Winter Mercato 2011

we must go for David Luiz in the winter and the merits are numerous :
1) he is developing into a world class CB .. a long term replacement for nesta .. who will need replacement soon .. and a backup for him in case of injuries (his back)
2) he has formed a very good partnership with Thiago Silva in the brazilian NT and this will give us the advantage of having two partberships in defence
3) given nesta and thiago are both playing, he can play as a full back better than any of owr own (abate ,, antonini ... !!)
4) he is actually planning to leave in Jan. probably to the most serious offer (chelsea, man city!!) but i think that if milan get in the way given the prosperity in the team nowadays and the fact that it is a place where young brazilians flourish (pato, thiago) he might ne interested in coming
5) the price is fair (25 Mils i think) given the defensive and offensive long term solutions he provide us as i discussed and this is a good change we should grab while he is still in benfica, instead of trying to lure him away during the summer or the following winter while he is in man city (mission impossible )

Originally Posted by shegs

i agree with Revolver on the Cassano issue. i mean, what's the point of having yet another attacker when Pato (about this one; what happens when he returns? does he walk back into the team? or does he stay on the bench while 'Binho continues to squander easy chances?) and Dinho aren't playing ATM? We need midfielders and a solid defender that can play at fullback or slot in at central defence if the need arises. A Branislav Ivanovich type of player.
Aside the fact that tactically Cassano's inclusion would be a nightmfare, he doesn't exactly scream "great for the dressing room"!

Robinho missing easy chances???


He's been in excellent form7 what are you saying..

-------Ibra------pato-------
----------robinho---------
-flamini---------boateng
--------ambrosini------------

When we get a true ACM, then robinho, ibra, and pato will rotate. I think its simple. Ronaldinho is gone, and prob January.

Originally Posted by Elmago99

Robinho missing easy chances???


He's been in excellent form7 what are you saying..

-------Ibra------pato-------
----------robinho---------
-flamini---------boateng
--------ambrosini------------

When we get a true ACM, then robinho, ibra, and pato will rotate. I think its simple. Ronaldinho is gone, and prob January.

what am saying is that Robinho misses easy chances. They might not always be clear-cut chances, but they're decent enough and he should be burying them. he looks uncomfortable when in 1-on-1 situations and he's got two or three that he's squandered to prove it.
As for the highlighted part, i think he can be better especially with his decision-making.

Originally Posted by hitmannq8

I think this team has performed almost as good as Milan 2004/2005 so far up till mid-season. Infact, let me try to dig up stats and find the numbers and compare this season to our best season from 2000-2010 (probably best season since Capello era).

The formation for CL reigning Champions of that year was:
Dida; Cafu, Nesta, Stam, Maldini (Serginho); Gattuso, Pirlo, Seedorf; Kaka (Rui Costa); Shevchenko, Inzaghi (Tomasson)


By the christmas break:
Milan 2003/04 had 9 wins, 3 draws and 1 loss.

We ended the season with 25 wins 7 draws 2 losses with 82 points (but we only played 34 games as there were only 18 teams). We scored 65 goals and conceded 24.

Longest winning run 7
Longest run without loss 19
Longest run without win 2
Clean sheets 15

During the entire season, Milan has not scored more than 1 goal at half time except for the last game of the season where the game was already wrapped up!.. thats the craziest stat I've ever seen.


It also must be noted that we were quite solid during the first half of the season, until January 6 2004 where we played Roma at the Olimpico and Shevchenko scored a double. After that game, Milan truly became the team to watch in Europe.


Now we compare with Allegri's Milan:

Abbiati; Abate (Zambrotta), Nesta, Silva, Antonini; Gattuso (Flamini), Ambrosini, Pirlo (Seedorf), Boateng; Ibrahimovic (Pato), Robinho (R80)

It must be also said that Allegri does not have as much experience as Ancelotti did at that time, and it's his first year with the squad. Ancelotti had won the CL with Milan the previous year. Also Allegri has done alot of tinkering of formations since he took over till he found the right balance.

Milan 2010/2010: 11 wins 3 draws 2 losses, scored 29 conceded 12 so far. In the last 7 or 8 games I believe, since we found our balance, we only conceded 1 goal to Sampdoria from a setpiece. The 11 goals have all been conceded before that due to one reason or another.

Milan of 2003 failed to win 4 games out of 13 by Christmas break, whilst Milan of 2010 failed to win 5 games out of 16 (and still have one more game against Roma). Milan has 7 clean sheets so far in Serie A (plus 2 in CL).



Conclusion:

Allegri is doing awesome for what he has so far. His team is worse than Carlo's of 2004 and the players are older. His stats are about the same as Carlo's at the same time. Hopefully if Allegri gets a fullback and an AM maybe we could witness a new great era.

Originally Posted by Elmago99

While he has way better players than Leonardo did, he doesn't have anywhere near the players we had in 04. That was a complete squad. We must look for 3-4 more players, because I think we're so close to building a team for the Decade!!!!

I have to disagree, we are far from building a team for the decade.

We have about 9-12 players that are going to retire or have their contracts finished in the next 2-3 years. We have to buy that many players in the next 2-3 years, not only 3-4.

From the starting eleven on its own, we will be waving good bye to Nesta, Pirlo, Ambrosini, and Gattuso (the Italian core of the past decade). We cannot keep procastronating, we were supposed to begin the rebuilding phase 3 years ago gradually, the management are the ones that put us in this mess in the first place. I really hope we do keep our Italian identity but I struggle to foresee who can be our next Italian generation? We needs players like Rannochia, Aquilani, Balotelli in our team.

Hopefully, the transition will be simple and easy. Bringing in about 10 players is not an encouraging sign and will not be very easy to have them all player together.

There's a player I really admire and would love to bring in and make him part of this squad for the next 5 years. He is so solid, he's Italian, he's young and he's incredibly versatile and intelligent. What's even better is that he is one of Allegri's favourite players. I wish we can get Andrea Lazzari, he doesn't have to be a starter here, but he can be a very solid squad member.

Originally Posted by shegs

what am saying is that Robinho misses easy chances. They might not always be clear-cut chances, but they're decent enough and he should be burying them. he looks uncomfortable when in 1-on-1 situations and he's got two or three that he's squandered to prove it.
As for the highlighted part, i think he can be better especially with his decision-making.

He is improving a lot. One or two weeks ago Allegri did take a note about Robinho's finishing and his finishing is getting much much better now. What he needs to do now is to score more than 1 goal per game.

Originally Posted by Kaka1899

i hope Tevez is a man of his word and quits football or goes back to Argentina, otherwise hes going to look a real idiot if he signs for somebody else in europe.

He already made an ass out of himself with that whole promising his future to Man City only to demand a transfer in less than five months. Pro footballers are about as credible and trust worthy as the whores walking the streets in Vegas. Don't take their word for anything.

25 m euros s a nice price for a world class CB for long term option, he is a must signing considering Nesta's age, injury and form status...

we signed many CB's, we have useless CB's such as Papa, Yepes(he did good job when he played), Bonera( always a risk for me), we still dont a have solid alternative for Nesta and Silva. dont know useless is a right word to describe our CB's, i had high hopes on Papa at the start of the season then he let us down. its better to sign a world class CB.its a pity we couldnt move for Ranocchia instead Papa. why Galliani why? Why Papa and why not Ranocchia? we lost him to inter.

Lets talk about other needs, i always said that FB's are big problem, other department that we need a major signing is there, Coentraro is nice player. it would be nice signing.

Then Ganso or Pastore or Honda...

pastore is a dream signing but it is very difficult. coentrao is very weak physically to play in calcio. Rat is good and cheap.

Not Milan rumours and may be not true either but...Ranieri will leave Roma in the summer to be replaced by Carlo

Goal.com Christmas Shopping: Who Should Milan Buy?

Goal.com's transfer special series puts the spotlight on the Rossoneri...

With a six-point lead to boast of and a talisman to lead all talismen in the shape of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, things are looking good at Milanello with Christmas approaching. After one of the more rollercoaster summer transfer campaigns, which saw two months of stalling and behind the scenes wrangling give way to the headline-grabbing additions of Ibrahimovic and Robinho, there are now questions over how much Milan should gamble, and indeed, how much they can afford to.

The summer’s issues between Silvio Berlusconi and daughter Marina seem to have been cleared up to the extent that the Rossoneri will be able to add just enough names to provide support to their title run-in. For while their two major summer signings are now leading the line in the continued absence of former star man Ronaldinho, with loan signing Kevin Prince Boateng just behind them, there are now as many questions as ever hanging over their back four as they make the turn into the new year.

So with a first title in seven years in their sights and a Champions League push to support, there now comes an important moment in Milan’s future. A Scudetto and its rewards to catapult the club forward once more ahead of city rivals and perennial champions Inter, but a failure to take advantage of their new loftier position could set them back years again.

Goalkeepers

Though it isn’t their strongest area, neither is this their most pressing concern right now. Christian Abbiati and Marco Amelia may not get along well historically and neither may have the reputation they once had, but for the time being they are looking like a decent pair. Abbiati has rightly been given the nod for most of the season, and while Amelia is hardly the sturdiest of back-ups, it would be frivolous to spend on a third goalkeeper when the money can be better spent elsewhere.

Defence

Milan’s biggest area of concern. Not only have their weaknesses on the flanks been exposed at times this season, but now they have lost Thiago Silva to boot. The Brazilian’s knee injury which will keep him out until at April is the single biggest threat to their title ambitions as things stand.

For the problem full-back slots there are many options. Stephan Lichtsteiner continues to excel on the right for Lazio and would come at a reasonably cheap price, while his team-mate Stefan Radu is maybe the best left-back in Italy at the moment. Genoa have spent most of the season playing former Schalke full-back Rafinha out of position, which means he may welcome a switch in the winter, while there has also been little time playing as a right-back for Cafu-alike Juan Zuniga at Napoli this term. With Marek Jankulovski seemingly on his way out, there were links with Fabio Grosso in return, but this rightly seems like a no-goer. Palermo duo Mattia Cassani and Federico Balzaretti have been among the form full-backs in Serie A over the past 18 months, earning both international recognition, and should be taken seriously as options, while Sampdoria’s Reto Ziegler is much improved. A loan move for Davide Santon from Inter would be audacious, but probably also unwelcome, while the same could be said for Bayern Munich's Diego Contento.

At centre-back there are many imponderables. Oguchi Onyewu has been completely bypassed, despite a promising World Cup showing with the USA. This has left Daniele Bonera and Mario Yepes as Massimiliano Allegri’s first alternatives to Thiago Silva and Alessandro Nesta. With the former now crocked, the best option may well be to buy, especially as Sokratis Papastathopoulos is no longer trusted by the coach. Milan have been linked heavily with Roma’s Philippe Mexes in the past, but this should not be taken too seriously at this point. There needs to be a balance struck between the likes of a Mexes and someone of Benfica man David Luiz’s level and price tag. Italy under-21 defender Angelo Ogbonna has the ability but is struggling for confidence at Torino, while up in Serie A the likes of Andrea Ranocchia, Cesare Bovo and Stefano Lucchini are gaining increasing reputations. Villarreal’s Gonzalo Rodriguez was linked with Milan in the summer also, while former Inter target Gary Cahill could be considered.

Cassani and Radu would be excellent signings to bolster the full-back slots, and with the likes of Jankulovski and Papastathopoulos shipped out, squad space could be made for the introduction of Rodriguez.

Midfield

On the face of it, there are not a million problems with Milan’s midfield department. Andrea Pirlo could perhaps benefit from playing higher up the pitch these days, while the recent injury to Matthieu Flamini has exposed a lack of depth beyond the first four or five options. Kevin Prince Boateng has proven a great signing, while the early-season experiment of using Clarence Seedorf in an orthodox midfield slot has rightly been canned. With the need to find a Gennaro Gattuso with legs and also the need to show more ability on the ball from midfield at times, Walter Gargano could be snapped up from Napoli. Real Madrid’s Fernando Gago is another option. Cagliari’s Daniele Conti may not bring down the average age, but would certainly add some guile and cunning, while the introduction of Fiorentina’s Juan Manuel Vargas would add pace and width but may well also come at a price.

Further up, the Rossoneri have plenty of options in terms of replacing the likely departure of Ronaldinho, with Seedorf and Pirlo both capable of playing behind the strikers. Boateng has also been used in that position of late.

With the introduction of Gargano, there would be an extra piece of a Scudetto jigsaw to fit in front of their back four.

Attack

With Zlatan Ibrahimovic leading the line, and Robinho, Ronaldinho and Alexandre Pato all in support, the season started with Milan looking somewhat top heavy. The expected departure of Ronaldinho and the current injury to Pato have seen the front line take some shape. Upon Pato’s return, one would expect Robinho to fit in behind Ibrahimovic and ‘the Duck’, though this would not necessarily suit the former Manchester City man’s style as much as the left-sided attacking role he is currently employing. The only name really being linked with Milanello right now is Marco Borriello, as the striker could be recalled from his loan spell at Roma, but those bridges would appear burnt as the former Genoa man has proven much better suited to the Giallorossi set-up than he did at San Siro. Milan will no doubt also be mentioned in the Antonio Cassano saga, but they would be better off looking at target men of the ilk of Sampdoria’s Giampaolo Pazzini and Edin Dzeko from Wolfsburg to provide alternatives to Ibrahimovic both in terms of the extra attacking options they’d proved and the lack of cover currently on offer for the Swede. The savings made on Ronaldinho’s wages for the remainder of the season would help to supplement any deal made on a new striker.

IN (4): Mattia Cassani (Palermo), Stefan Radu (Lazio), Gonzalo Rodriguez (Villarreal), Walter Gargano (Napoli)

OUT (3): Marek Jankulovski, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Ronaldinho



Preferred line-up (4-3-1-2)

Abbiati

Cassani – Nesta – Rodriguez – Radu

Gattuso – Pirlo – Gargano

Robinho

Pato – Ibrahimovic

Goal.com are so stupid with their suggestions. I can't believe they seriously propose we make 5 key changes to the first team lineup in January. Cassani wouldn't be bad, but Abate has been very good of late and deserves his starting spot (I don't understand why goal.com keep insisting he's not doing well or we're not satisfied with him). He's also accustomed to Allegri's system which helps a lot.

Rodriguez isn't needed. Unsurprisingly goal.com haven't done their homework with Thiago's injury as they would know he's only likely to miss 2-3 more games until fit. Radu is a potential signing, but I have to see more of him to really see how much he'd add to our squad.

Gargano isn't necessary and isn't needed. Flamini won't miss a huge amount of matches and we're not badly covered in midfield. Getting Gargano would only mean we have too many players in the squad at this point. Also to drop Ambrosini given his recent form is stupid and to move Pirlo in front of the defence is even more stupid.

Robinho is not a playmaker or attacking midfielder and therefore cannot play the role they propose. He's a second forward and that's it. He's either in direct competition with Pato or nothing. Also, we play Boateng as he adds balance to the midfield with Pirlo. Robinho cannot impose himself physically in the same way and therefore we'd become less solid in midfield.

As per usual goal.com have written an article without doing enough research and with some ridiculous ideas. In January, we need consistency to continue the work we've done so far this season. At most we should look at a fullback and striker.

Gilardino said he would love to play with Ibrahimovic ...
And if our surprising new player in January was to be Gilardino ?!

What an awful article, you would think we're in 10th place!

Gargano?

I'm not sure if we'll make more than 1 move or so. Galliani has said a striker ONLY. Is he lying? or will we be surprised and Gilardino would not be a good surprise

EDIT: what does everyone think of Reto Ziegler for LB? (he's cheap, and surely better than nini)

Browsing the Juve boards...many think this will be the lineup next year:

------------------Dzeko------------------
-------------Cassano---------------------
-------------------------------------------
----------------Aquilani------------------
----Pepe/Martinez---------Krasic--------
-------------------Melo---------------------
De Ceglie------------------------Motta
----------Chiellini--Bonucci---------------
---------------Buffon----------------------

Originally Posted by shegs

what am saying is that Robinho misses easy chances. They might not always be clear-cut chances, but they're decent enough and he should be burying them. he looks uncomfortable when in 1-on-1 situations and he's got two or three that he's squandered to prove it.
As for the highlighted part, i think he can be better especially with his decision-making.

i agree.. robinhos doing well now, but he potential to be ALOT better then his current form.. to be completely honest if we look at him at patos age he was regarded just as highly. he's one big talent that hasnt been worked properly.. he messed up being at real and then man city going back to brazil was a decent spell but he shouldve been playing 1st class football when he was in his younger years with either a big team in italy such as us or juve or barcelona in spain.

if thats juves line up next year well.. good luck to us unless we do something! if juves line up looks like that, ours needs to look something like this to stay top..

---Ibra-----Pato------
-------ganso---------
-flamin--pirlo--boateng-
-Abate-silva-luiz-coentrao-
------amelia------------

Originally Posted by GeoTav

Gilardino said he would love to play with Ibrahimovic ...
And if our surprising new player in January was to be Gilardino ?!

That would be surprising. Would be surprising as well if we got any of those players goal.com suggested... Who makes these kinda things up? Gargano? Really?