(07-04-2015, 10:35 AM)ACMILAN1983 Wrote: It looks like Jose Mauri will officially join on Monday, with a medical pencilled in. Good signing for the long term future imo.

(07-04-2015, 12:23 PM)Sputnik Wrote: Am I the only one that has no faith whatsoever in Montolivo? I don't know, I never thought of him as something special, just a run-of-the-mill Serie A midfielder.

I really hope he's not a starter next season.

And a question: with the roster as it is, who would you play in a CAM role behind the strikers?
Not sure Menez is the perfect match there.

(07-04-2015, 12:23 PM)Sputnik Wrote:

(07-04-2015, 10:35 AM)ACMILAN1983 Wrote: It looks like Jose Mauri will officially join on Monday, with a medical pencilled in. Good signing for the long term future imo.

I'm so excited about Mauri joining us that it nearly doesn't make sense.
I have a feeling (not based on anything solid though), just a hunch, that he'll prove to be an excellent signing.

Took this possible line-up from a website.




Am I the only one that has no faith whatsoever in Montolivo? I don't know, I never thought of him as something special, just a run-of-the-mill Serie A midfielder.

I really hope he's not a starter next season.

And a question: with the roster as it is, who would you play in a CAM role behind the strikers?
Not sure Menez is the perfect match there.

(07-04-2015, 01:14 PM)devoted_dm Wrote: Yeah I don't have much faith in him either. He is an ok player, but he's really only had one good season for us. He has good passing and vision, but I feel like he tends to take too long on the ball without having the technical skills to actually be able to hold on to it under pressure. This makes him a liability, as we then need the other midfielders to provide defensive cover for him, which limits how many players we can attack with.
Pirlo had a similiar role and style of playing, but when he was at his best, it was almost impossible to get the ball off him, and he would frequently dribble past players and create space for the rest of the team.

As for the CAM, I would prefer Bonaventura or Honda. I think their passing and creativity makes them the best suited for that role. Bertolacci and El Shaarawy have also played there before, so we have plenty of options.

(07-04-2015, 01:19 PM)Ryo Wrote: Realistically, the ones with quality to play in that position are:

SES, who would be out of position, but have the speed and technical skills to read and react to the play well enough to make up for his lack of experience, and

Honda, who has played in that position both for both Japan and CSKA Moscow, and who has the technical know-how as well as the vision to play that through-ball. The only downside to him would be his lack of speed on the dribble and the risk of inconsistent performances.

I agree that Menez would probably work on the wing or as a second striker (closer to the goal), rather than an attacking mid. He doesn't have the temperament to wait for help before playing that perfect pass. Rather he would just dribble into the box himself and create a shooting chance.

(07-04-2015, 01:44 PM)ACMILAN1983 Wrote: Don't like that lineup at all if I'm honest. Starting from front to back:

- Not convinced on an attack of Bacca and Adriano. While feasibly it can work, I don't think they're players particularly complimentary to each other.
- Really don't like Menez as CAM, too much of an individual, will disjoint the side and will not work on the defensive phase which will be critical there. Personally at this point I'd much prefer Bonaventura or maybe Honda. I can also understand how SES can work there so it would be an experiment to try.
- Don't like the midfield 3 at all. Montolivo and De Jong have never really worked well, especially with De Jong effectively as regista and Montolivo as mezzala, which that set up would force. Bertolacci would be forced to act as mezzala too, totally diminishing the qualities he's shown over recent years imo.
- Abate is fine as RB, DES is not a LB. The lack of consistency in positioning (among other things) has stunted his career and at LB he's shown it limits his options and capabilities. He's naturally right footed, he's not great with his left foot and he's restricted thanks to that on the left.
- The CBs is just wrong. Laporte is a LCB, why stick him on the right where's he's not really played? You're asking for his growth and potential to be hit hard, because if he has a bad game or two, it could be damaging. For a young player, you should be looking to give them all the support possible.
- Paletta is just not good enough, he's a backup quality player. Also, he's a problem if asked to play a high line due to his lack of pace, which if Milan plan to be "masters of the pitch", they will need to do.

On Jose Mauri, I think the excitement is justified, but we also need a LOT of patience. He's got qualities that the squad has been lacking pretty much since Gattuso left (De Jong to an extent has them I guess) and that's the thing, he's being compared to guys like Gattuso and especially Mascherano, who imo is one of the unsung heroes of his generation, a player who has been critical to every side he's played for.

I also think it comes down to realistically we know names like Bertolacci, Bacca, Adriano, Bonaventura etc will not have the quality to bring the club back to the top of Europe. Names like Mauri, Romagnoli, Laporte, Locatelli, Mastour and Modic, even SES and DES, have the potential to do so.

(07-04-2015, 02:03 PM)Sputnik Wrote: About the Adriano-Bacca partnership scepticism, it might really work as an attacking duo (especially in Serie A) as long as a good system is implemented, with the right help from the CAM position and the fullbacks. I'm thinking about Yorke and Cole in Man Utd but that might be wrong thinking. Truth is, they are quite similar players and maybe a HEALTHY SES would compliment one of them in a better way.

(07-04-2015, 10:35 AM)ACMILAN1983 Wrote: Firstly, welcome back to Lebrn and russo-neri and welcome to E92 and MAEV. There's been a lot of activity lately, so sorry if I missed anyone else.