[han2503]

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.

We won the Trofeo Tim last summer as well...

I think it all depends. Pre-season nowadays is mostly used to earn the club some extra cash. When you play a Bayern or Spurs side who are a week away from kicking off their season while we still have a month to go, it does have a huge impact on how we do, not to mention it could be a bit of a hit to morale, even if it is just a friendly.

I think it's been an overall good pre-season tbh. Only game where I was really disappointed was against Lyon.

I never really judged whether Bacca was good enough or not. I have mostly judged the supporting cast. And while I may have underestimated how good he can be without proper service, he would be far more fruitful if he had it. And playing another pure CF in Adriano next to him for me won't work long term. That's why I think that Menez should partner him. With Adriano being a direct sub for either one.

As for Menez, I didn't say he should play in the trequartista position, but the SS position. I personally don't think we should go for a pure attacker in that trequartista position. Ideally that player is a midfielder, both for the balance of the team and because 3 forwards in there will make it more messy rather than give us more attacking power imo.

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.

I think having a top AM instead of Honda would take this team to another level. Yes we can do with Honda for now, but he's really not good enough if you have higher aspirations than just fighting for 3rd

[X-Offender]

I personally don't think we should go for a pure attacker in that trequartista position. Ideally that player is a midfielder, both for the balance of the team and because 3 forwards in there will make it more messy rather than give us more attacking power imo.

Agreed. The treq should be a midfielder. Forwards in that position rarely work because they don't have the discipline nor the tactical awareness.

[Danny]

Someone oughta open the Fio thread.

[William405]

Yep! ^^ Come on Han, you can do it, there's nothing to it!

[han2503]

Yep! ^^ Come on Han, you can do it, there's nothing to it!

I shall

[acid911]

I shall

He did! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif)

[X-Offender]

No way! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif)

[Danny]

WAY (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif)

[han2503]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

[X-Offender]

We're playing Mantova today at 7PM. Balo is expected to start.

[Danny]

I can honestly say I probably won't be watching this one. I usually watch absolutely every second of Milan, even pointless friendlies, but that window killed a great deal of my enthusiasm.

Only Milan could spend as much as PSG and Man City etc yet end up with a weaker and worse squad than they had at the start.

I'll probably keep up to speed on Twitter if I'm not busy, but I probably will be.

[han2503]

Will be going out. Will check out a repay if we do well (which should be a given here)

[amancik]

Balotelli playing behind the two strikers. I must say, so far not bad at all.

[X-Offender]

Balotelli playing behind the two strikers. I must say, so far not bad at all.

Don't forget who the opponent is. We destroyed Perugia, but sucked @ss when we faced a real opponent in Fiorentina.

[amancik]

He looks good physically. Working tirelessly, always ready to receive the ball. Hope he continues this attitude throughout the season.

Balotelli, Donnarumma and Adriano aside, our midfield can't do sh*t. If we have better midfielders we would have buried Mantova.

This post has been edited by amancik: Sep 3 2015, 07:49 PM