SL Benfica vs Milan: Ambro and Pippo injured

[Mr. Anonymous]

Wee need a result against Celtic to finsh first in our group.

Have you seen who is first and who is second in the rest of the groups?

There is a big difference.

[remote2book]

omg i cant bieleve this....this is why gorcuff needs to play more he is a good player with potential and should play in plac eof kaka to give more rest to him kaka is soo tired...and playing like crap

[Blacktop]

I HATE that ref!! He is one of the worst...why are we so unlucky when it comes to referees?
Didn't Fandel ref this match? He's been one of our good luck charms in years past...he reffed the '07 CL final and another one of our big matches (CL win, I think).

[remote2book]

we need to finish first omg what do people not understand we wil get slaughtered by other top seeds

[Hasan Rossonero]

Milan are through to the next round.

[Mr. Anonymous]

omg i cant bieleve this....this is why gorcuff needs to play more he is a good player with potential and should play in plac eof kaka to give more rest to him kaka is soo tired...and playing like crap

Yeap Gourcuff looked quite good out there today.

I think this is maybe one of his best outtings.

[Giorgos]

:mad: :mad: So we are first :) it's over grazie Donati go f..ck you st..d Lazio..............

[Tobinho]

Donati wins it for Celtic! Bad news!

[Mr. Anonymous]

we need to finish first omg what do people not understand we wil get slaughtered by other top seeds


I totally agree.

First is really important this year. More important than ever before.

Could you imagine we get Chelsea first?

[Warro Bantan]

This is crazy...so we need what, at least a draw vs Celtic?

[eltomas2]

1-1 and top of our group and since celtic won(at the last minute again) we are already on the next round...bad game for rinno, seedorf, sergio, brocchi,,,kaka and gila were isolated and kaka was our only real threat, nice goal by pirlo but he was a sleeper otherwise, gorky seems confused when he's on the pitch, I honestly don't see how this kid is Milan material, not yet at least...good game by bonera and kala, nesta was shaky but even when he's kind of shaky he's still good...dida was always at the right place, benfica was shooting as if dida had a big target-cross on his chest...

[eltomas2]

Donati wins it for Celtic! Bad news!
why? that means Milan qualifies

[Hasan Rossonero]

Milan would have qualified with a point even if Celtic were to draw Shakhtar. We have the better head-to-head against Shakhtar.

[Blacktop]

dida was always at the right place, benfica was shooting as if dida had a big target-cross on his chest...
He's always been strong at positioning, which is why most shots go right at him...it happened a lot during last year's WC. FSC won't show anything he did tonight though, they'll just show the goals.

**** it, did Cesspool make it into the next round?

The Celtic matchup is gonna be huge, especially taking into consideration what happened in Glasgow nearly two months ago.

[Mr. Anonymous]

1-1 and top of our group and since celtic won(at the last minute again) we are already on the next round...bad game for rinno, seedorf, sergio, brocchi,,,kaka and gila were isolated and kaka was our only real threat, nice goal by pirlo but he was a sleeper otherwise, gorky seems confused when he's on the pitch, I honestly don't see how this kid is Milan material, not yet at least...good game by bonera and kala, nesta was shaky but even when he's kind of shaky he's still good...dida was always at the right place, benfica was shooting as if dida had a big target-cross on his chest...


I agree with eveything accept your assessment of Gourguff...he made some good passes, because of his youth was able to run all over the place and if KAKA could have hit him on a pass he would have had a chance on net.
(Ues his lack of experience make him seem confused out there, but this talent is beginning to shining through)

[MVBasten]

Actually we were secured top 2 spot regardless of result in the Celtic match. Remember that on even points you look at how the teams played against eachother, and we beat Shaktar in that aspect.

[Mr. Anonymous]

He's always been strong at positioning, which is why most shots go right at him...it happened a lot during last year's WC. FSC won't show anything he did tonight though, they'll just show the goals.

**** it, did Cesspool make it into the next round?

The Celtic matchup is gonna be huge, especially taking into consideration what happened in Glasgow nearly two months ago.

Dida was HUGE today. If he was haveing an off day today...we would have been finished!

We have to get quality reinforcements at several position.

[hitmannq8]

Gourcuff had a wonderful wonderful game. He showed speed, vision, defence, offense, skill a little bit of everything. He was great today, he must play more often.

We are through to the next round, but we have to draw against Celtic to guarantee the first spot. If Celtic lose to us, and Shakhtar win (playin home vs Benfica) then Shakhtar will go through on head-to-head. A draw would be enough to qualify Milan as first spot and Celtic.

However, Milan needs to get the first spot, not because of the fear of playing big teams like Real, Barca, Chelsea, Man U, but because we have to play the second leg at HOME. If we have our 2nd leg at the San Siro, we will not lose. We only got eliminated under Carlo's era when we played the 2nd leg away from home (Deportivo, Barcelona, PSV nearly eliminated us if u remember).

Seedorf had a horrendous game, he was so bad today. Kaka was slightly better than the Cagliari game but not good enough. He did a fantastic job to get away from the 2 defenders at the death but his finish wasn't good, he also had a chance to redeem himself but failed. Gattuso also needs some over-time passing lessons this week. I wonder why Ronaldo wasn't used?

[eltomas2]

Actually we were secured top 2 spot regardless of result in the Celtic match. Remember that on even points you look at how the teams played against eachother, and we beat Shaktar in that aspect.
shaktar can only make 9 pts now with one game left,,,milan has 10 so we are in regardless of what anyone does on the last round of games

[Hasan Rossonero]

shaktar can only make 9 pts now with one game left,,,milan has 10 so we are in regardless of what anyone does on the last round of games
Yeah but he was saying that even if Celtic had drawn, Milan would have been through.

[eltomas2]

chelsea are also in...and it seems like liverpool might make it after all

[hitmannq8]

The only way Milan would have not been through is if we lost, and Shakhtar won tonight

[burns]

I totally agree.

First is really important this year. More important than ever before.

Could you imagine we get Chelsea first?
of all the great teams in the champions league, you're worried most about chelsea?

:rollani: :rollani: :rollani:

[ReMad]

Gillardinho misses a great chance for Milan SEE IT HERE (http://www.d1g.com/video/show/?id=1567695)


First goal for Milan by Pirlo SEE IT HERE (http://www.d1g.com/video/show/?id=1567729) "GOAL"

First goal for Benfica by Pereira SEE IT HERE (http://www.d1g.com/video/show/?id=1567752) "GOAL"

Very dangerous chance for Benfica SEE IT HERE (http://www.d1g.com/video/show/?id=1567794)

Nice skills and shoot by Rui Costa SEE IT HERE (http://www.d1g.com/video/show/?id=1567913)

Dissallowed goal for Benfica SEE IT HERE (http://www.d1g.com/video/show/?id=1567920)

Nice freekick played by Pirlo SEE IT HERE (http://www.d1g.com/video/show/?id=1567922)

[Giorgos]

I made the mistake becuase UEFA for a while wrote Celtic 6, we can't loose in San Siro by Celtic !!. Gorky needs time to show his quality, from a few that i saw he wasn't that bad if we consider our whole appearing as a team.

[Mr. Anonymous]

of all the great teams in the champions league, you're worried most about chelsea?

:rollani: :rollani: :rollani:

I was using them as an example you could slot just about any of the group leaders in my statement.

But now that you mentioned it. Who is playing better than them that we can meet in the first round if we were to finish second?

Manu, Real, Barca?

IMO Chelsea is as dangerous as any first place team right now.

[burns]

I was using them as an example you could slot just about any of the group leaders in my statement.

But now that you mentioned it. Who is playing better than them that we can meet in the first round if we were to finish second?

Manu, Real, Barca?

IMO Chelsea is as dangerous as any first place team right now.
we'll have to agree to disagree then. i'd rather play chelsea than any other team top of their groups right now except maybe porto and sevilla (forgot they were top of the group after the win over arsenal yesterday). but, either way, i have faith that we'll get the favorable result at the san siro. :devs:

[ACMILAN1983]

We can always hope though...after all, there is next season...

Please Warro, never say the Inter motto again ;)

As for that match, we were rubbish, but the melodrama here is really over the top. We didn't play well, but the aim tonight was to get a result to qualify without expending too much energy ahead of the Juve match (on both accounts we succeeded). We didn't make it easy for ourselves and invited Benfica onto us (a team desperate to win to stand a chance of qualification), but it's the result that counts in the end. I'm certain the players didn't use too much energy as well, because it was very rare to see anyone running as hard as they can, and most of the match the team dropped extremely deep and waited for Benfica to attack.

The first half started well enough, we looked comfortable and Pirlo's goal was fantastic. However it was unfortunate as Benfica equalised with just as good a goal if not better and it was after that we started to drop of the pace and let them attack, which they did, on numerous occasions taking advantage of Serginho's wing.

The second half was a little more solid on the whole, as Maldini was a rock in defence instead of Serginho, and though we were pressed back very well, we hung on. I'm certain we can do much better than this, but it was clear that the players weren't going to exert more effort and the draw seemed worth playing for in the end.

Players...

Dida - Very good game, looked solid and confident
Bonera - Never as solid as he is at CB
Nesta - Very good game
Kaladze - Excellent, made some very good and important tackles
Serginho - Worst game since returning by far
Rino - Did the ball winning duties well, then gave the ball away almost as much as he won them
Pirlo - Probably our best player for me, excellent game
Brocchi - Solid without offering much
Seedorf - Off the pace a little, seems to be recovering
Kaka - Much better than Cagliari but still not his best. However, signs aren't bad ahead of Juve as he was running well today.
Gila - Nothing to work with but did reasonably well, often winning fouls and even the odd important tackle
Maldini - Much better than Serginho and Very good all round
Oddo - had little impact but stuck to his duties
Gourcuff - Showed touches of quality and did well coming off the bench

Carlo for me did well considering the circumstances. He was aware we weren't doing well and made the appropriate subs, solidifying the left side first, then removing the injured Brocchi before moving to a standard 4-4-2 at the end to have two lines of four for Benfica to pass, making it very difficult for them to breakdown.

There's no need to panic after this match, we got what we needed and I'm sure the players can pick themselves up ahead of Juve, mostly because I don't think they gave their all today.

FORZA MILAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Giorgos]

I was using them as an example you could slot just about any of the group leaders in my statement.

But now that you mentioned it. Who is playing better than them that we can meet in the first round if we were to finish second?

Manu, Real, Barca?

IMO Chelsea is as dangerous as any first place team right now.

I agree, but are you crazy? we will finish first

[MVBasten]

From channel4:
Ronaldo was warming up ready to come on, but pulled up and asked for treatment on his knee, so this could be another setback in Il Fenomeno's battle for fitness.

[Giorgos]

From channel4:
Ronaldo was warming up ready to come on, but pulled up and asked for treatment on his knee, so this could be another setback in Il Fenomeno's battle for fitness.

So never be so sure :bri:

[eltomas2]

From channel4:
Ronaldo was warming up ready to come on, but pulled up and asked for treatment on his knee, so this could be another setback in Il Fenomeno's battle for fitness.
that would really suck!!! I'd be so pissed if I was him, hopefully is nothing serious

[Mr. Anonymous]

we'll have to agree to disagree then. i'd rather play chelsea than any other team top of their groups right now except maybe porto. but, either way, i have faith that we'll get the favorable result at the san siro. :devs:


I guess so. But I would rather finish first and have to face the likes of Rosenborg, Rangers or Marseille. Instead of Chelsea.

[burns]

I guess so. But I would rather finish first and have to face the likes of Rosenborg, Rangers or Marseille. Instead of Chelsea.
oh, of course! :5ok:

[Blacktop]

From channel4:
Ronaldo was warming up ready to come on, but pulled up and asked for treatment on his knee, so this could be another setback in Il Fenomeno's battle for fitness.
*screams*

Now we're in a bit of a fix; do we start the starters for Celtic, seeing as we'll be going to Japan right afterward?

[Besfort]

Only the Goals.
http://www.zshare.net/download/5235670d19957a/

I'll post the extended highlits as soon as I find them.

[jpick]

nesta almost gave benfica the lead after a very bad pass + a couple of clumsy challenges, not his best performance...kala and bonera have been doing well so far, I'm not sure if seedorf or sergino are even playing?? specially sergino...kaka and gila have done pretty average so far...

that was serginho who gave the ball away, not nesta i am pretty sure.

kaka still not his best, pirlo did pretty good, and we got our result. that is all we can ask for.

[remote2book]

of all the teams....as much as i dont want to say this but respect must be given where it is due and that is to inter....they are very dangerous probably the most dangerous they have ever looked in the chamipons league..

[Jeff]

Honestly, it's still way to early to tell. Arsenal and inter may look strong but you know what... somehow t hey just messed it up in one or two games.

Save your judgment till later.... :)

[Bosniaco]

Not a good disply by Milan today. I would say that Dida was ok today and Kaladze was good today together with Nesta. Gattuso, Serginho a lot of bad passes need to fix that by Saturday.

[R9naldo]

channel4:

There were worrying moments in Lisbon when Ronaldo was preparing to make his Champions League debut in a Milan jersey, but pulled up for treatment instead.

“Ronaldo felt a twinge during the warm-up and still wanted to go on, but considering Clarence Seedorf’s ankle wasn’t in good shape I opted to play it safe. Ronaldo is fine and will be available for Saturday.”

[Blacktop]

Dida 6; Bonera 6,5, Nesta 7, Kaladze 7, Serginho 3 (Maldini 6 dal 1' s.t.); Brocchi 6 (Gourcuff 6 dal 6' s.t.), Pirlo 6, Gattuso 5; Kakà 5,5, Seedorf 4 (Oddo dal 28' s.t.); Gilardino 5,5. All: Ancelotti 6.

(Voce d'Italia)

Sheesh, you'd think Zeekay was giving the ratings for Milan games nowadays. :rolleyes: :stupid:

[mly]

We did what I was expecting us to do. Not a brilliant display, but we got away with the result we needed and now we have to gain one point from Celtic to be in the 1st place. Since the game in Japan is a week later, I expect us to play at least 80% of our first team, as the first place is needed to avoid teams like Real, Barcelona, Chelsea, ManU, Arsenal (or is it Sevilla now?)...

of all the teams....as much as i dont want to say this but respect must be given where it is due and that is to inter....they are very dangerous probably the most dangerous they have ever looked in the chamipons league..
Thought the same, but first, in CL the thing is harder than just the team that looks stronger, and two, Inter's group (alongside Arsenal's) is the easiest of all, so we don't really have a good meassure stick to see how strong they are.

[remote2book]

[/QUOTE]Thought the same, but first, in CL the thing is harder than just the team that looks stronger, and two, Inter's group (alongside Arsenal's) is the easiest of all, so we don't really have a good meassure stick to see how strong they are.[/QUOTE]

thats true but our group isnt the brightest either we have been quiet lucky the past seasons and you are right things willl get harder i mean we got byren in the quarters and Man u in the semis and Liverpool in the finals that is not easy for anyteam but as always the teams get stronger every year

[ACMILAN1983]

Dida 6; Bonera 6,5, Nesta 7, Kaladze 7, Serginho 3 (Maldini 6 dal 1' s.t.); Brocchi 6 (Gourcuff 6 dal 6' s.t.), Pirlo 6, Gattuso 5; Kakà 5,5, Seedorf 4 (Oddo dal 28' s.t.); Gilardino 5,5. All: Ancelotti 6.

(Voce d'Italia)

Sheesh, you'd think Zeekay was giving the ratings for Milan games nowadays. :rolleyes: :stupid:

Most probably only a 6 because though he looked solid and confident, the saves he was forced to make were expected saves, and had any one of them gone in then he would have been at fault. Personally, I'd say he deserved 6.5 as he offered a great deal of calm to the backline.

[mrki]

If Ronaldo is out of the Juve game then we are in some big toruble as Gila cant paly against Chiellini. I hope Roonie can play some matches untill january and then - off with him or just get another forward.

Im sorry guys but this is ridiculous. The man cant play 2 mages in a row, didnt play for 5 months, what more? We cant let this happening to Milan.

We need to draw against Celtic so we can play our second let at the SS. As it looks ike now Arsenal will be the toughest 2nd team, but aldough they are good, I dont see them beating us in CL.

[ines_slb]

Great Game...I love you Benfica

[Warro Bantan]

I applaud Benfica on their game, indeed, the Rui Costa that had trouble making our side, repeatedly walked through our team like he was on a Sunday stroll...maybe we respect him too much....:dontkn:

Why he, Seedorf Kaka and Pirlo couldnt play together, with a single striker and DM, is beyond me...but Carlo wins us trophies, so...who am I to judge...

Anyway, trophies arent won in November, so I fear no side´s form at this point in the season..there remains our match vs Celtic, to lend greater knowledge of whom we will face in the round of 16...so I will worry about crossing that particular bridge, when we get there.

I really hope that we dont start to succumb to too many injuries...well, that may be a blessing in disguise, as it may force some purchases in the January window.

[mrki]

My dad, who is Real Merda fan :yuck: , was also speqking how Rui Costa would do great with Milan... It was great to see Rui play like that! BRAVO RUI!

Now we need to push up the tempo and fight untill we drop on the field in 95th minute, as that is the only way we'll beat Juve.

Ronaldo injured??

[Mr. Anonymous]

that was serginho who gave the ball away, not nesta i am pretty sure.

kaka still not his best, pirlo did pretty good, and we got our result. that is all we can ask for.


Kaka is definately not on his best form...he went on a couple of classic runs yesterday with nothing to show for it.
The final run he made at the end of the game would have hit the back of the net no questions in last year's CL.
I guess it happens to all players, better now than in February, and I hope it doesn't last too long.

[jpick]

Kaka is definately not on his best form...he went on a couple of classic runs yesterday with nothing to show for it.
The final run he made at the end of the game would have hit the back of the net no questions in last year's CL.
I guess it happens to all players, better now than in February, and I hope it doesn't last too long.

the problem is, unless he gets some rest, it will continue. he will probaly play 90 on saturday, and then play at least 60 or so versus celtic, be travleiing and hobnobbing for the ballon d'or and other awards, then once that calms down, we have 4 games in like two weeks, two of which are in asia, and one versus inter iirc, so he will probably play most if not all of those. he will be exhausted, then just a short break, and back to work in serie a, later rounds of the coppa italia, ko stages in cl, and intercontinental travel to brazil qualifiers. all of this, by february, and he is already exhausted looking, how will he feel better by then. :moan:

[Warro Bantan]

Yeah, Kaka wont be our saviour this term..all the better to get Gourcuff sorted out early...get him playing...get his confidence, and importantly, the confidence of his team-mates in him, up.

For goodness´s sake, get R99 working properly, and lets not put any pressure on Pato, and we will still be able to win some silverware...it just takes Pirlo, Gila, R99, Gorky and Seedorf to step up, and give us some goals.

Kaka, is only human after all, and needs to be rested at some point.

[Mr. Anonymous]

the problem is, unless he gets some rest, it will continue. he will probaly play 90 on saturday, and then play at least 60 or so versus celtic, be travleiing and hobnobbing for the ballon d'or and other awards, then once that calms down, we have 4 games in like two weeks, two of which are in asia, and one versus inter iirc, so he will probably play most if not all of those. he will be exhausted, then just a short break, and back to work in serie a, later rounds of the coppa italia, ko stages in cl, and intercontinental travel to brazil qualifiers. all of this, by february, and he is already exhausted looking, how will he feel better by then. :moan:

That makes sense. Therefore, thereal problem is lack of a quality replacement for Kaka and several other of our players when then need a rest. So that we don't have a drastic drop in quality if Kaka needs a rest.
I heard Berlu or Galiani saying they don't want to pick-up players in the Transfer Window. That better be a bluff. We need at least quality players in January.

[HO-YOUNG]

Yeah, Kaka wont be our saviour this term..all the better to get Gourcuff sorted out early...get him playing...get his confidence, and importantly, the confidence of his team-mates in him, up.

For goodness´s sake, get R99 working properly, and lets not put any pressure on Pato, and we will still be able to win some silverware...it just takes Pirlo, Gila, R99, Gorky and Seedorf to step up, and give us some goals.

Kaka, is only human after all, and needs to be rested at some point.

We will have to buy Gorky some confidence... He will never get it sitting on the bench. For the others i dont know... you can lead the horse to the water but you cant force him to drink... Pirlo has shown some improvement... Gila not suited for Milan... has not made the grade yet and dont look like he will ever... Seedorf needs a whole new school of thought... R99 is way past his time despite his age...despite his best years gone he has a lot to offer milan... on the other hand we have no options... I despise Galliani and the others holding the money.

[Jeff]

I despise Galliani and the others holding the money.

I understand your frustration, but I would also like to point out that it's important to be feel grateful for what they have done in the past: Milan has invested in some high-quality player (e.g., Kaka`, Pato etc) and hopefully both of them are going to brfing more glory to the club.

Also, where is the satisfying rule? What if we splash $$$ only to realize that no problem is solved? Perfect example will be Chelsea: Despite spending so much money, the number of CL trophies they have collected is: 0.

All I'm trying to say is, be a bit grateful for the wonderful thing that the management has done, and keep your faith (not blindly but thoughtful) in them.

[ACMILAN1983]

We will have to buy Gorky some confidence... He will never get it sitting on the bench. For the others i dont know... you can lead the horse to the water but you cant force him to drink... Pirlo has shown some improvement... Gila not suited for Milan... has not made the grade yet and dont look like he will ever... Seedorf needs a whole new school of thought... R99 is way past his time despite his age...despite his best years gone he has a lot to offer milan... on the other hand we have no options... I despise Galliani and the others holding the money.

Gourcuff hasn't played without confidence, his comments about lack of confidence is that he feels he cannot do the kind of things he'd risk at Rennes. Look at his performances the last couple of times he's come on and he looks a lot more comfortable than he did a month ago.

Gila isn't suited to Milan, hasn't made the grade and doesn't look like he ever will? Have you actually been watching him? The players and management have shown a great deal of support for him so clearly they think he's well suited. Additionally, right now he's one of our best players and is scoring VERY regularly (a total Serie A strike rate of 5 goals in 12 games, but more importantly, in the last to two months or so an average of about a goal a game).

Seedorf doesn't need a new school of thought either, what exactly makes you say that to begin with? This season he's been argubly our best player and has stepped up a number of times. He didn't have a great game against Benfica, but that isn't a shock seeing as he'd just returned from injury and actually played most of the match with a minor injury.

R99 could have been the key factor in our success this season but the problem lies in injuries, not so much age.

As for the management, just because they don't follow suit with the other big clubs and spend like mad in a ridiculously inflated market doesn't mean they're holding money. They spent 25 million euros on an 17 yr old just this past summer, hardly being tight.

[HO-YOUNG]

[QUOTE=ACMILAN1983]

Gila isn't suited to Milan, hasn't made the grade and doesn't look like he ever will? Have you actually been watching him? The players and management have shown a great deal of support for him so clearly they think he's well suited. Additionally, right now he's one of our best players and is scoring VERY regularly (a total Serie A strike rate of 5 goals in 12 games, but more importantly, in the last to two months or so an average of about a goal a game).


Professional Hypocricy!!!! If he is leaves they will not miss him... They will say good riddance to bad rubbish. So will I. He is like a hopefull long ball. Milan does not need a striker that they hope will score they need a striker that will score....

How many Milan fans will bet that he will score on any given day?

[ACMILAN1983]

[QUOTE=ACMILAN1983]

Gila isn't suited to Milan, hasn't made the grade and doesn't look like he ever will? Have you actually been watching him? The players and management have shown a great deal of support for him so clearly they think he's well suited. Additionally, right now he's one of our best players and is scoring VERY regularly (a total Serie A strike rate of 5 goals in 12 games, but more importantly, in the last to two months or so an average of about a goal a game).


Professional Hypocricy!!!! If he is leaves they will not miss him... They will say good riddance to bad rubbish. So will I. He is like a hopefull long ball. Milan does not need a striker that they hope will score they need a striker that will score....

How many Milan fans will bet that he will score on any given day?

What are you even talking about? Do you seriously think the players aren't behind him and want him to leave when you see how they defend him and celebrate his goals? Have you even actually watched him of late? I seriously don't think you have. And if Gila is like a "hopeful long ball" then I can only shudder to think how Kaka can be described right now, as he's anything but consistent.

[HO-YOUNG]

[QUOTE=HO-YOUNG]

What are you even talking about? Do you seriously think the players aren't behind him and want him to leave when you see how they defend him and celebrate his goals? Have you even actually watched him of late? I seriously don't think you have. And if Gila is like a "hopeful long ball" then I can only shudder to think how Kaka can be described right now, as he's anything but consistent.

Seriously, out of ten, how much do you rate Gila compared to Etoo, Fabiano, Benzima, Klose, Toni, Totti, Drogba, Ibra, Treze, RuudVN, Cruz, Crespo, ect?
Would you select him over any of them for your first team?

[Jeff]

I would selecot him over Fabiano, Benzima, Klose, Treze, Cruz, and Crespo.

Totti is a huge question mark.

Etoo, Toni, Drogba and then-now Ibra (a year ago I don't even think he'll make your list, right?) and RVN will start ahead of him. Notice, though, that of all you mention, only:

Treze, Cruz, Totti, Crespo, Toni, and Ibra have played in Serie A; I'll start Toni over him any time (at this moment because Toni is really on form), and so will Ibra (but no one sees that coming). Totti, Cruz, Crespo, and Treze? Nahh.... Totti may start ahead of him but he is quite injury prone + he sometimes just disappeared completely.

BTW, taking any of these players over Gila will be Professor Honestly Hypocrisy because it'll certainly increase the squad's average age, something that a lot of people are complaining about.

Damn if you do, damn if you don't.

And, except for Crespo, I Don't think any of them has played in a lone-striker formation have they? (I'm just asking)

[Jeff]

If he is leaves they will not miss him...

You sure you have seen Milan game lately? This is one of the most ignorant statements I have seen honestly.

[hitmannq8]

Gila's performances seem to have improved vastly in the last month. IMO he's doing right now what is asked of him (or in other words, if he was in school, he is just getting C grades to pass his subjects). What most of us want of him, is to do the exceptional, to get A+ grades, we want to see him do those over-head kicks and win us games out of no-where. I guess thats what HO-YOUNG is trying to say.

[HO-YOUNG]

You sure you have seen Milan game lately? This is one of the most ignorant statements I have seen honestly.

I will smile with you if you score!!!
R10 hug Etoo when he scored even when they were not friends...
"should i pass this ball to Gila or shoot?"
"Hug him and celebrate with him because he needs the support."
"Gila is a great position to score but i just gave him a sitter and he missed"

Honestly we wish he would score more goals and have us jump out of our seats like Sheva or marco did.

He is a below average Joe.

A drowning man will clutch at a straw... As Milan fans you will look to support him because you have no choice.

He is doing his best but his best is not good enough...

He is not our go to man in times of need... he is not a match winner...
I need the eyes that you people have... Gila job is to find the back of the net...
Untill he proves he is one of the best strikers in the world he will be one notch above Olivera......

[ACMILAN1983]

Seriously, out of ten, how much do you rate Gila compared to Etoo, Fabiano, Benzima, Klose, Toni, Totti, Drogba, Ibra, Treze, RuudVN, Cruz, Crespo, ect?
Would you select him over any of them for your first team?

I don't rate players out of 10 because most times it's a pointless endeavour. Out of that list, I'd say Gila is about average. Eto'o may be an excellent player, but I better Gila has better shots:goals rate, even if Eto'o is a more technically gifted player. In that respect Eto'o, like Ibra and Totti, is a totally different player to Gilardino, it's like comparing Gattuso to Pirlo.

Fabiano is on a hot streak, no doubt he has quality, but he's quite volatile too, not just temperament but also on the pitch with performances. While Gila doesn't particularly stand out at Milan, he's been fairly consistent, whilst at Parma he was stunning AND consistent.

Benzema is talented, but still has a lot to prove, so I don't really rate him at this point, essentially he's still an unknown quantity that would cost a fortune to get.

Klose, Toni, Drogba, Treze, RuudVN, Cruz and Crespo are all established stars that have played most of their careers, Gila is 25 and yet to reach his priime. In that respect you'd have to compare most of these players to Gila back when they were 25 and in that respect only a few of them had made a name for themselves, and none of them arguably had the pedigree Gila has shown thus far in his career. Does that mean Gila is better? no, but it does mean in 5 years time there's a realistic possibility he could be compared to these players.

Gila's performances seem to have improved vastly in the last month. IMO he's doing right now what is asked of him (or in other words, if he was in school, he is just getting C grades to pass his subjects). What most of us want of him, is to do the exceptional, to get A+ grades, we want to see him do those over-head kicks and win us games out of no-where. I guess thats what HO-YOUNG is trying to say.

I hope you mean in performances and not goalscoring rates because of late Gila's managed roughly a goal a game (not even Sheva or MVB had that sort of strike rate). :D

Ho Young also said this before, which to me suggests even if Gila does the spectacular over head kicks etc it won't matter..

even if he scores all the winning goals...he still sucks...

[Mr. Anonymous]

As for the management, just because they don't follow suit with the other big clubs and spend like mad in a ridiculously inflated market doesn't mean they're holding money. They spent 25 million euros on an 17 yr old just this past summer, hardly being tight.

Pato was a luxury not a neccesity. (I'm glad they did)

Ronaldinho another luxury that management wasted way too much time on.

Management had their priorities twisted in the last transfer window and didn't spend money on their needs, only their wants.

So IMO worse than spending too much money...they didn't address the teams immediate needs with the money they did spend.

[ACMILAN1983]

Pato was a luxury not a neccesity. (I'm glad they did)

Ronaldinho another luxury that management wasted way too much time on.

Management had their priorities twisted in the last transfer window and didn't spend money on their needs, only their wants.

So IMO worse than spending too much money...they didn't address the teams immediate needs with the money they did spend.

I don't think Pato is a luxury in the slightest. We needed a top class forward and the management clearly bought him with an eye on the future (something which fans want sorted out last I remember). Maybe the Ronaldinho furore was unnecessary and we could have bought some others, I agree that we could have bought others to strengthen (though this squad is capable of a lot more than it's done).

[HO-YOUNG]

Our actions in the transfer market reflect our present situation now. We seem to look for the little good and not see the big bad in our actions... every thing is HOPE... too much HOPE...

[Mr. Anonymous]

I don't think Pato is a luxury in the slightest. We needed a top class forward and the management clearly bought him with an eye on the future (something which fans want sorted out last I remember). Maybe the Ronaldinho furore was unnecessary and we could have bought some others, I agree that we could have bought others to strengthen (though this squad is capable of a lot more than it's done).

I'm not saying he not a good buy. But he couldn't play until January there fore he didn't satisfy an immediate need.

But buying Pato did not satisfy the IMMDIEATE need for a World Class (proven) Striker, (I'm sure he will be but we just can't say right now) a Defender & a World Class but young midfielder. IMO all are things that we are running around looking for now.

We are so slow Benfica was running circles around us. When Gourcuff came on apart from KAKA he was the only burst of speed. These things should have been addressed last summer.

[ACMILAN1983]

I'm not saying he not a good buy. But he couldn't play until January there fore he didn't satisfy an immediate need.

But buying Pato did not satisfy the IMMDIEATE need for a World Class (proven) Striker, (I'm sure he will be but we just can't say right now) a Defender & a World Class but young midfielder. IMO all are things that we are running around looking for now.

We are so slow Benfica was running circles around us. When Gourcuff came on apart from KAKA he was the only burst of speed. These things should have been addressed last summer.

The management put faith in Ronaldo, Gila and Pippo instead of purchasing another world class striker, which hasn't been repaid.