Is Milan heading to the right direction?

Pardon me for creating yet another thread. With Kaka's departure, I think I would like to summarize what I have been thinking (mixed feeling) after the end of the season.

My question is "are we heading to the right direction"? I remember how Galliani was so proud of the "family" atmosphere in Milan and Milan will never hold back any players against their wills to leave. All we have seen was that young players with potential being loaned out and sold to other clubs and we have to stick with the same old players for the last few seasons. Unlike Juventus, who loves to pocket any profits from through sales of their "older" star players, we tend to keep every senior level players until they decide to retire because Milan is a family-team and we do not just sell players for profits. This policy or mentality was a nice concept since it creates a closely bonded atmosphere within the team, but we have also witnessed the adverse effect of this policy (For example, Seedorf). Milan has become a retirement home and this is a partial reason for the recent unsuccessful seaons.

With the departure of Ancelotti, Maldini, and now Kaka, I think the management starts to steer away from the old habit by keeping players forever. With my eyes wide open to see what the management will be working on for the next 2 months, I start to think whether Milan is becoming more "Juve." Are we going to lose the family bond concept and turn into a pure shizzness buy-low-sell-high team? I don't know, and I am anxious to see what this new Milan is and how this new Milan team can start a new era.

Next, I don't believe this is a recent decision of Kaka's departure. However, like everyone else pointed out, how can we lose Gourcuff, who has the potential to step in and fill in Kaka's position? Now, with 70 million pounds, what is the management planning to do? Who are they planning to recruit? What tactical system will be adopted to the new team? With all these uncertainties, I am afraid that Leonardo will have a difficult summer, if not next season.

The next question is who will be the icon for Milan now? Kaka had the image to be the next Milan leader. Without him, I am not sure whether Gattuso, or even Ambrosini, can fill in the shoe. I don't think Pato has developed to take over the void left by Kaka yet. I am afraid that this void will not be filled in the next couple years. Maybe this is a good thing in hindsight, but I, as a fan for the past 15 - 20 years, am left with this empty feeling about this new team. More in significance, Milan is becoming a market for other teams with deep pockets to shop at. The old glorious Milan is long gone, and it is a little to hard to swallow on this transition. Maybe we should consider a change in the management as well and try to bring in more money? and boy, money, money, money, have we heard enough of this from Galliani?

My personal wishes to Santa for the summer:
1. Chelsea, please take Seedorf with you.
2. Chelsea, please take back Shevchenko.
3. Someone, please get Dida.
4. Napoli, come get Borriello for player exchange.
5. Sendoros, please return to Arsenal.
6. If price is right, I don't mind seeing Ronaldinho's exit.
7. Let's get serious about making a revolution and don't do a half-ass job.

I agree with you on your santa wishes...

Not only kaka need to leave to start a new evoluation. perhase gorky should not be sold. and the worst nightmare gorky 15m + kaka 59m is use to balance our account only and no real big signing arrive.

Originally Posted by Edmando

My question is "are we heading to the right direction"?

I think it depends on how the money received from the sale of Kaka is utilized. Milan's debt is not at all unmanageable, but it easily could have become such had Milan spent like a drunken sailor as Real Madrid is and as some of the English clubs have (yes, Silvio could cover any debts out of pocket, but he has always run Milan as a business more than as a plaything). This is an opportunity to rebuild Milan as a younger, fresher club for the future. Leonardo has proven to be a great judge of talent (I may have some qualms about his lack of coaching experience, but I have none about his judgement regarding players). Milan must now let him use the money to rebuild the squad in his own image. If they do, then I think we've embarked on the right direction.

The next question is who will be the icon for Milan now? Kaka had the image to be the next Milan leader. Without him, I am not sure whether Gattuso, or even Ambrosini, can fill in the shoe. I don't think Pato has developed to take over the void left by Kaka yet. I am afraid that this void will not be filled in the next couple years. Maybe this is a good thing in hindsight, but I, as a fan for the past 15 - 20 years, am left with this empty feeling about this new team. More in significance, Milan is becoming a market for other teams with deep pockets to shop at. The old glorious Milan is long gone, and it is a little to hard to swallow on this transition. Maybe we should consider a change in the management as well and try to bring in more money? and boy, money, money, money, have we heard enough of this from Galliani?

I don't think it's necessary to have an "icon" at all times. Maldini has been the true icon of Milan for many, many years. Sheva was to a certain extent, as Kaka was to a bit lesser extent after him. But really it was always Maldini. Sadly, our beloved Paolo couldn't go on forever. Others will step forward and fill the void. We just need to be patient and give Leonardo a chance to rebuild.

It is true that money has become a pox on the game. This was inevitable. But Milan is actually in a better position for the long run than are a lot of other clubs. Did you see the debt figures for the Premiership that came out the other day? It was staggering, particularly the debt of the "Big Four." This is not sustainable and if some clubs continue to spend freely, they will find themselves buried under a mountain of debt. I'm astonished at the financial position Liverpool is in, yet they are claiming they'll still spend more than any English club than Chelsea this summer. It's madness.

So maybe taking a more financially responsible approach will pay off for Milan in the long run.

My personal wishes to Santa for the summer:
1. Chelsea, please take Seedorf with you.
2. Chelsea, please take back Shevchenko.
3. Someone, please get Dida.
4. Napoli, come get Borriello for player exchange.
5. Sendoros, please return to Arsenal.
6. If price is right, I don't mind seeing Ronaldinho's exit.
7. Let's get serious about making a revolution and don't do a half-ass job.

I agree with this (although I'm not against giving Borriello another chance as he was playing fairly well aside from his awful finishing). I also think Ronaldinho can be a good stop-gap as the squad is rebuilt, but I agree that if Manchester City or someone were willing to pay Gourcuff-type money for him, it would be best to sell him.

I once mentioned in a previous post that i was worried that Italy was falling behind other countries, pointing out the following facts:

Italian teams don't own their stadiums and share the revenue with other teams (English and Spanish therefore make more money from their stadiums)
Spanish and English teams are able to market themselves better
Spain are allowed 3 non EU players (Italy 1 - now 2)
English teams can steal (sorry sign) players at 16.
Taxes (in the gazzetta it claims Kaka is getting paid 10m euros net at Real and they have to pay 13.2m where as while he was at Milan we had to pay 20m euros for the same result.

Now i know that every fan is angry with the whole Kaka situation myself included. There are however many reasons to blame for the current predicament we find ourselves in.

The management:
The Milan management are responsible for our £60m loss last year by paying the likes of Dida, Shevchenko, Emerson millions of pounds to sit on the bench. Can anyone please tell me why a youth goalkeeper, Paloschi and Gourcouff couldn't have done a better job for a lot less money? Unfortunately Galliani and Berlusconi have dug their grave by having the family mentality and now they're having to lie in it.
At the same time, (selling Kaka was not the answer) but i do believe and pray that thay are now looking if not heading in the right direction. I hate to say it but Milan had become stagnant. Unable to generate any new plays, none of the players had any urgency about them. Now every player will be thinking if they can sell Kaka then they can sell me.
I hope more then anything that we do invest in younger players. It is such a shame that Gurcouff didn't come back as he would have been a perfect replacement for Kaka and would have softened the blow.
No one is perfect and i do believe the management have learnt by their mistakes. Football has changed and unfortunately the old way of managing the club has no place in today's sport. Therefore we are having to adapt.
I am glad we are not in a position like some of the English teams where their owner could just walk away and leave them 100's of millions of pounds in debt.

The players:
All the players said they did not want Ancelotti to go, but it was those players who week on week were not putting the performances in. It's easy now for everyone to want to jump ship but a lot of players need to look at themselves as they know they let Ancelotti, the fans and the name of AC Milan down. We couldn't even perform in the Coppa Italia or Uefa cup. A lot of the players had become complacent.
At the same time as much as we are blaming the management, can Kaka really be blameless? It's all well and good to say you want to stay and he left Milan for the good of the club, but year on year he was able to negotiate a pay rise because clubs were after him. How can we justify paying him more then the great Paolo Maldini who has given so much more to the club over a 24 year period.

The fans:
Finally we need to look at the fans (please do not think i am generalising with all fans, I am not).
We are AC Milan, i used to be proud to be a Milan fan because we had an air of elegance to us. If we lost, we lost with dignity. We never insulted our opponents least of all our own players. Recently however we have turned on the team and the players (to an extreme), the management in a very negative way. No team can stay on the top for ever and I believe we are going through a transitional period.
We seem to have forgotten the great years of success that Berlusconi and co have bought us. The happy times Maldini has given us by lifting trophies. Because he made 2 statements (which i believe were justified) that the fans need to get behind the team in the bad times, he is jeered on his last home game. How is that in anyway right?

Unfortunately i do think it is a time for Milan to have a clear out and bring in some fresh blood.
As much as i'm glad that Milan were not relegated like Juventus because of the Calcipoli scandal i am a little envious of how their hand has been forced to rejuvinate their team.

I do believe that youth is the future and hopefully we will follow this route. There are many players available at a reasonable price who would be proud to wear the Milan shirt, and that is what it is about. Pride.

I have pride in AC Milan the football club (not one player or any management) and will continue to support them even when not doing so well.

We are AC Milan people and we will be great again. Keep your chins up and keep smiling, that is what makes us as a team!!

Forza Milan.

Peace to everyone (even Inter fans)

Originally Posted by Marco3

I once mentioned in a previous post that i was worried that Italy was falling behind other countries, pointing out the following facts:

Italian teams don't own their stadiums and share the revenue with other teams (English and Spanish therefore make more money from their stadiums)
Spanish and English teams are able to market themselves better
Spain are allowed 3 non EU players (Italy 1 - now 2)
English teams can steal (sorry sign) players at 16.
Taxes (in the gazzetta it claims Kaka is getting paid 10m euros net at Real and they have to pay 13.2m where as while he was at Milan we had to pay 20m euros for the same result.

Now i know that every fan is angry with the whole Kaka situation myself included. There are however many reasons to blame for the current predicament we find ourselves in.

The management:
The Milan management are responsible for our £60m loss last year by paying the likes of Dida, Shevchenko, Emerson millions of pounds to sit on the bench. Can anyone please tell me why a youth goalkeeper, Paloschi and Gourcouff couldn't have done a better job for a lot less money? Unfortunately Galliani and Berlusconi have dug their grave by having the family mentality and now they're having to lie in it.
At the same time, (selling Kaka was not the answer) but i do believe and pray that thay are now looking if not heading in the right direction. I hate to say it but Milan had become stagnant. Unable to generate any new plays, none of the players had any urgency about them. Now every player will be thinking if they can sell Kaka then they can sell me.
I hope more then anything that we do invest in younger players. It is such a shame that Gurcouff didn't come back as he would have been a perfect replacement for Kaka and would have softened the blow.
No one is perfect and i do believe the management have learnt by their mistakes. Football has changed and unfortunately the old way of managing the club has no place in today's sport. Therefore we are having to adapt.
I am glad we are not in a position like some of the English teams where their owner could just walk away and leave them 100's of millions of pounds in debt.

The players:
All the players said they did not want Ancelotti to go, but it was those players who week on week were not putting the performances in. It's easy now for everyone to want to jump ship but a lot of players need to look at themselves as they know they let Ancelotti, the fans and the name of AC Milan down. We couldn't even perform in the Coppa Italia or Uefa cup. A lot of the players had become complacent.
At the same time as much as we are blaming the management, can Kaka really be blameless? It's all well and good to say you want to stay and he left Milan for the good of the club, but year on year he was able to negotiate a pay rise because clubs were after him. How can we justify paying him more then the great Paolo Maldini who has given so much more to the club over a 24 year period.

The fans:
Finally we need to look at the fans (please do not think i am generalising with all fans, I am not).
We are AC Milan, i used to be proud to be a Milan fan because we had an air of elegance to us. If we lost, we lost with dignity. We never insulted our opponents least of all our own players. Recently however we have turned on the team and the players (to an extreme), the management in a very negative way. No team can stay on the top for ever and I believe we are going through a transitional period.
We seem to have forgotten the great years of success that Berlusconi and co have bought us. The happy times Maldini has given us by lifting trophies. Because he made 2 statements (which i believe were justified) that the fans need to get behind the team in the bad times, he is jeered on his last home game. How is that in anyway right?

Unfortunately i do think it is a time for Milan to have a clear out and bring in some fresh blood.
As much as i'm glad that Milan were not relegated like Juventus because of the Calcipoli scandal i am a little envious of how their hand has been forced to rejuvinate their team.

I do believe that youth is the future and hopefully we will follow this route. There are many players available at a reasonable price who would be proud to wear the Milan shirt, and that is what it is about. Pride.

I have pride in AC Milan the football club (not one player or any management) and will continue to support them even when not doing so well.

We are AC Milan people and we will be great again. Keep your chins up and keep smiling, that is what makes us as a team!!

Forza Milan.

Peace to everyone (even Inter fans)

This is a great post, echoing many of my own views. There are plenty of young, hungry, Italian players who Milan can buy for reasonable prices and the important thing is, using Rafa Benitez favourite word, they are players of real quality. Its a shame Milan doesn't seem to be pursuing any one of these players at all, Quagliarella has gone, Cigrani has gone? So too D'Agostino? I think we can all agree Fabiano Santacroce seems to be a player of great promise, but theres no hint of the slightest interest from Milan.

We need a good striker and a good defender. I can think of Dzeko and Santacroce at the moment. If we are heavily in debt then we should get rid of players who have high wages. Players like Seedorf, Pirlo, Dida and Kaladze.

There are so many upcoming players in the serie a who can play the same position as Pirlo if not better. Players like Dessena, Galloppa and Cigarini ( snapped by Napoli ) can replace Pirlo.

I think Berlusconi has lost it this time

Originally Posted by ASHWIN

We need a good striker and a good defender. I can think of Dzeko and Santacroce at the moment. If we are heavily in debt then we should get rid of players who have high wages. Players like Seedorf, Pirlo, Dida and Kaladze.

There are so many upcoming players in the serie a who can play the same position as Pirlo if not better. Players like Dessena, Galloppa and Cigarini ( snapped by Napoli ) can replace Pirlo.

I think Berlusconi has lost it this time

As far as I know, Milan is talking to Dzeko.

I would kike to know who is the owner of Milan ? Everybody is talking about Berlusconi of course, but who is the real owner ? Is it finnivest ? Berlusconi´s son and daughter are now in charge there, maybe this is part of the problem ? ( They don´t want to loose money anymore to the club ) ??

Just a suggestion, lets take Van Der Vaart, Sneijder and Heitinga from Spain and pray they'll work like the Dutch Trio we used to have. Since we seem to need some "potential" players, lets try for those ones :P

Originally Posted by Ryo

Just a suggestion, lets take Van Der Vaart, Sneijder and Heitinga from Spain and pray they'll work like the Dutch Trio we used to have. Since we seem to need some "potential" players, lets try for those ones :P

I would love to see that happen. Certainly Sneijder and Van der Vaart are available (and you would think Real Madrid would be willing to deal and get a portion of their money back after Milan just sold them Kaka).

Gilardino explains AC Milan failure
12.6 || webmaster

Source: Football Italia

Fiorentina and Italy striker Alberto Gilardino has explained why his career never really took off at Milan.

The 26-year-old left the Rossoneri under a cloud last summer after three disappointing years at San Siro.

Milan paid Parma £18m for him in 2005, convinced he was the next big thing, however, he only scored 44 goals in 142 appearances.

Fiorentina came in for him last summer and he has managed to resurrect his career, finishing his first season in Tuscany with 25 goals.

“Ancelotti wanted me at Milan and, in the beginning, he made me play a lot,” Gilardino told Italian magazine Chi.

“Then something changed, but not on the Coach's behalf. And that's all I want to say on the matter.

“In football, there is almost never any recognition. You have to begin again from zero every year,” he concluded.

Originally Posted by Fret

Gilardino explains AC Milan failure
12.6 || webmaster

Source: Football Italia

Fiorentina and Italy striker Alberto Gilardino has explained why his career never really took off at Milan.

“Then something changed, but not on the Coach's behalf. And that's all I want to say on the matter.

Wow, what a hell of an explanation. That cleared everything right up.

LOL I kinda feel sorry for Gila

Wait, I don't get it. Berlusconi?

Oh wait wait wait, it had to be because he is not psychologically strong enough to play for a big team, or he just sucks according to some of our faithful here.

J

You can read on the real madrid site Sacchi's statement regarding Kaka, it's very funny.

Here's a piece of it:

"I saw him play in Italy in a friendly match, and when it was over, I jokingly said to Ancelotti and Tasotti, "You've finally signed a top quality player," because they always made mistakes when signing players... Kaka is a footballer that thrills me".

http://www.realmadrid.com/cs/Satelli...is_fingers.htm

Milan does NOT have a history of signing flop players compared to other teams it's not even close. This is going too far. We can be pessimistic about the future but the past? please...