2014/2015 Line-up: what do you think?

Inzaghi will most certaintly play with a 4-3-3 like this:

Abbiati (Agazzi)

Abate (Bonera) Rami (Mexes) Alex (Zapata) De Sciglio (Constant)

Montolivo (Poli) De Jong (Essien/Cristante) Saponara (Muntari)

Mexes (Honda) Balo (Pazzini) Elsha (Niang/Mastour)

What do you think of this team? What should we do to improve it? Where are we strongest and where weakest?

I think the real problem is the middle line. De Jong is good, i like him, but the others sucks.
Also, we need 2 players that can play LB and RB (selling Bonera/Zaccardo).

Montolivo out for 6 months. No depth in any area of the field apart from CF. GKs are useless.

Montolivo (in or out) wouldn't make any difference. In the real AC Milan he would have never stepped on the field (with players such as Seedorf, Pirlo, Ambrosini, Gattuso, Redondo and so on).

We really need to buy some quality players in the middle.

What do you think of this team?
Good enough to get into Europe.

What should we do to improve it?
Buy better players would be the quick and effective way. Get them to play as a unit in all facets of the game, but i haven't seen such a Milan team since our last Cl win.

Where are we strongest and where weakest?
In terms of talent we are stronger in attack, but in terms of functionality/consistency i think our midfield outperforms the rest of the team by quite a margin.

Clearly our defense is the weak point in the team, horrible individual errors mixed with a leaderless back four and that is only the tip of the iceberg. The defensive aspect of the team's performance is what will prevent us from competing ever again at the highest of levels for years to come.

Our financial state at the moment will prevent us from buying any proven quality replacement in the Cb department for years.The burden of restoring or once great defence will be up to our Primavera and youth development that will hopefully produce a worthy Milan Cb in the near future.

redblack88 wrote:Montolivo (in or out) wouldn't make any difference. In the real AC Milan he would have never stepped on the field (with players such as Seedorf, Pirlo, Ambrosini, Gattuso, Redondo and so on).

We really need to buy some quality players in the middle.

Reality is that we are far removed from that A.C. Milan you speak of and it doesn't look like that will be changing anytime soon. No point reminiscing and looking past players that can actually help us now.

So who can we buy to improve our defensive side?
Lazio recently bought De Vrij, who is young and strong, Sassuolo stole Vrsaljko from us... They were not very expensive and are young and strong, why didn't we invest some money in them? Same as last year with Alderweireld...

I really don't understand our management. We spent 12 millions on Matri, we could have bought Vrsaljko and De Vrij for 14 altogether...with Rami and De Sciglio it would have bean a good defense, not the best but good.

at best maybe EL football but i doubt it.

this team sucks.

with that lineup, still i think our midfield will be weak defensively and especially with defensive lineup we have. forwards need to track back and help midfield in both defense and build up play.
i expect milan to go through another difficult season.

You guys definitely need a midfielder.

Time to sign Ganso perhaps?   

Why Mexes as winger ?

Robespierre wrote:Why Mexes as winger ?

I think he meant Menez.

To be honest Mexesbauer is our most clutch finisher.

Given Montolivo's absence for the first few months, I would expect to line-up in the following way, barring any new arrivals.

Abbiati
Abate---Rami---Alex---De Sciglio
Poli---De Jong---Muntari
Menez---Balotelli---El Shaarawy

Whilst I am hopeful that Saponara will be able to make the transition to central midfield, I think realistically we can expect to see Sulley continue in the team. Defensive balance and work ethic will prove to be crucial elements in order to protect a central defensive partnership which lacks chemistry and balance. I was opposed to the arrival of Alex, and in the aftermath of his arrival, the capture of Rami permanently as they are extremely similar defenders, who share the same weaknesses and strengths rather than complementing and protecting each other.

Ideally, we need to find a buyer for Mexes as he is obviously no longer seen as a first choice option and his wages are too high to sustain for a bench player. The presence of Zaccardo, Bonera and Zapata means that even then, we would have no space for a new arrival in the centre unfortunately unless a further sale was made.

Relative to the rest of Serie A, our strength lies in midfield, the only area where we're comfortably stronger than or equal to any other squad in the league. In attack, Menez addresses the lack of balance that punctuated our squad last season in which we desperately lacked width. We are still vulnerable to injury up front though as Robinho is set to depart, leaving only Niang as an alternative to our wide men.

The priority remains to reduce our squad size before the season begins. Ideally we would see about four departures and two competitive arrivals. The rest of our transfer campaign is likely to determine our ability to achieve our goals this season. As it stands, our depth options are unbalanced, with unnecessary strength in numbers at the back and little cover elsewhere. Injuries are inevitable, yet particularly so given our recent record and as the squad remains, are likely to be our downfall yet again.

Why no Honda??

Abramovich wrote:Why no Honda??

He's not fast enough to operate on the wing. I would only consider him as an option in the midfield from now on.

Robespierre wrote:Why Mexes as winger ?

Sorry, I meant Menez

Honda should be starting. I want to see El Shaarawy playing even if it's as a sub.
Other then that this team is good enough to make the final eight of the CL.

UnitedInRed wrote:Honda should be starting. I want to see El Shaarawy playing even if it's as a sub.
Other then that this team is good enough to make the final eight of the CL.

I disagree , the mere fact that we're not even in the CL , is enough to disprove any notion of 8 .. this is not say , "mathematicaly speaking" , it's just...

Milan , as it is right now , isn't nowhere near capable of such a feat. Sure we do have some quality , with lots of room to improve , yet obvious weaknessess and general incompetence are ever present and unsolved yet . We have no proper depth , pathetic team defending , neither the great cohesion that described the team a few years ago. And that's not even scratching the surface , we lack on so many fronts .  

We need some quality players if we want to aim higher in the coming seasons , this Milan has some already , but players like El Shaarawy , Montolivo , De Sciglio and De Jong won't be able to carry everyone there .

For the season at hand , we should absolutely get a top forward , a real LB and a trully reliable GK .

Why not a 4-2-3-1?


Replacing Poli with Monto when he returns?

We really need a mobile CM. One who doesn't panic or lose the ball at the first signs of being pressed. Most top teams have one.
Madrid- Modric
BVB- Gundogan
Bayern- Thiago
Barca- Xavi
PSG- Verratti

I read we've been offered Banega, but Gallaini refuses to make a move due to his behaviour.

i agree milan need like rosicsky ramsey type player... confident in ball, confident in possession and makes regular assist. we have none.... infact we have no midfielders who cant even make 5 assists in a season which is truly a disgrace

Kick wrote:Why not a 4-2-3-1?

Lopez
Abate Rami Alex MDS
Poli De Jong
Menez Honda ES
Balo

Replacing Poli with Monto when he returns?

Tried and failed last season.

JespSwe wrote:i agree milan need like rosicsky ramsey type player... confident in ball, confident in possession and makes regular assist. we have none.... infact we have no midfielders who cant even make 5 assists in a season which is truly a disgrace

This is crucial. Montolivo, for all his quality, just doesn't provide regular assists. Neither does Poli.

Forza wrote:

JespSwe wrote:i agree milan need like rosicsky ramsey type player... confident in ball, confident in possession and makes regular assist. we have none.... infact we have no midfielders who cant even make 5 assists in a season which is truly a disgrace

This is crucial. Montolivo, for all his quality, just doesn't provide regular assists. Neither does Poli.

yea infact ever since pirlo and ronaldinho and zlatan left, we havent had a player who cant make more than 10 assists.
i was very impresssed that zlatan with all his skills as a forward would always try or did make regular assist for us.

i would like to see balotelli el sharawwy and also other forwards do that in the meantime.

I think Honda is one player who can provide assist regularly if we could find the right system to suit him

I have also heard Bonaventura is a midfielder who is good with the ball and makes lots of assist as well as scoring goals.. We should snap him up if he possesses such qualities

honda doesn't fit our system. he's not a cm, also sucks on the wing.