Sampdoria vs AC Milan

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.

With regards to Essien . It was obvious to me that his teammates don't really trust him on the field. The ball came to Essien only when it absolutely had to and most of the time he wasted possesion with outrageous attempts , sometimes even a simple pass would go wrong , or easily intercepted.

The decisions of Inzaghi , in yet another game , buffle me . It's true what was said about him , that in a way he resembles Ancelotti . Some of his decisions buffled me as well. ( i am so kind about this , i am actually proud of myself right now)

Why Essien ? Why Bonera at freakin leftback ? 2 red cards in 3-4 games , this has to be a new record . lel. Dare i say , why Mexes even ? Consider this , he hasn't chosen Mexes and he does so in this of all games , away to in-form Sampdoria , which happens to be third .

What is the reasoning behind this? I looked in his post match comments and logic weren't to be found . I am disapoint , to be honest. I have accepted that there would be ups and downs , that will always be regardless of our quality and our coach.. but at least , shouldn't we try to avoid stupidity .

Because playing Bonera at leftback , a player who shouldn't even play for Milan , instead of Armero .. and then introducing a midfielder instead of him..

i dont even

Mexes' call up puzzled me also. Whilst I've advocated for his continued use, throwing him back into the side during our toughest run in the season, in such an away game, seemed odd. Surely fitness has not been an issue, so why was he not fielded in prior games?

It just made the lessons from San Lorenzo even tougher for Van Ginkel and Saponara. After dropping so many hints that some of our best performers would make the team after the friendly and assured of their importance, their hopes rise then BOOM - Mexes is the one who starts.

As for Armero , i am not sure why he doesn't pick him up , but i think , maybe he doesn't execute his tactics well enough?

Not sure , but Bonera at leftback , not to mention Poli as his replacement , was an utter disgrace . I can't imagine how offended i would have been if i were Armero , or even Albertazzi for that matter.

It's a shame really , Armero might not be the best left fullback in Italy , but ffs , give him 1 game before you try the absolute madness that is Bonera at leftback . Not only he did not add any kind of protection , he left the field with a red card and contributed absolutely nothing to his left side .

I am pretty certain Armero , or even Albertazzi for that matter , would have helped Ses out 10 times more . Instead , Bonera stood deep , something which invided extra pressure from Sampdoria to his area and as a result , Ses had to move near to counter it , effectively blocking him at times from having any impact . Even when he had the ball , he had to expect help from the midfield , or Menez. Compare that to De Sciglio opposite side. He was all over the right side .

And it wasn't even anything spectacular , that's just what fullbacks are supposed to do . It was like , 80s leftback-2010s rightback . That's how huge the difference between fullback play was. Outrageous decision by Inzaghi that one with Bonera.

Smh .
These things may seem easy to note after the game , though seriously . If one created this scenario pre game , how different the answer would possible be ? really now

dostoevsky wrote:Mexes' call up puzzled me also. Whilst I've advocated for his continued use, throwing him back into the side during our toughest run in the season, in such an away game, seemed odd. Surely fitness has not been an issue, so why was he not fielded in prior games?

It just made the lessons from San Lorenzo even tougher for Van Ginkel and Saponara. After dropping so many hints that some of our best performers would make the team after the friendly and assured of their importance, their hopes rise then BOOM - Mexes is the one who starts.

lol exactly. He's messing with us . I mean Mexes , yes , use him ok. But right now , with zero official games this season? And no Van Ginkel , no Saponara even , for Essien ? I don't know how he decides things but it does seem he doesn't even know himself who to pick afterall


Disheartening , to say the least . I mean , choosing the best players is almost a given , minus the exception. But his choices of Essien and Bonera and to an extent , even Mexes at this point in time , i think not even fans would have been so off the mark here .

Totally agreed on the importance of Armero or even Albertazzi in at least providing some support to El Shaarawy but also allowing us to hem Sampdoria in and intercept their attempts to begin counters down their right flank. Instead, being so scared of Gabbiadini's ability to get in behind him, Bonera was afraid to advance towards the ball let alone beyond it. We've seen the consequences of Muntari operating at LCM on the confidence of MDS to make runs beyond the ball and provide width but we could have had Iniesta there yesterday and Bonera wouldn't have tried to get in behind. At least for all his faults, Armero's lightning quick.

At the very least I just noticed that Empoli did us a favour by beating Lazio unexpectedly. Napoli have crept four points ahead however.

oh , don't get me started on the table . I only look at it once a month , maybe . I almost have no expectations because we are so inconsistent , despite my biggest desire being to make the Champions League .

I am not sure we will reach 3rd place if we continue like that , tbh. Thankfully , Napoli and the other teams haven't done so well either , even though Napoli seem to getting back on track ..

Let's hope we improve , decisions like that cost points . Put aside Bonera-esque mistakes , it's what hinders our play that matters even more. A team can always overcome a costly individual mistake , but inability ? You cannot overcome inability.

Dante wrote:oh , don't get me started on the table . I only look at it once a month , maybe . I almost have no expectations because we are so inconsistent , despite my biggest desire being to make the Champions League .

I am not sure we will reach 3rd place if we continue like that , tbh. Thankfully , Napoli and the other teams haven't done so well either , even though Napoli seem to getting back on track ..

Let's hope we improve , decisions like that cost points . Put aside Bonera-esque mistakes , it's what hinders our play that matters even more. A team can always overcome a costly individual mistake , but inability ? You cannot overcome inability.

thats very interesting and important point dante. thats the fundamental issue that i believe we have had since the last CL we won.

even in our heydays, we were never heavy spenders, and we always brought righteous and capable technical players being fundamental.

like u said, we cant overcome inability, and we have that incompetence in every department... and we are not just talking about few...

i am baffled how long bonera has been at this club, ... by now he would have started his own breed and contaminate rest of the milanello.

and i m pissed that how so many players play for themselves. i dont buy a single word that some players are saying that they are playing for milan cause.

i am starting to feel that they are just here to get playing time and get paycheck. i doubt they even care about milan anymore.



just seeing them trying to score for themselves and trying to be a hero pisses me off.

JespSwe wrote:

Dante wrote:oh , don't get me started on the table . I only look at it once a month , maybe . I almost have no expectations because we are so inconsistent , despite my biggest desire being to make the Champions League .

I am not sure we will reach 3rd place if we continue like that , tbh. Thankfully , Napoli and the other teams haven't done so well either , even though Napoli seem to getting back on track ..

Let's hope we improve , decisions like that cost points . Put aside Bonera-esque mistakes , it's what hinders our play that matters even more. A team can always overcome a costly individual mistake , but inability ? You cannot overcome inability.

thats very interesting and important point dante. thats the fundamental issue that i believe we have had since the last CL we won.

even in our heydays, we were never heavy spenders, and we always brought righteous and capable technical players being fundamental.

like u said, we cant overcome inability, and we have that incompetence in every department... and we are not just talking about few...

i am baffled how long bonera has been at this club, ... by now he would have started his own breed and contaminate rest of the milanello.

Whilst i was talking about game to game decisions , it's also true , what i said can be applied to the grand scheme of things . It's no secret , our overall quality as a team has dropped to the depths of the quality well ever since 2007 . I'd say briefly this is because ,


I) Berlusconi does not help the team economicaly as he used to do

II) Since Berlusconi for various reasons decided to stop this , he did to Milan what Europe and the IMF did to Greece ; with a few words , Milan may have avoided the worst , but at what cost we live the next day ? Is being debt-free enough and how do we proceed when so little progress is being made towards a self-sufficient model?

III) Berlusconi , Galliani and Ancelotti , during that era of 2002-2009, directly and indirectly made the youth academies obsolete.

VI) Stadium .

V) Incompetence of various reasons allowed all the other big Italian teams to harvest the market for the best players , or top talents .

1. We may have not been the biggest spenders out there , but there was a time in which we did spend heavily , it goes without saying . Look how much it cost Milan to sign the players we grew up with . Nesta , Pirlo , Seedorf , Inzaghi , Rui Costa , Shevchenko . Then we continued on that road , with Gilardino , or that Brazilian dude that came supposedly to replace Sheva(lol) , nevertheless he cost a lot of money , Gourcuff did have a huge price for a youngster back then.. The last big money Berlusconi gave , Pato , Thiago Silva , Ibrahimovic , Robinho . I won't count Balotelli because i really believe he didn't gave a peny for him , that was all the club's resources from Ibra-Silva sales. Even if we stop and take a look to the old guard , colectively they must have cost near 60-70m and i didn't even include Kaka in there.

It's not true that we weren't heavy spenders . We were , we just weren't THE heaviest spenders. Galliani always have had a nack for the cheap and free signings , but it was the exception back then , not the rule it has become today . When Berlusconi stopped that and it's a big reason why the old guard stayed for so long , we were left naked in the open. We couldn't replace them with 'next gen' quality . And we never did , to the point our last 2 world class players were sold to PSG.

2. Berlusconi frankly always took the cheap way. To put it simply , just paying the bills ain't gonna cut it . Yes he helps with the debt , but Milan can now pay it's own debt after all the sales we did , because he refused to deal with it largely by his own pocket . Where's the catch? We can't fund the transfers if the club solely handles it's debt. But if he funds transfers we actually need , this will lead to increased salaries and increased bills . So , both owner and club pay the bills collectively and whatever is left is used for some cheap transfers and even then , most are loans and free players. Instead of taking matters on his own , his only true task , he allowed the sales of Kaka , Ibra and Silva to diminish the debt and went on to pay the bills along with the club. Instead , he should have made sure our quality would never drop at any cost and only then proceed to make the club self-sufficient . But that would cost thrice , possibly more , as much. We have taken the long term approach , one day i don't know when we will reach that status , but our every day life as a club will have suffered for Berlusconi's pocket . Never mention his neglectance to at least sell part of the club to help it's fortunes , too proud for any of that.

3.Not much to say here , number of players and quality of these players that effectively been a part of the big team , let alone any succcess being achieved , is embarassing . All we have to show is one De Sciglio . All 3 of them never believed in the youth academies untill money became a problem . At least Ancelotti , strictly from a sporting perspective , should have done something in his 7 freakin years , instead of solely relying on the senior players . Sure he used some of them.. but the end result is seriously zero. Kaka and Pato were signings so they don't count , and in any case , any madman would have used them in his plans .
He even messed up with Gourcuff , i personally hold him partly responsible for his demise as a player. At Milan , if he was given the trust he needed , he would have been one of the best players around . People may have forgotten now , but Gourcuff was regarded as one of the best talents around and was particularly expensive for his age and period. But no , Emerson and Ba and the continuous use of Ambrosini in won or lost games was a better choice than invest on Gourcuff's talent. Thankfully , for other teams of course , he has learned from his mistakes at Milan , but unfortunately , we still pay that price .

4. A stadium will frankly lead us to the 'classical era' , in Civilization terms . We need this , if we ever hope to become what Milan is supposed to be once again. We can't rely on Berlusconi any more and i believe , almost all of our resources should go towards this end . It will help the club on all fronts , i am deeply saddened a management of 30 years still hasn't built a stadium for a club such as Milan . In 30 years they could have planed for the greatest stadium the world has ever seen , instead of paying rent to the city of Milan . Incompetence , there is nothing else to say . Let's hope we see Milan's own stadium before 2020 and i am saying this with a heavy heart. We should be playing on this stadium by now.

5. Largely because of Berlusconi this has happened , but it's not just money here. We may not be in the same financial security we were in the past , but money have been spent even in these bleak times . Lots of money went into Serie A players , mostly on scrubs and more importantly , on NOT building towards a better future on-field. Galliani may not have a hand these days as he says , but he should have a brain . I won't deny him his worth , though . Mistakes , although too many , aside , he did produce wonders with what little he did have. But missing on so much abundand talent.. that is inexcusable. A lot of our funds went into players which didn't pay back half of their price. Italy did have a big pool of very good players which would have improved our fortunes , players which now play either abroad or to our direct rivals . Too many to name them all here . One particular sad example here is Hamsik . We would have singed Hamsik that summer , the Mister X or wtf we used to call that back in the day .. but for Berlusconi's politics , we did not . More or less , this probably cost us another Scudetto , or even if that wasn't to be , we would still have a great player today . That would also have weakened Napoli , which is a direct rival for some years now. But no , Berlusconi had to win votes from Napoli
Roma , Inter , Juventus , Napoli , all of them have signed players from within the league , which at least some of these were 'meant' for Milan . Distribution of talent used to be fair in the past , more or less , but right now , we are the sole , absolute sole losers in this regard . We have signed one El Shaarawy from within Serie A , since i don't know ,
since Gilardino ? Pathetic really. We lost on so many nice players or top talents and all went to rivals , or abroad .

There are so many things to be said , but after all it's being said and done , i do think we will overcome this poor state the club has fallen into. When . I don't know when , but i don't expect it to be this season , or even the next. These realisations have not come yesterday , it's years now it's obvious what's happening . Berlusconi has the right of it , we must become self-sufficient , yet.. how he chose to do that , along with the overall incompetence of the management , have made this big phase of transition trully hard to swallow and see through . I've said it countless times , our hopes should be on youngsters such as De Sciglio and El Shaarawy and senior players like Montolivo and De Jong . These will be the unsung heroes untill we reach a status which will allow us to compete again . As of right now , even if we make the CL next season , we won't be able to compete unless something drastic happens . We can't even win the Coppa Italia anymore , this is how low we have fallen . I guess what's important is to find our way towards a Milan which will compete , not just survive , on it's own . Whatever the cost , however long it takes .  

Till then ..

You raise some interesting point, Dante.

Well, I'm not Berlusconi's biggest fan, but can you blame him? He bought Milan and invested heavily (yes, heavy but smart because he got the best players available and won what was left to be won, but it's always easier to work with unlimited budget) in his first 20 years at charge in order to win everything and get fame and consensus to help his politic career, to consolidate himself as a successful businessman in football as well, to become the president of the best team in Italy and in the world and he succeeded, even multiple times, and with unsustainable debts coming along the way it would be utopic to expect him to do the same or to just give his 30 years toy to someone else

I have to agree that last years managing and financial conduction by him and Galliani has been abysmal and inexcusably amateurish, even with their new restricted parameters. I mean just an example, selling Silva and Ibra because they earned 10 M p/y and it wasn't ideal with the FFP coming, but there's a reason they earned this much, because they were difference makers, those who truly changed the destiny of a season, of a club, every top team in Europe has these, and those who don't, it's simply because they aren't top teams. And just talking strictly about money, keeping them would have made every player around them twice as better, would have made Milan guaranteed CL participant, and won some trophy along the way, and it would have prevented them to spend money on the transfers and wage of their direct replacements (Mexes, Zapata, Pazzini, Balotelli) and would've prevented them to spend the money they now need to spend in order to be able to compete again for the title or at least a CL spot. This is not even hindsight, it's logic and basic management.

The youngsters ostracism during that period has to be contextualized tho. Carlo has never been an ardent youth promoter, and I don't recall a Milan's youth reject that exploded elsewhere, perhaps Matri? To not mention that in that they played in 3 CL finals, often fighting for the title and the other Italian teams didn't exactly field half of their team with Primavera player. Whether that has deteriorated youth academies or not I'd say no because even after those years it has been overlooked, right now Milan's Academy is one of the best in Italy, the reason it was overlooked was the lack of overwhelming youth talent and a coach and society's policy of favoring ready players to maximize the chances of istant success, that's a big reason too. I don't think that if Carlo utilized more youngsters the Academy would have flourished, the Academy works regardless of it, the youth coaches knows that you can't always pull off the Maldini, Costacurta, De Sciglio and that most of these kids aren't gonna make it in the first team. I don't recall another youngster other than Matri and Paloschi that exploded afterwards, so maybe the concern is how the youth recruitment worked before Carlo's tenure and the effect it had over his tenure rather than how Carlo's tenure affected the Academy during his time till now.
Gourcoff the next Kaka/Zidane, I have to say you're the first Milan fan that has kind words for him.

About talents in Italy going elsewhere, yea, but again, it's a policy thing, not a lack of appeal or money.  Galliani has been aiming for the free transfers (again, not even the wisest move economically because in this way they bought old players that needs replacement soon and that are on high wages and qualitatively speaking to as they aren't exactly phenomenons) or the classical Galliani move, a former World Class player that at the moment of the purchase is a reject of his club and is way past his prime. That's not the only resource hes got and for above mentioned reasons not even the best choice, he probably just does that to boost his ego after the compliments he gets if one of these pulls off.

The fact that you had to wait for Juventus to make their stadium and the announcement of other stadium projects just to even think about a new stadium shows the absence of any long-term plans whatsoever. The management has been so atrocious and the worst part is they don't realize it, not only B&G, but everyone else in the club doesn't or isn't willing to, the only one who tried to contest them and tried to have a say was Seedorf, and replacing him with Inzaghi is the glaring, crystal clear proof that they just look for yesman (no offense to Pippo, but subordination is the only thing he got over Clarence) and the gap is getting bigger between Milan and the first teams and smaller between Milan and the midtable teams. Inzaghi or ES, MDS, NDJ can't bail you out of this, they can't do miracles, Milan's problems right now are also a matter of personnel and tactics.

Of course i can blame him . There's not a single Milan fan that his name is not Galliani that doesn't blame him .

Note , where i said that about selling . I just used one sentence for it , it's not that important in any of this. In fact , i didn't even say sell the club like you imply i did , i said sell some part of it , meaning a few stakes , something they apparently did set out to do , according to Barbara Berlusconi at least. I don't think they ever did , though . As for the rest about Berlusconi . I am not a person which will deny another one's merit ; what Berlusconi has done for Milan can never be forgotten and the club and the fans owe him .

Now , does that guarantee total incompetence from his part , just because he feels he gave enough ? Does that guarantee years of mediocrity just because he wanted to pay a lesser bill? Who's responsible after all , for the state of the club , other than it's management? Himself and those he rules over. I know for a certainty that , when people do think they have given enough , THEY RETIRE from what they used to , exactly because they can't give like they used to. Berlusconi's job was always to provide the moneys , it doesn't matter how. My argument is still valid , he's at fault. And since that's still the case , i don't see what all this defending him is about , since you aren't a fan like you said. His only job , his only true meaning as president , is help the team with funds . That's what he is supposed to do , everybody understands it's not cheap business , but that doesn't automaticaly mean we should be ok with him being idle all these years.

Abramovic for example has probably given even more money for Chelsea and he doesn't have half Berlusconi's years as owner. What should Abramovic do now , save money till his death just because he has given so much? Nonsense. He does the exact opposite actually ! Berlusconi has had one job and for the majority of his time at Milan he did help the club to glory days . Last years , he's the main reason of our demise . Something last , Milan is not his toy , unless you are trolling us . Berlusconi bought Milan with a higher purpose and he got rewarded for it , afterall . He even became prime minister after Milan ffs. You think a toy can make you so powerfull? If it was his 'toy' , as you say , he would have sold the club , long ago . And besides . Even if agreed for the sake of the argument that Milan is indeed his toy , then all the more reason to blame him , if he did see the club like that . Corrupt and whatnot , Berlusconi does love Milan. Everybody would if he had given so much money .

Let's move on to the stadium , this doesn't need much room . You're also wrong about your assumption that this stadium talk started just because of Juventus . There has been talk even from the 00s , either buying the San Siro , or building a new stadium elsewhere . There's been talk for years . The problem is , that's what's always has been , talk . 30 years management and they still don't have their own stadium for the club . What started all this increased talk however , was not necessarily Juventus' stadium , although it did help raise eyebrows . It was the fact that money became problem after the economical crisis bloomed. "Suddenly" , the rent became high to pay. They remembered they make little from revenue . They , apparently , found every single problem altogether.. When the reality is , they were simply incompetent and relaxed all these years . When things work , why change anything? When things stop working however , you are forced to do something. Look at Arsenal for example . They used to make money too , they were 'comfortable' . Did they leave their old ground on their own , investing on a new stadium? They did. Bayern ? They did. Berlusconi's era ? They did not. However you put it , paying rent for 30 years , is just laughable and all it shows is incompetence , there really isn't nothing else to be said. You telling me , they couldn't have build a stadium in 30 years? Damnit , they could have build a stadium by donations in 30 years , it has nothing , absolutely nothing to do with other teams , or a general issue , which admitedly exists in Italy. Milan's is the oldest management in Italy and one of the most succesfull in the world. They should have took care of it , they had funds all these years and they certainly had the time. In this , there's really no defending them whatsoever . Maybe , the only thing that could be said in their defence , is the historical value of the San Siro.. yet once you stop being romantic and actually look at the whole case practicaly , the benefits of a new ground are always going to be more appealing. Not going to talk pre 2000 , but after 2000? They should built it by now , it's almost 15 freaking years.

Let's talk about the youth academies. I accept your argument , it's certainly not just Milan's issue . Yes , the problem existed long before Ancelotti , no denying that . I knew that before hand , it's the reason i said , the nail in the coffin . Ancelotti didn't create this by himself , nor is he the sole or main culprit . Nevertheless , he did put the nail in the coffin . As a club legend , as someone who saw Milan's youth in Maldini , in Costacurta , in Albertini , he should have trusted more in them(even Baresi could be used as an example). Milan youth that has blossomed elsewhere , well , Aubameyang who's been playing at Dortmund is a good , recent example . There have been other players as well , such as Miccoli the last years . Matri is a decent example , or used to be . Darmian as well is NT player these days . There are others , scrub like players who have played in Serie A ever since 2000 , such as Donati or Donadel ... there are many others like these two . Point is , yes most of them have always been scrub. But who's to say they wouldn't be better players today had they been given at least ONE chance to play for Milan? Just one. Not that it would enough. Paloschi scored a goal in his debut mere seconds after substitution.. and he never played for Milan again. Darmian also played as a sub a few times , never really played saw any real trust like Allegri had shown to De Sciglio , or El Shaarawy . And he did that in a really , really tough season for us. Ancelotti was shit with the youngsters in his 7 years , unless millions had been paid then he did used them , aka Kaka , or Pato . The reputation you talk about , an ardent youth promotor , started in Milan . He used young players at Parma , a lot of them. At Juventus not so much , but then again , he didn't stay 7 years at Juventus . At Milan however , he could do anything he wanted . He used to play Ba ffs and reasons given were , because i like him! And he was a total scrub , still don't know how he got back in Milan . As for Gourcuff . I never called him next anything , put aside Kaka or Zidane. You see me being kind with Gourcuff , because i remember. It had been a few years since Kaka had signed for Milan and we rarely saw any other young player , if at all back then. And then we sign Gourcuff in 2006. Bright talent then and Milan got him . Later i saw him play , it was clear the dude could play alright . Such high hopes. We then sign Pato . Whoosh , it seemed liked the new Milan started shaping up. Gourcuff , despite his off the field issues with the team , did show promise. Pirlo , Kaka , Seedorf , all of them have great words to speak about his talent. But who ruined his career at Milan ? Ancelotti . With all his decisions , he rarely trusted him , he even managed Gourcuff to go back in France just to play . He played and we all saw what happened , EVERYBODY was blaming Ancelotti back then for ditching him and many were dissapointed like me when he left for Bordeaux. After the season was over , Galliani and Leonardo personally flew to France to convince him , using an argument , see , 'Ancelotti left' , Leonardo is here now. And the dude was over with Milan . Maldini was right about him , i won't deny that , but as youngster that he was back then , he should be given some space ffs. They did show patience with Pato , merely because of what happened with Gourcuff i guess. Not every youngster can be like Kaka and they learned that too late. In any case , Ancelotti in general lines and without a doubt was aware of the problem and did practicaly nothing to help solve it. Ancelotti was a club legend , not just a 7 year coach , mind you. In the end , why should i care if it's a Serie A problem? I am a fan of Milan and what i say here isn't even hindsight , too many like complained fiercely about Ancelotti even as far back as 2005 , especially for the youngsters . I personally ached to see him gone in his last season , i couldn't take it anymore to see every dead scrub aka Senderos , Ba , Emerson , gradnpas like Serginho and Favalli and Oddo , omg my head aches again still remembering it... I saw Paloschi score in his debut , i was watching that game. You can't believe my happyness that day . I saw Pato's first game , i saw Gourcuff's and even though i did not see Kaka's first ever game with Milan , i did see some of his games . Why am i saying all that? Because i did expect younger players even when we had that great team back in the 00s.

Milan's youth acedemies may be one of the best right now , after given attention and investment , but from 00s and to now , it mostly produced mediocrity . Nevertheless , even those best talents we have had , never saw daylight . Never had a real chance. That's Berlusconi's , Galliani's and evidently Ancelotti's fault . Why should i hold judgment? I don't see any good reason to hold it back , just because the rest of Serie A had this issue too. I am a Milan fan , not a Serie A fan. ( i hope you get what i am saying here , of course i like Serie A.)

In conclusion , i agree about Seedorf and Inzaghi . I love Pippo and i think he is capable of leading us forward , but yeah , he got the job because he's a yesman and Seedorf wasn't to be . No revelation here , Leonardo wasn't a yesman either and he got the sack. Him did suck as a coach , even though he is one of a kind ; Galliani should have never made him a coach , his work was invaluable to the club as it was. And now we lost him too , dat vision .

As for the players , you clearly cannot place yourself in my position and see what i see , when i talk about these players. These players can find themselves almost to any big club they want right now , earn quite a lot more money and with better chances of actually winning something . They really have a chance to enjoy their careers elsewhere and not struggle with Milan , with 1/3 of what they would earn elsewhere and practicaly no chance of winning anything for years . El Shaarawy , De Sciglio , De Jong , Montolivo , e.t.c , these players love this club . Unless they are given the boot for the moneys by B&G , they will stick here and try to revive Milan with all they've got . I respect that more than i can say behind a keyboard and entrust my hopes to them. I've lost hope from B&G since.. i don't when really , it's been quite some time now. They see things from another perspective , which i don't share , maybe i am not capable to see things from their perspective. Whatever the case , i don't trust them anymore. These players have shown their commitment however ; i disagree vehemently , these are exactly who will 'bail' us out , if you could call it that. Seeing us through the 'next day' , doesn't exactly mean bail us out. No one will trully bail us out , we don't need bailouts. We don't need to survive here , we need to compete. Their choise is Milan , during a time it's not so favourable . It's these players that i count on , waiting for Milan to get back . You say it's a matter of personel , well , players are personel too . Tactics i value too , but all these matter little when the players don't have their best interests here. As far as Pippo goes , he has to prove himself , so i want say i rely on him fully yet. I know how much he loves Milan and for this reason , i have supported him since day 1 , despite what happened with Seedorf . But regardless of any of that , he has to prove himself . I am sure i can count on him eventually , but for the moment , the players i mentioned have proved themselves to everybody .

Dante wrote:As for Armero , i am not sure why he doesn't pick him up , but i think , maybe he doesn't execute his tactics well enough?

Not sure , but Bonera at leftback , not to mention Poli as his replacement , was an utter disgrace . I can't imagine how offended i would have been if i were Armero , or even Albertazzi for that matter.

It's a shame really , Armero might not be the best left fullback in Italy , but ffs , give him 1 game before you try the absolute madness that is Bonera at leftback . Not only he did not add any kind of protection , he left the field with a red card and contributed absolutely nothing to his left side .

I am pretty certain Armero , or even Albertazzi for that matter , would have helped Ses out 10 times more . Instead , Bonera stood deep , something which invided extra pressure from Sampdoria to his area and as a result , Ses had to move near to counter it , effectively blocking him at times from having any impact . Even when he had the ball , he had to expect help from the midfield , or Menez. Compare that to De Sciglio opposite side. He was all over the right side .

And it wasn't even anything spectacular , that's just what fullbacks are supposed to do . It was like , 80s leftback-2010s rightback . That's how huge the difference between fullback play was. Outrageous decision by Inzaghi that one with Bonera.

Smh .
These things may seem easy to note after the game , though seriously . If one created this scenario pre game , how different the answer would possible be ? really now

hey Dante, what tactics are we exactly talking about? Thats exactly what is annoying me and growing my frustration on Pippo, we have no clear idea of what tactics we are using, is it possession is it containing and relaying on the counter; long ball to someone who can hold the ball and wait for support, playing wide, crosses etc... What exactly is it?
All I see is a team waiting an individual's magic touch to bail us out..

hey mate , what's up .

Well , what Inzaghi has been doing , or at least he's trying to , is adapting to each opponent , basically. That's why there's confusion . I can explain in depth but there's no need really , the reason he does this is because we don't have the necessary quality to impose our defining play on the majority of opponents .

You see Real now , or Bayern , or Pep's Barcelona , Ferguson's Manchester with Ronaldo , Ancelotti's Milan e.t.c , all of these teams have had the means to impose themselves. That identity is 90% the quality of the team. We are not quality like Bayern today is , or Real , or Barcelona , or Chelsea.

Allegri after 2012 did the same and eventually failed , Seedorf did the same and failed , they tried to impose a certain identity when we don't have the quality to see it through . Inzaghi adapts the team , or at the very least he does what he thinks it's best in order to achieve this result , in order to exploit weaknesses of the opponent. Hence why we look different almost in each game , or why players change so much in the lineup..

But as you can see , players like Honda and Menez and De Jong , continue pretty much on the same path regardless , because they are showing their quality . Had we a team 'full' of players like that , be certain there would be a definite instinction in play and tactics and in style and in identity .

Inzaghi probably sees Armero as one-dimensional and therefore he cannot depend on him . In any case , take Real as an example , with Ancelotti which already coached Milan. Does this team resemble our great team , tactically? No , i see very little similarities.

Yet , they flourish , why? Because they can afford to impose themselves no matter the opponent , they don't need to adapt to say Real Sociedad weaknesses. They can do their own thing and dominate them . WE cannot do that , against most opponents , we don't have players as good as theirs .

I guess you can say this a bit extreme , other teams who are not named Real or Bayern or Chelsea ,e.t.c , try their own thing and have a certain identity and taste . This is Inzaghi's way and we just have to see where it leads us . There's logic in it and i believe , maybe , it's exactly what we need for the moment , even though it won't always work .

But what does always work anyway. I will tell you what works almost always , better players than the opponent . . Everything a coach does , from "philosophies" and tactics and whatnot , is to suit his best players win and get better than they were yesterday .

When you're best players aren't so good.. and , making a plan to compliment their strengths isn't going to offer you the end result you seek .. it's best to look at the opponents worst players and overall weaknesses and exploit them , you can count on these always. You can't count on mediocre quality however , that's for sure .

SO , all in all , i think Inzaghi understands 100% that we are limited and tries to examine what's best game by game , rather force a method that may or may not work on most opponents . Had we better players , our play would be much more distinguishable and defining , for the sole reason of superiority on the field . We aren't so superior anymore and we have to adapt . Although not always pleasant , imo it could give us the end result in the long term , which at the moment is CL qualification .

Once we become strong again , you will see the definitions you seek , but it won't be because Inzaghi "learned" or something. It will be because of better players , which will allow a defining style of play , according to their strengths always. Passes in quick succession , counter attacking methods , control of the tempo , you name it , all that define the players . If you can't play like that , you will neve be able to .

Guardiola can't use his tactics and ideas and methods and he certainly can't use the full extent of his knowledge and experience on , say Sassuolo , or Osasuna e.t.c. He could try , but that kind of players , not top+ , will never become another Bayern or Barcelona. I question if they would even get better , i think they would fail after all.