Summer mercato 2012

[sylrus]

i like allegri
he is smart
smart in tactics and in licking ass
to bad in italy coaches didnt have the full voice concerning transfer
i think he will helm milan far longer than carlo did

[ZvonimirBoban]

Don't know... maybe because I am supporting this club in a way that I always feel we could win against anyone?

We could, but sometimes we did not.

Thats not called supporting a club. Thats called being unrealistic Of course I wish Milan to win every single game, but I'm not expecting them to. And if we don't buy some strong replacements for Ibra & Silva I wont expect them to win a lot of games next season. But I will still wish for them to win.

Yeah, whatever mate, you name it.

[Warro Bantan]

Refuse to believe the story from Gazetta saying we are in for Kaka....Tuttosport adds Diarra into the mix.... Sigh

[xudong]

You are not alone, Warro. I would rather take risk on our own unknown primavera players than Real Madrid rejects.

[ACMILAN1983]

I've been listening from various sources about what many pundits and fans think we need to do and one thing I've found is there's too many mixed viewpoints about the direction we need to take. Even Berbatov or Carroll, who I thought wouldn't even be in consideration are being debated as a good possible signings.

I heard somewhere, I think ESPN Press Pass, where one of the pundits suggested that Galliani's throwing around names to gauge which players fans want at Milan. So with this in mind, I would like to see what posters here would like realistically.

Personally, I think we need to be clear what we need. The way I see it, we need to identify what is key for us right now and work towards bringing that. It's fair to say we need at least 3 signings, a forward, midfielder and a centre back. Some might argue LB or trequartista or whatever, but these are positions where we need immediate reinforcement as has been identified by the club and Allegri themselves.

CB for me is easiest to identify ironically. We're not going to get a new Thiago Silva or someone who does what he did, so we should focus on bringing in a new younger talent who will work well with Acerbi (presuming we brought him to start). Therefore, it's important we have someone who can lead him and cover for him in defence, given as we saw in the recent friendlies, he will push high. I previously identified Astori and Tasci as my personal favourites and recently Mbiwa's been identified and looks to be a realistic target. Something each of these players have in common is they're all captain of their current sides. Leadership is key and I think it's good we're looking at natural leaders for the role. While I do still quite like Astori, I do think Mbiwa's interesting to compliment Acerbi given his pace and ability to recover lost ground.

In midfield, it seems many want a creative player and it's safe to say we need someone solid in front of the defence. I've said it many times, but with our realistic possibility, I think Nuri Sahin's our best option. Not only capable of taking on the duties that Thiago had directing play, I like him because he is a solid player who can do defensive duties too. Ideally, I also like Joao Moutinho (he's probably too expensive), who isn't necessarily a holder (but with Montolivo can alternate), but has the tenacity to win a lot of balls back and press opponents. Technically he's gifted and I think under Allegri would be a great player to have. What I don't really want is Diarra or some holder who doesn't offer us many options going forward.

In attack, I'm really struggling. Ideally, we need a guy with Balotelli's ability (or at least what he showed in the euros). He can lead the line, is technical, physically strong yet quick and a good finisher, but he never failed in his defensive duties. It's hard to think of others who can offer this and are around 25. Dzeko's not a bad option and neither is Damiao, but it's still debatable whether they're the right players. I'm not keen on Matri and unsure of Destro at this point. I also think it benefits us to sell Robinho for a guy off the bench (Matri and Destro would be better good in this respect). I prefer Cassano to Robinho, as he's more creative and imo better coming off the bench as an impact player.

One thing I am keen on is if we're really seriously looking to the future, then buy players who are in their early to mid-20s, not players in their late 20s who will be looking at being 30 in the next couple of years (ruling out guys like Kaka and Tevez). What are the opinions of others here?

[Warro Bantan]

I agree with most, if not all you have said above Dev...and for me, these roles (striker, CB and AM) are indeed where we need players.

My questions are:

1) Do we have a primavera player who can sub for Montolivo? (Valoti?)

2) Will we spend "good" money to get Mbiwa, or Astoria?

3) Will we indeed stick to the "25" age range while looking for a striker, or go with a Berbatov type? (Personally even if it conflicts with the current paradigm, I wouldn't mind Berbatov, as long as his pay package isn't ridiculous, and with the knowledge that he's really coming off the bench for Pato).

In summary Dev, I agree with you that we need reinforcing in the positions as per above, but in so doing, it raised those 3 questions....

[xudong]

My take on your three questions:

1) I think we do, and Valoti seems a valid option. Of course the issue with the primavera player is often not the skill/technique, but experience and mentality. In Italy, a common problem is lack of trust from the coach, and the reason for that is the pressure on coach for short-term results at the cost of long-term development. When young players don't play, they don't get experience; when they don't get play enough and whenever they get they are under pressure too for some immediate impact to impress the coach, they don't play well; vicious cycle ensues. Also, when they don't get to play big games, they won't benefit as much. Seedorf is Seedorf because he started playing big games as a teen. Not saying that everyone will turn into Seedorf as long as they play big games; but certainly, that won't happen if they don't get to play big games. Our own Paloschi actually could not have had a better start. He scored 18 seconds into his debut, he scored 4 goals in the few games he played that season in Serie A and Coppa Italia, but still didn't get enough trust in return. None of the above I said is news in Italy, but unfortunately, no coach seems to have the balls to change that.

2) I don't even know if we will buy Mbiwa or Astori, let alone with good money. If I have to guess, I would say "no" since Berlusconi never seems so intrigued by defenders. Even for Silva, the price was only 10 million that we paid. If he was Ronaldinho or another "fancy" striker, then maybe yes.

3) I don't know about that either. It depends. If we aim for a bench player, I feel that the age is not issue (in that case, I am afraid that Berbatov is still "too expensive" - close to 10M euro transfer fee, and probably no less than 3M in salary; I would go for cheap Italian oldies like Di Natale - a crazy choice, I know - or Caracciolo). If we aim for a starter, then we should keep the age down (in that case, even Tevez is too old for me) so that in one or two years we could sell Pato for money when he finally starts to shine.

[WCmilan]

Yes, for some reason lately our management hasn't been investing at all in our defense.. hardly in our midfield either, in the last 4-5 years our biggest additions (money wise since i wont count boateng, he was more of a suprise) have been all attacking additions.

I don't know if any of you share this same opinion, but I'd like to see Pato on the right side of our attack playing a more wide role with ELS on the left (who said he likes to play wide to the left so he can cut in and go for the net) with someone like tevez or RVP playing in the middle of them or whoever we end up signing.

[xudong]

As for Pato, any position is my favorite as long as it is on the bench or in the injury lab.

[nefremo]

Dev, I completely agree with you on Sahin. Like I said in my previous post a couple pages back (although I didn't want to get into names)....IMO the midfield needs more and Sahin is the perfect candidate. It seems like the rumors about him have disappeared, but I think if Real gets Modric then they will reappear again. I see some news about us being linked to L.Diarra again, and although I think he is a very good and solid player.....I just don't think he is what we need. He doesn't provide the creativity that we need. He will surely be a step up over a lot of our midfielders, but he doesn't offer anything "different" then what we already have (more quality, but still not much different and therefore not what we quite need IMO). So I completely agree with you on him too.

BTW...anyone knows what's going on with Banega? Is he training again after that ankle fracture? I know it would be very risky to buy a player like that (he had a knee injury early in the season....then came back to full fitness and broke his ankle with his own vehicle) and I am not saying Milan should go for him (although when fit he is absolutely one of the best midfielders IMO). But I am just asking to see if anyone knows more about his recovery. As a matter of fact....I would gladly swap Flamini for Banega. One season injury for the other.

On the CB issue. I don't know what we can do at the moment. I haven't seen much of Mbiwa (only saw 1 Montpelier game last season against PSG, and didn't really pay attention to notice Mbiwa). I am split on Astori. People seem to want him and I think he is solid but then again....is he that much better then Acerbi? My opinion is that he is not. He may be better at the moment due to experience (perhaps ability too), but the management needs to identify their plans. If they believed that Acerbi has what it takes...then they need to give him time. And perhaps for the time being, promote Albertazzi. Although, if we can snatch one of Astori, Tasci, Mbiwa (I'll trust the reports and others who have been impressed with him) for cheap then I wouldn't be against it. I am an old school kind of guy and I do believe that a strong defensive line is the foundation for greater things....so if we can further reinforce that foundation then why not (although like I've stated many times, i don't think it's priority before we improve the midfield).

On the attack....like I said previously....If we add some "creativity/dribbling ability/passing ability/dangerous movement" in our midfield to support the forwards, then I am willing to stay put with what we already have. However if I had to make a choice out of what's available and sill try and be realistic....then I would go for Destro (even though I don't even know how realistic that is since there is different reports about him every day). I was impressed with him every time I saw him play this past season, and I watch A LOT of Serie A football. He is strong, quick, and very clever in dangerous situations. He's got a great eye for goal and he can create for others. Not create in a way that Ibra/Xavi/Pirlo...etc create with the ball.... but with movement, holding the ball and bringing others in attack, etc. He is a hard worker too and even though he may not look it, but he is strong on the ball.
- if I was to be not realistic and if the management wants a superstar then I would be ok with Tevez too.

What I do not want however is Kaka. His time here is done IMO. There is no point of going back. It looks like Milan has chosen a different road ahead and I'm ok with that, but now is the time when they need to believe in the decisions they've made. Getting Kaka IMO is a step back, even though for the short term (next season) he might be helpful. But I state again....I do not want him back here. We need to find another Kaka and write different history.

@ WCmilan - I don't think we should play Pato as a right winger. I just don't think he is good enough to play out on the right. His dribbling is below average. He can hardly get past a player unless there is acres of space behind him. His decision making with his passing (his passing ability as well) is not good and he doesn't want to work back to recover the ball more often then not. What he does have is good delivery of the ball however that alone is not enough IMO. I think he is best suited as a CF and he should stay as that. Just my 2 cents.

Forza Milan!!