Banter 2009/2010

Mrki, I love that lineup. Maybe I might put in Antonini for LB and put Zambro at RB, but overall, but even then, the one you put, I thought of, and I would love to see that lineup.

In terms of Adiyiah, honestly, some players are ready to jump right in very young and others aren't. There are plenty of adaptation issues that he has to deal with, so, I'm not willing to just, say he's a waste. I mean, he did win the best player of the U20 World Cup, that has to mean something. I don't think he'll become a Pato-type player, but, I don't think we can say which way he'll go before we see him play for Milan.

My only regret about this Mancini transfer is that he's cup-tied. But, I guess it gives us options so that we can rest Ronaldinho, Pato, and let someone else have the burden. I think the last few games have shown why we need a real striker, just someone to bang in the goals. Without that sort of player, the focus of our opponents defense goes to Ronaldinho. Beckham can provide all the perfect crosses in the world, but, the lack of finishing is hurting us.

Mancini can offer something on either flank, and I really am looking forward to watching him play. I don't think Leonardo sees our CB issue as important or as harmful as we are, otherwise, we would probably have gotten a Mancini-like transfer. Clearly a goal scorer was not available on the market, so, Leonardo pinpointed the other problem, our over-reliance on Ronaldinho. Beckham's crosses are giving us great opportunities, but it seems our strikers are hell-bent on missing them.

I think this Mancini transfer, while nothing earth-shaking, I think shows the type of coach Leonardo is. When he really wants something, he'll get it. I also think that its in this situation we see the difference between Galliani and Berlusconi, and this is why I think that Galliani is not the person we should be blaming for our mismanagement. I hope that we can do well enough in the CL, maintain our Serie A form, that way it will give Leonardo more leeway to grab the sort of players that he needs.

Its also pretty clear that Davide Astori is going to come back here, while there aren't reports about that, I can just tell that our lack of activity for a CB during this winter transfer window means that Milan is simply waiting for the summer to bring him back.

The thing that I like most about Leonardo is that it seems he is able to make players really motivated and get the best out of them. I hope that Borriello stays out of the Bologna game, because I think that if Huntelaar gets some match rhythm, he can maybe provide us with that simple goal scorer we so desperately need.

Then again, I think Pato is that player, but what do I know?

I forgot to write this, but, looking at the transfer activity, if there was a player I think we should go for, it's Anderson.

I really like this player, he has a lot of great qualities, and I think he could be a big part of Milan's future if he were to come. We have the Brazilian group which seems to be a big selling point for a lot of players to come to Milan, and considering Ferguson doesn't seem to want him anymore, I feel like we'd have a good chance.

I think he'd be a realistic target, and I can see our summer transfer season being:

Out: Kaladze, Dida, Janku, Favalli (become assistant), Oddo (maybe), Huntelaar, Inzaghi

In: Paloschi, Astori, a FB, Marcus Diniz, Dzeko (Hunt + $), Mancini (if he plays well)

I don't see why Anderson couldn't come in, when Ferguson wants to get rid of player, he's gone. Our wage bill would be a lot lighter, plus, you can expect youth players to start transitioning in, because that's clearly Milan's stated goal and Leonardo's style.

We could start our 2010-11:

---------------------Abbiati
Zambro/new FB----Thiago--Nesta---Antonini/new FB
------------Anderson---Pirlo---Flamini/Ambro
---------Pato---------Dzeko-----------Ronaldinho

Second team:

--------------Dida
Abate--Astori/Marcus--Bonera/Onyewu--Antonini/De Vito
-----Gattuso---Seedorf--Ambro
--Mancini---Borriello/Zigoni/Paloschi---Verdi/Adiyiah

It's clear that we have a very good defender in Astori, while Marcus Diniz has shown that he is capable of being part of a squad. Antonini has shown that he can be a good player, and I think how he finishes out the season will determine his future, but I think he deserves to play for Milan. Abate I think is a great player, extremely versatile, and I really think that he should be considered a future part of Milan.

When I look at my hypothetical squad, I feel pretty certain Astori and Marcus are coming back, and with Bonera and maybe Onyewu there, it seems that next season we will be looking at a Nesta, Silva, Astori, Bonera, Onyewu/Marcus hierarchy. It seems clear that we need wide players, both in defense and attack.

I'm actually pretty hopeful for the future, and I think we will be seeing a lot more Milan products next season, but as I have said earlier, none of our youth products seem to be in the center midfield role. Verdi impresses me, and De Vito showed flashes of ability, but seemed less confident than Verdi, and that's not surprising as defensive players have far more responsibility than attacking ones. Also, Beretta has shown promise from what I've seen (which is not a whole lot). But he's an attacking player, which is why I'm worried.

Our lack of production of midfield players shows that either Leonardo is happy with what he has, or that we need to go into the market. The only midfielders we have that are worth a look are Strasser and obviously this Hottor player was worth our pursuit. But, Hottor is 16, Strasser is 19, and I don't think either are ready for that step up, neither are Santon/Balo/Pato type players. That's fine, I don't expect them to, but I feel like our youth department and youth recruitment has ensured that we are producing good full backs, wingers, and strikers, but, our midfield production seems poor.

This makes Anderson an even more critical player for Milan. I see an opportunity, and I think that he can be the sort of player that will allow us to transition smoothly from this generation to the next, and clearly, that's happening. It's not as fast as we like, but, I would rather have it that way, then go through what Arsenal fans do in their post-Henry/Vieira/Gilberto/Cole/Campbell era. I don't want a squad of excitement that cannot fight for anything.

Who thinks that if Fiorentina misses out on the CL, we should go for Montolivo? He's been quietly returning to good form, and I think he's honestly the closest player to Pirlo in Serie A. Give them Janku and some money, I think he's worth it.

The thing that worries me most about Berlu's comments about Mancini's transfer is that it seems there's little communication between the management about this squad.

Originally Posted by ACMILAN1983

The thing that worries me most about Berlu's comments about Mancini's transfer is that it seems there's little communication between the management about this squad.

Tomorrow, Berlu will say it is a build-up story by the medias ...

If what is written is really what he said, that means that Berlu didn't care much about the club the last weeks and that Galliani is the real boss nowadays ... nothing else.

Bored to death so I thought I’d go an a fantasy football trip over here...
I read Samaldinho's and i agree about Montolivo, but here are my thoughts...ok fanatasies

We have:
- 4 Gks (Dida, Abbiati, Storari, Roma)
- 11 Defenders (Nesta, Thiago, Bonera, Favalli, Kaladze, Onyewu, Jankulosvi, Oddo, Zambrotta, Abate, Antonini)
- 3 Defensive Midfielders (Gattuso, Flamini, Ambrosini)
- 2 Central Attacking Midfielders (Pirlo, Seedorf)
- 2 Wingers (Ronaldinho, Adiyiah)
- 4 Strikers (Pato, Borriello, Huntelaar, Inzaghi)
Total: 26

The total number of player is fair enough considering we need 2 players for every position = 22 + and extra GK = 23 + 2-3 other versatile players for times of crisis….that’s very fair.

But having 11 defenders!!!! Why??? I know there could be injuries but so could there be in any other position. Common sense says 8 defenders 9 max. So, here’s what I think:

Out:
Dida(0), Kaladze(5), Favalli(0), Onyewu(3), Jankulovski(5), Oddo(5), Gattuso(8), Huntelaar(14), Inzaghi(0) = Total 40

In:
Storari(0), Bonucci(15), Astori(0), Albertazzi(0), Tremoulinas(15), Asamoah/Montolivo(20), Hernanes/Krasic(20), Dzeko(25), Paloschi(5) = Total 100

Obviously we will not invest 100-40=60Mio additional so I think that we can do without Tremoulinas & Asamoah/Montolivo for next year which will cut down the 100 to 65 which is 25Mio above the cash received from sales. Not fair for a club like Milan??? Only in the eyes of Berulsconi who is CLAIMING that he is PAYING for this club and DOES NOT UNDERSTAND why Galliani has brought in a FREE player to add depth to the squad.

I chose Bonucci because I heard he can play as a full back so he does not need to wait for Nesta or Thiago to be out to play + he is an excellent prospect for the future as CB as well and he is Italian.

And I thought that a left back and a central midfielder are not top priority because we’ll have Zambrotta, Antonini, Bonucci or even De Vito in case of crisis and Ambrosini, Flamini, Abate, Pirlo, Seedorf, or even Thiago (who I think can fit well in there) in case of crisis.

Oh and yes, for me Pato is a striker. If the guy is so good that he can play as a winger does not mean that he is one.

And if all that stuff about Ronaldinho is true, I will gladly add him to the “Out” list and get maybe a Cassano in return.

Then we will have something like:

----------------Abbiati-----------------
Bonucci--Nesta--Thiago--Antonini
-------Falmini-----Ambrosini-------
------------Krasic/Hernanes---------
Pato----------Dzeko---------Cassano

Originally Posted by LebRN

Out:
Dida(0), Kaladze(5), Favalli(0), Onyewu(3), Jankulovski(5), Oddo(5), Gattuso(8), Huntelaar(14), Inzaghi(0) = Total 40

In:
Storari(0), Bonucci(15), Astori(0), Albertazzi(0), Tremoulinas(15), Asamoah/Montolivo(20), Hernanes/Krasic(20), Dzeko(25), Paloschi(5) = Total 100

How did you value these players ?
Nowadays, I don't think any club will pay 5M for neither Kaladze nor Jankulovski nor Oddo.

I know it's fantasy but I wouldn't sell Huntelaar and Gattuso.

Then, you seem to overprice some players and seem not to use the real market price of some others ...
- Tremoulinas plays in Bordeaux, he won't be sold at a so high price, I think 10M can be enough, players leave France at cheap prices. The only club to sell their players by overpricing them is Lyon.
- Same for Bonucci, I don't think his price is that high.
- Astori is co-owned if I'm not wrong, so he has a price ...
- Hernanes will be sold around 25M regarding the rumours.
- Dzeko at 25M is what hopes our management, but so far, his price has been closer from the 35M (even more actually but probably because Wolfsburg didn't want to sell him) than the 25M ...
- For Montolivo, I don't know, Fiorentina is a rival, they won't sell him easily, so I think his price can be higher ...

Unfortunately, life isn't Football Manager !!

I can't seem to understand why anyone would assume that Adiyiah is a Pato type player or someone we can use on the wings. If you look at his stature, it should be obvious that he is not a dribbler or someone who can take on players, he is more a big forward, quick and powerfull with a good shot. You will probably have more luck playing a player like him as CB than as a winger...my 2c

We should look into Anderson, looks like ferguson wants to get rid of him, we could give him the role Gattuso had or try use him wide if thats possible.

If we were to get Anderson, I would much rather use him in Dinho's role than any other. I think his ability has been wasted by United in the DM roles.

Geotav, I don't think Berlu's really involved at all these days, but it would be nice if he was aware what is actually happening in his club.

Originally Posted by ACMILAN1983

If we were to get Anderson, I would much rather use him in Dinho's role than any other. I think his ability has been wasted by United in the DM roles.

Geotav, I don't think Berlu's really involved at all these days, but it would be nice if he was aware what is actually happening in his club.

Totally agree, his talent is wasted by Ferguson who plays him as a CM all the time (I think he was a AM before coming to MU ?).

The only profit coming from the way he is used in MU is that now, he is maybe a little more polyvalent (can play more positions if needed).

Originally Posted by bijon

I can't seem to understand why anyone would assume that Adiyiah is a Pato type player or someone we can use on the wings. If you look at his stature, it should be obvious that he is not a dribbler or someone who can take on players, he is more a big forward, quick and powerfull with a good shot. You will probably have more luck playing a player like him as CB than as a winger...my 2c

We should look into Anderson, looks like ferguson wants to get rid of him, we could give him the role Gattuso had or try use him wide if thats possible.

Originally Posted by bijon

I can't seem to understand why anyone would assume that Adiyiah is a Pato type player or someone we can use on the wings. If you look at his stature, it should be obvious that he is not a dribbler or someone who can take on players, he is more a big forward, quick and powerfull with a good shot. You will probably have more luck playing a player like him as CB than as a winger...my 2c

Big? He's the shortest player in Milan if what the official site describes about his height (172 cm) is true

About Anderson, even though I rate him highly, it will cost us a fortune to buy him. At MU, he might not live up to the hype surrounding him in his Porto's days but neither does Nani.

In fact the latter has publicly complained about his lack of playing time and said that he wanted to leave, something that in the past might be a good enough reason for Fergie to send away the "bad boy", just like what had happened with players like Stam, Ruudtje, and even Beckham. But yesterday, he played like hell against and it didn't go unnoticed by SAF.

Besides, I never read Anderson's complaint anywhere

Its not hard to find good players, that is not a problem. But Milan cannot afford them anymore... We can say: "We need Rannochia, Hernanes, Dzeko and Clichy" Those are 4 players that are NOT over-expencive and would fix our squad almost immediately... But Milan cannot pay for anything. We'll invest in Dzeko, 3,4 primavera players, one more good player and that is it.

Im sorry to say but future without serious money is not possible in today's football.

Originally Posted by mrki

Its not hard to find good players, that is not a problem. But Milan cannot afford them anymore... We can say: "We need Rannochia, Hernanes, Dzeko and Clichy" Those are 4 players that are NOT over-expencive and would fix our squad almost immediately... But Milan cannot pay for anything. We'll invest in Dzeko, 3,4 primavera players, one more good player and that is it.

Im sorry to say but future without serious money is not possible in today's football.

Among these 4 players, Dzeko is the most unlikely to come if we only look at the prices of these players ...

Dzeko is "over-priced" (20-25M would be the right price, but Wolfsburg still wants 30-35M).

Originally Posted by GeoTav

How did you value these players ?
Nowadays, I don't think any club will pay 5M for neither Kaladze nor Jankulovski nor Oddo.

I know it's fantasy but I wouldn't sell Huntelaar and Gattuso.

Then, you seem to overprice some players and seem not to use the real market price of some others ...
- Tremoulinas plays in Bordeaux, he won't be sold at a so high price, I think 10M can be enough, players leave France at cheap prices. The only club to sell their players by overpricing them is Lyon.
- Same for Bonucci, I don't think his price is that high.
- Astori is co-owned if I'm not wrong, so he has a price ...
- Hernanes will be sold around 25M regarding the rumours.
- Dzeko at 25M is what hopes our management, but so far, his price has been closer from the 35M (even more actually but probably because Wolfsburg didn't want to sell him) than the 25M ...
- For Montolivo, I don't know, Fiorentina is a rival, they won't sell him easily, so I think his price can be higher ...

Unfortunately, life isn't Football Manager !!

Actually i tried to be as conservative as i could, so here's who i got my valuations:
- Janku & Kaladze were discussed as make-weight in the Dzeko transfer and it was said that this would lower Dzeko's price from 35 to 25 so i figured 5 each.
- As for Oddo, i thought if Janku & Kaladze were worth 5 than why not Oddo? i think he is the same "Calibre" :P
- for Bonucci & Tremoulinas, i'm sure there would be a lot of competition come the summer so i thought that was the max they could reach.
- Astori i actually thought was on a pure loan...did not know he was partly owned like Paloschi.
- Hernanes i read a few times that he could be sold for 20 and Krasic for 15 so i thought i was conservative there too.
- As for Dzeko, i'm actually quite sure that Galliani will work it out like Ronaldinho's deal: City offered 30Mio for him but we managed to sign him for 15Mio because we knew he only wanted to go Milan so Galliani played that card really well. (Dinho's partying aside that is)
- As for Montolivo, i'm sure u r right, but Asamoah will not cost 20 either, so it was kinda averaging it out...
- As for Gattuso, i think all the good that he adds in determination & grit is wiped out by his actual performances...
- For Huntelaar, i thought having Borriello with Dzeko would offer more diversity than Huntelaar & Dzeko...that's all (and we need to raise some cash).

Anyway, as i said, it's just fantasy football, but then again all prices will average out, some more expensive, some less....

On another note, what's the deal with Kaka's injury? could it be true that we actually were the winners from that transfer? is his injury really that chronic? he certainly doesn't deserve that...

As for Adiyiah, let's just wait and see....it seems the only thing that everybody has agreed on so far was that he is very fast and that already is something we showed we lack a lot during the latest games.

Originally Posted by LebRN

On another note, what's the deal with Kaka's injury? could it be true that we actually were the winners from that transfer? is his injury really that chronic? he certainly doesn't deserve that...

All I read is that he's injured, without further explanation as to chronic or not. Anyway, even if part of the reason why we sold him was because of this, it gives us little benefit if we don't spend the money we got.

Originally Posted by LebRN

As for Adiyiah, let's just wait and see....it seems the only thing that everybody has agreed on so far was that he is very fast and that already is something we showed we lack a lot during the latest games.

I hope he's not another Obafemi Martins (they have similar physique) who is superfast, and other than that, offer nothing special.

But I won't judge Aidiyah until I see him play. So, go Dominic!!

Originally Posted by Nalx

All I read is that he's injured, without further explanation as to chronic or not. Anyway, even if part of the reason why we sold him was because of this, it gives us little benefit if we don't spend the money we got.

I hope he's not another Obafemi Martins (they have similar physique) who is superfast, and other than that, offer nothing special.

But I won't judge Aidiyah until I see him play. So, go Dominic!!

yeah, actually Martins jumped right to my head when i was talking about his speed but i sure hope he is better

as for Kaka's money, u r totally right