Mercato Rossonero: Milan Transfer Activity Inside Out

Bocchetti, Munoz, Destro, Taarabt, Baselli. So, we are interested in players that nobody wants or nobody even heard of. Good management.
But besides that poor taste in players first we must get rid of the garbage we have. On our transfer list in the summer there must be these players: Alex, Mexes, Bonera, Zaccardo, Essien, Muntari, Montolivo, El Shaarawy

Bocchetti wasn't playing at a high enough level to improve our current situation when he last left Serie A however I think it's safe to say that no one has actually seen him play for about four years so perhaps he's improved to the point that he's an astute signing. Without having watched him play in an age I simply can't judge the transfer until I see him perform for us but I hope that he has actually arrived to start and to drive us to sell a few of our current options.

As for Munoz, hell to the no.

Bochetti is a terrible signing, he's 28 for gods sake, not getting any better. Destro is meh, I'm interested to see him but I'm not too optimistic.

Bochetti reeks of stop-gap material quality. But I'll reserve my judgment until I see him play. Juve did a similar deal to bring Barzagli in from the BuLi and now he's one of the best defenders in Serie A.

Destro is a good signing.

And there's a party this Saturday night at my place to celebrate Essien leaving, if that's true.

If we get Destro, I really hope we build an attack with Destro (ST) and El Shaarawy (SS) considering that Inzaghi is changing the formation to a 4-4-2. In the mean time, since SES is injured, we should play either Menez or Cerci upfront with Destro. Also, I want to add that I really like Destro since he has excellent positioning and challenges for the ball more than Pazzini does.

Inzaghi is a hypocrite. He wanted the 4-3-3 , he said that was his favourite formation , that's what he was always playing in the primavera , saying he wanted to play 4-4-2 with full squad from the beginning is bs.. He's just lying. The only reason he says that about the 4-4-2 is because of Destro , he can't leave him on the bench and won't leave Menez on the bench either.

So 4-4-2 excuse is because he simply has to , everything else is bs . And frankly , given how Destro and Menez play , it will be 4-2-3-1 . Which is great news if we hope to play some football , but our defence is going to suffer a lot if they continue like that.

If Destro accepts to join tomorrow , imo what we will be watching on the field will be the 4-4-1-1 that Seedorf tried . And that's because of how Menez and Destro play , Menez will naturaly be spending a lot of time behind Destro , going by play style alone . Basically , if Destro joins , what will/should/shall be happening is constant alterations between 4-4-1-1 and 4-2-3-1 , simply because of Menez . When we defend it will mostly be 4-4-1-1 . When we push for a chance () but most importantly counter attack , it will transform into 4-2-3-1 , depening on where Menez is . Basically , with the players we have now , it's the right system . At least if we are going to counter attack all the time , we better do it this way.

My huge concern lies on whenever Menez starts his known runs with the ball and doesn't care to pass it , his procrastinating with the ball and his egotism when he finds himself near the posts ; what he will be doing when Destro is going to be making his runs and movements , seeking for the ball ?? Will he play for him? Will he assist him or go for the goal as he always does? Will he be making enough through balls for him , will he be doing 1-2 with him ? Will he be making movements to give Destro that moment to move in for the ball ? Menez simply has to feed the man in front of him from now on , otherwise i am afraid Destro is going to be useless and unnecessary and we will continue to have yet another CF who doesn't score goals . You don't need a CF if you don't work to feed him chances . We have selfish players in Jack , SES , Cerci and especially Menez , who seriously need to apply themselves here , if we want Destro to succeed. Especially , most importanly Menez , will have to be less selfish and actively work to assist Destro in scoring goals . Inzaghi either fixes this and gets Menez to work for his teammates , or we better not buy Destro at all , we won't be needing him if this goes on .

Torres suffered mainly because of this , people were laughing at me when i was saying it and all but i don't care , look at him in Atletico and how Simeone is doing the obvious to benefit from Torres. People laughed at Atletico and Simeone too when they got him , but Simeone knew what to do with him. All they do , is the rest of them drive the ball near the box and then looking to give Torres the chance to shoot , nothing more nothing less . They don't involve him in anything else in the build-up and when they find themselves on the counter , they pass him the final ball just outside / into the box , so HE can score . That's always their first option with Torres , most always if they pass it to Torres it means it's the final pass . 6 games 3 goals already , 2 against Real , 1 against Barcelona . What Inzaghi did with Torres at Milan again ? Simply let everyone be selfish (after all these games) without looking to feed the CF , and when it was Menez he had everyone feed him instead of Torres , which resulted in Torres swapping roles with Menez . Genius . And then people were wondering why we bought Torres.. was that the problem when we didn't even make use of him ? Was the problem that he was Torres , or that we played a CF without looking to assist him , resulting in Torres having to work goals on his own ?? I am calling it right here , if Destro does join , either this be-the-hero shit is going to change within our team , or Destro will end up another Torres , 100% guaranteed .  

Spoiler:

In the end , this doesn't have to do with just Destro ; it's a very serious team issue that Inzaghi has failed to adress and it's simply ridiculous . Not only our players are selfish but Menez is taking all the CF's food , whenever that has been Torres or Pazzini . Or if he comes , Destro . This has to change . They either feed the CF -Menez included- , or we play Menez there , simply put . Having two of them won't change this , it will be like Torres-Menez was on the field , strangers when they should be partners in crime . I am hoping for a change , but yeah , it's Inzaghi we're talking about . Just compare his mentality to Simeone , not only did he have the balls to sign Torres , but he knew exactly what to do with him and trusted him from day 1 . Exactly what i was raging about some time ago!! His team does it just fine , they defend > drive the ball forward > pass to Torres near/in the box = Torres is doing just fine so far. Just see the difference between Griezmann - Torres and Menez - Torres and you will understand right away . See the difference between the runner/dribbler working for his CF and Menez totally shiting on his CF , just so he can score and be the hero himself. My problem lies in the facht that this kind of mentality and play results in the CF player being useless , whoever that is , especially when they all do it . That's not just Menez , it's something a coach HAS.TO.FIX .

Inzaghi and Milan : we can't but defend > struggle to drive the ball unless it's Menez > never pass to the CF and when we do , he's surrounded by the entire opponent's fkn defence = Torres had to be working on his own for goals , and failed. Pazzini can't even try that , runs around like an idiot . And scored a fluke goal in the cup too, oh well. How that came again , oh right , Cerci looked to assist him . Cool , at least this one gets it.

It's so infuriating watching all this delusional be-the-hero mentality when the CF works his ass off to get the final pass , only for everyone else to do his job. Here's hoping Destro joins and forces everyone to play for him , we will be paying quite a lot this time for this to remain the same . We went from over dependance on Balotelli to ditching what the CF is supposed to be . Infuriating .

Apparently the Destro deal is done. If this is true, how do we line-up now?

If the rumours that we are ditching the 4-3-3 in favour of the 4-4-1-1 are true, then perhaps this:


If not:

No SES ? What's happened to him ?

Valkyrja wrote:No SES ? What's happened to him ?

He just got injured again and is expected to be out for 5 weeks, perhaps more. He hadn't been playing particularly well before the injury, but you could say that about most of the team.

And we're like 8th?

I think SES would make a great winger instead of wide-forward. He already tracks back very well and playing deeper would also also mean that the burden for him to score consistently is shifted to someone else.

Forza wrote:Apparently the Destro deal is done. If this is true, how do we line-up now?

If the rumours that we are ditching the 4-3-3 in favour of the 4-4-1-1 are true, then perhaps this:

Destro
Cerci/Menez
Bonaventura - De Jong - Montolivo - Honda
De Sciglio --- Bocchetti -- Rami --- Abate
Lopez

If not:

Cerci/Menez - Destro - Honda
Bonaventura - De Jong - Montolivo
De Sciglio - Bocchetti - Rami - Abate
Lopez

I don't think Cerci will be the one to back up Menez when he is out . I think it most likely to be Honda , or even Bonaventura if Cerci is out and Honda is playing on the right. Cerci may have done it at Torino and that with 50-50 results , but whenever he played second striker at Atletico he didn't play well.

As for Bochetti , you are right to place him as CB , alhough , untill De Sciglio returns , Bochetti will play as LB no ? Who else will fill the position? About Albertazzi at least , at best against Parma too , i really doubt he will continue there instead of Bochetti. If we are to judge from Inzaghi's boner on playing Bonera there , i think Bochetti will play there untill De Sciglio returns. From there on i don't know , but i do agree that he should be used in his position at CB once De Sciglio returns from injury.

Casciavit wrote:

Lopez
Abate Alex Rami MDS
Cerci Monto NDJ SES
Destro Menez

And we're like 8th?

You don't think we deserve it ? You're saying this as if we were supposed to be 3rd by now. Even within the right formation and Destro , it won't prove much unless drastic changes happen in the way we play. With the right formation , we just won't be hurting ourselves in unnessecary ways to achieve that . With Destro , we will just have a better Pazzini version if we don't look to make use of him . You are right to facepalm of course , but really , that's exactly what we deserve from our games so far , what we have on paper means very little when they play like they have.

This Milan either remembers that to climb the ladder we must attack , or we will finish 7th at best . On paper when we put all the players together it may seem good , but currently , all the teams 6th and above are better than us and if we aim to claim at the very least one of these positions , we will have to show extraordinary things , at least in comparison to what we have been doing so far. I'd say that even our best lineup is pretty weak when compared to the top 3 and the EL teams have shown better chemistry between them , consistency and better football than Milan overall . They all deserve to be in front of us , despite Milan having players that could feature almost everywhere in Serie A.

Forza wrote:I think SES would make a great winger instead of wide-forward. He already tracks back very well and playing deeper would also also mean that the burden for him to score consistently is shifted to someone else.

Indeed , traditionaly his runs on and off the ball have always been better and more effective when he started them deeper . When the ball is reaching him there near the box , he is by default blocked and lacks space to do his best , let alone these days he's off form. I think he will become equaly good in the years to come , but atm , you are absolutely right . However , i will disagree on something , he's not at all expected to score consistently for some time now , nobody other than himself puts this burden in him. Nor should he , as you say. His job is to make the CF score and only if the CF isn't available , or when he finds himself in a better position he should be going at it alone. Ses has been selfish in that and trying to prove he's not an elephant this season. Instead of him working for the team like he always did , this season he's been very individualy focused , in his (somewhat) defence , like many of our players have. I blame Inzaghi for this and for Ses playing badly , but it's what it is . Nevertheless , i do agree the change in formation should be good for him as he returns . If he's making it in time..

I've also have concerns about our midfielders , mainly De Jong - Montolivo . They would have to be a lot more adventurous , imaginative , energetic , than what they have been so far . Having good wingers is only half the cake , if there's nobody there to support them they can look bad even . And no winger can always rely on himself , or always be expected to produce something for his forwards .

Most always they rely on their midfielders . I hope De Jong and Montolivo can do it , because frankly , they have proven beyond doubts quite the deep-minded players to provide solid support beyond the middle , especially as much as will be required of them now . In fact , the pivot of NDJ and Monto , is only suited for a 4-2-3-1 , which will be happening anyway between 4-4-2* play if things go as Inzaghi announced... it's when they will be forced to act as B2B that concerns me .

Milan should just play 2010 Leonardo's 4-2-fantasia. Carelessly and irriverently attacking-minded team that goes out there to outscore the opponent. The defense is already shit but at least you could make up for it with the attack.

Actually, that Milan was really good, not sure if better than Ibra's Milan, but IMO more entertaining. Dinho was absolutely unplayable, Pato was at his peak, Antonini was bossing that left flank better than prime Maldini ever did.

Katy Perry wrote:Milan should just play 2010 Leonardo's 4-2-fantasia. Carelessly and irriverently attacking-minded team that goes out there to outscore the opponent. The defense is already shit but at least you could make up for it with the attack.

Actually, that Milan was really good, not sure if better than Ibra's Milan, but IMO more entertaining. Dinho was absolutely unplayable, Pato was at his peak, Antonini was bossing that left flank better than prime Maldini ever did.

Dostoevsky , ban him mate

KP trolling better than prime Gil

Milan Channel claims there could be a midfield signing if Essien leaves but it seems unlikely that he'll agree to leave

Armero rejects Genoa, deal with Antonelli stalled

Armero

Just terminate the loan ffs

Antonelli is joining Milan , loan with option to buy at 4.5m , confirmed by Di Marzio and Milan Channel . No news on Armero atm , nevertheless it's quite unprofessional not to gtfo when you're asked to gtfo , i would say. Ostracization awaits

Suso , Cerci , Boccetti , Destro , Antonelli , so far . Impressive . What's even more impressive is how they did everything in their power not to buy a good midfielder

Anyhow , good news on Antonelli . He should easily become our starting LB , at least untill the end of the season . I think Forza's wish could well be granted now and De Sciglio will be fighting it over with Abate , and Albertazzi with Antonelli . As far as i understand , that seems to be the new plan , imo at least . It makes sense though , so it may not happen

Also curious to see who else we may sign after Galliani confirms the 2nd market is closed in a row tomorrow

Omg, Galliani is the ultimate troll. He is not willing to pay more than 1.5m to get Munoz from Palermo and Zamp is getting really pissed now considering that we can get Munoz for free during the summer.

Dante wrote:Antonelli is joining Milan , loan with option to buy at 4.5m , confirmed by Di Marzio and Milan Channel . No news on Armero atm , nevertheless it's quite unprofessional not to gtfo when you're asked to gtfo , i would say. Ostracization awaits

Tell that to Zaccardo.

Forza wrote:

Dante wrote:Antonelli is joining Milan , loan with option to buy at 4.5m , confirmed by Di Marzio and Milan Channel . No news on Armero atm , nevertheless it's quite unprofessional not to gtfo when you're asked to gtfo , i would say. Ostracization awaits

Tell that to Zaccardo.

nah Zaccardo saved us from Biabiany , allowed for Jack to happen and by all means , he was ostracised anyway . Even if he is going to play today it will be what , his 2nd game this season . The other one although i don't remember which game it had been he was introduced later on .

If Armero doesn't gtfo he will be ostracised 100% , there's Antonelli , Bocchetti and Albertazzi ahead of him now. Eventually De Sciglio will be back . There's like 1% chance he will be playing 1 game untill the end of the season . It will be idiotic for him to stay , at least in Genoa he will play a few games or something .