+1

Well he shouldn't, unless we get adequate replacement. As in Tevez or someone similar. I mean, will we see Inzaghi leaving, Shaarawy being loaned to a mid-table team, we wait until January 31 (like Galliani said) for Tevez. And he doesn't come. Pato gets injured again in March, and we're left with Ibra and Robinho.

Only way the Pharoah leaves is if we manage to sign a quality forward. Next year is going to be quite hard.

It's the way things are though, and not just for us but for any fan of every team. What benefits them is ok, but what doesn't is a mortal sin.

I personally can admit that it was a dive, I'm more irritated by people trying to say it is not simply because it's in the benefit of their team. Was the penalty legit? I think it was very soft, but there was contact which was brought on by Boateng's quick thinking in the situation.

Had that been Pazzini doing it for Inter for example, sure there would be gripes because it's still a dive, but you cannot say there wasn't a decent call for the penalty imo, whether that is for Inter or us.

We already have an agreement for Maxi Lopez.

+2

Jolly good, then. The CL and the final push for the league is going to be tough, like I said. And I want another Scudetto more than anything, getting to twenty titles and another star should be priority number one! For that, the more players we have the better. Lest an injury crises comes along (fingers crossed it doesn't).

Nice!

Boateng was really essential for us today,along with Nocerino ofcourse.imo,they're the driving force of our midfield.They track back,work hard,pull out nice tricks and shots every now then.A lovlier version of "Allegri's destroyer midfield".Aquilani should be tested again as an attack midfield,and with those two behind him.

Overall,our formation was lacking but there were injuries so that's expected.Thiago Silva and Mexes looked amazing with each other,I think we have found Nesta's replacement for free .

Taiwo looked better offensively,and he has potential.But,defensively he leaves a lot to be desired...Turns out acid was right,a few matches,and he might become a reliable fullback after all.

That depends on how and when the matches come. If he's sitting out the next two, and starts another two, then goes on another extended break, it's not going to help anybody. But if can get a run of a few straight matches and keep his head in the right place, we can have a new dimension on our flanks.

I'd hate to think we got him on free, just to make a profit and sell the guy after six months. Nope, can't be!

They really are essential to us. And I thought Aquilani did much better than Seedorf when he came in. That midfield (MvB-Aqua-Noce-Boa) is the best possible we can field. Anything else is a downgrade.

Cristiano Del Grosso (Siena's LB) impressed me, while our very own Taiwo proved yet again his defensive abilities are weak, in comparison to his peers.

Over all the team struggled to close the game early, taking nothing away from Siena, who produced a very solid performance, however Milan got the three points and that is all that matters at the end of the day.

I agree, Seedorf started badly on the right, so then he switched positions with Nocerino during the 1st half. Which had Nocerino going missing after a great start to the game. Even after being moved to the left Seedorf was mostly anonymous, and all he did was slow play down by passing the ball back to VB, instead of trying to find Ibra/Robs or play in Taiwo, who was making constant runs but was being ignored. The only 2 times Taiwo managed to get in good positions on the flank to cross he put in the only good crosses from the thousand useless crosses Bonera and co put in from the right.

After watching Seedorf and Aqui play one after the other, you could really see how they effect play differently, Seedorf just slows things down to a crawl and plays a lot of useless passes, Seedorf is great at controling possession and slowing down tempo when it's needed, but usually he does that when it is absolutely not needed, in fact most times we need the opposite of that. Aquilani is just very tidy, and always wants to keep the ball moving as fast as possible. The only down side to him is that he doesn't cover spaces that well when we're on the defence. Because of this, it would be an ideal situation to switch Boateng and Aquilani's positions, I know it didn't work out for Aqui in those 2 games it was tried, but you also have to take into account the fact that the entire team was struggling, so that could be as much a reason for it. I think it's worth a try, maybe in the January friendlies it could be tested properly...

Again with Seedorf

On the Nocerino left/right argument, Allegri stated in his post-match comments that he found Siena attacking us from Seedorf's flank and as such switched the two players. Purely tactical by the coach.

On Seedorf, it depends where he is fielded and what task is asked of him; in the AM he attacks generally and when at CM he controls play and links defense and attack. Nothing new there, just recycling your opinion of him being a slow player. When in reality, it is the coach that sanctions each player's duties in a match and it is the players who have to focus on their respective roles.

On Aquilani I am impressed by him so far, and will wait for the season to end to pass judgment on how good he really is.

So,Seedorf is untouchable?

Untouchable? Here? Haha, Seedorf is far from untouchable.

Seedorf provides differently then Aquilani. Seedorf simply gives you different tactical advantages and weaknesses. I cannot agree with X-Off saying anything then the van Bommel-Noce-Aqua-Boa line is a downgrade. No, it isn't in different kind of matches and tactical approaches. Seedorf still has more vision and influence, he still works hardly. Sure, his age and deterioration is visible, yet I still cannot say that Aquilani is a granted starter. His form is also going up and down as badly as Seedorfs. Yesterday he came off from the bench - which usually means he'll be good. His problem is to be consistent for a longer period. Almost every match he started he had a very good to excellent period, followed by a MIA phase or a error phase. That's how I see it.

Guess some fans aren't conventional and hate all diving no matter if it benefits them or not.



No, there was no contact, his quick thinking was to dive. Congrats Kev.



If it's done to us I hate it. If it's done by a team I support, I hate it.

I hate cheating in football, and that's exactly what Boateng did.

There was contact with Boateng,though when the goalkeeper approached Boateng he was already going at a very fast speed,a slightest of touches could have knocked him down.My point is such fouls happen everyday,but since this was a penalty it was pinpointed as a blatant dive,imo it isn't.

My thoughts exactly. Hopefully Boateng or Brkic (their goalkeeper) can come out with the full story.

For people living in the past like R7, yes, he is.

About to watch the highlights now. Sounded like routine though despite the score. Anyone fill me in without having to flick through 17 pages

Why are we reducing this to an argument about how fast Seedorf can run? I never said that he himself is slow(even though he is) I said that he slows the game down to a crawl with his backwards and sideways passing, or standing on the ball too long. 2 completely different things, so I don't get how my entire post was construde as me dissing Seedorf for being slow. In fact I praised Seedorf for his possession play. But you simply cannot ignore how he sometimes ruins great moves due to his back/sideways passes when there are better options.


I'd personally still trust Seedorf more in the big games, as I mentioned above, he knows when to slow the tempo down and how to keep the ball in or possession, while Aquilani can be wasteful with the ball.

Aquilani's form is understandable. He took his time finding his position in the team, I'll excuse his MIA moments for now. We'll see how he progresses as the season unfolds


I'm sure everyone cheered when Ibra scored. Moral or not

There was slight contact, which Boateng himself initiated when he saw the keeper coming off his line. Imo he brought the foul on himself. And in my book, that is smart. Yes he dived once that contact was made, but this is how 50% of penalties are brought on imo

He didn't cheat, he profited from an advantagous situation which he himself created

I would say the usual. Boring first half, with us trying to break down their defense. Cue the second half, and we are gifted a goal from the midfield (which is more than what can be said of Milan during the last few seasons). KPB tries to play smart, earns a penalty and Ibra slots it in like there is no tomorrow. Yep, a usual day in the life of Milan.

Unless we can unlock teams like Siena at will week in and week out, we'll be out against quality opposition.

Well, Siena parked their bus in our own half until the first goal. It was very difficult finding spaces. And we still had a couple of good opportunities to score. It's not by chance that when we scored, everything became easy and we might have nailed a few more chances with Pato and co.

Against quality opposition, you don't have this problem. Sure, you'll have to deal with the quality of their players, but I think we're more than capable of handling big games now. Of course, assuming Allegri doesn't f*ck up.

While normally I'd agree with you, man, but a team only hits top form when they can unlock opponents who park the bus in front of their goal. If you can do that, then you can do anything against quality oppositions. Against the biggest teams (and no, I don't necessarily mean big guns domestically in the league) in Europe, you should either have enough firepower to dismantle them completely all through the 90 minutes, or have enough creativity in the midfield.

Case in point Real Madrid, they have enough mojo upfront that they can score almost at will. But against other top clubs, if they get up front then RM are chasing the game. Case in point against Barcelona, against us too last few matches. We are a step behind the guys from Madrid, in that we don't have as luxurious an attack line. That's why we can't hack teams that defend well from the start, and that's why we won't be able to do so against European and quality teams. We haven't been able to stamp our authority on the matches (bar a few in Serie A) these two seasons.

What this means is that if things go our way, and we score first, we may get in the drivers seat. But coming back from behind or having a 0-0 scoreline against bus-parkers at the 60th minute? Chances are we'll crack. And that's what has been happening up till now. Part of it is lack of team chemistry due to new signings, Senior Allegri being himself sometimes, and at other times serious injuries to key players. Also the lack of flair, which we have not much of.

We came back twice against the strongest team in the world. If it wasn't for some shoddy defending and Allegri playing a f*cked up midfield, we would not have lost to Barça. Besides, don't forget that motivation plays a huge part in these situations. I remember Ancelotti's Milan struggling against the Empoli's and Modena's in the league, only to smash their opponents in Europe. My point is that the Serie A (or any other championship, for that matter) and the Champions League are two completely different dimensions. Your splendid performance in the league won't pay dividends on European soil. Just look at the two Manchesters, for instance. And then look at Napoli. Fifth in Serie A, yet managed to pass the group of hell.

We did have difficulties scoring the opener against Siena, but most European powerhouses have the same problem in their respective leagues. Leave Barça and Madrid out of the equation. They're both on another level (and they also play in a rather mediocre league).

Well I'm pleased that Mexes got a start alongside Thiago. Someone was saying yesterday Bonera was going to be in the centre so thankfully they were wrong

Clean sheet which was well needed after the Bologna game. Even if they didn't have a lot to do they did what they did do well. Ibra still at his best really hope we can hang on to him and we don't play silly buggers and swap him for Tevez. Always in my mind. Robinho looked poor or just me? Didn't really seem to want to get involved, not sure if it was because Siena were trying to keep tight on him to stop him running with the ball or if he just went in to hiding but seemed poor from what I've seen. Nocerino the other positive obviously, one of the names I've not really heard of so tried to keep an eye on him and took the goal well

From the pictures I've seen I'd give it an 8/10 on performance with a few players like Seedorf, Robinho and Van Bommell not really doing a lot in the game

Also remember seeing people saying this was almost certainly Taiwo's last chance to save his Milan career. Surely hard to judge him either way from today's game? Need him in against a Napoli or Juve to see if he can cope

How exactly did you come up with that idea?

If Tevez is worth £30m then Ibra is worth £60m

That's my opinion anyway. Would be silly to swap the two but been saying for a while that it would suit City more than a straight cash deal

No-one's ever thought of swapping Ibra for Tevez.

I'd bet my house Mancini has

I have. Do I have to accept it though? I don't think so.

You see, the way I see it Allegri could have easily avoided this rift, and he still could. 10 minutes in an already won match would do the trick. Also, for El Sha those 10 minutes would mean much as well. But no...Emanuelson is the answer - he's trying to present him as Milan's version of Muntari.

Well, as much as you're right, there's nothing to be done about it. Both Pippo and El Shaarawy will most probably leave in January. Just deal with it.

We are not reducing it to an argument of how fast he is ... Logically it is accepted that Seedorf is approaching the end of his career and that he no longer can do what he did at his prime. Its just that you portray his play as slowing down the team, 'backwards and sideways passing or standing on the ball too long', what if that was what his task was? He always did play those plays even at his prime.

Furthermore, I am not blinded to ignore any shortcomings from Seedorf, just like any player, he will make mistakes. However, and I repeat, his general play when fielded as CM is to link the defense and attack ... He has been doing that for nearly a decade for Milan.

In closing, I am not pointing fingers here han, but you always come about Seedorf as if he is THE weakest link in our team ... However, I see it differently, that he provides immense experience and character on the field. His tasks on the pitch are what are communicated to him by the technical staff, nothing to do with him 'ruining great moves' if anything he starts most of our great moves.

Yes he always did it, that's why I don't get how we're talking about his age. And I personally don't believe that he's told implicitly by Allegri to move the ball in such a manner. It's something tedious that is a trademark of Seedorf's play, especially in these last few years.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I never criticised Seedorf here due to his age, and neither was I the person who accused you of not seeing Seedorf's failures, I think you got the posts mixed up. In fact never, in my initial post did I mention Seedorf's age, and I don't think mentioning it justifies the problem that I mentioned. It's not simply about job description, he does it when playing the AM role as well. It's a habit of Seedorf's. Sometimes it's useful when you want to make sure that possession is kept in crucial areas but sometimes it's just down right frustrating. Also, I think you'll find that I have been 100% behind Seedorf. even though I agree that he cannot be usilised as he was 5 years ago, he's still an important player in the team, and his age shouldn't effect Allegri's choice when picking between him and Aquilani. As I mentioned earlier, I'd trust Seedorf 10 times more than Aquilani in high pressure situations

Once again, I never said he was the weakest link. I just mentioned the pros and cons he and Aqui bring to the table. I don't get how that turned into me slamming Seedorf as being the weakest point in our midfield, as I don't even believe that myself. The fact that his playing about on the ball can ruin plays is a fact that I see a lot from Seedorf, and not just this season. That does not mean I see him as the weakest link. In fact when we're playing a possession game, he's undoubtedly our strongest link, because he does keep a cool head under pressure and knows how to keep things moving without too much fuss.

But again, I don't get how you got "Seedorf is the weakest link" from what I posted, as I only mentioned both the negative and positive aspects that he and Aqui bring to the team, since they'll most likely be inter-changable as the season wears on

I don't think it's wise insisting that only people like you are from the present or even future, while people who still defend or god forbid like say Seedorf or Ambrosini are people living in the past.

Firstly, it's a personal attack and secondly it's a very shallow observation. Secondly, like it or not, fact remains, this Seedorf and Zambrotta are as much as Nocerino or Boateng our present.

And finally...in your words, R7 is living in the past, while I once more prove to be a drama queen. What about you, how would you describe yourself in the same manner?

One would say x-off, that you're being a drama queen about Pato

I'm a realist. I think players should retire after a certain age, or go play in Dubai/USA to earn whatever they like. I've grown up supporting Gattuso, Seedorf, Inzaghi etc. However, my passion for this club is greater than any individual preference. Otherwise, I would have started supporting Chelsea when Shevchenko, my idol, signed for them. I feel no different towards our old glories. The way I see it, keeping our senators past their primes has deprived this team of a natural evolution, and led us to some very unpleasant moments. If we continue relying on people like Zambrotta, Gattuso, Ambrosini, Seedorf etc. we'll never move any further. Enough is simply enough. Renewing their contracts last summer was the last drop.

to be honest, I expected more self-criticism from a realist

Well, sorry to disappoint you.

You might find my posts irritating, but I find R7's (or yours, sometimes) posts irritating as well. The fact we have different views doesn't mean I'm the bad guy, you know.

No, but it's the way you respond. Your labeling people as "living in the past" adds up another dimension.

Anyway, you know why it's irritating? We know each others pretty much to well and anticipate every move, every reaction or response.

That was my perception after I read his post. And I didn't mean it in an offensive way. Living in the past means still being attached to old glories and believe they can still make a difference. Doesn't that define R7 to a tee?



Well, there's nothing to do about it.

We have a game tomorrow so a new thread is needed...

I agree, with you.

But players are individuals, thus they should be evaluated as such. I don't believe that all of them should have gotten their contracts renewed, that's for sure. And I don't agree that everyone should have fell under the one year stipulation either. It applies to some but doesn't to others. This is where the management have failed big time in my eyes.

Becuase we did hold on to players like Rino and lost Pirlo because they didn't want to give him the 3 years he wanted. I think that is proving to be a major pie in the face seeing what he's doing at Juve atm, while Ambro, Rino, etc have nothing left to offer while still getting a lucrative deal.

But then players like Nesta, imo applies for a 1 year extension, see how his body is holding up at the end of the season and re-evaluate then.

I just think that the system is ridiuclous, given all the years of big contracts to players who do not deserve them then suddenly going cold turkey on them, yet still giving certain players the advantage

+1

On it

Point I have been trying to make since Ancelotti was coach to-date, is that Seedorf plays in a certain way when fielded as a CM. To you (and I suspect many others) he is being portrayed as slowing down our game (in certain situations) by applying side-way passes and the likes ... To me, he is spreading the pitch from a congested 18 yard box in the opponents half. Maybe that frustrates you, or maybe he could be having a bad day just like any sports player.

No he wasn't told implicitly to move the ball in such a manner by Allegri, but he was given instructions to lead the midfield in such a way. The way he has been doing since first established by Ancelotti.


I don't mean to drag on and say you don't praise him or the age matter ... All of that is irrelevant to what I wanted to get across; in that Seedorf has provided more positive impact on the team than negative. If anything, our team sheet has changed significantly from two years ago, while Seedorf is the only constant that remains to command a first team place. Surely there must be a reason and that technical staff that evaluate the team see more to his game than just side-way and back-ward passes.

But he doesn't really spread play does he? He passes the ball either back to the defence or VB or the LB. That is not spreading play, spreading play would mean getting the FB on the opposite side into the game because he has more space, and Seedorf does not do that enough. Seedorf under Carlo was a different Seedorf. He played a different type of game for us imo

I can't agree that Seedorf commands a first team place, because he just doesn't anymore. We can easily do without him in most games, in fact in games where things tend to get congested because Aqui, Boateng, Nocerino move the ball quicker, thus do not allow the opposing team to close down the spaces. That's why I prefer Seedorf in the bigger games, but for regular Serie A games he just tends to make things worse

The Seedorf under Carlo is the same one you see today, the tactical formation is different to that of Carlo, but his role as CM has not changed.

By spreading the play, I meant diverting the ball away from congested areas and opening up opportunities for his teammates. Further, not sending the ball forward where a bus is parked and give away a free counter. When an FB is open on one side, he does send those floating balls in to be intercepted by the FB.

He is not stupid to waste chances for us just like that by passing backwards and such ... He does it for a reason, a reason that is tactically appropriate given the conditions of a game; for ex. when the team is on the attack and Seedorf halts the play, on the other side of the pitch you would find 3 or 4 Milan players paired against 7 or 8 opposition players; he does the backward and sideways passing to find other opportunities, decrease the pressure and congestion upfront.


I see what you mean when you bring up Nocerino/KPB/Aquilani ... But they are all different from Seedorf and what he offers us. Bigger or smaller games, Seedorf has the experience to lead by example. Whether you consider him a first team regular or not does not change the position of the technical staff in that light. Such Nocerino/KPB/Aquilani are fresher and have a lot to prove, but technically speaking all three of them combined do not bring to the table what Seedorf can.