Napoli v Milan

Called up:

Goalkeepers: Abbiati, Amelia, Gabriel.

Defenders: Abate, Constant, De Sciglio, Mexes, Rami, Silvestre, Zaccardo, Emanuelson.

Midfielders: Essien, De Jong, Kakà, Montolivo, Muntari, Poli, Saponara, Taarabt.

Strikers: Balotelli, Pazzini, Petagna, Robinho.


Keisuke Honda will miss Milan’s clash with Napoli on Saturday after coming down with gastroenteritis

Napoli had a midweek match against Roma and will have on again next week Hope Benitez concentrates on the cup

So Honda isn't available since he's suffering from infected diaherria. Kaka is a doubt since he's been suffering from a flu. So he may not start.

I think we could be seeing Adel Taarabt starting tomorrow.

It's disappointing to see not only Honda but Birsa missing, though at the very least we have an odd abundance of central playmakers to cover the gap. Whilst it seems that Kaka might recover in time, I would prefer to see him rested or at least played from the bench given his reduced training time this week and his overall importance to the squad. This would be an excellent opportunity to once more see Saponara from the beginning of the match.

I would also like to see Abate finally returned to the starting line-up as he must surely have recovered his fitness at this point. Meanwhile, whilst I personally am livid that he was ever considered a transfer target, now seems as good a time as ever to give Taarabt a debut and hopefully introduce some proper width to stretch what is a shaky Neapolitan defence. I'd also like to see Poli given some time in the pivot off the bench to guage his ability to handle the defensive responsibilities of the role.

Napoli were in very indifferent form against Roma despite getting two important away goals in their cup tie, with Hamsik in particular looking rusty and limited in his role. Nevertheless, Napoli's individual ability up front is liable to open up a back line that has been found to lack the concentration to hold out teams for ninety minutes time and time again and in Higuain, Callejon and Mertens, Napoli have an abundance of particularly clutch finishers in games such as these this year. Napoli are not a side to dominate a game from start to finish, however they have a tendency to score in rapid bursts, a deadly combination against a back four which decides to take a nap on the half hour mark of each half.

Given our form, available personnel and general attitude as a team, we are highly unlikely to shut out Napoli, however we are capable of winning the midfield battle and keeping them under pressure for the first 45 minutes. Unfortunately we have seen our side fade too often and ensuring that we maintain our intensity and tempo in the second half is an important step in this team's evolution. Balotelli needs to give a big performance for us again, recalling his presence from our last clash against Napoli without the red card antics. Napoli have one of the weakest central defensive combinations of any top team in Europe and Balotelli must maintain his concentration and temper in the face of the San Paolo to take advantage.

No Bonera

OFFICIAL XI: NAPOLI: Reina; Maggio, Fernandez, Albiol, Ghoulam; Inler, Jorginho; Mertens, Hamsik, Insigne; Higuain.

OFFICIAL XI: MILAN: Abbiati; De Sciglio, Rami, Mexes, Urby; de Jong, Essien; Abate, Robinho, Taarabt; Balotelli.

Abate back to his origins as RW

LMAO is this real life Taarabt scores

wtf GTFO Inler

Bad 1st half. Napoli were all over us and we were lucky on a lot of occasions. Seedorf needs to adjust ASAP.

Balotelli crying

He had an awful game.

3-1

*bleep* this team

Awful, awful performance. Seedorf has a lot of work to do.

In one word, that was bad.

We started off the game well and got the early goal but from then onwards it was only downhill. Napoli got lucky with the equalizer, but they dominated us. And they deserved to win this game. Our play was horrible, throughout the first half and for a large part of the second half.

It change a bit with the introduction of Kaka and Montolivo. There was definitely more urgency and purpose going forward but that was too little, too late. Balotelli crying really sums up our current situation. Watching that really sank my heart. Yeah, he could have made more of Reina's slip up but for a large parts of the game, he was isolated and there was literally nothing he could do. And with useless clowns like Robinho and Emanuelson, what do you really expect?

Abate was played out of position and had no effect. I'd rather see him at LB and Emanuelson on the bench or De Sciglio at LB and Abate at RB. Surely they won't be worse then the joke that is Emanuelson. Our whole defense was in shambles. The ease with which Napoli were taking shot after shot at Abbiati was ridiculous.

De Jong again had a solid performance. He made a couple vital blocks and challenges. Did his job for the most part. He was unlucky with the deflection for Napoli's first goal, but he was trying to get in front of the ball, unlike Essien, who was nowhere to be seen. Essien was more dangerous going forward then defending from what I saw and that is not a compliment since his job is to provide cover to the CBs and defend. But then again, he has not played regular first team football in ages, so what do we really expect from him?

Taarabt, well he was Ok. As much as I don't like him because of his past attitude, he was one of the better player on our team and made a couple decent runs going forward. I thought he was a bit selfish at times, but I'm not gonna complain much about him because, like I said, he wasn't the worst on the field.

I can't blame Seedorf. He is trying. He tried to instill his philosophy into the lame excuse of a squad that we have. But he can't go on the field and do every individual's job on his own. It's just sad to see the state that Milan has fallen down to.

The only logical conclusion I can make from this whole situation is that Galliani and Berlusconi really don't care anymore and are just passing their days.

I really can't take this anymore....I don't see Milan anymore...I can't even describe the team as a shadow of how it was because it is much worse than that....

First I will say I wanted us to lose today because it is an embarrassment that Mexes had the captaincy and then their is the fact that a certain disrespectful piece of shit that goes by the name of Taarabt(I don't care how talented anyone thinks he is because he should not ever be in Milan) was played today putting forward the question of what our team gains by bringing in this player who is using our team as a stepping stone while the talented Saponara who is passionate about the club is not being played. Youth movement my ass.

Milan is no longer this is something else entirely.

I truly hope we actually get relegated this season...players that are just there to collect their fat pay slips can get the hell out they are all disgraceful.

I say lets wait for next season. If we would have gotten Seedorf earlier, then we would've accounted for the time lost for communicating with the players. Also, this is not Seedorf's team, we have to wait and see what players seedorf wants for his system to succeed.

We really can't judge Seedorf until we see how his team plays out next season. This is his first stint as a manager, and he had some questionable calls today. He should make use of the rest of the season to further understand coaching.

I am not blaming Seedorf....I am blaming the worthless players who are not even trying and seem satisfied after every game.

Tbh, now that I think of it, I don't mind Taarabt. Let him view Milan as a stepping stone; as long as he helps us I don't care. Also, maybe Seedorf can change his mind. For example, today I saw him tracking back which is strange considering he has always been a lazy player.

I don't blame Seedorf for changing things up, but as I said in chat, the 4-2-3-1 is probably not worth persisting with considering that we have no wingers and Clarence needs to realise that before the Atletico game. Furthermore, the 3 AMs are in no position to help us to defend against the counter. This wouldn't be a problem except that Essien is so slow that he cannot get back in time to tackle, and De Jong cannot do all of the defensive work by himself. Perhaps returning to the wingerless 4-3-1-2 could be an option?

I'd also like to see Pacifico promoted. We have half a season to break this guy into the team and I cannot see how he could be any worse than Mexes, Bonera, etc.

Balo is also an unreliable source of goals as a CF. We need Pazzo on the park at the same time to give enough of a threat.

I would like to see Kaka benched for Saponara and Poli reinstated over Essien. Honda needs to get fit before seeing game time again.


Thoughts?

I still have hopes for the 4-2-3-1 and I can see where Seedorf is going with it. We just need to get the players that fit Seedorf's philosophy. As I mentioned earlier, Seedorf needs time to put his ideas through, this time would have been accounted for had we got him earlier.

But it's blatantly obvious that we haven't bought the players to suit the system. If we had some decent wingers, we could pull this off, but I think the 4-2-3-1 needs to be postponed until next season. Unless we go wingerless, we are going to see more and more performances like this. Seedorf clearly recognises the problem and tried to rectify it by moving Abate to RW, but that's not good enough, especially while our defence is suffering.

First of all . Such an overreaction isn't necessary. Napoli is a very strong team , a defeat at Naples isn't something only Milan managed to do. Of course any defeat is going to hurt , but this absolute misery and all.. i really don't know what to think anymore , sometimes i think many of you guys think Milan can only lose games because we were shit , as if the opponent doesn't even play well ; yes we are shit and there's good evidence to go by that most of our loses are because we lack quality these days , or some of those were totally our fault. Ok.

But , others play well too. Others can outplay us too. Even the best lose. Chill a bit.

Now as for the game. Dat Napoli. I like how they play , this is a really exciting team to watch. Well played. We started of well enough and Taarabt managed to score on his debut. Well done. I don't know about you but i felt happy for him and i felt even more happy with his attitude in the game and all the general effort he put in for the team , even when it was obvious he just couldn't keep up later in the game. Essien i wasn't so impressed at first , but it's understandable being his first game and all.. however , he was getting better and better with each passing minute ; he even made some good runs with the ball and generally speaking , was well involved in the game. I hope and i believe he will help us , for as long as he is here. Taarabt seriously needs to work on his fitness and that generally takes a lot of time , so i don't have any high expectations for the foreseeable future. If he keeps going on like that though , well he could be on something here. Enough about the new players.

Abate needs playing time , so i don't want to say more about him. Abbiati i dont want to , our baldy is past his time and does all he is capable of. Inler's goal was magic , tho he clearly caught Abbiati well off guard. De Sciglio felt uncomfortable with Abate in front of him and i thought they didn't gel well together. Maybe that was just Abate , but still. Rami and Mexes didn't have a good game. I am saying this because we conceded 3. It's not only their fault of course , but when we concede 3 goals i can't say they did well enough. They did not. Generally speaking tho , when they both get in form and under better circumstances around the club , they could again become a really strong duo at the center of the defence. I don't want to comment on the bias against Mexes (or this or that player sometimes) , it's getting so boring i barely keep my eyes open whilst reading such comments.

Balo had a bad game. I felt really sad for him when i saw him crying and immediately thought he was racially abused all game. Not sure if that's what happened , but maybe it's because he "just" learned he is actually a father and he got overwhelmed by emotions , enhanced through the stress of the game. Idk really. Assuming is that , accepting such life changing events in one's life is never easy. It's understandable that he was like that , in and out of the game.

Robinho should very rarely start games and definitely not so important ones. He's unreliable. Kaka was ill and although he didn't offer that much , he could have done a lot worse. De Jong i felt he had a meh game , he helped when he had to , but also kept his distance from serious impact moments too. He seems tired to me , some more rest wouldn't hurt , but anyway , like i said , i trust in Seedorf . Pazzo also needs playing time , cause he seems like a shadow of last season's Pazzini to me. I hope he gets back on track as soon as possible, we need Pazzini.

Seedorf i barely have any issues with him so far. I love him , i believe him and i trust him. I like how he's going so far and i can envision his idea of Milan being a great team at some point , with great games for us fans to watch , win or lose. I don't share the common misery at all , maybe it's a tough season , but Milan's future isn't dark , if you ask me at least. I'd say we should be excited for what the future holds for Milan , but realistic about the present. Thinking like 07 Milan was yesterday won't help , at all. That team as much as we all loved them , is simply gone now and the club has serious issues that prevent them to replicate the same formula once again. I really don't know how long it will take , but i am sure we are getting there eventually.

TL;DR : Good game for Napoli , we did what we could and lost. I see improvements , but Milan still has a long way to go. We still need reinforcements , but it's too soon to yet again talk about the same things again . lol

Forza wrote:I don't blame Seedorf for changing things up, but as I said in chat, the 4-2-3-1 is probably not worth persisting with considering that we have no wingers and Clarence needs to realise that before the Atletico game. Furthermore, the 3 AMs are in no position to help us to defend against the counter. This wouldn't be a problem except that Essien is so slow that he cannot get back in time to tackle, and De Jong cannot do all of the defensive work by himself. Perhaps returning to the wingerless 4-3-1-2 could be an option?

I'd also like to see Pacifico promoted. We have half a season to break this guy into the team and I cannot see how he could be any worse than Mexes, Bonera, etc.

Balo is also an unreliable source of goals as a CF. We need Pazzo on the park at the same time to give enough of a threat.

I would like to see Kaka benched for Saponara and Poli reinstated over Essien. Honda needs to get fit before seeing game time again.

Pazzo ----- Balo
Saponara
Montolivo - De Jong - Poli
MDS - Pacifico - Rami - Abate
Abbiati

Thoughts?

Although i like both formations , what you basically ask here is which players are going to guide the team on. I feel we have lost many points without El Shaarawy and basically all of the effort falls on Balotelli now. What i am saying is , when Ses is back , really back , everything will be better. He just leads on the field , all of them look to him and he's been missing for a good while now sadly. Everything should fall around him and i feel one of the main reasons Seedorf wants the 4-2-3-1 is to enhance and help Ses in his game. I feel like the 4-2-3-1 is the best option , because if we go 4-3-1-2 , well.. can you see any good way of keeping Kaka , Honda and even Taarabt and Saponara happy , cause i really dont.

We need quality on the wings , true , but with Es back and some time with the formation , we won't be needing as much as it may seem right now. I'd say this team needs time more than anything else and actually few quality additions , not more than 2-3 important players who should be bound for the 11 , or impactfull rotation .

The only way i would like a 4-3-1-2 would be if Ses and Balo played together up front , with kaka behind them and Honda in the 3 and i don't think it can really work out with everyone being happy about it. Besides , this formation although it can help us along the way , lost us many points with this particular set of players. We should give the 4-2-3-1 a good chance and go with it. I don't know about you but since Seedorf brought it with him , i can see we are improving , even though it doesn't last for long during the game . Again , we need time more than anything else and it's already a lost season for Milan. We will only improve from here on and the question about the formation , is basically which players are going to lead . The formation IS these players.

You can see how much we miss El Shaarawy this season. Even when he wasn't scoring, he was helping our defence and making runs that open up spaces for other attackers. El Shaarawy dominates the left side of the field when he is present.

I really would like to see saponara play more, I think he has the potential to do very well.