AC Milan have used 24 players so far this season, but it would be fair to suggest that their squad depth is not at the level needed for them to be successful this season, and a report has highlighted the need for alternatives.
On paper, seeing 24 players feature in eight games is quite good, and suggests things are better than they are. However, questions are already being asked about Milan’s depth, and the Rossoneri risk entering an all-too-familiar cycle.
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Last season it was especially noticeable in the midfield, with Stefano Pioli being forced to rotate his squad constantly due to injuries. However, this harmed his team as there was a frequent lack of balance due to not having the right profiles available to him.
Within eight games, Paulo Fonseca is now experiencing a similar issue. As Pianeta Milan writes, the Diavolo have a ‘poorly constructed’ squad for what Fonseca wants to do. There is a clear identity that the Portuguese head coach associates with, but ‘the starting eleven does not have an alternative’ even if there are 13 players to rotate.
Because of this, it is suggested that the Rossoneri require two or three ‘important’ signings in the January mercato – a midfielder to balance Youssouf Fofana and Tijjani Reijnders, a ‘link’ striker like Alvaro Morata, and another right back.
I just hope Milan don’t continue with this 4231 idea. That formation does not work and it doesn’t the players we already have in the squad.
So if we are looking to reinforce the squad then sticking with 442 and 433 makes more sense.
He needs to use all players .
Milan would have same result if he benched Reijnders Royal and Gabbia in game against Bayer and used Musah Pavlovic and Calabria.
Isn’t it true ? He just need to use more benched players and not do same mistake like Piolio.
Milan are even worse than Inter in rotation options. Say both Theo and Pulisic get injuried for 3 months, who will replace them? How can they play every game of the season? The alternatives on the bench are below the minimum standards for a team that is supposed to fight for trophies.
Mr inter we still want to spend another on a Rb and not a LB Sub.
I think the particular exec dedicated to the RB department is giving only one position which is the Rb and dude has money. he just be balling money his money on crippled rbs
Midfield not built for 4231, not built for 424 and lack a key role player for 433. Still wasted close 90 millions on it.
One of the biggest and most expensive howlers ever. Hope to see heads role at the end of the season, specifically Moncada’s.
I don’t Milan dishing Madrid as Lille are dishing them this night.
I don’t seems to understand why Fonseca did not push for Thiago Santos. He is just too good than Emerson in both phase.
I hope the management can go all in for J Davids when his contract expire
Sorry sir but I just hope that they SACK Fonseca, Ibra, Moncada, and Furlani, because this project has been an absolute sham.
This is not what Milan need to be world class football club!
This management has not even spoken or even taken it to the ref official to complain about the referring sham with Bayern Lever?
The world is watching the Milan management and laughing in disbelief.
It isn’t about buying more players or changing the formation it is more about the characteristics and traits of each player. The players acquired have similar characteristics, affecting the coach’s ability to come up with different ideas. The blame falls on the management for not identifying other players that would make the team more unique than one-sided
We had a right back who we sold to Juventus
We had a midfielder who we sold to Newcaslte
Bro they need 4 play makers, they need Alexis Saelemaekers, Brahmin Diaz, Arda Güler, Hakan Çalhanoğlu who scores corners and free kicks.
They need more play makers who are world class, they ideally need, Florian Richard Wirtz, who always shoot and do 1 2s and run and shoot often. That recent champions league match loss against bayer Leverkusen’s they didn’t make mistakes to passing and movement and going forward and they need a new right back someone like Cafu back in the day but they need a striker who’s world class like shevchenko or kaka. Top class player, but ideally to fix this team they need at least 4 world class midfielders think about it Milan back in the day had, pirlo, kaka, seedorf, ronaldinho, shevchenko, they need players who are strong and want to win and have the desire
So we still need 2-3 more players??? LMAO 😂 we spent all that money on the midfield and we still need more players. Incredible!
I’m glad to finally see articles which myself, Ted and other have been preaching for some time now….. that is, the squad is poorly constructed.
I wrote this in a separate place but bears repeating here. There’s plenty of blame to go around of course but let’s start at the top because that’s really and truly where the overall direction of the club comes from. It really begins with Cardinale and his real right hand people, the REAL management…Scaroni and Furlani…pres and CEO..the ones who will get the next set of directors fired. Ibra and Moncada don’t have that sort of power let’s be real. I’ve rarely seen bad management and good players/coach/team combo that wins things.
So let’s start with last year which was the start of the sh!t show. Firing a Milan legend, one of …if not the greatest one for Milan, was never going to end well. Don’t be fooled by the 2 or 3 anti-Maldini ppl in the comments section, the vast majority of fans here and outside in the real world appreciate his work (Scudetto, UCL semi, increased value of team, under a salary cap)….the jury is still out about the current set. It was just poor taste and poor understanding of the club and it’s history. Appeasing fans with what Gerry thinks is a Milan symbol in Ibra is simply a diversionary tactic to ease pressure off of their decisions….and even that has seemingly ran it’s course.
And I kept saying, I didn’t mind them firing Maldini IFFFFFF on that basis they hire a proper sporting director and I even named a few like DAmico because that would make sense to me . But nah, we get called Maldinisti as if it’s so bad to support one of your own and so on. We never said he didn’t make mistakes but the results speak for itself. But to dismiss only Maldini (and Massara) and kept the rest meant 1. That Cardinale believed that Maldini was the sole reason for seemingly “bad results” 2. Cardinale believed that keeping the rest (Furlani, Moncada and later Ibra) meant they could do the job better and they simply haven’t. Otherwise he would have hired someone else. Cardinale (and real management) IS the one to not hire an actual Sporting Director and I’m glad ppl are starting to catch on. For all his boastfulness about being in Sport and having all this know how.and success, I’m actually questioning how much of that is luck or other more competent ppl doing the work for him because the current setup for this project ain’t working. I honestly thought he’d bring in ppl with expertise from his “vast networks”. But so far we haven’t seen anything except on the commercial side. Where is the sporting side?
Even the people he loves to talk about who he works with all have the same traits…..the Rock, himself, Ibra ..all similar braggadocious and loves to talk up themselves, lots of bluster, full of soundbites but lacking in substance. Peek how Ibra approaches his role….”I’m the boss”.it’s as if he’s still a player, juvenile-like, that might work on the field but in this line of work what counts are trophies. And if he is resorting to egotistical retorts when asked a serious question about the team then he has a long, long way to go (granted he did start to check himself). Some humility will go a.linf way.
We had 130m last year, 50+m this year and we still short in midfield? And no one is accountable ? 442, 4231, 433 take your pick. We don’t have the players to play any of these.
4231 ? We need pivots, we only have one .. sorta in Fofana. And no cam.
433? We don’t have a proper DM or subs for the DM and even our mezzalas lack.
442? Do we have enough strikers to rotate? Left and right midfielders? Not to mention, we never had that formation in mind. It was something throw out because our backs were against the wall after….THREE GAMES. 🤦♂️
Such a farce!!!
How bad is it that our center forward/striker (Morata) can play in midfield and as a CAM better than any of our current actual midfielders? He’s better than both RLC and Deers in that role….he tracks back, sets up the play and charges up field to join the attack. Why can’t OUR mids do that. It’s such a shame.
But we’re being sold on being more European, a “better” team somehow but still need players. We’re not reaching a UCL semi anytime soon, let’s be real. We’ll quicker win the Scudetto than achieve that feat again.
I totally agree with you on almost everything and will add to this…
The management can not find a proper back up for Theo since he arrived 4 season ago to rotate with him
But sign Right Back every seasons and none of them is good enough to start 10 league matches successfully. FLORENZI, KALULU, CALABRIA TERRACIANO.
The so called management kept signing players the coach will never use and end up going on loan till contract runs out Pellegrino cuz they and offload the for reasonable cash.
They prefer to buy under 25yrs from other clubs but their own homegrown under 25yrs did not deserve playing time in the first team even as under study.
Real Madrid Endrick is not so better than Colombo
Terraciano isn’t a natural fullback.
Totally agree Cess. M&M tried with the little money they had with Fode but tbh can’t really ask more for a $5m player. The last two windows we had some more money and yet….no Theo backup. It’s one of the things that big me too dude needs a test and when he underperforms because he’s overused he gets huge flack.
I also don’t understand the obsession with the RBs either. And we let Kalulu go to Juve and he’s thriving…at both positions too. 🤦♂️ Talk about sho.oting yourself in your own foot
Sorry sir but I just hope that they SACK Fonseca, Ibra, Moncada, and Furlani, because this project has been an absolute sham.
This is not what Milan need to be world class football club!
This management has not even spoken or even taken it to the ref official to complain about the referring sham with Bayern Lever?
The world is watching the Milan management and laughing in disbelief.
Yep they need director equal with galliani or marotta otherwise it is not worth sacked paolo. The most funny thing are right back , they keep signing player for that position from jimenez,teraciano ,emerson but get rid kalulu that can play RB and RWB , kalulu shines in juve under motta guidance. For morata i agree with you , this show how bad our midfield and winger that wear number 10 if morata can play better as number 10 even if he is striker . So sad to see they still need playmaker , fofana vice, theo vice. We need real DS not the man that say im the boss or lion & cat comparative
“they need director equal with galliani or marotta otherwise it is not worth sacked paolo.” This!!! I also like how they talk about being more European and yet fire the player that has won the most in Europe. Go figure
I agree about the 442
I think fonseca has to find a pragmatic solution at Lb and Rb (Terraciano hasn’t got half the chance given to emerson)
If there’s another solid option for LB or theo can support Leo/okafor at LM while Morata, Abraham,Leao, okafor & jovic can be deployed upront.
We cannot afford to name pulisic who also starts almost every game as Leao’s backup.
Chukwueze should have been loaned out instead of salad who can work hard at LM or RM.
👏
Milan need simply a right 10 and a defensive as Tonali.
I also had pointed this out. Our starting 11 is decent, but cant’t say the same thing about the rest / back up. It’s night and day. Maybe only in CB we have decent set (assuming Pavlo and Thiaw as the back ups).
And if we’re still running for 3 competitions, the flaw will show quickly. One of the solutions is that we better start using our young potential players for back up. It’s wiser to give chance for someone like Liberali rather than seeing the circus show from Chuk for example.
I totally agree, Milan has to go the Barcelona way right now; deploy the best young talent ASAP (without overusing them) instead of waiting till they turn 20 to send them on fruitless loans.
Especially Liberali, zeroli, Vos, & Torriani.
Also victor eletu and chaka troare
The point is milan need to retain/ manage talent better.
They cannot sign anyone, squad list is full already. Only Italians that they can sign
They can if RLC, Bennacer, Chukwueze leave who all, at this point, are surplus to this squad…
Get Ricci, Gnoto, J.David instead
Acmilan problem is attacking midfield the problem of Pioli and Fonseca are the same the solution is that Acmilan should bring Chaka Traore and liberali to the first team as our attacking midfield then we can now see the effect of the 4-2-3-1 other wise I’m seeing more struggles but the problem of Mr Fonseca is that he feels he know it all he can read the game and does not know the kinds of players he will use to win a match is a big shame that Acmilan can’t win a match we find it difficult to score goals because Fonseca has a poor tactical ideals now the solution is that Ruben, rejnder, Fofana,musah, zeroli are all double pivot if you agree with me or not our problem is nothing but attack until we get about two attacking midfield which we have and don’t want to use we will continue have lapses and issues Fonseca should correct this now before it goes out of hand thanks.
It’s fascinating that after 2 years and more than 10 players brought with a total of around 200M€, we still seem to be lacking depth. That’s why I always maintain that our transfers are “unfocused”.
While we do seem to have a decent starting 11, we don’t seem to have anyone capable of replacing most of the starting players.
We don’t have a deputy left-back.
We don’t have a player who can replace Fofana (forget Musah, he doesn’t have the awarness, positioning and defensive abilities).
Since we ditched Adli and that Bennacer is injured, no one can really replace Reijnders.
From summer 2023 onwards, I think the only 2 players who are confirmed quality are Pulisic and Morata. Reijnders still has question marks around him, Fofana has just barely started showing some quality and Abraham lacks a bit in the finishing abilities. All the others are average if not outright trash (excuse me for these words, but sometimes you have to say things as they are).
Also to borrow a bit from IKWYDLS:
We don’t have a team for a 4-2-3-1 since neither Loftus-Cheek, nor Reijnders and not even Pulisic are true attacking midfielders and that Reijnders and Loftus-Cheek were brought for a 4-3-3 as mezzalas.
But we don’t have a good team for a 4-3-3 since it requires a lone defensive midfielder (and his replacement) and that Fofana never played as a CDM. He might adapt but he is already having his hands full (or shall I say his feet full) with learning to be the more defensive player of a double pivot. Plus Fonseca seems to be against a 4-3-3.
The 4-2-4 was something Fonseca cooked but we don’t have the necessary players to maintain that. In other words, should any of Morata, Fofana, Reijnders and perhaps Abraham be absent, we simply can’t play a 4-2-4.
So what to take from this ? Perhaps when someone can spend a bit more money, it’s better to focus on quality rather than quantity. And perhpas it’s better to hire an experienced sporting director rather than 3 clowns.
“It’s fascinating that after 2 years and more than 10 players brought with a total of around 200M€, we still seem to be lacking depth.” Insane ain’t it? Also to add to your point on the starting XI, on paper they look good but they don’t seem to function well.as a team. Deers and RLC can’t seem to play well together..maybe they get in each other’s way or something. So maybe use one and not the other.
I also had asked the question very very early on this summer….what formation are we playing or expected to play because thats where the transfer strategy should come from. Instead….it seems we picked up opportunities. Some happen to be functional but not all (moreso this year than last).
POORLY CONSTRUCTED- 💯💯💯💯💯💯💯
Many including myself have been saying this over and over. Yet the Redbird Lovers constantly scream “we have depth” LOL – yet will still need to buy more mids??? A RB and backup LB? Using Morata as a ACM?
Hahahahahahaha. Behold the genius of Furlani, Ibra and Moncada!
Kalulu is thriving for a direct rival; Emerson is trash
Adil is thriving; Musah sits the bench
Motta is thriving with Juve; Fonseca is struggling
Maldini; CDK; Columbo; all doing well;
28M on Chukuweze who cannot play for the life of him
Need a link up striker? hmmm, perhaps Zirkzee would have worked?
Still no backup to Theo
Gabbia outplaying Pavlovic
Well done gents! Well done!