Summer mercato 2012

[Gabriel426]

Good read.

I can't say it reminds me of Ibra as I think Milan is a better him with him than without him.

I think Pool problem this year had a lot to do with Saurez's drop form, selling that Mohawk guy to Chelsea and Carroll being the biggest bust in EPL history.

While Ibra for some odd reason is putting in terrible performances these past few weeks, but same can be said about other players too, like Slowdorf, MVB, Mexes, Bonera and Robinho.

The team has generally been awful over the past month, there's no denying this. However, my point on Ibra is everything goes through him when he does play, everyone knows this and often the result is punting the ball forward to him in hope.

He's capable of brilliant things to win matches, but at the same I must ask do statistics actually suggest we have done worse without him when he's been absent over the past 2 seasons. I'm actually pretty confident the statistics will show our results don't particularly suffer when he's not on the pitch, as when he last got suspended this year I remember seeing some statistics of our win rate with and without him, without much difference (I think it was actually higher without him). Actually, our general play also improves as the other players work better as a team, rather than relying on him. I'm not the only one who thinks this, many pundits, journalists and experts (ex-players etc.) have said that we tend to do better without him.

The only period I remember us suffering without him is at the start of this season when he was injured for a few games. It's not like we improved when he got back and it took quite a while before our season really got going.

We castigate players like Seedorf for ruining our game when they don't perform, yet Ibra has been just as guilty of faultering our play when he goes through what seems his inevitable drop in form every season. Against Bologna, I don't think I'm exagerrating in saying almost every move we made (especially in the first half) broke down when the ball reached him.

Finally, Balotelli in Manchester City was totally condenmed for getting 4 red cards since he joined city last year. Ibra's been at Milan for 2 years and has had 3 red cards, all for stupid reactions in matches during some of the most important periods of our seasons. However, after the initial reactions pass we tend to just accept it.

I'm not saying Ibra's been bad for Milan, but I think he holds us back as much as he helps us win.

I think the part that relates to Ibra at Milan is that when Ibra is on the field, people automatically look to him to win the game. As a result, the other players shine a lot less since all they do is try to give him the ball. However, when he's not on the field, other players are forced to step up to the plate and take more responsibility, resulting in the team playing better on a whole.

thank you, you hit the nail on the head.

Judging from Cassano's performance (yes, it is only one game so far), his absence perhaps was the biggest reason for our failure this season.

I can't say I agree with that (although he would have helped). Cassano can add bursts of creativity and a spark in the team, but I don't think with him we'd be that much better. I say this because he's not the most consistent player and more importantly, it's just not a part of his game to support the team defensively. I think he's great as a player coming off the bench to make an impact when we need to push for a result, but as a regular starter he's not the player we need imo.

Only going to reply the Ibra part.

Well, my other post actually explained why I think the bad results from Milan is not a direct result of Ibra playing bad.

I know you and some other journalist kept using stats to say the general play of the team is better and it is not like Milan can't win without Ibra, and other players tend to step up more instead of sending the ball to Ibra. However, what I had been saying is that, due to injuries and forms, who really stepped up this season for Milan beside Ibra?

Last year, when Ibra was suspended, Slowdorf, Cassano and Boateng really played well to pick up the creative role and offense role for Milan. However, they pretty much played the same even before and after Ibra's suspension. So it is unfair to say it was a direct result of Ibra's absence. Robinho plays did became more lively without Ibra last season but they often never materialize into scoring chances. I think the only player who really shine when Ibra is not playing is Pato, but same can be said the other around.

As for this season, who stepped up beside Ibra? Robinho is like Slowdorf, who will have a great game followed by crappy games with or without Ibra. Slowdorf might have only played 3 good games all year. Boateng has been injured. While Pato is too busy being at the Doctor's office. Cassano got his heart thing.

As I mentioned in my other post. If the team is healthy, I believe they could play better without Ibra, but with all the injuries this season, if it were not for Ibra, Milan will not even be 3 pts behind Juve, they might actually be 3 pts behind Lazio. Abate will not become Cafu if Ibra is not around, nor would Muntari, Urby, Nocerino and Ambro start playing like Cesc, Xavi, Iniesta and Thiago all b/c Ibra is on the bench and suddenly these players realize their true potential.