Andrea Pirlo - Form

Hi guys,

I need to hear the thoughts of the forum. I watch every game or try to and there is one thing i have noticed over the past 2 seasons and i cant believe there is not more media focus on pirlo's form

I have seen him play a handful of games well in the past few seasons but still every game he is selected to play in ancelotti's team. I think he is an amazing player BUT come on, he has been out of form for so long but media, coaches, even supporters do not recognise this.

Is there anyone else that agrees with me, to add matters worse there are many times during a game where he loses possession and he does not run hard for the ball, shows no passion when playing and does not look hungry.

Another thing i would like to point out is that when he was injured early in the year Milan had a rich vein of form and i found that it meant dinho and kaka could play in the same side.

I actually think it maybe time for pirlo to leave milan if he doesn't improve - if you don't agree with me fair enough but before you do take extra notice of his performance when watching a full game.

your thoughts?

i think Pirlo leaving Milan would be a very stupid move, our form depends on him and Kaka to pull all the strings.. I would rather see Ronaldinho go..

Originally Posted by Graeme C

i think Pirlo leaving Milan would be a very stupid move, our form depends on him and Kaka to pull all the strings.. I would rather see Ronaldinho go..

Ohh come on man. say seedorf but R80 r u serious? Can someone tell me what our record was when Pirlo was injured in the begining of the season? and what it became after?

And to the original post, i agree he has not been in form. Our big names should not have more than 5 horrible games a year avg. I think seedorf and Pirlo have had more than that this year.

Originally Posted by Graeme C

i think Pirlo leaving Milan would be a very stupid move, our form depends on him and Kaka to pull all the strings.. I would rather see Ronaldinho go..

Just out of respect buddy. have you watched pirlo in the past two seasons? ever since pirlo returned from injury and we are struggling you know why?
because seedorf + pirlo is fundamental to ancelotti and every formation that contains pirlo and seedorf together is a disaster.
i hate to say this but pirlo is a finished player at young age. i cant remember the last time pirlo performed great (calgari game is nothing to mention) i mean. when pirlo was injured seedorf did the job and milan was playing BEAUTIFUL football. gattuso seedorf flamini/ambrosini was the best midfield combination milan had this season so far.
i think you can figure out the problem.

I think his position needs to be redefined, he CANNOT be restricted to playing just in front of the CB's...all he does there is play sideways passes and short range passes. Something Flamini could easily do. He needs to be given a freer role in the team (or maybe he has a free role but is just lazy...) . At DM he's more of a liability than a benefit to the team.

He is clearly not playing consistently and is out of form---no doubt about that. The question is why does Carlo keep playing him? We have players like Beckham, Seedorf, Flamini who can probably fill his shoes, or at least we can alter out tactical set up.

I believe that players should play on merit. If Pirlo is out of form, then he needs to be benched until he gets his act together. Same deal for Seedorf. But Carlo insists on playing them regardless---and then end up benching promising players like Flamini and Gourcuff.

Biggest Pirlo fan here, but I also agree that he is very inconsistent..its just that he is so good that when he plays bad, its not that bad (unlike Seedorf)

Carlo's not using him well. For the same periods he's sucked, he's played well if he was played a little up the pitch. Even in the last match. He was doing nothing before he started playing LM/LW. In fact, he was involved in most of what Milan created during the last few minutes (not to mention the goal itself).
All those people who are saying Pirlo is finished are GIANT idiots. Sure he's inconsistent but is almost everyone in this squad right now?

The question whether Pirlo is done or not will only be solved if he is utilized better. Until that, we're just posing the wrong questions.

Can only agree with the people that say that he needs to play further up the pitch. I don't think he's played bad in his current position, this season, it hasn't been spectacular, but it's not like he throws away ball after ball, and he does add some security, in that he'll make himself available for a pass whenever a defender is in trouble.

He might not make many spectacular passes anymore, but maybe that's just cause he hasn't linked up well with Pato yet? Or because our midfield don't make any forward runs? Don't forget that he can't really make spectacular long passes if nobody's moving. Everytime he's played further up the pitch he's been way better though. Maybe it's time to move him, and play Flamini as a traditional holding midfielder in his place, atleast until Gattuso returns.

Biggest Pirlo fan here, but I also agree that he is very inconsistent..its just that he is so good that when he plays bad, its not that bad (unlike Seedorf)

I agree, he is not so good as what he used to, but he is not that bad miles better than Seedorf, Ambro and Beckham, its just because he plays too deep so he has to wast his energy in defence but when he Plays as LM he look entirly different

Originally Posted by boring

Carlo's not using him well. For the same periods he's sucked, he's played well if he was played a little up the pitch. Even in the last match. He was doing nothing before he started playing LM/LW. In fact, he was involved in most of what Milan created during the last few minutes (not to mention the goal itself).
All those people who are saying Pirlo is finished are GIANT idiots. Sure he's inconsistent but is almost everyone in this squad right now?

The question whether Pirlo is done or not will only be solved if he is utilized better. Until that, we're just posing the wrong questions.

why dont you keep you limits? the GIANT IDIOTS? boring just watch your tongue

Don't you guys think that Carlo gave him more defensive role due to poor performance of backs. If he is given instructions to cover more for them than there is little from him to see in the attack. But on the other hand if that's so then someone should be put in his position (like Emerson was with sampdoria) and he should either play on other position or sit on the bench.

Play further up the pitch? At the expense of who? Seedorf? Kaka? R80? Pato? Our formation allows for a maximum of 2 playmakers and a striker. WHo should be benched to make way for Pirlo?

I think Pirlo's greatest attribute is being a playmaker in front of the back 4 and dictating the play linking up defense with midfield and midfield with attack. Problem is we don't need him for every game. Some games, we just need solid DM's to keep a compact midfield and other games we need him as our midfield maestro. But Carlo seems to play him all the time regardless..

Sticking him there makes him easy to close down...he should be free to roam around the pitch. Playmakers shouldn't be confined to one particular area. He has TWO(!) DM's to cover for him in any case.

Which leads me to another point...if we have to make such a sacrifice for a player, he shouldn't just be world class. He has to be beyond world class. Our whole style of play is based around a guy who although good...doesn't do enough (imo) to have an entire formation based around him. Two DM's to cover because he can't defend is a tad ridiculous.

Two DMs and still he doesn't roam out much. Is that his personal choice or something that Carlo made him do brilliantly for years and is now forcing him to hanging on to it? Why wasn't he played in a more attacking role in the last match where only Seedorf played as a AM and we had 4 men in the midfield? Is Carlo that dumb?

Another sign of Milan hanging on to past glory.