Must win.

Menez gave an interview mentioning that he was barely fit to play in that game so it kinda justifies his performance.

Honestly, I'd go with a front trio of Honda-Menez-Sharaawy. It's still our best and most dynamic trio upfront.

What's more important is how the midfield will play out, hopefully we'll see some improvements there. Muntari will miss this game.

In defense, I expect to see Alex with another CB..in addition to the usual fullbacks.

Think this might be GDS but really not sure:

Lopez, Abate, Alex, Zapata, MDS, Poli, De Jong, Van Ginkel, Honda, Menez, El-Sha.

Would like to see that lineup.

Mediaset has Essien instead of van Ginkel.

Ooo, I like that. Hopefully Mediaset is right on this count. We just have to give our lackluster has been as playing time as possible, unless they go by the name of Mexes. Besides, Essien is a big marketable name in Africa, where as this Ginkel guy is a nobody, on leased leash.

If only that biased bought referee had not given Muntari that yellow card. Had he just not accumulated those four yellows, he'd fit right in instead of Poli in this lineup. Palermo wouldn't have stood a chance then. Of losing, that is.

I like the way you think.

Gotta catch up with the times, X. If you can't beat them join them! Besides, these are universal thoughts, almost all our recent coaches used to think this way. Even the "great" Ancelotti, gotta have stability. Some called them legs. Except for, well, Leonard, but that douche wasn't even a proper coach.

Same probably goes for Seedorf, and look where that got him. Who cares about playing like a big team?! Let's all play like individuals, even the coaches think of themselves first, and this philosophy transitions into the players. most of them, anyway. The result? We, as a club, take a leisurely stroll in the opposition direction of gold.

We aren't going to make an inch of progress this way, just keep running around in circles. But hey, if I change my thinking to the cloudy levels of our decision makers, well, at least I'll have less heartaches, right?

Not really man

Can't disagree, sadly. Like most of you here, all I ask for is determination and faith from the guys up top, the guys in the mix. Team spirit, right decision making and good displays on the turf. The results will either come automatically, or even if they don't then no one will raise a finger. No one should raise a finger.

Instead here we get one bad decision after the other, from the players, coaches, and most of all the management. I may have written a fair amount of my last two posts in jest, but you're right, it's downright painful. Painful seeing all this time and talent amounting to nothing. Things will change, one day, I'm hopeful.

But really, this unit is so far removed from the the AC Milan of old, it's unfathomable.

+∞

That's what sports is all about, right? Or used to be, I guess. Most football fans I know, and almost all Milan fans I know are sane, reasonable and knowledgeable people. They can see what's going on, and a whole lot of them don't agree with what's going on. Not this season, but since the middle of the last decade.

At precisely the right time when the management should have been at their most vigilant (experience, what experience?), they let the guard down in terms of strategy and signings. This mess we're in did not start last season, the roots go back a fair bit. And is it changing? No. That's what me, Han, X, and a lot here see. We're reasonable.

And let's not start with it's a project thing, because if it is, it's the worse managed project in footballing history!

Haha, yeah, that's just crazy. People believing this is all part of some major project to bring Milan back to Europe's elite. It makes me wanna cry.

According to sky, Saponara could start in the midfield so the predicted line up at the moment is:

Diego Lopez; Abate, Alex, Rami, De Sciglio; Poli, De Jong, Saponara; Honda, Torres, Menez.

That's a bigger facepalm decision than starting Essien

So far Saponara has shown no indications that he could actually play in midfield, he's just too lightweight and doesn't really work all that hard either.

WTF do we have Bonaventura and Van Ginkel for if he's not going to use them

Bona's injured apparently.

Why not play van Ginkel, I ask?

Beats me.

I'm really starting to scratch my head at these selections.

So he doesn't even want to try Honda in midfield, but he's okay with starting a kid with barely any Serie A experience there, who's a CAM/winger. Just boggles the mind.

Why did we even bother taking Van Ginkel? At least sitting on Chelsea bench will most likely earn him some silverware, sitting on ours only earns him an extra fat @ss.

This midfield issue is something that I feel Pippo looks over completely, I wonder when do they teach them in coaching school that this is the most important area on the pitch for any team, and was Pippo taking some sick days during that lesson?

Or maybe he was just daydreaming about playing Honda on the wing...

Latest:

Lopez, Abate, Alex, Rami, MDS, Poli, De Jong, Saponara, Honda, Torres, Menez.

That seriously worries me.

Let's be honest here. Better give Saponara a try than have Essien play.

Bona out injured so he's not an option.

Only creative player we have available for midfield in Bona's (and dare I say it Muntari's) absence sadly is Saponara.

Poli, De Jong and Van Ginkel is just too flat. No spark in there.

That said Saponara remains a rather 'unknown' quantity - he's hardly played and has never really impressed, but he hasn't really flopped either really. I don't remember him making too many errant passes in midfield which have directly led to a goal, unlike Essien.

Let's also be honest, he cannot be worse than what we've been seeing in a creative sense from midfield recently. IE nothing.

However, the annoying part here is that Saponara is a pure trequartista, but Pippo is willing to play him in midfield whereas Honda keeps being relegated on the wing. Sometimes I really think he plays him there just because he's left-footed.

If that's the case, then NDJ-Poli-Muntari is... what's flatter than flat?

No, he plays him there because he's the only player that can effectively (aside from Menez) cover that spot. He also scored goals from that position and is overall doing good work with Abate as well.

Bingo

No?

That lineup has been reconfirmed in the last half hour. Not official yet, but looks 90% sure unless it's a red herring.

Muntari can get goals. He's not 'creative' but he does score and plays (carelessly) high up the pitch.

We haven't seen enough of Sap to actually classify him in any position yet. He's only played about 5 matches, with varying positions. Who knows, maybe he'll be great in deeper midfield, filling the role I have Bona earmarked for.

I think this Sapo experiment is going to backfire. Hopefully, I'm wrong, but what I've seen so far of him both in pre-season when Pippo played him in midfield and last season under Allegri, I seriously cannot see him pulling this position off, he's lightweight and not some visionary passer either.

In his time at Empoli he was an attacking player, mostly an AM/winger. He doesn't strike me as a hard worker either

I agree. But, you guys are asking for Honda to play there, who is just as lightweight as Sapo imo.

We desperately need Montolivo.

Honda is no lightweight. The amount of work he puts in on that wing is testament to that

He recovers more balls in a game than Muntari or Poli

Nice seeing Abate with the captain's armband.

Alex injured....

Zapata on.

This is bad for us. Zapata and Rami at the back together is a disaster waiting to happen

that should have been 1-0

So close Torres!

Ref getting card happy

Nice own goal Zapata..

near post !

Zapata, what the hell??

Palermo goes up 1-0. Zapata with an own goal.

wow could have been worse

Diego Lopez saves us from going down 2.

2-0.. Zapata WTF

What the

My god!!!

Zapata is having a killer night, now getting duped by Dybala.

0-2

Zapata pulling a Bonera here. What **** defending. 2-0 Palermo