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AC Milan - Milanfan.com _ Matches _ Serie A - Week 16 Onwards

Posted by: han2503 Dec 17 2018, 09:14 PM

Some crucial players will be back for this one. But our problems have now shifted to the attack. Since we lost Biglia and Bonaventura we have struggled to score regularly. As I said from the beginning, the double pivot of Kessie and Bakayoko won't work long term as there's not enough creativity and we're struggling to bring in the attacking players into the game

After the harrowing midweek venture against Olympiacos it has become even more imperative that we perform in these upcoming games/ We don't have EL to distract us anymore and key players are starting to return from their injuries. So we need to make sure we collect max points from tomorrow to the end of the year

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Dec 18 2018, 10:26 PM

God awful game. Please give us a good coach. I respect Rino but Milan needs someone better at this moment.

Posted by: X-Offender Dec 18 2018, 10:30 PM

This is just so lame.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Dec 18 2018, 10:57 PM

And the worst thing is this choker mentality. This was the second time we had a golden opportunity to build a distance between Lazio and Roma, but no...

I blame of course the lack of creativity, but also Rino not being able to find more solutions. We played like this was just a warm-up friendly - again. Same happened over and over again against weaker opponents, while at the same time we're not even near of winning a competitive match against Napoli, Inter or Juventus.

We need Conte.

Posted by: X-Offender Dec 18 2018, 11:37 PM

But most of all, we need quality players. Paqueta and Fabregas couldn't come anytime sooner, assuming we'll sign the latter. And we need a left winger in attack AT ALL COST.

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Dec 19 2018, 05:26 AM

first we are scoring but not keeping clean sheets. Now we are keeping clean sheets but not scoring as well. I missed the last 3 games so dont know how are we playing but it seems we have been very dull.

Posted by: Rossoneri7 Dec 21 2018, 09:42 AM

QUOTE (CrazyMilanFan @ Dec 19 2018, 08:26 AM) *
first we are scoring but not keeping clean sheets. Now we are keeping clean sheets but not scoring as well. I missed the last 3 games so dont know how are we playing but it seems we have been very dull.


The injuries in midfield are at the root cause of the stagnant results as of late. Prior to that, the team was on a good run which is reflected in the table's position.

Injuries in defense also contributed to a more cautious approach when attacking, noting that our fullbacks were playing as center backs.

You have to take all this into context, hence why it seems the team is dull as of late.

Don't think Gattuso is to blame, as any coach would be faced with an uphill task given the injuries to so many key players.

Posted by: X-Offender Dec 21 2018, 10:28 PM

Bertolacci injured as well today. We'll play with Calabria, Mauri and Hakan in midfield vs Fiorentina tomorrow.

rolleyes.gif

Posted by: William405 Dec 22 2018, 02:01 PM

January couldn't come fast enough.

Posted by: X-Offender Dec 22 2018, 04:56 PM

I'm not even angry. How can you be angry at such a lousy team? We need a change in January.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Dec 23 2018, 12:25 AM

Same story over and over again. Important players underperform, unexperienced coaches ending up in the dustbin. I do blame Gattuso... playing Calabria in midfield, not having the slightest idea what to do with the given situation, not doing anything to make a change of pace and approch, I can go on and on...

Posted by: X-Offender Dec 23 2018, 12:55 AM

Honestly, you can't blame him for playing Calabria in midfield. We had NO ONE available. And I mean no one. Montolivo hasn't played a game since May, not even in training. He's not an option. We only had Mauri and Hakan available.

Nevertheless, despite the injuries, I think Gattuso has just lost it. He's just not a capable coach.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Dec 24 2018, 12:41 AM

QUOTE (X-Offender @ Dec 23 2018, 02:55 AM) *
Honestly, you can't blame him for playing Calabria in midfield. We had NO ONE available. And I mean no one. Montolivo hasn't played a game since May, not even in training. He's not an option. We only had Mauri and Hakan available.

Nevertheless, despite the injuries, I think Gattuso has just lost it. He's just not a capable coach.

Montolivo is finished but he's still better then Calabria in midfield. He didn't play a minute because of Gattuso. Now I agree he should have sidelined him, perhaps he shouldn't have picked Monto as well, but please - why not change the tactical outlook then? Playing with three right fullbacks/wingers, Suso, Calabria and Abate was a complete mess. Them not achieving more then 2 crosses is yet another tragicomical segment of his wrong approach.

Posted by: X-Offender Dec 24 2018, 01:02 AM

The issue is that, even when we had a full midfield, against Torino and Bologna, we still didn't manage to score a single goal.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Dec 24 2018, 12:50 PM

And this has to do with tactics and preparation mostly. I understand that with Bonaventura gone we lack creativity, but that's only part of the problem.

Posted by: X-Offender Dec 25 2018, 03:20 PM

QUOTE (Fillipo Simone @ Dec 24 2018, 12:50 PM) *
And this has to do with tactics and preparation mostly. I understand that with Bonaventura gone we lack creativity, but that's only part of the problem.


Bonaventura has been bad for two years now. His absence is not a justification.

Creativity is a major issue, yes. But like you said, tactics, preparation, mentality, these are things distilled by the coach. I keep repeating myself, but Gattuso is just not up to it. He's not a bad coach, but not a good one either, especially for a top club like Milan.

We need an established coach. Can't believe that we haven't had one since Ancelotti left in 2009.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Dec 26 2018, 12:33 PM

Top club like Milan? Milan ain’t no top club anymore...

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Dec 26 2018, 02:38 PM

Frosinone-Milan 0:0

Embarrassing on all accounts. Goodbye Rino.

Posted by: han2503 Dec 26 2018, 03:16 PM

From bad to worse it seems.

Didn't watch as I had to go out but I'm glad I didn't bother. Rino has reached the limit of what he is capable of doing with what he has, any coach would struggle under such circumstances, but some of his decisions are certainly not helping our cause

All these injuries were bound to start really effecting the results. Our January purchases need to be pitch perfect. And with Ibra no longer an option and Fabregas looking far from a sure thing, I'm not so sure we can pull a good mercato off at this point either

Posted by: Rossoneri7 Dec 26 2018, 05:26 PM

Looks like Ringo will be axed soon. Here we go again.

As for the market, Milan had just been fired by UEFA for breach of FFP. What market are you talking about? Ibra was supposed to come, but due to FFP Milan had to pull out.

Any new comers means some will be sold first. That's reality.

Posted by: maldini03 Dec 26 2018, 08:29 PM

I have been a stark defender of Rino up until now but after today I think he needs to go. We haven't scored a goal in 4 games and the opposition has hardly been impressive. We need to bring in a coach who can elevate us to the next level and we need to test the market to bring in some players who can bring creativity.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Dec 28 2018, 09:41 PM

Rino should be long gone, but fact is - we are going nowhere.

With UEFA sanctioning us we are tied and it seems we've entered a never ending circle. Just read what Leonardo said few hours ago - the mercato will be like in the old days, cheap and disappointing. Not because we lack ideas, but because of the financial restraints. So is the choice of Gattuso's replacement. It could be Donadoni, Blanc or some other second-rate option. We'll most probably miss out of the 4th spot; Higuain, Bakayoko and perhaps Suso will leave, we will once again try out players past their prime or gamble with youngsters - and we're back to square one.

I'm really losing hope that Milan has a bright future.

Posted by: X-Offender Dec 28 2018, 09:55 PM

QUOTE (Fillipo Simone @ Dec 28 2018, 09:41 PM) *
Rino should be long gone, but fact is - we are going nowhere.

With UEFA sanctioning us we are tied and it seems we've entered a never ending circle. Just read what Leonardo said few hours ago - the mercato will be like in the old days, cheap and disappointing. Not because we lack ideas, but because of the financial restraints. So is the choice of Gattuso's replacement. It could be Donadoni, Blanc or some other second-rate option. We'll most probably miss out of the 4th spot; Higuain, Bakayoko and perhaps Suso will leave, we will once again try out players past their prime or gamble with youngsters - and we're back to square one.

I'm really losing hope that Milan has a bright future.


Hmmm, I don't see it as dark as you do. First of all, Leonardo was referring to the January mercato, which makes sense.

Secondly, we cannot miss the 4th spot. We've been plagued by injuries and a terrible form, yet we're only 3 points away. With Paqueta, possibly Fabregas (his agent said today he will rescind with Chelsea), and another signing in attack we have all it takes to be in the Champions League next season. Lazio and Roma are no real threats, unless we let them.

Yes, Gattuso is by no means the right coach for us. That is a problem that our management needs to understand.

By the way, Borini's agent traveled to Hong Kong today to meet with Shenzen FC who are offering 10-12 million to sign. Can you believe that? laugh.gif

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Dec 29 2018, 12:40 AM

This team has no chance of getting 4th. Roma and Lazio faced hiccups but still have the upper hand. We had the chance to build a considerable advantage but squandered everything against the likes of Torino, Bologna and Frosinone. SPAL could be next... No, sorry. Even with our best (on paper) players like Higuain and Suso on field we managed nothing and the injury crisis isn't a big enough excuse.

It will be a miracle if we reach 4th place. But all hope lies on this chore, and who do we have to achieve it: Gattuso, or perhaps yet another past Milan rookie player who wants to succeed Rino like Pippo, Brocchi and Seedorf before? Or Donadoni, who never once in his career managed to stir a team to 4th place? Or Blanc and Wenger, complete strangers to Italian football and Serie A? And this sorry excuse of a team without leadership, without heart and without soul? Sorry, I honestly doubt 4th place is achievable. Dzeko will be back, Roma will recuperate. Perhpas Lazio will stumble, but it's a big question mark.

Anyway, what if we don't make 4th spot? The endless loop continues.

Posted by: Rossoneri7 Dec 29 2018, 05:03 AM

QUOTE (Fillipo Simone @ Dec 29 2018, 03:40 AM) *
This team has no chance of getting 4th. Roma and Lazio faced hiccups but still have the upper hand. We had the chance to build a considerable advantage but squandered everything against the likes of Torino, Bologna and Frosinone. SPAL could be next... No, sorry. Even with our best (on paper) players like Higuain and Suso on field we managed nothing and the injury crisis isn't a big enough excuse.

It will be a miracle if we reach 4th place. But all hope lies on this chore, and who do we have to achieve it: Gattuso, or perhaps yet another past Milan rookie player who wants to succeed Rino like Pippo, Brocchi and Seedorf before? Or Donadoni, who never once in his career managed to stir a team to 4th place? Or Blanc and Wenger, complete strangers to Italian football and Serie A? And this sorry excuse of a team without leadership, without heart and without soul? Sorry, I honestly doubt 4th place is achievable. Dzeko will be back, Roma will recuperate. Perhpas Lazio will stumble, but it's a big question mark.

Anyway, what if we don't make 4th spot? The endless loop continues.


So Pippo, FFP has put Milan in handcuffs? Doesn’t this resemble the situation Galliani was in?

If Milan manage to secure 4th place and UEFA extends the breakeven deadline for Milan, the game would change a bit. Milan would be able to make proper signings to improve the team.

Once again, its not rocket science this has been going on since FFP kicked in. How serious? Well just this summer Milan was kicked out of Europe for Li’s extravagant spending (mediocre when compared to the spending Silvio did to make Milan what it was).

P.S. Iv said this years ago, yet here we are again. Oh and on top of that, both Leo and Maldini back Ringo. So he isn't going anywhere either.

Posted by: X-Offender Dec 29 2018, 05:56 PM

QUOTE (Fillipo Simone @ Dec 29 2018, 12:40 AM) *
This team has no chance of getting 4th. Roma and Lazio faced hiccups but still have the upper hand. We had the chance to build a considerable advantage but squandered everything against the likes of Torino, Bologna and Frosinone. SPAL could be next... No, sorry. Even with our best (on paper) players like Higuain and Suso on field we managed nothing and the injury crisis isn't a big enough excuse.

It will be a miracle if we reach 4th place. But all hope lies on this chore, and who do we have to achieve it: Gattuso, or perhaps yet another past Milan rookie player who wants to succeed Rino like Pippo, Brocchi and Seedorf before? Or Donadoni, who never once in his career managed to stir a team to 4th place? Or Blanc and Wenger, complete strangers to Italian football and Serie A? And this sorry excuse of a team without leadership, without heart and without soul? Sorry, I honestly doubt 4th place is achievable. Dzeko will be back, Roma will recuperate. Perhpas Lazio will stumble, but it's a big question mark.

Anyway, what if we don't make 4th spot? The endless loop continues.


Mark my words, we’ll be in the Champions League next season. We just needs those 2-3 signings in January to give us that extra boost.

Posted by: han2503 Dec 29 2018, 08:51 PM

QUOTE (X-Offender @ Dec 29 2018, 05:56 PM) *
Mark my words, we’ll be in the Champions League next season. We just needs those 2-3 signings in January to give us that extra boost.

Let's hope so, if those signings aren't made I can't see how we'll manage to limp along to a 4th place finish at this point

Rino is a question mark for me atm. I don't think he's been as bad as some have made him out to be considering the massive injury crises he's had to deal with

Posted by: CHU-LIP Dec 30 2018, 04:32 PM

Milan should 'save' their season, and end 4th. Otherwise it would be a massive disappointment. Gattuso should be fired.

Nonetheless, I did like the duo sub. When I saw Calabria and Cutrone ready to sub in, it were the exact two I wanted to see subbed off. I thought a Cutrone Higuaín pairing would be what Milan needed, and it immediatly paid off. Even though Suso and Hakan lack effiency in their finishing, they were the right ones to stay on field to play on the sides.

I feel like Milan lacks some certain spirit, and needs changes. Beginnging of the season I liked their play more being leaning to tiki taka, but was still very vulnerable and therefore fawlthy. What I see now, is simply worse.

Most creativity (and general threat) came from Suso, but I feel like that's not enough. Before Cutrone subbed in, I felt like Higauín was playing on an island. I am sadly not surprised Higuaín having had a long dry spell at Milan.

Bakayoko made some errors. It are errors like these I hope Milan makes less, once they have better spirit and energy.

I am impresed with Petagna his strength and body play, what a beast!

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Dec 31 2018, 11:28 AM

QUOTE (X-Offender @ Dec 29 2018, 07:56 PM) *
Mark my words, we’ll be in the Champions League next season. We just needs those 2-3 signings in January to give us that extra boost.

It is questionable however if Milan will make any quality signings this January bar Paqueta.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Jan 12 2019, 07:58 PM

Milan under Gattuso... no chance of scoring goals.

Another half-blooded game.

Posted by: X-Offender Jan 13 2019, 12:01 AM

QUOTE (Fillipo Simone @ Jan 12 2019, 07:58 PM) *
Milan under Gattuso... no chance of scoring goals.

Another half-blooded game.


But we won.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Jan 13 2019, 01:30 AM

Yes, we won. But we play horrible football for a very consistent and long period now. And very idea-less as well. I fear Paqueta will be drowned in this nonsensical tactics we play.

Posted by: William405 Jan 13 2019, 06:10 PM

QUOTE (Fillipo Simone @ Jan 13 2019, 03:30 AM) *
Yes, we won. But we play horrible football for a very consistent and long period now. And very idea-less as well. I fear Paqueta will be drowned in this nonsensical tactics we play.


I agree. I'm seeing a downward spiral to our game since sometime now. I hope we get back to playing better, maybe with the return of the injured players.

Posted by: X-Offender Jan 13 2019, 07:52 PM

If Higuain leaves then we're practically f*cked.

Posted by: William405 Jan 16 2019, 07:23 PM

Paqueta is very very impressive.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Jan 16 2019, 07:45 PM

QUOTE (X-Offender @ Jan 13 2019, 09:52 PM) *
If Higuain leaves then we're practically f*cked.

I think his departure is sealed.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Jan 16 2019, 07:56 PM

And Donnarumma does it again. What a joke.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Jan 16 2019, 08:06 PM

Typicall Kessie... dumb and useless.

Posted by: William405 Jan 16 2019, 08:14 PM

QUOTE (Fillipo Simone @ Jan 16 2019, 10:06 PM) *
Typicall Kessie... dumb and useless.


That is very very harsh, and you know it Pipo

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Jan 16 2019, 08:50 PM

Not at all. Kessie is an outdated and limited player who would be virtually useless for any big team. He's simply too unintelligent and clumsy in the attacking phase and adds just a few good segments to the game overall. Just compare him with Bakayoko, who's far superior yet still not that great.

Posted by: maldini03 Jan 17 2019, 02:01 AM

Kessie can hardly be considered a useless player in a big team. To me he is Vidal or Matuidi-lite. He is a box-to-box midfielder who plays with tenacity and physicality. Not a refined passer, nor a pure anchor. Both of those guys truly shine when they play next to players who can bring some creativity to the team. As for not finding a place in the top sides that is wild. Every team needs a player who is going to endlessly run around and provide to both the attacking and defensive phase Kessie is that player for us.

Kessie needs time more than anything. Neither Vidal nor Matuidi came into their own skin until age ~24 but once they rounded out their games and matured a bit they have played for all of the top sides (Barca, PSG, Bayern, Juve), and have played critical roles. Wait until Kessie irons out those few kinks to his game and the midfield to bring in some creativity and you will see how important he is. With Paqueta bringing confidence, flair, and passing ability it will elevate Kessie's game. Soon enough Kessie will be back in the goals and his confidence will rise.

Posted by: X-Offender Jan 19 2019, 05:51 PM

QUOTE (maldini03 @ Jan 17 2019, 02:01 AM) *
Kessie can hardly be considered a useless player in a big team. To me he is Vidal or Matuidi-lite. He is a box-to-box midfielder who plays with tenacity and physicality. Not a refined passer, nor a pure anchor. Both of those guys truly shine when they play next to players who can bring some creativity to the team. As for not finding a place in the top sides that is wild. Every team needs a player who is going to endlessly run around and provide to both the attacking and defensive phase Kessie is that player for us.

Kessie needs time more than anything. Neither Vidal nor Matuidi came into their own skin until age ~24 but once they rounded out their games and matured a bit they have played for all of the top sides (Barca, PSG, Bayern, Juve), and have played critical roles. Wait until Kessie irons out those few kinks to his game and the midfield to bring in some creativity and you will see how important he is. With Paqueta bringing confidence, flair, and passing ability it will elevate Kessie's game. Soon enough Kessie will be back in the goals and his confidence will rise.


Agreed.

Posted by: X-Offender Jan 20 2019, 12:29 PM

I haven't been able to see the last couple of games. How's Paqueta played?

Posted by: William405 Jan 20 2019, 01:34 PM

QUOTE (X-Offender @ Jan 20 2019, 02:29 PM) *
I haven't been able to see the last couple of games. How's Paqueta played?


I think quite good. He is playing it simple which is the smart thing to do when you're thrown into the fire like that. He is very calm, and controls well the ball. I don't feel like he has a good shot on him, but maybe he'll prove otherwise. I'm quite excited to see how he turns out.

Posted by: maldini03 Jan 20 2019, 02:29 PM

I think he has been pretty impressive has been the fresh presence and creativity we seriously need. I feel like our midfield has been pretty stagnant and the lack of dynamic players and movement has lead to us losing the ability to create chances in games.

Paqueta changes that, he is constantly moving off the ball to get open and get the ball to create. Plus he can pick out a pass nicely and always has his head up looking for other players.

Posted by: han2503 Jan 20 2019, 03:03 PM

Hey guys, back from a trip.

Seeing the developments about Higuain p!ssed me right off. I mean, why even sign if he was reluctant to begin with? Piatek will most likely be the guy brought in, I'm not that excited about it, if he can keep up his Genoa numbers that would be great but he just doesn't give me that kind of impression of being a big game player capable of making the mark in a big team with big ambitions.

It's not like Higuain has been scoring a lot either but he does bring in that extra confidence level that I can't see Piratek doing


As for Paqueta, he's looked impressive so far, he definitely has the confidence to be starting, showed great character in the Juve game as well.

Also, I think some of you are going a bit overboard with criticizing Rino. He hasn't had a fully fit squad since the first month of the season but still has managed to keep results relatively stable. We played the Juve game without any of our big attacking threats and still managed to create some good chances while also keeping the result respectable when we went down to 10 men. Add to that the wholly BS refereeing that went down as has been the case for the last 5 or so games we've played against Juve where we got screwed over in some way or the other and you just have to give respect to these players and the coach as well

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Jan 21 2019, 03:51 PM

Are you watching Han? Tell me, when was the last time Milan played so dull and consistently bad football?

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Jan 21 2019, 05:38 PM

we did win. i think 2nd half was an improvement over the first

Posted by: han2503 Jan 21 2019, 08:18 PM

QUOTE (Fillipo Simone @ Jan 21 2019, 03:51 PM) *
Are you watching Han? Tell me, when was the last time Milan played so dull and consistently bad football?

Yes I am, and let me think.... The last decade or so fits that bill, only we weren't even getting half decent results then, which we are now.

You know, you can criticize Rino as much as you'd like but facts are facts, we're in 4th after 20 games played all while having some serious injury issues and a relatively small squad especially in terms of quality off the bench which is pretty much non-existent

Add to that he had to deal with his marquee player being mentally checked out since November

All in all, he's done a damn fine job if you ask me. What do you guys really expect? That's we'd be on par with Napoli? We knew the problems we had going into the season. The only real disappointment so far was the EL exit, but in the long run it could prove helpful for us

As for the football in general, I think we've played much worse stuff under Allegri, Montella and Pippo. We still manage to create nice plays in the majority of the games but generally lack the quality on the final ball. hat being said, Rino might not have made us beautiful to watch, but he's definitely made us difficult to beat, if Leonardo and Maldini can give him the 2 players we need in the attack that can give us that extra spark and added quality than the nice looking football will follow from there

On another note, I'm really impressed with Paqueta, this kid approaches the game with such style and quality, I'm really looking forward to seeing more of him

Posted by: X-Offender Jan 21 2019, 11:40 PM

So, we're 4th after 20 games played. When was the last time that happened?

Posted by: han2503 Jan 22 2019, 06:23 PM

QUOTE (X-Offender @ Jan 21 2019, 11:40 PM) *
So, we're 4th after 20 games played. When was the last time that happened?

No idea. But the majority of Milan fans, and this is not an observation of just this forum, are still complaining about Rino...

Posted by: han2503 Jan 22 2019, 06:25 PM

With that all being said, we have a ridiculous schedule coming up, Napoli, Napoli, Roma within a span of a few days, thankfully we're recovering some of our injured players, but we might not still be in 4th after these game are played

Conti will also be a major boost for us, already 2 assists in around 120 minutes of football played since coming back

Posted by: maldini03 Jan 22 2019, 07:00 PM

Yeah, all in all, I think I agree with you han. I was quick to criticize Gattuso but it seems he has sorted things out. I think having Higuain out will be a good long run decision. To be honest, I never much liked him, always thought he failed to show up in the big games. He was never a good fit here where we need someone to work to take us back. Higuain needs the team to play for him and I think he upset the atmosphere we have under Gattuso.

The next few games are a good test for us. If we can manage 4 points from those two games with Napoli and Roma we might be looking good. I still have my eye on the transfer window though I think we will bring someone else in on top of Piatek.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Jan 22 2019, 09:59 PM

QUOTE (han2503 @ Jan 21 2019, 10:18 PM) *
Yes I am, and let me think.... The last decade or so fits that bill, only we weren't even getting half decent results then, which we are now.

You know, you can criticize Rino as much as you'd like but facts are facts, we're in 4th after 20 games played all while having some serious injury issues and a relatively small squad especially in terms of quality off the bench which is pretty much non-existent

Add to that he had to deal with his marquee player being mentally checked out since November

All in all, he's done a damn fine job if you ask me. What do you guys really expect? That's we'd be on par with Napoli? We knew the problems we had going into the season. The only real disappointment so far was the EL exit, but in the long run it could prove helpful for us

As for the football in general, I think we've played much worse stuff under Allegri, Montella and Pippo. We still manage to create nice plays in the majority of the games but generally lack the quality on the final ball. hat being said, Rino might not have made us beautiful to watch, but he's definitely made us difficult to beat, if Leonardo and Maldini can give him the 2 players we need in the attack that can give us that extra spark and added quality than the nice looking football will follow from there

On another note, I'm really impressed with Paqueta, this kid approaches the game with such style and quality, I'm really looking forward to seeing more of him

Perhaps. I do understand that the situation Rino got himself into isn't easy to deal with. But we had injury crisis like this under Allegri as well. Only our expectations were higher, and granted, our team better. Yet who said anything about being on pair with Napoli? But we are unable to be on pair with Lazio or Roma as well.

Yes, results are momentarily good. But we had a golden opportunity in December when Lazio and Roma were in crisis and Inter also started shaking to take a grittier approach and win points against the likes of Torino, Bologna, etc. But we never found an ounce of strength to show some face. Just like last season when the team simply disappeared on the first real European test against Arsenal, or like we hit numerous times self-destruct in important games - we caved. I really do not believe Rino can stir us to 4th place and the temporarily good position is just that - temporal. Soon we'll find ourselves back in 6th or 7th.


QUOTE (han2503 @ Jan 22 2019, 08:25 PM) *
With that all being said, we have a ridiculous schedule coming up, Napoli, Napoli, Roma within a span of a few days, thankfully we're recovering some of our injured players, but we might not still be in 4th after these game are played

Conti will also be a major boost for us, already 2 assists in around 120 minutes of football played since coming back

Conti has been very good I must admit, just what we needed. Hopefully he can maintain this form.

Posted by: han2503 Jan 23 2019, 08:19 PM

QUOTE (maldini03 @ Jan 22 2019, 07:00 PM) *
Yeah, all in all, I think I agree with you han. I was quick to criticize Gattuso but it seems he has sorted things out. I think having Higuain out will be a good long run decision. To be honest, I never much liked him, always thought he failed to show up in the big games. He was never a good fit here where we need someone to work to take us back. Higuain needs the team to play for him and I think he upset the atmosphere we have under Gattuso.

The next few games are a good test for us. If we can manage 4 points from those two games with Napoli and Roma we might be looking good. I still have my eye on the transfer window though I think we will bring someone else in on top of Piatek.

Agreed about Higuain. I still don't understand why he even agreed to the move if he wasn't willing to do the work it takes when you join a team who are going through a rebuilding phase. Such a complete lack of character

QUOTE (Fillipo Simone @ Jan 22 2019, 09:59 PM) *
Perhaps. I do understand that the situation Rino got himself into isn't easy to deal with. But we had injury crisis like this under Allegri as well. Only our expectations were higher, and granted, our team better. Yet who said anything about being on pair with Napoli? But we are unable to be on pair with Lazio or Roma as well.

Yes, results are momentarily good. But we had a golden opportunity in December when Lazio and Roma were in crisis and Inter also started shaking to take a grittier approach and win points against the likes of Torino, Bologna, etc. But we never found an ounce of strength to show some face. Just like last season when the team simply disappeared on the first real European test against Arsenal, or like we hit numerous times self-destruct in important games - we caved. I really do not believe Rino can stir us to 4th place and the temporarily good position is just that - temporal. Soon we'll find ourselves back in 6th or 7th.

Conti has been very good I must admit, just what we needed. Hopefully he can maintain this form.

Yes, we had an injury crises with Allegri, and what happened? We conceded the Scudetto to Juve while having the best team in the league by a good margin, and it wasn't a team that was lacking in resources be any stretch of the imagination either, we had a a deep squad that Allegri could use, the same cannot be said now.

As for not taking advantage of the crises, yes it is disappointing, but you have to take into consideration that we have been in our very own crises since September with all the injuries we had to deal with, and this is not Alegri's Milan, if a player like Bona, Biglia or Suso go down, we have no alternatives that would allow us to still maintain the same level of quality without them in the starting 11. We've at least been lucky that Bakayoko has recovered his form and has been producing great performances since Biglia's been out or our crises would have been much worse, and I attribute Bakayoko's retun to form in part to Rino as well.

Look I'm not someone who's blind to Rino's faults (which mostly are due to his lack of experience), would I still like a Conte or Klopp? Of coure, but those guys are unrealistic, and given all the challenges Rino has faced, you simply cannot deny that he's done a commendable job. And I think if we can give him the backing he has so far deserved, he'll continue to grow and improve as a coach and we'll reap those benefits.

Also I said Napoli because that's where we should be aspiring to in the short term, I already think we're on par with Roma and Lazio now, and as for where we'll finish, we'll see, we're lucky because the majority of our difficult fixtures are all clumped in the coming weeks, so we'll be able to get those out of the way and re-assess after that. Hopefully we can make 1 more signing and bring the winger we need in and it will give us that added push.

Posted by: han2503 Jan 26 2019, 10:45 PM

Don't know who watched the Napoli game, but there were definitely some positives to take away, Paqueta is such an interesting player, major potential in him, he plays with a level of confidence that you rarely see in players his age coming from outside the league. There are definitely things he needs to cut out, like holding on to the ball too long in tight areas and going for the risky pass in dangerous areas but that's something that can be coached out of him

Piantek looks good as well, certainly looks to be more than just a poacher. He looks to be a powerful runner, good with his back to goal and on link up play and has great positioning. This obviously from the little I've seen of him so far. It's also a relief to have a player who so clearly wants to be on this team and not feeling like the other players are tip toeing around him because he's the "star"

If only we can get that winger in. We're linked with Carrasco and now Deulofeu as well, and honestly, I'd take the latter. He'll be cheap and he's a known quantity to us. And I think his characteristics are exactly what we need to make our trident complete. Obviously Carrasco would be great but he's harder to get plus much more expensive

Anyway, overall it was a good game I thought. I'll take a point off Napoli any day of the week, the Roma game is what will be crucial

Posted by: han2503 Jan 29 2019, 09:13 PM

Piatek ohmy.gif

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Jan 29 2019, 09:13 PM

2 0 both goals from out new boy

Posted by: William405 Feb 3 2019, 09:37 PM

And another one today.

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Feb 4 2019, 05:35 AM

We drew but i think its a missed opportunity for us

Posted by: han2503 Feb 10 2019, 08:33 PM

QUOTE (CrazyMilanFan @ Feb 4 2019, 05:35 AM) *
We drew but i think its a missed opportunity for us

The ref really screwed us over in that one imo. Must win today, let's see how we do

Posted by: William405 Feb 10 2019, 09:22 PM

Is it me or is Hakan sometimes playing more central and switching on the wings with Paqueta? In anyway, I like it.

We are playing well...There is a certain matureness( is that a word?) to our game. We attack when we have to, and we know how to slow down the pace.

Surprised that Piatek didn't score on that opportunity. But, this kid has good quality. He can pass the ball well.

And, Paqueta as usual is doing well!

Posted by: han2503 Feb 10 2019, 09:38 PM

QUOTE (William405 @ Feb 10 2019, 09:22 PM) *
Is it me or is Hakan sometimes playing more central and switching on the wings with Paqueta? In anyway, I like it.

We are playing well...There is a certain matureness( is that a word?) to our game. We attack when we have to, and we know how to slow down the pace.

Surprised that Piatek didn't score on that opportunity. But, this kid has good quality. He can pass the ball well.

And, Paqueta as usual is doing well!

Yeah, they seem to be switching around between each other. Hakan is finally looking better these past few weeks after months of underwhelming performances

Agreed, I think part of that has to be attributed to Bakayoko. He brings a lot of defensive stability into our midfield and in turn helps out our defenders immensely

Piatek got a little bit too cocky on that, he shouldn't have tried to chip that, but still, it's a good sign to see him having the confidence to attempt it

Posted by: han2503 Feb 16 2019, 10:55 PM

Where is everyone? Now that this team is finally clicking and we're playing well everyone seems to have disappeared...

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Feb 17 2019, 01:06 AM

I just watched the headlines.. We are looking good and main thing is we are playing well. Piatek show is simply stunning especially the first goal today.

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Feb 17 2019, 05:18 PM

Lazio lost as well.. Hopefully Roma will drop points too..

Posted by: William405 Feb 17 2019, 08:01 PM

Yes, I hope so. Anyway, we just need to focus on always playing good and I think the 4th spot, at this pace, could very well be ours. wink.gif

Posted by: X-Offender Feb 17 2019, 09:01 PM

We played really well last night. Didn't dominate the game by any means but we looked solid and took our chances. Hopefully the players can keep up this momentum till the end of the season.

Piatek and Paqueta are turning out to be two of the best signings we've made in a very long time. Piatek is just fantastic. He's got great technique and fights for every ball. I honestly wasn't expecting him to turn out like this. And Paqueta man, what a player. He's so practical, all the tricks he does have an end to them, he doesn't just do them for show. Plus he plays for the team and defends the ball well. Top class

But the real revelation so far has been Bakayoko. What a beast! Totally deserves every penny of that 40M clause.

Posted by: William405 Feb 17 2019, 09:06 PM

QUOTE (X-Offender @ Feb 17 2019, 11:01 PM) *
We played really well last night. Didn't dominate the game by any means but we looked solid and took our chances. Hopefully the players can keep up this momentum till the end of the season.

Piatek and Paqueta are turning out to be two of the best signings we've made in a very long time. Piatek is just fantastic. He's got great technique and fights for every ball. I honestly wasn't expecting him to turn out like this. And Paqueta man, what a player. He's so practical, all the tricks he does have an end to them, he doesn't just do them for show. Plus he plays for the team and defends the ball well. Top class

But the real revelation so far has been Bakayoko. What a beast! Totally deserves every penny of that 40M clause.


Ah ah ah, feels well to see optimism!!!

Posted by: han2503 Feb 17 2019, 10:02 PM

QUOTE (CrazyMilanFan @ Feb 17 2019, 05:18 PM) *
Lazio lost as well.. Hopefully Roma will drop points too..

Let's see if Mihajlovic can do us a favour for old time's sake

Inter won though, which is disappointing after the sh!t show that's been going down across town with the Icardi nonsense.

I think we need to stop looking at who's behind us and start focusing on that 3rd spot. We've already gotten a bunch of really difficult fixtures out of the way this year. Managing to consolidate 4th spot after having faced Napoli, Roma and Atalanta, the last 2 away from home is something that I absolutely did not expect to happen, but here we are, 4 points off 3rd with a little bit of leeway (depending still one what Roma do tomorrow) from the 5th spot. The table is really tight, but the fixture list in the upcoming 3 games massively favours us. We need to make sure we grab all 9 points against Empoli (H) Sassuolo (H) and Chievo (A) with a Coppa fixture against Lazio wedged in between

But tese 3 games are massively important as Inter will face Fiorentina, Lazio and Roma face each other and Lazio will also play Fiorentina. So 9 points would not only help in consolidating 4th, but they'd potentially put some distance between us and the Roman clubs, not to mention hopefully make up ground on Inter before the derby

QUOTE (William405 @ Feb 17 2019, 08:01 PM) *
Yes, I hope so. Anyway, we just need to focus on always playing good and I think the 4th spot, at this pace, could very well be ours. wink.gif

Agreed. In the past few years, this game would have been prime opportunity for us to implode but we went out there, played a slightly shaky first half but managed to keep things tight and came out gunning to win it in the second half

What Rino has managed to do with this team, imo has been amazing so far this season. The fact that he managed to keep things together and not fall apart through the massive injury crises we were in while still maintaining a good position in the table and getting results when in previous years we would have thrown in the towel by October had we faced the same kinds of issues is admirable and deserves massive amounts of respect and kudos

QUOTE (X-Offender @ Feb 17 2019, 09:01 PM) *
We played really well last night. Didn't dominate the game by any means but we looked solid and took our chances. Hopefully the players can keep up this momentum till the end of the season.

Piatek and Paqueta are turning out to be two of the best signings we've made in a very long time. Piatek is just fantastic. He's got great technique and fights for every ball. I honestly wasn't expecting him to turn out like this. And Paqueta man, what a player. He's so practical, all the tricks he does have an end to them, he doesn't just do them for show. Plus he plays for the team and defends the ball well. Top class

But the real revelation so far has been Bakayoko. What a beast! Totally deserves every penny of that 40M clause.

Agreed on all. Especially Bakayoko. And this coming from someone who was highly critical of him in his first few games (which were admittedly a nightmare)

He's become the most important puzzle piece within our formation imo. He shields the defense so well and connects defense and attack so seamlessly. Initiating that release clause next summer has to be priority 1. And he seems just as determined to stay so that's also great to see

You know, during January when that Higuain mess was going down I could already see the rest of our season crumbling before my eyes.

But now, in hindsight, him wanting to leave is the best thing that could have happened to this team. In fact I'll go even further and say Bonucci wanting to leave and go back to Juve was the best thing that could have happened to us, as it started the chain reaction that lead to Piatek. Not to mention getting Caldara off Juve as well who, even though so far has had a very disappointing time of it, he's still imo one of the best young Italian defenders next to Romagnoli. So Leonardo has so far made some seriously inspired moves. I was a bit let down that we couldn't get a winger but we'll see if we can still achieve our goals for a CL spot without one.

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Feb 22 2019, 09:06 PM

Very sloppy passing so far..

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Feb 22 2019, 09:40 PM

Another goal piatak and one from kessie 2-0 up

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Feb 22 2019, 09:58 PM

3-0 cassitilljo or whatever his name is spelled

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Feb 22 2019, 10:09 PM

4-0 borini.. 2 very different halfs

Edit: goal disallowed quite a stupid decision.

Posted by: X-Offender Feb 22 2019, 10:32 PM

QUOTE (CrazyMilanFan @ Feb 22 2019, 10:09 PM) *
4-0 borini.. 2 very different halfs

Edit: goal disallowed quite a stupid decision.


Yeah, what a retarded decision that was.

Posted by: han2503 Feb 23 2019, 10:29 AM

Finally seeing his team clicking is what we've been hoping for for a while now. Piatek and Paqueta are proving the difference. And it's also great to see Kessie and Hakan finally start to wake up at this point in the season. If only we can get Suso back to peak fitness levels. We need him at his best if we are to stay where we are in the table.

I'd personally rather he misses the Sassuolo game as well if it means he can fully recover and be back o 100% against Inter.

Lazio 1st leg in the Coppa up next, then Sassuolo, Chievo and the derby after that. We need to go all out against Lazio imo. We have a huge chance at the Coppa this year with Juve out, we can't afford to miss out on potential silverware. We can afford to have a a little rotation against Sassuolo since they're terrible atm

Posted by: Danny Feb 23 2019, 03:20 PM

I've been taking a big break from this club, because frankly the toxicity of the disgusting Bonucci and Higuain spells put me off completely.

When we got rid of those two, and brought in Piatek - I felt that was the difference and it made me pay attention again.

Most Milanistis doubted Piatek big time - I was one of the few who were actually excited.

And he's turning into the best striker in the league at the moment. A small club striker who can handle the Milan shirt on his back and become a big club striker.

It's good to see Rino get more out of this team, and fourth in the league and consistently so is impressive. We're a long way off the old Milan but there's more pride now.

Paqueta too is winning me over. Things seem to be building at a more believable level now.

Posted by: X-Offender Feb 23 2019, 07:13 PM

QUOTE (han2503 @ Feb 23 2019, 10:29 AM) *
If only we can get Suso back to peak fitness levels. We need him at his best if we are to stay where we are in the table.

I'd personally rather he misses the Sassuolo game as well if it means he can fully recover and be back o 100% against Inter.


Suso was suspended. He doesn't have any physical issues.

Posted by: X-Offender Feb 23 2019, 07:16 PM

Anyway, yeah, things are looking good at the moment. I won't say that we play some brilliant football, cos we don't, but we are looking like a team now. We're solid, the players show a lot of hunger and determination, and that is showing on the pitch. I still think we need a couple of upgrades in midfield and attack, but overall, we're on the right path.

Not finishing in the top 4 this year would be truly devastating.

Posted by: William405 Feb 23 2019, 09:00 PM

QUOTE (X-Offender @ Feb 23 2019, 09:16 PM) *
Anyway, yeah, things are looking good at the moment. I won't say that we play some brilliant football, cos we don't, but we are looking like a team now. We're solid, the players show a lot of hunger and determination, and that is showing on the pitch. I still think we need a couple of upgrades in midfield and attack, but overall, we're on the right path.

Not finishing in the top 4 this year would be truly devastating.


True. The thing is we're playing consistently. We are not falling apart in matches. I remember in recent years, we would totally be murdered by some mid-table team. Just because of the lack of consistency.

Gattuso is building a team which is solid defensively, but is also clinical in scoring goals.

I agree that some improvements in quality might be needed, but in my opinion, what is important is to conserve the core of this team. We have a solid core of young players that have been playing together for a few years now. This is massively important imo.

Posted by: Danny Feb 23 2019, 09:23 PM

I'm also liking the new Kessie - the one he was for a while pre-season the summer of 2017. He's looking like that marauding titan mean midfield machine again.

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Feb 23 2019, 10:32 PM

Roma won in injury time man...

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Feb 23 2019, 10:32 PM

DP

Posted by: William405 Feb 23 2019, 11:22 PM

Man, it's a bit frustrating. They are getting lucky quite often. We are clearly not going to get this the easy way, we gotta get out there and earn it!

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Feb 25 2019, 04:01 AM

Inter drew against fiorintina. So 2 points between them and us. This derby will be critical

Posted by: Danny Feb 26 2019, 11:57 PM

Bland match but a clean sheet away in Rome regardless of their form is a good result to take home.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Feb 27 2019, 10:53 PM

It is considering how we played.

Posted by: Danny Feb 28 2019, 04:05 PM

QUOTE (Fillipo Simone @ Feb 27 2019, 10:53 PM) *
It is considering how we played.


Not overly shocking - it's the cup. We never seem to show up for it.

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Mar 2 2019, 08:26 AM

A must win game which take us third as well now

Posted by: han2503 Mar 2 2019, 09:41 AM

QUOTE (Danny @ Feb 23 2019, 03:20 PM) *
I've been taking a big break from this club, because frankly the toxicity of the disgusting Bonucci and Higuain spells put me off completely.

When we got rid of those two, and brought in Piatek - I felt that was the difference and it made me pay attention again.

Most Milanistis doubted Piatek big time - I was one of the few who were actually excited.

And he's turning into the best striker in the league at the moment. A small club striker who can handle the Milan shirt on his back and become a big club striker.

It's good to see Rino get more out of this team, and fourth in the league and consistently so is impressive. We're a long way off the old Milan but there's more pride now.

Paqueta too is winning me over. Things seem to be building at a more believable level now.

Hi Danny, glad to see you around

I agree about the whole Bonucci and then Higuain situations. In December I honestly thought we wouldn't be able to recover from the demoralizing effect Higuain pushing his way out would create within the group, not to mention the injury crises we were carrying throughout the months of October, November and December and it was a recipe for a disaster end to the season.

But Higuain leaving actually had the opposite effect. It was clear that his negative attitude was effecting the rest of he team. Both him and Bonucci were brought in as players who were winners that can elevate the rest of te squad but their petulance at not always winning like they were at Juve had the opposite effect. Weak characters the both of them.

But the major positive from that entire Bonucci thing the summer previous to last when we bought him is that it lead to Caldara and Piatek in the end. And we'll be the better for it in a couple of years while Juve are showing clear signs of aging and slowing down imo. They might still be stumbling onto wins in the league but they have been terrible all season. Luck and some help from the refs make them look much better than they actually are

QUOTE (X-Offender @ Feb 23 2019, 07:13 PM) *
Suso was suspended. He doesn't have any physical issues.

Yes I know, but he's been terrible since December imo and I read that he was carrying some sort of physical issue. His consistency is terrible. Look at the game against Lazio, I don't remember him even making one positive action on the play. All his touches and dribbles were bad which lead to us losing possession

At this point I think Rino needs to bench him and play Castillejo who has been very impressive when he's played since the turn of the new year

I understand Rino wanting to give Suso his confidence, just like he did with Hakan which is seemingly paying off now, but even when Hakan was under-performing, he wasn't a liability to the team as Suso is as he still worked his @ss off in the game, and if he wasn't helping in the attack he was contributing to our defensive game. Suso when he's not on, he's a passenger. Against Lazio h probably played one of the worst games I've seen him play for us. It's time for him to sit, this is a point in our season where we cannot afford to carry dead-weight as we need to be practically perfect to stay in the CL positions as Roma keep winning games

QUOTE (X-Offender @ Feb 23 2019, 07:16 PM) *
Anyway, yeah, things are looking good at the moment. I won't say that we play some brilliant football, cos we don't, but we are looking like a team now. We're solid, the players show a lot of hunger and determination, and that is showing on the pitch. I still think we need a couple of upgrades in midfield and attack, but overall, we're on the right path.

Not finishing in the top 4 this year would be truly devastating.

We don't play brilliant football, but you can see a clear identity starting to form. If we had some more quality on the wings,a more dynamic LB and someone a more dynamic midfielder instead of Kessie, you would probably see the brilliant football we've been lacking for a while. But imo, this is the best football we've played in a long long time. It might not be super silky and tiki taka, but it's effective and at times pleasing to watch as well

I'm looking forward to see what players we bring in this summer. I definately think we need 1 or 2 wingers who are quick and skilfull, a creative mid who can play next to Bakayoko and Paqueta and probably a LB as well. Rodriguez is reliable and generally gives good performances, but imo we need someone who's quicker and better on the ball

QUOTE (William405 @ Feb 23 2019, 09:00 PM) *
True. The thing is we're playing consistently. We are not falling apart in matches. I remember in recent years, we would totally be murdered by some mid-table team. Just because of the lack of consistency.

Gattuso is building a team which is solid defensively, but is also clinical in scoring goals.

I agree that some improvements in quality might be needed, but in my opinion, what is important is to conserve the core of this team. We have a solid core of young players that have been playing together for a few years now. This is massively important imo.

Agreed

Gattuso deserves major props for what he's done with this group. He managed to keep the ship steady even during our worst moments in the season. We drew a few too many games in December during the peak of our injury crises but he still managed to gather a respectable amount of points that allowed us to still be in contention for 4th. He handled the Higuain situation and has integrated 2 new players into the squad seamlessly.

I know people are still very skeptical about him as a coach, and some still don't want to give him the chance because he's not the big name they want, but I think he deserves to be our coach next season imo and if he gets us CL football then that's a major achievement considering all the coaches before him who tried and failed

QUOTE (Danny @ Feb 23 2019, 09:23 PM) *
I'm also liking the new Kessie - the one he was for a while pre-season the summer of 2017. He's looking like that marauding titan mean midfield machine again.

I'm personally very on the fence about him, he can be great one moment and incredibly frustrating the next. I need to see improvements in his decision making, passing and finishing because right now, I feel that replacing him in the starting 11 with someone more dynamic/creative is a priority.

He makes great runs and his physique is a problem for most sides, but his passing decisions are generally bad and his decisions when he gets in front of goal which are to generally shoot and miss are even worse.He's got the attributes to be a great player imo, but the things I mentioned above need to improve greatly. If we're in the CL next season, I don't think he's good enough to be starting games in that competition if his performances remain as they are now

QUOTE (William405 @ Feb 23 2019, 11:22 PM) *
Man, it's a bit frustrating. They are getting lucky quite often. We are clearly not going to get this the easy way, we gotta get out there and earn it!

Yep, but they're not playing all that well, so potential for dropping points is always there even if they are getting lucky, plus Frosinone are the biggest donkey team in the league, so that was expected (can't believe we lost points there - biggest face palm moment of the season for us so far). Hopefully they go past Porto in the CL so they can have that to worry about as well.

QUOTE (Danny @ Feb 26 2019, 11:57 PM) *
Bland match but a clean sheet away in Rome regardless of their form is a good result to take home.

I thought Lazio were going to be missing more players, since the reports before the game was about the major injury crises they had, but they had all their major players on the pitch bar Luis Alberto - who later came on

I expected it to be tough, they were coming off 3 losses, they weren't just going to lay down for us and let us walk it at the Olympico. We better play better in the 2nd leg though, this is the best chance of silverware we've had in a while with Juve out

QUOTE (Fillipo Simone @ Feb 27 2019, 10:53 PM) *
It is considering how we played.

Yes, we played badly, I was disappointed. But it's still impressive how we've built such an impenetrable defense, that even when we play badly we're still getting results due to our defensive play

Posted by: han2503 Mar 2 2019, 09:42 AM

Sorry for the long post, just wanted to reply to everyone biggrin.gif

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Mar 2 2019, 09:51 AM

Good one Han wink.gif

Inter lost to Cagliari last night. Hopefully we show character and seal the win tonight.

Posted by: han2503 Mar 2 2019, 10:00 AM

QUOTE (Fillipo Simone @ Mar 2 2019, 09:51 AM) *
Good one Han wink.gif

Inter lost to Cagliari last night. Hopefully we show character and seal the win tonight.

Yes, the game tonight will be a good indicator of whether we have what it takes to pull this off.

Generally speaking, in the past this type of game is a prime moment for us to f up and not take the opportunity we've been presented before us.

Not to mention the Rome derby being played later on tonight

Posted by: X-Offender Mar 2 2019, 03:01 PM

@Han

I would still prefer the worst Suso to Castillejo. Let's be honest, Castillejo is a very average player who doesn't really bring anything substantial to our play. He can have his moments, but thus far he's been a passenger this season.

Suso, on the other hand, has been and continues to be crucial for us. He has class and lots of skill, and even on his worst day he can still pull off something out of nowhere. And besides, it'd be unfair to bench probably our best performer of the last 2-3 years just because he's had a few bad games.

As for today's game, we have the opportunity to achieve something we haven't achieved since 2013: 3rd place! This is huge, the players need to be conscious and aware of it.

Posted by: Danny Mar 2 2019, 05:00 PM

Playing today huh? Might need to keep my eye out for it. Third on merit would be pretty amazing tbh.

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Mar 2 2019, 06:24 PM

Last 5 mins we have fallen asleep..

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Mar 2 2019, 06:38 PM

1-0 up from a corner

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Mar 2 2019, 06:50 PM

HT 1-0 but we have looked quite shaky. Need to improve in the second half

Posted by: X-Offender Mar 2 2019, 07:12 PM

We're playing really bad.

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Mar 2 2019, 07:21 PM

Just a matter of time before we concede it seems

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Mar 2 2019, 07:25 PM

Red for their keeper

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Mar 2 2019, 07:26 PM

But they're checking VAR

Posted by: Danny Mar 2 2019, 07:45 PM

Wasn't able to watch - my IPTV service cr*pped out.

Last I saw we're winning with 5 to go

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Mar 2 2019, 07:50 PM

We have been very poor i dont know why so defensive

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Mar 2 2019, 07:51 PM

5 mins of extra time

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Mar 2 2019, 07:56 PM

FT the only good thing is 3 points.. We were quite poor overall

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Mar 2 2019, 07:57 PM

Nevertheless we are third. There was no service at and didn't get the extreme defensive contain in second half

Posted by: han2503 Mar 2 2019, 08:07 PM

QUOTE (X-Offender @ Mar 2 2019, 03:01 PM) *
@Han

I would still prefer the worst Suso to Castillejo. Let's be honest, Castillejo is a very average player who doesn't really bring anything substantial to our play. He can have his moments, but thus far he's been a passenger this season.

Suso, on the other hand, has been and continues to be crucial for us. He has class and lots of skill, and even on his worst day he can still pull off something out of nowhere. And besides, it'd be unfair to bench probably our best performer of the last 2-3 years just because he's had a few bad games.

As for today's game, we have the opportunity to achieve something we haven't achieved since 2013: 3rd place! This is huge, the players need to be conscious and aware of it.

I never denied that Suso was any of those things, but h's been new level of bad as of late, and we have to acknowledge that it has become the norm for him to play half a season and then completely drop off after December, it's becoming a trend, and we can't go anywhere if our main creative player falls asleep half way through the season. Maybe it's his fitness and he can't play so many games in a season, but this is clearly becoming a problem.

He was marginally better today, but still overall quite poor imo. I disagree about Castillejo, he's actually skillful and fast on top of that. We've seen him generally played on the left when imo he's much better on the right. I don't care if he's given us 2-3 years of being our best player atm, what I care about is winning, and Suso is not performing up to standard, you don't keep your place in the starting 11 based on sentiment for what you did in previous seasons, you keep it based on how you're playing now

QUOTE (CrazyMilanFan @ Mar 2 2019, 06:24 PM) *
Last 5 mins we have fallen asleep..

Last 5 minutes? We slept through the entire 90! That red card helped us out tremendously as we were going to concede if things kept going the way they were

We played badly again, just like we did against Lazio. Hakan was absolute dog cr@p if you ask me, ever touch and every pass was poor. Bakayoko also looked leggy while Kessie was his usual self. Buzzing around but not helping in much of anything. Paqueta also looks like the games are catching up to him. Let's not forget that he's already played an entire season in Brazil and he's played non-stop for us as well. Rodriguez was taking ages on the ball and his passing was bad as well. Just a really disappointing performance from everyone aside from Donna, Calabria, Musacchio and Romagnoli imo

I just don't understand why we kept sitting back, allowing them to practically tiki taka around us at one point with no one bother to press. And when we were trying to move the ball forward it was one huge cluster f@ck

Thankfully we have a full week to prep before a relatively "easy" fixture against Chievo (unless we make a meal out of that one as well) and then the derby. I honestly cannot see us getting anything out of that if we play like we did today

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Mar 2 2019, 08:17 PM

Awful match, good result. I hope Rino actually sees the problems we inflict ourselves.

And sorry X-O, but Han is completely right. Suso just checked off right now. Samu is the better pick until Suso regains form or whatever he needs when he reaches his second part of the season slumber party.

Posted by: han2503 Mar 2 2019, 08:35 PM

QUOTE (Fillipo Simone @ Mar 2 2019, 08:17 PM) *
Awful match, good result. I hope Rino actually sees the problems we inflict ourselves.

And sorry X-O, but Han is completely right. Suso just checked off right now. Samu is the better pick until Suso regains form or whatever he needs when he reaches his second part of the season slumber party.

I think he sees, he looked about ready to burst a vein at one point

The game plan was not good today and that's on him, I don't understand why we kept sitting back and let them play and play, we were really lucky. In such a game where our season could take a major turning point, I don't get how we could go out there and play a slow lethargic game with no one even pressing the opponent. That needs to improve and quick

I'm personally even more worried about some of the individuals. The touches and passes are bad from almost everyone atm and that's really worrying. Even Bakayoko who has been a beast for months now is seemingly dropping off a bit

Things need to improve and quick, we were lucky today, but we won't be lucky every week. Thankfully our defense is extremely reliable atm or we wouldn't have gotten the points today

Hakan, Suso, Rodriguez and Kessie need to wake up and fast or we're going to start dropping points

I want to see a great performance next week against Chievo. We cannot afford to take out foot off the gas now and I'm 100% sure that Rino will do what is necessary to prevent this from happening

Posted by: X-Offender Mar 2 2019, 08:40 PM

QUOTE (X-Offender @ Mar 2 2019, 03:01 PM) *
I would still prefer the worst Suso to Castillejo.


I still stand by this. Castillejo just doesn't do anything for me.

As for the game, I think the players were tired. Sassuolo completely overpowered us physically, we couldn't keep up with their high pressing and hence conceded a lot. I hope it is just temporary.

Posted by: han2503 Mar 2 2019, 09:47 PM

QUOTE (X-Offender @ Mar 2 2019, 08:40 PM) *
I still stand by this. Castillejo just doesn't do anything for me.

As for the game, I think the players were tired. Sassuolo completely overpowered us physically, we couldn't keep up with their high pressing and hence conceded a lot. I hope it is just temporary.

I'm not saying that Castillejo is better or that he should be a definite starter ahead of Suso long term, but right now Suso is struggling. Samu is relatively still very fresh, he's pacey and has a good few skills of his own. He might not be as creative as Suso, but sometimes a more direct approach is enough

And yes, we looked leggy, some of the bad touches and passes reeked of tired legs. Thankfully we have a full week ahead of Chievo and another full week to prep for the derby after that, but we definitely need to see a reaction in the Chievo game. Looking at the post match comments from the players and Rino, they're acknowledging that it was a scrappy game, so they know they need to improve. Rino also said that results won't continue to come if we keep playing as such, so his realistic take is very refreshing

We're not going to play pretty each wee and sometimes a scrappy win is needed. Heck, Juve have practically won the league for 4 years running by winning such scrappy games. But I need to see more focus from certain players, messing up simple passes and touches is worrying for me

Posted by: han2503 Mar 2 2019, 09:48 PM

Lazio currently winning btw! Great result for us if things stay this way

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Mar 2 2019, 10:16 PM

Lazio are 2-0 up 85 minutes. So very good results.

Posted by: han2503 Mar 2 2019, 10:36 PM

3-0

Roma will be without Dzeko, Fazio and Kolarov next game, not to mention Manolas being injured. Sadly it's only against Empoli, but that could throw them off enough to lose some points there.

We need Roma, Lazio and Inter to f@ck up enough that we create a bit of a gap between us before we have to face Inter, Juve and Lazio

Posted by: Danny Mar 2 2019, 11:48 PM

So I come back to MF and Milan go to sh*t. Coincidence?

Posted by: X-Offender Mar 3 2019, 08:20 PM

QUOTE (han2503 @ Mar 2 2019, 09:47 PM) *
I'm not saying that Castillejo is better or that he should be a definite starter ahead of Suso long term, but right now Suso is struggling. Samu is relatively still very fresh, he's pacey and has a good few skills of his own. He might not be as creative as Suso, but sometimes a more direct approach is enough

And yes, we looked leggy, some of the bad touches and passes reeked of tired legs. Thankfully we have a full week ahead of Chievo and another full week to prep for the derby after that, but we definitely need to see a reaction in the Chievo game. Looking at the post match comments from the players and Rino, they're acknowledging that it was a scrappy game, so they know they need to improve. Rino also said that results won't continue to come if we keep playing as such, so his realistic take is very refreshing

We're not going to play pretty each wee and sometimes a scrappy win is needed. Heck, Juve have practically won the league for 4 years running by winning such scrappy games. But I need to see more focus from certain players, messing up simple passes and touches is worrying for me


We would have lost this game any other season. The fact we managed to get the 3 points albeit in a dirty manner is a good sign. Thing is, games like this should be isolated episodes. I want a convincing win against Chievo.

Posted by: han2503 Mar 3 2019, 08:38 PM

QUOTE (X-Offender @ Mar 3 2019, 08:20 PM) *
We would have lost this game any other season. The fact we managed to get the 3 points albeit in a dirty manner is a good sign. Thing is, games like this should be isolated episodes. I want a convincing win against Chievo.

Agreed

Our defense is a big factor in this. Even just a few months ago we would have lost or drawn, but our back 4 have become extremely reliable since Romagnoli and Musacchio have gotten back into the team and played consistently for the last 2 months. We're the second or third best defense (can't remember which) in Europe atm and that's not by coincidence. We leaked in a lot of goals at the start of the season mainly due to multiple injuries and Donna still being shaky, but Rino has found the right balance while players have been fit and getting in form.

Wht's hurting us right now is the complete lack of form of Suso and Hakan mostly, every touch and pass they make is defective in some way, and it stops the momentum of our attacks as we rely on them heavily for creativity. Piatek in both this game and the one against Lazio was barely able to get a touch on the ball and that is worrying. We can't have a striker who is in such lethal form not being given at least 1 or 2 decent balls per game

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Mar 9 2019, 08:41 PM

Very dull start..

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Mar 9 2019, 08:42 PM

Very dull start..

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Mar 9 2019, 08:55 PM

Castillejo is a mess

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Mar 9 2019, 09:02 PM

Goal biglia from direct fk

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Mar 9 2019, 09:03 PM

Excellent free kick

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Mar 9 2019, 09:06 PM

Rino sent off

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Mar 9 2019, 09:13 PM

1-1 poor defending

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Mar 9 2019, 09:45 PM

Goal but could go to var

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Mar 9 2019, 09:47 PM

Given not gone to var

Posted by: X-Offender Mar 9 2019, 09:54 PM

FFS, the Chievo players are a bunch of whinny wimps! I'm glad they're going to be relegated.

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Mar 9 2019, 10:03 PM

Kessie needs to get his shooting boots sorterd before the derby

Posted by: X-Offender Mar 9 2019, 10:04 PM

Kessie doesn't know how to take a freaking shot! Always, always kicks like an amateur.

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Mar 9 2019, 10:23 PM

FT 2-1 win.. 5 wins in a row i beleive.. This was not any improvement from last week. Basically a weaker opposition. But important 3 points which is key

Posted by: han2503 Mar 9 2019, 10:31 PM

QUOTE (CrazyMilanFan @ Mar 9 2019, 08:55 PM) *
Castillejo is a mess

Started slow, I think he's much weaker on the left, he looks awkward there, just like Suso. Second half he was much better when he had a free role

Paqueta is a bit worrying now, he looks very tired. I think against Inter we should considering going for Hakan in the midfield 3 with Samu and Suso on the wings

Credit to Hakan who changed the game as soon as he came on

QUOTE (CrazyMilanFan @ Mar 9 2019, 09:13 PM) *
1-1 poor defending

Conti...

He's still very rusty imo. His crossing is top notch but his defensive game is very weak especially when you compare him to Calabria.

QUOTE (X-Offender @ Mar 9 2019, 09:54 PM) *
FFS, the Chievo players are a bunch of whinny wimps! I'm glad they're going to be relegated.

Meh, they're generally good for 6 points for us every season, so I'm going to miss them

QUOTE (CrazyMilanFan @ Mar 9 2019, 10:23 PM) *
FT 2-1 win.. 5 wins in a row i beleive.. This was not any improvement from last week. Basically a weaker opposition. But important 3 points which is key
I felt we had better combinations than we did against Sassuolo which was a mess from start to finish. I hope the players elevate their level against Inter because we won't win playing this way.

At least we've ensured our top 4 position before heading into the derby.

Posted by: X-Offender Mar 9 2019, 10:35 PM

QUOTE (CrazyMilanFan @ Mar 9 2019, 10:23 PM) *
FT 2-1 win.. 5 wins in a row i beleive.. This was not any improvement from last week. Basically a weaker opposition. But important 3 points which is key


No, this was day and night compared to Sassuolo. Here we controlled the game and didn't really risk anything. Against Sassuolo we couldn't keep the ball and let them do as they pleased.

I feel we're going to struggle a lot against Inter. We're not in a very good shape, I think the players are starting to get tired.

Posted by: X-Offender Mar 9 2019, 10:42 PM

I just wanted to say, Kessie frustrates the hell out of me. I think he does a fantastic job in covering a lot of ground and pressing the opponent, but he's so imprecise whenever he has the ball, especially in attack. Be it passing or shooting, he always messes up, and we end up wasting good scoring opportunities.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Mar 9 2019, 10:44 PM

To put it simply... he's very stupid.

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Mar 9 2019, 10:48 PM

How are inter playing btw any idea?

Posted by: X-Offender Mar 9 2019, 10:55 PM

QUOTE (CrazyMilanFan @ Mar 9 2019, 10:48 PM) *
How are inter playing btw any idea?


They have a lot of issues, but I think they can still pull off a good performance if they want to. We need to enter the pitch with the mentality of completely dominating them, otherwise we're going to succumb to pressure and let them have it.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Mar 9 2019, 11:11 PM

Erratic. Classic Inter-Spalletti mix.

Posted by: han2503 Mar 9 2019, 11:26 PM

QUOTE (X-Offender @ Mar 9 2019, 10:35 PM) *
No, this was day and night compared to Sassuolo. Here we controlled the game and didn't really risk anything. Against Sassuolo we couldn't keep the ball and let them do as they pleased.

I feel we're going to struggle a lot against Inter. We're not in a very good shape, I think the players are starting to get tired.

Agreed, but the things that concerned me most against both Sassuolo and Lazio are still very much present.

Imprecise passing, sitting very deep for no reason, continuous back passing and rudimentary errors which we shouldn't be making. Had Calabria been on the pitch we would have kept the clean sheet, the defense doesn't worry me at all. But the midfield and the two wingers are worrying for me.

Hakan looked bright when he came on, so that's encouraging for the derby, like I said, I'd play him instead of Paqueta who's looking very heavy legged atm. This kid has already played an entire season in Brazil and non-stop for us. Rino needs to rest him a bit or we're going to burn him out

Also, I don't like the negative approach we're taking to these kinds of games. I don't see any reason for sitting so deep defensively with continuous back passing to complement the rather negative approach. We have really lacked any sort of fluidity since the Lazio game and it's getting worrying. We shouldn't have had any issues against Chievo who are atrocious in their own right, but in the first half we barely created anything and only made minor improvements in the second half. We need to be doing better with the final passing, we cannot let Piatek keep getting isolated. We have a striker in red hot form and we're wasting him because we can barely get the ball to him in easy games like this one

QUOTE (X-Offender @ Mar 9 2019, 10:42 PM) *
I just wanted to say, Kessie frustrates the hell out of me. I think he does a fantastic job in covering a lot of ground and pressing the opponent, but he's so imprecise whenever he has the ball, especially in attack. Be it passing or shooting, he always messes up, and we end up wasting good scoring opportunities.

Kessie is VERY frustrating, forget about his shooting, which makes me want to pop a vein in my head. His general passing game is terrible. His physical play is top notch no doubt, but his passing is poor. Even when there's a simple pass to be played, he generally chooses the bad option, and his touch has been getting poorer and poorer. Like when he makes the pass first time, he tends to lift the ball rather than keeping it on the ground which generally invites trouble or kills the flow of the move

He is very important to our midfield in terms of the defensive side, you could see the effect it had on us when he went off injured against Lazio for example, but he's being tasked with playing a box-to-box role and while his defensive side is generally very good, his attacking play is lacking a lot. He'd good at bulldozing his way into the box, but every time he gets into a good position in such situations he wastes it by shooting erratically rather than squaring or pulling the ball back. Just zero thought to the way he uses the ball most of the time

QUOTE (Fillipo Simone @ Mar 9 2019, 10:44 PM) *
To put it simply... he's very stupid.

That's harsh. But yes, his footballing IQ is lacking. H's got the attributes to be a top notch player, physically speaking. But his movement and decisions are questionable at best.

I'm not going to say we absolutely have to replace him as a starter next season, because the budget will be restricted due to FFP and we have far more important positions to address (both wings, LB and redeeming Bakayoko), but if we are going to go ahead and purchase Bakayoko and have him as our pure DM, than we need to have a more dynamic players playing next to him, Paqueta provides that on the left, Kessie right now does not, he's good to have against the bigger teams as he helps us dominate the middle physically, but in such games like today, he's a hindrance more than a help. So his place in this team must be looed into seriously this summer, especially if we get CL football

QUOTE (CrazyMilanFan @ Mar 9 2019, 10:48 PM) *
How are inter playing btw any idea?

Can't really say, I watched them against Fiorentina a couple weeks ago and they looked good at times and bad others. They lost to Cagliari which I didn't see but that couldn't have been pretty. But their current form really doesn't matter as they generally tend to be up for it against us. If we keep playing like we are now, I can't see us winning that's for sure

QUOTE (X-Offender @ Mar 9 2019, 10:55 PM) *
They have a lot of issues, but I think they can still pull off a good performance if they want to. We need to enter the pitch with the mentality of completely dominating them, otherwise we're going to succumb to pressure and let them have it.

My only concern right now is Icardi. Let's see if they can fix their issues with him before the game. Radja is also injured apparently but something tells me he'll be fit against us, it's just Spalletti trying to play some weak mind games before the game

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Mar 9 2019, 11:45 PM

Icardi? Who knows what mental state he is in... I'm not sure if it's better for us that he's unavailable or playing to be honest.

Also, you talk about next year needing to rebuild the midfield. What about Bonaventura? Bench player? It's a open question for me IMO. Kessie, Hakan and Bona are all alike - good but not good enough. So maybe I'd sacrifice one of them and sell him for the right prize to get a quality winger we so dearly need.

Posted by: X-Offender Mar 9 2019, 11:49 PM

My idea for next season is playing Bakayoko, Hakan and Paqueta in midfield, and bring in a top left winger. Talks about Deulofeu and Saint-Maxim, but I'd rather have someone with more pedigree, if we can afford that.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Mar 9 2019, 11:52 PM

But who?

Posted by: X-Offender Mar 9 2019, 11:53 PM

No idea. Carrasco? Martial? Depay?

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Mar 9 2019, 11:55 PM

Martial will be staying at Man Utd, that ship has sailed. Carrasco and Depay... hmh. Good but...

Posted by: William405 Mar 10 2019, 02:21 AM

Napoli, here we come. wink.gif

Posted by: Danny Mar 10 2019, 03:40 PM

We sit third and you lot are moaning. Winning ugly is still winning.

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Mar 10 2019, 07:54 PM

QUOTE (William405 @ Mar 10 2019, 03:21 AM) *
Napoli, here we come. wink.gif

They just drew. Inter won so next week derby critical

Posted by: han2503 Mar 10 2019, 09:44 PM

QUOTE (Fillipo Simone @ Mar 9 2019, 11:45 PM) *
Icardi? Who knows what mental state he is in... I'm not sure if it's better for us that he's unavailable or playing to be honest.

Also, you talk about next year needing to rebuild the midfield. What about Bonaventura? Bench player? It's a open question for me IMO. Kessie, Hakan and Bona are all alike - good but not good enough. So maybe I'd sacrifice one of them and sell him for the right prize to get a quality winger we so dearly need.

Well, he's been a pain in our @ss asof late, so I'd rather he not play. The game against Inter will be huge. If we get 3 points out of that I'll feel far more secure about our top 4 prospects tbh

As for the midfield, it's a question mark for me. I think we'll definitely need the options if we make CL and all of them are good players who can come off the bench and make a difference

Bona won't fetch a lot on the market and it remains to be seen if he can get back to his previous levels after such a long spell out. Kessie and Hakan could both bring in a decent amount, but I still think that both will be needed over the course of a long season, maybe they won't be the starters if we bring in that midfielder and winger, but we need to upgrade the quality of our bench which right now is very poor imo

If we need to trim the squad down, we must first look at guys like Bertolacci, Monto and Mauri first. All of which earn rather high wages for players who never even step foot onto the pitch for us

Add to that Hakan is versatile. So he'd be one of the keeps for me

QUOTE (X-Offender @ Mar 9 2019, 11:49 PM) *
My idea for next season is playing Bakayoko, Hakan and Paqueta in midfield, and bring in a top left winger. Talks about Deulofeu and Saint-Maxim, but I'd rather have someone with more pedigree, if we can afford that.

Hmm, I don't think Hakan is the correct choice for the midfield, especially against bigger sides. I'd rather we get someone who's more adapt like a Barella fo example, someone who's quick, aggressive, good on the ball, can pop up with some goals and help in the defensive phase. Hakan can play a CM role but I just don't think that we should be thinking of that as a long term solution especially if we're in the CL

As for the wing, I think ideally we need two guys coming in, someone of a high caliber and someone like Deulofeu. Suso needs to be rotated more as well, so having 4 wingers imo is important, especially ones with different characteristics to Suso. A direct player who fast is a must imo

QUOTE (X-Offender @ Mar 9 2019, 11:53 PM) *
No idea. Carrasco? Martial? Depay?

Martial is impossible now that Mou is no longer at Man U. Depay I think is more of a striker these days but not a 100% sure of this

As for Carrasco, his stats in the Chinese league are worrying, he's got an abysmal return of goals and assists last I checked

For the money they'd probably want for him I don't think we should take that risk tbh

QUOTE (Danny @ Mar 10 2019, 03:40 PM) *
We sit third and you lot are moaning. Winning ugly is still winning.

Well, I'm happy don't get me wrong, but with the derby next Sunday I'm worried about how a performance similar to the one today and against Sassuolo would translate against Inter (most likely a loss). We've given ourselves much needed breathing room to afford losing points against Inter. But we definitely need to pick up our performances for the run-in. We still have some very difficult fixtures left to play and 4th is far from secure imo

Posted by: X-Offender Mar 11 2019, 09:26 PM

QUOTE (han2503 @ Mar 10 2019, 09:44 PM) *
Hmm, I don't think Hakan is the correct choice for the midfield, especially against bigger sides. I'd rather we get someone who's more adapt like a Barella fo example, someone who's quick, aggressive, good on the ball, can pop up with some goals and help in the defensive phase. Hakan can play a CM role but I just don't think that we should be thinking of that as a long term solution especially if we're in the CL


I'd love Barella but let's be honest, we won't sign him or anyone as good.

Posted by: han2503 Mar 12 2019, 08:26 PM

QUOTE (X-Offender @ Mar 11 2019, 09:26 PM) *
I'd love Barella but let's be honest, we won't sign him or anyone as good.

We'll see. This is no longer Galliani or Mirabelli running our mercato. Leo has proven himself to be more than capable of bringing in the right quality players in

Posted by: Danny Mar 13 2019, 12:33 AM

QUOTE (han2503 @ Mar 12 2019, 08:26 PM) *
We'll see. This is no longer Galliani or Mirabelli running our mercato. Leo has proven himself to be more than capable of bringing in the right quality players in


With all due respect, hogwash.

Last summer this entire f*cking support was verbally masturbating over all the shiny Silvas and Rodriguez' and Kessies and Hakans, Bonuccis, Biglias, Contis. And look how well that team worked out.

It's all too easy to use the wisdom of hindsight to suggest the past was garbage but many of us sure as heck weren't saying it at the time!

Even yours truly got caught up some of it - sure, I called Silva, and I wasn't blown away by Hakan or Biglia, or indeed Conti, but I was happy enough with Kessie and Rodriguez. Didn't know sh*t about Musacchio but you pegged him as great and pointed out he was part of Spain's second or third best defence.

So let's not get sanctimonious here - and your insult at Galliani is really unfair. Sure, it crumbled to hell after 2012 (had no money, after all) but from 88 onwards he was hugely responsible for some of the best players we've ever had at this club - his signing policy helped us become the Milan we used to be.

So, it's early days for Elliot and Leo, and while some of the signs are promising and I do love Piatek in particular, let's hold off judging until a year or two down the line.

But hey, who am I to talk - I've begged Piatek as our best striker since Sheva and he's only been here five minutes!

Posted by: han2503 Mar 13 2019, 08:21 PM

QUOTE (Danny @ Mar 13 2019, 12:33 AM) *
With all due respect, hogwash.

Last summer this entire f*cking support was verbally masturbating over all the shiny Silvas and Rodriguez' and Kessies and Hakans, Bonuccis, Biglias, Contis. And look how well that team worked out.

It's all too easy to use the wisdom of hindsight to suggest the past was garbage but many of us sure as heck weren't saying it at the time!

Even yours truly got caught up some of it - sure, I called Silva, and I wasn't blown away by Hakan or Biglia, or indeed Conti, but I was happy enough with Kessie and Rodriguez. Didn't know sh*t about Musacchio but you pegged him as great and pointed out he was part of Spain's second or third best defence.

So let's not get sanctimonious here - and your insult at Galliani is really unfair. Sure, it crumbled to hell after 2012 (had no money, after all) but from 88 onwards he was hugely responsible for some of the best players we've ever had at this club - his signing policy helped us become the Milan we used to be.

So, it's early days for Elliot and Leo, and while some of the signs are promising and I do love Piatek in particular, let's hold off judging until a year or two down the line.

But hey, who am I to talk - I've begged Piatek as our best striker since Sheva and he's only been here five minutes!

Yes, hindsight is great. But it doesn't take a genius to figure out Galliani's last decade with us was an absolute nightmare of bar decisions and shady deals. We'd been talking about how his bad choices lead to our downfall for years now. This team has been neglected under B & G since around 2007. And you can say Galliani was operating without a budget, but that is not entirely true. Look at the summer we signed Bacca as an example. Also, if he had a limited budget, I do not understand how he kept giving 4m + salaries to mediocre free agents + some seriously shady agent fees and deals with guys like Preziosi. These are not things that you can say are about hindsight. We've been blowing gaskets on here about Galliani since around 2007.

As for Mirabelli. Yes, the majority of fans were overly excited, me included. But this mostly stemmed from the shear desperation after experiencing the last 10 years of Galliani. Mirabelli was basically like a man with a small bottle of water spraying it around to a bunch of people that have been stuck in a desert and were thirsty af. He went for quantity over quality, no doubt. But you can't blame people for being excited about the signings he made.

Leo has so far made some great moves. Bakayoko, Higuain (lead to Piatek), Paqueta, Piatek. All great moves with half a summer window and a winter one to operate in. He's proven that he prefers to bring in 1 or 2 top notch players rather than going for 5 just good ones. We'll see what he does in the summer, but I have faith that whatever budget he has to operate within, he'll do well

Posted by: X-Offender Mar 13 2019, 11:03 PM

@Danny - Galliani and Berlusconi made this club great, of course, but there's also no denying that they led it to its downfall.

Mismanagement. They weren't able to develop the Milan brand, no new stadium, no increase in revenues, terrible decision making. Times were changing but they kept thinking like it was still the 90s. In the end, they had to sell to some shady Chinese figure who ended up being a hoax.

As for Mirabelli, yes, we were all excited. How could we not be? As Han said, after years and years of crappy signings and free agents, we were presented with an extra budget that allowed us to rebuild this team. Let's not forget that guys like Musacchio, Rodriguez, Kessie and Calhanoglu who are regulars today were signed by Mirabelli. So, I wouldn't throw away all of his work.

Posted by: han2503 Mar 14 2019, 04:10 PM

QUOTE (X-Offender @ Mar 13 2019, 11:03 PM) *
@Danny - Galliani and Berlusconi made this club great, of course, but there's also no denying that they led it to its downfall.

Mismanagement. They weren't able to develop the Milan brand, no new stadium, no increase in revenues, terrible decision making. Times were changing but they kept thinking like it was still the 90s. In the end, they had to sell to some shady Chinese figure who ended up being a hoax.

As for Mirabelli, yes, we were all excited. How could we not be? As Han said, after years and years of crappy signings and free agents, we were presented with an extra budget that allowed us to rebuild this team. Let's not forget that guys like Musacchio, Rodriguez, Kessie and Calhanoglu who are regulars today were signed by Mirabelli. So, I wouldn't throw away all of his work.

This as well. I criticize his signings, but some of them are now part of the backbone of this team, so they weren't all bad. He went wrong in terms of trying t overhaul the entire squad in one summer instead of bringing in more quality players at a gradual level

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Mar 17 2019, 09:11 PM

It has been quite a poor performance till now

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Mar 17 2019, 09:18 PM

Being only 1-0 down at half time is a success..

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Mar 17 2019, 09:29 PM

Rino needs to shake up the team quickly.

Posted by: X-Offender Mar 17 2019, 09:33 PM

We're not ready yet.

Posted by: X-Offender Mar 17 2019, 09:33 PM

QUOTE (CrazyMilanFan @ Mar 17 2019, 09:18 PM) *
Being only 1-0 down at half time is a success..


I wouldn't exaggerate. Inter have been superior but it's not like they created that many chances.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Mar 17 2019, 09:34 PM

QUOTE (X-Offender @ Mar 17 2019, 11:33 PM) *
We're not ready yet.

Ready for what? And when will be ready? In 2022?

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Mar 17 2019, 09:42 PM

2-0 we have suddenly forgotten how to defend

Posted by: X-Offender Mar 17 2019, 09:45 PM

FFS! After all the hype and anticipation, to play a derby like this. Shameful.

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Mar 17 2019, 09:47 PM

Comonenn get back in it now..

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Mar 17 2019, 09:48 PM

And curtone on for full back

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Mar 17 2019, 09:56 PM

Strange move making Kessie a FB...

Penalty kick, great...

Posted by: X-Offender Mar 17 2019, 10:26 PM

Cutrone has only caused fouls since he came in. Useless.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Mar 17 2019, 10:28 PM

Both strikers were pretty much inefficient. As was Kessie and Rodriguez, terrible game by both.

Posted by: X-Offender Mar 17 2019, 10:30 PM

Rodriguez is terrible. And Kessie, in all honesty, I'd do without. Hakan showed today that he can be much more efficient in midfield.

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Mar 17 2019, 10:31 PM

The first two goals were like fifa goals.. We did respond well but the issue is the depth curtone simply added nothing. Castillejo is average.

Paquta and kessie both are very tired i suppose. We just need to retain focus and forget the result and move onto next game

Posted by: X-Offender Mar 17 2019, 10:31 PM

Anyway, the approach to this game was wrong from the start. Forget the early goal, we just couldn't control the game and force our superiority. Inter played a great first half, we showed a reaction in the second but the game was already set at that point.

We're still not ready.

Posted by: han2503 Mar 17 2019, 10:32 PM

Can't catch a break against these f@ckers! We haven't won a derby in the league since 2016!

We started badly. Just terrible mindset. We played like we've been playing since the Lazio game, only this time we lost our heads and couldn't even get the defensive side correct.

Cutrone should have scored that last chance

And anyone else catch that fraces between Biglia and Kessie on the bench?

I really hope that we don't spiral after this game. We were riding our luck in previous games, today it ran out. Every 50/50 ball was going Inter's way. We absolutely have to produce a performance against Samp in 2 weeks time

Thankfully with Roma losing we get to keep our previous cushion. But letting Inter win this and regain their confidence could prove seriously detrimental.

Posted by: han2503 Mar 17 2019, 10:37 PM

QUOTE (Fillipo Simone @ Mar 17 2019, 10:28 PM) *
Both strikers were pretty much inefficient. As was Kessie and Rodriguez, terrible game by both.

First half Piatek was completely isolated. We just couldn't manage to provide him a proper delivery

Rodriguez was an absolute nightmare.

Kessie was his usual self. Too casual on the ball, bad passing and inefficient use of his energy

QUOTE (CrazyMilanFan @ Mar 17 2019, 10:31 PM) *
The first two goals were like fifa goals.. We did respond well but the issue is the depth curtone simply added nothing. Castillejo is average.

Paquta and kessie both are very tired i suppose. We just need to retain focus and forget the result and move onto next game

We let them get into positions to put in those kind of ping pong balls into our area. The FBs and the side mids carry the blame for those. We just let them do as they please in the first half. They came uut blazing, pressing us with a high line, and we came out expecting to put in our usual lackadaisical display, with slow passing a buildup, with no real cutting edge to our play.

Every derby for the past 3 years now we simply haven't played it like a derby, while Inter always come out swinging.

QUOTE (X-Offender @ Mar 17 2019, 10:31 PM) *
Anyway, the approach to this game was wrong from the start. Forget the early goal, we just couldn't control the game and force our superiority. Inter played a great first half, we showed a reaction in the second but the game was already set at that point.

We're still not ready.

Agreed

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Mar 17 2019, 11:32 PM

Bad mentality and a bunch of bad players. I really think we need to cross of Rodriguez and Kessie, both are simply too lacking to be considered as starters or quality players. Then there is Donnarumma who never shines in such occasions but survives mostly... And of course Suso who was a bit better in the second half with Conti there to help, but he's still miles away from being useful at this moment.

Posted by: maldini03 Mar 18 2019, 07:34 PM

Did anyone else think that D'ambrosio should have been sent off for using his hand to block a ball that was going into the net? To me, it seemed clear. A ref would give a penalty for that kind of action so why didn't he check the VAR and give a red.

I understand that Mussachio ended up scoring off of the deflection but still. Either way, I'm not blaming the ref. We had every opportunity to take this game by the scruff of the neck and we didn't. Suso to me was poor, but no one was worse than RR. Easily his worst game for us.

Would love to change out Suso for Chiesa who seems to be everything he is not. Suso's development has kind of peaked and he not the player to take over a game, especially at this time of the season.

Posted by: Danny Mar 20 2019, 08:34 PM

I know we lost but I loved this derby. It was how they should all be, and loved justice being done with VAR particularly with Conti, which has become such an invaluable tool.

My ambitions for Milan are far lower than they were, I like how things are with the support and the club these days.

And although I was gutted to lose, felt that at least we played with fire in our belly a fair bit.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Mar 21 2019, 12:34 AM

The problem is we developed a pattern. We start with less then 100% and often react only after conceding goals or end up being cornered and pressured. Only then we try breaking out and organize some decent attacks, but this phase tends to wane.

Then there are those small irregularities. When will Donnarumma be able to be more secure with corners and high crosses/balls? When will he become more precise with passing? We need to work out many details in our game.

Posted by: Danny Mar 21 2019, 01:22 PM

Those details are the every day issues an overperforming mid-table team deals with as a fact of life. That is where we are now.

There's less pressure, in my mind, on this club to deliver even if a certain Indian has threatened to fly to Scotland and get me drunk on Scotch if we make the CL.

But being serious, I'm so used to Milan the way we are now I've forgotten the old world. Which is weird because it's opposite with Rangers - I still can't reconcile Rangers' plight with the way it was in the olden days.

Posted by: X-Offender Mar 21 2019, 10:52 PM

QUOTE (Fillipo Simone @ Mar 17 2019, 11:32 PM) *
Bad mentality and a bunch of bad players.


This.

Mentality-wise, we're just not there. We should have had fire in our eyes, yet we let a terrible Inter overpower us at home.

And then there's that bunch of 3-4 players that hold us back. Rodriguez and Kessie just don't cut it. I agree with Fillipo that we should part ways we them. Calhanoglu is still a question mark, and Suso has switched off for some odd reason.

We lack that 2-3 players that can carry us. In the past we had guys like Shevchenko, Kaka' and Seedorf who showed up big time when push came to shove. They made the difference. Right now we have none of that.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Mar 22 2019, 01:00 PM

Anyone heard about the brawl between Kessie and Biglia? What was that all about?

Rodriguez needs no explanation. The sheer fact that we can get some decent (or good) money out of him is enough convincing to ship him off and try adapting Calabria on the left or find another suitable option.

Kessie is what I always suspected him to be. Simply lacking in quality and intelligence. He's a surplus, adding very little to our game. In 1990 or the early 2000's Keissie would have done good, but this is modern football; you simply cannot sacrifice the midfield position for a limited player like him in a club with big or even modest ambitions.

A thing that worries me a bit preemptive is Piatek. He seems like a shadow player: tuning in and out in games. Sure he scored a bunch of important goals for us already but somehow I got the feeling he is the type of striker that likes to go on longer absent stints and isn't quite the derby king. When you mention Shevchenko... oh the one thing he always delivered was against Inter.

Posted by: Rossoneri7 Mar 23 2019, 01:02 AM

QUOTE (Fillipo Simone @ Mar 22 2019, 04:00 PM) *
Shevchenko... oh the one thing he always delivered was against Inter.


Sheva had Cafu and Serginho on the flanks, Seedorf, Pirlo and Rui Costa to supply ... Who does Piatek have?

This is the problem we have when we draw comparisons.

Posted by: X-Offender Mar 23 2019, 10:38 PM

Piatek is a player who needs service. He can't create by himself. He's got good technique but he's not particularly good with the ball on his feet.

Posted by: William405 Mar 24 2019, 01:28 PM

QUOTE (Rossoneri7 @ Mar 23 2019, 03:02 AM) *
Sheva had Cafu and Serginho on the flanks, Seedorf, Pirlo and Rui Costa to supply ... Who does Piatek have?

This is the problem we have when we draw comparisons.


Well said!

Posted by: Danny Mar 25 2019, 12:18 PM

I feel like since I came back the good feeling and drive has gone somehow from you lot and it's back to Montella's Milan.

Posted by: X-Offender Mar 30 2019, 09:10 PM

Rodriguez is absolute rubbish.

Posted by: Danny Mar 30 2019, 11:31 PM

QUOTE (X-Offender @ Mar 30 2019, 09:10 PM) *
Rodriguez is absolute rubbish.


Suffered this one with Jack earlier - it's my contention since about 2012 we've signed one traditionally Milan-level player, and that's Piatek.

Everyone we signed in the big Chinese summer (2017) was absolute cr*p, or mediocre at best, and last summer I barely paid attention because it was much the same.

In short, we're a midtable side now, have been for fast approaching a decade (scary, right?) and we better get used to it because it's us now.

Look at all our 'best' players - Jack, Suso, Romagnoli - these are not great players, they're decent and no more. Best players get big clubs bidding big cash for them. Not sure a single one of these guys has had a single bid aimed at them.

Kakas, Seedorfs, Nestas they're miles off being.

As for Rod - has a good cross on him but that's it.

Yeah, we're sh*te smile.gif

Posted by: X-Offender Mar 30 2019, 11:46 PM

I think it's pretty obvious we don't have any great players, haven't had some in a long while. If we did we wouldn't be struggling to qualify for the CL.

(Albeit, I must say, Romagnoli for me has the potential to become a top class defender.)

Anyway, the ref screwed us over big time tonight. Two clear penalties not given, especially the second one on Piatek.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Mar 31 2019, 11:33 AM

But the way we played, the indolence and body language... sorry, we screwed us over ourselves primarily. This was a disastrous game in every possible way.

Nothing seems to work right now. Piatek is mostly denied service by the uninspired and mostly selfish Suso and Castillejo, Hakan has been his usual mediocre self now for a long time, Biglia and Bakayoko seem to be not working good together (no surprise there), while the defense finally started showing cracks and lost confidence. Donnarumma...well... no comment there.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Mar 31 2019, 11:38 AM

Oh and yes, if we don't win the next game and make a mentality change quickly we'll be spiraling down; Juventus and a double fixture against Lazio are coming up.

Posted by: X-Offender Mar 31 2019, 12:16 PM

Has anyone read about the Gattuso-Leonardo situation? Looks like there's some friction going on all of a sudden. Some say that Leonardo has decided to sack Gattuso at season end and Gattuso has found out about it. Not good for the team right now.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Mar 31 2019, 06:01 PM

Read about this... in different ways. Not sure what to think. Leonardo’s handling stuff with the media is very undiplomatic and not especially helpful.

Posted by: Danny Mar 31 2019, 10:27 PM

I was against Leo's return from the start, and I stand by that.

As for the pen, sorry, it wasn't. VAR got it correct.

Posted by: maldini03 Apr 1 2019, 02:45 PM

QUOTE (Danny @ Mar 30 2019, 04:31 PM) *
Suffered this one with Jack earlier - it's my contention since about 2012 we've signed one traditionally Milan-level player, and that's Piatek.

Look at all our 'best' players - Jack, Suso, Romagnoli - these are not great players, they're decent and no more. Best players get big clubs bidding big cash for them. Not sure a single one of these guys has had a single bid aimed at them.

Yeah, we're sh*te smile.gif


I agree with some of what you have said here but if you don't think Romagnoli is a great player you are way off the mark.

Also, your second comment nullifies the first, you're saying that if a big club threw $50M at us for Suso that would make him a great player? Players like Andy Carroll, Benteke, Mustafi, Bernardeschi have all gone for $40M+ does that make them all great players because someone wanted to splash some cash?

I'm not saying that these players are superstars on par with the Kakas, Pirlos, Maldinis, Shevchenkos, and Nestas of the world but that doesn't mean they are **** players who can't achieve anything. If you don't believe me check that Porto team that won the CL in 04, or the Italy team under Conte that made a run in the Euros to see what good coaching and a smart system can do. I'm not saying that this squad could win the CL but to toss them ALL aside as decent and no more is an overreaction. 9 out of 10 teams in the world would kill to have Romagnoli and the same goes for Donnaruma. Other players have amazing potential (See Calabria, Paqueta, Conti, Kessie, Bakayoko, Piatek).

I do agree that the Chinese summer was mostly just spending money for spending's sake and most of those players have not turned into what we thought they would be, but things are looking up with the new management and the transfers of Piatek, Paqueta (first great midfield purchase in a long time) and Bakayoko. As most things, the moves that were made look poor in hindsight but at the time they were considered to be smart signings. Calha was one of the more promising, dangerous playmakers in Germany, RR was a very highly regarded LB, Kessie had just put on a show in Serie A with Atalanta, Conti the same, Biglia was a calming presence and leader in midfield and Bonucci was considered by most as some of the best business of the summer.

I would argue that the real issue that we have had has been the lack of a coach with tactical nuance some creativity. I love Gattuso and I think he should be given the year to see what happens but he is not a tactical genius. He is a motivator which can only take you so far.

Overall we have had two poor games back to back where we seemed to have run out of ideas and dried up but this team is also lacking. We have 1 good creator from midfield and he is a kid coming into his own. Our team is very young, sometimes young teams struggle but we are most definitely on the upswing. Making CL and bringing in some reinforcements will do wonders for this squad. If we get back to winning ways there is still hope from this season. We are on track to meet our goals for the first time in a long time. Rome wasn't built in a day now is the time to be patient, not rash.

Hopefully we make the CL and when the summer comes we make savvy moves that help move the needle. We aren't winning the CL next year but it would be great if 1) we were in it and 2) we showed some fire and made some noise.

Posted by: han2503 Apr 2 2019, 06:10 PM

QUOTE (X-Offender @ Mar 31 2019, 12:16 PM) *
Has anyone read about the Gattuso-Leonardo situation? Looks like there's some friction going on all of a sudden. Some say that Leonardo has decided to sack Gattuso at season end and Gattuso has found out about it. Not good for the team right now.

We'll see what happens, seems like the usual media speculation that happens any time results aren't going well

As for the general feeling around the team, I'm personally disheartened by such reaction from fans. You can't expect to win all the time. I personally saw these results happening at some point considering we weren't playing well since the Lazio game in the Coppa. We're going through a downturn in form, and that is disappointing do doubt. But it's not the end of the world just yet, so people need to chill a bit

There's already been a negative feeling around the club since the derby and the Kessie situation, people freaking out won't help the situation

Hoping for a good result today, but the sudden changes from Rino worry me, especially the Bakayoko on the side of midfield is especially bad imo

Posted by: han2503 Apr 2 2019, 06:13 PM

QUOTE (Danny @ Mar 31 2019, 10:27 PM) *
I was against Leo's return from the start, and I stand by that.

As for the pen, sorry, it wasn't. VAR got it correct.

Agreed about the penalty, he touched the ball. From the first angle I thought it was a pen, but from the other angle you can clearly see he got the ball first, and as soon as I saw that I knew he wasn't going to give it

I disagree about Leo though. His work so far speaks for itself

Posted by: William405 Apr 2 2019, 07:04 PM

Milan 1-0 Udinese

Gattuso's changes led to something positive.

Posted by: han2503 Apr 2 2019, 08:01 PM

QUOTE (William405 @ Apr 2 2019, 07:04 PM) *
Milan 1-0 Udinese

Gattuso's changes led to something positive.

1-1

We're going to f@ck 4th up. At this point I'm 95% sure we won't be in the CL next season.

Another game where we play badly, every final ball to the strikers is worse than bad. A million back passes and putting ourselves in uncomfortable positions due to mistakes

Bakayoko as a side mid in a 3 is just bad and Biglia isn't playing well enough to justify the shift. Kessie should be playing, we miss his industry on the side of the midfield. This is on Gattuso right now. He's making decisions that are questionable, also the shifting from the 4-3-3 due to 2 bad results is never a good sign. It reminds me of what Montella continuously did to tragic results

Juve up next and we'll most likely be out of the top 4 by next week

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Apr 2 2019, 10:27 PM

I think Gattuso needs to go. We made a jump in terms of position and points, but many of these games were lucky late winners whereas the whole season Milan has been dragging poor showings and mentality in big games. Under Gattuso we've lost all big games bar the one fixture with Roma. All defeats/draws against Juve, Inter and Napoli (minus some minor Coppa results).

Bakayoko should really play the central position, Biglia should get the bench. Kessie is most probably being punished. And well, we're struggling to create so the shift didn't come off just 2 bad games, it's a dump in form overall.

Posted by: Danny Apr 2 2019, 10:59 PM

QUOTE (maldini03 @ Apr 1 2019, 02:45 PM) *
I agree with some of what you have said here but if you don't think Romagnoli is a great player you are way off the mark.


If he was a great player, at 24 he'd be at a better team than this current Milan (Silva left a few years older to PSG for big money back in 2012 but had been a target for departure for some time - now HE was a great defender), and have played more than like 9 times for the national side which uses a 3 at the back a lot. I think he's a fairly good player capable of some great performances, I just don't think he's a great defender. Otherwise your Man Utds, Real Madrids etc would have shown interest. The fact is this Milan doesn't have great players - if it did, we'd be a lot better than we are.

QUOTE
Also, your second comment nullifies the first, you're saying that if a big club threw $50M at us for Suso that would make him a great player?


I didn't strictly say the amount, I said big bids, period (can't really bid 3M for anyone these days)? No one, to my knowledge, though, has had a bid rejected for our best players. Surely a sign you have great players is richer teams try to buy them?

QUOTE
Players like Andy Carroll, Benteke, Mustafi, Bernardeschi have all gone for $40M+ does that make them all great players because someone wanted to splash some cash?


Again, not the argument I was trying to make!

QUOTE
I'm not saying that these players are superstars on par with the Kakas, Pirlos, Maldinis, Shevchenkos, and Nestas of the world but that doesn't mean they are **** players who can't achieve anything. If you don't believe me check that Porto team that won the CL in 04, or the Italy team under Conte that made a run in the Euros to see what good coaching and a smart system can do. I'm not saying that this squad could win the CL but to toss them ALL aside as decent and no more is an overreaction. 9 out of 10 teams in the world would kill to have Romagnoli and the same goes for Donnaruma. Other players have amazing potential (See Calabria, Paqueta, Conti, Kessie, Bakayoko, Piatek).


Bit of an overreaction there too surely? You don't need to kill to have Romagnoli, just bid 40M by today's money and Milan will sell. But no one does, that's my point.

As for the potential - if all our players with 'potential' had realised 10% of it over the years, we'd have won UCL, Serie A and the Superbowl by now. So easy to attribute potential and then years later they're at Genoa.

QUOTE
I do agree that the Chinese summer was mostly just spending money for spending's sake and most of those players have not turned into what we thought they would be, but things are looking up with the new management and the transfers of Piatek, Paqueta (first great midfield purchase in a long time) and Bakayoko. As most things, the moves that were made look poor in hindsight but at the time they were considered to be smart signings. Calha was one of the more promising, dangerous playmakers in Germany, RR was a very highly regarded LB, Kessie had just put on a show in Serie A with Atalanta, Conti the same, Biglia was a calming presence and leader in midfield and Bonucci was considered by most as some of the best business of the summer.


It's odd - you say that 'most of it was spending for spending for spending's sake' and attack the players as not turning out as we expected but then manage to justify almost every single signing in there anyway. Which is it?

As for Paqueta, he's impressed me of what I've seen of him, and everyone knows I want Piatek's children.

QUOTE
I would argue that the real issue that we have had has been the lack of a coach with tactical nuance some creativity. I love Gattuso and I think he should be given the year to see what happens but he is not a tactical genius. He is a motivator which can only take you so far.


You sound just like a Rangers fan backing Steven Gerrard! I'm seeing all the same patterns as both clubs mirror each other painfully.

I do get tired of fans backing managers come hell or high water when they haven't earned it. Rino was a failure at Sion and Crete before doing ok with our kids. Where in that does he (or Gerrard) earn our backing or trust?

QUOTE
Overall we have had two poor games back to back where we seemed to have run out of ideas and dried up but this team is also lacking. We have 1 good creator from midfield and he is a kid coming into his own. Our team is very young, sometimes young teams struggle but we are most definitely on the upswing. Making CL and bringing in some reinforcements will do wonders for this squad. If we get back to winning ways there is still hope from this season. We are on track to meet our goals for the first time in a long time. Rome wasn't built in a day now is the time to be patient, not rash.

Hopefully we make the CL and when the summer comes we make savvy moves that help move the needle. We aren't winning the CL next year but it would be great if 1) we were in it and 2) we showed some fire and made some noise.


We've been on this upswing of yours for 7 years. Can't help feeling there's a different feeling to upswing compared with what I'd expect of one!

Posted by: Danny Apr 2 2019, 11:00 PM

QUOTE (Fillipo Simone @ Apr 2 2019, 10:27 PM) *
I think Gattuso needs to go. We made a jump in terms of position and points, but many of these games were lucky late winners whereas the whole season Milan has been dragging poor showings and mentality in big games. Under Gattuso we've lost all big games bar the one fixture with Roma. All defeats/draws against Juve, Inter and Napoli (minus some minor Coppa results).

Bakayoko should really play the central position, Biglia should get the bench. Kessie is most probably being punished. And well, we're struggling to create so the shift didn't come off just 2 bad games, it's a dump in form overall.


Change of manager won't fix much. The players need to be good in the first place. We don't have enough of those.

Look at Utd - had a world class squad but they were horrible under Jose. Under Ole it's a whole different picture.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Apr 3 2019, 10:14 AM

The players are good. They're not excellent or world class but they are a better mix then the one we had last year. And they are certainly better then Udinese or Sampdoria.

Right now we cannot change our team. The only logical step is to decide what to do right now: trust in Rino or select a new replacement already and gamble with the positive shock effect.

It's not that Rino is a tactical mastermind. So far he's shown little ideas and he's mostly clinging to one solution he thinks is optimal. The thing Rino is/was good at was inspiring and firing up the team: but I think he lost them.

Posted by: Danny Apr 3 2019, 12:19 PM

QUOTE (Fillipo Simone @ Apr 3 2019, 10:14 AM) *
The players are good. They're not excellent or world class but they are a better mix then the one we had last year. And they are certainly better then Udinese or Sampdoria.

Right now we cannot change our team. The only logical step is to decide what to do right now: trust in Rino or select a new replacement already and gamble with the positive shock effect.

It's not that Rino is a tactical mastermind. So far he's shown little ideas and he's mostly clinging to one solution he thinks is optimal. The thing Rino is/was good at was inspiring and firing up the team: but I think he lost them.


It's so easy to say 'they're better than last year' then the following year you look back and realise they weren't.

Fans veer towards bigging up current regimes/players where they can to spin positively.

They are better overall than Udi and Samp, but that's no barometer at all. They're also better than Crotone's Primavera. So what?

Posted by: Danny Apr 3 2019, 12:56 PM

Only thread that's alive here so I'll put this here:

The Juve scandal of the past day has exposed Italy's ugly racist issue more than ever, and with Bonucci and Allegri both managing to condemn the victim, that club has a serious problem with blatant racists.

What a vile cesspit of a club.

Posted by: Rossoneri7 Apr 4 2019, 03:22 PM

You guys are too critical.

This is a midtable team and this midtable team currently sits in a European slot of the table.

The team lost a couple of games, so what? Now the team is mediocre? Have you forgotten this is a midtable team?

Then on Gattuso, what's the issue we have with Gattuso? If he does not get CL he will be gone by the end of the season. And that's that.

P.S. you guys should lower your expectations, it's not like the team will be challenging for top honors anytime soon. There has to be consistency in the structure of the team before there is any consistency in results, then we can discuss winning something.

Posted by: Danny Apr 4 2019, 08:37 PM

QUOTE (Rossoneri7 @ Apr 4 2019, 03:22 PM) *
You guys are too critical.

This is a midtable team and this midtable team currently sits in a European slot of the table.

The team lost a couple of games, so what? Now the team is mediocre? Have you forgotten this is a midtable team?


Well, no, it's the same thing?

QUOTE
Then on Gattuso, what's the issue we have with Gattuso? If he does not get CL he will be gone by the end of the season. And that's that.

P.S. you guys should lower your expectations, it's not like the team will be challenging for top honors anytime soon. There has to be consistency in the structure of the team before there is any consistency in results, then we can discuss winning something.


I agree completely. As you may see from my posts since returning, my expectations are way down. And I've been more content for it.

Posted by: han2503 Apr 6 2019, 05:39 PM

Screwed over by the ref again this season for the umpteenth time

Posted by: Danny Apr 6 2019, 06:16 PM

Forgot we were playing. One up huh?

Posted by: han2503 Apr 6 2019, 06:23 PM

QUOTE (Danny @ Apr 6 2019, 06:16 PM) *
Forgot we were playing. One up huh?

Musacchio f@cks it up

Posted by: Rossoneri7 Apr 6 2019, 06:46 PM

Thats that.

Posted by: X-Offender Apr 7 2019, 11:26 AM

Musacchio and Calabria with two stupid, stupid mistakes. Sucks cause we played some very fine football last night and didn't deserve to lose.

Posted by: han2503 Apr 7 2019, 04:37 PM

QUOTE (X-Offender @ Apr 7 2019, 11:26 AM) *
Musacchio and Calabria with two stupid, stupid mistakes. Sucks cause we played some very fine football last night and didn't deserve to lose.

Yep, still p!ssed off about it. After the Samp, Udine and Inter games, I was like, well, that's that. We never deserved to win any of those games so we deserved to lose.

But to see the performance we put in, and Juve still coming out on top because of 2 individual errors. Musacchio's especially was extra stupid. Dybala was going nowhere FFS! Why bring him down there???

Add to that the very clear-cut penalty we were once again denied in a crucial game, just like the one on Suso against Roma for example is even more infuriating. Because had that happened at the other side of the pitch, you know there would have been no hesitation at giving it to Juve

Posted by: Danny Apr 12 2019, 03:29 PM

Mate of mine was amazed how easily Arsenal (he's a fan) put away Napoli - asked how good they were.

Ultimately Juve have become a problem for Serie A - they're so far ahead of this league honestly they should leave - they're too good for the division and if there was a way to put them in a different league it would be best for Serie A. The rest of the league just can't get close and it hurts them - Napoli, even under Carlo, gubbed by a decent if not amazing Arsenal.

Juve have too much money, power and ability - the embarrassment of how far ahead they are is absurd.

But then, it's not unprecedented - PSG in France is similar.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Apr 12 2019, 03:50 PM

Yet PSG opened up the door for Monaco, Marseille and Nice to at least try and be competitive.

It was a strange decision signing Carletto IMO. He never seemed to me the right man for them. They need a guerrilla tactics coach like Simeone on their side to pull of a scudetto winning season. Ancelotti is too much of a big club man to deal with their kind of pressure and mentality.


Posted by: Fillipo Simone Apr 12 2019, 03:56 PM

QUOTE (Rossoneri7 @ Apr 4 2019, 05:22 PM) *
You guys are too critical.

This is a midtable team and this midtable team currently sits in a European slot of the table.

The team lost a couple of games, so what? Now the team is mediocre? Have you forgotten this is a midtable team?

Then on Gattuso, what's the issue we have with Gattuso? If he does not get CL he will be gone by the end of the season. And that's that.

P.S. you guys should lower your expectations, it's not like the team will be challenging for top honors anytime soon. There has to be consistency in the structure of the team before there is any consistency in results, then we can discuss winning something.

I disagree with that midtable team talk. Sure, we ain't the team we were in 2004. But who's talking about that anyway? If our team is midtable class so to speak, then hell Atalanta, Lazio and Roma have all midtable teams as well.

The issue with Gattuso is quite simple. He's a solid coach but he lacks experience and isn't in control of his team. He has no idea what to do upfront when the Plan A isn't working. The mindset of the team fighting for 4th or even 3rd spot just isn't right.

Posted by: X-Offender Apr 13 2019, 12:31 PM

QUOTE (Fillipo Simone @ Apr 12 2019, 03:56 PM) *
I disagree with that midtable team talk. Sure, we ain't the team we were in 2004. But who's talking about that anyway? If our team is midtable class so to speak, then hell Atalanta, Lazio and Roma have all midtable teams as well.

The issue with Gattuso is quite simple. He's a solid coach but he lacks experience and isn't in control of his team. He has no idea what to do upfront when the Plan A isn't working. The mindset of the team fighting for 4th or even 3rd spot just isn't right.


Hasn’t that been the issue with all our coaches since Ancelotti though?

Posted by: Danny Apr 13 2019, 02:50 PM

QUOTE (X-Offender @ Apr 13 2019, 12:31 PM) *
Hasn’t that been the issue with all our coaches since Ancelotti though?


Be interesting to see how Montella does back at Viola.

Posted by: han2503 Apr 13 2019, 07:29 PM

QUOTE (Danny @ Apr 13 2019, 02:50 PM) *
Be interesting to see how Montella does back at Viola.

He'll be good for them, they're at this level

We'll see about Rino, if he gets 4th I think he deserves the chance to stay for another season

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Apr 13 2019, 07:30 PM

QUOTE (X-Offender @ Apr 13 2019, 02:31 PM) *
Hasn’t that been the issue with all our coaches since Ancelotti though?

And this is why we never once in these 10 years or so overachieved. Not a single season with better results then quality/money invested.

What recently shocked me is that Juve, over a span of some 9 seasons, spent 1,2 billion in transfers, but Milan more then 700 m with an income from transfers circa 500 - exactly the same as Inter. Juventus won 224 more points compared to Milan in 8 last seasons.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Apr 13 2019, 07:31 PM

QUOTE (han2503 @ Apr 13 2019, 09:29 PM) *
He'll be good for them, they're at this level

We'll see about Rino, if he gets 4th I think he deserves the chance to stay for another season

If Rino loses tonight I think he will and should be sacked.

Posted by: X-Offender Apr 13 2019, 08:11 PM

Kessie is just dumb.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Apr 13 2019, 08:26 PM

QUOTE (X-Offender @ Apr 13 2019, 10:11 PM) *
Kessie is just dumb.

You realize that now, don't you? devil.gif

Posted by: X-Offender Apr 13 2019, 09:28 PM

That was intense. Thank f*ck for the 3 points. We're still 4th.

Posted by: han2503 Apr 13 2019, 09:30 PM

QUOTE (Fillipo Simone @ Apr 13 2019, 07:31 PM) *
If Rino loses tonight I think he will and should be sacked.

Meaning now or at the end of the season? Because sacking him now would be a mistake imo

Anyway, that's moot. A massive 3 points tonight.

Posted by: X-Offender Apr 13 2019, 09:47 PM

Parma away
Torino away
Bologna home
Fiorentina away
Frosinone home
SPAL away

No big names but still a tough calendar.

Posted by: han2503 Apr 13 2019, 09:55 PM

QUOTE (X-Offender @ Apr 13 2019, 09:47 PM) *
Parma away
Torino away
Bologna home
Fiorentina away
Frosinone home
SPAL away

No big names but still a tough calendar.

The 2 bolded ones are the most worrying but at the back of my mind, I feel like we're more likely to f@ck it all up against Frasinone or SPAL rolleyes.gif

I think Roma have a tougher fixture list, same with Lazio, but I just don't trust that we can see this through to the end considering how we've been playing as of late. Only good thing going for us is that both the Rome clubs have been just as bad

Posted by: Danny Apr 14 2019, 01:26 AM

This is what Crotone forums are like, isn't it biggrin.gif

Posted by: William405 Apr 14 2019, 01:34 PM

QUOTE (Fillipo Simone @ Apr 13 2019, 09:31 PM) *
If Rino loses tonight I think he will and should be sacked.


Blame it on the coach...as always.

I want us to keep Gattuso.


Posted by: William405 Apr 14 2019, 01:40 PM

Pipo: I just don't think you understand the difficulty of getting to 4th place, specially with a team that is in constant change without an established superstar.

Gattuso, imo, still didn't do anything to deserve a sack in my eyes.

He deserves another season for sure, and with a slightly better equiped squad.

For me the most important thing is that we get 4th place. And, at the moment it will be down to consistency but also luck... We just can't seem to pull away from our competition. It would just be a shame to see Roma/Atalanta get 4th place and not Milan. Since, we know very damn well that they will drop out very quickly out of this competition. While, for us it will give us just the boost we needed in terms of finance to get our squad to the next level.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Apr 14 2019, 03:04 PM

If Milan want to speed up things and make a decisive move forward, they either should sign a superstar, find a instant supertalent or sign an experienced coach. Or else we'll be stuck in years with baby steps - 7 or 8 years to cling on to the 4th spot, next season a early exit in CL (group stage), then after 2 years perhaps 3rd etc etc. By this plan we will be back in (real) business by then end of the new decade.

Posted by: William405 Apr 14 2019, 03:18 PM

Maybe, maybe Pipo. But, we both know it is more complicated than that.

Berlusconi letting us getting for the last few years, Galliani with stupid moves and the Chinese mess. You can't expect a club to grow in such circumstances!

Now we have more or less a steady management, and a steady CEO with Maldini there.

We also have a young squad full of potential. I have more of an optimistic view. I think we just need this 4th place to push us where we want to be. With 4th place, we will be able to sign 2-3 superstars IMO, and we have an already solid squad. This should be good enough to yield us consistent 2nd-3rd place finishes. For the CL, for sure it is more complicated. But just imagine this, Piatek and Paqueta fullfilling their potential.. the future is bright, I hope smile.gif

Posted by: William405 Apr 14 2019, 03:19 PM

QUOTE (Fillipo Simone @ Apr 14 2019, 05:04 PM) *
If Milan want to speed up things and make a decisive move forward, they either should sign a superstar, find a instant supertalent or sign an experienced coach. Or else we'll be stuck in years with baby steps - 7 or 8 years to cling on to the 4th spot, next season a early exit in CL (group stage), then after 2 years perhaps 3rd etc etc. By this plan we will be back in (real) business by then end of the new decade.


I don't think an experienced coach will change a big deal, but that's just my opinion.

Posted by: han2503 Apr 14 2019, 03:46 PM

QUOTE (Danny @ Apr 14 2019, 01:26 AM) *
This is what Crotone forums are like, isn't it biggrin.gif

Most likely.. biggrin.gif

QUOTE (William405 @ Apr 14 2019, 01:40 PM) *
Pipo: I just don't think you understand the difficulty of getting to 4th place, specially with a team that is in constant change without an established superstar.

Gattuso, imo, still didn't do anything to deserve a sack in my eyes.

He deserves another season for sure, and with a slightly better equiped squad.

For me the most important thing is that we get 4th place. And, at the moment it will be down to consistency but also luck... We just can't seem to pull away from our competition. It would just be a shame to see Roma/Atalanta get 4th place and not Milan. Since, we know very damn well that they will drop out very quickly out of this competition. While, for us it will give us just the boost we needed in terms of finance to get our squad to the next level.

I understand Fillipo's point about getting a big name coach though. Someone with experience at this level would definitely help. That being said, Rino hasn't done anything to deserve being let go. And if he does manage to get 4th than that would mean that he has done more for us than all the previous coaches since Allegri (with a stacked squad that is) have done. So that has to be respected

I am worried how we'd fair in the CL though. The squad definitely needs 3 top notch improvements imo or else we'd risk humiliation at that level

QUOTE (Fillipo Simone @ Apr 14 2019, 03:04 PM) *
If Milan want to speed up things and make a decisive move forward, they either should sign a superstar, find a instant supertalent or sign an experienced coach. Or else we'll be stuck in years with baby steps - 7 or 8 years to cling on to the 4th spot, next season a early exit in CL (group stage), then after 2 years perhaps 3rd etc etc. By this plan we will be back in (real) business by then end of the new decade.

This year has been year zero for the umpteenth time now, but I believe that next summer we'll start from a solid foundation which will mean that we won't have to reset to zero once again. If Gattuso is successful in getting us CL football then I feel it would be a mistake to let him go as that would be step back for us in terms of consistency. Not to mention the fact that he would deserve to keep his job

QUOTE (William405 @ Apr 14 2019, 03:19 PM) *
I don't think an experienced coach will change a big deal, but that's just my opinion.

Hmm, I think he'd give us that something extra that Rino currently cannot. Gattuso atm is slightly limited tactically, and that has been to our detriment at times. So I wouldn't say that someone like say Conte wouldn't change things, because I think that he would

Posted by: han2503 Apr 14 2019, 03:49 PM

Anyway, are you all following this Kessie Bakayoko mess?

Apparently, Acerbi before the game said some things along the lines of Lazio are better than us in ever positiion etc, etc and Bakayoko replied on twitter with "OK my friend, see you on Saturday"

Then after the game him and Kessie apparently paraded Acerbi's shirt in front of the Curva in a sort of ironic gesture, which made Acerbi and Immobile incredibly butthurt

Now the FIGC is apparently investigating this.

Imo this goes to show the utter hypocrisy of this league and why it's still a million miles behind other leagues.

So they bury blatant racism against players but this, some ribbing from rivals is being investigated... Unbelievable

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Apr 14 2019, 04:00 PM

Agreed.

Also, why isn't anyone mentioning that it was Acerbi who started this debate that is "unworthy of sport"?

Posted by: han2503 Apr 14 2019, 05:22 PM

QUOTE (Fillipo Simone @ Apr 14 2019, 04:00 PM) *
Agreed.

Also, why isn't anyone mentioning that it was Acerbi who started this debate that is "unworthy of sport"?

Because he's the white Italian dude would be my guess and him and Immobile were acting all hurt and indignant about it afterwards

If the FIGC imposes bans on our plays, the club should take immediate legal action if possible

Utterly backward mentality in that country

Posted by: X-Offender Apr 14 2019, 05:33 PM

It's absolutely ridiculous. This league is hopeless.

Posted by: X-Offender Apr 20 2019, 12:18 PM

Playing very bad. Seems like a bunch of players randomly thrown together.

I have to say, Piatek may have a great goal intuition and technique, but on the ball he's completely clueless. Not any better than Cutrone really. So many balls lost today because he tries to do things he clearly isn't capable of and ends up looking like a buffoon.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Apr 20 2019, 12:35 PM

Agreed.

Awful match, awful attitude and gameplay. But what's new? Y'all be shouting again that Gattuso is blameless. Just think about this - 5 away matches, 2 shots on goal by Milan. We play awful football and if we somehow remain 4th it will be a gift by Roma and Lazio.

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Apr 20 2019, 12:55 PM

The lack of fluidity.. And these flipping croses...

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Apr 20 2019, 12:57 PM

Well one good cross and goal.. Great header as well

Posted by: X-Offender Apr 20 2019, 01:16 PM

There goes our CL...

Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Apr 20 2019, 01:25 PM

Zero creativity..

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Apr 20 2019, 01:46 PM

Awful performance. Helped by awful choices.

Posted by: Rossoneri7 Apr 20 2019, 01:47 PM

Tuned into the second half so don't know what it was like in the first.

The second half was alright, Milan kept possession and dominated the play, granted there was little created. Parma got the point with an amazing free kick... Milan could do little about.

This result puts Milan's hope of CL on ice and I have no hope in the team getting 4th at this point.

That being said, this has definitely been the best season since Allegri was here. Not sure if the club could retain the best players on the roaster let alone attract more talent.

If Milan doesn't achieve CL then there will be a lot to deal with, least of all FFP and all the repercussions.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Apr 20 2019, 01:54 PM

Second half was alright? You realize that we play for CL football and survival? While Parma is almost a relegation side?

The confusion created with subs like Biglia or Cutrone, the lack of ideas and general predictability which is addressed by absurd doubling or even tripling of positions (Castillejo - Suso - Borini; Cutrone - Piatek). The stubborn deployment of players like Rodriguez or especially Borini who is one dimensional and should get playing time - but for Christ sake, not as right fullback unless it is absolutely necessary.

This is the n-th time we start a match with zero idea and zero aggression. We did so against Udine as well. There's no sign of change of attitude. It's hopeless, unless of course Lazio and Roma help but I don't see that happen.

Posted by: Rossoneri7 Apr 20 2019, 02:05 PM

Thing is you underestimate Parma's motivation Pippo. For these sides (just like it was for Spal against Juve) winning against these historic Serie A sides is kinda like a CL win.

I am as frustrated as you are, if not more. But the fact of the matter is this is the team and the coach. The issues you speak of have been there for a while. Milan needs a lot more to be in CL contention and not just the current crop of players. Milan needs consistency and continuity and above all a triquartista who can create sparks up from. As of now the options of Suso, Calhanoglu and the Brazilian kid are not cutting it.

That being said, this is a better season than those gone by. If Milan doesn't make a CL birth (which is becoming increasingly likely) then so be it, the club will build on this seasons improvements. But I fear without CL Milan won't be able to do much and will perhaps have to sell the jewels of this team rather than retain. Plus Milan won't be able to attract the player that would make the difference because of the issues of FFP and for which Milan is being scrutinized.


Posted by: Fillipo Simone Apr 20 2019, 02:11 PM

What Milan needs and has been needing for years now is a coach with experience, someone who constantly knows what he's doing and has the needed experience to confront issues and problems as the occur during the season.

This is pointless. Gone are the days when you can sign a shoemaker and Serie B coach.

Posted by: Rossoneri7 Apr 20 2019, 02:59 PM

OK so at this point Leonardo and Maldini are to blame?

Posted by: X-Offender Apr 20 2019, 03:01 PM

Parma are an awful side that play some atrocious football and were coming from 3 losses and 2 draws. To not win against them, a team like ours with CL ambitions, it’s absolutely disgraceful. No justifications.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Apr 20 2019, 03:08 PM

QUOTE (Rossoneri7 @ Apr 20 2019, 04:59 PM) *
OK so at this point Leonardo and Maldini are to blame?

No, Gattuso.

Posted by: X-Offender Apr 20 2019, 05:43 PM

QUOTE (Fillipo Simone @ Apr 20 2019, 01:54 PM) *
It's hopeless, unless of course Lazio and Roma help but I don't see that happen.


Well, Lazio just lost at home against a relegated Chievo, so... innocent.gif

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Apr 20 2019, 06:44 PM

Let's hope Roma will too.

But honestly, what can we expect other then failure if we keep on playing like this? I think some players need to be benched: call it resting or sending a message, I don't really care.

Posted by: X-Offender Apr 20 2019, 06:56 PM

There's little to salvage at this point. We'll just have to scrape as many points as possible in the few remaining games and somehow hope they'll be enough to grant us CL football next season. If that happens, I foresee a small revolution in the summer, with Gattuso and a few important players leaving.

If we fail to qualify, then we're royally f*cked.

Posted by: Rossoneri7 Apr 20 2019, 07:21 PM

QUOTE (Fillipo Simone @ Apr 20 2019, 06:08 PM) *
No, Gattuso.


Okay, but who are responsible for keeping Gattuso on as coach? Leonardo and Maldini right? Or does that work only when Galliani is in charge?

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Apr 20 2019, 11:40 PM

Yes, they are responsible. I think they were sentimental and didn't have the heat to sack Rino after he coached us through a fair post-Montella period. If it wasn't Ringo but someone else (no Milan legend), he would have probably been gone.

Posted by: Danny Apr 21 2019, 02:43 PM

My brief return to interest in this club has been doused again in recent weeks.

It really is a mickey mouse operation. I didn't watch yesterday and I'm rather glad.

Posted by: Danny Apr 21 2019, 03:28 PM

LAWL at Man Utd. Sure, we're not ones to talk, but hey, may as well laugh.

Knew as soon as Solskjaer got the job permanently the form would swandive. They've lost 6 in the last 8 now which is even worse than us. A lot worse.

Those players are pretty odious. They get in someone who isn't Jose so they bust a gut under him to make sure the nice guy gets the job, and as soon as he does they down tools and go back to the old way.

What a horrible club they are!

Posted by: Rossoneri7 Apr 24 2019, 07:28 PM

Less than 20 minutes to the 2nd leg of the coppa italia semifinal against Lazio.

I am hopeful

Posted by: William405 Apr 24 2019, 09:30 PM

Okay, I finally agree with you guys. Gattuso needs to leave.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Apr 24 2019, 09:31 PM

Hope? Of course we'll lose. Big match - Milan loses.

Posted by: William405 Apr 24 2019, 09:45 PM

QUOTE (Fillipo Simone @ Apr 24 2019, 11:31 PM) *
Hope? Of course we'll lose. Big match - Milan loses.


Our only hope is to qualify for the Champions leauge. Then, we'll have more cashflow at least. Otherwise, we'll just have to settle being a midtable club.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Apr 24 2019, 09:46 PM

Here is a preview of what Milan under Gattuso looks like in big games:

Milan - Lazio 2:1
Milan - Roma 2:0

Juventus - Milan 3:1
Milan - Inter 0:0
Milan - Napoli 0:0
Milan - Inter 1:0 (e.t.)
Milan - Lazio 0:0
Lazio - Milan 0:0 (win on penalties)
Juventus - Milan 4:0

Milan - Napoli 2:3
Milan - Roma 2:1
Inter - Milan 1:0
Milan - Juventus 0:2
Lazio - Milan 1:1
Napoli - Milan 0:0
Roma - Milan 1:1
Milan - Inter 2:3
Juventus - Milan 2:1
Milan - Lazio 1:0
Juventus - Milan 1:0
Milan - Napoli 2:0
Milan - Lazio 0:0
Lazio - Milan 1:0

That's 7 wins (1 on penalties) in 23 games. 1 win in 4 games against Inter. Two finals lost with zero goals scored.

Today we went out with 2 shots on target and a staggering 4 total shots. Yes, our team isn't good enough. But that's not all.

Posted by: X-Offender Apr 24 2019, 11:54 PM

The team clearly isn’t following Gattuso. He’s out of ideas, and can’t motivate the players anymore. But the problem is that we’re at a very important point in our season, and the players must bring out their 100%, which they clearly aren’t doing. So, rather than Gattuso I would blame them foremost.

Posted by: Danny Apr 25 2019, 01:21 AM

QUOTE (X-Offender @ Apr 24 2019, 11:54 PM) *
The team clearly isn’t following Gattuso. He’s out of ideas, and can’t motivate the players anymore. But the problem is that we’re at a very important point in our season, and the players must bring out their 100%, which they clearly aren’t doing. So, rather than Gattuso I would blame them foremost.


Sounds just like Man Utd.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Apr 25 2019, 11:09 AM

There's a difference. With Man Utd you have at least players like Pogba, Lukaku, de Gea who are proven champions - and clearly underperform.

With Milan you don't have a single player bar Rodriguez who has had 2 or 3 stable good seasons with his clubs prior Milan.

The big difference is however that this team needs leadership and guidance. It's the youngest Milan ever and the youngest starting XI in Serie A. If Gattuso lost the team the situation is dire.

But X-O I understand your position - yet our main goal is to secure CL. Now I don't know about you but I'm in panic mode right now. If Milan doesn't win and look considerably better come Sunday and Torino, we have to do something. Since we cannot change our players, the best thing IMO would be to sack Gattuso and bring in a fireman who could try bring some positive effect in the team and shake up things temporarily.

Look at how the change from Inzaghi to Mihajlovic resulted instant (and temporary) change. Sure, this is low-table survival tactics, but CL is crucial. We gotta do all we can to achieve that. And Milan under Gattuso looks completely dead right now - that's how many now awful games in a row?

Posted by: X-Offender Apr 25 2019, 11:44 AM

But that’s the point. Gattuso for me will be gone after the season ends, regardless of whether we finish 4th or not, and the players know that too. But rather than Gattuso’s future what’s at stake here is our future, the club’s. So, shouldn’t the players rise to the occasion and give their all for this common objective? Yet they play like they don’t even care anymore. And that’s unacceptable.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Apr 25 2019, 11:57 AM

Well I’m not sure its clear Gattuso is gone if we reach 4th. And to expect these bunch of kids to play without a leader to be motivated is probably too much. If this is true and it became apparent that Gattuso is gone no matter what, we really need an interim coach.

Posted by: Danny Apr 25 2019, 04:09 PM

I mean Milan Gattusso and Utd Solskjaer. Not the players.

Posted by: Rossoneri7 Apr 26 2019, 08:04 AM

Waiting for those to call out Maldini and Leonardo for desicions they make in terms of coaches and/or players.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Apr 26 2019, 09:34 AM

Almost none of the players were there decision, so it won't happen. At fault are Fassone and Mirabelli who splashed much money into nothing.

Also, keeping Rino was fair choice back then - even if it was mostly for sentimental reasons. But now he must go.

Posted by: X-Offender Apr 26 2019, 10:44 AM

Leonardo and Maldini are the only ones not at fault here.

Posted by: Danny Apr 28 2019, 02:20 AM

QUOTE (Fillipo Simone @ Apr 26 2019, 09:34 AM) *
Almost none of the players were there decision, so it won't happen. At fault are Fassone and Mirabelli who splashed much money into nothing.

Also, keeping Rino was fair choice back then -


Was it? We already failed with a tonne of our ex-players as manager. After we lucked out on Sacchi who turned out to be an incredible manager for us after a modest at best football career (obviously not with us), then lucked out again with Ancelotti, we've had an obsession with trying to luck out with our own players - it's not worked once.

It's not come close to it. It's been an embarrassment every time.

It wasn't a fair choice - it was another terrible one - as I said before his appointment and emphasised in recent months, this guy failed at Sion and Crete before doing ok with our kids. This is NOT Milan manager material, even if we like the man. Look at all the duds since Allegri (he wasn't a dud, sorry Han, he's the best manager we've had aside Ancelotti and Capello since Sacchi) - all the ex-players we've hoped to luck out on.

Unfortunately we don't have the money to afford the kind of manager we need to be where we want to be. And we're miles off being attractive enough to bring him in even if we did have the cash.

QUOTE
even if it was mostly for sentimental reasons. But now he must go.


New manager isn't going to make the terrible squad we continue to have suddenly become Liverpool.

The best example I have is indeed the Scousers - they brought in a world class manager, but it's taken Klopp four years to build one of the best clubs in Europe - and a LOT of money.

Now they're reaping the rewards - they've become a stunningly good team, with the world's best defender, and he even took an above average Roma Salah and turned him into one of the best strikers in the world. They are now, this season, an attractive club who can now lure the world's best players.

But that took half a decade (or 30 years if you look at the last time they won the title). It took patience - but appointing a superb manager was the starting point.

What have we done since Allegri? Wasted cash on absolute cr*p and appointed pathetic managers.

We've shown no ambition and made a hundred errors in every area of recruitment.

We've basically thrown dice and hoped for the best, rather than actually planning, strategically, how to achieve that.

And as long as we keep on promoting the next mediocre coach from the primavera or bring in some greek coach Bathinaikos who lie 5th in Olympic Division that is how it'll stay.

It's horrible how Milan are 'run' now.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Apr 28 2019, 12:19 PM

Obviously names like Mourinho, Klopp or Ancelotti won't sign for Milan. So we gotta settle for other options. Seedorf worked IMO and should have got a better chance, Inzaghi wasn't good. Mihajlovic and Montella were not as bad as one might think. That being sad, I don't think it's particularly necessary to re-examine the whole pallette of coaches we had prior to Rino. Bad management + bad players choices/signings + inexperienced coaches - what's there to expect? And this especially for Mirabelli and Fassone who in the end resulted, very unsurprisingly, with a disaster of their own.

The mistake Leo and Paolo made is simple: they should have gone for Carletto all the way. I'm positive Ancelotti would have signed for Milan this summer if we tried convincingly to sign him and also offered Rino his old position or some back room position. But well - we wanted to be fair and give a chance to the man who made the best out of a messy season.

But no more memory lane. Bringing in Liverpool now to the discussion brings little because there's little comparative material. Our survival depends on reaching 4th spot. Take a look at what happens in Germany for example - interim coaches and fireman managers at Schalke, Stuttgart, etc. shake up teams and bring them to success with new motivational impulses. Same happens in Serie A with Bologna under Mihajlovic. Hell, same happened when Cesare Maldini replaced Zaccheroni at Milan. So I really think that if Milan is unable to strike a deal with say Conte, we have to let go of Rino and bring in a fireman. At least that way we're trying to do something other then slowly watching this team and all hope die a slow death.

But well, perhaps we'll win Torino today ... and well ...

Posted by: han2503 Apr 28 2019, 08:55 PM

Honestly cannot take watching this team anymore

I've been a staunch supporter of Rino but this is beyond bad. He needs to go, today before tomorrow

We've been in 4th place since October or November and we've f@cked it up in the span of a month with just a single victory since the derby loss

Leo and Paolo will find it difficult to do, but enough is enough, we need to make a change to try to save our season at this point

Posted by: han2503 Apr 28 2019, 08:59 PM

Also, these players...

There are just no words to describe how stupid I think they are in terms of footballing IQ. Paqueta is the only one that makes smart passing decisions, and most of the time no one is on the same wavelength as him

Kessie is as dumb as a f@cking post. Suso goes out of his way to slow down the play to crawling pace, Rodriguez spends more time running and passing towards our goal than he does towards the opponent's goal. Hakan tries and tries but nothing comes off, Conti looks like he should be playing in a Sunday league at this point.

Honeslty, I just can't take watching this anymore. Seeing players who are getting paid millions being unable to make a single smart passing decision during the entirety of a game is just too f@cking much

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Apr 28 2019, 09:10 PM

I told you, Rino has to go.

Well most of the problems come down to bad transfer decisions. Kessie is one of the stupidest football players I've ever seen play in constant first team football. He's pretty much useless in modern football so we should sell him ASAP.

Suso is a joke. Just like a few other Milan players who are simply unworthy of wearing our shirt. But it all comes down to the terrible decisions Fassone and Mirabelli made. Splashing money on Bonucci, signing overhyped players like Conti and Kessie, bringing in German rejects like Hakan and Rodriguez... not a single good decision.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Apr 28 2019, 09:12 PM

And the captain adds some flavor to this disaster. Thanks guys, you're really something else...

Posted by: X-Offender Apr 28 2019, 09:41 PM

I think our players are simply unworthy. Save for 4-5 names, our roster is full of garbage. People like Conti, Rodriguez, Kessie and Calhanoglu are absolutely appalling to watch. Add to all that an incapable coach like Gattuso and you've got a recipe for disaster. You just don't deserve to go the CL.

Posted by: han2503 Apr 28 2019, 10:31 PM

QUOTE (Fillipo Simone @ Apr 28 2019, 09:10 PM) *
I told you, Rino has to go.

Well most of the problems come down to bad transfer decisions. Kessie is one of the stupidest football players I've ever seen play in constant first team football. He's pretty much useless in modern football so we should sell him ASAP.

Suso is a joke. Just like a few other Milan players who are simply unworthy of wearing our shirt. But it all comes down to the terrible decisions Fassone and Mirabelli made. Splashing money on Bonucci, signing overhyped players like Conti and Kessie, bringing in German rejects like Hakan and Rodriguez... not a single good decision.

Up until a month and a half ago things were still going well and we were playing relatively good. It's just been a complete nose dive since the Inter game and it's spiraled to the point where Rino has to go now, not at the end of the season, not next week but today if possible.

And it pains me to say this because this is another legend that was brought in with no experience and no knowledge as to how to take this team to the next level. But up to the Inter game he had steered the ship well imo. Thatbeing said, you can clearly see now that he's gone completely off the deep end and has zero clue as to how to right the course. He's out of ideas and his substitutions today continued to solidify that.

Kessie, is the most frustrating player I've seen in a while. I'm sorry to say this but he's an idiot simple as that really. Every pass he makes I just slap my hands to my head and go "WTF! Why??"

Fassone and Mirabelli f@cked us over no doubt about that, but I just don't understand how the team that was playing so well in December and January could turn to this. Just unbelievable how things have completely spiraled out of control. And I think a good few players have played themselves out of the club this week. Between the performance in the Coppa semi and today it's just abhorrently bad stuff.

QUOTE (Fillipo Simone @ Apr 28 2019, 09:12 PM) *
And the captain adds some flavor to this disaster. Thanks guys, you're really something else...

I understand his frustration.

Look today is completely on us. But the refereeing has been going against us all season, with blatantly bad calls that have harmed us more than once this season

Add to that the Bakayoko fiasco with Acerbi's shirt and then the racist chants plus the giant banana being waved at him on Wednesday against Lazio when the game should have been called off by the referee but was allowed to continue, and things are bound to boil over

The majority of Romagnoli's yellow cards this season have come from him talking to the referees, this when he is the captain and has the right to do so, and yet refs still card him for doing so.

We've been f@cked over by refs in countless games this season, our players were investigated and fined by the league for holding up an opponent's shirt in jest while Lazio's fans hurled racist abuse at our players and that fascist club of their's was allowed to get off scott free with not even a single word coming from the league to even acknowledge that such disgusting behavior took place. Not once but twice

So I can understand how a player like Romagnoli can lose it. I've comepletely lost it too with this disgrace of a league and country we play in

QUOTE (X-Offender @ Apr 28 2019, 09:41 PM) *
I think our players are simply unworthy. Save for 4-5 names, our roster is full of garbage. People like Conti, Rodriguez, Kessie and Calhanoglu are absolutely appalling to watch. Add to all that an incapable coach like Gattuso and you've got a recipe for disaster. You just don't deserve to go the CL.

Agreed

The players have disgraced themselves and this jersey this past month. They're all a bunch of unworthy knuckle heads

Honestly, from the starting 11 today, I'd only want to keep Romagnoli, Bakayoko, Donna (didn't have a good game either but oh well), Paqueta, Cutrone and Hakan as a rotation guy, the rest can f off at this point

Posted by: X-Offender Apr 28 2019, 11:57 PM

QUOTE (han2503 @ Apr 28 2019, 10:31 PM) *
Fassone and Mirabelli f@cked us over no doubt about that, but I just don't understand how the team that was playing so well in December and January could turn to this. Just unbelievable how things have completely spiraled out of control. And I think a good few players have played themselves out of the club this week. Between the performance in the Coppa semi and today it's just abhorrently bad stuff.


Honestly, we weren't really playing that great. Except for the Atalanta game, which I think has been our best showing this season, all other games were just us huffing and puffing to get the bare minimum.

QUOTE (han2503 @ Apr 28 2019, 10:31 PM) *
Agreed

The players have disgraced themselves and this jersey this past month. They're all a bunch of unworthy knuckle heads

Honestly, from the starting 11 today, I'd only want to keep Romagnoli, Bakayoko, Donna (didn't have a good game either but oh well), Paqueta, Cutrone and Hakan as a rotation guy, the rest can f off at this point


Cutrone is an excuse of a striker. He's be great for a team like Genoa, but for a team with CL ambitions? Not even worthy of a bench warmer. I admire his grit and passion, but he's just very poor.

Posted by: Danny Apr 29 2019, 10:58 AM

Blame me. It was all good till I came back. I truly am a jinx.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Apr 29 2019, 11:05 AM

So... Milan will stick with Gattuso until summer. Then we part ways. What a stupid decision!!!

Posted by: Rossoneri7 Apr 29 2019, 11:51 AM

Galliani's doing!

Posted by: Danny Apr 29 2019, 01:32 PM

QUOTE (Fillipo Simone @ Apr 29 2019, 11:05 AM) *
What a stupid decision!!!


Since 2012 it's the only kind we've made.

Posted by: Danny Apr 30 2019, 03:58 PM

QUOTE (Fillipo Simone @ Apr 28 2019, 12:19 PM) *
Obviously names like Mourinho, Klopp or Ancelotti won't sign for Milan. So we gotta settle for other options. Seedorf worked IMO and should have got a better chance,


Too arrogant - had a nice idea in high pressing but it worked the players too hard and it couldn't be maintained. But expected everyone around him to fall all over his ideas and too stubborn to change.

QUOTE
Inzaghi wasn't good.


Understatement. He was painful.

QUOTE
Mihajlovic and Montella were not as bad as one might think.


Miha was mediocre, but then he signed mediocre players. Montella was a weird one - his playstyle could be great and some of the best in the country, or abysmal and a joke. No real in between.

QUOTE
That being sad, I don't think it's particularly necessary to re-examine the whole pallette of coaches we had prior to Rino. Bad management + bad players choices/signings + inexperienced coaches - what's there to expect? And this especially for Mirabelli and Fassone who in the end resulted, very unsurprisingly, with a disaster of their own.


Everyone went bonkers that they were so much better than Galliani. Not really the case.

QUOTE
The mistake Leo and Paolo made is simple: they should have gone for Carletto all the way. I'm positive Ancelotti would have signed for Milan this summer if we tried convincingly to sign him and also offered Rino his old position or some back room position. But well - we wanted to be fair and give a chance to the man who made the best out of a messy season.


But you said at the start we can't sign someone like Ancelotti?

QUOTE
But no more memory lane. Bringing in Liverpool now to the discussion brings little because there's little comparative material.


Like us they ended up in the wilderness having been at the peak of English and European football for decades. Like us they were a fallen giant. But unlike us they really went for it in getting Klopp. We never show that kind of ambition.

QUOTE
Our survival depends on reaching 4th spot. Take a look at what happens in Germany for example - interim coaches and fireman managers at Schalke, Stuttgart, etc. shake up teams and bring them to success with new motivational impulses. Same happens in Serie A with Bologna under Mihajlovic. Hell, same happened when Cesare Maldini replaced Zaccheroni at Milan. So I really think that if Milan is unable to strike a deal with say Conte, we have to let go of Rino and bring in a fireman. At least that way we're trying to do something other then slowly watching this team and all hope die a slow death.

But well, perhaps we'll win Torino today ... and well ...


Hah, fat chance! And I don't want Conte.

Posted by: han2503 May 1 2019, 10:13 AM

QUOTE (X-Offender @ Apr 28 2019, 11:57 PM) *
Honestly, we weren't really playing that great. Except for the Atalanta game, which I think has been our best showing this season, all other games were just us huffing and puffing to get the bare minimum.



Cutrone is an excuse of a striker. He's be great for a team like Genoa, but for a team with CL ambitions? Not even worthy of a bench warmer. I admire his grit and passion, but he's just very poor.

Disagree, I think we were playing very well up until the Napoli Coppa game and a couple after it. I don't think we were all that great against Atalanta either, the end result flattered us. We've been going downhill since the Roma game though and it has been getting worse and worse with each week

QUOTE (Fillipo Simone @ Apr 29 2019, 11:05 AM) *
So... Milan will stick with Gattuso until summer. Then we part ways. What a stupid decision!!!

I agree that it's a bad decision but most reports are claiming that they can't find anyone who can come in for just a month and make a difference

They're not going to sign a Conte or Mourinho now (if they're at all possible), so I don't know who we can get on an interim basis that could dig us out of this tbh

QUOTE (Danny @ Apr 29 2019, 01:32 PM) *
Since 2012 it's the only kind we've made.

Eh, the new management has so far made very smart decisions. Rino is not their guy. They went ahead with him this season because he had not deserved to be let go simply because he wasn't their guy, but now his position has become untenable. Apparently during the press conference he said that he does not get a reaction out of this group even during training. That's worse than bad, and I honestly don't understand how they can leave him in the position when that is the case.

Posted by: Danny May 1 2019, 05:05 PM

Seems you're in your own bubble Han.

Posted by: han2503 May 6 2019, 07:59 PM

Rino putting in Mauri for the injured Biglia instead of Bakayoko ...

Talk about petty man...

Our season is on the line and he pulls this BS!

Posted by: X-Offender May 6 2019, 08:25 PM

QUOTE (han2503 @ May 6 2019, 07:59 PM) *
Rino putting in Mauri for the injured Biglia instead of Bakayoko ...

Talk about petty man...

Our season is on the line and he pulls this BS!


You gotta stick to your principles.

Posted by: X-Offender May 6 2019, 08:28 PM

UPDATE: Apparently Gattuso called Bakayoko to replace Biglia but the Frenchman refused to enter.

Who's petty now, Han?

Posted by: Fillipo Simone May 6 2019, 11:13 PM

I don't believe this.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone May 6 2019, 11:19 PM

QUOTE
“These are important points, as we were sixth earlier today, now we are right there for the Champions League. We’re not in great shape and knew we had to work hard, which we did,” the Coach told Sky Sport Italia.

It was a tense week already, as the squad went into a five-day training retreat to prepare for this game, largely because Bakayoko turned up an hour late to training because he ran out of petrol.

“The players were angry with me because I kept them away from their families for five days, so I told them to turn that anger into positive energy on the field and I think they did that.

“We were a little predictable, but anyone who has played football knows in these difficult moments, it’s best to keep it simple and avoid costly errors.”

However, it was a game filled with tension, as Lucas Paqueta was sent off for slapping the referee’s hand away after a booking and will be suspended against Fiorentina.

In the opening minutes, Gattuso asked Bakayoko to warm up after a Lucas Biglia injury, but he was so slow that the Coach called up Jose Mauri instead and the two men exchanged clear insults on the touchline.

“What happens is our business and it happens in our dressing room. I asked Bakayoko to get ready, he took a while, so I called up Jose Mauri.

“We wear a prestigious jersey, I have to be clear and honest. I waited seven or eight minutes and he hadn’t even put his shin-pads on. I’ve told many Coaches to get stuffed in my career, it ended there. We’ll see, it’s all about respect.

“The players can say anything to me, but the main thing is that they don’t lack respect for their teammates and the dressing room atmosphere.

“We have other priorities right now. We’ll see at the end of the season, like a school report, who behaved well and badly. Anyone can insult me on the touchline, but we’ll meet in a room eye-to-eye and see.

“I want to sort this out in the dressing room and talk in my language, which I cannot do on television. So we have to focus on the victory and not waste time on other issues.”

Now Milan risk being without Paqueta for several weeks, as he was sent off or slapping the referee’s hand away.

“Paqueta is young and I don’t think he even realised what he was doing, putting his hands on the referee. It irritates me and we have to improve that aspect too, but he’s young and naïve.

“We have to think only of ourselves. We ended the game not with 10 men, but seven, as there were several with cramp and who hadn’t played 90 minutes in a long time.

“If you look at our squad, we’re giving our all at this moment. We’re not in the best shape right now, that’s obvious, but with all our injuries, the change of club ownership and everything else we’ve been through, we’re doing all we can.

“I want to thank the 50,000 fans who showed up tonight, as I thought they were going to jeer us, but they cheered the team on from start to finish.”

Source: FI

He exactly refuse... but... well - he's a complete idiot, that Bakayoko.

Posted by: X-Offender May 7 2019, 09:06 PM

Paqueta suspended for three games.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone May 7 2019, 10:09 PM

Well, idiotic move by him. He deservedly got suspended. Only his youth is a excuse.

Posted by: Danny May 8 2019, 12:51 AM

At least we won?

No question there's a new order in European football. One which looks remarkably like the 70s and 80s coming back. Ajax, Liverpool...

Meanwhile the traditional powerhouses Milan, Man Utd, Real, even Barca are now starting to dwindle.

The final four in the UCL was a big clue as to where things are.

The new order is Liverpool, Ajax, PSG, Man City, and to an extent Juve and Bayern.

But as long as our manager is allegedly calling our black players negros, we're not getting out our hole any time soon.

Posted by: Rossoneri7 May 8 2019, 08:31 AM

Danny wouldn't call it a new order. Just that Barca and Madrid are too used to winning while those you mentioned have more fire under their belly in addition to a current crop of good players who play amazing football. That is all.

Come next year and the final of CL would most likely feature Madrid or Barca.

The phase Milan is going through is normal its just that us fans don't have the patiance to allow room for growth. As it stands we have waited a lot now. While take Spurs as an example, they have not won anything for years yet they stuck with the same manager. Case in point Klopp, after last year's run, had the Liverpool fans been Milan fans they'd be calling for his scalp.

Then... Oh well you get the point

Posted by: Fillipo Simone May 8 2019, 08:51 AM

I don't think anyone here would have called for Klopp to resign? That's absurd... he's the sole responsible person for getting Shaqiri, Origi and such a team to the final - now twice. I think everyone sees that.

Posted by: Rossoneri7 May 8 2019, 12:18 PM

Nope, just Ancelotti of course

Posted by: Fillipo Simone May 8 2019, 12:26 PM

I get your point but it's a slightly different position/situation. Milan was packed with world class players back then - an people wanted more. Klopp has a average to good team and he's getting the maximum out of them.

Posted by: Danny May 8 2019, 12:53 PM

QUOTE (Fillipo Simone @ May 8 2019, 12:26 PM) *
I get your point but it's a slightly different position/situation. Milan was packed with world class players back then - an people wanted more. Klopp has a average to good team and he's getting the maximum out of them.


Ha! Klopp spent 150M on two players! Don't kid yourself on that he's taking an average group of players up a level!

He's a wonderful manager, yes, but he has a great group of players too. An expensive group that he spent a bucketload on.

Posted by: Danny May 8 2019, 12:58 PM

QUOTE (Rossoneri7 @ May 8 2019, 08:31 AM) *
Danny wouldn't call it a new order. Just that Barca and Madrid are too used to winning while those you mentioned have more fire under their belly in addition to a current crop of good players who play amazing football. That is all.

Come next year and the final of CL would most likely feature Madrid or Barca.


Barca haven't made the final since 2015 (having only been in it once since 2012), and Real lost the reason they did. Things are a-changing.

QUOTE
The phase Milan is going through is normal its just that us fans don't have the patiance to allow room for growth. As it stands we have waited a lot now. While take Spurs as an example, they have not won anything for years yet they stuck with the same manager.


Spurs NEVER won anything? Spurs are not a winning club. Look at their history. Bad example.

QUOTE
Case in point Klopp, after last year's run, had the Liverpool fans been Milan fans they'd be calling for his scalp.


They did a couple of seasons ago. Wrong again.

QUOTE
Then... Oh well you get the point


Unfortunately your argument is based on things which aren't actually true, my friend. So, not really!

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