Season Review 2012/13

Now that the 2012/13 season is officially over, I thought it would be good to have a season review. I will post my thoughts later when I have more time, but I did think of a few things we could judge on:

- Player of the season
- Young/breakthrough player of the season
- Goalkeeper of the season
- Defender of the season
- Midfielder of the season
- Attacker of the season
- Flop of the season
- Best purchase for/during 2012/13
- Coach's performance for 2012/13
- Overall Team Performance for 2012/13
- Score for this season (from 0-10)

Any additional thoughts/comments people have are welcomed.

El Shaarawy
El Shaarawy
Abbiati
De Sciglio
Montolivo
El Shaarawy
Acerbi
Montolivo
7
6.5
7

- Player of the season Riccardo Montolivo
- Young/breakthrough player of the season ES & MDS
- Goalkeeper of the season Abiatti
- Defender of the season Mexes
- Midfielder of the season Montolivo
- Attacker of the season ES
- Flop of the season Traore
- Best purchase for/during 2012/13 Balo, I'd put Monty but wanted a change lol
- Coach's performance for 2012/13 8
- Overall Team Performance for 2012/13 7.5
- Score for this season (from 0-10) 7


This season was one wacky roller coaster ride, on the one hand, all objectives have been reached (although arguably, our objectives kept on a small descent all along), and as far as a "Year Zero" is concerned it was a good job all round. I have to say though, most of our wins were close scrapes that we got from some controversial penalties and red cards

Well, what now? What happens next year? This transfer period? In the last few weeks, some things have bugged me: for one, the coming sacking of Allegri, and how tactlessly, shamelessly and unprofessionally it was handled by the club. Hours before the season finale, all the talk was centered on his future.

My only concern for next season is for ES not to suffer from Krasic syndrome

If i could use a word for the 2012/13 season, it would be "Emergence"

Also i chose Montolivo as the player of the season because he has played a stellar role from the middle of the park. Entrusted with the captain’s armband on few occasions, he has risen above most of our players and led them to victories. I hope he continues in the same form next season

Goal of the season? Sexes.

My thoughts:

Player of the season

El Shaarawy: He's broken through this year, carrying the side on his back in the period when we were most fragile. His ability to take on responsibility and act maturely should be recognised as much as his ability.

It's not just his goals which help the team though, as his workrate and movement are often key to making the team work from defence to attack.

While his performance at the turn of the year dropped, he was still valuable in giving us an option on the left and has room to grow for the next season.

Other mentions: Balotelli and Montolivo

Young/breakthrough player of the season

El Shaarawy and De Sciglio: It's impossible for me to think of which has been the better breakthrough between these two, as both have shown maturity and growth at unexpected levels. While El Shaarawy's had a season where he's exploded as a star, De Sciglio's had a much more steady growing process, becoming one of our most consistent performers in defence. Both have lots of room to improve, so it's an exciting prospect to see.

Other mentions: Balotelli and Niang.

Goalkeeper of the season

Abbiati: There's only one winner for me here, Abbiati's had his ups and downs, but is often involved in key moments of the season, with this being no different. There were moments his shot stopping and saves kept the season alive, with the most recent example being Torino.

Defender of the season

Mexes: It's quite difficult to decide this one, as it was extremely close between Mexes, De Sciglio and Zapata for me. Mexes has often been an inconsistent performer and one who I've never been fond of. However, he has been vital this year in adding leadership, personality and technical quality after the loss of Nesta and Silva. While it's clear he's not of the quality of those we've lost, I do shudder to think what our defence would have been like without him this year.

Other Mentions: De Sciglio and Zapata.

Midfielder of the season

Montolivo: I can't imagine many will argue with this. Montolivo has been of world class quality for us this season, carrying a huge number of responsibilities on his back in midfield. His defensive work and ability to dictate play have been invaluable, especially being noticed when he's been absent.

Attacker of the season

El Shaarawy: It was a decision between him and Balotelli, but ultimately El Shaarawy gets my vote, mostly as he took responsibility in our most vulnerable period, while Balotelli's had a stable side to work with. In addition to this, El Shaarawy's overall contribution this season reflects why he's so popular, as he very much embodies the qualities (such as temperament and workrate) we need in our players while building this new side.

Other Mentions: Balotelli and Pazzini

Best purchase for/during 2012/13

Montolivo: Balotelli again just missed out for me here, as Montolivo's had a full season and came for free. Montolivo's quality in midfield is undoubted, but he's also shown great leadership in the group, which is astounding during his first season.

Other Mentions: Balotelli

Flop of the year
Robinho: If there was one player left in our attack from last year to act as a leader, it was Robinho. Instead, he's looked disinterested and lazy during the year, rarely scoring and rarely providing much to please. Not going back to Brazil in January was the final straw, as when the move to Santos fell through, he's done pretty much nothing to change opinions that he even cares anymore.

Other mentions: Acerbi, Urby and Noce

Coach's performance for 2012/13

Allegri has had a tough year. He saw his squad completely revamped last summer and had lost huge quality and personality from the squad. Add to this the fact that the start of the season was a disaster and it's unbelievable that he's managed to turn things around to get third. His job has never been secure and I can't imagine the pressure he's been under this year, despite having support from Galliani and the players.

That said, he must be judged on his failures as well as successes. In this respect, we must understand why we had so many problems at the start and no identity or direction, things he's in charge of. Yes, he's turned it around, but ultimately there are still questions about him. We've often also seen the team suffer when we've had results in hand (Barca, Fiorentina and even Siena yesterday) and he must take some responsibility.

Overall though, I think he's done a very commendable job and hopefully we'll have time over the summer to prevent the problems from re-occurring (if he stays).

Overall Team Performance for 2012/13

The team's performance has been mixed this season. We were awful at the start of the season, looking like a team without identity, hope or even motivation.

We did get our spark though and managed to turn the season around, meeting our targets (3rd place and progress out of the group in CL).

What was clear is we can be optimistic about our youth movement, with the young players being often the most influencial this season, characterizing our game and bringing quality, albeit without experience into what was a stagnant group.

This isn't to say we don't need work. It's clear that we have some foundations to build on, but there are clear needs for improvement, notably in the center of defense as well as in midfield.

The team isn't great yet and this was clear in the times we faultered this season, but we have lots to look forward to.

Score for this season (from 0-10)

7 out of 10: the fact we managed to turn around the season and reach our goals means this hasn't been a failure of a season. However, there's plenty to improve if we're to win major honours again.

- Player of the season Riccardo Montolivo
- Young/breakthrough player of the season El Shaarawy
- Goalkeeper of the season Abiatti
- Defender of the season De Sciglio
- Midfielder of the season Montolivo
- Attacker of the season El Shaarawy
- Flop of the season Nocerino
- Best purchase for/during 2012/13 Balotelli
- Coach's performance for 2012/13 6
- Overall Team Performance for 2012/13 7
- Score for this season (from 0-10) 6.5