Milan swiftly assembling a recognizable team

M99 wrote:I do like Montolivo but got to admit, Montoleader is a hilarious nickname

oh i know it is

don't have any problems with anyone calling him that , always found it funny. I simply used it to make a point easier understood and save some words , is all .

rincon wrote:Montolivo is probably the player I rate the least in the Milan team now that Honda is gone it's a tie with Poli I guess. It's about time that Milan improved on him.

Poli's gone , so you can keep rating him like that still

Anyway , we got Biglia , nobody's saying we should stick with him in the 11 anymore. All i am saying is he has a place for depth reasons , he's earned that at least .

People don't rate him for some time now but it's really the Hondas and Polis that didn't make him look any better than he was and i prefer to forget even worst cases like Muntari and De Jong near him , guy literally couldn't play a pass without knowing they would waste possession. People always went "oh he keeps the ball so long , always backpass or something" , yeah as if he had better options with all that certified fodder near him .

Even with Mihajlovic , he had to adapt to a much more focused type of DM , he was never really good at it in the past , but that season he did particularly well , his defensive stats were impressive for a player of his mold. All in all he's a slow player which often suffered through with a struggling team , anything that could come his way did.

I think he can still help us with finally a good team around him as a rotational option , especially against the low-midtable of Serie A . I wanted Biglia and i am very happy we got him , but i know Montolivo can be relied upon under the right conditions

The money Milan has spent and the talent being brought in is indeed impressive, but right now,they're essentially a group of talented individuals. Many parts that should fit well into the machine, but no one really knows for sure. Montella is key of course. He must unite this team on multiple levels for them to realize the potential they have on paper. Even then, I hope this team stays humble. There really shouldn't be talk of a scudetto push this season, no matter how good they end up doing. Goal should be to get back in the CL next season by finishing in the spots. They are already probable EL contenders with this squad, but again no one knows whether that's deserved or not. Staying humble and hungry is what will get them results. Take it from a fan of team that simply doesn't do that consistently.

I hope Milan does well. Serie A and Europe are better with them than without them certainly.

That said, I still consider Napoli much more of a threat.

I'll tell you what i always say and what Milan had taughed me during the 2000s at least

Build a team that can win the Scudetto , and if you fail to accomplish it , CL place is the least you will manage.

Try and build a team to sneak into the top spots like us and Inter did recently and it will fail . If you always want guaranteed access for the Champions League , which is our first essential goal here , you need a team that will fight for the league , again , regardless if they succeed or not . Simply because if you have the quality to fight for the league and fail , well your failure is to be very likely 2nd-3rd-4th. In which case , worst case scenario becomes CL qualification , which still remains what we seek .

Always was like that for Milan. Typically in for the Scudetto every season , whatever the case was we at least had our CL place intact , simply because the bar was placed highly.

That's what we should be doing again, imo . And to be honest , pending to see what else is there in the mercato , it's likely what we are doing. We are humble , in the sense that we proclaim that our main goal , is to earn our place back into the CL. But to secure that year in year out , you need a team that will fight for the league , so ... although it will be very difficult and complicated this season, failure to do so we still mean we end up in the top 4 , as far as we are building a potential Scudetto winning team.

In any case , Milan was always about the CL , great Milan team or Meelan , we need to be there , whether we have the team to win it or not. We are years behind before we become serious competitors for it once again , but you have to start from somewhere and this is the plan. A potential Scudetto winning team , which has the quality to fight for the league title , will always find itself in the CL ; as have Napoli and Roma both in recent years , the two of them were the only possible title contenders besides Juventus . It's very simple really , humble and hungry we shall be regardless because we are at the start. But essentially , this team is being built to target the highest place it can and that includes the title as well.

And that's the entire point really , if we can build such a team capable of competiting for the league , we won't have to worry about our CL place anymore , simply because failure to win the league , for a team which has quality in order to win the league , will always mean a place into the top 4 at the very least ; as it always was for us , regardless of how often we won the league , or targeted it and failed.

I was looking at the whole list of players Milan signed this summer, but except for Bonucci, that's a whole lot of average players, still. The ambition is nice, that team can't compete for the scudetto, but 4th place is a realizable objective.

Mr Nick09 wrote:I was looking at the whole list of players Milan signed this summer, but except for Bonucci, that's a whole lot of average players, still. The ambition is nice, that team can't compete for the scudetto, but 4th place is a realizable objective.

Disgusting amount of excuses here.

Great Leader Sprucenuce wrote:

Mr Nick09 wrote:I was looking at the whole list of players Milan signed this summer, but except for Bonucci, that's a whole lot of average players, still. The ambition is nice, that team can't compete for the scudetto, but 4th place is a realizable objective.

Disgusting amount of excuses here.

It's the Mbappe effect. It's taking a toll on Nick tbh.

Great Leader Sprucenuce wrote:

Mr Nick09 wrote:I was looking at the whole list of players Milan signed this summer, but except for Bonucci, that's a whole lot of average players, still. The ambition is nice, that team can't compete for the scudetto, but 4th place is a realizable objective.

Disgusting amount of excuses here.

He's not wrong IMO.

i am only saying we are obligated to set the bar as high as possible , this is the only way to trully achieve our goal , which is guaranteed CL qualification year in , year out . You want that , you're fighting for the league , once again , regardless if you succeed or not. The most recent Serie A examples are Napoli and Roma , that's what they do , tried to build league winning teams , doesn't matter if they failed , still get to finish in the podium .

nobody's saying we are going to win the league no matter what. Just that we are building in order to finish as high as possible and that is the right plan imo . It doesn't matter if we succeed or not , what matters is that we succeed in building a team which shall stand as qualifiable for it. Worst case then will be top 4 finish , which still is our essential goal anyway

@Mole this post may have tiny molecules of excuses , i had to do it though , i wrote too much last post probably nobody read it . You will excuse me for excusing myself for the excuses of course

i was being honest, of those guys only Bonucci makes our first XI and Donnarumma the bench, the rest, the stands

and what that matters to Milan's goals really?

Lol you're at a stage now that the standard is very high at Real and i get that , but that doesn't really mean you have to compare everything according to the requirements of your team.

Unless that's prime coming at me about the stands , it's completely irrelevant with regards to what these players can do in Serie A. If half of these players could get into current's Real 11 i wouldn't have to explain anything , it would be obvious we would be about the Scudetto and only that , as everyone would get that

anyway , as for the average and all , as if you ever watched Kessie , or Conti play ? pls Nick

they may not be superstars and 5 star hotel reserved best suite players , but they ain't exactly unheard of nobodies either . They all have made a name for themselves in their respective leagues (bar obvious banter arrivals in Borini-A.Donnarumma) and came over according to the needs of the team , which were too many as it were .

It's a very good start and still a work in progress . I daresay with some very careful moves still we will surely be in the top 4 regardless of the final position. I mean in this Serie A , what do you think it takes lol

no it matters to my overall assessment, that squad is average for the most part and while there will be some hype, there will be some hard realities too. There may be some good talents in there, but are they all going to blossom at the same time next season? highly unlikely.

As i said, I still see teams like Napoli, Juventus and maybe Roma stronger, top 4 should be the right expectation. Building a base for better signings in the future and to allow the young players to grow a little.

They are not average nick lol, if you think they are you have a very warped view of the word average tbh.

They may not good enough to win the league, but until further notice......















































No excuses.

good, average, all the same to me. My point is who in that team is a bonafide top player? just bonucci, the other guys are good but have not set themselves apart yet.

plus the track record of teams coming together like that in one summer is no great

Juventus Napoli and Roma are stronger , or at least they are expected to be . I am only saying downplaying our overall quality by comparing it to current Real is totally meaningless and holds no ground as to our chances for the top 4. Not sure what else i can say about this

Agreed about the hard realities , agreed they won't all blossom at the same time. It's only natural and that it won't be straightforward. I get that , of course. I do not agree with the unfair criteria you use.

I have my own doubts about some things , especially as to how quickly we get it together like you say as well , but i have a little different assessment for the most part . Answer me , you saw Atalanta play this season , you saw Conti and Kessie ?? you probably just don't know them at all and stamp them with 'bang average' seal of approval lol

anyway , at least i get how you see things and i am fine with that really. But mind you i am not saying , that as things are , we have what it takes to win the league,or that we are favourites or anything. I mean even if we did , they probably would need time to get it together still ; we probably wouldn't win the league even with more big names .

Just that even as things are for us , and we're not done just yet , at least 4th place will be within our capabilities . But for all intends and purposes we should be aiming for as high as possible starting from this season , don't know if we reach that threshold which i talk about , but if we do by September 1 , then i wouldn't settle us for 4th by default , even if that would be the least we could do.

Read the last 2 guys they will try and sign are Belotti and the Sanches kid from Bayern with an option to buy. What happened to the Kieta deal?

All that said, of course NO excuses , i am obligated by our Chinese Overlords and by this club's history to avoid such below ourselves kind of mentality , again , aim as high as possible

even 4th place borders excusing territory tbh... but we should also keep appearances somewhat , since it's just first season .. tell you what , when we spend natha 60-100m by August 31 , i'll change my repertoire

i've never had any interest in Milan being a collector-gatherer of points club, i am a simple man , it was always one thing i always liked to collect and that's a cup outside of Italy , but yeah if we get Belotti too , absolutely NO excuses whatsoever

windkick wrote:Read the last 2 guys they will try and sign are Belotti and the Sanches kid from Bayern with an option to buy. What happened to the Kieta deal?

Keita and his agent wanted Juventus , Juventus said sure fam so he waited for Juventus , but they went for Douglas Costa . Poor lad Keita thought we'd actually wait balls deep in for him or something , after all was said and done we declared he doesn't fit our plans anymore , oh how badly i took this one.. Keita can gtfo , i wished we kept Deulofeu but oh well . Could see Keita at Inter if they sell Perisic , maybe

I mean , i don't know what will happen , they are buying everyone , maybe we get him , but to me , that player obviously doesn't exist. He made his choice and i hope our board continues to feel the same way.

We'll see about Sanchez , not sure about our chances here it seems very complicated , he had a really weird deal coming from Benfica to Bayern , i think he had many clauses and related bonuses and such , don't remember that well right now but i am not sure how all that would play into a possible transfer even if Bayern and the player are willing. We'll see , i'd like him at Milan , but whatever

The season comes down to Montella more than any of Milan's signings. I do believe in his qualities as a manager. If they get Belotti, they will surely be a favourite to win the Scudetto. If they do not, they still have a chance to win, but I think a consistent, top 4 finish is something to aim for and be proud of because it allows them to build and continue to grow beyond this season.

Napoli is still a dangerous team under Sarri, Roma under Di Francesco will be interesting. Inter with Spaletti can be interesting if they give him a chance. I do not need to speak of Juventus, I can see us not winning Serie A this season but our team is still quite good.

Luca wrote:The season comes down to Montella more than any of Milan's signings. I do believe in his qualities as a manager. If they get Belotti, they will surely be a favourite to win the Scudetto. If they do not, they still have a chance to win, but I think a consistent, top 4 finish is something to aim for and be proud of because it allows them to build and continue to grow beyond this season.

Napoli is still a dangerous team under Sarri, Roma under Di Francesco will be interesting. Inter with Spaletti can be interesting if they give him a chance. I do not need to speak of Juventus, I can see us not winning Serie A this season but our team is still quite good.

Juventus fan trying to paint Milan as favourites for the title. They're contenders but nice try. The favourites are still Juventus. The fact that you lost Bonucci does not make you underdogs all of a sudden. Now if you lose Sandro (which won't happen) then I can agree to some extent with what you're saying. Doesn't matter if Milan get Belotti or Aubameyang or anyone else, you're still the better team and you're still favourites. Milan have a bunch of "good" players, which is much better than the average/trash they've been fielding for the last few seasons. Only Bonucci is top shelf. Juve have Higuain, Dybala, Sandro, Pjanic, Chiellini, Barzagli, Buffon, Marchisio....listen, let's be serious here.

Blue Barrett wrote:

Luca wrote:The season comes down to Montella more than any of Milan's signings. I do believe in his qualities as a manager. If they get Belotti, they will surely be a favourite to win the Scudetto. If they do not, they still have a chance to win, but I think a consistent, top 4 finish is something to aim for and be proud of because it allows them to build and continue to grow beyond this season.

Napoli is still a dangerous team under Sarri, Roma under Di Francesco will be interesting. Inter with Spaletti can be interesting if they give him a chance. I do not need to speak of Juventus, I can see us not winning Serie A this season but our team is still quite good.

Juventus fan trying to paint Milan as favourites for the title. They're contenders but nice try. The favourites are still Juventus. The fact that you lost Bonucci does not make you underdogs all of a sudden. Now if you lose Sandro (which won't happen) then I can agree to some extent with what you're saying. Doesn't matter if Milan get Belotti or Aubameyang or anyone else, you're still the better team and you're still favourites. Milan have a bunch of "good" players, which is much better than the average/trash they've been fielding for the last few seasons. Only Bonucci is top shelf. Juve have Higuain, Dybala, Sandro, Pjanic, Chiellini, Barzagli, Buffon, Marchisio....listen, let's be serious here.

Yeah

I said if they sign Belotti they'll be A FAVOURITE, not the favourite, as in they have a good chance to win.

I'm not trying to paint Milan as anything, get real. Not everyone has an agenda. Juventus from top to bottom is still the best team in Italy.

I'm not sure some of us understand the meaning of the term 'favorite'.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/favorite wrote:favorite
noun  fa·vor·ite \ˈfā-v(ə-)rət, ˈfā-vərt, chiefly dialectal ˈfā-və-ˌrīt\
:  a competitor judged most likely to win

In any case, should Milan secure a proven goal-scorer in Serie A (Belotti), then they could absolutely challenge for the title and should absolutely regain a CL spot. The only concern for them is how quickly the squad can gel... I mean, they could potentially have 9 new starters!!!

Mr Nick09 wrote:I was looking at the whole list of players Milan signed this summer, but except for Bonucci, that's a whole lot of average players, still. The ambition is nice, that team can't compete for the scudetto, but 4th place is a realizable objective.

I'll let some prominent Milan fans speak for me:

http://www.goallegacy.net/t38894p950-pep-guardiola-s-adventures-in-manchester-city#1757268

Higher expenditure = titles, anything else is flopping

We shall have at least 9 possible new starters , that is certain . I know Bonaventura doesn't raise eyebrows for those who don't know about him , but he will be there much more often than not.

Rest remains to be seen , it's up to the team and Montella to prove what they can do , but by all means , just like we don't limit ourselves in the transfer market , we won't do so either with our seasonal goal.

Minimum requirement is CL qualification and that's the only limit , no matter how that comes.

BarrileteCosmico wrote:

Mr Nick09 wrote:I was looking at the whole list of players Milan signed this summer, but except for Bonucci, that's a whole lot of average players, still. The ambition is nice, that team can't compete for the scudetto, but 4th place is a realizable objective.

I'll let some prominent Milan fans speak for me:

http://www.goallegacy.net/t38894p950-pep-guardiola-s-adventures-in-manchester-city#1757268

Higher expenditure = titles, anything else is flopping

Ah i see you missed the point

If they sign Belotti then absolutely they should be fighting for the title. Otherwise its CL objective and the title will be between Napoli and Juve who have better squads for sure.

So Sanches has agreed...

we are officially flexin