Create and Post your own updated Milan Formation and Squad

All of you took the initiative to post your preferred formations and tactical line-up on the previous formation thread.

But now since perspectives have changed on the tactics, squad (form), and prospects. I would predict that most of you would not agree to your start-of-the season formations.

So Allegri has almost abandoned his 4-3-1-2 to go back to his old style and preferred style of play. Given the formations used and tested by him this year, create a formation based on the following that Max has used.

4-3-1-2/4-1-2-1-2
4-3-3
4-2-3-1
4-3-2-1
4-2-1-1-2

2 teams will be allowed as the first one your prime and dominant formation and the second just a your secondary thought.


4-2-3-1
Abbiati
Abate-Mexes-Acerbi-Didac
De Jong-Montolivo
Bojan-El Sharaaway-Robinho
Pato


4-3-3

Abbiati
Abate-Mexes-Acerbi-De Sciglio

Montolivo-De Jong-Nocerino

Pato-Bojan-SES

As you can see De Sciglio is omitted simply because a youngster should not be played all to regularly in case of burnout or over-exposure. Given our injury record I would without a seconds hesitation have him the back-up for Didac or Abate given his superior attacking skills than the latter. If both are out, MDS on the right and the under-appreciated Antonini on the left.

Mexes and Acerbi simply because I still feel Mexes if he controls his temper and mentality is and can be a vital cog in our back as especially with his excellent command and presence. Acerbi because he is our CB talent and his highly underrated in this section, as he is almost a part of the signs we all malign, but should single out. Yepes is the only reliable back-up as on form he is a physical presence who wonderfully cancels out aerial threat and can provide that in offence too. Not convinced or ever will be with any of our other CBs.

Midfield of the 4-2-3-1 is a dual pivot of De Jong and Monty. Both are defensively astute as Monty's role is obvious while De Jong has shown he can slot in MvB's role whilst providing some accurate (if not unimaginative) distribution. Bojan has shown his ability to play a Right sided AM role through his career and given his dynamism, dribbling and accurate passes he can do well, especially given his wonderful link-up play with SES. Robinho is looking slow and unfit but will pass to complete the play of the left sided midfielder. Pato can thrive in a central role which he is being prepared for and given his strength and two-footedness. We need our best finisher (by a mile) up front.

4-3-3 around the same but Nocerino provided his work rate and tactical off the ball runs into the box can give us the fluidity we need. Up front Pato playing a inside forward role while Bojan plays his natural central role and SES in his outside left position where he typically drifts centre to link up with Bojan and provide incisive distribution.

I left Pazzo out because despite my fanship of him I can confirm we will not suit this system as I can further explain why he does not. He can be a great impact sub though to finish chances.

a more attacking version of the usual 4-3-1-2.When we play big teams,I would just put De Jong in somehow


------------------Abs----------------
------Abate-Zap-Mex-MDS------
--Boateng-Montolivo-Nocerino---
---------------Robinho---------------
-------Pato--------------SES--------

De Jong sucks

Abate-Acerbi-Mexes-De Sciglio
--montelivo-de jong-nocerino--
---Boateng--Pazzini---SES---

First main formation

-------------------------Abbiati
Abate-----------Mexes-------Zapata-----------Urby

------------------Montolivo----De Jong

--------------------------Prince
------------Robinho---------------------------SES
---------------------------Pato

With signings I want

----------------------------Abbiati
Abate-----------Benatia---------Ogbonna-------------Urby

------------------Montolivo-------De Jong

-----------------------------Prince
-----Yarmolenko---------------------------------SES
------------------------------Pato

4-3-3


Boateng must be reinvented as a player. His flaws are too many to be constantly tried and retried as a trequartista and his already figured out one dimensional game has shot blanks on too many occasions for a change to not be made.

Abbiati makes some wonderful saves but has too many individual errors that lead directly to goals to be relied upon. Gabriel needs to be evaluated and if he proves himself, we have a new number 1. If not, Mattia Perin, anyone?

De Sciglio to eventually succeed Abate who's height as a football has already been reached. Never a right back in the first place, Abate does simply not provide enough going forward in any system to be relied upon consistently - despite his origins as a winger.

Mexes and Zapata as the CB pairing and even Acerbi to come in if there is not enough level headedness between the two. Didac to start on the right as soon as he is fit to play. Until then, we need to suffer Antonini's presence together.

Sell in winter / summer - Yepes, one of Mexes, Zapata and then Mesbah. Others, too, if higher quality replacements can be found. Bring in one high quality CB and that is all. Finances considered, of course. Bigger priorities elsewhere atm.

De Jong has quality than many posters on the forum bafflingly seem to miss. Does the same job as van Bommel in the defensive phase. Does his shorter passing range really matter that much for a holding midfield role? A keeper, IMO.

Montolivo to sit slightly deeper, almost rotating between a 4-3-3 and a 4-2-3-1 with Boateng employed as an attack minded box to box midfielder. Something like a Nocerino role where his first and foremost duties are that of a CM and not a CAM, but where he is allowed to join the attack and become that fourth attacker.

Wingers to be El Shaarawy and Robinho. Emanuelson to rotate. Not much to be said. Stephan must be given as many minutes as possible while competition for spots is low. We know how it is for youth in Italy and El Shaarawy must makes large strides this season for the good of his career - something he has obviously already begun doing.

Pato has immense quality and the only reason some people leave him out of their XI is his injury issues. On quality alone he walks into most XIs in world football.

Lots of gaps in the squad where we can be strengthened. Lots of midfield and defensive dead weight to be cleated. Lots for Galliani to do!

Forza Milan.

Hi Arquitecto. What's up mate..

I like the first formation you gave ; The 4-2-3-1. Milan could play that now. It offers a lot of dynamism in our play , both offensively and defensively. I also agree with what you said about Montolivo , De Jong and Bojan , so i won't repeat them myself. What i disagree with , is about De Sciglio , he has to become a regular and now , like Silva and Abate were allowed to do so. And so far , i am happy he does well . Optimistic about his abilities , but not getting carried away , he's our man at the left. May Didac has the same mindset and determination to challenge him for the place , we will all benefit. Let's continue,

Allegri had set other things in his mind for this season , but during the summer , he reevaluated the situation . We no longer play the 4-3-2-1 , Urby won't play regular LB , Silva and Ibra are gone and no senators to give us that edge week in week out. Also , Milan has taken a more offensive attitude , even though far from full effect , is nice to witness.

My primary formation will be the 4-2-3-1, of course . My biggest concern about it , is Boateng. He is no classic 10 , neither a modern one. He's just not that kind of creative player you will need right there up front. If that was so , any physicaly strong player , with fast movement alone and a powerfull shot , would be enough to play trequartista.


I would like to give Boateng yet another chance there , in the right wing. I still believe he is important , just he's not utilised correctly. Boateng struggles in his current role , where he must offer more than he will normaly receive. With Cassano and Ibrahimovic carrying that creative burden with no issue , Boateng was free to explode . Things have changed however . Anyway , Urby should play there too. Rotating these players there will add a certain stability on the right wing , i guess..

Bojan and Sharaawy , can easily form an on the field partnership , in my opinion. They are too clever and able , not to. This will allow Pato a certain priceless freedom to unleash himself up front. We can seriously do wonders with the 4-2-3-1 and some of our current players. Montolivo is proving to be a great add to the midfield. As is De Jong and Zapata at the back .

We now have a young , fast team with the talent needed to create new ideas on the field. I seriously believe in this team , even if it needs time to evolve into something inspiring. It will though .

As for my 2nd preffered formation , maybe later , i am not sure right now .

I think Urby Emmanuelson needs to be on the field. He is one of our most consistent performers and has done really well despite the team not. I think he can make a brilliant Left Back, I've always pushed to have him there.

Abbiati

De Sciglio Mexes/Zapata Acerbi/Bonera Didac

De Jong Monty

Bojan El Shaarawy Robinho

Pato

1) Abbiati should and will hopefully remain as our 1st choice for this season, his deficiencies in handling set pieces and crosses are very clear. But they have been exploited on many occasions this season, maybe the added responsibility of leading the backline has got to him?

2) Abate has always been one of my personal favorites, but honestly speaking, I can't remember any world class performances from him since the week when he owned both eto'o and ronaldo. I wouldn't mind if he keeps giving us 6 or a 7 on 10 performance all season, but his high profile errors don't justify his selection anymore. In my opinion Antonini had a better 11/12 season than Abate

3) Mexes and Zapata are easily the most accomplished center backs we have at our disposal. But I am against the idea of having them both play together, as they are too similar and too aggressive to be a good center back pair. Acerbi should be given his chance and if his last season with Chievo is anything to go by, he should be a starter soon enough.

4) I've already voiced my opinion of giving Didac a chance at left back. Antonini has been discussed enough, so I wouldn't want to go into it.

5) De Jong should be one of the first names on the team sheet, primarily due to the fact that we don't have anybody close to him in terms of quality to play the position. Having monty beside him would have his limited ability of distribution unexploited.

6)Bojan is the only player at our disposal who could play equally well on the left or right.There is no point picking Urby over Bojan, as the latter is a better player by miles. If there is a reason to drop Bojan, it should be his form in front of goal, and Urby and Boateng aren't good finishers by any stretch. El Shaarawy's best position in the centre and all our forward play should go through him. Robinho's best position is in the left wing and playing away from the striker will allow him not to miss any sitters. I choose Pato ( fully fit) over Pazzini as Pato can be lethal during counter attacks, Both will get playtime depending on form and fitness.

I don't think Boateng can be offered the free role anymore thanks to his limited capabilities as a player. When Ibra was there, there was no expectation of Boateng to deliver anything except providing the bundle of energy, so anything he provided looked like a bonus to us. He isn't better than the above mentioned players in their respective positions and hence I believe he should be a rotational player, if he isn't happy with that, we should sell him. Nocerino will get play time depending on our situations in games when we revert to different systems depending on the scoreline and our opposition.

I think 4-2-3-1,4-3-2-1 and are the best formations for Milan.4-2-3-1 has two problems.1)That formation usually needs a work-horse unless the team is excellent at the back.Milan arent right now so they need Nocerino.The problem with that is that would mean one of De Jong or Montolivo would have to sit on the bench unless Montolivo plays an Attacking Midfielder.2)The 4-2-3-1 formation isnt an easy formation to adapt to at all since the 4 upfront need to interchange as it simply because too predictable and easy to anticipate.Milan right now have played seven matches and they have lost 4 of them,so they need to go on a winning streak for a while if they atleast can get into a Europa League spot at the end of the season.4-3-2-1 is a very balanced formation and Pato upfront with Bojan,SES and Pato could be a deadly combo so I think thats how Milan should go for now.

VivaBarca38 . i like how you explain our short term situation , that we must take the safest approach , 'for now'. Seems rational , but in my opinion it can't be the 4-3-2-1 anymore.

You specify the importance of sticking with Milan's balanced 4-3-2-1 ; but this formation , requires a player up front , with similar characteristics to Ibrahimovic. Someone who can keep the ball high up , who can synergize with everyone. I think we lack that player as of now. Not Pato , nor Pazzo can do that. Even more so , these players want to run at the space to become dangerous , we can't feed them with long balls like we did with Ibra. And most importantly. We need a highly creative player up front to control our attacks, like Cassano , who's also absent.

You could say , that we should keep the formation and just change tactics , but that's difficult too. We don't have the midfielders to create the amount of possesion needed , to break or disturb functional , solid defences , for our forwards to gain space to run at. I mean , Montolivo is just one man.. De Jong plays deep behind and Emanuelson and Boateng are too individualist to keep enough possesion , they try too much stuff .
Our attack would simply not work , it's not a coincidence Allegri changed formation & tactics.

We could try this, Boateng-De Jong-Montolivo in the midfield , similar to Barcelona's 3 , though i really doubt it's funcionality..We defend differently and pressure less , so that midfield is excluded as well. Not to mention we no longer try a high defence line , all of our defenders don't get along well at it.

If you think you can add something that i am missing , let it be known , but the 4-3-2-1 , i think it should remain in the past. We don't have the forwards needed , neither the midfielders to support that kind of setup . There's certainly the energy and workrate to support it , but in my opinion , to no avail.

Hi MTD ,

Emanuelson is giving his all on the field , he wants it badly to succeed & be a regular. I think we can all agree to that. Although i was very fond of the idea , of him becoming our regular left back , i think we should forget about it . The reason is very simple :

De Sciglio & Didac

These two players , even though they are not at all as technical and advanced as Urby , they could become better leftbacks in time. If not for them , i would definitely applaud such a move for Urby. Right now however , De Sciglio is going very well and if Didac has anywhere the same effect as left back , then what's the point of Urby playing there too , especially when we consider his defensive attitude aint't fascinating either.. Some months ago , indeed i wanted Urby there as well , but i also specified that if one of these 2 players established himself there , they would deserve the place and frankly , De Sciglio is proving himself worthy , so far.

Urby said he likes the right wing anyway ; i think he has done way better there recently than any role he has been given in the past , won't you agree ..

Dante wrote:VivaBarca38 . i like how you explain our short term situation , that we must take the safest approach , 'for now'. Seems rational , but in my opinion it can't be the 4-3-2-1 anymore.

You specify the importance of sticking with Milan's balanced 4-3-2-1 ; but this formation , requires a player up front , with similar characteristics to Ibrahimovic. Someone who can keep the ball high up , who can synergize with everyone. I think we lack that player as of now. Not Pato , nor Pazzo can do that. Even more so , these players want to run at the space to become dangerous , we can't feed them with long balls like we did with Ibra. And most importantly. We need a highly creative player up front to control our attacks, like Cassano , who's also absent.

You could say , that we should keep the formation and just change tactics , but that's difficult too. We don't have the midfielders to create the amount of possesion needed , to break or disturb functional , solid defences , for our forwards to gain space to run at. I mean , Montolivo is just one man.. De Jong plays deep behind and Emanuelson and Boateng are too individualist to keep enough possesion , they try too much stuff .
Our attack would simply not work , it's not a coincidence Allegri changed formation & tactics.

We could try this, Boateng-De Jong-Montolivo in the midfield , similar to Barcelona's 3 , though i really doubt it's funcionality..We defend differently and pressure less , so that midfield is excluded as well. Not to mention we no longer try a high defence line , all of our defenders don't get along well at it.

If you think you can add something that i am missing , let it be known , but the 4-3-2-1 , i think it should remain in the past. We don't have the forwards needed , neither the midfielders to support that kind of setup . There's certainly the energy and workrate to support it , but in my opinion , to no avail.

Great points there.However,Boateng as a central midfielder is a terrible idea in my opinion.With the amount of shots he takes,he should play as a striker.I dont think Milan are in such a crisis like people are pointing out.The defence is very decent.It may not be as good as last season as they had Thiago Silva and Nesta.I dont rate Abate too highly as the guy constantly makes mistakes,but Milan have Vila and De Sciglio.De Sciglio is an amazing right back.Hes very good at both attacking and defending unlike most full-backs nowadays.His positioning is very good,his crosses arent bad by any means and he really isnt bad at anything.The guy is kind of like Lahm and I think he could become better than him.Admittedly I havent seen too much of Vila but from what ive seen I have concluded that he seems better than anyone Milan have at that position.The Forwards are very good too.On their day any one of them can be amazing...even Boateng as we saw last season.Bojan although he didnt do to good at Roma and he didnt get alot of playing time and the same for us although he was brilliant for one season.I think the guy has it in him to be not only a very decent player but a very good one.The guy has is very fast and has amazing dribbling and can link up very well.As for Pato,he needs to stay healthy.I remember I read something about his ex-wife saying that the main reason for their divorce and his constant injuries was because of him partying constantly so he needs to stop that.The funny thing is that the guy just turned 23!I think he pulled a Martins.For how much hes been at the top level you'd think the guy is 27 or 28.On top form the guy had been one of the best strikers in the world.SES I dont think I really need to say anything about him.

I believe the main problem for Milan is the midfield.If you looked at last season,you guys had Ibra and Cassano who are both amazing creators and they both have one of the best final passes in football.Now theyre both gone.Now you just have 3 or 2 forwards just going towards the goal with no one setting them up.Completely seperated from the midfield.Any team right now that is in good form until now this season has atleast one playmaker.One of the other big problems is that Milan arent spending any money and that makes the players at the club demotivated.Atleast they need to do some scouting if they want Milan to be where they should be and what the fans expect from the team;Milan should be on the top of the table.

Very good response VivaBarca

Let me categorize some stuff first.

Boateng is fantastic player if utilised correctly. Right now , we have Pato , Bojan , Pazzo and even Niang to player as strikers , so adding Boateng it will create unecessary problems. Putting him in the central midfield position .. instead of Montolivo ? or Nocerino? I don't find that idea solid , because these 2 players have proven they can offer both offensively and defensively , when Boateng gets a yellow card every 2 tackles.

Good point about our defence. Of course , it's far away from Silva-Nesta , (fap-fap) but it has it's own potential . It's faster and can move the ball equaly good in my opinion , as proved by our possesion stats and succesfull passes , as of now.

For Abate and the 2 youngsters that emerged , i trust in Allegri . I think Abate will keep his place , he does some mistakes from time to time , but he's also very solid and difficult to dribble , even against top opponents(unless that's Milito..)

Our midfield . Well , since it didn't work like we all wanted against big teams with 3 last year and looked shaky with 3 this year too , i will again suggest the 4-2-3-1. It will open our game , add speed on the flanks and when defending , if just the players make a sprint towards our box , they are in defending positions , no need to have headless workhorses in the midfield that are there for that sole purpose , like Muntari

For our goals this season , we must keep it real . Top 3 is the goal for Milan , like Allegri said in the summer. With a healthy Pato , an improving Bojan and an on form Sharaawy , all combined in the 4-2-3-1 , we can challenge for the top 3.