ESPN Soccernet - Correspondents - AC MILAN

Posted by Matteo Bonetti on 03/14/2011

It has been a depressing week for Milanisti across the globe. A heartbreaking loss at White Hart Lane to the Spurs, which knocked us out of the Champions League prematurely, and a gut wrenching tie against the Serie B all stars of Bari.

Watching the Milan vs. Bari match was comparable to watching a marathon starring Luca Toni, Erjon Bogdani, and Bernardo Corradi. It was painfully frustrating, with a seemingly never ending array of chances squandered for Milan. Someone needs to keep a new statistic for me: the amount of times Robinho shanks an easy shot on goal. I think his number for the season stands between 800-900. (Rough estimate)

There are a few talking points for both matches. It was clear from the start of the winter transfer window that Milan was putting all of their eggs in the metaphorical Sere A basket. When you purchase three cup-tied players, it's obvious Berlusconi was aiming for the Scudetto that has eluded Milan since the 2003/04 season. Back when Shevchenko was still alive, and Brocchi had hair.

Milan Insider Podcast is out! Part 1 Part 2
Allegri's Miscues:

Miscue #1: Not starting Pato in the first leg at San Siro. The little Brazilian is the future of the squad. Voices from Brazil claim he is the new Ronaldo (not the one whose metrosexuality would make Justin Bieber cringe). If these voices are true, then it's time to hand the reigns to the young Pato. Against Napoli we saw what he can do when the confidence is booming.

Miscue #2: Against Bari, why on earth didn't Allegri start Cassano? I realize he is a provincial minded coach, but think about this: Had Mourinho been the tactician against Bari, don't you think he would've gone with a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Ibrahimovic leading the line, and Cassano, Pato, and Robinho behind him. Then you insert the two holding midfielders: Gattuso and Van Bommel, to give the defence some support. Were we really that afraid of Bari's counter attack starring Rudolf and Ghezzal? Cassano was salivating at the mouth to play in this game. Bari is the team that brought him in the Serie A, it's the team where Cassano became famous when he scored that world class goal against Inter. Of course, Fantantonio came in with twenty minutes remaining and scored the goal that gave us a meagre point against the worst team in the Serie A. If we don't use this offensive formation against Bari at home, then we'll never see it again. Bari defence is more porous than a sponge. Imagine those four together, Bari wouldn't have been able to breathe. They would've been held so tightly in their own half all game, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was 2-0 by the halftime break.

Miscue #3: Starting Alex Merkel. He has a fine future ahead of him, but he is not ready to be a starter for Milan right now. It's cute that Allegri gave him time in the Coppa Italia, and bizarre that he was even allowed to come within 30 meters of sniffing the pitch at White Hart Lane, but enough is enough. Allegri should have put in Emanuelson from the start. Coach Max realized his mistake so he made this exact substitution at halftime, which proved to change the dynamic of the match. Why did we purchase Emanuelson if he's not going to play? The Dutchman is a tricky winger who gives a spark of technique and pace off the bench. Would've been a much different result if Urby was in from the start.

Cassano should've played from the start ©Getty

Random Notes:

- Luca Antonini is atrocious. Not only isn't he Milan class, but he isn't even Cesena class. Why do I make this bold assumption? Look at the full backs that a team like Cesena who is in the bottom 3 has had this year: Nagatomo and Santon, both full backs being infinitely better than Antino-no. He simply cannot read the defence, he had a horrendous, inexplicable backheel pass to nobody against Bari which would've resulted in a clear goal scoring opportunity had the ball landed at the feet of someone semi-capable.

- Abate on the other hand, should be the starting right back on the Italian National team. I've been echoing this sentiment for quite some time. Coach Prandelli came to his senses and plans to have young Ignazio starting in the next International fixture.

- Milan could've gone to +7 on Inter had they won against Bari. Instead they are now sitting at +5 despite the gift Inter handed to us when they tied against Brescia a few days earlier. This has been a great week of results for the smaller provincial sides against the giants. Cesena managed to squeak out a result against Juve as well.

- My final point is perhaps the most important. Ibrahimovic inexplicably "punched" or love tapped Marco Rossi in the Bari game, which resulted in a red card. The implications of this card are enormous. It has just been announced that Ibra will receive a harsh three match ban. Meaning big Zlatan will miss the Inter derby, and the Fiorentina/Palermo matches. Three pivotal games on our schedule. However, there is a positive veil to all of this: Ibrahimovic has looked tired & sulky in the past few weeks. Could Ibrahimovic missing a game really be a blessing in disguise? Apart from a penalty, Ibrahimovic has not scored in eight games, and has been frustratingly off target. If Ibra does not play against Inter, it'll be a true test for young Pato to show that he is more than capable of leading the Milan front line. Surrounding him with Robinho, Cassano, and Boateng should not only help our young Brazilian, but also show the world that we are not Ibradependent.

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Comments

Posted by Zio Domenico on 03/14/2011

Agree that Antonini isn't world class, but I believe it was his cross that Cassano knocked in for the goal. Without him Milan drops a point. Aside from this, Van Bommel blew his set piece coverage. Pato didn't show the fire/desire in the Tottenham and Bari games that he did in the games prior. Cassano needs to start all games from here on out. The good news about the Ibra suspension is that Cassano has 2 or 3 games to lock his spot up for the rest of the year. Then Allegri can use whichever 2 other strikers are in best form and sub one out later in the game. All three get to play, though one as a sub, so all three have to fight for a starting spot. ('All three' = Ibra, Pato, Robinho.)

Posted by Matteo Bonetti on 03/14/2011

@Zio Domenico

You have to realize that Pato does not excel when the other team closes the doors and defends with 9 men. He needs to be found in space. You can't just lob inaccurate balls to him in the box and expect him to work his magic when he has two defenders draped all over him.

Posted by Luan on 03/14/2011

Perfectly elaborated problems of our squad. I completely agree with all the points that you've put out.
Nothing's left to add.

Posted by Anonymous on 03/14/2011

A brilliant lecture of the situation. I can see Emanuelson on left back. More support for both sides, in sight that Abate is growing stronger every game, both defensively and offensively.

Posted by shyamalotti on 03/14/2011

I disagree with most of the things written on this article. Sad to see this coming from a Milan fan. When you Milan fans criticise Allegri so much, you are definitely missing out the good points Allegri has bought to the new Milan team this season. About Merkel, it's ridiculous what u just said. If he wasn't given chance, fans all around will go complaining how badly we need young blood. To be fair, some games wen he started he has performed better than Flamini in that position. How about Allegri's tactical move to put Seedorf in the Andrea Pirlo role for that crunch Spurs game? That was just class. Come on, you Milan guys need to have more faith in Allegri and savour our scudetto which are just few matches away than just complaining. Yeah, Milan is just a left back away from being a Champions League winning team!

Posted by Anonymous on 03/14/2011

why is villa not starting against a team like bari? if he is never gonna play why did Milan buy him?

Posted by rd1991 on 03/14/2011

as usual great article mr. bonetti !
my sentiments on ibra :
If ibra misses the derby i think it will be tough for us to win against inter... i agree he is temperamental (he punched a player !) and gets frustrated easily....
but he is a game changer and draws defenders to himself which allows others space... pato does not do that... plus ibra is like a big target man and pato is not...
on allegri : at least he understood the importance of playing pato... milan were just unlucky at the lane....

Posted by btm on 03/14/2011

Didac Vila should have been given a chance by now (in the cup or against Bari). He played well for Espanyol this season and it's impossible to be worse than Antonini. All left-backs worse than Antonini are already at Juventus.
Instead of Merkel, Bonera and Antonini players like Emanuelson or Papastathopoulos should be getting more playing time.

Posted by Soto on 03/14/2011

@Matteo
Shame on you!I was hoping that the Podcast would come out today(you said so =>"after the Bari game"
on twitter)I woke up today...and... No PODCAST!!!!
--.-- !! Anyway at least you wrote again one of those great and 100% true articles about Milan :).
To be honest i think i like that red card Ibra took and i will explain why.
Ibra lately was not in form both physicily and mentally,as you said he scored only a goal in one month and from the penalty spot and even more irritating than that was to watch ibra yelling at everyone more than usually ! I think that some rest will bring back the Ibra we rossoneri loved because we will need him for the end of the season.I want to see how will Pato cope with the pressure of the derby,he has nothing to prove because we know his talent but he must show to everyone that he can be our future leader because lets be honest guys Milan played a great game in england,the only thing that was missing,was a leader like Inzaghi,Kaka or Sheva ecc

Posted by Soto on 03/14/2011

CON
who would put that F*****g ball in.
Anyway i hope that carlo wins the UCl(not because i am a Chelsea supporter but i don't want that special one to win it...)
aa I forgot.. i was joking in the begining i am not mad at you..yet. :P
FORZA MILAN !!!

Posted by Matteo Bonetti on 03/14/2011

@shyamalotti

Ok. Merkel was given a chance and he proved to the world that he isn't Milan class YET. He needs to be loaned out to a lower level Serie A team where he can play weekly and gain experience and continue his growth process. It was obvious that when Emanuelson came on for Merkel, the team improved drastically. And listen to the podcast on Milan that'll come out in a few days. I gave Allegri a 6/10. Not a bad score at all. I've already highlighted things he has done right in previous articles but like most coaches in their first year, he has committed some errors as of late which are evident with our performances in the Champions League. If only it were that easy to say Milan is a left back away from competing in the Champions League. Jankulovski filled in admirably. The problem was in the midfield, that there wasn't enough service to the strikers. (Aside from injury problems)

Posted by Matt on 03/14/2011

I agree with almost everything in the article.

With ibra out, I feel that Cassano should be given his chance alongside Pato. Playing Robinho behind gives some creativity and pace to the position, but keeps Robinho from close to the net where he can no longer finish. By playing him behind, you also get his recent willingness to work defensively.

In the midfield, Boateng, for me, needs to be included. He has been a spark when healthy, and with Gattuso and Van Bommel wide of Boateng.

Defensively, I will lose all faith if Antonini plays again. Urby/Marek/Nobody will be better on the left along with the rest of the usual back four.

Posted by Annalisa on 03/14/2011

Great article as usual!

Zlatan deserved the red card for punching Marco Rossi out (poor guy never catches a break, he always gets beaten up...) and you're right, it might be a blessing in dusguise. I hope he returns to his old goal-scoring self.

Posted by Jay Vagh on 03/14/2011

I know that everyone is going to hate me, but I dont think that we need to buy Ibra next year, we do desperatly need a clinical finisher, but Ibrahimovic is poison to the club, almost always arguing with team mates, more specifically Pato. He is a world class player but sometimes players need to play for the general well-being of the team, not just trying to score all the goals, win all the games, and be in all the highlights. Ibra is one of those players whose ego is bigger then the logo on his shirt, which says a lot about his character.

Posted by Hova on 03/14/2011

Great article as always! Does anyone know when supper Pippo is back from injury? Last I heard was March.. He would be a great substitute in the derby. ABATE... Wat a machineeeee

Posted by California Milanista on 03/14/2011

Matteo

Great comment on Abate - I know we were all wondering what Abate would become a year or so ago, but I've been very happy overall with him this year and he never quits on the ball. Glad to see he should get a chance with gli Azzurri.
"We" gotta start playing the younger lads to rebuild the Italian side.

On a more serious note: I have to give my 6 year old daughter's soccer team a suitable name. What are the Lady AC Milan teams called? Diavola? Rossonera? I need something that California parents will agree too. (I was thinking Little Devils).
Suggestions Matteo?

Posted by Milan 1987 on 03/15/2011

You are so RIGHT Matteo,this was an opportunity lost and I have some fears that this might come back to hurt us.With Inter dropping points and Milan playing the LAST placed team in the league,3 points must have been gained,but Allegri dropped the ball AGAIN.I still don't think he is worthy of Milan.Recent successful Milan managers have brought something new:Sacchi's pressing game,Cappelo's quick counter-attacking team,Ancelotti's conversion of Pirlo's position& the Christmas Tree Formation,Allegri however has brought NOTHING new to Milan and it's the top level players we have that have us at 1st place.

Posted by D on 03/15/2011

If we start running our club by what voices in Brazil are saying ...

Agree on Merkel - not ready yet (although interesting to hear some say that with all the clamer the past few weeks to put him in the CL match). He's too one dimensional right now. Reminds me of Gourcuff when he was with ACM. You knew something was there but it never really materialized.

No to Urby at LB (he's better in the midfield or at LW). Great offense suspect d.

Still maintain Allegri's having a good season. What coach gets it 100% right 100% of the time?

What's the latest on Pirlo? It will be interesting to see how he fits in to the mix.

Pato looked flat the Bari game and it didn't seem to be due to Bari's defense. Signs that there's still some growing to do.

MVB had a good game outside of his catastrophic blunder on the set piece. That was the 2 points right there.

Not sure how Ricardo would fit into this squad but would be interesting to find out. $ better spent on others though.

Posted by Sam on 03/15/2011

Question: Why do Milan fans all seem to want robinho in thier starting 11 when he disappears for half the game, when he does reappear for the 10 minutes or so he feels he needs to put in, he screws up several clear scoring opportunites and he never seems to suffer for his team? Is it purely because of the fleeting moments of immense talent that occasionally come out? The promise of what could be?

Posted by Matteo Bonetti on 03/15/2011

@California Milanista

I'd go with Diavoletti (Little Devils).

Posted by punditguy on 03/15/2011

Im so disappointed about our game against Bari! I didnt even look at it. I just set it to record and when i woke i will look at it. I was so sure it was going to be a win. But when i woke up and checked my phone i swore something was wrong with soccernet. Tsk Tsk...smh.

We should consider keeping MVB for another season. He has learnt fast and is proving to be fundamental to our Midfield. I really do hope we sign Montelivo. IMO he will fit in perfect! But most of all...I do hope Burlusconi coughs up the $$$$. We managed to aquire some great steal of a deal signings in Jan and hopefully we can do it again in the summer with Ramos. But other than that he really needs to splash some cash.

Posted by punditguy on 03/15/2011

Time to splash the cash and drop the axe!

Posted by ambrosini on 03/15/2011

you, sir are a very funny man :) and i share your optimism regarding ibra missing the games. look at real madrid, they lost cristiano for the game against santander and the rest of the team lifted themselves played beautiful fast paced attacking football.

some lol moments:

-cute merkel
-bizarre merkel
-slowdorf

just saying..forza milano!

matt, what do you think about louis van gaal as the next milan gaffer next season?

Posted by Zio Domenico on 03/15/2011

@ Luan
Point taken on Pato. However, most teams are going to try to defend with 9 men against Milan (especially in Serie A). As such, Pato needs to be able to adapt in these situations. If he can't, then he isn't a complete striker yet, and should be subbed out when rendered ineffective. I'm a Pato fan, but that will be the reality of the situation.

Posted by Jose Villadiego on 03/15/2011

One thing I can not understand is why Cassano was left on the bench if he didnt play agaisnt Tottenham? Is Allegri afraid of Zlatan or something? We all knew he is tired and that he need it a rest to recharge his battery (cmon! numbers dont lie 1 goal in 8 games and it was a penalty)but no, risking him in a game against Bari was pointless.

Do you think Van Bastens show at San Siro has something to do with next season plans? os he was just there for the game as a former rossoneri...

Great article as usual Matteo! Keep them coming

Villa

Posted by Matteo Bonetti on 03/15/2011

@Jose Villadiego

If Zlatan is healthy he is always going to be a fixture in the lineup. The problem is I guess Allegri thinks Cassano is still not 100% ready for a full 90 minutes. Seems like he enjoys using him as a supersub while Cassano still needs to regain perfect match fitness.

Posted by damian on 03/15/2011

Was dissapointed to watch Merkel constantly back track, win the ball, play it on & get in a good supporting position only for his teammates to not pass the ball back. He needs more support from his own team.
Also perhaps without Ibra we will stop focussing on route 1. Without the big front man we will be forced to be more creative wich is where we can win with some good play & put some fear into our opposition.
I look fwd to watching Milan for a few games w/o the big Swede to see what we can achieve.

Posted by David on 03/15/2011

Great article Matteo, as usual.
The coming matches will be so crucial for us, given the Ibra ban. Like you said, this will give us a chance to show people we aren't Ibra dependent. With the likes of Pato, Cassano, Robinho, and KPB there is no reason we should have attacking problems - even without Ibra. With that being said, we are having attacking issues, so it would seem as if our tactics or fromation isn't getting the most out of our players. I like your idea of 4-2-3-1 with Ibra as the point man, but w/o Ibra I might like to try a 4-3-2-1, the famous Carlo christmas tree formation. Gattuso - MVB - Emanuelson/KPB in midfield and Cassano - Roibnho/KPB playing behind Pato as the target man. I say this because it seems like Pato's best work recently has come in the penalty box and close range paoching, rather than fancy, brazilian-style, running at defenders technique.

However, I don't see too much change on the horizon. Allegri is quite resistant to any formation changes.

Posted by ACMFTW on 03/15/2011

Ibra Oh Ibra.....

I have this thought growing more & more overtime
hmmmmm.......Inception anyone ??

Did everyone notice how remarkably the team picked up after the great Ibra-PissdOffVic took off ??

You see Ibra is more like Sterroids ( Huh ?? )
He will get u buffed for a while but when overused improperly u will be wetting ur own bed.

Seems as if the players had that tension of getting yelled at by Ibra each time they including him will miss a chance thus...the team has to play twice the battle, getting the ball back and getting the ball perfectly to Ibra ( without him having to worry about the offside or the other defenders ).

If he can put in the same effort as Cassano, KPB , Abate & just play for the bueaty of the game instead of All the Kanye Westing.....

No doubt Matteo, Always on spot & defently a blessing in disguise...

Ibra gets a chance, lets see how he will do after his time-out.

If he doesnt get over his Ego, Then I'm against him staying.

Posted by SimonL on 03/15/2011

Good Article (as always!),

After the frustration of watching Milan crash out at White Hart Lane I was really hoping Milan would 'unleash the beast'(both metaphorically and literally (Cassano)) against lowly Bari and make me feel good about Milan again, but it was not to be... I like Allegri, I think he has done good things at Milan and hope he will be with us for a few more seasons but I really think he needs to stop being so cautious with the talent he has on offer at Milan, i.e. let the likes of Pato, Cassano etc. start waay more often and come into their own.

That said I think we will def. miss Ibra, a 3 match ban for that "punch" is preposterous, like the 3 goals Inter scored today! :(

Posted by William on 03/15/2011

A few points...
Firstly, Zio Domenico, it's Nesta who blew the set piece coverage. He was covering Rudolf, then Rudolf moved across the line of defenders and Nesta let him go. As a spectator, I could see where the set piece was going, I don't know why Aless let that happen.

Secondly, Didac Vila should really be starting now. He's very good going forward, and when we're playing two holding/defensive midfielders, he should definitely be on the field.
On the opposite wing, Abate is quite simply AMAZING. Last year he was defensively suspect, but my word has he improved a ridiculous amount.

Thirdly, Robinho really needs to get it together. He has the talent, but seems to disappear mentally in front of goal. He has a respectable tally this season, but through the law of averages with the number he's missed.

Lastly, I have noticed Ibra seems to have a personal problem with Pato's occasional slip in technique. He feels his teammates should be as talented as him which is a bit sad to see.

Posted by William on 03/15/2011

Oh, and I do agree it may be a blessing in disguise. Another blessing in disguise may have been the Champions League exit; as before the draw vs Bari I thought a league/cup double was quite likely. I still think it's probably, but we'll see at the end of March.

I just hope that Allegri won't go into the Inter game with the mindset that a draw is good enough.

Palermo is the crucial game for me, if we drop points there then I fear we'll follow up with a loss to Inter.

Abbiatti has had a few moments of madness recently by the way. I thought he had cut it out but I'm getting worried.

Very good article as always, good sir.

Posted by Jydough on 03/15/2011

Good article matteo... Spot on as far as most o' ur points are concerned! On the Ibra case, i think his suspension will definitely be a blessing in disguise cos he has been way below par in the last 3games and i thought we played better after he got sent off against Bari. More importantly, it'll give Pato more room to express himself. And i totally agree wiv u on the Abate starting for the Azzuri... He has worked so hard and matured as a player! Forza Milan!

Posted by MJN on 03/15/2011

Merkel - likes his right foot, maybe try him on the right and not the left?

Robinho - waste of text writing about him. Why have Cassano, Pato then Robinho. Robinho is surplus to requirements and simply not good enough for Milan

What Milan need is a goal finisher, someone like a young Pippo who stays upfront in between the opposition center backs. Currently the 4 Milan attackers all prefer to play behind the defense, does not make sense if no-one is in the middle to receive the cross.

Milan also need a left footed creative player. Pato, Merkel, Pish Robinho, Antonini, Serdorf, Ibra are right footed players who deliver weak crosses with their left foot.

Solution - sell Robinho, bring back the Hunta and Dinho

Posted by Mike on 03/15/2011

remember when everyone last year kept critisizing abate, oh he sux, they need to quit playin him. but i always kept thinkin that it was good he was gettin played cuz next year with a year of experience under his belt he's gonna be alot better, and look at he has become this year, now everybody loves him to death including me. but how did he get this good? simply by playing, how is a young player supposed to get any better if u dont play him? this goes for any sport, u must get the playin time, u think merkel n strasser n watever other young guys we got are gonna get better by just riding the bench and practising against the first team?, look at wat happened with yourcuff, i dont remember him playin much in milan, next thing u know he goes to france, plays all the time and now everybody wishes he was back at milan, other than that love ur article, keep up the good work, im a keep reading from here in texas.

Posted by travis christian on 03/16/2011

Like i said, i could never accept Ibra until he leads us to CL semi or final. Different team, same result, FAILURE!!!! He just disappears in the most important CL games. I was actually glad to see him leave the field for the Bari game, he still has a very LAZY way of play about him. Poor Pato, he was to be the next star when Kaka left, now demoted to the bench. He should have started the CL game at Milan. Merkel, Emanuelson, Abate, great young talents. I enjoyed watching Abate running the right side with Beckham, they switched and pushed forward like 2 seasoned veterans. But to end, I'm sorry, although leading in scoring and assists, i just can't accept Ibra, simply because of CL, which means more to Italians than the Serie A. and i'm from quite in the Caribbean.

Posted by Michael on 03/16/2011

I don't get to see that many of Milan's games but I am perplexed as to why Pato is not an automatic first team choice.. everytime I've seen him play in the last couple of seasons he has looked world class and being young he's only going to get much better.. as for Robinho.. well he struggled badly at City.. I know he wasn't happy there but there is more to it than that.. personally I would rather have Ronny in my team any day of the week

Posted by Milan 1963 on 03/16/2011

very frustrating indeed!!!
First of all I agree with the assessment on Antonini, he is simply poor and should have berried that ball that he could not control in a very favorable position. Ok he did the assist for the goal, but that's it and what a great through ball from Urby!
I also agree that Merkel is not yet ready, but he must play more often and so is Strasser. Gattuso against Bari is totally useless due to his two concrete feet.
Emmanuelson is a great midfielder that will bring a lot of speed and fantasy, which is what we need against teams that play with 9 defenders. I do not see him as a full back though.
I repeat once and again that Ibra is not a target man, he should be playing around Pato and Pato should be the target man as someone suggested, he plays better than Ibra inside the box. His sent off was ridiculous, he did not punch the defender he just hit the arm that was holding him. But I agree that he needs some rest to recharge his batteries.

Posted by Milan 1963 on 03/16/2011

Continue.
I am just worried that without Ibra in the derby there will be a psychological factor against us giving more confidence to the Inter side. Even though he is not in great shape he is always a disuasive threat for any defense.
I don't know about Vila, but why did we buy him if not for playing??? If he can play in La Liga he should be able to play in Serie A.
We need a convincing win against Palermo to stay on top also in terms of morale and keep the trailers at bay making them doubt.
Forza Rossoneri!!!

Posted by Sam on 03/16/2011

Read a few people who are asking Silvio to splash the cash, just wonderiong myself whether this will happen, in terms of bringing on new players. Pretty sure Ibra and Boateng are both on loan with Ibra to cost something like 20 mil whilst Boateng, considering how highly you are all rating him would be maybe 10 to 15mil. Has Cassano or Robinho been paid for yet? How much money will they be prepared to spend after paying for this lot? I think it will be another season of free transfers and loans. In reality you are in a similar position to Juventus except the players you have on loan are much better than their hacks!

Posted by Mjay on 03/16/2011

Honestly I do like the fact that Ibra got 3 match suspension. When Ibra is on the field all Milan players play long ball to him hoping he will chest it down to make an assist or score. If you analyse the Bari match carefully as soon as Ibra went off we started playing more short passes, ball on the floor and we were a bit more dangerous. There were at least 4 great chances: one seedorf alone in the area headed softly when he had time to chest the ball down and shoot, one that if cassano was a bit quicker he would have scored, one that MVB shoot over the bar and one miss by Pato. I do agree with most, Merkel should play from the start (we dont want a repeat of Gourcuff). Next match we should play like this: Abbiati, Abate, Nesta, Thiago, Emmanuelson, Merkel (if KPB not healthy), MVB, Gatusso, Robinho, Pato, Cassano

Posted by Sau on 03/18/2011

I have personally never been a big Robinho fan, and having watched him this season for Milan, I am not much convinced. As I understand it, he is on loan this season, and I feel that rather than buying him outright, that money might be better spent on a player like Niko Kranjcar. He is a midfield player willing to run, has a wonderful long shot, and can link up play very well. He is most likely to leave Spurs in the summer, and I believe we should snap him up.

Posted by dazzwater on 03/18/2011

I don't see how a squad containing Robinho and Pato can be "Ibradependent", but I guess that's the way it is.

Posted by akinola adegbola on 03/18/2011

Milan really disappointed alot of fans out there..........

Posted by Zio Domenico on 03/18/2011

@ William
Rudolf runs across the whole front line. Nesta is blocked by Van Bommel, who is on the end and the last one who can cover him. Also, note Van Bommel's reaction after the goal. Doesn't seem like he is blaming Nesta, so much as himself. Link is below.
http://www.101greatgoals.com/videodisplay/gergely-rudolf-milan-8751119/

Posted by D on 03/19/2011

Spent the last 90 min. on the 2 podcasts.
Good stuff. You know I agree with you two on the strength of Serie A so no surprise there.
Think the biggest thing holding the league back is the stadium issue.
In the review of Allegri I was surprised no credit was given to him for the development of Abate. Allegri's gotten a lot more flak in his first season than Leo did and that doesn't make sense to me.
'Just say no' to Mexes. Would prefer bringing Astori back. The problem with bringing in new head cases next year will be around who's left of the veterans. If Pirlo, Seedorf, Gattuso, Ambro, Nesta are all not with the club next year who's the leader? Who polices the team and shows others how to behave wearing the Milan jersey? Who's given the C, Silva? From a leadership perspective, don't think the club can afford to lose all 5. Pato's a talent but not a leader.

I would like to see a club like Udinese keep Sanchez & Inler. It's good for calcio.
Same with Palermo and Pastore

Posted by Matteo Bonetti on 03/19/2011

@Milan 1963

About Vila, you must realize he was playing for Espanyol, not a top side. He is being prepared in a way similar to that of Thiago Silva. Being slowly bred into the Serie A game, understanding the tactics associated with the league. We'll be seeing a lot of him next year. He's still young and raw. Give him time.

Posted by wcsg on 03/20/2011

Two games in a row it is van Bommel at fault, and due to lazy play. Why stand there waving your arm when you played him onside insteed of making any effort to block the shot?
The bigger issue is the lack of scoring, that I lay at the feet of Max. Play a lineup that has some creativity in midfield for gods sake!!

Posted by Milan 1963 on 03/20/2011

@Matteo,
I hope you are right bro, because watching the game against Palermo yesterday I almost ate my remote control with the likes of Antonini and Gattuso playing. For God sake we know they are going to park the bus, so why playing so many defending midfielders? We need to break defenses and we put Gattuso, Van Bommel and Flamini, although the latter one was ok. The lack of prima punta is hunting us now, a threat in the center of the area that would have taken a couple of defenders and freed the fantasistas. Damn it was frustrating seing our incapability to capitalize on a huge domination and ball possession and in the mean time conceding another silly goal......Abate and Silva were giant though, Cassano,Binho and Pato under par, Seedorf tried as well as Gattuso but if his intentions were good his deliveries were poor. We look tired and clueless....hopefully we hit the bottom and bounce back, it is not the moment to loose the leadership to the cousins. Thank God for CL.

Posted by muno on 03/21/2011

when will milan realize that they quality players and not rejects like robinho, zlatan who is too static for striker and pato who lacks a true stricker instinct, not mention the mediocre players milan have,milan should sing pacy wingers that possess lot of guile and two good strikers and 2 good defenders

Posted by j on 03/21/2011

I sure hope that Cassano plays better for us against inter, and Pato hobbled off the field in that Palermo game, is he out injured again? Robinho was on fire for the time he was in and Seedorf should be used as an impact subnot a starter-Boatang is way better in that position any way.

Posted by Pagliuca on 03/22/2011

Matteo:

I give up! What are these fools doing??? We are looking more like a circus than a dam football team. Moreso,I gave Allegri the pen name of the Clueless One. Now he's morphing into the Stupid One. I hope to God I never see another game like Palermo ever again! We made Sirigu and their centerbacks look like worldclass CL finalist caliber. As soon as the first goal went in, I knew there was no way in a million years we would score no matter how much we attacked. Why did Allegri start Seedorf in the hole role when he would of been better where Von Bommel was, and had Boateng or Emanuleson play on either side. We can't score when we're to slow and Palermo can park the bus. The sad fact is that we are looking more Ibradependent. Pato, Cassano, and Robinho are all half-puntas! We need a true target man that will play up in front and not behind the strickers. The Derby is in two weeks, hopefully we can get Pato back and a result. Becuase if we don't kiss the Scudetto goodbye!

Posted by Matteo Bonetti on 03/26/2011

Guys, check out my new site: www.themilanguy.com

Posted by Dan on 03/30/2011

Now, granted I don't watch as much Milan as most of you folks, but I have to say that when I've seen them play with Ibra they've been totally lost.....almost incapable of getting the ball forward cleanly. The criticism is hard for me to understand, he's not only the best target man on the team, he's often the most creative playmaker you guys have.

To me, and this is not a real revelation, but the problem with Milan clearly seem to be the midfield after all the injuries. A team built around Ambrosini/Pirlo/Gattuso is now left with replacements such as the (currently) almost useless Merkel, the mediocre Flamini, or the limited Van Bommel. Robinho is underperforming as far as I can tell, but on his worst day he brings more trouble to the opposition than any of those guys.

And last.....maybe its difficult to evaluate from this distance, I don't know what's going on in training, but leaving Cassano on the bench just seems ludicrous.

Posted by j on 04/01/2011

Lately Ibra has been playing badly he hasn't scored in several games, and has been taking everything out on his teammates, robinho is just flat out wasteful, and apparently allegre has moments where he fears cassano's fitness is not up to scratch or something-altho he played a pathetic game against palermo, and merkel is young and inexperienced give him time maybe loan him to a smaller club but he will be good.

Posted by Milan 1963 on 04/03/2011

CHI NON SALTA NEROAZZURO E' OHE!!!!

Finally Leonardo understood how to make us win the Derby, go to the other side ha ha ha. I am overjoyed, I would have loved winning 1 zero with an owngoal from Materazzi at the 93rd minutes but this is even better, double from Pato great performance from everybody, inter annihilated.....this is SWEET.

Forza Milan.

Posted by Mjay456 on 04/04/2011

At Milan 1963 LOL. What a performance from our players. Every single Rossoneri played a perfect match. I am a very proud Rossoneri. Matteo please write an article this week asap, I wanna hear the opinion of all the very proud Rossoneri.
P.S. Robinho MUST improve his finish, he was again very wasteful in front of goal. he missed 2 aboslute sitters against Inter

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