Anyone seen this yet.

I think it could be an interesting switch, but certainly not in this way that Gazzetta are suggesting Allegri will go for

Why waste Mario? Why not play with a proper trequartista behind the sole striker? Why not play SES on the wing since according to Allegri that's his "natural" position?

Ideally it would be



Have to say, that looks pretty great on paper

What Gazzetta is suggesting is

Welcome to the 21st century, Milan!

The 1-2 doesn't work (Whether pigeon holing Birsa there or trying to recapture the old days with Kaka), and as Han (and others) alluded to, while the 4-3-3 did work last year, we don't have the players to really accommodate it now. Especially as SES has lost his way.

This posited idea of Balo, Honda and Kaka together as a dynamic 3 behind a sole striker isn't the worst idea I've heard. Pazzini is a great goal-scorer and those 3 will create plenty chances for him, and themselves.

It's an attempt at doing something different and personally speaking if it does happen and it works, I applaud it.

Also, it clearly means an attempt to offload SES once and for all. I think he'll be sold next window if we get Honda.

This is pretty much the formation I've been suggesting for some time now.

And contrary to what the report says, this is not about letting go of SeS. SeS is a striker who can be used anywhere in that three behind Pazzo and he can deliver.

Balo on the wing is also not a bad move. He too prefers to start on the wing and move to the centre.

My only worry with the formation is how much defensive pressing the front four are willing to make.

It depends how that 3 is setup. If it's a wide 3 with one central treq and 2 wingmen, SES will totally wasted. He's just not a creative spark and he's not a winger.

If it's a more compact and dynamic interchanging 3 then yes, he could thrive in it. But either way it's about regaining form and he's nowhere near that. One calendar year almost of sub-par displays suggests it's a pipe dream.

And I don't see any point 'giving him (yet another) chance' when we (will) have proven quality like Honda and Balo. The only part the jury is out on is Kaka.

For me SES is done. Can't remember last player who had a year of poor form to this degree but came back to be sensational. Having a quieter year, or inconsistent year - that's fine. Being downright poor for this length of time? Doesn't tend to bode well.

Playing Balo on the wing or behind Pazzo is just a pure waste of goal scoring potential. He needs to be the main man. Last season he scored a goal in every game he played playing as the sole striker. And imo, that's where he needs to be, not on the wing or in the trequartista position

Add to that, no one from the front 4 Gazzetta is suggesting is willing to work hard, track back and press for the ball. Balo spends more time sulking around and throwing fits, Pazzini isn't known for working his @ss off although he does it in rare times when it's necessary like against Barca last season, Honda isn't known for being a hard worker and netiher is Kaka.

So those front 4 is just asking for trouble. We only need one striker, and Balo is enough. He's already a problem on his own when he's sulking around on the floor or complaining at the ref after he loses the ball and doesn't bother to run back to get it. So playing him on the wing or centre of midfield would not be a good idea.

The front 4 I put out is far more dynamic, plus SES will put in the work to cover spaces

True. If we can't make this work, there is probably nothing we can. My only fear are the injuries, what will we do when disaster strikes, and it will strike often, whether we like it or not.

Actually, Gazzetta suggest Balo on the wing and Kaká in the hole. And I do agree, Balo would be a total waste there, it just wouldn't work. For someone to play as winger in a 4-2-3-1 line-up, they must have tight tactical discipline, something which Balo lacks completely. He has to play as the sole striker, with Pazzini as his direct substitute. Kaká in the hole and Honda on the left/right would be good enough, too. My only worry is who would the other winger be. SES? Robinho? Saponara? I guess trying them all out would be the logical thing to do.

The only downside to such formation would be the omitting of Poli, but I guess he could act as Monto's sub for now.

DP.

I guess SES is the easy pick for me on the left as it would be a very dynamic 4 upfront, plus with SES you have someone who's willing to put that extra effort in and track back/cover spaces when necessary which could be a serious issue for us with this formation as the other 3 are not especially known for their hard work

SES might very well be sold .. He does not fit into the coach's plans. Plus Balo, Matri/Pazzini seem the likely starters. We also have Niang and Robinho. Kaka and drumroll Honda .. Galliani will probably sell.

Allegri will be out come the summer, so his "plans" are of no consequence or relevance to this side

Matri is a total and major flop, Niang will most likely be loaned out

I'd be ok with a striker line-up of Balo, Pazzo, SES, Robinho with Kaka, Honda and Saponara as the AM options.

The others are all either surplus or barely good enough to train with this side

In every way I look at it, SES is more likely to leave than Allegri :/

I don't think it's a possibility atm

Think about it, Galliani said himself that he received a major offer for him this summer. Now come next summer, unless he does something amazing this season his price will have dropped by a large margin. So we wouldn't be interested in selling him as we won't be getting the type of money we look for when selling big name players (and yes, SES might not have done anything of relevance as of yet in his footballing career, but he is a big brand name for the club, they make money off his name, he's already doing a lot of commercials and is the face of Fifa 14, which is no small feat). So unless we get that big money offer he'll stay.

And next summer will be the end of the road for Allegri at Milan and no amount of excuses from Galliani will save him. This season was his last chance saloon and so far, he's failing dismally. Add to that there's probably less than 5% chance of making it into the top 3 this season. So imo, Allegri is 100% out this summer. Ideally he'd be out today before tomorrow, but that won't happen.

I think next season it could either be Prandelli or maybe Rijkaard or even Pippo. But it certainly won't be Allegri

We said exactly the same thing during last season

*cough*Pato*cough*

But this one? We're not going to make top 3, that's already a huge nail in the coffin for Allegri

And THIS is the season of supposed "redemption" as Galliani has already put his neck out to defend him when Silvio had already made up his mind and wanted him out. I can't see how he could stay beyond this season


Pato was a completely different situation, it became physically impossible to keep him as he hadn't played more than 2 games in a row for us in years. We had to sell him at that point, there was no other choice for us.