I felt like composing a thread today after watching a match replay involving Milan/Parma. Basically I just wanted to ask my fellow Milan faithful what you guys thought about the offseason moves Milan made and, while the team is quickly approaching mid-season what are your concerns about the roster rotation and/or the sqauds current status? The point of this thread is more then just simple conversation, rather I am hoping for a fluent discussion regarding Ancelotti's tactics: the omission of key players; defensive strategy; needed players in attack or defense; and if Milan were to make a mid-season trade who would be the most appropriate aquisition?
OK, I'll bite. First the new additions to the squad. Pancaro: Solid addition to the squad. He has done everything we thought he would do. A good bargain too as we gave up a player who wasn't going to play much anyway. It looked like an even more brillient move when Kaladze got hurt. Kaka: Simply put, the best buy of the year of any club in the world, save maybe Chivu and Mancini at Roma. It looks even better when you see what Milan paid for Kaka and what ManU paid for Ronaldo. He will be at Milan for many years to come. Cafu: Another great buy, actually we didn't buy him. We got him for free which makes it even better. He is still the same Cafu that played for Roma as I don't think he has lost anything. Borriello: He is not a new player but we did call him back from loan. Which I find wierd considering he hasn't played a single minute this year. Hopefully we send him out on loan again because we are doing him no good benching him. All of the players we let go: Chamot, RJ, Ba, Helveg, etc. were not Milan quality to begin with so they were not great losses. Although, it does amuse me seeing how much Helveg plays for Inter Now to Carlo's tactics. The Omission of Key Players I assume you are referring mainly to Rivaldo. I agree with his decision not to play Rivaldo but I don't agree with the way it has been handled. We were told all summer that this year was going to be Rivaldo's year and he would rediscover his form. Well, how can he rediscover his form if he doesn't play at all. We should have just sold him in the summer and not goner through this whole charade. Another player that has been omitted is Redondo. the same thing that was said about Rivaldo in the summer was said about Redondo. He was supposed to be a big contributor this year yet he has played a grand total of about 25 minutes this year. If he's not going to play we need to get rid of him. Abbiati is another player that has been omitted but we all know why. Dida deserves is position. Defensive Strategy I don't think Milan can play any better defensively than they have been doing to start the season. The back 4 has looked solid no matter who has played. Getting Kaladze back will only make it better. Needed Players in Attack or Defense I don't think we need anything in defense. We are solid in every are of defense. In attack I do think we need another winger. Especially a left winger since Serginho is hurt far too often. If I could pick anyone it would be Arjen Robben. But that is unlikely to happen since PSV will probabaly want a boatload of cash. And Milan have shown this year that they are not spending big this year. Milan Rotation So far most changes have been made because of injury as Ancelotti has played his core group in every game if they were healthy. Sheva needs a break, he has started every game this year. I hope Abbiati gets ome games now and then too. On the whole I can't complain too much with the way Milan are playing at the moment. They are getting resuts in both Italy and Europe. No major changes need to be made because Milan have the right foundation in place. There is no reason they can't win either Lo Scudetto or CL this year.
I can always trust Spartak to make some Rossenerri conversation Guess what? I think pretty much everything you analysed makes perfect sense however, I will comment on your opinion regarding the Milan defense. It is in my humble opinion that Milan's defense is less than perfect, more specifically it lacks certain depth. Suppose some horrible circumastance arises, for example Maldini's injury prevents him from playing the rest of the season (a little extreme, but this is all hypothetical ofcourse). Instinctively you would think that Pancaro could probably fill in the gap and maintain a respectible stride. I wouldn't count on it. Simply, the talent and class of the starting back four are completely uncomparable to that of the reserves. "Solid" does appropriate service to the recent performances of the defenders in red but, I refuse to believe that any of their positions can be matched. "Should we be really concerned? I mean Costacurta and Simic are pretty good"? Not good enough. You know when Juventus bought Legrolatagglie I though it was a bit of an exaggeration considering the length of the defenders they already had. But now I know that part of Juventu's dominance is 'depth' in defense and (now even more then before) attacking. Milan has great attacking depth, but the defense could be a little better in terms of funding. Milan will march into Amsterdam without Nesta and Serginho, two very dependable defenders who contribute more then enough to the back. This is just my opinion ofcourse; Milan can maintain their defense and still win the title/titles but my question is whynot? Why not aquire? Why not take a risk, buy an expesive defender, act like the world class franchise that they are? This is not an unreasonable question. Football's popualrity is on the high, there are financial surplus' to be taken into account, so therefore why not get some 'deserved' luxuries? You know alot of people thought that the purchase of Kaka was not necessary; that there was plenty of talent on the roster and that Milan did not need another attacking midfielder. Well the kid showed up and now look at him! Like you said, 'the best buy of the offseason'. So now we have players competing for attacking mid and defensive mid which undoubtedly increases player quality. I think the defense is in an opposite situation. Finally: my wish list (respectably) 1. Puyol (why not he's world class, Barcelona is in the toilet financially) 2. Matteo Ferrara (like I said,,depth) 3. Vandervaart (assets mean victory)
I think we are deap enough in defense. Obviously our reserves are not as good as Nesta and Maldini, but nobody is. If you look at our squad we have depth in every position. Center back: Maldini and Nesta play most of the games but if injured we have 4 capable backups. Simic has shown in the past that he can play in the center and many people think it is his best position. Laursen is also very reliable at the back if called upon. Costacurta may be on the downside of his career but he can still give quality minutes to this club. And the last backup center back and probably our best option is Kaladze. Many people think his best positions are left back and defensive midfield but he has shown in the past with Dynamo that he is a rock in the center. He was even dubbed the 'Georgian Nesta' by some. I see him eventually becoming Maldini's replacement in the center. Left back: Kaladze is first choice here but with Serginho and Pancaro as backups I don't see any urgency to sign someone new in the transfer window. Costacurta has also filled in when needed at this position. And let's not forget San Paulo can also log some minutes here if needed. Right back: Cafu and Simic have split the minutes here to start the season. With Cafu giving us an attacking dimension and Simic giving us solid defense. Again, Costacurta can also fill in here if we are descimated by injuries. So in summary, Milan don't need anything right now in defense. But if the unthinkable happens and Nesta and/or Maldini are out for the season then we will need to go out and get somebody fast. But the same can be said of our attackers. If somehow Sheva or Pippo were to be out for the season we would need to pick up another striker too. But right now we are not in that bad of shape health wise. Maldini might even be back for the Ajax game. I remember when he got hurt in preseason and was supposed to be out 2 months. But he made it back in time for the first match against Porto in the Super Cup.
I don't like Ancelloti's rotation policy or his redundant tactics. Rotation: Ancellotti has set in place a starting lineup he is happy with, the one that won the champions league last year. The players on their day are our most cohesive unit, admittedly. However, Ancellotti's insistence on playing this lineup every match, in my opinion, is blunting the attack. Certain players like Pirlo and Seedorf need a rest, they've played nearly every game, as has Sheva. Its clear that some of them are out of form as they lack the killer instinct needed to make goals. Who do you replace them with, you ask? Well, too field another lineup Ancellotti would also need to change the formation in an attempt to balance the side and accomodate it to the players on the field... Tactics: Milan play the same lineup nearly every game, and also the same formation. There are no suprises whatsoever. This works to our detriment in terms of fitness and predictability. What I propose is to field different players and have at least one other formation to fall back on in an attempt to confuse the opposition. For example, if Pirlo were to be subbed by Ambrosini, I propose this lineup: Cafu - *** - *** - Pancaro/Kaladze ----- Gattuso --- Ambrosini ------ Kaka ---- Rui Costa ---- Shevchenko --- *** The stars represent any player capable of playing that position; exactly whom is inconsequential for this argument. Now, this lineup would supposedly lack width, but with Cafu pushing up on the right when the ball is on his half of the field and Pancaro/KK doing the same on the opposite side both being covered respectively by Gattuso and Ambrosini the lineup could confuse opponents. There are other formations, this is just an example, and I'm wondering why it is that Ancellotti doesn't experiment like this.