Huh, KPB was a loan option as well, and he was fundamental in our Scudetto season. Bojan is a good player, don't get me wrong, and a quality one at that, but he lacks a lot to take a starting spot at Milan. If Niang starts ahead of him, that should tell you something, no?

KPB did not have 12m hanging over his head though

Galliani practically admitted that Bojan's lack of use is down to the loan deal that was agreed with Barca

Oh please!! Niang is as bad as Traore FFS. Allegri likes him because he's a physical player but the moment we needed him to actually win a physical battle he punked out like a little b!tch and cost us the tie. Niang is a dead topic for me. So far he's proven that he's nothing but mediocre and it won't be long before he disappeares into the abyss of previous "talented" players that came and went

Niang starting ahead of Bojan should mean something to you then, buyout clause or no buyout clause!

You know what this situation reminds me of? The Viera and Henry one. They were both ineffective against the Serie A defensive discipline .. Yet they turned out to being nothing short of WC, Niang is 18 FFS, give him time.

No, it really irks me that he's been completely ignored by Allegri. He's done well on many occasions, he's fast and very technically gifted, can play on various positions, and well, I'd choose him over the likes of Niang and Robinho any day of the week.



Yes, it tells me that Allegri is a f*cking moron.

You know what strikes me? That even though he's played little to nothing in these last few months, Bojan seems very cheerful and serene in various interviews, in training or when the camera focuses him with other players. Even in the Sion match he looked happy. Normally, a player who's constantly ignored by his coach and doesn't play would be upset, but I don't see that in Bojan. He's even mentioned a few times that he'd like to stay with this club as long as possible. So, maybe the fact that he doesn't play really is just an elusive tactic by Galliani to lower his price. Maybe him and Bojan have made a gentleman's agreement that the club will sign him at the end of the season. It does sound a bit far-fetched, but after the Silva and Aquilani fiascos, nothing is impossible with this management.

The same moron that steered Milan from the pits of Serie A to a proud position on the table? With Bojan's goals and assists right?

And Galliani is not pulling on anybody's legs, Bojan is a decent backup in case SES, Pazzini, and Robinho didn't step up to the occasions. Bojan played his fair share and was assessed accordingly by the backroom staff and management, whom no offense to you X-Off know more than we do about our players. Bojan could very well be shipped back to Barcelona or stay at Milan. But he is not going to start ahead of Niang, that is by now engraved in stone.

Yeah, because Niang does a whole f@cking lot

The kid who gets in trouble with the police, fights about taking freekicks, sulks when he doesn't start and talks over the social media to contradict his coach, disappeares when we actually need him to do something decent and for a striker, wouldn't know how to hit the target if the net was as wide as the f@cking field!!

Yeah, I see where the engraved in stone comment comes from

Actually it comes from the starting line up of Milan in official games, don't mix it up with friendlies

Actually he hasn't started a game since Barca and that's because we had our back to the wall, and we learned our lesson on that front

He hasn't been starting games in the league for a while now so that says it all about his "talent"

How you or anyone else could seriously compare him to Vieira or Henry is beyond me. Those 2 players showed a lot of potential but it could not be realised in a Serie A that was undoubtedly the best league in the world at the time, so no, it's top teams were not going to waste their time on "potentially great" they only wanted great

But Niang? it's insulting to call this idiot talented. Pogba is hit you in the face, smack you in the @ss obvious talent and potential. Niang? Useless runner who won't amount to anything and will most likely be back in the French league within the next 2 years

And who coached us to the relegation zone in those first 9-10 weeks to begin with? It was Allegri alright. Look, we have the second strongest team in the Serie A (although some people might disagree with that, for me it's undisputed), and it's only natural that we're fighting for the 2nd spot. There's nothing extraordinary happening here. It might seem extraordinary considering our start to the season, but on paper this is where we belong. Allegri could have been up for praise if we were challenging Juventus for the scudetto, but we're not. The guy's simply doing what was asked of at the beginning of the season, and to be honest, he's screwed up tactics, line-ups, formations, substitutions etc. more than once. Just because we've been on a good streak for a while doesn't mean Allegri is doing wonders and cannot be criticized for some of his decisions. Playing Niang and Muntari over Bojan and Nocerino is one of them.

Ah, there it is.

Before it was we have the 3rd best team because we were way behind. Then when we sat in 4th and edging to 3rd and lose to Roma, X-Off points out Allegri deserves credit if we get a CL spot obviously thinking we'd collapse with the hard fixtures coming up. We get through it easily and 3rd seems certain. Now suddenly we've always had the 2nd best team and it's expected. Basically, unless he wins the title now he deserves no credit. But had we been in the mix to begin with, we'd be hearing how we should be competing anyway.

It's simple, we had a bad start because we lost a lot of players. We all knew it was going to take a while to get the team to play decently. If we look at our team on paper, sure we can obtain 2nd place..easily.But!You can't assemble a team and expect it to win without obtaining some sort of chemistry or whatever. So, Allegri is actually doing quite fine. Yes, he still has his glaring mistakes and fixations on bad players but as long as he's doing well I can't complain.

Did I ever say we have the 3rd best team? I always maintained we had a stronger side than both Napoli and Inter, even comparing our players to those of Napoli head to head in one of our conversations. And yes, I think I remember saying Allegri deserves some credit if we make the CL a few months ago, but that's different to what I was talking about earlier. Most of you seem to suggest that Allegri is immune to criticism despite his enormous shortfalls, because we've been on a winning streak for a while now, and a coach that wins cannot be criticized. Therefore him playing Niang over Bojan or Muntari over Nocerino is the right decision, because, well, he's winning! How's that fair? Am I not entitled to review the decisions of the person who manages my favorite team? Can I not point out all his flaws in tactics, player selection, formation and so on? Am I happy winning games through horrible performances, when we are capable of so much better? Winning 2-0 against Genoa because the ref doesn't give at least 2 clear penalties to them, or 2-1 against Udinese because the ref grants us a non-existent penalty is not my style, err, our style. Being mocked by Barcelona after beating them 2-0 at home is something that hurts you for years. Watching guys like Acerbi, Traoré, Muntari, Niang etc. taint this shirt when many better alternaties sit on the bench is inexcusable. That's the stuff I can't stand from this guy. Just because we're closing on that 2nd spot doesn't mean I accept most of his decisions, simple as that.

Finishing 2nd and going out in the quarters of the CL is not doing well, me reckon. Because unless something drastic happens that's (pretty much) our future for as long as Allegri is our coach. His little glaring mistakes and fixations on bad players is the reason for this, we'll lose enough brownies to end up with silver. Or bronze.

If that's what the bald idiota (Galliani) wants then well, be my guest. I'm glad Mr. B thinks different. Sure there is a very small chance that Allegri grows some new brain cells and then cover up his faults, but I can name ten coaches that are better than him, and five of them we should not have problem getting.

Yeah, I'd have more sympathy for the man if he had to make do without the likes of Ibra and Silva the time he won the league. But the way he squandered it all the next year, and the start this year, nah, his approval rating probably will never reach 50 percent as far as I am concerned. To make it worse, Juventus won both. Or will win now.

Around this time last year Juventus fans were of the view that they'd be lucky to finish 3rd.

On the mark! A coach can technically win 37 of the 38 matches and still finish 2nd in the league. And you know, finishing 2nd does not count. My problem with Allegri is not in not winning (or not playing beautiful), it's mostly got to do with his small stupid decisions that hurt us when it matters the most.

Seems to me like you were asleep during the first three months of the season. You seem to forget what it was like for the players in particular in getting it together. The coach was about to be fired if i recall correctly, and the president had to make visits to milanello to ensure all is going well.

You disagree with the coach based on your preference with who to start, while the coach assesses and plays the better player. In the end, had Bojan had an input into our game, then sure he would have found a place in the team. Choose your assumption freely, I'm tired of going back and forth over a subject which is clearly closed ended, as we all see who is starting.

So basically to make certain people happy winning is not enough. We have to do it in a certain way, with a certain formation, with certain players.

Why did we lose the scudetto last season when it was basically ours? For the same reasons I stated above. With Allegri it's been the same trend in these last 3 years. The fact we won a scudetto in his first year does not reflect his brilliant coaching, but that we simply had no opponent to challenge us, and that we had Silva and Ibra to cover Allegri's mistakes. This has been said over and over again. If we keep Allegri for next season as well, then expect players of the calibre of Acerbi, Muntari, Traoré, Niang etc. to start games, whilst better alternatives get completely ignored on the bench. And we'll keep playing atrocious football, being saved by Balotelli or the referee every now and then. We'll never win the CL, we'll keep getting humiliated by the various Arsenal and Barcelona, and so on and so forth. Nothing is going to change, because for every step forward Allegri is going to make, he'll make 3 steps backwards subsequently.

Anyway, on a different topic, Claudio Lippi, long-time journalist of MilanChannel died today due to a motorcycle accident. I felt really shocked to read that, as I've watched MilanChannel for years, and he's always seemed like a really nice person. This is Milan's official statement:



R.I.P.

RIP. Really shocking news to me as well.

RIP.

He was only 42. Terrible, just terrible.

@@@@@:^)

Allegri is not the greatest thing since sliced bread. But to use the Bojan vs. Niang argument makes little sense to me. Niang is still getting censured for that Barca game. That also doesn't make sense to me.

You want to develop youth, this is the price you pay. You lose games, or you see him being ineffective. This is the price you pay for finding out how much a youth product is worth and how far you can go.

How many games has the da Silva brothers not playing well cost Man Utd. Same for Cleverly and Welbeck and Sturridge and so on. Things take time if you go the youth route.

There's good youth and then there's bad youth, Niang is in the latter category simple as that, he hasn't even shown flashes to hint at the former

There are players that are worth the time and money invested in them and others not worth the time of day, you bring up Man U, how much time, money and games has SAF wasted on those 2? Yet he didn't do all that's necassary to keep Pogba.

Cleverly, Sturridge? All decent players but will never be top class.

Like I said, there are those who are worth it and those who aren't, Niang is simply not worth it. And for us right now, results matter more than appeasing this whiner, which is why Allegri has been keeping him on the bench for a while now

If that's what you think, then you clearly haven't read any of the posts in this thread.

That's an unfair comment.

Yet, I challenge you that if Niang had little role to play in the Barca game this wouldn't be under discussion at all. And as to why Niang ended up starting that game is obvious as well.

I think yours is an unfair comment, because I wrote lines and lines of why I criticize Allegri, and you only bring up the Bojan-Niang argument, as if I'm judging him simply from that alone.

In regards to Allegri I think we've all agreed a while ago that he should see out the season. We've not done any miracles this season. We're in 3rd. Which is the minimum of what all of us expected before a ball was even kicked in the league. Had we been challenging Juve for the title then it would be a whole different ball game, but in reality we conceeded any chance of that from very early in the season.

As for next season. If we want to stay in the average zone, then we should keep Allegri. Another average season like this one is what we'll sure get. If we want to make a step up in quality and challenge Juve then Allegri has to go. On paper Juve are slightly ahead of us, mostly because of their great midfield, but looking at the squads in their entirety, now that we have Balo we're only 1 or 2 signings away from being as good as them, if not better. The only area where they trump us hands down, is the most crucial. They have a top class coach and we have average Joe. We will never be able to compete with them as long as Allegri is the man in charge

Fact: Milan have a total of 16 million followers/likes on Twitter/Facebook, whilst Juve have only €5 million and Inter a mere €2 million.

And Juventus are supposed to be the most supported club in Italy?

Wrong thread.

AC Milan have picked up 30 pts in 2013 league games, more than any other team across the top five European leagues.

I seriously get irritated reading a stat like that because regardless of that look at the table and... oh we're in 3rd!

Had we not p!ssed away the first half of the season we would be neck and neck with Juve right now

We may not have gone on this run either though. Ifs and buts. I'm just happy it looks like we'll be in the CL next season. Now so long as we don't have a massive turnover of players again, I think we'll be okay for next season.

I'm still unsure about the CL. Having to face Fiorentina, Napoli and Juve in a row, these games are the key to our season.

Funny as it may be, I find it rather depressing. Once we had Maldini, Billy, Rino, Pirlo, Seedorf, Kaká, Sheva, Pippo etc. who were all nothing but fine and well-respected gentlemen. Nowadays we have a bunch of types who look and behave like a bunch of thugs.

+∞ It's not the thuggish attitude off the pitch that disturbs me as much as the thugs on the field one. Almost none of these new crop is champion material. Save for De Scig, Monty and to a certain extent Mexes. Sure, they may win a CL or Scudetto soon enough, but none will be remembered as legends, unless they back it with displays of class.

Again, on the field that is, my major concern remains what they bring during matches when the going gets really tough. Can they find that extra mojo to elevate themselves top the elite, the top of the line? Or is it just going to be that devil-may-care attitude when Niang misses hits another post in a do or die knockout match?

Moral of the story: I totally agree with what you say, X-Off.

Yes, this is it. We've completely lost it.

Not bad.

Huh, what's so funny?

Huh, what's so funny?

Lol, I'm sure you'll be laughing your @ss off if we don't get into the CL.

We still made a 6m loss after selling Silva and Ibra for huge profits and were in the CL...

What will happen next year if we don't have CL money and we don't really have anyone to sell for huge profits now either...

Yeah. This is a serious laughing matter

and yet apparently we have a great team.

Compared to the rest of the league? Yes it's pretty much only second to Juve right now.

Technically speaking we can sell Abate, Balo, SES, Prince, Monto for very good cash to the right buyers. It's not like Juve have any big money makers in their squad either.

That's the thing, Serie A doesn't have any big stars right now aside from Cavani and Balo and Cavani is already gone come summer.

When I say huge profits I mean the Kaka, Sheva, Silva, Ibra type profits. There is no one in the league within that margin aside from Cavani right now imo and like I said, he's pretty much sold already

We can't Abate, Zenit are known for overpaying and didn't they only ofer e10m? That doesn't buy you a whole lot nowadays - unless you're dealing with a moron owner.

Just out of curiosity, what would you value Montolivo at?

Wasn't it 15m for Abate?

I think that's very good money for a FB.

Monto right now for me is wroth 20m. He's been top class this season and he's 28 so it's still a decent age bracket imo. Considering Napoli would want a ridiculous 50m for Hamsik then Monto should be worth 20m easily

How much did Liverpool pay to get Aquilani?