http://www.goal.com/en/news/1717/editorial/1991/07/27/2592739/a-message-to-antonio-cassano-for-the-good-of-yourself-your

I KNOW NOT ALL OF YOU AGREE WITH WHAT GOAL.COM WRITES
But it does say what some AC Milan fans are thinking

I like Cassano as a player but I have stated many times my concerns for him. He STILL hasn't lost that weight. We were all saying at the end of last season that Cassano would lose this fat and be back to his best. YES, Bayern and the Audi Cup are not seriously taken competitions but he put in an underwhelming performance nonetheless. But even against 4th division Solbiatese he looked lethargic and unmotivated. In my opinion (and I am by no means speaking on behalf of the general Milan community), I think he should be included in the Montolivo deal. If he stays, then he has seriously got to knuckle down or i'm all for kicking him out come January.

(By the way, this is not a knee-jerk reaction and I have been thinking this for WEEKS now)

man,hes just being like dinho ever since the end of last season....

Yes and when Pato gets injured again we'll play Paloschi right !?

pUsHa wrote:Yes and when Pato gets injured again we'll play Paloschi right !?

Robinho is our 3rd choice striker.

Then why do you guys think Allegri brought him here !?

Does anyone else notice that the entire basis for that article is one friendly game?

I remember vividly when Cassano's assist for Strasser saved us when it looked like we were about to get swamped by Napoli and Inter in the title chase, and for that, I'll show a little more faith in him than Voakes.

He's basically saying that Cassano cannot play at a big club for no reason whatsoever, he just can't according to Voakes. Well, he hasn't slumped in form so far, and there aren't any equal or better replacements for his price or wages... so why sell?

Moreover, why trade a trequartista for a midfielder in Montolivo? And then suggest that pure strikers such as Matri or Pazzini will take his place in the national team, because playing Pazzini with Cassano couldn't possibly work, could it?

Furthermore, using only goal tallies to highlight the poor play of an assist-maker is simply bad journalism, as are the assertions that he is not happy at Milan and that moving to a lesser club could help his chances with Prandelli.

Should we sell Cassano? NO.
Does Cassano have to knuckle down next season? OF COURSE... like every other player on our team! This is OUR season!!

thats what i've been saying from the past few months..he really needs to leave milan for the good of his NT career..
milan fans have a different perspective on this..i know that he adds depth to milan's attack and could possibly prove vital in games where milan's main strikers are not firing or milan have injury concerns..
I dont believe he is going to be first choice for allegri..and rotation would do little to help cassano's cause..
Hence he has to leave for regular game time..

The thing about the players we currently have, is that they are made for winning Serie A. Cassano is made for destroying the lesser teams of Serie A, when Milan dont have to worry about the midfield being run over, and Cassano must track way back and help build up play, making him run much more than he likes. This can also be a problem for Ibra unfortunately, but his other qualities often weigh up for that slacking of his.

If you look at goal.com at our "Standard formation", our midfiled consists of Seedorf, Van Bommel and Gattuso, which is over a 100 years together. How are "destroyers" like Van Bommel and Gattuso gonna catch up with the top level dribblers? If we go a few years back, we saw how Gattuso stopped Christiano Ronaldo pretty well in the CL, now it is not likely to happen at all. (I know we probably wouldnt use this exact line-up in games, but they are still considered important players)

I wonder when Milan will start thinking about what is best for the quality of the team, instead of worrying about how some of our veterans will take the bad news about not being among the starters for the coming seasons.

We build or defense, we build or attack. I mean, just look at Milan not even 2 years ago, we had Boriello and Huntelaar up front. It was one of the most painful games I ever saw when those two "reigned havoc" in the league and abroad. Thiago Silva arrived as a pure blessing out of nowhere it seemed, and Mexes seems like a quality signing if that injury isnt gonna ruin the coming season as well. Taiwo should be an upgrade no matter how you look at it on the left side.

And the midfield... sigh... Where is the technique? Where is the pace? Who is gonna replace Pirlo? Its not like this can go on without us taking another hit in the Champions League. Now, it seems like Montolivo is being linked with us a lot, and as he is 27 years old, and his price tag isn't too much of a scare. It seems to me like a done deal. He will settle in well, and help us battle for the Scudetto again, but he alone cant make up for the seemingly dead weight (cant tell for sure about Ambrosini, because he has been injured for about a 100 years) that has become Gattuso, Ambrosini, and Seedorf. Clarence said it himself that he would welcome more signings. (Notice how nearly all my criticism are focused towards the CL, not Serie A, which should be our main area to improve, as we have failed there for numerous years now.)

Forza Rossoneri wrote:Does anyone else notice that the entire basis for that article is one friendly game?

I remember vividly when Cassano's assist for Strasser saved us when it looked like we were about to get swamped by Napoli and Inter in the title chase, and for that, I'll show a little more faith in him than Voakes.

He's basically saying that Cassano cannot play at a big club for no reason whatsoever, he just can't according to Voakes. Well, he hasn't slumped in form so far, and there aren't any equal or better replacements for his price or wages... so why sell?

Moreover, why trade a trequartista for a midfielder in Montolivo? And then suggest that pure strikers such as Matri or Pazzini will take his place in the national team, because playing Pazzini with Cassano couldn't possibly work, could it?

Furthermore, using only goal tallies to highlight the poor play of an assist-maker is simply bad journalism, as are the assertions that he is not happy at Milan and that moving to a lesser club could help his chances with Prandelli.

Should we sell Cassano? NO.
Does Cassano have to knuckle down next season? OF COURSE... like every other player on our team! This is OUR season!!

cassano isnt a trequartista,he is a striker for us and for the national team.

A half fit Cassano saved our asses against Cagliari and 3 more teams in Serie A. He bagged 4 goals and 8 assists in 5 months after months of inactivity. Without Cassano we could have easily kissed our Scudetto goodbye. We need to keep him, this is only pre season, if he gets back to full fitness then every single of Milan's opponents are totally screwed.

Maybe not a knee jerk by You OP, but it sure is for Goal.com.....and when they write I

Ronaldinho was the most beloved player of Berlusconi and Galliani. He had to leave Milan, because he didn't work hard enough to justify his high wages. Cassano will not be allowed to remain overweight and still play under Allegri. Antonio knows he must improve, or he risks never playing for a top club again.

As long as he is rotated into the squad at regular intervals his NT position should be safe. He already has a strong understanding with Pazzini, and there is no Italian who could fill the senond striker role as well as Cassano.

As Italy's premier club (sorry Juve, you know it's true haha), we should take pride in having THE MOST TALENTED ITALIAN in our team. I would like Cassano to stay.

It is all up to the man himself. He can choose to work at Milan, lose weight, track back, help his teammates. If he does those things, he will certainly play enough to be recalled to the NT. If he does not do those things, he will go the way of Ronaldinho.

The article is proof of why Carlo Garaganase would always be better then Voakes

was it me or he looked really fat ?

hes been with us for 7 months and he still isnt fit...its as if hes not even trying

Ganso wrote:hes been with us for 7 months and he still isnt fit...its as if hes not even trying

I gotta agree there. He' just lazy... And he doesn't offer enough in other ares to warrant that laziness. I still say wait till January though.

How many points did Cassano pull out of the fire for you lot last season between goals and assists in the last 20 minutes?

This is why people shouldn't read goal.com

Cassano stays, especially if we play with Robinho Ibrahimovic and Pato up front, he will be the first choice player coming off the bench surely, and I don't see why he couldn't steal a spot from someone.

.

I agree that Cassano is temperamental, and lazy, but he was an important player for us last season, as Bhends already said. Unless he does "a Ballotelli" some time during the transfer window, there's no friendly result that will change my mind.

Also, I don't know why we would bother using Cassano as a striker when we have Ibra, Pato, Paloschi. Those three are battering rams to blast through defensive walls, whilst Cassano is a lock-pick...

Inzaghi is a double-agent, he's already inside the walls when the siege begins. hahaha

And let's not forget Robinho, who will likely start instead of Cassano if he's in form... needs to work on his finishing though.

bhends wrote:How many points did Cassano pull out of the fire for you lot last season between goals and assists in the last 20 minutes?

This is why people shouldn't read goal.com

Exactly. Without him we probably would have kissed our Scudetto goodbye.

AC Milan CEO Adriano Galliani believes striker Antonio Cassano needs to shed a few pounds following a less than perfect pre-season thus far.

The 29-year-old struggled during the club's involvement in the Audi Cup and he missed a penalty in the loss to Brazilian club Internacional on Wednesday evening.

Cassano has been criticised for failing to shine in Germany, and Galliani has asked the Italy international to maximise his effort in training.

"He [Cassano] must work to lose weight, but he is still a great talent," Galliani told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Milan failed to pick up a win in the pre-season tournament at the Allianz Arena, losing to both Bayern Munich and Internacional on penalties.

He is looking a bit hefty if I would say so myself

We should give him a special trainer for him to get his shape and fitness back if necessary. What a fully fit Cassano could do if an unfit one coyld produce 4 goals and 8 assists in a half of a season?

To the topic, I don't think we should swll him though, we should give him another chance at least until January. At current state, he will be very useful as a sub, where other players fitness has decreased.

I don't think sell him now is a wise decision. I know it isn't a knee-jerk but it would be a rash decision from our management. And his wage is not as huge as Dinho, we will gonna keep him I guess.

I am well aware Cassano saved up points and I thank him for that

But Ronaldinho in 2009/2010 dragged us through the season. He was unfit and was very lazy the season after. Even though he got us into the CL, he proved (like Cassano) that no one (or VERY FEW) players are safe, no matter what you did in the past.

The fans loved Ronaldinho for what he did but he lacked that motivation that makes a player survive in Allegri's Milan.
Same with Tevez at Manchester United. How many times did he save United's ass? Yet he left the club also.

Cassano saved us LAST season. Those points mean nothing in the 2011/2012 campaign and in this form and state of mind, I can't see him setting up or putting away many more vital goals