[milanbuf88]

Berto, on his displays thus far, is nowhere near as good as Poli.
Romag, on his displays thus far, is mediocre and not as good as Alex.

Your anti Romagnoli bias is getting a bit crazy. I have no idea where you're getting this. Besides the penalty, which was a 50-50 decision, he has looked pretty solid. Especially considering the partners he's had and the midfield in front of him, I think he's looked very promising. We paid a lot for him but I think he'll be good value for it over time.

[milanbuf88]

Berto nowhere near as good as Poli? You make it sound like Poli is Marchisio. And if Romagnoli is mediocre, then he's better than Alex who's just plain terrible.

If we're going 4-3-1-2, then my picks would be:

Lopez
Abate - Mexes - Romagnoli - MDS
Montolivo - De Jong - Bertolacci
Bonaventura
Bacca - Adriano

Though if Montolivo continues his crap form, then I'd swap him for Bona and play Menez as AM. No Kucka, Poli or Nocerino please. They add absolutely nothing.

I think that's probably the best possible XI but I'm intrigued by the possibility of playing Balo in the treq slot and Bonnaventura in the midfield over Bertolacci.

[Danny]

Berto nowhere near as good as Poli? You make it sound like Poli is Marchisio. And if Romagnoli is mediocre, then he's better than Alex who's just plain terrible.

If we're going 4-3-1-2, then my picks would be:

Lopez
Abate - Mexes - Romagnoli - MDS
Montolivo - De Jong - Bertolacci
Bonaventura
Bacca - Adriano

Though if Montolivo continues his crap form, then I'd swap him for Bona and play Menez as AM. No Kucka, Poli or Nocerino please. They add absolutely nothing.

Poli's ok. But Berto, on his displays thus far, is beyond hapless. Ergo Poli's better than him. And calling Alex 'terrible' is utter codswallop.

[Danny]

Your anti Romagnoli bias is getting a bit crazy. I have no idea where you're getting this. Besides the penalty, which was a 50-50 decision, he has looked pretty solid. Especially considering the partners he's had and the midfield in front of him, I think he's looked very promising. We paid a lot for him but I think he'll be good value for it over time.

I'm not anti-Romag, I've just been unimpressed. He has not played like a 20M defender. Nothing like it. Soon as he does I'll joyously bound around the room regaling his virtues.

But let's not lie and say he's done anything worthy of note.

[Danny]

I think that's probably the best possible XI but I'm intrigued by the possibility of playing Balo in the treq slot and Bonnaventura in the midfield over Bertolacci.

I'm intruiged as to your persistent mispelling of Bonaventura!

As for the best XI - I stand by my position - we don't have one. But I would have Bona in there over Berto every time. Berto looks like he's utterly lost.

[X-Offender]

Poli's ok. But Berto, on his displays thus far, is beyond hapless. Ergo Poli's better than him. And calling Alex 'terrible' is utter codswallop.

Yes, Berto has been poor, but don't think that Poli will do any better. At least we know from last season that Berto can perform. As for Alex, he has been nothing but terrible in the pre-season. Should have left.

[Danny]

Yes, Berto has been poor, but don't think that Poli will do any better. At least we know from last season that Berto can perform.

I think he has big club mentality. Has the ability but not the mentality to execute it under pressure at a giant club like us.

As for Alex, he has been nothing but terrible in the pre-season. Should have left.

So you're just ignoring everything I said comparing him and Mexes favourably two weeks ago (which you completely agreed with back then) and talking of their positive attributes?

And pre-season is NOT the time to judge individual displays, especially given he had no idea if he was staying or going.

[X-Offender]

Can't remember what you wrote two weeks ago, but regardless, I stand by my opinion that Alex should not be played.

[han2503]

Berto nowhere near as good as Poli? You make it sound like Poli is Marchisio. And if Romagnoli is mediocre, then he's better than Alex who's just plain terrible.

If we're going 4-3-1-2, then my picks would be:

Lopez
Abate - Mexes - Romagnoli - MDS
Montolivo - De Jong - Bertolacci
Bonaventura
Bacca - Adriano

Though if Montolivo continues his crap form, then I'd swap him for Bona and play Menez as AM. No Kucka, Poli or Nocerino please. They add absolutely nothing.

Agreed on the line-up, I'd probably try Balo over Adriano though

As for Bona in the midfield, I don't think it's a good idea when you have Berto on the other side of De Jong, it creates the type of scenario we saw against Fiorentina and that's just asking for it.

If Monto is utter horse sh!t (IF) given the chance, than Kucka would be my pick for that other slot in midfield, he's better than either Poli or Nocerino

Also, to those wanting Poli to start, let's not forget that he's the type of player that runs like a headless chicken for the entire game and gets burned out fast, he should only be used as a sub, just like Nocerino who should only be used as an emergency sub.

Also, I think we should seriously give Honda a try as a Mezzala if Miha has completely shunned Monto out of the side. I think he'd be decent there, and some of his biggest weaknesses won't be as exposed as they are in the trequartista position

I think that's probably the best possible XI but I'm intrigued by the possibility of playing Balo in the treq slot and Bonnaventura in the midfield over Bertolacci.

Nah, I don't think Balo should be used as a trequartista, that causes too much of an imbalance and leaves our already fragile midfield too exposed. Best way to go imo would be to go for 4 mids, all of which capable of dropping back and being dynamic in how they approach the game. That's why I think Bona is the best option there. He can easily drop back into midfield and help out defensively while also being a decent extra man in attack to help out the strikers.

I'm not anti-Romag, I've just been unimpressed. He has not played like a 20M defender. Nothing like it. Soon as he does I'll joyously bound around the room regaling his virtues.

But let's not lie and say he's done anything worthy of note.

Going for Zapata and Alex instead of Mexes and Romagnoli is a bit of a stretch. Zapata is a huge liability. He's careless on the ball and prone to mistakes, especially when he doesn't have someone solid next to him. And Alex has proven to be far from solid during the summer and from what I read on boards was also a bit of a horror show in the Mantova friendly on Friday as well. Why insist on 2 players who each seem to be carrying a mistake in them during each game? Especially when you could go for a much simpler and easier solution in Mexes and Romagnoli?

Sure, sure, Mexes is a risk because of his temperament, but as I said to you before, statistically he's not the red card magnet you paint him out to be, with only one straight red during his entire time at Milan and 3 overall.

[Danny]

Han, give the Zapata hate a rest. It's actually f*cking boring now.

[han2503]

Han, give the Zapata hate a rest. It's actually f*cking boring now.

Could say the same to you about Mexes.

Only I don't hate Zapata, I just don't rate him and don't think we should risk playing him when we have better options

[Danny]

Could say the same to you about Mexes.

If I was slagging him off in a convo, yes, you could, but I haven't in some considerable time.

Only I don't hate Zapata, I just don't rate him and don't think we should risk playing him when we have better options

You do hate Zaps. I was talking about Romag and you start whining about Zapata. You can't resist a pop at him. Compared to you I've been worshipping at the shrine of Mexes.

[han2503]

If I was slagging him off in a convo, yes, you could, but I haven't in some considerable time.

You do hate Zaps. I was talking about Romag and you start whining about Zapata. You can't resist a pop at him. Compared to you I've been worshipping at the shrine of Mexes.

Nope I don't. Like I said, I abolutely do not rate him as a defender because he's a liability, one we don't need added to an already fragile set-up.

Also, I talked about Zapata because you included him in your line-up which to me makes no sense. I also talked about Alex but you jumped on me for mentioning Zapata...

Also, the fact that you'd choose a terribly underperforming Alex instead of Mexes says it all for me.

[Danny]

Nope I don't. Like I said, I abolutely do not rate him as a defender because he's a liability, one we don't need added to an already fragile set-up.

Also, I talked about Zapata because you included him in your line-up which to me makes no sense. I also talked about Alex but you jumped on me for mentioning Zapata...

No, for slagging Zapata off, as usual. Your hate for him is old, boring, and f*cking boring. The insults about Alex at least weren't a cliche on your part, even if you've used X's posts as ammo to suddenly hate him too.

Also, the fact that you'd choose a terribly underperforming Alex instead of Mexes says it all for me.

At this juncture, your opinion on our central defence is no longer valid if you're literally going to use second hand accounts of performances in friendlies to come to it and change your previous opinion (you were happy with Mexes or Alex before) purely to attack mine.

As I said before, I'm happy with either/or, but I have a preference for Alex. If I dare mentioned he or Zaps you now go on the offensive. Whereas you'll never see me attack Mexes unless he, like anyone else, has a sh*t match in a competitive fixture.

[han2503]

No, for slagging Zapata off, as usual. Your hate for him is old, boring, and f*cking boring. The insults about Alex at least weren't a cliche on your part, even if you've used X's posts as ammo to suddenly hate him too.

Cliche?? How is pointing out his obvious shortcomings a cliche? And seriously, you labelling that I hate this player or that so you can make a point is what is getting so cliche here.

I repeat one final time, I don't hate Zapata, when I've hated Milan players in the past like Muntari for example I was 100% honest about it, and there were legit reasons for that. You saying that I hate Zapata just to make your point is getting old.

Point is, he has flaws in his game which can be a serious detriment to our team. What I'm saying here us based on pure fact, not based on bias, like you do with Mexes for example where you consistently label him a red card magnet when he doesn't even average 1 red card per season for us.

And now I hate Alex? Are you serious with this Danny?

At this juncture, your opinion on our central defence is no longer valid if you're literally going to use second hand accounts of performances in friendlies to come to it and change your previous opinion (you were happy with Mexes or Alex before) purely to attack mine.

As I said before, I'm happy with either/or, but I have a preference for Alex. If I dare mentioned he or Zaps you now go on the offensive. Whereas you'll never see me attack Mexes unless he, like anyone else, has a sh*t match in a competitive fixture.

Wow, can you get any less tolerant of other's opinions when they don't jive with yours?

My opinion is no longer valid? Thanks that's good to know...

Alex has been terrible throughout pre-season, that's a fact, not some made up whim just because I suddenly apparently hate him too. He's made mistakes, looked unfit and completely out of it at times as well. These are not things that will suddenly change once he plays an official game simply because it's official and not a friendly.

I was happy with either/or as well, but Alex atm is simply not looking like he's fit to start, simple as that really.

Again, why would you go for 2 players who have shown they can be serious problems for the team during games? Especially when there's an easier solution in Romagn and Mexes?