Carlo Ancellotti: 'YES' or 'NO' ?

If there was a bigger indicator that Carlo is on his way out then I don't know it. Interesting that Galliani has quickly avoided when asked about it. Could well be sensationalist journalism, but part of me does hope it's not because Carlo has made some very poor mistakes tactically this season.

I cant believe for a minute that this "statement" by Berlu is anything but a precurser to the unveiling of some new manager. Berlu is just too media savvy to blurt stuff out, as he knows whatever he says, will make headlines.

My words of caution to all those who want Carlo out: carefull what you wish for, you just might get it

Some likely candidates:

Van Basten: Failed miserably with Ajax, after getting unprecedented sums to spend...ended up benching players he bought, and after a humiliating season, resigns.

Rijkaard: Prob going to Chelski, but in truth, I wouldnt mind him, cant see him coming, and Ronaldinho staying though...

Scolari: Not sure he is capable of managing in Europe, wouldnt want him to take over a club like Milan, and by Xmas, be out of a job because we are 10th in the table.

Who else is there?

Donadoni: Would he leave Napoli? Doubt it, and his start there has been less than impressive.

Spaletti: Wouldnt mind him to be honest...I like the brand of football that Roma plays, yet their defensive frailty in both Serie A and Europe remain a significant deterrent for me...especially when we have to rebuild our defense...

Allegri: Hmmmm..dont know enuf about him..can anyone shed some light?

Leonardo: Has no coaching experience...and so for me cannot be the correct answer, not in a season where we are expected to win either the Serie A, UCL, or both.

So, who else?

I hope Carlo stays, even if its just for one more season, and that he wins the treble, then leaves...for its my opinion that wherever he goes, he will make that team better...as he is a good, if not great coach, as his results have clearly shown.

Unfortunately, he looks like he´s out. What is funny though, is that we have an injury racked defense, with both starters (Nesta and Kaladze) out, and a pairing both into their 40s, lost our best defensive midfielder, our power striker, and Berlu still has the gall to blame Carlo.

Who gave up our non EU space to a washed out has been, when we could have brought in defensive cover? Certainly not Carlo.

Who renewed Maldini´s contract, when he should clearly have retired (good performances this season notwithstanding)? Certainly not Carlo.

Who bought Ronaldinho instead of a powerfull striker in the Adebayor mould? Certainly not Carlo....

What a farce!!!

Who refuses to build a stadium for Milan, and has us playing on a field that causes more injuries than Materazzi on steriods? Certainly not Carlo.

Who spent money to buy a defender who couldnt play for a whole season, because a striker who cant score to save his life has the non-EU spot? Certainly not Carlo.

Sometimes I wish I was just a fan of Waddadah FC from Montego Bay Ja...a small club that is barely surviving...instead of a fan of Milan...whose owner sometimes goes from the sublime to the ridiculous, without a pause.

Carlo though, on the other hand, is not blameless...certainly his over-reliance on Seedorf + Marek, his insistence in playing with only one striker, and other weird substitutions has cost us...but what really were his options?

Would you risk both strikers when the only replacement you have is $heva?

Would you play R80 who makes one tackle per game, vs Seedorf, who at least looks like he is more involved in the game defensively?

Would you play Max+Pirlo+Flamini, in order to play Kaka, Pato and Inzaghi?

I think to be honest, Carlo (again, his choices are a puzzle to me at times) was given (as we say in Jamaica) a "basket to carry water", ie Mission Impossible.

And this is real life, not the movies...but I guess Berlu thinks it is...or at least, that its his movie.

Lets just hope that by making this change, the movie doesnt flop at the box office...though in a way, it would be just reward for fixing something that aint really broke.

Sir Alex has been Man U coach for howmany years? And has won the same amount of UCL titles as Carlo who did it in a fraction of the time the Scot took. Man U has always challenged for the EPL, and had more money than most of the competition, so I dont compare the domestic success...especially when Alex makes the transfers, and we all know Carlo rarely does.

How we cant learn from this example is amazing to me. Its clear as day: Give a good coach enough resources (the ones he asks for, not the ones the fans want...or what will feed your ego), and he will deliver. Not every season, but he will deliver enough over time.

Sheeesh. Go on Berlu...sack the man. Just bring in a coach who will get the team to challenge for trophies next term, and actually win one.

The decision to keep him or not should be based on how you evaluate him not who's potentially available. This post is not pro Ancelotti sacking but I am just saying if you decide to let someone go your decision must be at least 90% based on the person you are letting go, in my opinion.

Rez, I agree with you....but who knows what Berlu is thinking...?

The decision should be based on the person you are letting go...but is it? What was the rationale behind Terim´s sacking? Results, or the fact that Carlo was available?

Exactly, Warro. If another top coach was available, I think Carlo would've been long gone.

Other than SAF, Wenger and may be Benitez who hasn't been available at least once in the last 2 or 3 years or even during this season?

Aside from Mourinho, which other suitable candidate has been available? When Terim was coach, Carlo was deemed suitable by managment (due to his previous ties with Milan and good coaching spells at Parma and JUve). I would say he was unexpectedly available given the way he was sacked by Juve, so managment went for Terim and then suddenly when Carlo became available and poised to take another job, sacked Terim and brought him on.

Honestly, I don't see any other coach available at the moment that fits the bill---ie previous link to Milan and our philosophy, experienced, has had some success in serie a....Who are the candidates:

Rijkaard---no experience in serie A, would not be an automatic choice OVER Carlo, maybe a good replacement once Carlo leaves,

MVB---inexperienced

Gullit---disaster

Donadoni---not yet ready for us. Maybe if he can guide Napoli to some top 4 finishes and play some good football


So who else?

I'd take Guus Hiddink in a second. He might make himself available once his tenure with Chelsea is done.

I can't understand the philosopy of replacing Ancelotti with better qualification (experience) than him. We will be then with Ancelotti for long years except Alex Ferguson is avaialable.

Anyone remember who Ancelotti was when he was hired as Milan coach? What has he won? Nothing! (except Intertoto Cup 1999 )

I agree with Reza. We should base on Ancelotti's performance with Milan (which is very bad this season) and not looking at the available coach who are better than Ancelotti regarding the experience the coach has.

Originally Posted by Warro Bantan

I cant believe for a minute that this "statement" by Berlu is anything but a precurser to the unveiling of some new manager. Berlu is just too media savvy to blurt stuff out, as he knows whatever he says, will make headlines.

My words of caution to all those who want Carlo out: carefull what you wish for, you just might get it

Some likely candidates:

Van Basten: Failed miserably with Ajax, after getting unprecedented sums to spend...ended up benching players he bought, and after a humiliating season, resigns.

Rijkaard: Prob going to Chelski, but in truth, I wouldnt mind him, cant see him coming, and Ronaldinho staying though...

Scolari: Not sure he is capable of managing in Europe, wouldnt want him to take over a club like Milan, and by Xmas, be out of a job because we are 10th in the table.

Who else is there?

Donadoni: Would he leave Napoli? Doubt it, and his start there has been less than impressive.

Spaletti: Wouldnt mind him to be honest...I like the brand of football that Roma plays, yet their defensive frailty in both Serie A and Europe remain a significant deterrent for me...especially when we have to rebuild our defense...

Allegri: Hmmmm..dont know enuf about him..can anyone shed some light?

Leonardo: Has no coaching experience...and so for me cannot be the correct answer, not in a season where we are expected to win either the Serie A, UCL, or both.

So, who else?

I hope Carlo stays, even if its just for one more season, and that he wins the treble, then leaves...for its my opinion that wherever he goes, he will make that team better...as he is a good, if not great coach, as his results have clearly shown.

Unfortunately, he looks like he´s out. What is funny though, is that we have an injury racked defense, with both starters (Nesta and Kaladze) out, and a pairing both into their 40s, lost our best defensive midfielder, our power striker, and Berlu still has the gall to blame Carlo.

Who gave up our non EU space to a washed out has been, when we could have brought in defensive cover? Certainly not Carlo.

Who renewed Maldini´s contract, when he should clearly have retired (good performances this season notwithstanding)? Certainly not Carlo.

Who bought Ronaldinho instead of a powerfull striker in the Adebayor mould? Certainly not Carlo....

What a farce!!!

Who refuses to build a stadium for Milan, and has us playing on a field that causes more injuries than Materazzi on steriods? Certainly not Carlo.

Who spent money to buy a defender who couldnt play for a whole season, because a striker who cant score to save his life has the non-EU spot? Certainly not Carlo.

Sometimes I wish I was just a fan of Waddadah FC from Montego Bay Ja...a small club that is barely surviving...instead of a fan of Milan...whose owner sometimes goes from the sublime to the ridiculous, without a pause.

Carlo though, on the other hand, is not blameless...certainly his over-reliance on Seedorf + Marek, his insistence in playing with only one striker, and other weird substitutions has cost us...but what really were his options?

Would you risk both strikers when the only replacement you have is $heva?

Would you play R80 who makes one tackle per game, vs Seedorf, who at least looks like he is more involved in the game defensively?

Would you play Max+Pirlo+Flamini, in order to play Kaka, Pato and Inzaghi?

I think to be honest, Carlo (again, his choices are a puzzle to me at times) was given (as we say in Jamaica) a "basket to carry water", ie Mission Impossible.

And this is real life, not the movies...but I guess Berlu thinks it is...or at least, that its his movie.

Lets just hope that by making this change, the movie doesnt flop at the box office...though in a way, it would be just reward for fixing something that aint really broke.

Sir Alex has been Man U coach for howmany years? And has won the same amount of UCL titles as Carlo who did it in a fraction of the time the Scot took. Man U has always challenged for the EPL, and had more money than most of the competition, so I dont compare the domestic success...especially when Alex makes the transfers, and we all know Carlo rarely does.

How we cant learn from this example is amazing to me. Its clear as day: Give a good coach enough resources (the ones he asks for, not the ones the fans want...or what will feed your ego), and he will deliver. Not every season, but he will deliver enough over time.

Sheeesh. Go on Berlu...sack the man. Just bring in a coach who will get the team to challenge for trophies next term, and actually win one.

Sorry Warro, but I must disagree in a number of areas here. Firstly though, I do agree that the directors are partly to blame for our faults this season, with wet dreams like Dinho, Beckham and Sheva being brought in rather than targets that were more needed.

That said, Nesta being out is very unfortunate, but Kaladze by no stretch of the imagination is good enough to be a starter. A player of Thiago's calibre/quality should have been brought in at the start of the season. Not to lay all the blame on Carlo here, but from what I gather based on what Cesare Maldini (i think) said when talking about Kjaer, Carlo does play a big part in the players brought in. Therefore, we cannot say Carlo doesn't get the players he wants, because it seems that he plays a big part in the final decisions made. If Berlu and Galliani aren't listening, then it's up to Carlo to stand firm.

Now, more importantly, Carlo's decisions are more than questionable this season. Seedorf and Marek have been horrible yet play almost every match. Kaladze has been even worse and the fact that he's played everytime it's been possible is a very poor decision on Carlo's part.

Then there's this idea of playing 2 strikers with only Sheva around. I'm sorry, but yes even if we're think on the ground, we must aim to get the results by playing our key players. Pato has been brilliant this season and to get benched for a pathetic Seedorf cannot do anything for either confidence or form.

It's also how we're using players that irks me. Pato has quite clearly shown much greater results as a leading forward (you can find statistics on the Pato thread) and Janku has been of much better use in midfield, yet we've stuck them as a supporting forward and fullback, where neither has shown the same quality. Same goes for Pirlo, who's been so poorly used that it's embarassing. Pirlo has shown that when given freedom to express his game and given adequate support in midfield he is devastating, as was the case with Italy. Carlo acknowledged how Lippi used him and accepted it was to great effect, yet stubbornly forces him to play in front of the defence, restricting movement, creativity and most importantly, preventing Pirlo from playing nearer to the attack.

For me, Carlo has done a good job in his time at Milan. However, for a few years now he seems to have hit somewhat of a wall, where he's not changing where he needs to. He doesn't seem to be moving forward with the team, nor getting the desired reactions from his players and his stubborn attitude tactically appears to have lost him fans and patience.

There's one difference with Alex Ferguson and Carlo. Yes Carlo has done brilliantly in CL and has a better record than Ferguson in the competition. However, in his many years at Man Utd, Ferguson has won the league at a fairly consistent rate, winning it on average every couple of years. Carlo is not the same, as in 7 years he's won it once. Many times we have lost it we've been losing points against lesser teams where we struggle to break them down, mentally appear to not take it as seriously as big games and have inconsistency cropping up regularly. More importantly, for almost half the time he's been in charge now, we've not even challenged for the Scudetto and barely scrape it through for CL if we actually do.

For me, and I'm sure for a club of our stature, this is not acceptable given the squad we have. Even with our flaws we should this season be challenging for the league (let's be honest, we've not put in a serious challenge for this half of the season).

There's one reason Carlo cannot be our Ferguson, and that's due to different footballing cultures in England and Italy. I can't remember who, but someone summed it up best when they said in England your given time to build a project up, but in Italy, you don't get that same chance, results count for everything, and unfortunately Carlo isn't producing.

Carlo should go,his coaching has devolved.

Carlo going? seriously? Thank the Lord !

And with Warro's comments.. I have to agree with you on certain degrees but there are some parts where i have to object.

We cannot fully blame injuries and the management for our failures coz firstly, we paid a huge sum of money to have a manager to make decisions ( atleast tactics / line-ups & subs P.O.V ). There were numerous times when Everyone here agreed that teaCarlo made an errorneous subs during a game that cost us, numerous. There were also numerous times when Carlo could have prioritised better when selecting a team ( why use first-teamers in games where he obviously has scant respect for? Coppa for e.g ) but instead he kept using the same bunch of misfits again and again and it ultimately cost us.

Sure its fair to argue that somehow we managed to fight our way back in to contention but it was never really that hopeful of a dream was it to begin with..

I would agree though with u on transfer policies where we signed a striker that cant score a goal to save his life and a defender we cant use for the season coz we gave up our non-eu spot for sentimental reasons.

For the first time I am feeling anger for Berlusconi!

The reason is the way how he just throw away the friendship and loyalty of Ancellotti.
Even Galliani and the players were surprised, so this mean that it was not planned by the management but by Berlusconi alone.

Now I guess that the new coach will be Van Basten as Berlusconi adores this guy.
I will not be surprised if some of our stars leaves Milan as well now, starting from Kaka and Pirlo.

Milan were UNITED. Poor Milan.

To all Ancellotti haters:

Wish you luck and lots of entertaining moments with the New coach, Hope you are right!! but I have serious doubts.

I just read another comparison with Alex Ferguson ... let's give facts/numbers (I looooooove that)

Ferguson arrived as a coach of MU in 1986.
He won his first league in 1993.
So, after 7 years in MU:
- one championship in 1993
- one C2 (?, C1 being CL, C3 being UEFA Cup, C2 = the old "Cup of Cup winners", I don't know what was the name of this competition in English) in 1991
- one FA Cup in 1990
- one League Cup in 1992
(not possible to compare for these competitions because domestic cups are very different and also, there is only one in Italy, two in England for example)

In 7 years, Ancelotti has brought us one championship, two CL (and one Italian Cup). It looks like Ancelotti did better debuts than Ferguson in MU ... then it's easy to compare the last 7 years of Ferguson to the first 7 ones of Ancelotti as MU is now clearly the side Ferguson wants (of course, after more than 20 years, it would be sad if MU wasn't like Ferguson wants it to be !! ).

Come on guys you don't actually believe that Berlusconi actually said that. The newspapers made that up, so they have something to write about, that's it...

13:40 14.05 Sfogo contro Ancelotti, Berlusconi: 'Cado dalle nuvole...'

See, even Berlusconi denied it...