Midyear player assessments

OK i promised that i'd get involved on this forum in chat... that means i have to start watching Milan games a lot lol. Can you peeps give me your player midseason assessments? Sure they're not very good. But want to get a frame of references.

Keep your chins up lads. Berlu can't live forever and Milan is Milan.

I'm not even a Milan fan (obviously) but I do watch a fair bit of them

GK- Always seems to be changing between Abbiati, Amelia and Gabriel so i'm not even gonna comment on that


Zapata - Truely an awful player, sometimes does the odd impressive last ditch tackle... usually because he's making up for his own mistake

Mexes - Not at Zapatas level of worthlessness, but he's not the sort of player Milan can depend upon.

Constant - Awful player in his own right, time and time again he and Zapata drag Milan down

MDS - Still a raw talent, but a very promising young full back. Could be a starter for Italy in the next few years.


NDJ - He's a great defensive midfielder tbh, he's definitely not the one responsible for Milans shortcomings

Poli - I like Poli, at times he's oddly left out of the team but he really is good enough for a top 3/4 side to start him regularly.

Muntari - His decision making can often be downright stupid, but he's actually often a clutch player in big games. But still, not a player Milan should be using all too often

Montolivo - Disappointed me the most, aside from a few games he has been attrocious. Horrible 6 months for him

Kaka - Surprisingly useful since returning to Milan. Although this might be due to him being desperate for a WC call up considering it would probably be his last and it's in Brazil.

I don't expect him to keep this level of performances up for long. Especially since Brazils coach more or less said he's not good enough after the derby.

Birsa - Meh, done better than expected in these 6 months. Nothing special

Balotelli - Mixture of world class and frustrating performances. As per usual.

SES - Barely played due to injury

Matri - Top player

sportsczy wrote:OK i promised that i'd get involved on this forum in chat... that means i have to start watching Milan games a lot lol.  Can you peeps give me your player midseason assessments?  Sure they're not very good.  But want to get a frame of references.

Keep your chins up lads.  Berlu can't live forever and Milan is Milan.

good luck on that , it will be time well spent . We are a joy for the eyes..

Mediocre , below par , underachieving , uninspired , a few times understimating opponents , general lack in quality play , all these describe Milan in this first half of the season. And injuries. Lots of injuries. Almost beyond belief.

Best player has been De Jong , by far. De Sciglio has been very good also , for the little time he has. Kaka , Abbiati , Poli , Muntari and Balotelli have some (very) good nights so far , but they are inconsitenct. It mostly depends on how the rest of the team is playing ..

I could talk about all of them , a lot . About tactics too. but i suppose you should probably read a few pages from previous threads , if you have some free time to spare. Just to get the general idea. btw , who forced you into watching Milan , you lost any bet ? lol

Alrighty i'll get the ball rolling

MDS: Injured for quite a while, but has been on and off in some his appearances. He'll mature and avolve with time.

Abate: Same deal with De Sciglio, one game he's Cafu, the other Ziegler. I like the fact that he scored his first goal ever for Milan but he needs to up his game, otherwise he'll be going for free next summer nad we'll have to look for alternatives.

Mexes: Started off well but drastically dropped in terms of performances. He's currently on the bench in favor of Bonera. On form he's our best CB no doubt, but he needs to get back in that form if we ever hope to start defending properly again.

Zapata: No comment

Constant: Extremely poor, he's been destroyed in countless games. Notably Biabiany did a number on him.

Emanuelson: I never liked him being deployed in a LB role, but he can sometimes be our most threatening attacking fullback. His positioning when defending is piss poor though.


Montolivo: Hasn't been the same Montolivo that carried our midfield last year, very disappointed not just with his inconsistent performances but with his skills as a captain. He should know better than to get red carded in certain games, furthermore i don't see him driving the team for the win enough.

NDJ: Our best midfielder this season but thats not saying much, he really solidified his presence in the team during pre season. Isn't afraid to get down and dirty, which is something that Milan lacks at the back.

Muntari: He was in the form of his life late Sept. to Oct. Poli had to be on the bench because of this.  He can go full retard in certain games, like doing absolutely nothing, shoot from 40 yards or just get red carded.

Poli: Had a fantastic debut and start to the season, i love how he tries to drive the team forward with his runs, usually attracting markers off position. One of the better midfielders this year, though he hasn't started a lot of games because Muntari. His performances started to drop in the last month or so.

Birsa: Saved us a couple of times this season in Serie A, but lets be frank, he's not cut out for CL. I'd accept him as bench material. Allegri shifted him around from AM to the wings, but he was horrible on the wings. His best position is AM. Got injured just recently for a month i believe.

Kaka: I had my doubts with this transfer, but he really changed my opinion. Our best forward so far. He's been primarily used on the wings, sure very slow, hardly beats his marker. But the guy knows how to deliver a ball and who to deliver it to. Furthermore, he isn't afraid to track back and help out the defenders, which is something that i really like.

SES: Can't really say much, due to injury. We badly need his energy, Kaka cannot last 90 mins playing 2 games a week.

Balotelli: What can i say about Mario. He's stupid. He's brilliant. He doesn't stay on his feet. He's a great FK taker. He missed his last 2 penalty shot. He's involved in a lot of our goals this season. He moans. He gets yellow carded. He needs service. He goes down to the ground way too much. He isn't clinical. He tries to be overdramatic at times. He has been a mixed bag this season. We need the Mario that carried us in the second half of last season.

Matri: Garbage

Robinho: Ughhh...That feint that he did against Barca still haunts me. Not much i can say really tbh

Anyone i've missed, i'll do some other time. Really exhausted

GK

Abbiati - His reflexes are not as good as they once were, but he's still our no. 1 choice.

Gabriel - A potentially good GK in the future. Still raw and inexperienced. Has been getting starts this season due to Abbiati being injured.

Amelia - A good back-up, but that's it. It scares me when he plays in big games.

WBs

Abate - Best RB in the squad. Good at everything except crossing. Makes the odd catastrophic mistake.

De Sciglio - A good RB who is also very capable at LB. A youth system success for Milan. Has often been injured this season.

Constant - A converted midfielder. Satisfactory against weak Serie A teams, but way out of his depth in the CL.

Emanuelson - Same as Constant.

Zaccardo - Nowhere near fast enough or smart enough to defend against wide threats. Has also been used as a CB when all our other CBs are injured. He was one of these band-aid free transfers that Galliani made to temporarily cover up the cracks, but as with many of these stopgaps, they have stuck around and become liabilities.

CBs

Bonera - Used to be our worst defender and is now one of our best options after the departure of T. Silva and Nesta. That statement says more about the poor quality of our other defenders than any improvement Bonera has made in his game. Was also out due to injury for most of the season so far.

Mexes - Defended by some in this section, but consistently deemed to be inadequate by others (including myself). Why? Slow, red card liability, poor positioning, can't defend set pieces properly.

Zapata - Makes Mexes look good.

Silvestre - Probably a better option than Mexes. We don't really know if he has improved since his horrible form at Inter because he has been injured for most of the season.

CMs & DMs

Muntari - A CM who runs forward and scores goals to cover-up his shortcomings in passing, tackling and performing his defensive responsibilities.

Nocerino - Had one good season for us playing as LCM where he also scored over 10 goals. Since then he's looked like a 'nothing player' who disappears in most games.

Montolivo - I often criticised Montolivo for being inconsistent in the past when he was at Fiorentina. He had a superb season in 12-13, but seems to have reverted back to that inconsistent form now. This is partly due to the fact that Allegri continues to move him around and use him as a utility in midfield when he is really a pure CM and nothing else.

Poli - another CM who Allegri uses as a utility. Had some good form early in the season, but being benched for Muntari and being shifted around to play positions like LB and RW has brought him down. Will likely return to form if played in his correct position.

Cristante - raw, but promising youth player. CM. Not ready for the big-time yet. May get some opportunities in the 2nd half of the season because we're out of contention for CL next year.

De Jong - Top-class DM. One of the very few players who has put in good performances in almost all games this season.

AMs

Birsa - AM who pops up and scores the odd goal. He was meant to be a depth player, but due to injuries he has seen a bit of game-time. Another Galliani band-aid, but at least he's not ready to retire like Zaccardo.

Saponara - Young AM who got his first start against Inter. Didn't set the world alight, but seems to be a very comfortable and capable player.

Kaka - Has been very good for us. Is obviously not at the peak of his powers, but his decline has been greatly exaggerated by some people while he was at Madrid. Still technically great, quite fast and he's a leader on and off the field.

STs and CFs

Matri - Was bought for a hefty 13m from Juve to replace Pazzini while the latter was out on a long-term injury. Pazzini is now finally fit and in the meantime Matri has managed to score 1 solitary goal. That says it all really.

SES - Everyone knows what a talent this kid is. He's been injured for almost all of this season though.

Pazzini - A proven goalscorer. Has been injured for all but a few minutes at the end of our last game (when he returned from injury).

Balotelli - our best striker and a great FK taker. Needs to be more clinical with the chances he gets because our midfield is not good enough to supply him consistently.

Robinho - waste of space. One good game every 3 months doesn't cut it. Is always injured.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Arrivals: Honda and Rami: Will slot in at CB and AM. I expect them to start every game. Honda is not eligible for CL.

Thanks guys.

Read through some of the threads too and here's an over-encompassing observation:  Allegri isn't going to change.  He has his tactics and his way of running the team, win or lose.  So it makes a lot more sense to see how players are able to execute his style as opposed to hoping for Allegri to change...

The big problem i see on this team is leadership.  Balo is not a leader obviously.  Yet, the team is built around his skills.  The team takes on his personality because it is built around him...  that involves the good, the bad and the ugly that even our to mediocre when you add it all together.  That's Balo and Milan in a nutshell.

To me, Milan would do well to find another fulcrum for the team.  Since Honda is coming and probably Radja Nainggolan, i'd suggest the team building around these two... it's always better to build around the midfield anyhow.

Defense... well what can you do lol. Lack of talent at CBs. That said, it's middle of the pack in Serie A statistically. So that means that the attack is middle of the pack too. I understand the lack of talent on defense... but the attack, no. Milan has to score more.

When's the next game,

I think that to say the team is built around Balo is an oversimplification. He was suspended for 3 games and we still played the same way, but with Matri instead.

I don't think our team is built around any one player. It's really quite dysfunctional. Our GK has injury problems; we have no consistent CB pairing, let alone a high quality CB pairing; at least one of our WBs is always injured; our midfield changes its shape every second game (including the positions of our AMs); and our strikers are denied supply in dangerous areas. In addition to this, SES, our miracle teenager saviour of last season, has been out injured for almost every game. These are the ingredients in the recipe for mid-table mediocrity.

Let let me rephrase...  Allegri built his success around creating an attacking focal point (Ibra) and having the other players key off of him.  He's trying to recreate that with Balo.  Well, Balo is far from being Ibra.

What happens is that when Balo is out or isn't playing well, the team tends to look out of sorts completely because looks to organize itself around the skill of the central attacking player.

I watched about 3-4 Milan games so far and i noticed it... there isn't a system that the players can fall back on.  The midfield shape is changed all the time because Allegri is reacting to the form of his strikers as opposed to just settling on a system and allowing the players to settle in.

BUT, having quality and experienced midfielders may change that.  They may force a style on the team even if the manager won't.  De Jong as the DM with Nainngolan/Montolivo as the flow players and Honda/Kaka in front can regulate play.  If the winter mercato happens like it's supposed to, i can see a Milan revival.  

The key to the whole thing is dominating midfield and possession.  Given the poor defense, it will protect them.  It will also overcome inconsistencies from the striker.

We'll see.

GK

Abbiati - Has been declining for a few years and has hit an all time low this season. Has flapped at 9/10 balls he has received this season. High time we get an adequate replacement for him.

Gabriel - Has potential to be a good goalkeeper. Abbiati's injuries gave him some gametime where he impressed with some good saves but also let in some savable goals. Needs to mature more.

Amelia - Has done okay at the games he played but still far from trustworthy. Handling of the ball is still shocking.

FBs

Abate - One of the best fullbacks in the league who needs to show more consistency at his age. Has a brilliant game followed by a bad one. Crossing is very poor and more than once has ruined attacks with his Bebe level crosses. Can be a rock defensively at one game but be a direct cause for a goal at the next. All in all he has more good days than bad days but he needs to reduce his number of bad days

De Sciglio - Best young fullback in the world. Almost plays as good at LB as he does at RB and showcased his remarkable defensive and technical skills this season. Note, he has not played much. Has been injured a lot and hopefully will maintain fitness for the rest of the season. He needs to be more confident in attack, at times he is too timid and predictable.

Constant - What do you expect of an average midtable CM turned LB? Did quite well against weak teams but got ripped to shreds by decent to excellent attacks. Not big team calibre at all.

Emanuelson - Jack of all trades, meh at all. Has been dynamic and threatening in attack but horrible defensively at LB. Needs to GTFO to the Premier League again.

Zaccardo - A past his prime defender whose prime was nothing special to begin with. Looked slow both physically and mentally but has not committed any defensive brainfarts like Mexes, Zapata and sometimes Abate have been prone to this season.

CBs

Bonera - Has been injured for a while but looked solid after his return. Far from being the abomination he used to be a few years ago but far from world class too.

Mexes - I'm a part of the 'don't rate Mexes' half of the Milan section and this season has proven to everyone why a lot of people do not rate him. He is slow, non-existent at defending set pieces and a thug who gives away fouls and gets booked like no tomorrow.

Zapata - The black Baresi.

Silvestre - Has been injured a lot (a recurring theme if you noticed ) but has given better performances that Mexes and Zapata when he played. Seems to be more like his Catania self that his Inter self when fit.

CMs & DMs

Muntari - Has been on nice goalscoring form which does not make up for his poor passing, tackling, positioning, vision, marking, everything that you would want out of midfielder. Also is an idiotic hothead who got a 3 match ban for assaulting an Inter player.

Nocerino - Completely invisible in the games he played. Literally all he does is run and foul players.

Montolivo - Now some people are exaggerating. He has not been atrocious for 6 months. He has performed atrociously when deployed as an AM where he always sucked. Failed to replicate his excellent form of last season which I don't blame him for with the injuries, mismanagement and constant changes in midfield by Allegri. What I do blame him for is lack of leadership and maturity shown. He is our captain and the example he sets is getting a red card not once, but twice? Needs to straighten up his act.

Poli - Had a blistering start to the season but slowed down since owing to being benched for the more defensive Muntari, covering at RB, pushed to the wing, switched to CM/AM/DM. Still one our better players this season.

Cristante - No comment. Has not played enough.

De Jong - Great DM. Has been an excellent ball winner for and has probably been our most consistent player. One criticism is an obvious one, he is a thug. Gets a lot of yellow card and makes some nasty challenges on opposing players.

AMs

Birsa - Traded for Antonini with Genoa, looks like we got the better part of the deal. Gave two match winning performances as lone AM but performed poorly on the wing and when played beside Kaka. Should be backup to Kaka and Honda for the second part of the season.

Saponara - Great young talent who got injured before the season started. Performed solidly against Inter in his first start of the season. One for the future.

Kaka - Once again, another player who got immediately injured but gave some excellent performances after his return from injury. Far from the untouchable Kaka of 2007 with his blistering pace long gone but still a class act. Had some poor performances too.

STs and CFs

Matri - Did everything a striker possibly can do wrong, save for one odd goal. Terrible signing.

SES - Has been injured almost the entire season. Frustrating as hell.

Pazzini - Missed out the entire season through injury and returned for a few minutes in our last match. Should relegate Matri to the reserves now.

Balotelli -An immensely talented player who was carrying us at the first stages of the season. Great striker and set piece taker whose attitude and primadonna characteristics are holding him back. Has been lacking confidence for a while. Tends to miss chances which he would blast in the top corner had he been more confident and needs to cut out his diving.

Robinho - Only relevant thing he did this season was score vs Barca where he screwed up a golden chance too. Waste of wages who will hopefully return to Santos soon.

Very glad to see you participating in this section sports, thanks for your posts. I would like to address this topic with a more general overview before I offer individual assessments, as I feel that it would be unfair to make certain criticisms without first highlighting the fact that whilst the squad has under performed, many have been set up to fail.

I'd first like to draw upon your point concerning Allegri's use of a focal point through the centre, something that I would quite readily agree has defined Allegri's time at Milan and greatly affects the success of the surrounding team structures. It may seem pointless to discuss now that Allegri has been sacked, however I've been wanting to find the time to respond for a while and it remains important to identify what went wrong so that mistakes are not repeated.

Balotelli has become the focal point of our attack. Not a like for like replacement for Ibrahimovic, but certainly the player to whom the team responds and builds around. Whilst Balotelli proved himself to be capable of fulfilling a role as this reference point during the second half of last season, the next six months have proven extremely difficult for the team due to injuries to integral players, poor interventions in the transfer market in which we failed to acquire players needed to build upon our success and support a system built around Balotelli, the loss of other players who were not adequately replaced and finally issues such as suspension, attitude and form.

I shall go into the proper detail in the Tale of Two Halves thread, however the main points to take away from these six months are our lack of width, our lack of intelligent movement in the final third, our inability to hold the ball in the final third and the lack of a source of a consistent final ball. In another of sports' posts, it highlighted the need to use possession in a defensive manner, dominating the ball in order to protect the defence. This I would argue however, is something that Allegri has promoted for a long time and something that has continued as a trend this season. We are a side, in the league at least, rarely in Europe, that holds onto the ball and does dominate possession. On average, we hold the ball 59.6% of the game, a league high. Whilst we're only 5th for home possession at 55.4%, away from home we're first by a mile with 63.3% of possession, the only side to even break the 60 mark. Allegri's principles have remained constant with regards to this aspect of our play be it our successful recovery in the second half of last season or our disastrous start to this season. The issue with our midfield's performance is not a black and white issue of possession but of being given the opportunity to excel creatively rather than recycling possession without purpose or plan. The best example I can offer is that of the best themselves, at least as a midfield. The failure of Barcelona against Bayern Munich offers the parallel of a team dominant in possession and full of talent being taken to the cleaners that reflects our entire season in character. Whilst Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets were naturally mocked in the aftermath, such an analysis failed to realise that whilst the charge that all the Barcelona midfield seemed capable of was holding possession rather than creating chances, this was all they were essentially allowed to do. The failure of Barcelona's attack to provide quality on the ball in the final third, to bring each other into play, to provide movement to open space and time for others, to take on defenders and relieve the pressure put on the team robbed the midfield of the ability to succeed. In the same manner, the likes of Montolivo have been asked to replicate the success of last season's recovery with a forward line that no longer provides the width, runners in behind, late threat from midfield and ability to hold the ball through the centre that allows a central playmaker to succeed. Having removed such essential characteristics from our play, it's little wonder that all we've often been able to do is recycle the ball aimlessly.

With this context in mind, I offer my individual assessments. Whilst I am aware that the above is quite an intimidating block of text, I do believe it's essential to understand my judgements and the fate of our team thus far.

Goalkeepers

Abbiati - What else can one expect from Abbiati? A typically slow start in which he dmaages our game only to produce stunning displays having played himself into form over the months. An injury ridden campaign has affected his game time, however despite his obvious quality, Milan can no longer wait for a leader of the squad to turn up late year after year. This should be his final season.

Amelia - Decent in his single game against Barcelona, however a keeper whose lack of command makes our defence nervous and limits his use. I look forward to seeing the back of him.

Gabriel - Stable at best, frustrating at worst, it has not been an outstanding time in goal, however he is very young and being but a back up, he hasn't been able to establish himself for a period of consecutive games that could allow him to show his true worth. Doubtless would benefit from being the starter at a club on loan or of simply departing from the circus we call Milan.

Fullbacks

Abate - On his day he's a blessing, however he's been dealing with niggling injuries for over a year and the lack of a consistent run has been telling in his form. Whilst our most reliable fullback, this has not been a good campaign and we're not going to see a return to his best unless he can get on a year long run without injury. He's been sorely missed however when he is out.

De Sciglio - Another who is sorely missed when out, he has shown maturity when called upon, though he doubtless needs a lot of polishing before he is a finished product, both defensively and offensively. He has made great progress though and if, like Abate, fitness will allow him a consistent six months then we'll only see him become more influential in the team.

Constant - He has rarely featured and he has done litle to have the fans calling for his return to the team. A player who should leave in any summer clean out.

Emanuelson - Allegri's persistence in using Emanuelson at left back has seen him improve defensively, delivering a performance of great concentration and steel at the back against Roma. He remains a liability however, particularly prone to strikers drifting in behind when forced to come centrally, though he is generally reliable when defending on the flank. One dimensional when coming forward, however he's often crowded out by Nocerino's aimless wandering and one can not fault him for effort. Should not survive a thorough squad clean out however.

Zaccardo - Provides about as much of an overlapping threat as Allegri on the touchline. Competes with Amelia and Simone Barone for the title of 'Least Deserving World Champion of 2006.' Hasn't seen the pitch often enough to do too much wrong, but a pointless purchase nonetheless.

Central Defenders

Zapata - Whilst Gervinho conspired to make him look like Franz Beckenbauer, he's largely been frustrating. To his credit, he has certainly had some excellent performances this season, however they are too few and far between for a defender at a club such as Milan and his decision making on the ball is frankly terrifying. He'd have perhaps been suitable as a back-up, however some money can likely be had for him as he remains a physically impressive defender and he'll hopefully depart in the summer.

Mexes - At his worst, Mexes is no better than Zapata. At his best, he's our most reliable defender. As with Abate and De Sciglio though, fitness has conspired against his season. Mexes is very much a defender who needs consistent time and a consistent partner to play himself into form, however he's been injured too often to build up the sort of form he displayed last season when he took hold of the backline and showed his leadership capabilities. Lacking that fitness however, he's been a disappointment when on the pitch. Hopefully a better six months beckons. Gets bonus points for elbowing Chiellini.

Silvestre - Stable when offered a chance, however injury has meant he has rarely seen the pitch. Would likely be a decent back-up, however our main concerns should be acquiring starters not their back-ups and I do not see us exercising our option to buy.

Bonera - On the ground he can be occasionally accomplished and even cheeky with the ball, as seen in an excellent performance against Inter. In the air he's the human incarnation of the Hindenberg disaster. Useful for his versatility and simply a part of the furniture, he must only ever be a back-up.

Central Midfield

De Jong - An excellent return from a horrible injury, De Jong has been one of the few who has consistently performed. Whilst there has been the odd game where I have been critical of De Jong, he's shown his intelligence and quality. Arguably our best this season, though he hardly has much competition.

Montolivo - As I detailed above, this has been a nightmare for a playmaker. Long term injuries to El Shaarawy and Pazzini, in combination with the departure of Boateng have robbed Montolivo of wide options in possession, of runners in behind the defence and off the last man as well as limiting our counter-attacks, which would usually flow through our captain. Needs to be given the opportunity to thrive as he did last season.

Muntari - A healthy tally of goals and a healthy share of dirty work, yet it's been no less frustrating a season. I'd offer him the same excuse I do our other midfielders that our attack has been so disfunctional that we could never get started to begin with, but it's invalid because he wouldn't have passed it anyway. Will almost certainly score from 50 yards one of these days through sheer persistence, however he can be no more than a back-up and limited to a single position as he is too erratic to ever anchor. His push on Kuzmanovic was truly insane, though I do understand the temptation.

Cristante - His hard work in training has paid off, earning the trust of the coach with his first Serie A minutes, grabbing his first goal and assist over his first two starts. He has a long way to go however, particularly in improving his defensive presence. Bryan is a tall lad, however he's slight of frame and physically I expect him to become more competitive in the years to come. He's been decent in possession thus far and can only grow in confidence, though he's clearly only ready to be used in slight rotation. His performance against Atletico will tell us a lot of his character.

Poli - He has faded after starting well, though he has been most affected by our constant changes in formation and personnel up front after Montolivo. A midfielder who thrives on moving about and combining with those ahead of him, our lack of options up front, whether it be when Montolivo is forced out of position as an attacking midfielder or against Barcelona when we had absolutely no structure whatsoever has reduced his early season promise to despair. Regardless of the greater issues in offense that Poli can not alter, he must do more in defence, particularly with regards to protecting his fullback. His versatility in himself playing RB has been appreciated, though he's clearly wasted here, lacking the physical gifts for the position.

Nocerino - Slow of thought and feet, Nocerino's interpretation of the central midfield role makes one wonder if he failed geometry at school. His continued presence has been my major grievance with Allegri this season, as he has robbed El Shaarawy, Robinho and Kaka of the space they've needed when fielded down the left, forcing them in field and deep whilst Nocerino gives the opposition fullback the opportunity to read War and Peace. His greatest asset, a deadly touch in front of goal, has been in vain given that we can't get the ball near the box as a consequence of his efforts.

Attacking Midfield

Kaka - A mixed bag, but overall a positive return. He has been culpable of missing chances which have cost us very important points, however he's been a decent threat in front of goal overall. He's worked hard defensively and sacrificed himself for the team, but too often left isolated up front due to the injury crisis in the forward line and incapable of taking on a team by himself anymore.

Birsa - When deployed centrally, Birsa has shown good decision making, reliable feet and an ability to influence the scoreboard, however incompatible with another central playmaker such as Kaka and a completely stunted player outwide due to a lack of acceleration or skill needed to get past his man. Struck down, like most, by injury.

Saponara - Injury ridden before the season even started, he endured a torrid time when substituted on against Fiorentina, however showed character and poise in the derby against Inter, rarely wasting the ball and not appearing overawed by the occasion. Needs consistent game time to grow however and like everyone else, ineffective outwide.

Forwards

Balotelli - A mixed bag. At times fantastic, at times maddening. He's missed Pazzini and El Shaarawy desperately and can now hopefully start to string together some consistent performances without having to receive the attention of the entire backline. Regardless, needs to stay on his feet and keep his mouth shut more often. Missed two important penalties as well.

El Shaarawy - Have we ever missed a player so much? Provides quality in midfield during the build-up, poise in front of goal, creates space, makes runs in behind the defence. He's a unique player in the squad and we've had no one to replace his characteristics tactically. Can barely be judged on his season, having rarely featured, and one must not begin to exaggerate his quality due to our inability to replace him. He has a lot to improve on and must not allow himself to become predictable, however he provided balance to our attack and with our failures in the transfer market, his injury has ruined our season.

Pazzini - Pazzini, despite missing chances, did more in one substitute performance against Sassuolo than Matri did all season. He was everything that Matri wasn't for us. Harried defenders, got himself between ball and man, won freekicks, held up the play, involved others. One can not expect him to be sharp from the off and having missed so much time I can not blame him for his misses against Sassuolo. We would not have even had those chances had it not been for Pazzini though. His willingness to play off the last man relieves pressure from Balotelli, something Matri was supposed to do. Has a huge part to play in our future yet if he can stay fit after a bad injury.

Matri - The worst transfer since the flees carrying the Black Death hopped from rats to humans.

Robinho - Another who saw the injury table too often, he has been a disappointment, too often losing the ball cheaply either through a lazy pass or an unlikely attempt to beat his man. Some good performances along the way, but not enough from a player who seems to have lost motivation and who should probably have left in the summer. One of the few who could have been expected to replace El Shaarawy successfully but has shown none of the hunger or quality required when fit.

Niang - A frustrating six months during which he barely featured, our structural issues did not help a young player in an unfamiliar role. I just hope he'll return from loan and that he won't be lost to us, because he remains an excellent talent.