Week 4: Empoli - Milan (Tuesday, September 23rd 20:45CET)
Full match should be available at http://forum.rojadirecta.es/showthread.php?227724
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apparently this is already abate's best season in number of assists. and it is only fourth week. who saw this coming? not me. Icon_lol2
aka xudong
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I just saw the match (thanks guys for the downloads). Obviously the defending on the set pieces was terrible and not much needs to be said about it. It's not a coincidence that Bonera was involved in both goals. A coach can't do much about individual errors at this stage and level, however he can do something about who is on the field....and I believe that Inzaghi is making a mistake with Bonera. I think the best options at this point are Alex and Rami, or Alex and Zapata. I don't know how Bonera is even considered after all the mistakes he has made already this season.

In any case, to focus more on the positives.....at first look, it seems like a 2-2 draw to Empli away is not a good result. But let me tell you, this is a good team. They are organized when they defend and they attack with some nice and quick moves. Teams will not enjoy playing at this stadium. I saw their game against Roma a couple weeks ago and I thought they deserved a point then, even if they didn't show as much attacking moves as they did today. Of course, the regret is that we allowed two goals from set pieces.

The most positive thing from this game (and this season in general) is the energy from the team. The urgency that they show both when attacking and when defending. These players are working their asses off and it's really a pleasure to see that aspect. We just need more quality when defending. We have conceded. 8 goals in 4 games....that's way too many. We have also scored 10 in 4 games and that's great, but we won't be winning many matches by conceding goals (and not just one) all the time. You would think that 2 goals away at Empoli should be enough to win the game.

In any case, this isn't a disaster. I still have confidence in this team. I like the hunger. I like the fight. I like the energy. We just need to work on the defensive phases. I think a good start is removing Bonera from the line up.
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I also agree that Inzaghi made a mistake in investing too much faith in Bonera. Every coach seems to have his "buddy". Remember Urby? He would always get to play under Seedorf who would make up BS such as de Sciglio should never be played out of his natural position just to justify his using Urby despite Urby played like crap. You would think those coaches must be really smart men. I wonder why they think so differently from us fans? Maybe any members here who is also a coach themselves could shed some lights on why being a coach may have made the difference, if at all. (This is a serious question. I am truly wondering).

A second mistake, to me, is that Torres should have remained on pitch when Pazzini came in. There was only 10 minutes left, and apparently Empoli was totally giving up and barely hanging. Be bold; take a defender off (Bonera, who else?). Pazzini didn't do much but with a Torres along side, I really thought that we could have scored more.

It is a shame that we dropped the two points. It absolutely ruined my day for me. I was not even this disappointed when we lost all three points to Ladri in the weekend.
aka xudong
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Just saw the highlights.

Bonera plays because he's Italian. That's it. I don't like to say "I told you", but for years I've been saying that Bonera is the worst defender in our squad, and many of the guys here that are cursing Bonera now claimed that he's the best that we have, year or two ago. Where are all Mexes critics now? Damn, Mexes is a super-defender comparing to how Bonera performs this season. And he even can't get to the bench.

As for Inzaghi... Well even if attack is much improved, I believe it's more because of Balotelli's departure and good form of Menez and Honda than anything else. For defending, anyone who thinks the defense solely is the issue is blind. Defending is terrible all the way! Midfield is terrible in defensive work. I can honestly say that I never saw a disorganized defending from Milan like this season. Even under Leonardo, when 3 players had no defensive duties whatsoever, defending looked much more organized.

I'm afraid that replacing Seedorf was a big mistake, and that Inzaghi will turn to be just another Leonardo.

That aside, if we are talking about nepotism in Seedorf's Milan, I must disagree. Urby played because Seedorf said at the beginning that he wants a left-footed left back. He wanted to play like Carlo played with Cafu and Serginho. Furthermore, he was honest with everyone, and said that he don't want 2/3 of the squad that he'd got. And Seedorf was the only Milan coach who preferred all other defenders to Bonera.
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(09-24-2014, 09:26 AM)Revolver Wrote: Just saw the highlights.

Bonera plays because he's Italian. That's it. I don't like to say "I told you", but for years I've been saying that Bonera is the worst defender in our squad, and many of the guys here that are cursing Bonera now claimed that he's the best that we have, year or two ago. Where are all Mexes critics now? Damn, Mexes is a super-defender comparing to how Bonera performs this season. And he even can't get to the bench.

As for Inzaghi... Well even if attack is much improved, I believe it's more because of Balotelli's departure and good form of Menez and Honda than anything else. For defending, anyone who thinks the defense solely is the issue is blind. Defending is terrible all the way! Midfield is terrible in defensive work. I can honestly say that I never saw a disorganized defending from Milan like this season. Even under Leonardo, when 3 players had no defensive duties whatsoever, defending looked much more organized.

I'm afraid that replacing Seedorf was a big mistake, and that Inzaghi will turn to be just another Leonardo.

That aside, if we are talking about nepotism in Seedorf's Milan, I must disagree. Urby played because Seedorf said at the beginning that he wants a left-footed left back. He wanted to play like Carlo played with Cafu and Serginho. Furthermore, he was honest with everyone, and said that he don't want 2/3 of the squad that he'd got. And Seedorf was the only Milan coach who preferred all other defenders to Bonera.

Honestly, I still can't stand Mexes either. Bonera's been worse than ever this season so far though, worse than Mexes too. I don't think either should be near the first team, our CBs should be 2 of Rami, Zapata and Alex.

I agree with your points on the midfield and the defending from the whole unit. The side did improve defensively after 30 minutes and I think we should acknowledge that (Tavano had one run through in the second half). It's hard to compare this side to Leonardo's, because Leonardo had some top class midfielders and defenders at his disposal, meaning even if he didn't put huge effort to make sure the defenders were well organised, the players could compensate. However, this doesn't mean Pippo is let off the hook, he needs to put a lot more focus on making sure the team hold their shape, the first 30 minutes yesterday was a complete embarassment.
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(09-24-2014, 09:26 AM)Revolver Wrote: Bonera plays because he's Italian. That's it. I don't like to say "I told you", but for years I've been saying that Bonera is the worst defender in our squad, and many of the guys here that are cursing Bonera now claimed that he's the best that we have, year or two ago. Where are all Mexes critics now? Damn, Mexes is a super-defender comparing to how Bonera performs this season. And he even can't get to the bench.

I have been saying the same thing about Bonera for years. Rarely is a player an actual liability for a team, but he certainly is. This season he has been worse than ever, and I am genuinely nervous whenever he is involved in something on the pitch.
That being said, I don't think he plays because he is Italian, but because he is a senior member of the squad and a leader in the dressing room. But enough is enough, and I hope Pippo and Tassoti can see it too. At his best he was a mediocre player for us. Now he is just shit.
On a more positive note, I really liked how we played after we changed formation yesterday. The 4-2-3-1 looks really promising, and I am already a big fan of Bonaventura. He could be one of our most important players this season.
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Inzaghi post match comments: http://www.rossoneriblog.com/2014/09/24/...ld-change/?
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