Leonardo poll

Originally Posted by mzk57

I am a fan of AC Milan and I am also a fan Huntelaar, whether you like it or not But I doubt if you are a true supporter of AC Milan, since you want a loser like Leonardo to stay, instead of voting for him to go, so that AC Milan could get the services of Lippi, Hiddink, Rjkaard or even the best one Mourinho, if we are lucky enough.

So basically, out of the 39 people who voted in this poll only two are "true supporters" of AC Milan?

Good, but not spectacular. I'll think that the win against RM at Santiago Bernabeu was the greatest win during his stint. I think we also managed to get 15 games undefeated? Can't remember the exact stats, sorry.

Given our limited resources, IMO Leo has done a tremendous job for a rookie. Yes, we should've done better at some games, but I think losing Nesta (and Pato) marked the end of our season again. We're just too shaky in defence, passionless in midfield, and toothless in attack sometimes..

All the best to Leo, I personally would love to see him manage Brazil-NT though.

Originally Posted by Iggy

So basically, out of the 39 people who voted in this poll only two are "true supporters" of AC Milan?

Yes

In the light of our mediocre, old and tired squad he gave a superb performance. Sacking him wouldn't change anything. He would rather be the best choice to build a new, young and hungry squad. But, with signing promising players like Yepes, there is nothing to build up...

http://www.footballpress.net/?action=read&idsel=59153

intersting if true.

Sacchi might be the Technical director for Milan. What is the function of Technical director at a football club? Sign players or list out tactics or sit at games and look pretty?

Good, not spectacular.

As many others, I feel he did really well with the resources at hand. The inability to make chances count (we could've realistically been first) is what made me not vote for "wonderful".

Interesting facts about Carlo's last season with Milan and Leo's this season.

Carlo managed to collect 74 points with 75 goals scored and 35 goals conceded (38 games) and Leo with still one game in hand only got 67 points with 67 goals scored and 39 goals conceded.

One can argue that Carlo was lucky to have Kaka last season but still Leo's CBs this season are so much better than Carlo's ones last season.

So, Carlo is not that bad! (Even I hate so much the fact that Carlo lost points cos of his stubborn to (almost) always change tactic to defensive mode when Milan were leading one goal )

Originally Posted by Siregar

Interesting facts about Carlo's last season with Milan and Leo's this season.

Carlo managed to collect 74 points with 75 goals scored and 35 goals conceded (38 games) and Leo with still one game in hand only got 67 points with 67 goals scored and 39 goals conceded.

One can argue that Carlo was lucky to have Kaka last season but still Leo's CBs this season are so much better than Carlo's ones last season.

So, Carlo is not that bad! (Even I hate so much the fact that Carlo lost points cos of his stubborn to (almost) always change tactic to defensive mode when Milan were leading one goal )

Carlo wasn't particularly bad and he tried his best with what he had. Leo's statistics may not be great compared to Carlo's, but there are clear improvements in our play this year, especially given our weaker squad. Our defence also isn't much better, as Nesta was injured for very long periods (last season we had our leader in Maldini almost all the time). Favalli and Bonera also haven't performed to the same levels as last season, plus Abbiati who was great last year has missed much of this and I don't think Dida's been as good.

Our attack has been better in creating chances, but converting chances is a very weak point for us. Dinho hasn't been prolific, Borriello/Hunter inconsistent and Pato often injured.

Finally, I think Serie A is much more competitive on the whole, which is evident in Inter's struggle to the title this year (one can argue Juve and Fiorentina's poor seasons too).

As far as I know, we started to lose points since Nesta was injured which means Leo was very helped by Nesta appearance. Nesta played 22 games this season and this is not few (more than half of full games of a team can play). Favalli's performance or defence performance I would say is also influenced by how the coach train the defence's tactic or pick the suitable player for the defence. It could be the CB is the problem of the defence for Leo but could be also the fullbacks, the defensive midfielders or the defensive task of the team. Former Juve player said that milan midfielders didn't help the defence much and I agree with that and Leo should be also responsible for that.
With Carlo, he lost points pretty oftenly because of single player's weakness. Yes, it is Kaladze. Carlo's tatic when Milan were leading was of course the basic reason why Milan lose points IMO.

Serie A could be more competitive this season or it is Inter that are not performing as same as last year since they seem to concentrate more to Champions League than Serie A (Inter have won serie A again and again and it is very normal that someone will be a bit bored with some routine).

The problem with Loe is that he seemed to be lost when the important players were gone because of injury, something that ALWAYS happen with us (with Ancelotti) for a couple of years. His newbie is the most important thing that influence Milan performance this season IMO. Good at the beginning until 3/4 of the competition and turn to bad to the last 1/4 of the game.

Originally Posted by Siregar

As far as I know, we started to lose points since Nesta was injured which means Leo was very helped by Nesta appearance. Nesta played 22 games this season and this is not few (more than half of full games of a team can play). Favalli's performance or defence performance I would say is also influenced by how the coach train the defence's tactic or pick the suitable player for the defence. It could be the CB is the problem of the defence for Leo but could be also the fullbacks, the defensive midfielders or the defensive task of the team. Former Juve player said that milan midfielders didn't help the defence much and I agree with that and Leo should be also responsible for that.
With Carlo, he lost points pretty oftenly because of single player's weakness. Yes, it is Kaladze. Carlo's tatic when Milan were leading was of course the basic reason why Milan lose points IMO.

Serie A could be more competitive this season or it is Inter that are not performing as same as last year since they seem to concentrate more to Champions League than Serie A (Inter have won serie A again and again and it is very normal that someone will be a bit bored with some routine).

The problem with Loe is that he seemed to be lost when the important players were gone because of injury, something that ALWAYS happen with us (with Ancelotti) for a couple of years. His newbie is the most important thing that influence Milan performance this season IMO. Good at the beginning until 3/4 of the competition and turn to bad to the last 1/4 of the game.

Some fair points. About Nesta, yes he was there for over half of the season, but what Leo relied on him for more than anything was to provide leadership at the back to younger defenders. Thiago has suffered without him and Favalli, whilst experienced and knowledgeable, isn't a natural leader. Imagine our defence last season without Maldini to command the backline, I think he was vital for us. Leo relies on Nesta a lot, and that's because he has to as we have no alternatives and Thiago hasn't developed enough yet to cope without someone to support him. This problem highlights our problem with our lack of depth.

The backline is exposed in our team, this was the case with Carlo and is now with Leo. Whilst Leo is partly responsible for the problem (as was Carlo), I think a lot of the problem is with the players. Some are very lazy coming back (e.g. Pato doesn't sometimes help enough), some physically can't come back quickly enough and/or keep doing so through the game (e.g. Pirlo and Seedorf) and some are both lazy and physically incapable (e.g. Dinho and often Seedorf). Therefore, I don't think this was ever really the fault of Carlo and I don't think it's really the fault of Leo.

I agree Carlo's problem with losing points was often due to individual mistakes. Leo has improved in this area as we don't see Oddo, Jankulovski and Kaladze on the field often. However, this is arguably a little lucky as Leo started playing Antonini and Abate due to injuries.

I don't think Inter are focusing that much more on CL to affect their title run so much. They have played their best football of late in the middle of the final run in of CL. When they struggled most, they weren't at the most competitive point in the season.

I think Leo relies on a number of key players because he doesn't have the alternatives or a great team to begin with. With Carlo we relied more on individuals, but until we make some pretty major changes in the players, whoever coaches will need to rely on the ability of individuals. I posted a link to Milan - Real in the 1989 European cup yesterday, and you can see the difference in that Milan and the modern Milan to see how one works like parts in a greater machine, whilst the other lacks to discipline or cohesiveness to be a machine.

Good view ACMILAN1983. I agree with you.

It's interisting about defensive job for midfielders especially forwards. Is it more because of the player characteristic (Pato lazy to defend just like Ronaldinho, etc) or is it more because of the coach's voice (the order of the coach)? Messi helped to defend a lot, so does iniesta. Such offensive players still manage to do defensive task. I still haven't found any example similar to Ronaldinho but I do think the coach could 'force' the forwards to defend (telling the forwards to help to defend). Forwards don't need wonderful defensive skills, what they need to do is just move back, cover the free area infront of the midfielders and chase the ball if the player with the ball is near that forward.

Originally Posted by Siregar

Interesting facts about Carlo's last season with Milan and Leo's this season.

Carlo managed to collect 74 points with 75 goals scored and 35 goals conceded (38 games) and Leo with still one game in hand only got 67 points with 67 goals scored and 39 goals conceded.

One can argue that Carlo was lucky to have Kaka last season but still Leo's CBs this season are so much better than Carlo's ones last season.

So, Carlo is not that bad! (Even I hate so much the fact that Carlo lost points cos of his stubborn to (almost) always change tactic to defensive mode when Milan were leading one goal )

Between last season and this season, you must take into account that the quality of mid-table teams in the league has increased. You have teams like Palermo and Sampdoria playing good football and taking points away from the top teams which wasn't happening as frequently last season.

Originally Posted by Siregar

Good view ACMILAN1983. I agree with you.

It's interisting about defensive job for midfielders especially forwards. Is it more because of the player characteristic (Pato lazy to defend just like Ronaldinho, etc) or is it more because of the coach's voice (the order of the coach)? Messi helped to defend a lot, so does iniesta. Such offensive players still manage to do defensive task. I still haven't found any example similar to Ronaldinho but I do think the coach could 'force' the forwards to defend (telling the forwards to help to defend). Forwards don't need wonderful defensive skills, what they need to do is just move back, cover the free area infront of the midfielders and chase the ball if the player with the ball is near that forward.

Leo said from the offset when he became coach that he wanted everyone in the team to defend, from attack to defence. I remember this specifically because I have moaned about this problem for ages, and was hopeful Leo may change something.

Personally, I'd argue more than Pato, Dinho's a bigger problem. Pato does occasionally come back to defend, and many times I'd expect it to be him or Borriello dropping back to help with some defensive duties, but rarely both as we need someone up front as an outlet and as a potential threat. Pato is also used on the counter due to his pace, so he is often the man up front.

Dinho on the other hand isn't a striker, and therefore needs to drop back into midfield to really provide more stability. Instead he usually just stands on the left, even if an opponent is right in front of him with the ball. Same goes for Seedorf, who just stands around most times when we're defending. Pirlo when used in the same position will come back to make a 3-man midfield, but Seedorf doesn't do this.

This is one key difference between us and any other top team. When we played United we suffered as we didn't defend in numbers, while they all worked together (including Rooney) to defend. Barca as you said have players like Iniesta and Messi helping out defensively. Inter are another good example, as they defend with pretty much everyone.

^^ Absolutely agree with you on the 2nd last paragraph. Remember that Leo successfully convinced Pato into playing at Right Forward position for Dinho's sake. I also remember Don Carlitto saying that he couldn't manage that. That is also a major reason we conceded so many goals.