Just saw that we're playing a Lega Pro team tomorrow at 6pm (CET). Milan channel will be showing the re-run at 9, going to check if sky will be showing it somewhere live

Yeah 5PM for us in Blighty I believe. SES will be playing in this one as will Alex.

Yeah. He'll also be playing Rami in midfield as he has no midfielders atm aside from Primavera players.

Mastour should get the second 45 minutes as well, which will be exciting to see

Where's Cristante?

Odd thing. Honda seems completely left out of all the team talks and discussions.

Well every international player that took part in the world cup hasn't really been mentioned, they're still all on holiday

Hmm true. He did talk of Balotelli joining the team again in US. Surprising that no one asked questions about Honda, considering he is our Asia golden ticket.

In reality, I do think Balo is the only name out of the internationals on peoples' minds. His future is unclear atm. De Jong and Abate being the only other question marks

As for the others, I think it's being taken for granted that they will be part of the squad for next season

Yeah you're probably right. Forget Honda, they haven't even mentioned Muntari the Magnificent.

any streams?

http://calcion.me/live1.htm

thanks

El sha scores

Anyone saw the match. I saw the goals. Both came in from Zaccardo crossing. What do you think of the game as such? Is Saponara an option for the midfield three?

He looked good, but really this was a 2nd division Lega Pro side, I don't think it's a good basis to make a judgment off of. Against better sides he'd get pressured off the ball way too easily in midfield.

That being said, I think it all depends on how Pippo lines the midfield up, which could allow for Honda (as x-off has been campaigning for) or Saponara to play in midfield and be sufficiently covered by the other 2 players (probably De Jong and Poli). Still I think we're in desperate need of another CM, preferably someone creative who's not afraid to get stuck in either.

highlights

those haircuts. smh.

Niang is still as crude, brutal and uncultured on the ball as ever, heard some French team wants him, we better offload him ASAP before he becomes unsellable

@ Jack, this is what Pippo had to say regarding Honda




Side note; So far I'm really liking what Pippo has to say with regards to systems, tactics and how he'll use his players.

Apart from the fact Honda fell out with Seedorf for playing him on the right...

So, so far I'm hearing DS on the right, and now Honda.

Why is Pippo making the same errors Seedorf did?

Last I read DS was considered a LB for Pippo. I guess the uncertainty around Abate could push him to the right which I'm not crazy about as he's very average there. As I said to Fillipo, selling Abate and getting Criscito will mean weakening our FB area as DS would have to shift to the right and Criscito isn't as good as Abate anyway.

As for Honda, was there really anything indicating that he and Seedorf fell out?

We heard a lot of things about players who had issues with him, namely Abate, Monto, Abbiati but I never heard anything about Honda.

Between the lines is a player who is far from happy there. But generally the Japanese are a polite people and unlikely to publicly castigate.

PS there's a friendly in like 2 hours v Monza. Thread?

I'll change the thread name and we'll talk here about it as it will be pointless to open countless threads for friendlies which end up having only 1 or 2 pages of posts (if that)

The game is at 6 pm CET for anyone interested in watching, I'll try to find a stream link closer to kick off

Probable formation

MILAN (4-3-3): Abbiati; Zaccardo, Rami, Bonera, Constant; Poli, Modic, Saponara; Niang, Pazzini, El Shaarawy. All.: Inzaghi

Who's Modic?

Primavera kid, very promising imo, we saw him last season in a couple of friendlies under Allegri as well

OFFICIAL line-up vs Monza (4-3-3): Abbiati; Zaccardo, Bonera, Alex, Constant; Poli, Cristante, Saponara; Niang, Pazzini, El Shaarawy.

Milan bench: Agazzi, Gabriel, Robinho, Rami, Albertazzi, Mastalli, Pinato, Benedicic, Di Molfetta, Modic, Simic, Mastour.

Streams for Monza-Milan:

http://calcion.me/live20.htm

http://calcion.me/live9.htm

http://calcion.me/live8.htm

http://calcion.me/live10.htm

It's Modric, Han misspelled his name. That's right, we signed frigging Modric!

If Pippo has plans on playing Saponara as LCM, then I see no reason why he can't play Honda there as well.

Too slow and out of form?

Good God, I really do dislike the new shirts. Font, colors, stripes, nothing seems to be in line. And the English cross? That's maybe retro, but a tad too much if you ask me.

More like rushed and confused

They look like PJs

Niang is so brutal on the ball, even when he tries to make a simply pass. It's like he's playing Fifa and letting to power-up reach red

Niang is so brutal on the ball, even when he tries to make a simple pass. It's like he's playing Fifa and letting the power bar reach red

Nah, this match is a waste of time to watch. Too early to tell anything. It's just a warm-up.

Yeah, I've switched off, I'll try to see some extended highlights.

69min

Niang with a penalty. 1-0 Milan

My stream finally ended up dying after sticking several times.

My twitter is blowing up with heaps of praise for Mastour who apparently provided a really nice assist.


AC Milan ‏@acmilan 14m
75' Goooooooal! Mastalli beats the keeper with a powerful shot, well served by Mastour! #ACMilan vs Monza 2-0

FT: 2-0 Milan

Not the greatest quality video (or best camera angle), but her is a video of the second goal:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyS3QaraZkg&hd=1


...just 3 minutes after Mastour's introduction in the game.

People seem to have had problems watching this...

Points to note:

1: Mastour. Wow. 16 years of age and he looks like he's been doing it for years. We could have a total gem on our hands here. His setup play for Mestalli was absolutely excellent. And don't say 'it's only Monza'. Because Mastour is 'only' a kid.

2: Pippo. His passion on the sideline is very Conte-esque. He wants his players to work, and tbh, they did. Thery respond to him, they respect him, because they know he respects them.

3: Shirts are growing on me. Don't like the crest much but the design is starting to seep into my consciousness.

4: A real positive of Pippo is he is more than happy to give youth a chance. These are kids he reared in Primavera, and they trust him. And now here he is, giving them the same chance in the first team.

While it's incredibly early days, and Monza are not Real Madrid I saw more passion out there from the manager and players than I can remember pretty much the whole of last season.

His arrogance on the ball was amazing, but with end product. I don't mind a player loving themselves a bit and being slightly cocky, as long as they can deliver. And he did.

The kid is looking very good so far. Obviously this isn't a level of opposition where you can really judge, but I think it's a good test in terms of his physique and strength and whether or not he is ready to play with the seniors.

Good stuff Danny thanks for the post!

I have to say the shirt is also beginning to grow on me a bit as well (certainly don't 'like' it still, but its not horrible)

The England like crest though I don't care for it, I also prefer our usual emblem.

In the event anyone's interested, I added a couple pics to an earlier post on the 2nd page I think.

Here are just a few more, nothing special, but just to add to the moment I guess.

From what I saw he'd do no bloody worse than Balotelli!

Agree the opponents aren't quite marquee, but the experience is vital.

Great pics Trini.

My main worries regarding Mastour (which I am sure are very much the same for many of you on here) are:

With all the hype surrounding him he is placed under too much pressure and expectations from the fans would be unrealistic.

However, should he be able to deal with the above mentioned, I'd still also fear for his safety in the league. As many of you expressed as well, with this young mind and small stature, defenders and so forth from opposing teams are not going to take kindly to his style of play and may intentionally attempt to injure him, and that would be a damn shame.