Winter mercato January 2015

[ACMILAN1983]

Awesome post! I agree with everything you said. The sad thing is that we don't have money to sign 1 decent MF & 1 good CF in 1 transfer window. So maybe focus on fixing the midfield first, getting Matri back (we're still paying half of his salary anw) & then get a decent CF later in the summer from the salaries freed up (Mexes, Essien, Pazzo, Nocerino, Robson, and De Jong probably)

Thanks.

Maybe you're right, but question is for all the talk do the club have the money to buy even one midfielder. All summer there was talk of spending on one signing, the end result was the club spent nothing.

Seeing how we have played in the last couple of games, it really makes me wonder, is Inzaghi really a head coach material? I mean, under his management, we have made the same exact mistake game after game for over half a season now. Sure, we can always say we don't have Nesta or Thiago Silva in the back, but plenty of teams would kill for Rami and Alex, and those teams aren't giving up a corner goal every game. The hallmark of a good coach is the ability to make adjustments to make sure they won't make the same mistakes again and again. But we have not shown the ability to do that. Inzaghi is a humble guy who is not afraid to admit when there are problems (unlike the bald golden tied idiot), but he does seem to show a complete inability to make any adjustments.

As far as the market is concerned, I think it is a real shame we are not getting Nastasic. This guy is 21 years old and already proved himself at the top level teams. Talent like him don't come along very often at a discounted price. This guy could have been the pillar of our defense for a long long time, but I guess Alex is going to stick around for 10 years, so we really have no use of him.

I don't want to defend Inzaghi too much, but is this indicative of a problem with the coach, or with the players. Let's face it, the problems the team has under Inzaghi is the same problem the team had under Allegri and Seedorf. It's always the same, an inability to defend set pieces, struggling to cope with counter attacks and failing to take the initiative and search for more goals after taking the lead (usually leading to the side losing the lead). You could even argue these were problems from the Ancelotti era, though I think that it was much less the case before.

It's interesting that Inzaghi and Tassotti both came out yesterday after the match to say it basically wasn't their decision to drop so deep. Inzaghi had no hesitation to say that the players get nervous after scoring. I also found it interesting that when he came, Seedorf's first comments were about working on the mental strength of the group.

To put it very crassly, it sounds like the group of players at Milan have no balls. They're pathetically weak and are afraid to take the game to opponents. I've often lay responsibility with the lack of results with the players rather than coaches since the Allegri days. My thought often being trust the younger guys more than those older who don't perform. Problem is, now the young guys also look weak and afraid on the pitch, showing no character.

I hate to say it, but I think the club needs a Conte like figure, a guy who isn't all that humble or popular, but will give the players a massive kick up the backside and help them grow some balls. Inzaghi appears to be the "friendly big brother".

[am I Milan enough?]

The big announcement was Suso.No disrespect to Suso but that was a bit well deflating.

another Spaniards

[Jay Crisp]

Suso to join.Suso Suso SUSOOOO.He'll join in June , they really are muppets trying to deflect fans foucus from our crap team with a crap out of his dept coach by saying there will be sn announcement.The announcement that 21 yr old bench player from will join in June for free.
I have nothing against Suso hes actually talented and could be an excellent signing.But come on thats not big news.

As Moggi said today " Milan ? Thinking of signing Destro but theyll end up with Osvaldo"...

[slifersd]

Awesome post! I agree with everything you said. The sad thing is that we don't have money to sign 1 decent MF & 1 good CF in 1 transfer window. So maybe focus on fixing the midfield first, getting Matri back (we're still paying half of his salary anw) & then get a decent CF later in the summer from the salaries freed up (Mexes, Essien, Pazzo, Nocerino, Robson, and De Jong probably)

Thanks.

Maybe you're right, but question is for all the talk do the club have the money to buy even one midfielder. All summer there was talk of spending on one signing, the end result was the club spent nothing.

Seeing how we have played in the last couple of games, it really makes me wonder, is Inzaghi really a head coach material? I mean, under his management, we have made the same exact mistake game after game for over half a season now. Sure, we can always say we don't have Nesta or Thiago Silva in the back, but plenty of teams would kill for Rami and Alex, and those teams aren't giving up a corner goal every game. The hallmark of a good coach is the ability to make adjustments to make sure they won't make the same mistakes again and again. But we have not shown the ability to do that. Inzaghi is a humble guy who is not afraid to admit when there are problems (unlike the bald golden tied idiot), but he does seem to show a complete inability to make any adjustments.

As far as the market is concerned, I think it is a real shame we are not getting Nastasic. This guy is 21 years old and already proved himself at the top level teams. Talent like him don't come along very often at a discounted price. This guy could have been the pillar of our defense for a long long time, but I guess Alex is going to stick around for 10 years, so we really have no use of him.

I don't want to defend Inzaghi too much, but is this indicative of a problem with the coach, or with the players. Let's face it, the problems the team has under Inzaghi is the same problem the team had under Allegri and Seedorf. It's always the same, an inability to defend set pieces, struggling to cope with counter attacks and failing to take the initiative and search for more goals after taking the lead (usually leading to the side losing the lead). You could even argue these were problems from the Ancelotti era, though I think that it was much less the case before.

It's interesting that Inzaghi and Tassotti both came out yesterday after the match to say it basically wasn't their decision to drop so deep. Inzaghi had no hesitation to say that the players get nervous after scoring. I also found it interesting that when he came, Seedorf's first comments were about working on the mental strength of the group.

To put it very crassly, it sounds like the group of players at Milan have no balls. They're pathetically weak and are afraid to take the game to opponents. I've often lay responsibility with the lack of results with the players rather than coaches since the Allegri days. My thought often being trust the younger guys more than those older who don't perform. Problem is, now the young guys also look weak and afraid on the pitch, showing no character.

I hate to say it, but I think the club needs a Conte like figure, a guy who isn't all that humble or popular, but will give the players a massive kick up the backside and help them grow some balls. Inzaghi appears to be the "friendly big brother".

To me, a big part of a coach's job is to prepare his players for games, physically, mentally and tactically. If a coach cannot do that, then by definition he has failed. I am not saying everything that's gone wrong is on Pippo's head, but it is his responsibility to make sure his players are mentally prepared. If our objective is to do something in a match, then he needs to make sure his players eats and sleeps with that goal in mind.

I am sure our players have mental issues. No employee will ever have the will of steel when they are too comfortable with their environment. Laziness and complacency is the byproduct of the "Milan Family" environment for us. Even back in the glory days, we have had those issues because players like Seedorf doesn't really even need to run on the field, but Pippo is supposed to be the guy who comes in and change that. Look, i know Pippo has a really tough job, but if he is not prepared to do that, then he shouldn't have been our coach to begin with. His tenure so far is eerily reminiscent of Torres' tenure with us. Started strong, and then start to decline to the point where it is just awful. The effort is probably there, but they are just not equipped to do what is needed from them. We signed Torres for name sake instead of quality, and Pippo is starting to feel the same. Again, it's not all his fault, but he certainly is not getting the job done.

[Graeme_C]

changing the coach wont make much difference. Were not going achieve much with this set of players. I cant see us challenging without spending and a plan.

[Campione]

changing the coach wont make much difference. Were not going achieve much with this set of players. I cant see us challenging without spending and a plan.

Gs plan appears to be to loan as much as possible for this spring (Cerci, Destro?, Witsel? etc) and that isn't expensive.

We are not that far behind Napoli or Lazio. We could reach the third spot, not because of that we are great but because there are only two good teams in Serie A this season, Roma and Juve.

[slifersd]

I am not advocating a change in coach (not right now anyway), since we are just going to end up with another inexperienced, overhyped ex-player who is here for his name (and cheap). But Inzaghi, to me, has been a massive disappointment in his tenure. I know this set of players are a far cry from our glory days, but guys like Abate, Rami, Alex, Lopez, Montolivo, Menez and De Jong are pretty damned good. Sure, they are not going to be a CL winner with those guys, but they should be better than mid table in Serie A. For next year, if we are serious about getting into CL, we need someone who can actually lead a team, not just someone who is buddies with the president and GM. Nepotism has weakened this team for years, and it cannot continue any longer.

[WCmilan]

I'm happy that Suso has arrived, as far as I know he'll be with us now then, as in January on, instead of summer right? Or has he just done his medicals now, and he'll be with the team in the summer? Regardless, he's a bit more to look forward to than Saponara or Niang in my opinion.

I think Merda has been making far more efficient changes than we have.. For one, they hired a coach with experience, and not only experience but he was coaching them when Seria A was at the top, has experience in other top leagues as well. Secondly, they've signed players that they actually need. Their attack was very dull and tbh sucked. A player like Podolski is someone who can put up numbers for them and is a very good player, and then Shaqiri who we all know is a great prospect.

Then there's us.. Suso is a decent signing but wont improve us right away. Cerci is a good signing for the attack, but again the attack wasn't the main issue. We desperately need to sign a good midfielder, Witsel being linked with us just makes too much sense for me to believe our management will actually attempt the signing. I think he's just the type of player our midfield needs. He's a great passer with great vision but his dribbling and drive from the midfield is what this team lacks IMO, someone who can really bring our midfield that special something extra.

[maharaja]

I am not advocating a change in coach (not right now anyway), since we are just going to end up with another inexperienced, overhyped ex-player who is here for his name (and cheap). But Inzaghi, to me, has been a massive disappointment in his tenure. I know this set of players are a far cry from our glory days, but guys like Abate, Rami, Alex, Lopez, Montolivo, Menez and De Jong are pretty damned good. Sure, they are not going to be a CL winner with those guys, but they should be better than mid table in Serie A. For next year, if we are serious about getting into CL, we need someone who can actually lead a team, not just someone who is buddies with the president and GM. Nepotism has weakened this team for years, and it cannot continue any longer.

This whole team is based on nepotism. It works as a traditional family structure, not as a serious modern business. For last 20 years there was never a competition for any management position, people were brought to the club if they were good buddies with Galliani or Berlusconi. Even Barbara Berlusconi is not there because of her excellent CV and experience in management, but because she is the daughter of the boss.

[Campione]

I am not advocating a change in coach (not right now anyway), since we are just going to end up with another inexperienced, overhyped ex-player who is here for his name (and cheap). But Inzaghi, to me, has been a massive disappointment in his tenure. I know this set of players are a far cry from our glory days, but guys like Abate, Rami, Alex, Lopez, Montolivo, Menez and De Jong are pretty damned good. Sure, they are not going to be a CL winner with those guys, but they should be better than mid table in Serie A. For next year, if we are serious about getting into CL, we need someone who can actually lead a team, not just someone who is buddies with the president and GM. Nepotism has weakened this team for years, and it cannot continue any longer.

This whole team is based on nepotism. It works as a traditional family structure, not as a serious modern business. For last 20 years there was never a competition for any management position, people were brought to the club if they were good buddies with Galliani or Berlusconi. Even Barbara Berlusconi is not there because of her excellent CV and experience in management, but because she is the daughter of the boss.

I think this is an important reason why Milan doesn't perform better. We don't have qualified people in many high positions. Inzaghi might or might not turn out to be a good manager. No matter what he should have taken som other manager jobs before Milan like Genoa or Atalanta.

Barbara should be some host at Milanello or something while someone experienced should take her job. Time after time people with low qualifications get top jobs in Milan and that is a major problem.