vs Roma

want to pay my tribute to Fransesco Totti... a true roman legend. good god, at this age he just gets better and better. he was like everywhere!!! forward, midfielder, playmaker, at times a defender... jeeeeesus!

JespSwe wrote:want to pay my tribute to Fransesco Totti... a true roman legend. good god, at this age he just gets better and better. he was like everywhere!!! forward, midfielder, playmaker, at times a defender... jeeeeesus!

I love Totti but he can be such a douche. Tonight was a perfect example with his elbow to the face of Sexes.

I actually thought Allegri made logical tactical decisions and subs.

Considering that we were a man down i thought we did relatively good. Balo was impressive in his hold up play, won numerous free kicks and forced corners even though he was completely isolated.

Constants delivery on the left was garbage however i have to commend him on how he managed to subdue Lamela in the second half, although i believe this was mostly due to Allegri instructing him to charge forward when the opportunity presents itself thereby forcing Lamela to track back.

A tactically brilliant move by Allegri was to defensively prioritise the left side of the pitch which limited the space Roma's most dangerous players could use, similarly it also opened up the right side of the pitch for Dodo and Marquinho, who are relatively poor attack wise, to make attacking forays into our half leaving space in behind them for Balo to exploit so intelligently. I think there was a moment where Dodo picked up the ball and was allowed to dribble a good 50 meters before we started to close him down.

Most managers would switch to a 4-4-1 formation after going a man down, which makes the team less defensively vulnerable to overlaps on both sides of the pitch, but this also prevents the team from being able to counter attack effectively and the CF becomes a turn over machine due to being isolated in the center.

Not only did Allegri diffuse Roma's best attacking players but also engineered legitimate counter attack opportunities despite being a man down by using a heavily left sided 4-3-2 formation with both Strikers taking very wide positions. Although this changed late into the game to a 4-2-3 when we went full attacking with Mexes given free reign to burst forward from the back as Allegri felt Roma were disjointed and the 3 points were there for the taking.

Man of the Match: Massimiliano Allegri, awe inspiring performance, i will really miss him next season, so underrated and probably one of the most improved Manager's over the last 3 years and has a really great career ahead of him.

Rossoneri Ninja wrote:I actually thought Allegri made logical tactical decisions and subs.

Considering that we were a man down i thought we did relatively good. Balo was impressive in his hold up play, won numerous free kicks and forced corners even though he was completely isolated.

Constants delivery on the left was garbage however i have to commend him on how he managed to subdue Lamela in the second half, although i believe this was mostly due to Allegri instructing him to charge forward when the opportunity presents itself thereby forcing Lamela to track back.

A tactically brilliant move by Allegri was to defensively prioritise the left side of the pitch which limited the space Roma's most dangerous players could use, similarly it also opened up the right side of the pitch for Dodo and Marquinho, who are relatively poor attack wise, to make attacking forays into our half leaving space in behind them for Balo to exploit so intelligently. I think there was a moment where Dodo picked up the ball and was allowed to dribble a good 50 meters before we started to close him down.

Most managers would switch to a 4-4-1 formation after going a man down, which makes the team less defensively vulnerable to overlaps on both sides of the pitch, but this also prevents the team from being able to counter attack effectively and the CF becomes a turn over machine due to being isolated in the center.

Not only did Allegri diffuse Roma's best attacking players but also engineered legitimate counter attack opportunities despite being a man down by using a heavily left sided 4-3-2 formation with both Strikers taking very wide positions. Although this changed late into the game to a 4-2-3 when we went full attacking with Mexes given free reign to burst forward from the back as Allegri felt Roma were disjointed and the 3 points were there for the taking.

Man of the Match: Massimiliano Allegri, awe inspiring performance, i will really miss him next season, so underrated and probably one of the most improved Manager's over the last 3 years and has a really great career ahead of him.

I agree with all of your post, but for the part in red: am I missing something?

I think he is gonna be let go, Silvio is the force that dictates everything at the club, its no secret that they have a strained relationship and i have no doubt that he will force Allegri out, because he thinks there are many others that can do the job better.

Galliani has said a million times that Allegri will not leave. I think that if we make CL, there's no reason to let him go. Look at our squad and look at where we are on the ladder. Berlu should just hand some cash over to Galliani so we can move 2 spots higher. Allegri has proven he can win Serie A.

Just like they said Thiago and Zlatan will not be sold, just like they said we were going to sign Mr X, no i will rather trust my own judgement. Fact is Allegri's job will always be in question if not this season then the next if we don't win Serie A or any titles for that matter. The axe will always loom over his head and i think he knows that and will want to move on. The management doesn't particularly love him nor does he enjoy the same lvl of respect as with our previous coaches

Messiah "Aggerswagger" wrote:Like you said anything can happen in football. Siena might actually want to end their Serie A season on high in front of their fans, especially since they won't be back next season. And keep in mind it only takes a draw for you to lose that 3rd spot.

Of course they will want that.They can do that and still lose , though . In any case,

i just don't think Siena will be up to the challenge . Milan only need one goal and Siena will give up everything , they won't have a cause to match ours , nor the determination to keep up with us , just like with Pescara ; they were putting up a fight but when we scored , they gave up. Siena won't be any different. They are in the same situation , after quite the similar season .

To add something last , Pescara will again show the same face against Fiorentina and the Milan players know that ; one more good reason to achieve win at all costs against Siena , they know full well they won't be spared . And judging both teams on the field and what they have done so far , i think there's a distinctive distance in quality , between Milan and Siena . All the odds are on Milan's side for this , i think it's obvious.

Fantastic analysis, Ninja.

The collective effort when at a numerical disadvantage was excellent, with Boateng's adjusted role deeper in midfield a pleasing performance from a player who has struggled at times when asked to play a more sacrificial role in midfield. Mexes was, at least for me, our man of the match in a close run battle with Abbiati and showed courage and leadership at the back. At different times, every single one of our back four popped up with crucial interceptions, however Mexes' was a simply dominant feature as he showed great composure and concentration. Constant started poorly and once more proved frustrating in possession, violating the very fundamentals with poor passes across the defence, sloppy passes inside and abysmal crossing, though credit must be given for one truly beautiful cross field ball which was sadly wasted in bizarre fashion by Balotelli. De Sciglio was relatively untested, however he did well, though he endured a few nervous moments, though it was certainly an improved performance from December and he played an important role in attaining a clean sheet. Zapata performed in much a similar vein, though his own opinion of his distribution is higher than it should be.

What was incredibly frustrating however was our performance in front of goal. This may to an extent be dismissed as the inevitable consequence of Montolivo's absence, whose quality is only amplified in his absence as we witness the chaos that unfolds when his partners in crime are left to their own devices. Nonetheless, more needs to be done to extract the most out of the talent at our disposal in his absence. El Shaarawy's obsession with finding the back of the net must end, whilst Balotelli must be more willing to feed him down the left rather than force an unlikely shot. The interplay between our front three must be developed, though a full pre-season will hopefully do much to resolve this. I personally feel that whilst he is not yet a mature player, Niang's presence relieves pressure from both players.

Finally, Muntari. I hope this is the last time I ever see him play for our beloved club. He now must surely hold the record for the two most ridiculous dismissals in Serie A history, with last night's performance slotting in nicely behind his two yellow cards and a penalty conceded within thirty seconds of arriving as a substitute. We genuinely performed better without him on the pitch.

Allegri, Mexesbauer, Abbiati and the Curva Sud can hold their heads up high after this draw, the crowd's performance was magnificent and it is simply a shame that a result could not be procured. It would have been a wonderful reward and a strike against racism to see Balotelli send us to Europe, however we must wait until next week to confirm our qualification. I assure you all however, it shall happen.

Messiah "Aggerswagger" wrote:Viola still have a chance If Milan draw Siena, and Viola win, they will leap frog you

You may all know me as a very reserved poster who at least attempts to avoid very narrow statements - inb4ninjadefendsmoney - however I say this with absolute confidence, we will defeat Siena. We might annihilate them, we might scrape through, we might even blatantly cheat, but we'll beat them.

Fiorentina would get mugged in the Champions League; Italy needs Milan to qualify and fly the flag in Europe and we will. Siena know their responsibilities

Rossoneri Ninja wrote:Just like they said Thiago and Zlatan will not be sold, just like they said we were going to sign Mr X, no i will rather trust my own judgement. Fact is Allegri's job will always be in question if not this season then the next if we don't win Serie A or any titles for that matter. The axe will always loom over his head and i think he knows that and will want to move on. The management doesn't particularly love him nor does he enjoy the same lvl of respect as with our previous coaches

I agree with your assessment, though I do believe that one important factor playing into Allegri's hands is the unanimous support of the dressing room. Whilst they may eventually count for little, the continual and numerous statements of support from young and old must surely cause pause for thought before any drastic action is taken. I'm certain that Berlusconi would love to replace Allegri, however with few realistic alternatives and the support of effectively ever other major figure at the club, I do believe he may still survive. He was thrown to the dogs by our management this season and has even yet saved us. Allegri may just have one more trick left up his sleeve.

Great analysis Ninja and Forza, pretty much agree with what you two said

btw, im hearing that they are rushing Montolivo for the Siena game

JespSwe wrote:

Dante wrote:

JespSwe wrote:muntari...

boateng taken off for nocerino....??? allegri

milan playing much productive football with 10 men without muntari...

Muntari is an idiot , we knew that , he just confirmed it once more. And yes , i thought likewise , Muntari was playing poorly during first half and maybe his frustration lead him to exaggerate against the ref like he did.

As for Boateng, he didn't play well today.In fact , he was a pain in the ass if you ask me. And if you ask me again, Nocerino should have come much sooner for Boateng; not that him did anything of note , however , Boateng's decision making and the time usualy required for all that , just to lead into failure , was pure frustration. It became more and more frustrating as he got tired.

Conclusion , Fiorentina won their game and ours ended a stalemate. None wants to see a 2007-2008 last game of the season again . Let's win the last one and join the champions league.

boateng wasnt affective in the wing because there was no one to provide him upfront.

so as soon as muntari got himself kicked out and boateng dropped deep... he hold ball well and was spreading the ball well, actually i was surprised milan played way much better with 10 men than with muntari on pitch when boateng dropped deep.

i probably watched different game than you then..

thats why i dont understand allegri's inconsistencies with his tactics and decisions.

pazzini and balotelli should have started with boateng as playmaker, given we had absolutely nobody in the midfield to control the ball.

We watched the same game mate. It's just you think Boateng made a difference in the 2nd half , i think he didn't . During the game , all i thought was Roma were pissing on their numerical superiority , they never quite took advantage of it , thankfully for Milan..
Allegri did respond immediately with internal changes in the lineup like he was expected after Muntari's red and the team showed a calm face during the 2nd half. That was one reason. The other one was Andreazzoli , instead of taking the challenge to us , didn't adapt to the new conditions and kept playing the same game , no plan b , no real risk to win the game. That was not the right choice for them . I mean , Allegri with 10 man down put Pazzo in to win this , wtf

Now on to Boateng again , let me explain a bit further myself. All good/great midfielders have a few things in common and the de facto one is this : they never hesitate . It's been sometime now i've been thinking why Boateng can't 100% establish himself into a 3-man midfield and last night he confirmed my thoughts again.

On numerous occasions , he had the space , had players available , was in an optimal position to pass the ball and what Boateng kept doing ? Hesitate. The moment a midfielder hesitates to act near the middle of the field, at least 3 other players find themselves in an optimal position to defend/press for the ball/prepare for counter. And not only he hesitates , he's not a good passer of the ball at all. Best example was how he made El Sharaawy almost hurt himself by his awful pass(2nd half). Straight pass up ahead , with in inclination to the left , on Ses's back whilst he was running forward. I mean , novice kind of passing , Ses fell on the ground like an idiot and we lost possesion. Most of our mistakes last night had Boateng involved(plus Muntari..) , if you didn't notice.

Moving on , that habbit of his , follows him up front to ; in a trequartista position/zone , one which he finds himself all the time.
He won't hesitate to shoot , or dribble . On the individualistic part , he doesn't hesitate , he's full of himself at that ; but come the time to pass the fkng ball and by the time he decides what to do with it , not only the important moment has passed , but their defence is either organised or we missed the chance to create a chance. Happened again last night . He's neither an attacking midfielder , not even of the new crop , nor a holding midfilder. He's a right winger in a classic 4-4-2 or in 4-2-3-1 .

Whilst Boateng has traits who could make him a de facto partner to Montolivo in our 3-man midfield , such as his speed and power, to make him the vice-Montolivo, he's understanding of the game is so different and he can't change this. We base our game in possesion now and Boateng only hinders it , that's why Allegri pushes him on the far right of our attack , where his influence in the middle won't be necessary often. Flamini which many of you mock about , does a lot more than Boateng on the field.

Not only he doesn't hesitate anywhere on the field and against any opponent, but he's not delusional/full of himself either ; he won't try to mimic Pirlo with a long pass or try and dribble like Iniesta , he will simply control the ball , target a free teammate , pass it to him and make himself available to receive the ball again , if necessary. And to top it all , he runs hard all game , either pressing or tracking back and he will find himself in the box once or twice during a game , occasionaly resulting in goal/assist . Tacticaly , defensively and teamwise , much better than Boateng , who's individualism usualy hinders our game these days. I won't even talk about his positional sense , takes him a year to position himself again after attacks , he has that idea that he is the '10' , the technical player of the team and he 9 out of 10 tracks back or presses for the ball only when he loses it.. That's just silly.

Boateng is a player who's style is clearly the "kick & run" of English football , playing on the right flank or behind forwards(when others are responsible for creativity lol). I am not sure what he's role will be next season ; it's evident from the current one that he's not ok with moving from one position to the other. He's a great pro though , i totaly give him that and if the coach asks him to , he will adapt further i believe.

I do like Boateng , it's just , i am not sure there's a place for him in this 4-3-3. Untill now there was , with a young and immature Niang and an unfit and almost gone Robinho fighting for the right winger position.. Next season , if we strengthen in the middle and keep the 4-3-3 , he will not be so lucky. In fact , it will become evident to most people that he doesn't have a role in this tactics and formation Allegri deploys. Unless we turn back into 4-2-3-1 , that would be his best imo , i see him gone , this summer or the next.

You may all know me as a very reserved poster who at least attempts to avoid very narrow statements - inb4ninjadefendsmoney

I had a gif ready

Ambro, Money , Balo and Monto have all publicly stated their support for Allegri, which is alarming and yet comforting also, alarming because if his job wasn't really in danger then why all the call for support, it feels like they are trying to soften the blow of his departure, because they too sense that this might the last time we will see him on the bench.

Maybe I'm just over thinking the situation, dat Thiago and Zlatan sale really f'd me up.

This is for the rest of that post which i lost due to inactivity

I personally believe that the flurry of public support is not a response to internal pressure but external from the media, which casts an entirely different light on their statements. This was a squad that was publicly hounded and derided as the worst Milan team in 25 years and I believe it made the entire team acutely aware of the media pressure that was building upon the team. The media speculation concerning Allegri's job has been a persistent feature of all coverage of our team this year and the statements reflect this. Whether it accurately depicts the stability of Allegri internally we won't find out until potentially the end of the summer.

If Max were to be fired, who is available to replace him? Heynckes, Spaletti, Guidolin...? I doubt Berlu will want to splash the cash on a top coach to replace Allegri.

Muntari has been banned for 2 matches and has also received a €10.000 fine. He will miss the first match of next season.

El Shaarawy wrote:Muntari has been banned for 2 matches and has also received a €10.000 fine. He will miss the first match of next season.

Muntari is a tank, no joke. He turns like a tank, he is strong, and he has powerful shots.

Ain't gonna lie...The new Milan jersey is SExxxxxxxxY!

Cotes wrote:Ain't gonna lie...The new Milan jersey is SExxxxxxxxY!

I hope you're being sarcastic, our gold jersey looks like gold aluminum foil ffs

Casciavit wrote:

Cotes wrote:Ain't gonna lie...The new Milan jersey is SExxxxxxxxY!

I hope you're being sarcastic, our gold jersey looks like gold aluminum foil ffs

I must say , i like them shirts too.. not at all as bad as i thought when i saw them first time. Though i feel i've seen quite similar ones before.. was it Manchester United i think so

In any case , they have that Champions League feeling , if that makes any sense lol

I actually really liked them. When I saw the pics I was like mehhhh, but they looked good on the pitch. I must say the black ones looked much fresher and you could wear those anywhere and not stand out like the new ones now.

Milan31 wrote:I actually really liked them. When I saw the pics I was like mehhhh, but they looked good on the pitch. I must say the black ones looked much fresher and you could wear those anywhere and not stand out like the new ones now.

yea me too.. when they do this promotional photoshoot with new jersey it looks creepy and not so good all the time.. but on field they look pretty awesome...

i actually really like the 3rd kit. gold and black it suited our players.

atleast better than nike designs.

but my biggest dream is to see our kits designed by D&G now that would be killer!

Dante wrote:

JespSwe wrote:

Dante wrote:

Muntari is an idiot , we knew that , he just confirmed it once more. And yes , i thought likewise , Muntari was playing poorly during first half and maybe his frustration lead him to exaggerate against the ref like he did.

As for Boateng, he didn't play well today.In fact , he was a pain in the ass if you ask me. And if you ask me again, Nocerino should have come much sooner for Boateng; not that him did anything of note , however , Boateng's decision making and the time usualy required for all that , just to lead into failure , was pure frustration. It became more and more frustrating as he got tired.

Conclusion , Fiorentina won their game and ours ended a stalemate. None wants to see a 2007-2008 last game of the season again . Let's win the last one and join the champions league.

boateng wasnt affective in the wing because there was no one to provide him upfront.

so as soon as muntari got himself kicked out and boateng dropped deep... he hold ball well and was spreading the ball well, actually i was surprised milan played way much better with 10 men than with muntari on pitch when boateng dropped deep.

i probably watched different game than you then..

thats why i dont understand allegri's inconsistencies with his tactics and decisions.

pazzini and balotelli should have started with boateng as playmaker, given we had absolutely nobody in the midfield to control the ball.

We watched the same game mate. It's just you think Boateng made a difference in the 2nd half , i think he didn't . During the game , all i thought was Roma were pissing on their numerical superiority , they never quite took advantage of it , thankfully for Milan..
Allegri did respond immediately with internal changes in the lineup like he was expected after Muntari's red and the team showed a calm face during the 2nd half. That was one reason. The other one was Andreazzoli , instead of taking the challenge to us , didn't adapt to the new conditions and kept playing the same game , no plan b , no real risk to win the game. That was not the right choice for them . I mean , Allegri with 10 man down put Pazzo in to win this , wtf

Now on to Boateng again , let me explain a bit further myself. All good/great midfielders have a few things in common and the de facto one is this : they never hesitate . It's been sometime now i've been thinking why Boateng can't 100% establish himself into a 3-man midfield and last night he confirmed my thoughts again.

On numerous occasions , he had the space , had players available , was in an optimal position to pass the ball and what Boateng kept doing ? Hesitate. The moment a midfielder hesitates to act near the middle of the field, at least 3 other players find themselves in an optimal position to defend/press for the ball/prepare for counter. And not only he hesitates , he's not a good passer of the ball at all. Best example was how he made El Sharaawy almost hurt himself by his awful pass(2nd half). Straight pass up ahead , with in inclination to the left , on Ses's back whilst he was running forward. I mean , novice kind of passing , Ses fell on the ground like an idiot and we lost possesion. Most of our mistakes last night had Boateng involved(plus Muntari..) , if you didn't notice.

Moving on , that habbit of his , follows him up front to ; in a trequartista position/zone , one which he finds himself all the time.
He won't hesitate to shoot , or dribble . On the individualistic part , he doesn't hesitate , he's full of himself at that ; but come the time to pass the fkng ball and by the time he decides what to do with it , not only the important moment has passed , but their defence is either organised or we missed the chance to create a chance. Happened again last night . He's neither an attacking midfielder , not even of the new crop , nor a holding midfilder. He's a right winger in a classic 4-4-2 or in 4-2-3-1 .

Whilst Boateng has traits who could make him a de facto partner to Montolivo in our 3-man midfield , such as his speed and power, to make him the vice-Montolivo, he's understanding of the game is so different and he can't change this. We base our game in possesion now and Boateng only hinders it , that's why Allegri pushes him on the far right of our attack , where his influence in the middle won't be necessary often. Flamini which many of you mock about , does a lot more than Boateng on the field.

Not only he doesn't hesitate anywhere on the field and against any opponent, but he's not delusional/full of himself either ; he won't try to mimic Pirlo with a long pass or try and dribble like Iniesta , he will simply control the ball , target a free teammate , pass it to him and make himself available to receive the ball again , if necessary. And to top it all , he runs hard all game , either pressing or tracking back and he will find himself in the box once or twice during a game , occasionaly resulting in goal/assist . Tacticaly , defensively and teamwise , much better than Boateng , who's individualism usualy hinders our game these days. I won't even talk about his positional sense , takes him a year to position himself again after attacks , he has that idea that he is the '10' , the technical player of the team and he 9 out of 10 tracks back or presses for the ball only when he loses it.. That's just silly.

Boateng is a player who's style is clearly the "kick & run" of English football , playing on the right flank or behind forwards(when others are responsible for creativity lol). I am not sure what he's role will be next season ; it's evident from the current one that he's not ok with moving from one position to the other. He's a great pro though , i totaly give him that and if the coach asks him to , he will adapt further i believe.

I do like Boateng , it's just , i am not sure there's a place for him in this 4-3-3. Untill now there was , with a young and immature Niang and an unfit and almost gone Robinho fighting for the right winger position.. Next season , if we strengthen in the middle and keep the 4-3-3 , he will not be so lucky. In fact , it will become evident to most people that he doesn't have a role in this tactics and formation Allegri deploys. Unless we turn back into 4-2-3-1 , that would be his best imo , i see him gone , this summer or the next.

cmon lets be honest... we didnt have montolivo... having boateng playing deeper was far more better than not having him with muntari, flamini and ambrosini...

i actually think we would have lost that game with those trio in the midfield.

Cotes wrote:Ain't gonna lie...The new Milan jersey is SExxxxxxxxY!

it is! it really is... i am not joking.. hahaha i thought it really suited our players on it.