Summer mercato 2012

[sylrus]

remember abate is our product, that means something in ucl
i think de sciglio can be trusted in LB position
acerbi, ogbonna or astori can fill in the CB position i pick astori because he is our youth player, if not, i like acerbi to
now we must focus in mid, a creative mid so our game doesnt go static like this season ( just long ball to ibra ), montolivo just not creative enough in my eyes, someone like nuri sahin, hernanes or sneijder
and a striker that can actually sent the ball into the net, so we wont be ibra dependent

[Gabriel426]

Mexes is way over rated and if some team is willing to offer 12 mil for him, Milan should sell him and use that 12 mil to buy Dede.
While to me Astori an Ogbonna are CBs to replace Bonera and Yepes.
As for Abate, do remember that this is only his third season playing as a RB, he is still getting better.

---

Lopez staying means Ibra leaving.

If management think this they are even worse than we all think.

What other reason do they have to want to keep Lopez?
Even without Lopez, Milan currently have Ibra, Pato, Robinho, Cassano and SES.
Although I want Milan to sell Pato and Robinho and use that sum to get Tevez or Van Persie, that won't happen.
Thus, what's the point of having 6 forwards including Lopez, beside I think Polaschi has proved that he is a better striker than Lopez these past two yrs.

[ElMago99]

Getting Better? Abate Sucks. He cost us 2 Derby's this season with Horrendous mistakes, and he has 1 Assist All Season. 1!!!!!

He can't cross, he's Never Scored a Goal in his Career in Serie A, and he can't defend. What the hell can he do?

[Kastriot]

Honestly, all of you are really ungrateful, sorry for being to direct. Beside two/three mistakes which can happen to anyone, Mexes has been great IMO. In the game against Arsenal away, where Tiago was the one making mistakes Mexes was a beast. And he has been best back up defender we have had in years. (Stam).

Look mistakes happen to anyone, even the best. But when paired with Tiago, Mexes has been great through out all season.
Neither Ogbonga nor Astori come even close to Mexes. If we sell him we better bring Ivanovic or Vidic (both of them highly unlikely) if not just keep him and bring Ogbonga as backup. Astori has never convinced. He was ours,we gave him away for a reason. Allegri coached him so there must be smth that he has never mentioned him.

As for Abate, its not true that he is getting better. He was nowhere near the level of last year. I really think he doesn not have to much space for improvement. Defensively he is ok, prone to mistakes but very solid in general. Offensively he is pure crap. Very one dimensional, everyone knows that he will go either on the right or straight forward. The moment he turns left he is no longer a danger. With that in mind every average defender in Italy nullifies him. (Maybe is better to put a more defensive Rb with Urby roaming freely forward on the left). If you analyze it every team has only on FB who pushes offensively.

[GeoTav]

I think Polaschi has proved that he is a better striker than Lopez these past two yrs.

Paloschi hasn't proved anything these past two years, unfortunately, apart from being injury prone (it seems he has improved during the second part of this season) ...

Anyway, with all the players of the "old guard" leaving or almost, I think we should focus on players who are Milan fans themselves (not only, but having some of them could be a good thing), because they will fight for our club and try to step up to allow Milan to keep its standing, but furthermore, they would probably try to keep the "family ambiancy" we have had since many years now.

Talent wise, it's better to have Ibra, Cassano, Pato, Robinho and El Sharaawy, but regarding the short term and long term future of our club, it would maybe be better to have Ibra, Cassano, Lopez (kind of player who could become really good with Ibra or Cassano supporting him), Paloschi (kind of player who could step up thanks to Cassano and Ibra, and especially thanks to Ibra who likes to play with a real striker standing near the goal ...) and El Sharaawy ...

You see, the problem is that I don't manage to convince myself at 100% about one or another solution, because while I'd like to keep Lopez (for the reasons I gave), or I'd like to welcome back Paloschi, at the same time, I'd like to keep Pato (I have mixed feelings about Robinho, I was one of the people defending him in the first part of this season, because I thought he would play like last year once he would be fit again, but it never happened, Robinho 2012 was the shadow of Robinho 2011) ...

[ElMago99]

Agree totally about Mexes. He made a mistake against Fiorentina & Barcelona, but why don't you look at who he was playing with and who was in Midfield in those Games. The midfield AND defense was depleted with injuries. We MUST keep him.

Van der Weil for Abate is a no-brainer for me. Abate is not a player I want for the next 5 years in Milan. I'd rather Antonini tbh.

As for Lopez/Paloschi, both are backups that don't mean much to me. Neither are world-beaters that will play in Starting Lineup. Milan will ONLY buy Lopez if his 8M asking price goes down to around 3.

I prefer to Sell Pato AND Robinho, and replace them with Tevez and Hernanes. Our 4 Strikers should be Tevez-Ibrahimovic-Cassano-SES. Then Ogbonna & Acerbi to come in on the cheap, and then Berlusconi can give us 1 GIFT, in Midfield. (Strootman, Asamoah, Eriksen)

You see, the problem is that I don't manage to convince myself at 100% about one or another solution, because while I'd like to keep Lopez (for the reasons I gave), or I'd like to welcome back Paloschi, at the same time, I'd like to keep Pato (I have mixed feelings about Robinho, I was one of the people defending him in the first part of this season, because I thought he would play like last year once he would be fit again, but it never happened, Robinho 2012 was the shadow of Robinho 2011) ...

I agree that I at least THOUGHT that Ibrahimovic always liked playing with a Penalty box striker (@ Inter with Cruz and Adriano). However, he has no chemistry with Pato whatsoever, so if we're going to keep Ibra (most likely we will), then Pato must go. He can be used to strengthen the midfield greatly while Robinho can be swapped for Tevez, a player who provides the same movement as Robinho and can actually score.

[tim_milan]

How does Mexes and Abate even come in our disscussions i dont understand. A few mistakes just cannot deem them as not solid players. Abate has been a revolution at RB and while both the FB positions were a problem for us a few seasons ago, Abate has stepped up. He may not be very good offensively but he has learnt how to defend. And Mexes, i ve thought of him being pretty solid and he s done a decent job this season. We should be looking for some new reinforcements preferably in the mid and LB position. I am just hoping for an upgrade at LB and obviously one or two players for midfield. Nurin Sahin is a good choice and he may come cheap as he has not featured for RM last season. The other addition i would like is Nainogglan/Strootman. Our strike department is as good as it is.

[WCmilan]

Id prefer strootman over nainggolan and sahin. Strootman is amazing, i dont know if you guys have watched the guy play but he's incredible such a talent and honestly, preferably have him play anchor but he'd even do great at cam

[am I Milan enough?]

Strootman had 16 assists this season. (10 Dutch League, 6 Europa League)

Makes sense, he's naturally a little more offensive minded than MvB and is technically very good.

What is Strootman's position really? from those videos, in PSV he seems to be playing CM than an anchor in front of the defence? he seems 'more attacking' than defensive (if we compare him w MVB)..

He is more attacking than traditional DMs (he also plays CM) and he does like to make progressive movements forward, hence his offensive stats being impressive. That said, I think he's disciplined enough to play Van Bommel's role at DM.

Thanks man! if he really can play MVB's role at DM as well as CM then I think he really would be a good signing (if we get him) considering limited budget we have (or do we have any? ) - Allegri might have more flexibility in the midfield with him around playing DM, CM, or perhaps even AM? his forward movement is indeed not bad at all

[k7r]

Honestly, all of you are really ungrateful, sorry for being to direct. Beside two/three mistakes which can happen to anyone, Mexes has been great IMO. In the game against Arsenal away, where Tiago was the one making mistakes Mexes was a beast. And he has been best back up defender we have had in years. (Stam).

Look mistakes happen to anyone, even the best. But when paired with Tiago, Mexes has been great through out all season.
Neither Ogbonga nor Astori come even close to Mexes. If we sell him we better bring Ivanovic or Vidic (both of them highly unlikely) if not just keep him and bring Ogbonga as backup. Astori has never convinced. He was ours,we gave him away for a reason. Allegri coached him so there must be smth that he has never mentioned him.

As for Abate, its not true that he is getting better. He was nowhere near the level of last year. I really think he doesn not have to much space for improvement. Defensively he is ok, prone to mistakes but very solid in general. Offensively he is pure crap. Very one dimensional, everyone knows that he will go either on the right or straight forward. The moment he turns left he is no longer a danger. With that in mind every average defender in Italy nullifies him. (Maybe is better to put a more defensive Rb with Urby roaming freely forward on the left). If you analyze it every team has only on FB who pushes offensively.

I second this, whatever kastriot had mentioned on mexes and abate........very true