Sampdoria vs AC Milan

Now winless in three games we face a trip to the Marassi where Sampdoria are undefeated, having won four of their five home games thus far and conceding just twice. It is the start of a difficult run of fixtures in which Milan will play every top 10 side we have yet to encounter. We're desperately in need of a momentum boost, particularly with the derby after the international break.

Sampdoria have been extremely competitive this season under the guidance of Siniša Mihajlović and a point may end up representing a decent return. Nonetheless, whilst we must push for a positive result, and indeed three points should be within our potential as a team, the focus should be on an improved performance following a series of disappointments that have left the fan base disenchanted with the side. We've lacked patience and creativity in attack, with individuals relying on themselves rather than their teammates and taking too long on the ball. We've isolated Torres through a lack of composure playing out from the back leading to a low percentage, direct game we're not set up to benefit from in midfield or up front. We've failed to play at the tempo required to provide space of our wide forwards to operate in, leaving them easily stunted by numbers at the back and we've lacked consistency above all in our approach both in pressing from the front and in constructing play.

Van Ginkel and Rami played 90 minutes during the week against San Lorenzo, whilst El Shaarawy played an hour which might affect whether we see them get any game time at all. Muntari's suspension is over and it is likely that he will start however I'd like to see MVG replace him from the bench and despite the Pharoah's troubles in front of goal I'd prefer to see him begin the match. Though his play is naive at times and he must tighten up his use of the ball when seeking to go across the pitch after coming deep he still adds to our composure in possession and our urgency going forward, in addition to his defensive contributions.

As far as Sampdoria are concerned, Gabbiadini is their current top scorer with four and is a well known quantity now in Serie A however Eder and Okaka are equally capable of damaging us. We're certainly not escaping Genova with a clean sheet unless we improve drastically at the back.

A very tough game away at against a side which has good momentum and a lot of hope for the future of their club.

I have a feeling SES will show up

we are against a club that are in a tremendous run of form. well, i dont know what to say but my hopes would be to see Van Ginkel saponara, el shaarawy torres featuring in first 11.

we have some very difficult teams to come against from no on..

Squad: Abbiati, Agazzi, Diego Lopez, Albertazzi, Armero, Bonera, De Sciglio, Mexes, Rami, Zaccardo, Zapata, Essien, De Jong, Poli, Saponara, Van Ginkel, Bonaventura, El Shaarawy, Honda, Menez, Niang, Pazzini, Torres

I can see us lining up like this:

-------------------------------DL
-----De Sciglio-----Zapata-----Rami------Armero
----------------------------De Jong
----------------------Poli----------Saponara
------------Honda----------Torres-------SES

Essien might be preferred to Saponara and Menez to SES but I can see this happening and this is what I'm hoping for.

Muntari not in the squad. Hope rises. This being said, I'd prefer to have him available, his defensive work remains important and he's a far better option than Essien.

I'd like to see the same team as posted above.

I hope for the win , but .. i don't trust our defence anymore .

In the midfield. Muntari may not know how to play footballl , but he does help the team not concede than one goal that would ruin the whole game for us. We like that or not , Muntari is needed and this is one of the games he's needed. Let's hope they are up to it , because a fragile midfield leads to an even more fragile defence.

In the attack , i don't have any expectations whatsoever. I am ok with everyone whose name isn't Pazzini or Niang. I hope they have a good game and are well supported by their teammates.

Sampdoria look in fine form and given our previous results , i am not confident about this game. Like Pippo said , Mihajlovic has made a good team and they should be up to the task tonight.

Let's hope we don't leave the Marassi with zero points .

Official lineup:
Lopez; Bonera, Mexes, Rami, MDS; Essien, NDJ, Bonaventura; Honda, Menez, SES

Starts Essien over van Ginkel

#PippoOUT

Goal!

Great strike from SES

El Shaarawy wrote:I have a feeling SES will show up

M99 wrote:

El Shaarawy wrote:I have a feeling SES will show up

Not bad. Ses had a very good first half , marked with a fantastic goal . Good sign , hopefully .

The team was playing well and kept things going smoothly up untill half an hour or so in the game , where our performance dropped markedly . We then conceded to our own half for long periods of which Sampdoria had almost complete control , thankfully never to score one .

But because football is never straight forward , there came out of nowhere , a last second counter attack which proved to be the equaliser . Such a shame , our defenders should have reacted better than that .

Particular praise to De Sciglio , that sliding tackle was pure class . Reminded me of Maldini's sliding tackles for a moment . Was great all first half , even though he couldn't do anything to stop the ball coming to Gabbiandini in Sampdoria's goal.

Ses was great , along with Allegri , some great plays and generally speaking , a good first half from them. Had it been Montolivo instead of that clown Essien , they would have even more to show . Patience.. De Jong surprisingly quiet , although his work did show earlier on .

Mexes-Bonera , lol . Why Pippo. smh . Let's hope we play better in the 2nd and why not , win this . Menez and Honda need a little push , we need them if we are to win this.

P.S I hate that ref .

Bonera f off

M99 wrote:Bonera f off

i wonder what Armero , or even Albertazzi , ever do to him . smh

They can't possibly be worse than Bonera at leftback , i refuse to believe so.

Menez is way too selfish, and I have lost my faith in Inzaghi, I think Seedorf was better. Inzaghi is making the wrong substitutions and at wrong times, and he is fielding weak line ups. It seems that Inzaghi is only doing what Berlusconi wants him to do.

Mexes, Bonera, Essien... why?

You could see the relief on SES' face after banging in that strike, now he needs to start every game to keep his confidence up.

I agree with Milandevil... menez is just playing for himself. that guy just joined us to get games.. not for milan.


and again.... i cant believe the lesson hasnt been learned. same problem.over anad over again...

sorry inzaghi but i m starting to feel that new coach straight from being player was wrong.

on the positive note we didnt loose! and el shaarawy scored

and i am having big problems with de sciglio that he leaves so much space and doesnt defend well

I can't believe Inzaghi's comments about Bonera. He says that he was the best player before being sent off

•MilanDevil• wrote:I can't believe Inzaghi's comments about Bonera. He says that he was the best player before being sent off

the self interest is so higher than the common good of the club.... the club is in worst shape ever in over 100 years of history and prestige

its a disgrace... what we are seeing is disgusting.

how can anyone even dare to say please have patience, we are in transition, we played good game, this player played good game... our opponents are strong, we will be stronger...

only the weak and cowards say that...

i have to say, this is not the end of it, and even with the likes of top players back, i can see this happening... the continuation of this state, not just this month, or next, it will continue until end of season. and if they dont make serious changes its bound to continue for seasons to come.

Inzaghi is one hell of a troll.

"Van Ginkel may play an important part in our game against Sampdoria."

Plays Essien for 94 minutes then just to rub salt in the wound, goes to bring MVG on at the last second to waste time but there isn't even enough time left for that.

I still don't get that Bonera love that all coaches give him...

DeviAngel wrote:I still don't get that Bonera love that all coaches give him...

my feeling is that either he is getting huge backup and support from Tassotti or the management. Tassotti in fact has over and over publicly said that bonera was chosen due to the nature of the game and opponent.

dostoevsky wrote:Inzaghi is one hell of a troll.

"Van Ginkel may play an important part in our game against Sampdoria."

Plays Essien for 94 minutes then just to rub salt in the wound, goes to bring MVG on at the last second to waste time but there isn't even enough time left for that.

if they dont want to play van ginkel ... why bother begging him to come to milan when he was not quite sure in first place. i bet van ginkel regrets this decision so much.

i was laughing at hearing that hull city was more serious abut giving him more playing opportunity than milan but now i wish this is the case. i rate this kid highly... he is better off returning to chelsea and then signing up with EPL clubs on loan.

any aspiring young talents are wasted at milan. if van ginkel was my client, i would not even recommend him to sign up for milan even if i was a milan fan. either a proper clause that he plays full 20 games a season with penalty if club doesnt exercise this or rather not sign a contract.

any youngsters .... not just van ginkel... is wasted here at milan.


inzaghi is just praising el shaarawy now as he scored goal.... he wasnt even in pippo's agenda a while ago

i would have preferred if he went to southampton and get games under dutchman koeman

So then, a point from a difficult match however given the circumstances one must feel aggrieved at our approach and performance.

As has been mentioned, we lost control of the game after a bright start. Though we showed greater patience in the final third during the first 25 minutes compared to our previous outings we failed to keep Sampdoria under sustained pressure.  Instead we ended up camped in our own half for long periods of time. Mexes' lack of game time showed at times when stepping out against Eder and Bonera was completely unable to handle Gabbiadini. Though it arrived very late in the half, changing the game completely, Sampdoria's equaliser was not undeserved. Having already come close when Lopez misjudged a through ball and at set pieces, a fine cross was converted by Okaka who easily out-muscled Bonera.

Their second was frustrating for two reasons. Firstly, the manner in which we conceded the initial corner. Rather than the result of a well worked counter attack after an attacking venture our own, we gave the ball up very cheaply in midfield through Essien, submitting ourselves to completely unnecessary pressure. The set piece was worse however. To permit a player a run at the ball unchallenged is unforgivable and it was no surprise that we were then easily beaten to the rebound.

It may be counted as a positive that we did pull back a goal to win a point, however the penalty was fortuitous, though the decision itself was fair. More frustrating however was our failure to create or convert from open play. Having removed Honda for Torres, with Jack pushing out to the right wing in Keisuke's stead to facilitate a 4-2-3-1, we gained a more direct route to goal which could easily have led to another goal. Torres was excellent when competing for balls over the top and also contributed defensively, with one particular tackle leading to an excellent counter attack that was squandered by Menez' hesitancy and selfishness. I would be very interested to see how many times Menez passed to Torres, because it felt like he was entirely ignored, even when in good positions. Despite Fernando's good work when receiving the ball long from midfield and defence, he was isolated by his own teammates in attack. Menez and El Shaarawy interchanged positions regularly on the left wing however their movements and their use of the ball was too often predictable against a deep lying defence. Our best chances arrived when we exploited the space in behind the Sampdoria defence however we failed to adequately support the advanced runner and Sampdoria could easily force us wide or make us attempt a difficult final ball. It was all too easy for them to then advance the ball back up the pitch thanks to the efforts of their wide attackers. Sampdoria have a decent but unexceptional central midfield however our failure to constrict the space in which they operated and force them to play at an uncomfortable tempo allowed them to survive on their physicality and to bring their wide attackers into the play repeatedly.

Essien's presence for the entire 90 was a disgrace. He was functional in the first half however his lack of ability in tight spaces hurt our possession game. He provided no greater defensive cover than we might expect from Poli or Van Ginkel whilst offering considerably less in attack. That he was fielded in a box to box position from which we require so much was infuriating. That he survived when we needed to chase the game was bewildering. Inzaghi's refusal to further alter the side even late in the game, until Bonera's red card forced his hand, spoke of a manager who was entirely invested in his original plan and either failed to recognise that the side was not playing well or did not know how to fix the errors in our play. I am of course, as always, willing to excuse a manager who is still learning, however inactivity only makes sense if we had no options on the bench or were playing well enough to eventually secure three points. Poli's introduction at right back was an insult to Albertazzi and Armero. As if they could have been more calamitous than Bonera. If they're not trusted in their own position ahead of a midfielder to close out a match for all of five minutes then it's pointless having them in the squad.

El Shaarawy, Torres, Bonaventura and De Sciglio deserve some praise from this performance however all in all this was yet another draw from a performance that deserved no better and which failed to represent our potential as a side. We're not playing the football we're capable of, nor do we look like we are becoming more cohesive with the passing of time. It is easy to say that our midfield will improve with the return of Montolivo, however we've been able to function better than this in his absence before. He will certainly raise our play and allow us to impose ourselves in midfield, however we knew how long he would be out for and yet we hardly seem to have accommodated for his absence. We've gotten a point from a side that will trouble many of our rivals, however we can't afford to simply achieve the bare minimum all season.

This being said, I don't understand the assertion that we were better off than Seedorf. The complaints that have been levelled at Pippo are essentially unchanged from Clarence's tenure. Under Seedorf as well we took issue with his team selections, substitutions and our failure to carve out a discernable style. The only major difference between the two is that Inzaghi actually has the support and respect of his squad.