True. But apparently the decision makers seem to think otherwise.


Truer still. I don't think he can cut it here in the league, unless he really settles in and the team plays off of him. None of this is happening, but that's still no reason to slide him on the wings. He hasn't the characteristics to play in that position. Neither did Huntelaar, and Pato barely did, but both were forced out there.

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. For someone whom so much was expected of, this guy has only showed up in just a handful of games over the years. Good chap, I'm sure, but a severely limited player, one that doesn't try to step up and take charge, when the situation is open for him to do so.

Probably the worse player we have in terms of realizing his potential, or justifying his hype. Pitiful.

Painfully stupid in my hope and never ending optimism for this club I love

Hmm, I thought Poli was largely absent throughout

I'd give the pass mark to Destro over Poli, at least he tried, even with basically zero service

Also Bona wasn't as good as I know he can be, obviously he put in effort, but it wasn't really coming off

Antonelli, De Jong (for his amazing defensive work mostly) and Destro for me being the only ones worth a mention

Oh, and Honda, for at least making one decent effort on goal which ended up being the only one throughout the 90

You make us sound like Barca...

Works as an answer. I have never ending optimism, but luckily, I'm not painfully stupid when it comes to matters like these. Sports isn't science, luck has far too much an influence in it. In some sense it's an art. When you think of it like this, well, my friend, we've got the wrong artists at AC Milan.

So basically, while I don't support any other club (yet, the only club I'll ever support is if I founded one myself), but I know that the mess we're seeing is the the creation of the idiots in the management and no one else. Everyone is simply looking out for himself or herself, particularly the bald one. The results on the pitch just mirror this.

For Acid!

Lopez: 4 Shaky, electing to punch where he could catch, getting himself mixed up when he could clear, and bad positioning. Probably his worst display for us.

Bonera: 3 Exposed frequently which pushed Alex out of position all the time to cover for him. Absolutely horrendous going forward.

Alex: 4 Spent his whole night trying to cover for Bonera and was caught out of position all the time. Also has zero understanding with Bocchetti. Thanks Pippo!

Bocchetti: 5 Not horrible but far from outstanding. Best he's played yet. But that's saying next to nothing.

Antonelli: 8 Our best player by a mile. Probably in the form of his life, and he's been a terrific signing. Got forward brilliantly, and defended resolutely too. Works very hard and is one of the few who can hold his head up high.

Poli: 6 Hard graft in the middle as always. Did all the dirty stuff no one notices.

De Jong: 6 Meh. Careless on the ball in the middle but did some great defensive work, mostly caused by Bonera buggering off yet again and being miles away.

Monto: 0.

Bona: 6 Wish he didn't get played as a treq, it's wasting him. But he did offer as much as he could.

Menez: 4 Selfish Menez was back but he did defend too. That X button is getting flimsy again. Overall inneffective.

Destro: 6 Feeding off scraps, you can see he's quality, but he's just being given nothing to work with.

Howzat!

Haha, I was just having you on, Danny. Didn't expect the ratings! But thanks for the writeup, love it. I actually don't go anywhere else for Milan ratings, really, and it's nice to read member opinions here. Should brighten up the day a little, and hopefully Real Madrid losing some points tomorrow would level up the week for me.

Hard to imagine the statics showed us winning 19 out of 25 matches against Chievo. I understand this was an away game for us, but come on, take a look at the players we have and compare it with them. Another couple of points just wasted down the drain, like our whole season.

Totally agree on this one, though. Such shame from a player playing in such a central and crucial position. Aquilani on the other hand now captains Fiorentina and regularly puts in good displays. The most nonchalant Milan captain I've seen in my life. Montolivo just doesn't get out of his comfort zone, never gets going!

Biggest fraud I've ever seen play for Milan.

I'd rather have Muntari, Essien and Bonera in the team than he. Those guys might be shite buy they do try. Monto just sits there looking like he wants to be anywhere else.

Well, I'd cry with joy if he leaves. He's the new Balo.

In the great Milan teams of the past, he'd be lucky to get any playing time. Bench player at most in our teams of the early 90s and 200s. I actually think this attitude means his performances have actually regressed than what he put in with his previous club.

I can count really inspiring Montolivo performances with Milan on my left hand and still have fingers to spare!

I thought Lopez was solid except for one moment when he tired to act all cool and gifted the ball to Chievo.

Antonelli, I wasn't impressed much. Did the minimal, but nothing exceptional.

De Jong was top class. For his role, he does it in spades. Only lost the ball once that I remember, and so many good interventions.

The rest I agree with.

In the olden days we'd have been calling other trolls for our opinions!

De Jong was a little loose in midfield, but defence wise I can't fault him. Lopez was far from solid IMO.

Oh Anto wasn't exceptional, but I thought he was by far our best player. Compare with what MDS offered there.

2012/2013 was the only season he produced a few good displays. Since about summer 2013 he's been a complete and utter joke. Worst captain we've had in my lifetime and living off the fat of the land the wage provides. He needs to leave ASAP.

Disagree with pretty much everything in the defensive part. But I'll give my rating tomorrow, with a clearer head.

Or just sit the bench.

I'd rather we weren't paying him.

If you say Bonera was MOTM I will officially garotte you.

Looking forward to them, man. Didn't catch the match in full, only saw glimpses and stretches. These ratings do provide new insights into how the team is playing, though I don't actually expect major positives considering just how lackluster the display was. I'd much rather see the team losing in the process of trying.

At least, they'd learn and grow this way and better themselves in future encounters. This was just limp!

I won't. He was caught off guard too many times. But was he our worst player? Can we give notes like 4 to keepers and players who in the end kept a clean sheet? Not in my book. So, without further delay, here are my ratings.

Lopez - 7 - minor mistakes, but a very solid performance, especially in 2nd half with 2-3 good saves

Bonera - 5.5 - showed good game-reading, but was caught off position more then once
Bochetti - 5 - terrible positioning makes him one of the worst players
Alex - 6.5 - solid performance with some minor errors and one big
Antonelli - 6.5 - did okay with going forward, worked hard but made also positional and covering errors

de Jong - 7.5 - defensively a beast, best player on the pitch
Montolivo - 5 - very poor and uninspired game; lost countless times possession with his poor dribbling
Poli - 6.5 - worked hard, had his ups and downs

Bonaventura - 6.5 - same as Poli
Menez - 5.5 - not really in this game, he could have made the match-winning pass
Destro - 5.5 - solid performance, especially since the gameplay isn't in his favor, but still had to try to do more

-------------

Honda - 5.5 - started with that good shot off the wood, but then turned into a phantom
Pazzini - 5.5 - completely ineffective (see Destro)
Cerci - N/A - out of shape, but had too little time to adapt to the game

All in all, I think Pippo should drop the tactic he's implying for once and for all. Torres, Pazzini and Destro all look(ed) pretty much the same - like ineffective rocks with no real connection to the rest of the team. Menez and Bonaventura (especially) are also wasted on the wings. Menez is such a problematic player when it comes to formations and positions anyway.

The midfield is the generator of our problems. Too many missed passes, back-passes, inprecisions and overall mistakes.

I made a post during the game about the movement of our players.

I think this is our major issue. We just don't move when we have possession. So no wonder we make about a thousand back and sideways passes during a single game. No wonder our midfielders all look like incompetent idiots when on the ball.

We have possession and everyone stands still so we pass it back to the defenders, rinse repeat. It's just so frustrating to watch.

Agreed with everything.



But Menez doesn't really play on the wing. He's always being employed as a SS. I think, given the many wingers we have (Menez, Suso, Cerci, SES) we should try and exploit them more properly.

Pippo has failed to "educate" Menez. He's selfish, does whatever he wants, thinks himself as the Ibahimovic of this team. Look at Hazard at Chelsea. More talented and yet dedicated to the cause, always sticking to his duties and playing for his teammates. Menez has the "Balotelli" bug, but I think it's fixable as long as a proper manager gives him a proper lesson. Pippo clearly isn't that person.

I think Menez needs to be given a clear role. i.e You are a winger, stay on the f@cking wing!!! That should be drilled into his head.

Giving him these free roles as a false 9 or a SS is just asking for his ego to run away with him as he thinks he's the focal point so it's his god given right to not pass to anyone and shoot any time he gets a sniff at goal.

The only way that I feel like we can incorporate all our best players and use them to the best of their abilities is with a 4-2-3-1.

Pippo needs to start using Cerci. He needs to make use of Bonaventura's best assets and not lump him in as a winger or AM. He needs to get the best out of Menez and ensure that he's got guidelines to follow and he needs to get our strikers scoring, and this disjointed system will simply never do that

Also, a double pivot system will take the pressure off our less than stellar midfield imo as the creating falls on the shoulders of the 3 behind the striker. Our midfielders are simply not good enough for us to use a system like the 4-3-3 or 4-3-1-2, systems like these are solely dependent on the talent and creativity of the midfielders, something we simply don't have.

You say we should play 4-2-3-1 but then you say Pippo shouldn't play Bona as winger/AM. So, where then?

I think he can sit next to De Jong as part of the DP.

He's just as defensively capable as both Monto or Poli imo. And for me, he's naturally a CM, not an attacking player

Also, what are your views on the formation we play?

Do you really think a 3 man midfield is the right way to go for us with the midfielders that we have?

I don't see Bona in the double pivot, I just don't.

I think the best midfield we can play right now is Poli-NDJ-Bona. Whether we go for a 4-3-2-1 or 4-3-3 is relative, I'd be fine with either.



No-brainer for me.

On paper it looks good, but I feel like that on the pitch, that midfield would still be flat, simply because none of those players are natural creators, and that's why we struggle so much to connect midfield with the attack imo

Yes, I get that, but I don't see any other way around it. 4-2-3-1 requires a proper trequartista, and unless Pippo decides to give Suso a shot there, we really don't have anyone else. Bona isn't exactly that, and Honda is just crap.

No, Monto was.

Mediaset says Verona will be Inzaghi last chance.

Link

Eh...

Agreed on the Menez part. But I think it's kind of unfair to expect this out of Inzaghi, who's a rookie. All previous coaches - Gomes, Spalletti, Ancelotti, Blanc - had problems with him, some of the named benched him or used his services in a limited way. Now, to expect out of Inzaghi what the named coaches failed...is not exactly promising.


Easier said then done. Thing is, Menez has this attitude and he knows he's Pippo's most valuable player and match-winner. I think parting ways with both the player and the manager is what we should do in the end. X-O said it right, it's a "bug", and such things rarely go away. Every once in a while a manager turns up who's able to tame or soften this "bug", but that's unlikely to happen IMO.

As for Cerci, man he looks completely out of shape. Every time I see him play, he reminds me of some past big player who's still (somehow) in form but out of shape. I don't know what to say, but Cerci isn't exactly starting material, at least not for now.

How many times have we heard this now?

It's getting worse than the Allegri saga

Really? I don't remember one single time Mediaset blatantly said it's his last chance.

No, they've said it a couple of times before as well.

I don't know if it was mediaset, but we've been hearing about this "last chance" nonsense since the beginning of January

I agree as well, but atm, things don't look like they're about to change, at least not until summer. And I do think that giving him a more restricted role will sort of "tame" those urges, so to speak. Obviously it won't fix things completely but at least it would help out a bit

With Cerci, I think you know I was a firm no on the Cerci deal. But he's here now, and to not use him while you're playing Honda or Bonaventura on the wing is just ridiculous

And I don't think he's that out of shape, at least not anymore than the rest of our players (who I've pointed out multiple times this season how ridiculously out of shape they look in each game). You also have to take into consideration that he's not been playing regularly throughout this season, even while in Spain. As opposed to last season where he was the first name on the team sheet for Toro. He needs continuity, and the fact that him and Pippo are rumoured to not be getting along does not help in that regard

Cerci just needs playing time. He'll give what he can give, which is surely more than what Honda or even Bona offer on the wing.

Then there's Suso. Who must have had an affair with Pippo's wife or something. His complete absence from the first team or even being used as a sub is bizarre.

If management really wanted to sell the club they would be looking for better results, as the current situation is likely to be driving the value down. Sadly, it seems to me like they are fumbling around without a clear plan.

I don't either. And the fact that it is Mediaset makes it quasi-official.

Suso's chances will come.

Cerci on the other hand is an established Serie A player, that we (.i.e Pippo and Galliani) wanted all summer for that right wing. He's here now and Pippo still prefers to play players out of position on that right side instead of giving Cerci an extended run

Cerci has started 2 or 3 times, and I have to admit it's been the same pattern. Really slow and not in it till literally about 60 minutes, when, as the opposition tires, he seems to come to life.

He needs to do that from the start, really go at opponents, and he needs fed with the right service, smart distribution behind the left back to exploit Cerci's pace.

He's a counter-attacking winger, in a counter-attacking team which doesn't seem to play in a counter-attacking manner.

Agreed with Danny. Don't know what you guys talk about. Cerci simply looks out of shape, and it's not just little match practice. He's physically not ready for a full match.

Like I said, I don't think he's in any worse shape than the rest of our players (which is nothing to write home about)

Add to that, he's simply not match fit.

Our entire team imo looks out of shape. Look at them when they play an overly physical side, they're huffing and puffing by minute 20 when they're the ones having to do the chasing.

Even worse, every time we had to play a mid-week game... Just astonishingly bad fitness levels all around, and this from a team who supposedly wants to play in a physically demanding competition like the CL

+1

Milan-Verona probable line-up(s):

Mediaset: (4-3-1-2) Diego Lopez; Bonera, Alex, Bocchetti, Antonelli; Poli, Essien, Van Ginkel; Bonaventura; Menez, Destro
Gazzetta: (4-3-3): Diego Lopez; Bonera, Paletta, Bocchetti, Antonelli; Poli, Essien, Bonaventura; Cerci, Destro, Menez.

I have a feeling Gazzetta's pick will be the correct one, but MvG has to start instead of frigging Essien!

PS: That defense...

Stunned that Essien is being plugged by the outlets as starting.

Look at it this way: rumor is that if we do not win, Pippo is out and Tassotti takes over. Of course I hope we win, but if that does not happen it may not be all that bad. Tassotti is not my first choice by far, but at this point I think we need a change.