[X-Offender]

Honda has shown all his worth in his time with us. He may feel more comfortable as trequartista, but his overall quality won't change. I'd pick Suso over him any day.

[Danny]

Honda has shown all his worth in his time with us. He may feel more comfortable as trequartista, but his overall quality won't change. I'd pick Suso over him any day.

Suso been linked back to La Liga, Malaga and Villarreal supposedly interested.

[X-Offender]

Yeah, I know. Hopefully he stays.

[milanbuf88]

Suso been linked back to La Liga, Malaga and Villarreal supposedly interested.

Are those links for purchase or loan? I'd be ok with loaning him out but I'd rather we not sell.

[X-Offender]

Are those links for purchase or loan? I'd be ok with loaning him out but I'd rather we not sell.

Loan, AFAIK.

[William405]

Poor guy..keeps getting loaned out or sold. Just PLAY him!!

[Danny]

I might be one of the only fans who just doesn't rate him. That he and Honda are the best options for trequartista are pretty slim pickings at best.

[han2503]

Really impressive tonight.

I don't care who the opposition were, I care how we played, and I can't really fault any aspect of our game.

It was comfortable, assured, confident, should have been more than two.

Good to see Adriano get his first goal, and Han, you now FINALLY willing to admit Bacca's the real deal and not just a shallow poacher?

PS, word is Romagnoli and Ely is now the official partnership.

I never said he was a simple poacher, I said his movements are what I'd expect of a pocher. I've called him a CF, which imo is what he truely is. And it is why I think that him and Adriano won't work next to each other, especially when we have a workman like midfield and Honda as the "trequartista" behind them. If we had a top notch creative dinamic midfield behind them, I'd be more inclined to believe that they would work with each other, but with things as they are, I think Menez-Bacca would work much better than Adriano-Bacca. Simply because they're too similar. And with the lack of creativity behind then, they will struggle. And you might be undermining the fact that we were playing against a very inferior side to us but I think it's important to note that when we did play against the better side both of them looked very much isolated and this is the problem that I feel we'll have for the majority of next season (unless we sign Ibra or a proper AM that is)

As for Ely, I've been seriously impressed with him, but I feel like both him and Romagnoli are too green/inexperianced to be the starting duo. To tell the whole truth I was more impressed with Ely than Romagnoli, but Romagnoli is the one we spent 25m on so he'll definately start as long as he's fit. Once again, I think the fact that our opposition were who they were is being ignored a bit in this CB convo. I just don't think it's a feasible duo for the long run, mistakes are bound to happen and it could effect both players negatively. Obviously I could be wrong and Miha persists with them and they turn into one of the best duos in the league, but for now I'm a bit weary. Whoever starts the game against Fiorentina will be a clear indication of Mioha's intentions though, and if these two start and they do well it could turn out really great for us.

This! Ibra is a great player no doubt. but we would become too dependent on him and i dontr want us to be a one man team. would rather buy a good trequartista.

hilights of last nights game. very impressed by Bacca

http://t.co/JUU4pEQMWa

Ibra is a sure fire certainty for CL football or even a title challenge if we add Witsel into the mix as well. Also, we struggled sop terribly once we sold him last time because we/Allegri simply had no plan B for when we had to play without him. We were solely dependant on him and no one else

In this case I'm thinking Ibra would be a bridge. An instant gateway to the CL while also rebuilding the side. He's and easy solution. And until then the side will be built gradually until it comes time for Ibra to leave and by then we'll (hopefully) have a team that can be strong and competitive without him. That's what Ibra would be. I personally don't understand how anyone wouldn't want him back

Look at PSG for example, they have been very reliant on him, but they also have a team that can play and win without him, the same couldn't be said for Milan when he was playing with us

I think Honda would be good for us in that position. We just need someone to control the midfield.

Bacca is awesome. ^^

Honda is what he is. He's average at best. And he might look good occasionaly, especially when he is given time and space like he was given on Monday, but when you see him play regularly especially against good opponents, his shortcomings become very obvious. That's why I think Ibra or a proper AM is crucial for us, especially if Soriano ((IMG:style_emoticons/default/puke.gif) ) is who we're going to sign as a "solution" ((IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif) ) for our midfield problems

Honda has shown all his worth in his time with us. He may feel more comfortable as trequartista, but his overall quality won't change. I'd pick Suso over him any day.

Agreed about Honda, disagree about Suso. He's not ready to be a starter. And when he has played this pre-season he's been underwhelming at best in the AM position.

I might be one of the only fans who just doesn't rate him. That he and Honda are the best options for trequartista are pretty slim pickings at best.

It's not that I don't rate him, I don't think I've seen enough of him to come to any sort of conclusions. I do think that he's no where near ready to be a starter though

All in all, I don't want to be a negative nancy here. I did enjoy watching a Milan game for the first time in I don't know how long now, I was impressed with how we played, I liked how the team defended as a whole, I like how they also attacked as a whole, not like last season for example where we played in segments (defended with just the 4 at the back, attacked with just the 3 upfront, midfield running around like headless chickens). As I've been saying for a month now, it's pretty obvious what Miha is working on and the system/tactics are very clear to see, which is a releif in and of itself. But we shouldn't lose sight of who we were playing against. I still think we at least need 1 proper great CM/AM to have any hopes of a successful season. Ibra would be the sure thing, although signing him is looking a bit unlikely atm

[Danny]

I never said he was a simple poacher, I said his movements are what I'd expect of a pocher. I've called him a CF, which imo is what he truely is.

He's a poacher more than anything else, at least that's what I'm getting from that vid and the others I've seen of him.

We need creativity in our midfield, especially if we plan on signing strikers who require service like Bacca, or this will be another huge failure on the same proportions as Matri and Torres were.

We're spending 30m on a poacher (which is what we did with Inzaghi) but when we bought Pippo he had one of the most creatively blessed teams behind him to supply him with opportunities. Bacca will face serious issues with us, just like the long stream of strikers that preceded him have.

I'm sure you'll find a way to explain this away (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[X-Offender]

Borh Ibra and Witsel seem very unlikey at this point, especially the latter.

[Danny]

Oddly enough the Bacca debate myself and Han are 'enjoying' - I just happened to pop over to the Sky Sport site and they're doing a piece on FM. Highlighting one player in particular:

(IMG:http://e1.365dm.com/15/08/768x432/carlos-bacca-football-manager-graphic_3339396.jpg)

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/110...top-footballers

[han2503]

I'm sure you'll find a way to explain this away (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Got me there on the wording, have to admit. But the problem still remains. CF or poacher, he still needs service to truly thrive. I think he can still be relatively good on his own, I admit, I underestimated him a bit going on just YT vids, he looked like an awesome finisher, but watching him live for an entire 90 he definitely has that something extra. He's still not Ibra though, meaning a creative force all on his own as well.

I think him and Adriano against better sides would struggle, especially with that very average midfield behind them.

All I kept thinking while watching the match though was, man, if we had Ibra next to Bacca... With his smart movement, pace, quick thinking and Ibra's genius, that could be one truly explosive duo. Too bad it won't happen. That's why I still say best way to go is Menez-Bacca to start, Honda behind them. It's far from amazing but it should be enough against most Serie A sides. I can see us struggling to create against the top tier sides though

[han2503]

Oddly enough the Bacca debate myself and Han are 'enjoying' - I just happened to pop over to the Sky Sport site and they're doing a piece on FM. Highlighting one player in particular:

(IMG:http://e1.365dm.com/15/08/768x432/carlos-bacca-football-manager-graphic_3339396.jpg)

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/110...top-footballers

His pace and passing was what really got me thinking "Wow" tbh.

[Danny]

I concede that pre-season is not the best barometer of judgement, be it a player or a team, but at the same time it's not the worst either.

Last pre-season was diabolical - and that was spot on regarding how our season went.

This one has been patchy, but with signs now and again that it's going in the right direction.

And Bacca has really stood out, as I hoped he would. Adriano not quite as much, and it took him till the Coppa match to finally spring to life a bit.

And re: Bacca - I think a lot of folks (me smugly excluded) underestimated how good he is and fixated on the price.

As for Ibra Bacca - would be nice - Adriano hasn't quite won folk over yet, but nevertheless those three would be half decent up top.

Re: Menez Miha's said if he doesn't play the way he (Miha) wants him to, aka unselfishly and creatively, he'll spend most his time on the bench. And I am for that. Menez with the right attitude could be explosive. He could be the best treq we've got, but we've not seen that part of him because he plays for himself.

[William405]

I concede that pre-season is not the best barometer of judgement, be it a player or a team, but at the same time it's not the worst either.

Last pre-season was diabolical - and that was spot on regarding how our season went.

This one has been patchy, but with signs now and again that it's going in the right direction.

And Bacca has really stood out, as I hoped he would. Adriano not quite as much, and it took him till the Coppa match to finally spring to life a bit.

And re: Bacca - I think a lot of folks (me smugly excluded) underestimated how good he is and fixated on the price.

As for Ibra Bacca - would be nice - Adriano hasn't quite won folk over yet, but nevertheless those three would be half decent up top.

Re: Menez Miha's said if he doesn't play the way he (Miha) wants him to, aka unselfishly and creatively, he'll spend most his time on the bench. And I am for that. Menez with the right attitude could be explosive. He could be the best treq we've got, but we've not seen that part of him because he plays for himself.

I remember reading that he played for the team when he entered in the Coppa match. I don't know cause my stream pretty much died in a huge chunk of the second half.

Still he's having back problems, and it's recurring. So, that's a major issue at the moment.

Honestly, I don't agree with y'all about Honda. I know he is not a spectacular player, but if he works in the system then why not. His pass leading to Luiz Adriano was pretty cool. He also always has a goal in him. So IDK.

I'm more than sure Miha prefers Menez, and sees him as a big part of the team, it's just the injury issues that's stopping us from seeing what he could do for Miha's Milan.