Summer mercato 2009

Ancelotti has said all Milan needs is 2 players to return to the top, a defender to replace Maldini (what about Silva?) and a striker who doesnt necessarily have to be a CF as we have Boriello.

When will our coach/management learn, these players are done! We must create a new team, starting off with benching players like Jankulovski, Pirlo and Seedorf. Actually scratch that, all we need is to get rid of Carlo. Things will then fall into place accordingly.

I swear...i'll be the happiest human being on earth the day that milan gets rid of Carlo and God is my witness...i'm really honest about this..He's destroyed several milan talents and he wants to do more...He needs to go...we have and had so many talents so why can't they throw the ones that suck and bring back the ones we need...Beckham over Abate? how...Abate is young and ways faster than Beckham..His fastness will help our play even with kaka and pato...Gourcuff too should come back...2-3 players in our midfield are to be shipped out leaving space for gourcuff n abate to come in...in Defense i can't wait for the players we'll actually get...I really can't....and i can't wait to see Carlo leave..we're getting a new striker and i'm very anxious who that will actually be...I can't wait

Originally Posted by hitmannq8

Ancelotti has said all Milan needs is 2 players to return to the top, a defender to replace Maldini (what about Silva?) and a striker who doesnt necessarily have to be a CF as we have Boriello.

I for one am relieved Milan realise Thiago will need a partner. Boriello has been injured and surely we will get to use him next season so there is no harm in Milan buying a foreward.

About the midfield, Im not as concerned as some people here. Defence needs sorting first. Its time some fans (I dont mean you hitman or anyone else for that matter) get realistic and realise Berlusconi isnt going to spend the kind of money we would like and Galliani doesnt have the skill to bring the kind of players we need. Be happy, just to see a decent defence next season.

Originally Posted by Jeff

Great point, as usual, Dev. Gattuso's loss, and subsequently the inability of Nesta to ever come back, has cost Milan dearly.

I have been saying for months that Milan needs to sign defenders as Nesta may never come back. But Galliani has been hell bent on ifs and buts.

I know myself that they wont spend like we want them too. If it was up to me I woulda snatched Santacroce or Alex when I had the chance, but you're right that is very unrealistic.. but again - I think with Carlo outta here and a new coach here, we will see changes. The new coach will ask for certain guarantees and I'm sure it will be getting rid of Senderos/Kaladze/Emerson/Favalli and probably Sheva too.

We need to begin a new Era. We should have begun one after Istanbul but no, we decided to keep on going. I hope they realize it now before it's late, because I for one have already lost hope on football, the only reason I watch Milan week in week out is to see players like Zambrotta and Pato perform well. If they continue like this with this attitude they will never return to winning ways again.

Originally Posted by ACMILAN1983

Ah, explains the love for Dida. I don't suppose you're SquireD (or something like that) on Xtratime are you?

Not sure how I missed this question. Anyway, I don't have an Xtratime account. I've browsed the Milan forum there a few times and didn't really care for the holier-than-thou atmosphere.

You know, Carlo is probably right---2 players can take us to the top again, a DM and a striker. The only problem is those 2 have to be world class. A DM like Senderos will not get us anywhere and if we end up picking another Oliveira as our striker then we are looking at 3rd place again next year.

I just hope management does one of 2 things: a) Go out there and SPEND. Get Alex and Benzema/Adebayor OR b) Accept that we don't have money to spend and go for some promising youngsters---pluck them out of Brazil, Serie B, I don't care, but it is far better than picking up yet another washed up player who used to have a reputation.

On top of a couple players we need a new approach to the game. Pirlo needs to be allowed to move forward and help the attack. At the moment he's just restricted to sideways and backwards passes so Carlo really needs to sort this out. I maintain we'll have problems creating chances for our strikers (as usual) if we don't fix our center midfield. I don't see why all other CM's are pushing into the box all the time while Pirlo is stuck in the center circle.

We definitely need a central defender and a left fullback. Shift Janku up to LCM and that's that. Janku's defense is atrocious for a defender and his crossing has been getting worse and worse. Clichy is my perfect purchase for LB if we could get him. Santacroce for CB and we're set for decades.

If we're going to play 4-3-2-1 then we don't need a world class striker. Pato is definitely our starter and anyone else that comes will be complaining for time. We need someone who can score goals but won't complain about being on the bench.

For the 2 AM's spots: Kaka, Dinho and Gourcuff sounds good to me as rotation. If Dinho and Kaka are in particularly good form we could support all 3 players by dropping Gourcuff into the CM position.

All that's left is to drop Seedorf to a bench role, maybe buy a box-box player who can attack and defend equally well and voila a competitive team with minimal money spent.

Just need a decent striker a midfielder and 2 quality defenders. I hope the people in charge actually have a plan of where they want to go with the team...and don't just bring players for the sake of it.

Originally Posted by K77SH C

I for one am relieved Milan realise Thiago will need a partner. Boriello has been injured and surely we will get to use him next season so there is no harm in Milan buying a foreward.

About the midfield, Im not as concerned as some people here. Defence needs sorting first. Its time some fans (I dont mean you hitman or anyone else for that matter) get realistic and realise Berlusconi isnt going to spend the kind of money we would like and Galliani doesnt have the skill to bring the kind of players we need. Be happy, just to see a decent defence next season.

The problem is it's all good and well Carlo saying we need a defender and a forward (personally, I don't see this to be the biggest problem, in my eyes it takes third priority). However, there's no mention of needing a fullback anywhere, which if we don't get sorted it means having to put up with Janku's blunders in LB for another season. We MUST get a defender and a fullback this summer to be truly competitive again imo. A forward is needed, but it depends on how we wish to play, and personally I think Pato's best suited to being the striker in the side rather than second forward, so it's not necessarily the case that we should look at just big target men (especially as we're looking for Borriello to return).

Originally Posted by Mystik

On top of a couple players we need a new approach to the game. Pirlo needs to be allowed to move forward and help the attack. At the moment he's just restricted to sideways and backwards passes so Carlo really needs to sort this out. I maintain we'll have problems creating chances for our strikers (as usual) if we don't fix our center midfield. I don't see why all other CM's are pushing into the box all the time while Pirlo is stuck in the center circle.

One question that was bothering me was why was Pirlo so good before in exactly the same role as he is in now and I think the answer could be attributed threefold. 1) Managers now know our system completely, Pirlo's the instigator of all our play and stopping him will effectively kill us. 2) Pirlo previously had support with Seedorf alongside him. Much like Beckham now, should Pirlo be marked we have another option to move forward. 3) Quite possibly the most important, we used to press high up the pitch. This naturally meant Pirlo would play further up the pitch as you said, and hence he was far more useful.

I agree wholeheartedly that Pirlo should be pushed up though, time has passed and in this role teams are stopping him too easily these days.

Originally Posted by Jeff

Great point, as usual, Dev. Gattuso's loss, and subsequently the inability of Nesta to ever come back, has cost Milan dearly.

thanks Jeff

Originally Posted by Blacktop

Not sure how I missed this question. Anyway, I don't have an Xtratime account. I've browsed the Milan forum there a few times and didn't really care for the holier-than-thou atmosphere.

Fair enough, just I've noticed that SquireD poster is also a big Dida fan. yeah, I'm not the biggest fan of XT either.

I tend to disagree with alot of the sentiments in this thread. I still think the we have one of the strongest midfields in Europe. I dont believe Pirlo can suddenly become a bad player and with Gatusso and Flamini to support we have quality play breakers. Gourcuff adds a completely new flavour and if Seedorf and Ambro can take over fom the contribution that Brocchi and Emerson were supposed to provide then that is even better.

If Pirlo and Jankulovski have been identified this year as players who have underperformed. Then I say that in the last few seasons there has always been KEY PLAYERS who have underperformed. Seedorf in 2005 was awful and then was amazing in 2007. Gatusso had a long patch where he couldnt do anything right. I wont include Pato as he is so young and dips are expected. Even the great Kaka hasnt been anywhere near what is expected of him. Even Malsini would have given us a solid contribution like Billy had he a Thiago next to him and few games to play. And now 2 more KEY PLAYERS - Pirlo and Janku.

There is a reason though, both defence and attack are totally ineffective. I believe by bolstering these two areas then Gatusso and Flamini can concentrate on destroying, Pirlo can concentrate on playmaking, Kaka can concentrate on playing with the ball at his feet (Something he has avoided for a while, because hes busy tracking back after Ronnie or someone else) and Jankulovski can fly up the wings while satisfied Kaladze wont need him (Kaladze will be on the damn bench where he belongs, backup at best).

Every Milan success I have ever witnessed was built on a solid defence. Now we dont even have a defence and that is no exageration.

Lets not forget people on this forum used to beg for Carlo to play Janku as a fullback. He was pretty good too, until the defence he was in started crumbling. You guys honestly think Janku couldnt get in the inter team? It would start eith a chance and continue because the amount of running he does. Janku is a better player than Maxwell and more imprtantly he is settled in this side and plays with as much heart as anyone else in the squad.

So in a sentence, bring a world class striker and a world class centre back and watch Jankulovski fly.

Any one here follows EPL? At the moment the teams in bottom 5 are Stoke City, Newcastle, Blackburn, Middlesbrough and WBA. 3 of the teams are relatively bigger clubs than the likes of Hull, Wigan, Fulham etc above them. WBA will surely be relegated. I hope Hull and Stoke City survive, so that any 2 out of Newcastle, Blackburn and Middlesbrough can go down and their big players would become available for cheap

Some good players IMO are:

Newcastle
- Damien Duff: He could be a Serginho type impact player. Very pacy
- Fabio Colochini: Its better to have him as a backup CB than Kladze
- Obi Fehmi Martins: Remember him?
- Gutieriz: A good battling midfielder

Blackburn
- Roque Santa Cruz: Pure class and better than Borrie
- Beni Mcarthy: Regular international player for South African NT
- Jason Roberts: A good choice for a back up striker
- Morton Gamst Pedrson: More than a decent player
- Bred Emerton: Regular international player for Australian NT
- Matt Darbisher: A good young talent, but English so won't leave EPL

Middlesbrough
- Tunchi Sanli: Regular international player for Turkey NT & very talented
- Afonso Alvez: Struggles in EPL, but still a Brazillian striker
- Jermie Aliadier: Could be a good sub or squad player, striker + winger
- Robert Huth: A good German CB

Originally Posted by rt9

Look, when a player performs consistently over a period of time, it is fair to be dubbed as the "best player in the world", and that changes from time to time, season to season. Last year, it was CR7 with his huge goal haul in the EPL, the year before it was Kaka with his unbelievable CL performances. This year, I would agree with Zidane, that player looks to be Gerard with Messi a close second.

Why a goalkeeper, defender or a defensive midfielder can not be called as the 'Best Player of the World' when they are performing well regularly? With the exception of Cannavaro-2006, I never heard any one saying that Nesta is the best player of the world when it was almost impossible to pass him in 2002-2007 or Paolo Maldini at his prime as the 'Best Player of the World'. Strikers, forwards. wingers, attacking midfielders get all the head lines most of the time, although the likes of Buffon, Casillas, Vidic, Dani Alvez, Lucio, Lahm, Puyol, Bosingwa, Yaya Toure, Mascherano, Van Bommel are as consistent as any one around at this moment of time. If performing consistently well is the thing that makes you the best player of the world, then No one comes even close to Frank Lampard
(I am sure there are many fans jealous of Frank Lampard)

But the best player of the world is the one who along with all the other qualities has a 'Graceful Playing Style'. Just like Roger Federer in tennis and Brian Lara (ret) in Cricket, so thats makes Kaka as the best player of the world, even if he is not playing regularly. Messi 2nd and David Villa 3rd. Any questions?

......and football has their best, AC Milan of course

Without any doubt

I really, really hope Carlo will be SOLD to Madrid for some money as he is still under contract. And as it looks, and Dinho said it, City is interested in him. If people in Milanello see Dinho is no longer capable or has the will to work hard he should also be sold.

Seedorf should be replaced by Gourcuff.

IF Carlo stays Yoan WILL NOT play for Milan. that is 90% sure. And those storyes about Milan solving everything with two players are crap as our midfield is not capable of playing modern football with these players!

Keep Carlo and you'll have Seedorf and Pirlo playing 90% of matches again, with Beckham also always in front of Flamini. As well as Ambrosini.

We need to BUY 3 players, and bring back Gourcuff. LB, CB, CF. And I'd also bring in Hernanes, I saw him now and I can say that this man can play whatever you ask him to.

But it doesnt matter, again, with 2 players only I can surely say we will not win anything as our midfield cant play modern football anymore. Just look at CL games that will follow now and you'll realise in first 20min that our midfielders have nothing to do there right now.

And the more I think the more I actually aggree that Adebayor should realistically be the player we need as CF . But Im afraid Yoan will be on his way to Arsenal. Aldough my wish is Eto'o.

Originally Posted by K77SH C

I tend to disagree with alot of the sentiments in this thread. I still think the we have one of the strongest midfields in Europe. I dont believe Pirlo can suddenly become a bad player and with Gatusso and Flamini to support we have quality play breakers. Gourcuff adds a completely new flavour and if Seedorf and Ambro can take over fom the contribution that Brocchi and Emerson were supposed to provide then that is even better.

This is where you're misunderstanding. He is not a bad player, he's just being rendered ineffective too easily because of his current position on the pitch. Then because the one and only plan we have is to give the ball to Pirlo, our whole game suffers. Opponents just press Pirlo in our half and that's that.

P.S. If our midfield is so strong, why has it been so difficult to create chances on goal for the past couple seasons?

Suddenly? that suddenly is 2 years of not trying on the field...