Please do. Because I never think I said we were sh!t and worse than teams like Juve or Inter at the time. We had top top players in that squad. Sure some were in their sunset years but they were still difference makers.

Ibra alone during that time used to practically guarantee the team he was with the title.

If you can show me a post where I said we were sh!t and fluked it please do.

I'll always say we won it in spite of Allegri though. Some of the most horrific football I've witnessed as a Milan fan came under his tutelage. Don't get me started on using Urby as an AM and other WTF decisions he made during his time.

And also, yes, great players make great teams. But truly great coaches turn those bunch of great players intoa machine that churns out wins. Guardiola has a nearly billion pound team under his hands, but he's the mind behind how they play and why they're so successful imo

Never called you a liar though...

Just can't remember ever saying that about our 2011 team

Agreed. There is no excuse for the amount of points we threw away against relegation/bottom half sides

I'm not a Pioli fan by any means, but look at his track record. He inherited this team from the gutter and in the last 3 years he achieved 1) CL football after 7 years, 2) Scudetto with an inferior team to the competition, 3) CL semi-finals after 16 years and CL football again.

Yes, we've played like sh*t this season, but perhaps Pioli is not the main culprit here. This team overachieved last season, and when you overachieve, unless you strengthen your squad properly, you're most probably going to flop next season.

I would personally blame management first, then the players, and then Pioli. In that particular order.

Why does it matter?

Btw, just want to add. What a truly terrible game that was. From both sides. Really horrible. Full of errors and wtf moments. Krunic especially p!sses me off so much when he's f@cking about with the ball in our box. Just insanely stupid at times. Cannot take watching these players start for us anymore.

Messias... My God! Just awful! How is he starting over Alexis? Offers absolutely nothing but mistakes

Krunic. He's a good/average players, but he needs to go back to being our bench option. Not replacing Kessie has proven to be one of the dumbest moves ever and it's basically cost us the season. Now with Bennacer potentially out for nearly 6 more months. We have to go all in for a starting mid, and that cannot be Loftus-f@cking-Cheek! Stop with the bargain buying! We should have cash to burn this summer. It better be used wisely. Milenkovic -Savic is available. He's not going to renew his contract and Lotito will have to play ball or lose him for free. Just go all in for him! And then you can f@ck about going for players like RLC.

The midfield, our strongest area last season, needs serious work. Pobega needs to be moved on, Vranckx isn't good enough, Krunic should be rotation and we'll also need a decent backup for Bennacer.

The attack... We need a proper striker who's strong and mobile. We cannot rely on Giroud like we do now. Messias, Origi, Rebic. All have to go.

The defensive situation is not as dire. A decent backup for Theo and another CB maybe so we can shift Kalulu to the right and we should be fine. Tata and Mirante should be gone with Sportiello most likely being the first incoming of the summer


So much work to be done. Hopefully we have the budget to do it.

We didn't fluke anything in 2011 either. I always said that title was mostly down to individual brilliance. We had top top players in that squad. Ibra especially was a difference maker practically every week. For me, last season was much more of a collective effort. Yes, we at time rely on Leao's brilliance. But his numbers are no where near what Ibra used to pull off during that Scudetto winning season. Not to mention other players like Nesta, Thiago Silva, Pirlo, Seedorf, Robinho, Ronaldinho, Pato, etc. That team was stacked. We have a good first 11 now but no where near that kind of quality, especially off the bench

Don't think I've ever said that. Just don't credit Allegri with much for that win. He relied solely on his star players to win games.

What?

Yes, there sure is plently of time to see about Kalulu.

But what about Pioli? Do you guys think we should keep him if we fail to reach 4th spot?

And once again, I want to reiterate that we did not fluke anything last season

We were the best side points wise, we got the most points against the top 6 sides and we had a near perfect 2022. That is not fluking anything.

Watching City - Madrid last night made me glade Milan didn?t produce a miracle to reach the final.

Guardiola and his team would have humiliated Milan; i.e. ?slapped us silly up and down the pitch?.

If a team as equipped as Madrid were shrugged off in such a manner, I would like to see how inter will hold on. It?s a good omen if you share this perspective.

@Danny, It?s a structural thing with Serie A. The worldwide audience is not as interested as in the EPL, the infrastructure, etc etc. long-term means long-term; being cross Milan didn?t make the final is Ludacris; what?s mad is Milan making the semi final in the first place.

Making top four or not is what shall define this season, I am totally on that side of the fence. However that doesn?t derail the club from a long-term project; as this project has been set for a while now.

Winning a Scudetto or reaching CL later stages are an anomaly at this stage. But these milestones prove the exception to the rule, in that this team is being built to win.

What should happen now is the new owner putting an effort to add quality and depth to this squad, not doing that is what will put this project - in jeopardy.

Does it?

Well, anyway, for that kind of strategy we played poorly in the first tie, regardless of Leao missing, don't you think?

Bennacer's season is over. From what I read, he might even miss the start of next season. The guy is going to undergo surgery.

Justified? Loosing CL money over some no-win scenario final? I don't think so. Not ending up at least 4th will be one of the worst defending title seasons in Milan history and also a major blow to our project.

I still think the management is to blame for the choices they made - not buying the necessary players, many mistakes in judgements, not assuring our best players stay (Kessie, Hakan, Donna - which turned out fine but anyway) or not making an effort of replacing them (Romagnoli, Kessie, etc.). Not investing during January was the icing on the cake.

Yet Pioli really baffles me. The way he uses players really bothers me. Players who don't play for weeks suddenly become part of a starting formation (Vranckx) or get pushed right into the fire (Bakayoko for a period) - mostly fail and end up on ice for another cycle.

Yes, our roster is mediocre and poor. But the way Pioli has handled rotation, player mentality and playing routines is shocking for an experienced coach. Just think of Rebić (neverminded the injuries') - he never was a superb player to begin with, but the explosiveness he had and the involvement he brought in his first 2 seasons. Look at him now. Useless, like mostly all other bench players. It surely isn't a coincidence.

Secondly, he destroyed any sense of order and tactic. Our awful game plan and game style is what makes me finally want a change in the coaching department. Yet sadly I don't see anyone suitable for us. Conte surely wouldn't join Milan.

Comfortable win in a do or die game at this point.

We simply have to be perfect for the remaining few games if we want to get that CL spot.

The amount of points we threw away to really terrible teams p!sses me off so much. Not only did we throw away the chance to even fight for the title thanks to that January nightmare, but even if you discard that, we could have been comfortably 2nd if we didn't f@ck up so many easy games. Pioli being hugely responsible in that regard with some truly terrible rotations

Really hoping they took Leao off for precaution. Otherwise I don't think we have a chance in the semis without him

Indeed! Who would have thought!

As I'm sure you know now, we played the home game first (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)

Anyway, not our best showing but we got the job done. Pioli just has Spaletti's number imo.

They'll probably have Osimhen back for the 2nd leg, but Anguissa and Kim both missing are big blows for them. Let's see if we can get this over the line. That Kjaer header and Leao chance... Should have taken a 2-0 to the Maradona. Now it will be heart attack after heart attack next week.