AC Milan have found themselves in a crisis yet again, and it is more than possible that Stefano Pioli needs a positive result against Newcastle United on Wednesday then he may pay the price.
According to Corriere dello Sport (via MilanNews), Milan seemed to have got over their slump with wins over Fiorentina and Frosinone in the league, in which the performances had not been excellent but it was thought that six points could help.
Instead in Bergamo against Atalanta, the Rossoneri faded once again and fell into the ‘vortex of their own insecurities’. Now, in mid-December, Milan are one step away from crashing out of Europe altogether and being out of the Scudetto race.
Who is to blame? All the main components of the club participate to varying degrees but with equal responsibility, in a seasonal performance which for now is tremendously below expectations. Starting from the top, within the management, the criticism starts from the mercato and is inevitable.
Many of the players who have arrived, in truth, are absolutely competitive. How much weight does not signing a deputy to Olivier Giroud have? And not signing a natural defensive midfielder? All gaps that could have been better filled in the summer.
However, despite the performance of the new fluctuating players, the blame lies more with Pioli and his staff. A flood of injuries hit the team , taking out multiple players at a time, and added to this is an unprecedented tactical confusion for the Milan coach.
Then there are the responsibilities of those who go on the pitch, i.e. the players. We cannot talk about technical limitations or lack of tactical acumen, because games like the win over PSG show the level this side is capable of, but the problem is rather a mental and character issue.
This Milan are a careless team that concede goals from a throw-in as happened against Atalanta; or a team that remains with its head in the dressing room at the start of the second half as always happened in Bergamo but also in Lecce and Naples.
In this the more experienced players should take the lead but even they seem overwhelmed by the overall situation. In the end, if victory over Newcastle does not come, the one at risk will be Pioli who could also pay with dismissal.
Paolo Scaroni, AC Milan president, June 2023:
“I’m very grateful to (Maldini). I have to say that today, we need it less. (…) If Maldini wanted to sack Pioli? I don’t want to express myself on the idea of Pioli’s sacking. But Pioli is absolutely central to this project.”
Watch the management come out with some fake news about the stadium to take the spotlight out of their failures. Just like they did when they fired maldini and everyone was going bananas. 24hrs later they came out with some fake stadium news.
Need a result in Newcastle?
That shouldn’t be a problem.
It’s not like St Jame’s isn’t going to be full of 50,000 rabid toons creating a hostile atmosphere.