I think one of our main problems right now is that we're very, very apathetic in attack. We can barely create any chances. Defense and midfield overall were decent tonight (granted, we were playing fucking SPAL), but from attacking midfield onwards we're simply inexistent.

We hold the ball and try to create with very sloppy combinations that usually result in lost balls. Piatek was so isolated tonight. He fought for every ball, but given his technical limitations there's little he can do.

I just don't know how we can improve this situation. We've tried Leao on the left, Leao in the centre, Hakan on the wing, no Suso, but the results are always the same.

By the way, what on earth did we sign Rebic for? I said from the beginning that the guy is not that good, but to be so bad as to warm the bench for two months straight now? Wow.

I think there's still much to do.

In January we need a new right fullback. Abate would help now sooo much. Calabria finally proved his limitations while Conti is just Serie B material. We need a stronger and more pass-friendly fullback. Or even try Rodriguez (who is terrible at the moment but still better IMO) there.

Next we should try the Duarte - Romag combination. If that doesn't work perhaps Rodriguez - Romagnoli? He used to play CB for Switzerland so I don't think it would be that strange. His passing is better then Musacchio and Romag, so this could be a improvement.

Next we should bench Kessie. I was watching yesterday, the sheer stupidity with which he operates plus the amount of onforced simple errors is disastrous. Please put in Krunić, put in Bennacer and Biglia with a double pivot, anyone else... And in January, please bring in a normal DM and get us rid of both Kessie and Biglia. O how I miss Bakayoko...

Next is attack. We tried without Suso, but deploying Castillejo is like trying to play with 10 men. He's yet another junk player we signed from Spain and I hope he's headed there back soon. Useless. The irony is that I think GP system might have worked if only we tried playing without Suso. Now that we are back with the trident, there's little to do. Against teams like SPAL I would deploy Rebić-Leao-Suso, but what against teams like Lazio? I'd bench Piatek and Suso but the options are very short here.

I watched Pet Semetary, if anyone cares

Good points. I think Calabria just started off the season in bad form, and this in part goes to Giampaolo. Paqueta let it slip in a recent interview that basically everyone was confused about what he wanted them to do. And this obviously had serious impact on the players, who have in turn lost confidence due to that amount of pressure they feel under. And playing at the San Siro is seemingly magnifying that

Re the defense. Duarte impressed me yesterday, I'd actually like to see him get an extended run next to Romagnoli. See how they can fit with each other. I don't think Rodriguez is the solution at all for RB. He already seems flat footed on the left, imagine him on the right. I think we should stick with Calabria there, if he picks up form, he's our best RB, he's just having a bad patch of form imo. I think Conti's injuries have basically ruined whatever potential he once had.

Re the midfield. There are serious issues here and we definitely missed the stability that Bakayoko brought. And the defense is feeling that loss the most imo. He protected the defensive line so much last season and I really think that people underestimate the contribution he gave to our overall play. Biglia imo is not the solution, and I don't think Bennacer is the solution either as a sole DM that can cover the defense, he'd be great in a double pivot as you said, but he needs someone defensively sound next to him and that's neither Biglia nor Kessie, who has been stupider than usual this season. Bakayoko would have been the perfect partner for Bennacer in a DP, we need someone like that.

Biglia is simply over the hill, he would have been a good partner in a DP as well, but not with the way he's playing. Kessie is simply too undisciplined for the position.

As for the attack. Well the answer is simple, Hakan and Suso are simply not good enough, they're too inconsistent to rely on, not to mention they have the tendency to slow down play and hold onto the ball too long, allowing the opposing team to surround our lone forward, making it difficult to get any sort of good opportunities in front of goal. Leao represents this perfectly. He was much more effective on the left than when he was moved to the center.

I'd really like to see that combo upfront, but with Piatek instead of Leao and Paqueta behind them in a 4-2-3-1

Suso injured for tonight, frigging Castillejo to start again on the left.

Why not Leao? Or Rebic? Come on now Pioli!

I agree about Duarte, he seems solid and even as RB he looked good. Caldara is also called up for tonight.

Interesting match.

Calabria-Duarte looking very bad tonight.

Castillejo had perhaps the best game in his Milan career but then got injured. Talking about luck...

Very interesting game. I agree Pipo.

Our full-backs are just having a nightmare. We are being beaten each time on the flanks. Nightmare game for both of our fullbacks.

I think this game is showing us a lot about the capabilities of this team.

You can see what Bennacer is providing us in the defensive/attacking playing field. Krunic seems like a useful player for now.

Paqueta is doing good, but he really needs to work in physical attributes, he is always pushed around! This is not the Brazilian leauge.

Finally, Hakan is having a nice game in my opinion..

Forza Milan..can't wait for the second half.

A shame about Castillejo. True, he was doing quite well. One thing that bugs me about him is that he is not a team-player.

Duarte made the error on the goal, but I wouldn't say he's bad, we're just a bit too open in midfield atm, which is allowing Lazio toplay through

But overall, I think we look pretty good going forward. Krunic seems interesting and Bennacer looks good today as well. Still. The midfield is a bit too attack-minded imo. We need a bit of cover or we risk leaking more goals.

I'm interested in seeing how Rebic will do in the next half.

I actually think he passes more than Suso does. Look at that reverse pass to Paqueta as an example. Suso would have shot that himself for sure.

He's just too much of a lightweight

True.

Agreed about Duarte. Honestly, it would have been hard to defend that against a guy like Circo..

Theo is a machine

Bennacer! What a second half he's having

Can we start with the final position predictions already? I say 12th.

Yeah, this is going to get even uglier. Considering we still have Juve, Napoli, Atalanta to play

Why did Pioli take off Paqueta? Such a dub move.

But still this goes beyond individual errors. We're just lost, mentally and tactically. This team has no shape or form, no real identity or desire to prove itself.

And what's there to be done about it? I have no answer. I don't think there is anything we can do about it. Wait for the season to be over? Then what? Pioli will be sacked, another nobody will be brought him to replace him, we'll have another mediocre signing campaign and the film will be rewinded once again.

We need to sign star players that is only solution. This team has no backbone.

Yep. There's no one thing that can be corrected to solve the problems we have

I disagreed with the Paqueta sub as well. He seems to always take him off when he's always our best midfielder.

This season was doomed the moment we failed to bring in a proper experienced coach. Pioli I think is doing just fine given the hand he's been dealt.

Basing our entire team on young players and then on top of it hiring a coach which uses a very particular system that will tend to push said young players into uncomfortable situations was always going to be a disaster. The group of players we have is certainly not as bad as the table indicates, but there needs to be a mix. We need more direct players, we need to move certain players that we rely on too much today to the bench so they can be good rotation guys but not starter we depend on, because they are simply not dependable due to their inconsistency

We need a proper partner for Romagnoli. Maybe Caldara could return this season who knows.

But yes, this will be another year zero. And I can't even blame this on Paolo and Boban either, they worked within the parameters that they were given. Coaches like Conte are simply above our price range, the fact that we couldn't even get Spalleti indicate the limitations that these guys are working within

The team is simply too young.

And I'm not saying that a young side can't achieve. But there needs to be a mix of experience and youth

Add to that, this group of players is basically a poisoned well from their time at this club. The constant upheaval within this club has set these players back a lot, especially mentally and the fans booing them is certainly not helping. This might have been fine when they did it to Seedorf, he could take it, but these fragile guys simply cannot, and the fans should not be trampling on an already fragile group of young players who have already been through enough this season. It's just a toxic situation atm, from all sides.

I still continue to say that I have actually seen improvements under Pioli compared to GP. But, we're leaking too many goals as well allow our opponents too much space. At least we're creating more. If we can get on a bit of a run, things will look up and the players will gain confidence, but unfortunately, on top of everything else this season, we've been saddled with a shitty fixture list that's hard to navigate.

OK, some perspective:

Celtic beat this side last week with something to spare. True, it was in Glasgow, but Rangers and Celtic are well matched this season and the title will go to the wire.

For Lazio to come to San Siro and rather easily put Milan away shows Milan now are considerably worse than either Rangers or Celtic, which is something I never thought I'd say.

Celtic, fair enough in a sense - 8IAR in the Scottish league without a viable Rangers - now this season Rangers are back at that level, and it's clear to me Rangers would destroy Milan.

We've put Feyenoord away this season, we should have put away Young Boys but for dreadful defending, and Porto were VERY lucky to get a point at home v us.

Milan, clearly, would lose to these teams. All five. Rangers, Celtic, Feyenoord, Young Boys and Porto.

The players aren't THAT bad - it's just a systemic rot which has taken over the club from top to bottom.

Doesn't matter who the manager is, barely matters who the players are - it's just a horrific gloom enveloping the club and I really can't see a way out.

I don't think Milan are coming back from this. I think the descent into a Leeds, Forest etc is complete.

Really? No comeback? I'm very skeptic myself but...

I think so. Unlike Rangers who fell further and harder in the same year as Milan (2012) the SPL isn't competitive in terms of quality beyond Celtic. Milan haven't fallen that dramatically, but in a way it's worse - Rangers were given a broken leg and it healed - Milan are on like a horrible long-term ACLI which is so so hard to repair.

Rangers were able to come back through divisions with fairly modest spend, but Milan can't do that - to compete in the top half of the table already takes more money better managed than we seem to be. Rangers have Celtic to beat. Milan have Inter, Juve, Napoli, Atalanta, Roma, Lazio etc etc.

20 years on from Leeds' fall in England, they are STILL in the Championship.

Gone from UCL semi final and champions of England to this.

If it can happen to the former best of England, it can happen to anyone.

Again, Milan ain't Leeds. We have history and value, I think someone will come and pick us up soon enough.

That 7 CL bags on the side of the shirt isn't playing on the field. 5 of those CL titles were funded by Silvio. With FFP that is not possible even if an owner does come in.

Big insult there on Leeds mate. I'm not exactly their biggest fan but your age betrays the fact you lack knowledge of how big they were in the time before the past 20 years.

They might not have had quite the glitter-laden glory we had, but they've won the league more than Napoli and been runners up many times too.

And yet they fell. Dramatically. Horribly. And can't get back.

'history and value' means nothing if the path ahead is bleak.

Another example?

Nottingham Forrest. Won the EC twice, league once, but a tonne of trophies as well. Now languishing in lower league hell and have been for decades.

Another example?

Man Utd.

One of the most glory-laden clubs in history, yet been absolute tripe since SAF quit. That was the same period, btw, that our exodus happened - 2012/2013. All the money, all the history, all the glory, and 10th in the table. Already starting to get scarily close to a decade of this for their fans.

Another example?

Hamburg.

Multiple German title winners, a EC, tonnes of other trophies and where are they now? Bundesliga 2.

Don't ever get so complacent that 'history and value' means a damn. It doesn't. Results and form do. And we have neither any more.

Fair point R7. We're not buying our way out of this.

This club needs to generate the numbers the likes of PSG, Man City, Real etc do. It's supposed to be able to, but the numbers just aren't there any more. Even in fact Real and Man Utd, while still the biggest brands around, can't get it right.

According to Brand Finance 2019 we're 15th for global brand size, and 21st for enterprise strength.

And yet 1-5 includes Utd and Real yet these two are hardly in the best place right now either.

So, even though Man Utd can afford a Pogba and a Maguire, they're so mismanaged in a football sense, like us, it doesn't matter.

And as long as we have idiots like Maldini and Boban making the calls, that's the way it stays.

Yet we have to consider the conditions of our present time.

Hamburger SV never were a true German giant, they just had much success in the 80s (and some in the 50s and 70s). Leeds is huge, I didn't want anyone to get insulted. But in terms of titles they cannot be compared to any of the top English clubs. I think Milan is in a whole different league then the likes of Forest, Leeds, HSV, etc. Not that this can be helpful or a dire warning to us.

But to answer R7, our 7 CL titles won't show up on field. But the will show up for the marketing and business side. Milan still can attract investors because unlike the aforementioned clubs (bar HSV) Milan is located in a relevant and attractive city (Milano) and still represents a prestigious brand. Now everything can be devalued and Milan could easily face the fate of Leeds etc. But our history makes us still attractive to potential buyers. If we find a suitable parton we can hope to get rebuild one day. Until the we have to forget about sporting results, hope we somehow crawl into the CL and manage to up our prize and then again hope to get sold to the right owner. There's a lot of ifs and buts, I'm completely aware.

Sorry Danny, but comparing Milan to the likes of Leeds, Hamburg, Rangers and Nottingham is a huge insult.

If we take the whole history of football of the last, let's say, 65 years (since the first European Cup was played), I'd argue that in terms of trophies, players and overall prestige we come second only to Real Madrid.

We've had 12 European Cup/Champions League finals, 7 of which won. We've won 18 FIFA and UEFA trophies, a record three Intercontinental Cups and one FIFA Club World Cup, the UEFA Super Cup a record five times, and the Cup Winners' Cup twice.

We've produced one if not the best and most influential football sides under Sacchi, not to mention the 8 Ballon d'Or wins by 6 players, only second to Real Madrid and Barcelona (clearly boosted by the recent wins of Ronaldo and Messi).

And in Italy we're the second most successful club after Juventus.

We are giants of football, and we'll find our way back to the top eventually. Can't say when, but we'll never get relegated or fail financially. We're just too big to fail.

Take your point but the reality is having a name value and history doesn't really mean anything.

It doesn't guarantee survival any more than players just 'turning up' to matches means they'll win.

I do find it interesting you say Hamburg was never a true German giant, when Milan ourselves won all our UCLs bar two since the 80s, have never won the Uefa Cup, and won half our 18 titles before 1980 (81 years) where the 40 years since we won the other half.

Does our success mostly being in the modern era make us also not a true Italian giant?

Seems a little unfair to grade a team's success based on when they had it.

And those players just lost. I respect your opinions folks but I've said my piece and just hope you guys are right and not I.

By that logic Real Madrid won 5 of their 13 Champions League titles in the 50s when football was still an amateur sport. And after their 1966 success they didn't win back the trophy in 31 years.

I don't think it's fair to look at a club's success like that.

Yes, we did reach mainstream success after Silvio took over, but before that we had already won 2 European Cups and 10 league titles. That's a very good record. UEFA Cup? That's a petty trophy, always has been.

Successful clubs tend to have long breaks once in a while. Madrid, as I mentioned, is a good example. Barcelona won only 2 league titles from 1960 to 1990. That's 30 years! Manchester United didn't win a single league title from 1967 to 1992. Liverpool haven't won the league since 1990. Arsenal have been shite for about 15 years now.

We're in a very bad place, but history teaches that the football greats do manage to get back on their feet. We'll get there eventually.

What do you mean?

Exactly! That's precisely my point!



The good example in our favour is Liverpool. Barren spell from late 80s to basically last year, excluding 2005. That's essentially 40 years of tumbleweed.

You're right, the greats do get back on their feet, but it can take a lifetime for it to happen.

Some more context. Celtic beat Lazio home and away. Milan couldn't handle the latter at San Siro and lost. Rangers beat Porto 2-0 btw.

There is basically no hope for this club for a very very long time.

Donnarumma; Conti, Duarte, Romagnoli, Hernandez; Bennacer, Krunic, Paqueta; Suso, Piatek, Calhanoglu.

Prediction: 3-1

Why is Conti starting again?

Holding steady so far

Because Calabria is terrible.

Pretty good first half...

I think Conti is far worse, and a much bigger liability in defense.

Decent first half. Team is holding well, but let's not kid ourselves. This is exactly the kind of game we end top losing in the end.

Weakest links: Krunic and Piatek. The guys are so limited when it comes to dribbling and passing, they hurt whatever flow of play we might create every now and then.

Strongest links: Hernandez and Paqueta. Great first half from them.

Think again. Calabria is a disaster.

Yes, decent first half. Let's see what happens in the 2nd half. Juve are not on their game today.

Special mention to Bennacer..this kid is good.

Disagree on Krunic, his real drawback is that he's slow. Other than that, I really like him and actually think his passing is pretty good, certainly a lot more smart and aware than Kessie. Piatek is constantly up against 2 strong CBs, he's going to struggle no matter what

I think Hakan and Suso are bigger let downs. I expect more from them

Agreed on Paqueta and Hernandez, but I'd also add Romagnoli and Bennacer to the list. Both of which have been flawless imo

And yeah, with our luck, we'll lose this in the last few minutes, which is typical for us


Nuh uh. Conti is much worse. Calabria is no doubt going through a rough patch of form, but I'd pick him over Conti any day of the week.

Yep, this game and the one against Lazio have been a major comeback for him after the disaster few games he had under Giampaolo

Overall, I do see major improvements since Pioli took over, it's just a matter of getting the results now.

Bad move to sub in Bonaventura. The guy has clearly lost his touch.

Juve's strength off the bench is just unmatched. They can bring on Dybala and Costa... We brought on Bona and a kid

What other viable options are on the bench though?

Probably Biglia but he's also lost a step or two

Retract Hakan and play Rebic on the left.

Bonaventura is worse than Montolivo right now.