05-05-2011, 06:20 PM
(This post was last modified: 05-05-2011, 06:33 PM by The Kaiser.)
I think we can all agree that hitherto this season, both our attack and defence have been outstanding, the only gripe we could have is our slow and uncreative midfield which was definitely the weak link. Allegri made the best of a bad situation and given our lack of speed and creativity in midfield he opted for the second best thing, which is a strong physical midfield to counter other teams. Whilst this was good enough to win the league with a relative ease in Italy, we have struggled against the best sides in Europe in the Champion's League: W2 D3 L3; which needless to see is not a good record for a club of our stature.
Given the fact that we have already acquired reinforcements in defense in the form of Taiwo and Mexes, in addition to having competent back ups in Yepes, Antonini, Zambrotta; we can offload players like Legrottalie, Oddo, Jankulovski, Papa and Bonera and maybe acquire one more such as Astori and we'll be well covered in the back. As for the goalie position, I have enough faith in Amelia as a backup for Abbiati and I think that he's main problem, if indeed there is one, is lack of confidence due to limited playing time rather than class as he proved in the past that he's got plenty of that and he's still young for a keeper.
As for the midfield, this is the area where we require a major overhaul and a renaissance and is rightly so the focus of our summer mercato. I believe with three players; Hernanes/Fernando (for Pirlo), Honda/Robben (for Seedorf in LM position) and Ganso/Lamela (CAM) we can rejuvenate our midfield. Additionally, if you look at all the top teams right now, a huge chunk of their goal tally is provided by the midfield players (e.g. Barca, Real, Man Utd, Chelsea) as well as providing more chances for their strikers (as opposed to having to rely on thier forwards pulling the easter bunny out of a hat as we have done so often this season, particularly so with Ibra). I think we ought to retain one of either Pirlo/Seedorf and maybe one of Ambro/Gattuso/Flamini (I'd go for Ambro purely for his higher ability and versatility); also bringing in someone like Lazzari as a back up would be ideal.
Finally, as for our strikers, well we have 4 world-class strikers who have clicked surprisingly well together in their first season with the team, and unless we sell one of them we have no reason whatsoever to go out and purchase another one. The only potential spanner in the works I envision being Ibrahimovic reverting back to his old self and expecting the team to play for him rather than he playing for the team, in which case I'll have no qualms in getting rid of him and going for someone like Hulk.
So to summarize:
Out: Bonera, Oddo, Jankulovski, Papa, Legrottaglie, Vila, Gattuso, Flamini, Pirlo/Seedorf,
In: Mexes, Taiwo, Astori, Ganso/Lamela, Honda/Robben, Fernando/Hernanes, Lazzari
Moreover, we ought to hold on to our promising youth players such as Merkel, Beretta, Emanuelson and Strasser and slowly integrate them into the team.
As for the Real/Barca debate (although I'm not quite sure why this is on this thread?) yes I concur that right now Barca are indubitably the best team in the world, but like many here I don't believe they are unbeatable. The two things that Barca has going for them that no other team in the world has or hope to acquire with money are,
1) Stability and familiarity within the camp. Given that most of their first team players played with each other since they were almost toddlers it is no wonder that they can pass the ball to each other with such ease even if they were to be blindfolded. In a sense it's like a couple who've been together for so long they could virtually finish each other's sentences. That and they're acquaintance with each other, means that there's no room for the overinflated egos who might destabilize the harmony of the team (which in my opinion is the major reason why Ibra was offloaded quickly despite the huge financial loss).
2) A little mercurial midget that goes by the name of Messi.
As for Real, well their biggest obstacles are the fact that unlike Barca, they ship in a new team every season so the players never get the chance to adapt to each others playing style and their tendency to collect the biggest egos on Earth then placing them together in one team, have them managed by the most narcissistic manager on the face of the planet and then overseen by the biggest power megalomaniac director in the form of Valdano.
It is no wonder that the top two teams in the continent right now (and the champion's league finalists funnily enough) have both enjoyed long spells of stability and familiarity within their respective camps that have enabled them to build their teams from the bottom up (in a sense this was the case two with our senatori back then), and that boys and girls cannot be purchased with a fistful of dollars. That's why I believe that although with the right enforcements we can go far in the champion's league next season (even win it with quite a bit of luck), however, we won't quite reach the rarified stratospheric heights of Barca just yet. But I have a lot of faith in this team and I'm growing in confidence about our choice of manager despite my earlier reservation. So, at the end, I can only say Forza Milan!
Given the fact that we have already acquired reinforcements in defense in the form of Taiwo and Mexes, in addition to having competent back ups in Yepes, Antonini, Zambrotta; we can offload players like Legrottalie, Oddo, Jankulovski, Papa and Bonera and maybe acquire one more such as Astori and we'll be well covered in the back. As for the goalie position, I have enough faith in Amelia as a backup for Abbiati and I think that he's main problem, if indeed there is one, is lack of confidence due to limited playing time rather than class as he proved in the past that he's got plenty of that and he's still young for a keeper.
As for the midfield, this is the area where we require a major overhaul and a renaissance and is rightly so the focus of our summer mercato. I believe with three players; Hernanes/Fernando (for Pirlo), Honda/Robben (for Seedorf in LM position) and Ganso/Lamela (CAM) we can rejuvenate our midfield. Additionally, if you look at all the top teams right now, a huge chunk of their goal tally is provided by the midfield players (e.g. Barca, Real, Man Utd, Chelsea) as well as providing more chances for their strikers (as opposed to having to rely on thier forwards pulling the easter bunny out of a hat as we have done so often this season, particularly so with Ibra). I think we ought to retain one of either Pirlo/Seedorf and maybe one of Ambro/Gattuso/Flamini (I'd go for Ambro purely for his higher ability and versatility); also bringing in someone like Lazzari as a back up would be ideal.
Finally, as for our strikers, well we have 4 world-class strikers who have clicked surprisingly well together in their first season with the team, and unless we sell one of them we have no reason whatsoever to go out and purchase another one. The only potential spanner in the works I envision being Ibrahimovic reverting back to his old self and expecting the team to play for him rather than he playing for the team, in which case I'll have no qualms in getting rid of him and going for someone like Hulk.
So to summarize:
Out: Bonera, Oddo, Jankulovski, Papa, Legrottaglie, Vila, Gattuso, Flamini, Pirlo/Seedorf,
In: Mexes, Taiwo, Astori, Ganso/Lamela, Honda/Robben, Fernando/Hernanes, Lazzari
Moreover, we ought to hold on to our promising youth players such as Merkel, Beretta, Emanuelson and Strasser and slowly integrate them into the team.
As for the Real/Barca debate (although I'm not quite sure why this is on this thread?) yes I concur that right now Barca are indubitably the best team in the world, but like many here I don't believe they are unbeatable. The two things that Barca has going for them that no other team in the world has or hope to acquire with money are,
1) Stability and familiarity within the camp. Given that most of their first team players played with each other since they were almost toddlers it is no wonder that they can pass the ball to each other with such ease even if they were to be blindfolded. In a sense it's like a couple who've been together for so long they could virtually finish each other's sentences. That and they're acquaintance with each other, means that there's no room for the overinflated egos who might destabilize the harmony of the team (which in my opinion is the major reason why Ibra was offloaded quickly despite the huge financial loss).
2) A little mercurial midget that goes by the name of Messi.
As for Real, well their biggest obstacles are the fact that unlike Barca, they ship in a new team every season so the players never get the chance to adapt to each others playing style and their tendency to collect the biggest egos on Earth then placing them together in one team, have them managed by the most narcissistic manager on the face of the planet and then overseen by the biggest power megalomaniac director in the form of Valdano.
It is no wonder that the top two teams in the continent right now (and the champion's league finalists funnily enough) have both enjoyed long spells of stability and familiarity within their respective camps that have enabled them to build their teams from the bottom up (in a sense this was the case two with our senatori back then), and that boys and girls cannot be purchased with a fistful of dollars. That's why I believe that although with the right enforcements we can go far in the champion's league next season (even win it with quite a bit of luck), however, we won't quite reach the rarified stratospheric heights of Barca just yet. But I have a lot of faith in this team and I'm growing in confidence about our choice of manager despite my earlier reservation. So, at the end, I can only say Forza Milan!
