If we get a draw or better from this lineup, even if it's purely by luck or the ref scoring, will you give Allegri even an iota of credit for it?

I'm not worried about Ambrosini because of his passing abilities. He never had that in him. What really worries me is that nowadays he misses completely when tackling, that and he fouls a lot. He's a liability, but what can you do about it. Whilst Muntari, well, besides being a horrible football player, he's very lazy as well. You tell him to press hard, but I doubt he'll do much about it. Not to mention he's only recently recovered from a very long injury. See, no matter how you look at it, we're royally screwed with that midfield. It could work if everyone gave their all in a Serie A game, but against Barça? Forget it.

That strictly depends on how we play.

But ref calls won't do it here. It will be a miracle if we go out there with that flimsy line-up and expect to come out with a decent result

You've been talking on and on how stifling Barca is the most important thing. and I agree with you COMPLETELY.

BUT, that line-up and formation is certainly not the way to go about doing that. Do you agree with that?

And my counter question to you is; if we get a serious spanking tomorrow night will you give Allegri even an iota of blame in the entire scenario?

That projected midfield is so ugly. Muntari is such a lazy player. He has decent talent when he chooses to use it but he attempts to play like Pirlo when he doesn't have the ability. If Max can get him to run hard and keep it simple then he's not horrible. Ambro is simply past it. He's usually out of gas and two steps behind by the 60th minute. Our only hope there is that parking the bus will keep him from running up and down too much. His positional sense is all he really has to offer and that was never his strength. I would prefer to put Prince in the midfield and play Niang just so Niang can drop back and harry, maybe hold up a ball. Bojan is too small and easily dispossessed to start but he could be an impact sub.

Can you imagine if Ambro gets injured midway thorugh the game (it usually happens with him). Allegri will be forced to play the only midfielder we have available. Do I dare say his name?

...

Traoré!!!

I wonder how the n00b charlatan feels about marginalizing Emanuelson now

Because they age like milk!

But I thought "Allegri was so in love with Uby" and "Urby was typical Allegri favorite".

I didn't want to be the first to point that out for obvious reasons.

I don't think Allegri was the one who forced the move with Urby. I think it was more Urby himself wanting more play time

That strictly depends on how we got the spanking

But being serious, the lineup you've posted is already the one I suggested can get a point. Mainly because we need as many big bodies in the middle and back as we can field.

The formation and tactics are essential. If we go 4-3-3 then we're doomed. If we go 4-1-2-1-2 we have a small chance.

Must keep it sooo tight in the middle. Sit Ambro in front of the back 4 - use Muntari alongside Monto and tell the f*cker he has to work like his life depends on it. Monto is the creative outlet in the middle and let him feed Boateng.

This isn't a match for Bojan in the slightest.

But here's a puzzler. If you suggest Allegri loved Urby so much, why not give him the play time he wanted?

I'm not sure Muntari is quite as lazy as you suggest given the career he's had. Also think you're being harsh calling him horrible. But end of the day if he, like the rest, works hard as nails then a result can be achieved. As for Ambro, well I was about to clarify that. It's not about tackling, it's about pressure and harrying. Pushing Xavi or Iniesta away from our defence. 90 minutes of pressing them. Tackling only when critically necessary.

If you recall, he was utterly epic at the San Siro V them last season's group stage. He was staggering. if he can pull off that again no reason why he can't contribute to a good result.

He's a one a season wonder. Occasionally he can defy how crap he is and be outstanding.

He loved playing him in positions he just couldn't handle.

As you can see from the different line-ups I posted above I didn't include Bojan in any. Personally if it were up to me I wouldn't include SES either. However you mentioning Muntari is a huge problem. Having him in that midfield is a huge problem in and of itself no matter where he is played. He is simply such a liability that I cannot even think about him going up against Xavi & Co in that midfield. If Allegri where to actually use his brain he'd realise that he had a perfectly good CM in Constant who is not lazy or slow but is a hard worker who has pace and most importantly, he actually uses his brain.

As for the formation, I'd prefer a 3-man backline. Like you said, we need to keep it tight, and to keep it tight you have to pile bodies in there so that we don't get exposed in certain areas when players from midfield get pulled onto the wings to cover


He liked playing him everywhere but in his position. When it was obvious that he couldn't hack it on the RW he discarded him for Niang/Prince neither of which were actually better there but that's irrelevant in this case. Personally I always felt Urby was a very good utility player, he's decent in midfield, gives us options to switch the system, and according to Allegri can play anywhere bar the GK position. It's the way he was used that always irked me personally

Then you obviously haven't seen too many games from Muntari. As for Ambro, do you really think he can press their midfielders for the whole 90 minutes? The guy is usually out of breath around the one hour mark. I have a feeling he'll get injured midway through the game, because his body can't handle the intense rhythm of such games.



Exactly.

Perfect time to swap him out of the game, then, don't you think? Put in a fleeter in his place.

And who would you put in, Traoré? Cause he's the only available midfielder on the bench. Him, and that kid Cristante.

Yeah, that's a stick problem. Just recalled your earlier post in this thread. Bummer!

Constant has been excellent at LB for us. There is simply no way you could justify throwing him into CM and using a weaker option at the back.
There really is so much hate from you and X Off about Muntari. I'm not sure it's entirely fair!



As I've said before, 3 man at the back requires massive understanding between all 3, and 2 WB's who don't stop running all day. It's a formation you need to practise a lot before you can be assured it will work. It's not really the right match to try this in. Although we are agreed that if it works, it is exactly what we need. But we just don't have the experience with the formation to use it.



You've described him as a utility player but then said 'his position'. What IS his position? As for midfield, he was a cheap and cheerful version of Seedorf but without that marquee class.

Seedorf is, of course, one of the greatest players the game has ever seen. And one of the most decorated.

No one has. He's barely featured for us since he signed plus he's been out injured for ages.



It was able to 18 months ago. Maybe there's one more such display. And he wouldn't be alone - Monto, despite being creative, would be able to pitch in on that aspect as well.

We're gonna lose this one. I just hope not too badly.

Oh, come on, man up, fellas! What's the worse that can happen?! We're not going to die or anything. Besides, I've got a feeling Barcelona (and in fact, both teams) will play it safe today, and go all out in the return leg. This is what happened last time too. So maybe a draw is on the cards.

Plus, Tarzan (Puyol) has utmost respect for Milan, he'll not let us get embarrassed. Gift a goal or two, maybe!

Urby entered the doghouse when he criticized Allergy

Milan's reputation might be further tarnished!!

Abbiati, Abate, Mexes, Zapata, Constant, Muntari, Ambrosini, Montolivo, Boateng, Pazzini, El Shaarawy

Valdés, Alves, Piqué, Puyol, Alba, Sergio, Xavi, Iniesta, Cesc, Pedro, Messi.

Those two lineups are depressing next to one another....
The only players on our side who are better then their Barca counterparts are Abbiati v. Valdes and El Sha v. Pedro

And Pazzini v. Messi.

Here's to hope

Here's some inspiration for you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pD4EFGQDhA
One of the most memorable Milan games ever, still remember it like it was yesterday.

We've had our share of tarnishment, if that's a a word. 1-7 Juventus is as bad as it gets!

That was 63 years ago

acid was just starting college..

Seems like yesterday to me!

No actually that was when I dropped out!

Pazzini working very well so far

Toying with us so far.

Wow Muntari...

El Sha What the ****?

EL SHA! ****! that touch was so Pato.

el shar....

How is Milan falling for this? They're just passing the ball around and we are running after it like headless chickens. We're gonna be out of gas by the 30th minute...

Thinking about the kinds of crosses I've been seeing in football recently, it really puts it into perspective what an amazing crosser of the ball Beckham was. He added a whole another dimension in attack. Especially when he used to play as a winger.

Muntari

Muntari is seriously the biggest idiot I've ever watched playing professional football!!

Sulley Lazy Muntari.

Muntari and Ambro....

No words