The Suso transfer is odd, mostly as the club just got Cerci and already has Honda. Unless some changes are going to happen in the summer when Suso arrives, the club's overloading in one area of the squad while desperately failing to address more obvious concerns.
Apparently rumours today suggest Inzaghi's considering changing to 4-2-3-1, as it looks unlikely he'll get a new midfielder. This means Montolivo and De Jong would be more central with Montolivo being more important in dictating play, while an additional position would be available higher up to accomodate for the numerous AMs/attackers in the squad.
(01-11-2015, 06:48 PM)slifersd Wrote: 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.
I agree that it is the coach's responsibility that he prepares the players for a match, but I also think it's the player's responsibility to adhere to what is required of him as a professional. If the player doesn't fulfill his professional obligations, then they have to take responsibility.
It's the same in any profession. Any kind of manager is responsible for their staff and needs to work to get the best and most productivity out of their staff. However, there are cases where the manager can do little about poor productivity because the staff are unqualified to fulfill their duties or don't apply themselves when working.
Inzaghi during his tenure as coach hasn't exactly been perfect. However, my point is that the problems this season are very similar, if not the same, as when Allegri and Seedorf were managing. That trend suggests the problems are deeper than just the coach doing a poor job.
I do disagree that laziness and complacency are a byproduct of the "Milan family" somewhat (not totally). Milan has generally been known for it's professionalism and work ethic, even players like Seedorf were recognised as hard workers during the peak years of Ancelotti's time in charge. Then you have the club's flag bearers like Baresi, Maldini, Costacurta and Albertini etc. These guys are widely recognised as some of hardest working and professional players to have been in the game when you listen to their colleagues. Things have changed in the past 6-7 years or so, something the club needs to reverse the trend on.
About your follow up post about Inzaghi doing better with what he has. I have posted in the past that while individually this squad looks ok on paper, the messy and disjointed way the squad has been cobbled together makes it difficult to get a coherent side and consistent results. Personally, I think this is a very poor squad, even if the players themselves aren't particularly bad. Until the club as a whole changes direction and starts working to rebuild with a clear plan in mind, this BS will just continue.
Of course, Galliani has basically admitted that there's not really a structured plan in place with his recent comments about the market and targets changing all the time.
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