Summer mercato 2009

Breaking news : OFFICIAL: RANIERI SACKED (channel4)

No, it's not Ancelotti but Ranieri.

Would it make sense for us to start discussing coaching options in the mercato? It looks like Carletto's exit rumors won't go away. If so, my choice would be Rijkaard. He has the resume which includes CL+League championships. I would like to see him come to us if Carlo leaves. I'm not sure Van Basten or Leonardo would have what it takes to lead us to both championships.

Leonardo is the LAST guy I'd want as coach. He's a scout with no coaching experience, and the only reason he'd be brought aboard is because of our Brazilian contingent.

I'd go with Rijkaard, as he's actually won something in club football, something that can't be said for MVB.

Originally Posted by slifersd

No offense, buddy, but how did you figure this Milan team has better players than Man Utd? We have one, maybe two positions in which we might have better player than Man Utd in CAM and CDM, and that's about it. They kick our ass in talent level in every other position.

Van der Sar and Abbiatti are probably playing at the same level, but Man U have so much depth behind Van der Sar.
Our defensive line can't even kiss the boots of Evra-Ferdinand-Vidic-Rafael;
Our central midfield might have an advantage over Anderson-Carrick, but our wing can't be compared to C Ronaldo and Park/Giggs with their talent and work rate;
Man U have three world class strikers in Rooney, Tevez and Berbatov combined with young uprising stars in Macheda and Welback. We, on the other hand, have nobody to play with Pato and have to relay on a 37 year old Pippo to score.

It's always good to support our team, but we as fans can no longer be blinded by our love for the team and ignore reality. This team lacks the talent level necessary to compete with the best in Europe and therefore needs to spend some serious cash to acquire it.

None taken

I said that, in my "point of view" Milan has better players than Man Utd.....well Type of players as I look at football in general.
It's difficult to explain now, but to me, Man Utd only has class in Ronaldo, and defense.
Players like Fletcher, Carrick, O'Shea, Berbatov, Anderson, Park are nothing special...to me

Our attack: Pato Ronaldinho, Midfield: Kaka, Gattuso, Pirlo, Flamini is better (to me) than Manchester's.

As I said, The only department in which we suck is defense, and that is the main problem.
I'm convinced that if we had a proper defense line, we'd be much better than Man Utd.

But there's also something special in that team...and that is that same word - TEAM
But no offense to anyone, we just put our own points of view.

I'd have to agree here with Fret.

I think we forget the affect a healthy, powerful Gattuso has on this team. It is not just whether Pirlo is healthy that dictates the health of this team, but also Gattuso. It is not just the on-the-field presence, but what he brings in confidence to the squad.

With Gattuso healthy, this Milan team was pushing for the scudetto, was winning tough games in the UEFA Cup and looking downright formidable. It is no coincidence that with Gattuso's injury the team had a huge gut-check and had to reevaluate what we were, and that is when we starting losing to Inter and then got knocked out of the UEFA Cup.

I'm not sure if the midfield really has ever been the issue for Milan, even if we keep Seedorf, Dinho, and bring back Gorky, I still don't see the problem. Milan obviously still have Janku who can will in (very well) plus the unknown qualities of Cardacio and Viudez.

It really is the center of defense that is an issue, I don't see how we are linked with Adebayor, when he is so anti-Milan in terms of style and play.

I think we constantly underestimate our players, our midfield boasts the quality of David Beckham, Pirlo, Ambro (who I used to hate but respect more and more), Gattuso, Flamini. This is a great midfield. Plus we can use Janku, Seedorf, in those roles as well.

Our attack is not wasted or old, who cares if Pippo is 37? He is not the sort of player that relies on physical attributes, and if he continues to play like he's playing, why shouldn't we rely on him? Pato is not complete yet, and I think Inzaghi's 13 goals has been critical, and if he can continue to score in that sort of range for two more years, what's the problem?

We have the best attack in Serie A, I don't see why we loose sight of what we have, and that is a great team.

Listening to those coaches and pundits who say Milan need to revolutionize their squad makes me realize why those coaches are coaching terrible teams and why those pundits only have jobs as TV hosts, they don't know how to run a club properly.

Ronaldinho seems very excited for next season and I think he is very determined to show Milan what he can do. It would be very easy for him to just leave Milan, but he's not going to. Milan should grab some talent in defense, and honestly, that's all Milan really needs.

Samaldinho,
The biggest problem right now IMO is Carlo. I've supported him for a long time, and last summer when a lot of people wanted him out I was happy that he stayed and I didn't mind it. But the performances of this team have been in a decline for the past 3 years now (I include the 06/07 season simply because we played terrible football in Italy except for 7/8 games in the CL). I am not going to get in a discussion about the players you mentioned, simply because you might be right. Time will tell. As of right now signs show that the players you are mentioning are letting the colors of the club and the fans down with their performances and the lack of work on the field. It is true that we have been hit with injuries this year and that might be a huge reason of why we are where we are......but it is still no excuse for us to witness some of the shameless performances of the guys that are not injured.

Let me get back to Carlo.....it is obvious that he is a good coach. You don't make 3 appearances in the final of the CL and win a Serie A title. But people here have already said it in the past.......he is no longer the right coach for this group of players. There is no consequences for their shameless performances and there is no authority of Carlo over his players. They miss perform yet they are still in the starting 11. The whole crowd whistles them yet they still start. The whole world (TV, fans, football fans in general, newspapers) points out their horrible showings yet the still walk the field like kings not motivated to even run for their life if they had to.

Time has come down for a person that is going to clamp up on the players' balls. Carlo has proven that he can't do that and even someone that is close to Ancelotti himself and the club has pointed that out, Costacurta. At the time, I didn't agree with Billy but I admit that I was obviously wrong as facts have proven to us that he was speaking the truth.

New coach needs to come, and then we'll see if these players still have it or not. We'll see if they are going to start running and leaving their blood on the field or simply.....their time has come and gone just like it happens to everyone.

As for the midfield not being an issue, I guess I'll totally disagree with that. I would have agreed with you about 2 years ago....but I think it's pretty evident that the midfield has problems that we need to attend to rather then just read names off a paper and get excited about how good our team sounds. It is hurtful to watch a midfield so static and immovable. Slow passing and no pace in the game. No exchanging of positions and turtle-slow build up making us so predictable that probably even a pick up team will have no problem reading where the ball will end up.
However, like I said a new coach might be able to change that as much of it may be down to the way we approach the game.

As good as Inzaghi might be, and he could very well be the best 37 year old striker in the history of the world, we cannot let his scoring record distract us from what we need to do to build a good team.

A season of Serie A is a marathon, as is the champions league. That means, we need to play well for at least 6 months to win those championships. Inzaghi's current fitness level only allows him to contribute for roughly the last two months of the season, which is something we cannot relay on if we are really serious about competing in Serie A and CL. That is why you don't see any european powerhouse teams relay on strikers over 35 to score. Even though we did score most goals in Serie A this season, our offense is hardly reliable by any stretch of the imagination. That is why I think we need to invest in a profilic striker as well as a world class CB to really have a shot at competing against the other powerhouse teams in Europe. If we only fix our defense, we'd be here talking about how our attack stinks this time next year.

I like your positive way of seeing things Samaldinho, and I do agree on most things you said. Particularly that we need to focus on the defence this Mercato. We need to replace everyone in defence except Zambrotta this summer. Nesta is my favorite player, but he's just not reliable enough as someone has mentioned before. Also every top European club really should have three world class CB's, especially if we aim for challenge for the Scudetto and Europe.

One thing I fear though, is that Berlusconi is gonna start meddling with things this summer. He has a habbit of picking up players we don't need, he's running a country, he simply doesn't have the same knowledge of whats going on as Galliani and Carlo. He was the one that brought in Ronaldinho and Shevchenko this summer as far as I know. Without them we could've gotten the CB that we needed, and our Mercato would've been perfect.

Come and get me plee?

http://www.goal.com/en/news/10/italy...g-for-milan-or

Nef,

I am not sure if it is Carlo's fault with what happens with our team all the time. When Milan's loses, we talk about the static midfield, the drop in performance, but, that will happen to any team, no matter how young or old, when they lose. When you lose, those things shine through, especially when our expectations as fans has not been met by the team.

Personally, I think Berlu being the Italian Prime Minister is bad, because he cannot spend money on the team, and when Milan has spent money, like this last summer, it really was not in the positions that we needed. What was Senderos doing in our first team? Why has Kaladze stayed as long as he has? What does it tell you when Favalli is seen as a more consistent defender in a team?

If you have played football (which I'm sure you have) you will know that the worst place to have your weakness is defense. There is a reason why Mourinho builds his team's from the back, that is where Lippi builds his teams from, and Carlo would too, if he was given the options he wanted.

I'm not sure if its Carlo's fault, because when you're missing your star defender (Nesta) for an entire season, plus the midfield enforcer who can compensate for defensive frailties (Gattuso), add onto that Kaka's niggling injuries, you have a recipe for disaster. If you want to talk about a problem, how about the team's dependence on Kaka? Ronaldinho was a smart choice, and it was made seeing how Milan's success was all most directly tied to whether Kaka was playing well or not. Which is something that bothers me more than Carlo's choices.

Carlo is stability, and stability is the key to great teams. There is a reason why Milan has done so well in the Carlo era, that's because the players know who is going to be on the bench and who they will be playing for. Look at Chelsea, a team I used to hate (still sort of do), but I feel for their players. Abramovich has destroyed those players, moving managers like a merry-go-round.

Look at what having an above average keeper in Abbiati has done to the team. Dida seems to be returning to his average levels, not what he used to be, but much better than before. Watching Kalac against Juventus made me remember why we lost to Arsenal, it was Kalac's fault. Sure Milan weren't playing well, but, that Cesc shot was hit by his purse, was near post, and slow. Kalac had the nerve to complain after the goal, it was downhill from there. Milan seemed poised to ride our usual luck and push extra time. That never came.

Seeing as the addition of old Zambro, old Becks, and a young Flamini (who really has only recently done well), with just the change of goal keeper, from a terrible one, to a decent one, has made the team move from 5th place to 2nd, what do you think Milan could do with the proper reinforcements? I don't think it is Carlo, the problem really is Berlu.

Berlu is not a bad guy. I might not agree with his politics, but, as an owner he obviously cares. Its just that he can't be seen spending money on his football team when the world's economy is shambolic. The thing is that Milan need defenders, that is really the only thing I can ask for, especially if Nesta and Boriello can play parts of the season.

And sure, most teams do not rely on 37 year-old-strikers, but most teams don't have the success that Milan does. Most teams don't have a 40 year old captain who still plays at a level that few can approach, still.

I am satisfied with Abbiati, to be honest, I hope he recovers in time to start pre-season. I agree that 3 world-class center backs is critical to a team doing well in their League and Europe. Look at the top-tier team's center: Inter: Cordoba, Chivu, Samuel; Barca: Marquez, Milito, Puyol, Pique; Chelsea: Alex, Carvalho, Ivanovic; etc etc.

Milan did well in the CL in 07 because we were lucky with injuries, looking at our starting XI in the final, that was our first team, without depth. We have been guilty of being without depth, and now, we have depth in every department except the center of defense. That is a major problem, and frankly, Milan's only problem.

When it comes to our midfield, I think the choices have to be very selective, because Flamini has struggled and he was supposed to be all-conquering, yet David Beckham has done the best of our midfield acquisitions this year. What does that tell you? Milan's team chemistry is very important and the club is selective for good reasons. Perhaps after next season we will need to start really evaluating the midfield, but for next year, we are set as far as I am concerned.

Think of the amount of midfielders, very talented midfielders, that have come and gone in the past few years: Dhorosso, Vogel, Brocchi, Emerson, all failed to take spots from our established players. Milan has tried to get the sort of fantasy players we talk about, Oliveira was someone I was very hopefully for, but he failed (though I think for non-footballing reasons). The team is very deliberate with the players they bring in, I think more than any other club in the world.

I agree with you Christian, Zambro is the only player for next year that I would rely upon. I say this over and over again, Santacroce should come next year, he would be fantastic. If Nesta can play even half of next season, then, I would just bring in Santacroce, and maybe a left-back (Grosso or Dossena, I prefer Grosso) and that way Santa and Thiago can formulate the center with heavy input from Nesta.

Boriello is what will determine whether we need to go out and buy a striker. Does everyone forget what he brought to the team when he was playing? People were talking of the Boriello era, and his command of the air and his strength, speed, were all huge for Pato and the team. So, I'd rather take Boriello than Dzeko, Adebayor, or anyone else.

The people closest to the club, Galli, Carlo, etc are all saying that the team just needs a few refreshments. People outside think otherwise, but I trust their judgment, because it is their judgment that has made Milan what it is.

Berlu is not a bad guy. I might not agree with his politics, but, as an owner he obviously cares. Its just that he can't be seen spending money on his football team when the world's economy is shambolic.

That didn't stop the Yankees from opening a new, $1 billion stadium and spending $100 million earlier this year on three new signings.

Anyway, great post.

Originally Posted by nefremo

Samaldinho,

Let me get back to Carlo.....it is obvious that he is a good coach. You don't make 3 appearances in the final of the CL and win a Serie A title. But people here have already said it in the past.......he is no longer the right coach for this group of players. There is no consequences for their shameless performances and there is no authority of Carlo over his players. They miss perform yet they are still in the starting 11. The whole crowd whistles them yet they still start. The whole world (TV, fans, football fans in general, newspapers) points out their horrible showings yet the still walk the field like kings not motivated to even run for their life if they had to.

Time has come down for a person that is going to clamp up on the players' balls. Carlo has proven that he can't do that and even someone that is close to Ancelotti himself and the club has pointed that out, Costacurta. At the time, I didn't agree with Billy but I admit that I was obviously wrong as facts have proven to us that he was speaking the truth.

New coach needs to come, and then we'll see if these players still have it or not. We'll see if they are going to start running and leaving their blood on the field or simply.....their time has come and gone just like it happens to everyone. .

Yes I agree with you that people said it here that Carlo is not the right coach for this group of players...... And I continue that these people KNOWS MUCH MORE than than the management and staff of Milanello.
Not even the players themselves are qualified and intelligent enough to know who is the best person to coach them.
How can they be so arrogant by saying the opposite of what these people here said?


Becks praises 'brilliant' Carletto
Tuesday 19 May, 2009
David Beckham believes he is privileged to play under Carlo Ancelotti and hopes the respected Coach will stay at Milan.

Ancelotti has been strongly linked with Premier League giants Chelsea after a disappointing season at San Siro.

But Beckham has revealed just how talented Carletto is and how popular he is with the players.

“Ancelotti has exceptional man-management skills and he is a brilliant Coach,” Beckham told the Daily Mail.

“It is a privilege to have played under a tactician of his class. He really is one of the greats.

“I have been lucky in my career to work with some of the best in the business and Ancelotti definitely comes under that category.

“I just wish I had been able to play for him for many more years - that would have been fun.

“It's not just my opinion, everyone at Milan loves him adores him and doesn't want him to go. They are pleading with him to stay.

“I know that wherever he goes and whatever he does he will always have my admiration and respect.”


If Becks comments were not enough I will post also Maldini's comments about this issue.
And excuse me if I were a little too sarcastic in my comment.

I don't know if this has been discussed, but Berlusconi said yesterday that there is a "good chance" that Adebayor will play for Milan next season.

various sources, including soccernet.

If Adebayor comes to Milan, not only will we be wasting money, but we will have a player who does not respond well to pressure or to a big game.

I would love to be proven wrong, of course, but I do not like Adebayor's playing style and watching his frankly lazy play against Man Utd summed him up as a player to me.

I think that Adebayor and other players that Galli and Berlu talk about are used as screens for the real targets of Milan. This has been a Milan tactic for many years now, and in fact Adebayor was supposed to be at Milan last season as well, but, the true target was Ronaldinho. So, I doubt Adebayor will be coming, I hope he's not.

Originally Posted by Samaldinho

If Adebayor comes to Milan, not only will we be wasting money, but we will have a player who does not respond well to pressure or to a big game.

I would love to be proven wrong, of course, but I do not like Adebayor's playing style and watching his frankly lazy play against Man Utd summed him up as a player to me.

I think that Adebayor and other players that Galli and Berlu talk about are used as screens for the real targets of Milan. This has been a Milan tactic for many years now, and in fact Adebayor was supposed to be at Milan last season as well, but, the true target was Ronaldinho. So, I doubt Adebayor will be coming, I hope he's not.

The problem is that Adebayor seems to be wanted since 2-3 years now, like Ronaldinho was before joining us ...

I agree with you, I'm not a big fan from Adebayor too and would prefer other players ... then, if he really comes, who knows, maybe the Adebayor-Pato association could become perfect and allow us to dream for another CL or Serie A title ? I'm just not convinced by him nowadays, but he is still young and can improve (with good and experienced players around him).