AC MILAN FORUM

I'd be happy to see Ibra back. It seems increasingly likely that he may retire with us, which is something that was always in the back of his head, I think. We sure need him, too. It's embarrassing on some level to say, but we do. Hopefully we can still plug in a better defender + midfielder so that a run after January is actually possible.

LemonCookies wrote:

Allegri > Poch > Carlinho.

My only concern is Allegri is waiting for Man Utd or even Barca/Real and the same with Poch. So we might end up with Carlo.
Pioli has made progress and that's clear, but it is hard to imagine he can/will lead us to CL this year or next.

LemonCookies wrote:

I'd be happy to see Ibra back. It seems increasingly likely that he may retire with us, which is something that was always in the back of his head, I think. We sure need him, too. It's embarrassing on some level to say, but we do. Hopefully we can still plug in a better defender + midfielder so that a run after January is actually possible.

Ibra can hopefully put his foot up the asses of Suso, Hakan +Kessie . He won't tolerate there hot and cold performances.

The sentimental side of me would like to see TS come back with Ibra- the irony to that.
I'm not sold on Demiral and Rugani is just junk. If not TS, then Savic would be my #1. A good defender with experience in Italy.

I am intrigued by some of these rumours even though I doubt they happen :

1. Kessie+cash for Neves.
2. Hakan + cash for Muller+ Boetang.

The two German's could have an affect like Van Bommel did and both fill a desperate need.

352

Gigio
Caldara-Boetang-Ale
Conti-Ben-Neves-Paq-Theo
Muller- Ibra


Even Musa in Caldara's spot is ok, and have Muller as a SS.
If we can sell Suso and RR for added income for those deals then get squad player's and we can push for EL.

naraku wrote:

My only concern is Allegri is waiting for Man Utd or even Barca/Real and the same with Poch. So we might end up with Carlo.
Pioli has made progress and that's clear, but it is hard to imagine he can/will lead us to CL this year or next.

True. Unless Pioli really underwhelms here, I wouldn't be opposed to continuing with him, assuming a top tier manager isn't feasible. Everywhere Pioli's been, he's never really been given the chance to succeed. A lot of the clubs he's been at were selling clubs, too. I think he'd probably do well if he's given a progressively better squad, because so far, he has shown himself to be an astute tactician who is willing to bench players/change systems in order to get results. I really appreciate this, even if the changes so far have been mixed. If something's not working, he'll change it. I like that a lot. It's something that our past managers never quite figured out.

Ibra can hopefully put his foot up the asses of Suso, Hakan +Kessie . He won't tolerate there hot and cold performances.

The sentimental side of me would like to see TS come back with Ibra- the irony to that.
I'm not sold on Demiral and Rugani is just junk. If not TS, then Savic would be my #1. A good defender with experience in Italy.

Agree here. I think "Ibra-ball" would be minimized since we already have a lot of solo, free-role players (Suso and Hakan, the standouts). I'd take TS back, assuming his wage isn't nuts. I'm not sure if he'd want to come back, though. I imagine he might think PSG has a shot to win the CL this season, I dunno.

naraku wrote:

I am intrigued by some of these rumours even though I doubt they happen :

1. Kessie+cash for Neves.
2. Hakan + cash for Muller+ Boetang.

The two German's could have an affect like Van Bommel did and both fill a desperate need.

352

Gigio
Caldara-Boetang-Ale
Conti-Ben-Neves-Paq-Theo
Muller- Ibra


Even Musa in Caldara's spot is ok, and have Muller as a SS.
If we can sell Suso and RR for added income for those deals then get squad player's and we can push for EL.

I'd say that midfield is a little awkward. I dunno. If we somehow manage to bring in Boateng, though, I dunno if we even need to switch to a back 3. I think he and Ale would compliment very well in a 2. The problem remains at fullback and who is helping to shield Boa/Ale. Theo is hard working, but not a natural defender, so the space behind him is super exploitable (as we've seen.) Conti played his heart out against Juve with a surprisingly great defensive display, but that's something he's never, ever been able to do consistently, so I think it'd be dangerous to assume he can keep that up. Ben in front of the defense doesn't offer enough protection, imo. Neves would, but only slightly. We'd want someone else who could cover Theo on the left side of midfield and who is comfortable sitting deeper when needed. Tonali comes to mind. He'd be a fantastic player for that position - similar to prime Montolivo/DDR/Ambro, to name recent examples.

I'm skeptical about the Neves rumor. To me, with Doherty and Cody, Neves is one of their unsellables. Wolves are absolute morons if they take Kessie + Cash for Neves. An absolute steal that would be. Mueller, I'm not sure about either. I'd be concerned about his motivation. Some players who have won everything want to win more, others are content in winning everything once. If it's the latter, I'd pass on him.

I'd maybe think about something like this, assuming we have money, renew our current crop, can bring in/convince players to come here:

Donna
X - Boateng - Romagnoli - Hernandez
Paqueta - Neves - Tonali
X - Ibra - X

Concerns:

Right back - No clue about Conti/Calabria right now. Solutions: Aurier.
Right wing - Suso is a fodder, Samu can't seem to stay fit/get a run of games, and I've softened on thinking Paqueta could play there. Solutions - Callejon, Muller.
Left wing - Hakan is inconsistent and a beta male, Bona is injury prone and not that good right now anyway. Solutions: uuuuuuuuhhhhh

Jesus that was a wall of text. Sorry to the 5 lurkers and couple of posters, lol.

Here's a retarded thought. We loan in Gabigol. I doubt Printer wants him back. No room for him there. And Conti prolly wouldn't like him.

He's scored 67 in 107 apps the last two years in Brazil. I know he flopped for Inter, but...I dunno............We've had a strong Flamengo connection recently. And his loan there is up in December. If he has rest for a month, maybe we bring him in in January? Big gamble, I'd say, but fuck it?

Was Suso injured last match? If not, then that means Pioli benched him for a big game. Pioli has my respect for such a move. Suso needs to be gone ASAP.

Disappointing injury for Duarte. He had been playing quite well for us, all things considered. If Caldara can't get into the lineup, either because he's not showing enough in training or he's still not fully fit, we do need a defender in January. Question is, do we finally bring in a proper starter to pair with Ale (Savic, Boateng, etc.) or just another mediocre player/gamble (Demiral, Benatia, etc.)? I'm hoping we open the vault and get a proper defender so we can stop worrying about center defense. i fear if our season continues being somewhere between disaster to middling, then Ale could leave, then we'll be really toothless at the back. I bet if we bring in a boss to partner with Ale, that'll settle him down - Donna, too.

Serie Beast wrote:

Was Suso injured last match? If not, then that means Pioli benched him for a big game. Pioli has my respect for such a move. Suso needs to be gone ASAP.

Suso hurt himself in warm-up so was not risked. The other thing about getting Ibra in means lazy guy's like Suso either step up or GTFO. Either way Milan wins. I would prefer him gone. He is too predictable and slow.

LemonCookies wrote:

Jesus that was a wall of text. Sorry to the 5 lurkers and couple of posters, lol.

Here's a retarded thought. We loan in Gabigol. I doubt Printer wants him back. No room for him there. And Conti prolly wouldn't like him.

He's scored 67 in 107 apps the last two years in Brazil. I know he flopped for Inter, but...I dunno............We've had a strong Flamengo connection recently. And his loan there is up in December. If he has rest for a month, maybe we bring him in in January? Big gamble, I'd say, but fuck it?

I think Inter still own him ? Although now they wouldn't need him if Martinez was to go to Barca as rumoured, who knows what they would do with Gabigol since I don't think Icardi will ever come back.

About Durate , it's disappointing but I think he is a waste of 11M since he is no upgrade over Zaputa. I know he is young and can develop but he seems no better or worse than Gustavo Gomez. Zaputa is far from ideal or perfect but he should of been kept.


I really hope we don't waste money on Demiral, Rugani or anyone like that.
Savic would be my ideal. Still young enough and has Serie A experience.

I wonder much PSG would want for TS and Cavani in January ?

Cavani has played with Ibra before with success and would guarantee we still have a proven striker after Ibras cameo. I think we can get Ibra and Cavani and either sell or loan Piatek.


Gigio
Caldara-TS-Ale
Conti-Krunic-Ben-Paq-Theo
Ibra-Cavani


Ibra I'd have more of SS than traditional CF.
Krunic is solid but gets benched if we can pick up Rakitic or similar.

Sell RR , Borini, Suso.
Loan : Piatek, Gabbia
Release: Biglia

We need an anchor, though.

Something like this seems doable:

Donna
Conti - TS - Ale - Theo
Ben - Rakitic - Krunic
Callejon - Ibra - Paqueta

Quite like this link. I remember watching him earlier in the season. At first I thought he was Saponara and couldn't believe my eyes, but realized it wasn't. For me the standout of their team this season, and a big reason why Verona are doing well this time back in Serie A.

#CalshioExpert

I don't see how this is even feasible. I have to doubt links like these, and frankly, same with Rakitic, Modric, Boateng, etc. So far, we just haven't brought in players of CL quality, so I'm pressing x to doubt on all these guys. Something like Amrabat makes more sense. And I suppose it's a bit depressing that I have to check myself, realizing that it would be atypical and unlikely that we bring in proper established players. I don't know how much this affects the footballing culture, but I suspect that if other players see Ibra come back, maybe we do bring in Rakitic and Toby, like - surely this would show a pretty huge statement of intent, right? It'd get my balls hard, as a fan, but I imagine it'd get other players to notice what we're doing as well.

Seems like one of the problems in recruitment the last few years has been that we just gamble on one or two veterans (Bonucci, Higuain, even Biglia), but they haven't been enough because the rest of the squad is hurting and not good enough. If the club wants to get back to winning ways, then we can't solely rely on youth plus one or two veterans. We need a much more balanced approach. Look at Liverpool, for example. Their current CL squad was originally assembled as a youthful attack with youthful fullbacks, joined with experienced midfielders and experienced defenders. For us, we've got youthful guys everywhere in the team, and the experienced players we have are no where near good enough compared to Liverpool's experienced players. Upper mid table makes sense for us with what we've been doing.