We are approaching the six-month mark of Paulo Fonseca’s tenure, and it is fair to suggest that the finished AC Milan product is still quite far away.
This season has been slightly paradoxical. With each terrible result there has been an equally great one, and vice versa, making looking at things quite challenging. The victory against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu was fantastic, a chance to restart. However, this could be countered by the defeat to Liverpool at San Siro.
Perhaps the bigger issue is the lack of consistency. These results have not come in spells but rather scattered throughout the first months of the season. There is hope of moving forward with every good game, but the defeats (/poorer performances) are an instant setback.
For this reason, Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) suggest that Fonseca is still searching for a balance within his side, but he will not be afforded the time to do so, given the Rossoneri host Juventus this weekend.
Like the Diavolo, Juventus also find themselves in a period of transition, one that you could argue is going slightly better, perhaps. The ‘Fonsechian revolution’ of Pioli’s football has not been as smooth as originally hoped, and this is why things are still a work in progress, as the paper writes.
Saturday’s game could be decisive in the season, and if Fonseca is to eventually find balance, winning at San Siro would, imaginably, offer him more of a chance to do so.
In six months the team should have learned his tactics and desires but still the defense is a mess. Either the (key) players are thinking about their next club or Fonseca’s ideas are way too complicated for this team. We need a 10 match winning-streak to save the season (and Fonseca’s job – although not sure if anyone wants that).
The funny thing is, among our best performing players this season (Gabbia, Maignan, Pulisic, Reijnders and Fofana), only Gabbia was there for the entire preseason. The others either missed it completely or partially.
Tomori, Loftus-Cheek, Thiaw, Terracciano and Chukwueze played the entire US tour.
Makes you wonder what is Fonseca actually doing and what is the point of these US tours.
RLC is trash… Tomori I think peaked and better get money until he turns into another Bennacer… 50M down the drain, although I hope he can bounce back to be Ambrosini-esque player to our main trio who currently are Reijnders-Fofana double-pivot with Puli as 10.
Thiaw is progressing nicely (definitely best passer in defense) and Terracciano needs to looked at in the summer (inverted fullback was interesting option but hasn’t done much since then).
Chukwue is 50-50 for me and Chiesa/Gnoto in winter with another CDM would solve our balance issues.
Acting like Milan is the only club that changed their coach in the summer. Check Serie A table, 3 out of top 5 clubs changed their coaches and went through overhaul.
So stop with these lame excuses already, you get what you paid for.
It took Conte/Napoli one bad match on the first match day to get into shape and they’ve been flying ever since. But hey, Conte was too expensive and “too demanding” for a club with 2nd most UCL trophies in the world. You definitely get what you pay for.