Abbiati's contract to be renewed

Eivindo wrote:Its not just that he is declining, this sends out the wrong signals. I havent checked how much he earns, but I know its totally embarrassing when we give players like Mexes a top player contract. The way we play we should be one of the cheapest contract teams around.

Dortmund players earn a lot less than ours, no?

Yes. This is a huge problem. Our expenses dwarf every other team in Serie A and our wage bill was the highest in the league until very recently when Juve overtook us. A big part of the problem is that Galliani tries to get players on free transfers, but in doing so pays very high wages.

Would it not be better to buy a good player for 8 mil and pay them 1.5mil in wages p.a. instead of gettting a scrub on a free transfer and then paying them 4 mil per yr?

Transfer Deal Y:
Transfer: $8m
Wages year 1: $1.5m
Wages year 2: $1.5m
Wages year 3: $1.5m
Total: $12.5m + you have a potentially great player (or at least a good one)

Transfer Deal X:
Transfer: $0
Wages year 1: $4m
Wages year 2: $4m
Wages year 3: $4m
Total: $12m + you have a scrub who is unlikely to be good for long (if at all) and is very unlikely to be a great player

These numbers are arbitrary, but let's not pretend that this isn't happening. I'm 99% sure that Jorginho and Naingollan are getting paid less than whatever Muntari, Essien, Mexes, etc are earning.

Galliani, take note.

Honda already looks like a failure, and he might stick around for a while. Seedorf said he wants him out on the right, but he has no pace wtf

Abbiati how far you have fallen, his Goalkeeping skill is still above average but his physical state is just atrocious, hardly looks fit enough to sit on a chair no less start. When one can no longer keep up physically whilst basically standing for 70 + minutes a game you shouldn't be anywhere near a professional team. Great servant but it's your time I'm afraid, and i say that with all the compassion i can give.

Eivindo wrote:Honda already looks like a failure, and he might stick around for a while. Seedorf said he wants him out on the right, but he has no pace wtf

He could be used as the CAM. We are better off putting someone with pace out right. I wanted to see Honda at RW for a few more games after his first start there, but credit of Arq for picking that up straight away.

Arquitescu wrote:I have reached my limit with Abbiati.

Christian Abbiati has been a fantastic servant to Milan and on his day, is a goal keeper of the highest order in intelligence and class.

Yet how infrequent of those days become?

For all of Abbiati's positional awareness and intelligence, his decision to morph himself into a 300 pound mass of muscle has cost him his reflexes and reaction timing.

Forget penalties, in which he we hold 0 expectations for him to save considering he is usually 4-5 seconds late on them; it is the decline of his reflexes that have provided no confidence in him to make even the simplest of saves.

Staunch Milanisti defend him by saying "We are so lucky to have Abby and what he has done for the club" yet remaining in Milan for a period of time does NOT equate to you being amongst our standard senatore *cough* Bonera *cough* as its sickening to see these men receiving precedence due to their service to club and friendship with the Milan hierarchy. Abbiati is a leader yet is failing to set an example for the defence whom cannot be blamed when Abbiati fails to set a Rossonero example himself. He is excellent for 3 months then goes under par for 6 as his inconsistency is costing us dearly.

Whether it be regards to his flailing like a fish in aerial shots, failing to judge the trajectory of long shots, reacting 10 minutes too late to shots on the other side of his post, or guarding his post...Abbiati simply is not cutting it as he has the uncanny ability to make a goal look as if it was nigh impossible to save.

What infuriates me is his arrogance in which half of the shots he predicts will fly over the crossbar or past the near post yet they go in, a testament to his sloth and misjudgement to which once again has one say "that shot was impossible to save".

We need to invest in a top-class GK as Sommer has been sold to BMG, Iker is unlikely now while the scouting of Lopez and Agazzi further reinstates that we highly underestimate the importance of having a top-class GK to protect the last line of defence, let alone a reliable one. We call for investing in GK talents (Perin) yet that is a distant prospect as Milan's excuse is investing in the average Gabriel.

Enough is enough. His time is up. He needs to remain back-up and understand that his position will be at stake soon.

I've been talking about how Abbiati is really done since after the beginning of the season . For me it was obvious very very soon and being honest here , i wasn't surprised at all last night. I have always been nervous when i see him play this season , but tbh , i know that's all he can do anymore and at the end of the day , it is not really his fault Galliani didn't replace him with anyone better for the season. Whilst i feel sad for him and for Milan , that is the reality and i am not saying this to defend him. I couldn't , because he did horribly against Atletico.

We all expect a great keeper to replace Abbiati , but the hard truth is , Milan tradionally never believed in goalkeepers and that's a shame. I can see some reason in that tho , because , when we had defenders like Baresi and Costacurta , or Maldini and Nesta , e.t.c , when there's real protection in front of the gk and in general lines strong defences in front of the keeper , it will make his 90m look really good , great keeper or not.
Abbiati was no different. As long as he was playing with established players in front of him , he was doing well and his bad games weren't at all that often. In fact , in his first years he was actually solid . But this did change last season and that was when his last drops of individual brilliance were given . He can give no more and he knows it .

One thing i disagree with , like too much , is about Abbiati's positional awareness. Mate , what positional awareness ? Abbiati is stuck in the past , his methods are his instinct and that's it. Compare Abbiati to other world class keepers like Neuer or Cech for a few weeks and come back here and try and talk to me about Abbiati's positional awareness .. we conceded 4 goals , 1st and 3rd were crystal clear indications of poor positioning . 3rd especially was piss poor.

Also , his positioning against free kicks is seriously outdated too.. an example , remember Pirlo's goal in Turin? It must have been one of the easiest (if not the easiest) goals in his career , because Abbiati bereft himself of any hope with his positioning. What did he do there? He knew Pirlo as a player and thought Pirlo would try to outsmart him by shooting through the open space instead of bypassing the wall. So he trusted his instinct , once again , and stayed too far to the right , hoping Pirlo would shoot in his area of control. Pirlo obviously saw what Abbiati did and the rest was simply a piece of cake for him. All he had to do was aim in the exact opposite side and just bypass the wall , which from such a close distance is a piece of cake for someone like Pirlo. His positioning there was so bad , i remember myself crying out loud to the tv before the goal.. i couldn't believe what he was doing. In the end , that was the easiest free kick Pirlo ever scored and i doubt he will be gifted one like this again.

There are many more examples this season in many serie A games as well ; his non-existant exits from his small area when a clear threat could be halted with an exodus ; or how he defends corners ... oh my. Stuck in the 80s-90s. Never goes out to catch a threatening incoming ball . Never.Never.nev.. never. And he always did that , unless the ball was coming towards him . This is how Rossi taught him and he never occured to him to evolve and catch up with modern standards. That is how he learned the game , defenders clear everything in corners and he stays in his small area. What happens tho when his defenders are Zapata , Bonera and Mexes? Shit happen.

All in all , Abbiati must do what Nesta did , even though Nesta being wiser never allowed himself to hit such lows with Milan. Call it a day , ever so late. Better late than later. As for his replacement , and here comes the part where Milan tradiotionally never believes in gks , simply don't get your hopes up. There's Perin , but even if he is the one , it will take him years to be trully reliable. Any other worthy options are either almost impossible going by price or simply underwhelming if they would be cheap and i can't really see how is Milan going to spend more than a few millions on a keeper. We have never spend on keepers and its more than safe to say we won't do any better now , especially now , with budgets being so tiny for a club like Milan.

Forza wrote:

Eivindo wrote:Honda already looks like a failure, and he might stick around for a while. Seedorf said he wants him out on the right, but he has no pace wtf

He could be used as the CAM. We are better off putting someone with pace out right. I wanted to see Honda at RW for a few more games after his first start there, but credit of Arq for picking that up straight away.

Thanks Forza. Which is why I have barred all judgement of Honda (unless of him at RAM) until he plays a central role and on a consistent basis. It is one of Seedorf's worst mistakes along with playing Urby at LB (or Urby in general).

Not only Honda is fumed after playing a whole season in Russia but the role he is deployed cannot work how it works in Japan given their mobility.

People fail to understand the differences between central players and wide players. El Shaarawy is actually a pure central player but his talent and ability renders him excellent even out wide.


@Dante: I've read your post and I agree with the premise you have brought up. You see, Abbiati never was a goalkeeper on who's reflexes were renowned as he made him name through his intelligence to which was typical of any Italian GK who usually is below modern standard of fitness.

Yet what has resulted in his decline is not just the fact that he weighs more than our whole squad combined, but he has lost the sole attribute to which he could always rely on, now has morphed into a hollow shell of a goalkeeper, let alone Abbiati.

I mean there are so many excuses for him now; "Oh he is better than Fat Marco Amelia" "Oh his defence always fails him" yet that is where he truly does succeed; having that ability to make any goal nearly impossible to save and the fault of his defence. There is a fine line to where it is the GK's fault and the defence and Abbiati has crossed that line 2 years ago. Half of the time it seems he cannot even be bothered to move his mass as we praise even the simplest of saves; as such are the standards we have produced for him. He quite simply has forgotten half of the Goalkeeping 101 rules.

I'll tell you Dante and I know you know this feeling: Everytime there is a penalty against us; we don't expect him to save it. Everytime the ball is reaching a distance beyond a normal reach, we concede its inevitability as a goal long before it crosses the line. Everytime there is a shot from distance or a free kick, our heart is pounding since we know he will either fumble it or stand there thinking it will go out. When we feel these emotions, we know it is time to replace him.

THAT is what bothers me the most. He is clearly not threatened by his position given that we have Amelia as he *bleep* back-up while he knows that Galliani has his back.

You finally changed your avatar from Costa's smug face

What we are missing here, are the underlying factors behind why we've had a keeper like this for so long. Does anyone remember Dida? We jumped for joy when Abbiati relieved him, and we will do the same when the next replacement comes through the door.

I am getting the impression that a lot of fans especially in the Milan section of things live in an unrealistic centre of reality. I cannot tell you how many times people on this forum look to replace our old guard, as if we can just toss them away, as if they are broken, as if this is a working machine with interchangeable parts. What many seem to forget is two very distinct features of Milan; the need to economically get the best out of players, and the Milan family atmosphere.

On the first note, Galliani as a director is regarded by many to be the most frugal man in control of a transfer policy not only in the peninsula, but across Europe. what makes him this way is his dire need to economically maximize the reality of the situation. Milan as a team has taken a lot of flack for this, as this tendency from Galliani looks to get the most out of the old guard, and employs a transfer policy with players that many regard as "past it." When the signing of Essien had many of you baffled, it was something that I had anticipated for many months, ever since we were linked with him in 2009. You see when we wanted Essien back then, he would have cost us 20 million plus, and chelsea would have milked us for our money. Galliani saw this, and knew chelsea would be done with him after he turned 30, and replace him with a young talent. We got him for pennies in the end. I can name several other players Galliani has waited on like this, and it explains a lot of his policy, he just simply doesn't want to pay more than he feels he should, even if the player could potentially be a perfect fit. Its signings like these that are the earmark of Galliani. Look again at the sales of Kaka, Ibra, and Silva, all based on economics, not football. Milan is a business first and foremost, many of you advocate new signings but fail to see just how hard it is to acquire players, not only because of money, but also due to many factors outside of the control of the club. When we look at Abbiati, many of you see a past it player. Galliani, however, sees this area differently. To him, abbiati is one of the best for his role given his experience. Not only for 10+ but also those years were at milan. Not many last that long at our club. . How many other players could so easily slot into this role? How many people would come in with the love and appreciation in the dressing room of Abbiati. What many fail to see is that Galliani last summer could have put up for another keeper, or he could just simply renew something that is not "broken" in his eyes. Abbiati is a figurehead of milan as much as he is a frail keeper who should never had begun this season or even the last. While Abbiati is less than what Milan expects he is exactly what Galliani expects, and Galliani is happier to renew with him and save money then gamble on an unproven talent for millions of dollars.

Next is the issue of Abbiati's sentimental value to the team. How do you just axe a milan great like that? You dont, we dont do that as a club, and its the reason so many of our players come back into management and remain so tied to the club even after leaving. Do you guys understand what message that sends in the dressing room if a legend is just axed like that? Abbiati will leave when he wants to, we owe him that much for his years of service. Look back at Dida, absolutely an abomination for the last 3-4 years of his time here, yet we played him until it was really no longer possible. Milan would sooner have a loyal, below average player, than a new signing that costs money.

A clear understanding of this will give you all more realistic expectations of our club, rather than the lofty ones I constantly find myself faceplaming over. Optimism is fine in places like these, however a little realism would do this section wonders.

Its as simple as that.

True enough Arq. It is sad it has come to this for Abbiati and for Milan , better choices should have been made since last summer . This should be his final season , whether Abbiati has made the same decision or not. He loves Milan and for all his incompetence this season , he is still respected amongst our ranks for many a reason , but we are a season too late to replace Abbiati , really replace him. Amelia couldn't grab his spot , everybody settled down for too long uppon this situation , but if we want to get out of the mud in the coming years , Abbiati has to leave Milan in the summer.

I have no harsh feelings towards Abbiati , despite feeling in a very similar way as you through such moments in games.. i do think like that , more often than i should and it tells , it tells a lot about Abbiati these days. I certainly hope we put our trust on a young talent like Perin , who will bond himself with Milan over the years , becoming a solid and reliable solution for years to come.

I hope that . Do i expect it to happen? No. I wouldn't be surprised if Amelia was our keeper next season , as horrifying as this may sound. This is where we have fallen to , Milanisti dare not to hope anymore , always remembering how our past hopes ended up . From next season to next season , all our hopes lead us to was an experience of suspended but dissapointing in the end adventures , only to pause for paranoid summers where instead of being excited fans who eagerly await talented players , all we get is fear from losing what little quality we have left.

I dont have a clue who will replace Abbiati , but first thing first , someone has to . In the end though , it will be not enough on its own , because then comes the part for the replacement to actually be a quality option , or at least have credentials to become one. Who here with a sane mind expects Milan to replace Abbiati with a keeper worthy of playing for Milan anymore?

I know i don't expect such a thing . I say all that to outline that even if Abbiati's end at Milan is near , which undoubtly should be come May , exactly nothing will be solved for Milan. We actually need someone reliable to deem Abbiati's departure as an improvement for the team , otherwise i can see us missing good ol' Abbiati when Amelia or Agazzi can't even catch an open blanket against newly promoted Empoli next season.

giovanni_milan wrote:What we are missing here, are the underlying factors behind why we've had a keeper like this for so long. Does anyone remember Dida? We jumped for joy when Abbiati relieved him, and we will do the same when the next replacement comes through the door.

I am getting the impression that a lot of fans especially in the Milan section of things live in an unrealistic centre of reality. I cannot tell you how many times people on this forum look to replace our old guard, as if we can just toss them away, as if they are broken, as if this is a working machine with interchangeable parts. What many seem to forget is two very distinct features of Milan; the need to economically get the best out of players, and the Milan family atmosphere.

On the first note, Galliani as a director is regarded by many to be the most frugal man in control of a transfer policy not only in the peninsula, but across Europe. what makes him this way is his dire need to economically maximize the reality of the situation. Milan as a team has taken a lot of flack for this, as this tendency from Galliani looks to get the most out of the old guard, and employs a transfer policy with players that many regard as "past it." When the signing of Essien had many of you baffled, it was something that I had anticipated for many months, ever since we were linked with him in 2009. You see when we wanted Essien back then, he would have cost us 20 million plus, and chelsea would have milked us for our money. Galliani saw this, and knew chelsea would be done with him after he turned 30, and replace him with a young talent. We got him for pennies in the end. I can name several other players Galliani has waited on like this, and it explains a lot of his policy, he just simply doesn't want to pay more than he feels he should, even if the player could potentially be a perfect fit. Its signings like these that are the earmark of Galliani. Look again at the sales of Kaka, Ibra, and Silva, all based on economics, not football. Milan is a business first and foremost, many of you advocate new signings but fail to see just how hard it is to acquire players, not only because of money, but also due to many factors outside of the control of the club. When we look at Abbiati, many of you see a past it player. Galliani, however, sees this area differently. To him, abbiati is one of the best for his role given his experience. Not only for 10+ but also those years were at milan. Not many last that long at our club. . How many other players could so easily slot into this role? How many people would come in with the love and appreciation in the dressing room of Abbiati. What many fail to see is that Galliani last summer could have put up for another keeper, or he could just simply renew something that is not "broken" in his eyes. Abbiati is a figurehead of milan as much as he is a frail keeper who should never had begun this season or even the last. While Abbiati is less than what Milan expects he is exactly what Galliani expects, and Galliani is happier to renew with him and save money then gamble on an unproven talent for millions of dollars.

Next is the issue of Abbiati's sentimental value to the team. How do you just axe a milan great like that? You dont, we dont do that as a club, and its the reason so many of our players come back into management and remain so tied to the club even after leaving. Do you guys understand what message that sends in the dressing room if a legend is just axed like that? Abbiati will leave when he wants to, we owe him that much for his years of service. Look back at Dida, absolutely an abomination for the last 3-4 years of his time here, yet we played him until it was really no longer possible. Milan would sooner have a loyal, below average player, than a new signing that costs money.

A clear understanding of this will give you all more realistic expectations of our club, rather than the lofty ones I constantly find myself faceplaming over. Optimism is fine in places like these, however a little realism would do this section wonders.

Its as simple as that.

I will honestly say i agree with many of your points and the basis of your post is not wrong. Galliani does work in such ways and yes , we don't toss club legends and i always respected that. Yet i will leave our sore season do the talking for me and say no more. I am not the one to have unrealistic expectations , but there are certain things that must be done if Milan wants to take the marathon it's needed to return anywhere near where we have been. One of those is to not renew Abbiati's contract for next season. We did it to Ambrosini , Ambro who many deem one of the most loyal players to ever grace our shirt. Abbiati , despite of what Milan owes him , simply has to respect himself first and know when to stop. I am dead certain Abbiati realises those things , because himself has already said he doesn't have to be first option already from this season. I know he has stayed on because he was asked to and at least me , aknowledged that early on this season.

The thing is , Galliani for all the respect he deserves , is also majorly at fault for this situation too. And as for his transfer plans and rules of the market and what not , he has failed because Milan has failed, and we have failed hard lately . Our business model must be modernised , regardless of what Galliani has to do with Milan's economy. Because at the end of the day , you can say Galliani did his job to keep Milan afloat with what he had, but look at Milan today and tell me you can speak in his defence , since you seem to know what the rest of us can't get.

Look at Milan and tell me , all what Galliani has been doing was the right thing for Milan . You may understand some of Galliani's ways and support our management's behaviour towards our most loyal players , but that doesn't actually mean it's the right thing for Milan to keep doing after everything goes wrong , or that we judge wrong when we say Abbiati's time has come. It's ok to disagree with a small section of Milanisti , but once you get past you're own sureness of what Milan goes through , i suspect you will be able to realise that loyal players and the Galliani's of this world are good and are worth it when the team benefits from them , not the other way around. Because recently , these two aren't benefits for Milan who steps on the field and i say that leaving aside the sentimental me to say this.

I don't feel harshly towards Abbiati and i don't hate Galliani for what he has been doing. Nor i will be sad to see Abbiati stay for another season and for Galliani to keep in mind Milan's economics first of all . But Milan deserves better . Us the fans deserve better. You talk about loyalty to each other , but we are loyal for free . We are the first to admire the loyal players and hold them dear , much more than the management does. And we stay supporting Milan for free , for the rest of our lives.

Is it that much to want to at least want to see a good Milan game , not being thrown away by players who can't be up to the task anymore? I don't think so.

Something last. Remember Nesta . He could actually stay on for much , much longer at Milan. Galliani would offer him contract after contract untill he hit 40 or something unexpected happened. Look at what he did and think the same of Abbiati , he has to do the same.