading this thread and amused that I barely agree with a single word anyone is saying. When do I ever.

But what I will say is "back to earth with a bump".

That's the beauty of a forum where we can discuss the differences in ideas. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

X-off thought it was a terrible match, but I really enjoyed it.

Why "back to earth with a bumb" though? Was the general consensus that we were ready to go full throttle with a totally new team?

[X-Offender]

I thought it was a really entertaining game! Montella took some time to get the change done. In my opinion, he should have done something coming out of the second half because clearly something was going bad there.

But, you know what, even if it was late, he did a change. And, it totally changed the team around! Suddenly, Kessie was a bomb again(too bad that goal was disallowed), and the midfield looked more in control of the game.

Although Monto is obviously not the best pick to play behind the strikers, but he did well for the occasion. I think a younger Monto could play there, but currently he is in no shape to do that. But, he does cover his space pretty well, and provides us with extra coverage that Hakan per say might not provide.

The fullbacks were really positive. They provide some really nice attacking options, although, I thought at times they were somewhat lacking on the defensive side. But, the game was probably out of our hands at the moment, so I would be more likely to blame a broken midfield for that.

The centerbacks were also sometimes rocky, but they did have to defend a lot!

So, I think the formation and the tactics were part of the problem for the first half more than the individuals. Obviously, I don't think Borini should start, and specially as a winger. But, then again that is his only he is starting for us, because he would be so down in the pecking order as a striker. Honestly, Niang would have been much better there.

So, in conclusion, I think this was a really good match because it taught us lots of valuable lessons. In addition, we did also get the 3 points.

Man of the match has to be Suso
Flop of the match: Borini

I don't agree that the formation was a bigger part of the problem than the players. It goes without saying that 4-3-3 is not suited for us, but the players were completely out if it for the majority of the game. The fact that they kept losing balls, duels and seemed half-assed all around has got nothing to do with tactics.

We need to put more heart in our performance first and foremost. Everything else comes after. If we showed the same determination and desire to win that Cagliari put tonight than we wouldn't have had such a hard time winning this.

[William405]

What a terrible match. We got lucky with the win.

I don't know what happened but the players seemed completely out of it.

Calhanoglu needs to wake up. We have great expectations for him. He's wearing the #10 shirt so it's time he started playing like a #10 instead of tripping on his feet and losing balls left and right. He's young with great talent, so I'm only assuming it's a matter of physical condition.

Enough with Borini. FFS the guy is useless! He runs a lot, but he adds NOTHING to our game. Even as a sub he's subpar. Thankfully we'll have Bonaventura available after the break.

The 4-3-3 system is not suited to our players. Either go with 4-2-3-1 or start applying 3-5-2 already.

Agreed about the system. I think we should be tactically flexible to be able to use them both depending on injuries and opponents. Hakan was bad, I agree. There is some simple stuff that he is doing wrong. I don't deny that the system can affect his performance, but even so, he can do much much better.

[William405]

I don't agree that the formation was a bigger part of the problem than the players. It goes without saying that 4-3-3 is not suited for us, but the players were completely out if it for the majority of the game. The fact that they kept losing balls, duels and seemed half-assed all around has got nothing to do with tactics.

We need to put more heart in our performance first and foremost. Everything else comes after. If we showed the same determination and desire to win that Cagliari put tonight than we wouldn't have had such a hard time winning this.

How can you say that when we clearly noticed an improvement in the all of the team's performance after the change?

I don't agree that the players were playing "half-assed". They looked tactically lost, and you cannot correct that with no matter how much running you do.

Also, I feel that Cagliari played a beautiful game, so props to them as well.

[William405]

Off-topic:

Is there any plan to do a thread for each game in order to vote for a man of the match/flop of the match Pippo?

[Danny]

Ok, some post-match ramblings. I'll reply to any current replies to me tomorrow.

Right, first off I think Borini is getting a really harsh press. He was not a fashionable signing and no one likes him, but he's filling that role of the unglamorous worker who will run his @ss off and can actually play a bit. Did I envisage him as a starter when we signed him? No. But he is not disgracing the shirt and fights for it. More than can be said for quite a few others.

Secondly the ref got some key calls dead right. He got one or two wrong, but he did NOT in any way influence the outcome of the match in a negative way. The major stuff he got right. He is the least of our concerns. I'm fed up with refs being blamed for things.

Montella is becoming a problem - on paper this was 4-3-3 for no reason other than it just was, but on the pitch it was somewhere between one and a 4-2-3-1 but there seemed little logic between the changes. It's a poorly conceived formation and isn't working. It hasn't worked since November last year yet Montella just won't change it. He confirmed pre-match that the one formation we've actually looked quite good in, 3-5-2 v the Macedonians, has been ditched. It wasn't right, apparently. I just don't understand what he is trying to do. It appears to have no plan at all.

Calhanoglu doesn't fit. He is so far a shockingly bad signing. He has no vision, he can't dribble, and there comes a point where his 4 month ban stops being an excuse. Right now he's a waste of a jersey, and that saddens me because he looked a bit better in pre-season. But then I've learned now just how much of a fraud pre-season really is.

Defence is diabolical. It's being cut open even more easily than it was last year, and while I accept giving it time, Bonucci continues to look borderline dreadful and Musacchio barely any better. Bonucci was lucky not to get a red card.

Fullbacks were intriguing. Conti started well and looked neat going forward, and became more defensive as it wore on. It was his best display, even though I suspect he can be far better overall. Rodriguez I liked - wonderful display going forward and worked hard defensively too. Has no pace but doesn't really need any.

Kessie I thought had his worst match in our shirt. Constantly gave the ball away, but he looked ill at ease on the right - when he got going a bit later on he did marginally improve but it was by some distance his poorest show. I like him a lot and hope it's a one off.

Things changed significantly when Cal went off and Biglia went on. Our shape suddenly looked tighter, and while not a massive improvement in play, the organisation was better and we looked less vulnerable. Biglia seemed to give a sense of calm to midfield without even being that heavily involved.

Suso was brilliant - I take my hat off to him, he's making me look silly. An assist and a goal. Been brilliant this season overall and on this form remains our best player when in the mood. It's when he dips that he starts to flounder and that's when he pisses me off. His assist for Cutrone was one of the best I've ever seen. 100% intentional.

Cutrone is continuing to be the real deal - scored again and even though service started to dry up for him, he was always working. It's hilarious that Silva is now third choice striker.

Kalinic can clearly work hard, but so can Borini. Nothing he did was notable and I still can't figure why we signed him.

Montella. Mate. Figure this out. Figure out where you want to go with this Milan. There is no point f*cking around with formations and selections. Stop p*ssing about and pick the best team and formation with the players you have. I thought the 4-3-3 last season was because it was the best one for the players he has, but he's still bloody using it. He's not convincing me yet that he is the right guy long term, but then Sir Alex took 6 or 7 seasons to even win a trophy at Man Utd so I guess there's hope!

Overall the match was great for 20 minutes, but the water break ruined our momentum and we were second best till Biglia came on. That's not good enough. We need to figure this out because while there were glimpses of a top four team in there, right now it won't finish there if we struggle this much v Cagliari.

[Danny]

How can you say that when we clearly noticed an improvement in the all of the team's performance after the change?

I don't agree that the players were playing "half-assed". They looked tactically lost, and you cannot correct that with no matter how much running you do.

Also, I feel that Cagliari played a beautiful game, so props to them as well.

Ah, starting to agree with a few things in here now (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Fillipo Simone]

Here are my ratings:

Donnarumma - 6 - messy passing, some solid saves and interventions outside his box, overall nothing special

Conti - 6.5 - much effort, a bit defensively shakey but okay
Bonucci - 5.5 - his commanding and passing were good, but he was also borderline dirty, brutal, aerially beaten in several occasions and slow
Musacchio - 6 - solid but needs to up his game
Rodriguez 6.5 - great passing and game feel overall but made also a few defensive hiccups

Montolivo - 5.5 - tried his best but mostly wasn't precise enough
Çalhanoğlu - 5 - typical Çalhanoğlu game, nonchalant and mild, precisely why he wasn't good enough for a midtable German team
Kessie - 5.5 - needs to improve his defensive game pronto
Suso - 7.5 - by far our best player
Borini - 6 - put in much effort, surprised with a few sprints and shots but overall a very limited player

Cutrone - 7 - once again scored and put in much effort
---------------

Biglia - 6.5 - big improvement when compared to Monto or Hakan
Kalinić - N/A
Antonelli - N/A

[Fillipo Simone]

FT

3 Points but there needs to be improvement and this time I'm pointing at Montella and not the players.

He needs to find a system that works and stick to it

Aside from the obvious (Suso), I thought our MVPs were the FBs today, both Conti and Rodriguez were great


Why are the players doing the run up to the fans? We're not in May and leading the table FFS, just go in and be glad we managed to get the win.

Oh come on, the players probably celebrated a full San Siro and the season start at home. You're getting irritated by way too many details Han (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)

Our main problem IMO is the midfield. I'm now realizing why we're after Renato Sanches. We need more strength and stability. Kessie is defensively very clumsy and unreliable, which I suppose would be okay if it weren't for the physically weak, nonchalant and error-prone Montolivo and Hakan. Çalhanoğlu will be a problem and I can only see him as a utility bench player.

But yes, Montella needs to decide on many things. This is why I always said that if we wanna play a 3 defense, we should implement the system sooner rather then later.

[Fishdoll]

Well, that wasn't the prettiest game for me to watch. Most of the players didn't play all that well - but the team di grind out a win. I'm not all that surprised people seemed off -- most of these guys haven't played together before and there were bound to be growing pains.