Formation and Tactics

With regards to our youth policy , Kaka is not our best option. And in comparison to other , more fast and on form younger AMs , again he's not our best option i agree.

I was looking more at the bonus side of things tbh. He must have at least two good years in him and that's probably what Saponara will need to fully express the player he will become. But in any case , it won't happen .

The thing is , Kaka would be a nice semi-solution untill Saponara would be really , really ready . If it's another youngster , there are going to be issues between them sooner or later and if it's a player like Diamanti , the risk is evident..

If Diamanti is the best we could do , i think we should just leave Saponara and Boateng to fight it over lol , it will work way better

Inzaghi: “Playing with a trident attack or with a trequartista doesn’t change that much – it all depends on what players you have.”

Inzaghi basicaly confirmed what i think about the two formations . This change is for the best , the team will only improve by it. And this is especialy good news for El Sharaawy , who no matter what reports about M.City suggest about , won't be leaving Milan.

The club has no reason to sell , unless El Sharaawy decides he wants to leave , which is not the case here.

If we don't sign another trequartista I'm actually 100% okay with Saponara playing there. The kid is so talented it's scary.

For whatever reason Galliani and co. are intent on purchasing a trequartista for our team. Keisuke Honda is the leading candidate. The already purchased Ricky Saponara will provide a high quality back-up for the new Japanese arrival. But what implications does this have for our formation? And what will become of Stephan El Shaarawy, who was recently categorically taken off the market by Uncle Fester? How can we best utilise a player who is primarily a wide forward as well as incorporating a new trequartista into the line-up?

Last Season ~ 4-3-3:

Options for next season:

(Leaving the defence unchanged to keep things simple)

4-5(2-3)-1:

Pros: Superb attack
Cons: Defensively fragile. Although used to good effect by teams like Scolari's Brazil and Heynkes' Bayern, this formation is probably not going to provide our team with enough defensive cover. We don't have a back-line as good as either of those teams, and more importantly in this formation, we don't have 2 or 3 great defensive midfielders at the level of Schweinsteiger, Martinez, Gustavo or Paulinho.

4-3-2-1 (Christmas Tree):

Pros: Defensively and offensively balanced.
Cons: Unlike the 4-5(2-3)-1, this formation has no width whatsoever. Don't get me wrong, De Sciglio and Abate are quality players, but they are not Jordi Alba, Dani Alves, Marcelo or, to use the archetypal example "Cafu type" wing-backs. We are no longer in the Ancelotti era at Milan and whilst the Christmas tree was viable with those players and at that time, it isn't any longer. MDS and Abate are players who are more comfortable playing a defensive role and crossing is certainly not one of their best assets. With the narrowing of the attack, the team will have great difficulty getting in behind opposition defences and it will be obvious to all where the threats are going to be coming from.

4-4(1-2-1)-2:

Pros: Defensively and offensively balanced.
Cons: The 4-4(1-2-1)-2 diamond midfield formation encounters the same problems as the Christmas tree. It attempts to use the midfield to provide width for our play, but alas we do not have any natural wingers (Emanuelson?) of sufficient quality and further purchases would have to be made. Not to mention that Montolivo would be quite unsuited to playing a wide role.

~~~

This has been by no means a comprehensive analysis, but having covered 3 different formations - the 4-5(2-3)-1, the Christmas Tree and the 4-4-2 with the midfield diamond - there is no appropriate solution. I could go on and on looking at different formations, but I think that perhaps the best solution would be to maintain the 4-4-3 and use the new TQ as the wide forward on the right of a 4-3-3. Versatility is one of the many reasons why Honda would be a far superior option to a second striker like Cerci, for example...

4-3-3:

Comments, critique, alternate formations or tactics...?

Forza's back

Kick wrote:Forza's back

exams are over

Forza wrote:

Kick wrote:Forza's back

exams are over

My last one is tomorrow.

OT: 4-3-3 certainly looks the best, however, I am not so sure Honda will want to play wide.

We are going to play a 4-3-1-2 it's already set in stone. SES will play as the second striker, so he will be given freedom to roam. I think he can play just like Del Piero did for Juve. It's not a bad position for him to be honest, not as much running, more focus on tracking back, and the ability to roam where he wants on the field. If we play like this next season, I'd be happy.

----------------------Abbiati
Abate-------Zapta-------------Mexes-------De Sciglio

----------------------De Jong
-----------Montolivo-----------Poli

-----------------------Honda

------------------------SES
------------------------Balo

That is basically the same as the 4-4-2 with the diamond midfield, except the DM is a bit further forward in the formation - it makes no real difference what you call it. So my criticism stands:
1) lack of width up forward
2) asking midfielders who aren't wingers to cover the flanks (monty and poli)

Forza wrote:That is basically the same as the 4-4-2 with the diamond midfield, except the DM is a bit further forward in the formation - it makes no real difference what you call it. So my criticism stands:
1) lack of width up forward
2) asking midfielders who aren't wingers to cover the flanks (monty and poli)

No, in this formation the full backs have to be exceptionally smart an have the ability to cover ground. The midfield three clog the middle. The two Mezz'ala defend and attack and the Regista holds a lot more than any other of the three players. The Regista also drops into the backline when possible to cover for the pushed forward full back. It's basically daring the wingers to take the full backs 1v1 to the line and cover all the options in the middle.

Also, in a sense SES covers both flanks like a Trequartista. Except he doesn't have all of the defensive responsibility. The Trequartista will drop back into the midfield far more often than the second point.

Yeah, and I made the point in the original post that I'm not sure that Abate and MDS are up to playing that sort of role. Attacking is not their strong point.

Forza wrote:Yeah, and I made the point in the original post that I'm not sure that Abate and MDS are up to playing that sort of role. Attacking is not their strong point.

Once Abate can connect a cross he will be an incredibly dangerous attacking full back, and to be fair, his crosses have gotten better. De Sciglio is still young and will improve in the attacking department. I see the flashes of genius in attack he showcases from time to time.

How about a 4-4-1-1? with SES as a LM and Honda playing behind Balo? SES already tracks back and defends quite a lot, though the only concern is the RM spot

I still love the 4-2-3-1 to death, though we'll have to experiment in pre season and see which works out best for us

I've said what i think in detail in the other formation and tactics thread. With a few words , i firmly believe that we should play within the 4-1-2-1-2 next season , more details there , can't be arsed to repost all that here  .

One of my main concerns was El Shaarawy and imo he'll be a lot , lot better in the 4-1-2-1-2 with a proper trequartista behind him. Not because he is unable to be El Shaarawy in the 4-3-3 , but Balotelli hinders him inside the 4-3-3.

If anyone who wants to read them..  

http://www.goallegacy.net/t24108p72-formation-and-tactics

Shouldn't this be merged with the other thread?

There are reports that we have pondered the idea of a 4-2-3-1.

i was looking at the milan roster this morning and i was saying to myself, where the hell is Galliani getting that we have 33 squad players and we have to get rid of players before buying?? i was like, dont tell me hes counting players like taiwo and strasser, etc etc and all those ppl coming back from loan, we all know theyre gonna go back on loan or sold for good.

this is what i came up with.

Abbiati
Amelia
Gabriel
Abate
Zapata
Mexes
De Sciglio
Didac
Montolivo  
De Jong  
Poli
Honda
Balotelli
El Shaarawy
Antonini
Vergara
Bonera
Zaccardo
Constant
Boateng
Cristante
Emmanuelson
Saponara
Niang
Pazzini
Traore
Nocerino
Muntari
Petagna
Robinho


thats 30 players lol


Left Already: Yepes,Ambrosini,Flamini,Bojan
Already Arrived: Saponara,Vergara,Cristante
Should leave: Traore,Nocerino,Robinho,Zaccardo,Didac
Should Arrive: Honda,Poli, NEW CB


and it gives me this:

Abbiati
Abate - Mexes - Zapata - De Sciglio
Poli - DeJong - Montolivo
Honda
Balotelli - El Shaarawy


Gabriel
Antonini - Bonera - NEW CB - Constant
Boateng - Cristante - Emmanuelson
Saponara
Niang - Pazzini


Reserves:

DEF: Vergara
MID: Traore,Nocerino,Muntari
ATT: Petagna


and by my count that should be 27 (Petagna will go back to Primavera once Pazzini arrives) so there u have it. 26 players. exactly what we wanted from the beginning, and included in those 26 is nocerino and traore if we sell those 2 well be at 24 lol. i already included Honda and Poli seeing as i pretty much think theyre ours

all im trying to say is i think Galliani has exaggerated a bit once again. making us think we have an NFL team on our hands hahahah. we have space to buy players. so go ahead and start buying baldy the team is shaping up really really nicely. 1 good CB and were all set to go


PS: dont those 2 lineups like absolutely delicious?

Our CB is now #1 concern after honda and poli deals. the formations look very nice until we get to the back, replacement for Abbiati, and at least 1 new quality cb would be so perfect.

u need at least 2 cb.....where dors flamini bojan and yepes going?

I think 5 CB's (Zapata, Mexes, Bonera, Salamon and Vergara) are enough tbh, unless Salamon goes i don't think we should get any more CB's. I'd like it if either Salamon or Vergara can cement a spot, we really need to give them a chance

We have quantity but not quality in CBs. Remember what happened the last time they (I recall no one being injured) played CL?

Honestly when playing with a narrow midfield, 4-3-1-2 you need attacking fullbacks which we don't exactly boast atm.

I think Constant and Abate would be our best bets for fullbacks in 4-3-1-2.

MDS is very timid when attacking, he's good i want him to start but his style isn't exactly suited to a 4-3-1-2.

Thoughts?

MDS is still very young, he can develop his attacking department much like how Abate improved his defensive attributes. The need for attacking fullbacks is strong in a 4-3-1-2 with them being the only source for width, MDS will have more freedom to go forward with De Jong covering him. I think he goes forward well but his decision making needs to improve, like against Uruguay and Brazil, he went up the left a lot but he kept doing the same thing over and over again, crossing the ball straight to a defender.

ogbonna is available for 11M + 2 youth players.


c'mon Galliani man so far everything is just ravishing lol. get us our CB!! and then go sleep until the beginning of the season for all i care! ur job will be done

I think Ogbonna is set for a move to Juve

But damn if these Ljajic rumors are true, i wouldn't object

Galliani said that our roster will consist of

3GK
9DEF
8MID
5ATT