Fossa Dei Leoni - 2015

Looks like we will be rolling out a squad full of backups for today’s match including the other Donnarumma! We should also see plenty of Silva as well.

Let’s hope we can nip one early to settle any nerves and then stroll through the rest of the game injury free. I’d like to see us keep a clean sheet, so I’ll go with a 1-0 prediction with another goal from Borini.

Brief side note: If you wanna cheat on Milan a little bit and catch the Atalanta-Dortmund match i don’t blame you one bit. It should be a cracker.

No one is carrying it here in the states, so find your favorite shwifty stweam and share below.

Forza Milan!

Lisi

It’s officially 2 years now since we left the Offside and Gianfranco founded our new home. Thanks buddy! 

2 years that have represented some of the lowest times in recent memory. No Europe. No titles. Barely a whiff of success. Not the slightest whiff of stability during that time. Besides Gianfranco’s old man...

(Isn’t that a great picture of our founder and his pops?)

...there’s not really any of us that remember such dark days. 

I’ll be honest, it’s been kind of a slog at times. There hasn’t been a single preview for a Champions League game written here. Not even one for a Europa League game for that matter. Instead we’ve debated about the usefulness of such slugs as Menez and Mexes. Essien and Bonera. Honda and Torres. I’ve probably written at least a dozen pieces contemplating whether we’ve hit rock bottom... NOT YET!!!

Of course big thank you’s go out to AviA and Teen Rockett. Without their hard work and dedication this place wouldn’t be nearly what it is today. Between AviA’s unwashed hand and TR’s match art, those 2 are indispensable!

And finally a big thanks to all of you for reading and commenting. Without you this place would just be 4 guys talking to each other about a midtable Serie A team. Trust me when I say that we appreciate every single comment, like, share and retweet that we get. 

Shout out to:

Ozeki

Alf3dwards

Juan

Jorge

Milano80

Roberto Palma

Ponzik

Sunit747

tyoRex

nine

Murad Ali

Russumilan

DrumaSanduma

VegasTvT

Birdman79

AJ_Milan

Abhishek Goradia 

And I’m sure there are countless others that have come and gone over the years. 

Cheers folks!!

Lisi

TAKEAWAY We are tied for 2nd with the same exact record as Roma, 10 wins, 2 draws and 3 losses. The only difference is goal differential where the boys from the eternal city are +19 and we are +8.

GIVEAWAY Goal difference is bound to bite us in the butt all year long. We are just not clobbering the bad teams the way others are. Any tie breaker will kill us. We can’t finish level on points and expect any favors. We have to finish ahead of teams.

TAKEAWAY As TR pointed out with his Niang piece, the Frenchman has been struggling of late. It’s been 6 games since he’s scored, he’s been subbed in 4 of them and honestly it’s been a miracle almost every game that he hasn’t seen yellow. His hold up play has remained good but he’s not offering much else

GIVEAWAY Perhaps the way going forward will be moving Jack up to that spot and having Pasalic play more midfield. I’m not saying Niang should be benched for good, but i think it will be something we see more and more of.

TAKEAWAY Pasalic is on a dry loan ( that means no option to buy) so why in the world are we giving time to a guy who isn’t even ours!! Shouldn’t we be developing our own players?

GIVEAWAY It’s true he could be Van Ginkel 2.0 (i really liked that guy) but the truth is we need the help in depth AND we could always work something out with Chelsea down the road. If he helps us back into the CL and never plays again for us, so be it. That little slide by move to get his head on that goal? Very nice!!

TAKEAWAY Sosa is a stiff!!

GIVEAWAY The guy is a CAM and we don’t use a CAM. His main use to us now is as a back-up DM to Locatelli should the kid get hurt or need a break. I’m pretty sure that’s not what he signed up for. Other than that, he will get the random start against a bad team like Crotone. The guy only cost 7 million and will do a job for us. No skin off my back.

TAKEAWAY Locatelli with another horror tackle, another late giveaway and not much else! What’s wrong with him?

GIVEAWAY Nothing. Relax folks. people hated Monty for it, but the point of the DM is to sit deep, make interceptions, move the ball around and get it up front to the playmakers. It’s not flashy and it’s the kind of role that ONLY gets you noticed when you screw up. He’ll be fine.

TAKEAWAY So we’ve already seen Donnarumma’s lack of ball skills result in an easy goal against Empoli. There were 2 more occasions against Crotone where it looked like the Keystone Cops took possession of our back line:

GIVEAWAY While I’d to say it’s getting better and the more he handles the ball the more comfortable he will be on the ball......BUT I’d be just fine if he would just leave the dribbling to the professionals.

TAKEAWAY Kucka is a complete idiot for getting a yellow within 5 minutes and he will now miss the Roma game

GIVEAWAY Isn’t Montella as much of an idiot for sending Kucka out there? The guy is a constant yellow card waiting to happen and should not have been trusted. Just send in Poli. if he sees yellow or even red it really doesn’t matter. It’s just Poli.

TAKEAWAY This Lapadula guy is really good

GIVEAWAY Yes, yes he is. When you are a poacher you don’t have to be the biggest, strongest or most talented. What you need is heart, guile and great big balls along with a dash of perfect timing. Pippo had these in bucketloads and Lapadula seems to cut from similar cloth

TAKEAWAY Was that Bertolacci I saw on the bench?

GIVEAWAY OMG .... HE’S LIKE A NEW SIGNING!

Love to all

We here have extremely short memories. Guys who aren’t our ‘guys’ are only as good as their last game. I’m as culpable of this as anyone and you can go back to the game thread to read my vitriol. But with the game a couple days in the rear-view, I’ve settled down some and want to offer a more balanced take on soon-to-be 22 year-old. Before we throw him in the 'Deplorables’ group, guys who could literally save the life of a bus of schoolchildren but get no credit here at FDL such as Monty, Sosa, and Abate (who also deserve a little more from us from time to time, as much as it pains me to say that about Abate right now), I think we’d be well served to take a harder look at the kid and maybe recalibrate our expectations.

For starters, Niang is not mature. Mentally and professionally he behaves much like a 21 year-old with a boatload of natural talent would. This of course translates into frenetic performances ranging from some truly magical games last year to the mind-numbing duds of this past Sunday. He plays like he lives by some kind of trite life motto like “Go big or go home” or “If you’re not winning you’re losing”, because while the effort and the confidence are never lacking, we generally see the same approach every match. The problem is that people who live by these mottos, live and die by these mottos because they don’t or can’t adjust. We’ve seen him burn and deke defenders, bamboozle a midfielder with a step-over or two, and light up heat maps from one end to the other. But this speaks louder to his skill than it does his progression. The area where he needs to improve the most, decision-making, is still underdeveloped, stunted by the immaturity. All too often, after taking our breath away getting past a defender, the imagination stalls. And this, I think, is my biggest fear about Bang Bang: He’s pretty close to his ceiling. He can be absolutely electric in the right circumstances, but these have been few and far between, really, since Miha left.

Which leads me to my second point, which isn’t as pessimistic as my first. I’ve stuck with this sentiment for a while now, and I’ll go on the record as saying this is my official excuse for Niang: I don’t think he’s a great winger. Above-average at his baseline and good on his best day. His best performances have come from a more central role with Bacca, with Bang Bang operating as a shuttle-bug, pestering defenders who must still remain cognizant of the Colombian marksman. He’s big, strong, quick and an okay finisher. I wouldn’t necessarily employ him as a lone striker, but I think he’s far more suited to work in a pairing than as a winger. Sure the speed compliments something wider, but we’re seeing over and over again that without a more dynamic midfield, he’s someone that can be marked out of a game. Unfortunately, between Montella’s preference for a 4-3-3 and a squad that really doesn’t have the personnel to be formationally (A real word? google says no) flexible, he’s nailed to the flanks.

So is all hope lost? Should we sell him to Southampton in January? Bench him until the Coppa comes around? No, no, and no. While the above may sound like an indictment, it is more of a means to balance our lofty expectations for him. I still think he’s a valuable member of this squad for a few reasons. One, he is legit the only attacking player we have with pace. Even if you don’t think he deserves to start, he is the only guy outside of Bacca and Lapadula on the entire squad that forces opponents to make immediate adjustments (which says more about our squad than Niang, but I digress). Two, he is 21. While I do think he may be close to his peak, I also thought Suso was a dime-a-dozen Spanish attacker, so it isn’t like this is my day job. He has some really dazzling natural ability and even moderate maturity would have exponential effects on his game. And finally, as weird as this is to say about a team in second place, his supporting cast kind of sucks. One of his greatest attributes is exploiting even the smallest of open spaces and in many instances, this is not a setup that looks terribly interested in helping create those. We lack movement in the midfield, on the ball and off, which certainly does Niang no favors. He’s not Suso who can wave a wand and appear behind the left-back, he’s more direct, and as such, requires more wiggle room. 

So while Sunday was frustrating, and a little concerning, it was more a no good very bad day as opposed to the norm. Let’s not close the book on him just yet.

Sound off below and look out for the Milan/Roma preview on Friday.

Yours in blue jeans,

Pregame thoughts.... I hate this ref, I’m not too worried about Gomez and I still can’t figure out why Calabria doesn’t play. Oh, and we get to see K Dog!

1′ Both teams uniforms are so dark on TV that it looks like we are playing black on black

2′ Inter bringing the high press early, hoping to take advantage of Gomez at the back. Can’t blame them. Gotta test the guy, right?

3′ Kucka reminding Perisic that he’s on the field. Always a good sign to see Kucka stuck in early.

4′ Medel putting in work to deny Niang. I love watching that guy play.

5′ 5 minutes in and now I’m worried about Gomez. 2 poor passes form the back that go straight to Inter and his speed is lacking. Him covering for Abate? Yikes.

6′ Niang v Candreva? That could be fun. Candreva is a MONSTER!

7′ Boriello sighting? Could it be? Scissor kick! SCISSOR KICK!

8′ Jack might was well just be a CM at this point.... his responsibilities on the flank have vanished. Not sure Niang is much help. DeSciglio alone A LOT. Gomez covers for a sleeping Abate.... maybe it won’t be so bad over there

11′ K Dog gets his head on a corner. Paletta has to do better. D’Ambrosio uses a lot of hair product.

12′ K-Dog puts Suso to the ground. get up kid. Can’t score laying down.

15′ Ok... K Dog is owning us in the center.... If Jack isn’t gonna play on the left he needs to show up in the middle... killing us.... We need someone to play left mid... Niang can’t play and D.... Kucka was just over there for God’s sake..... It’s wide open for Inter over there and last I heard this Candreva guy is pretty good

17′ Set piece nerves..... always. Our front line has been invisible so far... especially Bacca and Suso. Wake up guys!

18′ I’ll give Inter credit.... they have that hop in their step that teams usually get when a new coach comes in.... but Milan has held up so far. Don’t like us being on the back foot so much in a home game though.

19′ That being said jack draws a fould from K Dog in dangerous territory... tasty spot for a FK from Jack. All for not.

22′ DeSciglio with a nice stop. Gonna have to be a good night from him to slow down that flank. He can do it

23′ Hey! we defended another set piece! I’ll give the K Dog credit. he’s looking pretty good tonight. Could bring some more pace though. Not the hardest worker all the time.

24′ THERE IT IS! OUR BOY ABATE ASLEEP AT THE BACK POST! IMAGINE THAT! GET HIM OFF THE FIELD NOW!!!!! Thank God Persici was just a step slow. earth to Abate! The game HAS STARTED!

25′ Inter clearly has all the momentum right now.... and we defend another set piece.... SIGH

26′ Good lord Niang and Bacca are hardly even moving.... come on guys. maybe Lapadula was the right call here.

28′ Can we just get Kucka and Medel chasing each other in circles kicking the crap out of each other? Oh wait, we just got a bit of that.....

30′ Feels like a matter of time.... Jack and Locatelli just let Inter stroll right threw the midfield and take a wicked shot. If Jack is gonna me in the middle he has to show a spine. This is why I don’t like him there. Without Monty though, Locatelli needs more cover.

31′ Lack of any effort from the front 3 is putting huge pressure on us. Inter seeing no pressure until well into our half. Even Kucka has only popped up a handful of times.

33′ Gomez with a sketchy start but better since.

34′ Locatelli with a gorgeous steal... Jack kinda steals the ball from him and makes a run... then forgets he has teammates and tries to go 1 on 4. Not your best half Jack. Bacca was left wanting there. Ugh

35′ ANOTHER CORNER..... who’s the home team here again?

36′ It’s official... we’ve conceded our left flank as quickly as Poland conceded on September 1, 1939.... without the whisper of a fight.

38′ ICARDI SIGHTING! Another escape for us..... wow.  

39′ A nice little break and Abate gives it away... then fails to chase the play back...... yawn.... sigh

40′ Abate starts a break... then casually gives it away... doesn’t chase back..... the man drives me crazy yet he has defenders. i don’t understand.

41′ Inter with yet ANOTHER chance.....

42″ and another......

43′ HOLY SHIT! GOAL! GOAL! SUSO!!! That’s about as much against  the run of play as it gets! That might be the first time of seen a play by Donna rumma lead to a goal, jack makes a nice run, REMEMBERS his teammates this time, lays it off nicely and Suso takes one touch and smacks it home. I suppose some day defenders will realize that Suso’s left foot is magical... BUT IT IS NOT THIS DAY!

Anyone else notice Bacca had no reaction at all? Dude.... your team scored in the Derby... be happy man.

45′ Gomez steps up to save Abate from another colossal error..... thanks man!

HALF! Donnarumma has been gold as usual. Abate is a disaster but the rest of the backline has held so far. The midfield has been OK but must do more. Other than Suso’s strike the front 3 looks disinterested. I’d bring Laps on at the half. Need some energy up there. Also, DeSciglio needs some help over there. Inter is killing us on the flanks between him being left all alone and Abate being Abate. heck, the middle isn’t much better. Seriously, if Inter could finish anything and Ansaldi had any clue about Suso we are down at least 2-0.

46′ No half time subs.....

46′ I still don’t like these near solid black unis of ours. Feels like i need to turn the brightness up on the TV

47′ Ok, K Dog is working pretty hard. I know he’s been a punchline for about 15 months know, but he’s doing ok. i expected worse. 

48′ Another corner for Inter...

49′ Ansaldi gets a yellow... he’s not having his best day out there.

50′ A nice ball from Suso that Paletta just can’t quite get to.... rebound goes to Jack who blasts a shot that gets deflected. Corner for us. We look alive. Bout time!

51′ Corner results in nothing at all... Handanovic is fired up... screaming at his back line.

51′ Donnarumma with a nice save on Candreva. After a long slow simmer this game is cracka lackin.

52′ Suso’s left foot fails him... another nice chance though.

52′ Absolutely no one picks up Candreva and he easily puts it in the corner for a goal. Locatelli is nowhere to be found. Paletta hangs back while Gomez is the only person that shows any haste to shut him down. Too late. 1-1.

54′ Let’s go get it back guys. Another set piece chance for Suso... it falls harmlessly. Still we are keeping the pressure up.

56′ Paletta with perhaps the worst strike I’ve ever seen... goes sideways ad out of bounds. At 1-1 we have a new game folks. let’s see who keeps the pressure up.

57′ Locatelli closes down quickly and blocks a shot... lesson learned. Good job kid. The job is a lot more about stopping goals than scoring them.

58′ SUSO! Bacca puts in some work, dishes it to Suso who switches over to the right, Miranda’s pants drop to the ground and the ball is slotted home. We’ve had 2 legit chances, they’ve both come through Suso and he has buried both of them. Bacca celebrates. We all celebrate. 2-1.

61′ Crazy back and forth... Donna with a big save... Suso smells the hat trick but is shut down by Miranda..... Credit to Inter, not backing down one bit

63′ Bacca back defending the back post.... um, park the bus much guys? NOT YET!

64′ Ansaldi could have had red there.... just threw down Suso... and Ninag is asking acts like a 2 year old... no idea how he doesn’t see yellow there. We are up 2-1 yet WE look like the team falling apart?

64′ NAGATOMO on for ANSALDI. No surprise there.

67′ 9 guys in the box and yet still Perisic finds an acre of space. But misses....

68′ Maybe it’s Niang that needs to come off. Just flopping around out there. If you are gonna park the bus, where’s our boy Poli?

70′ Kucka’s first touch is so bad..... he is not having a good day. If we are to improve, he needs replaced by a better starter. Meanwhile, Locatelli is getting better every game.

71′ Another Inter corner...... feels like 20.

73′ Very nervy right now..... lots of holes for bth teams but neither can finish right now. Kucka rockets a free kick off target..... 20 minutes to go and it feels like a lifetime

74′ Forgot to mention Mati came on..... this makes zero sense to me. I guess he’s our new Poli? Huh.  Also, this ref should be handing out yellows for delay of game. Niang has done it twice now and Mati once. Just play the game guys.

75′ Jovetic, who feels like he’s 35 but probably only 26 comes on for inter

76′ We just shouldn’t look this nervous and out of sorts while being up 2-1.

77′ Jack creates a steal, makes a nice run from deep, draws a yellow. He has been superb the last 30 minutes or so.

78′ Laps for Niang... THIS is a fine move coach!

83′ So much back and forth by both teams. Thank God for Donnarumma. Inter gonna kick themselves for SO many chances at the end of this game. Clear they have a ton of talent, just can’t stitch it together.

84′ Mati steps in to stop yet another run. A fine day for him so far. Not nearly as reckless as Poli.

86′ At least TRY and clear the ball up to Lapadula guys..... get it out. touches in our own box... BAD. Touches in the opponents box, GOOD!

88′ Why are we taking Jack from the field exactly? To get an applause? Stupid.

89′ Kucka with a nice bicycle clearance... and Inter comes right back down unchecked.

91′ sitting deep and praying.... Inter still probing.

92′ ABATE makes a play! He’s awake at the back post! It’s a Xmas miracle!!!

92′ He giveth and he taketh away.Someone has to watch the back post guys. Abate is ten yards off the line calling for offsides while Parasic puts it in the back of the net. For shit’s sake man, they give you the armband and that’s what we get? Humiliating. What a letdown.

93′ 2-2 final. The look on the Milan’s fans faces tell the tale. This feels like a loss. For Inter it has to feel like a win. Some questionable moves that Montella needs to answer for but overall the effort wasn’t there for 90 minutes. there was a solid 30 minute block in the middle where we really pressed but Inter owned much of the game. We had 2 chances and buried them. They had many 10. Both teams will feel like they should have won, but isn’t that how most draws feel?

Great job by Bonetti and Cordero. An entertaining game made even better by the folks at BeInSports.

Much more later,

Random thoughts from around the Milan universe 

- We are currently 3rd in the table behind only Roma and Juve and 4 points AHEAD of Napoli. Imagine that, huh? Of course every week is a chance to move up as well as slide back. Gotta keep the train rolling.

- We are dangerously paper thin right now. Other than some decent backups across the back line and Lapadula up top, we have no depth at all. If you consider Monty and Locatelli as one player, we’ve had 10 guys start at least 9 of our 12 games. It’s great that we’ve known our starting XI since day one but it also means we have zero depth at all. Injuries, cross your fingers/knock on wood, would be a real killer for us. Especially in the midfield. no one wants to see Honda, Poli or Sosa play everyday. There is some guy we signed last summer though.... for like 20 million I think..... anyone remember who that was? i’m a little fuzzy myself. 

- There seems to be some discussion about starting Bacca vs Lapadula this week. I think that’s crazy talk. Lapadula is fun, brings lots of energy and certainly is tough to play against, BUT he is nowhere near as technically gifted as Bacca. He has that quality you have to have in the final 3rd to finish scoring chances. Before the year I thought he was a luxury, and he might still be, but without him we are several points lower in the table. Keep in mind....

-Our Goal difference on the year is only +4. that’s the kind of goal difference that usually puts you near the middle of the table, not third. We are scraping along barely winning 1 goal games against some poor teams, but hey, that’s exactly what you need to in order to stay near the top. Finishing the limited chances we get is a must. 

-Let’s not be in any rush to put Romagnoli back in the lineup. If he’s hurt, fine. Start Gomez or Zapata. Give him an extra 6 days off before the next match. he’s far too valuable the rest of the year to force him on the pitch for this game. At the end of the day, this is no bigger than the next 2 games against Empoli and Crotone. I’d gladly take a draw or even a loss if you could assure me that we win the next 2. I think most of us remember Thaigo Silva’s injury after being rushed back for a meaningless Coppa Italia game. No way we want to go down that road again. 

-Speaking of injuries... when in the world are we gonna see Calabria back? It’s been almost 2 months since he’s played now yet he’s been called up for International duty twice. Weird, no? He played better than Abate in limited time yet has been sidelined ever since. I’m not sure what’s going, but don’t screw this up guys. I’m gonna keep pounding the drum for him til he either gets a chance again or is sold. 

-It’s nice to see all these quotes from old timers about how the club is going in the right direction. Nesta, Maldini, Ambrosini..... line forms to the left guys! Better than all that though was Abbiati’s quotes about last year:

“It’s not the name on the back of the shirt but the symbol on the chest that counts,” he said. “If last year some players didn’t understand this concept? More than not understanding, they were just unprofessional, so the club did very well to sell certain characters that didn’t want the good of Milan.

“As for me, even though I wasn’t playing, I was always available in training giving 100% when I was called into question. Instead, last year they were those who didn’t play and didn’t train well or argued and that’s not good for the group. I saw very little of such things in all my years at Milan.”

Hmmmmm.... maybe he’s talking about jackoffs like Mexes and Menez? Could be. In the beginning I was not a fan of Abbiati, especially his politics. As time has gone on though I love the guy. What a great servant to the club and true Milan man. He’s become one of my all time favorites in red and black, even though the keeper usually never wears those colors.

-Screw your neighbor is a card game by the way. Depending on where you are from you probably know it by a different name.

Love, peace and hair grease

Lisi

I hate your guts with all my heart.

Sincerely,

Every Milan Fan on Earth

Probable Line-up according to SKY:

Donnarumma;

Abate, Paletta, Romagnoli; De Sciglio;

Kucka, Locatelli, Pasalic;

Suso, Bacca, Bonaventura

Paletta is back which is good. Our regular backline is together again. All good. Niang is out with the flu... or maybe just needs a day off. No matter. The youth revolution continues with Palasic taking Jacks spot while Jack moves up to fill Niang’s shoes. I worry about Jack being up top and how well Palasic will be able to handle his role. It could be a drag on our whole formation and stretch us too far. We shall see.

Let’s hope Montella has learned a little more about who he can use and who he can’t use. A win here and we remain top 3 headed into yet another international break.

Join us, won’t you?

Milan did that and everyone is having a giant meltdown. You’d think we fell apart and crashed and burned like we did against Genoa on Tuesday or at home against Udinese earlier this year. Nope. Did we play great? Nope. Did we get 3 points? Yup and we are currently third, 2 spots ahead of Napoli and 9 spots in front of SHInTer. Nuff said. 

Rather than write a few sentences on each, I’ll sum up the whole game in one 30 second span. Around the 50th minute Pescara had a nice break and Abate used his speed to race all the back and stop the play, then we broke back the other way only to have Suso mistime a cross and then Pescara broke back again, Abate fell asleep at the back post only to have the Pescara cross float weakly over their players head and out for a goal kick. 

That’s the way the whole game felt.... big plays followed by maddening mistakes only to be followed by another mistake and then Donnarumma bailing us out. Rinse and repeat.

Screw it... a few thoughts on each. 

There can’t possibly be a keeper in better form making his team better than DONNARUMMA is right now. i wouldn’t trade him for any other keeper on Earth right now. Without him we are Inter.

Thank God ABATE still has some of his speed.... it papers over a lot of cracks in his game. Credit where credit is due he has been better of late, but Calabria is the future. It is interesting though how he has always gotten a free pass from folks while Monty was Crucified on a weekly basis. More or less the same player. 

GOMEZ had his best game for us so far. He still wants to pass and play from the back more than i am comfortable with. I’d like to see him carry more.

2 of the best scoring chances Pescara had came from ROMAGNOLI and DESCIGLIO sitting back inside the 18 too far. A 3rd was barely offside. Those 2 work well together but they have to move up their line further. If it weren’t for Donnarumma I’d be here roasting these 2. 

The goal aside, JACK was vice MOTM the match behind Donnarumma. Passing, moving, shooting... everything. he’s probably been the biggest benefactor of Montella’s tweak to our system. Niang being in front of him and DeSciglio making runs gives him all sorts of time and space. The result? 4 shots this game and 3 on target. If you follow this blog at all you know my biggest pet peeve are shots launched into space that result in goal kicks. Jack having more time and space means less hurried shots... and this is good.

After looking a little lost on Tuesday and getting pressured by Genoa all night LOCATELLI looked better. He doesn’t need to be great, just effective.

Other than one really nice cross i can’t say much good or bad about SOSA. I do think that spot requires a little more steel though.

SUSO needed a better showing and he got it. Whether it’s crossing os shooting, that left foot of his is fantastic.

BACCA is gonna file this away in the trash can, but that is life for a poacher. Some days you are the hero and others the goat. I can understand him not wanting to come off, that HAS TO BE a poachers mentality.... you are always one more moment away from scoring.

I know NIANG Has his critics, especially one around here, but he works hard. He holds up play, drags defenders around and most importantly makes space for Jack and Bacca to operate. Good job kid. 

PALASIC played! he looked fine. Certainly not in over his head. I don’t see why we can’t see some late cameos from him to spell Jack late on.

I think MONTELLA learned a lot from these past 2 games are far as who he needs to rotate, who can fill in when needed and who can’t. it sucks it took a loss to Genoa to learn some of these things but there are still more growing pains to go through. 

-We still managed to get 9 points from 4 games over 15 days. I’ll take that every time no matter who the opponents are.

-If you followed the drinking rules Niang and Suso would have had you under the table by halftime

- We took 19 shots and put 9 on target. Jack put 3 of 4 on target. Shots on target mean pressure for the keeper and that is good. shots off target mean goal kicks, which drive me crazy. Its great to see improvement in this area.

-Life is so much better when Inter are spending mountains of money and still a rudderless ship.

Cheers!

Despite a complete disaster on Tuesday it’s time to pull up the bootstraps and get back to work. No word yet on potential lineups, but you can certainly expect Abate and Suso to start. Most of the rest of the regulars should be out there. 

The big question will be who replaces Paletta at CB. Will it be Lazarus ‘Higuain Killer’ Zapata or Gustavo Gomez? Zapata hasn’t played in a game since last season for us and just got cleared. That leaves Gomez as the likely starter. He has started 2 games so far this year we have conceded a whopping 7 goals in those starts, 4 when partnered with Romagnoli and 3 next to Paletta. Sure he’s had some good appearances as a sub, but that’s kind of grasping for straws. Myself if I knew Zapata was 100% I’m starting him. Your call Cousin Vinny.

+/- Update for the season:

Donnarumma +2

Gomez -3, DeSciglio E, Antonelli +1, Romagnoli +1, Calabria +2, Abate +4, Paletta +6

Locatelli +5, Kucka +3, Jack +2, Sosa E, Monty -1, Honda -2, Poli -3

Niang +5, Bacca +5, Suso +2, Lapadula -1, Adriano -3

I decided to add Donnarumma for 2 reasons:

1) Right now his number tells you our overall goal differential until another keeper plays

2) When and if another keeper does play, you will be able to see the difference between them

Drinking game for the match on Sunday against Pescara:

- When Jack or Suso launches a shot off target... they have combined for 35 so far

- When Abate loses his man at the back post... because it will happen at least once

- Any mention at all of China, Fassone, takeovers, money, potential owners, a revolution or the January window

- Any time Niang or Suso put in a cross with their left foot (if you want to be smashed by the half) or their right foot (if you want to remain stone sober)

- Every time DeSciglio takes a throw in... he leads the team

- If former Milan players Alberto Aquilani or Bryan Cristante should score... THE CURSE.....heck if Pescara should score at all..... have you seen their roster? Campagnaro, Bizarri and Pepe are older than me!

-If your name is Gianfranco you down a Peroni every 5 minutes.... just on general principle.... because that’s what you do...

BONUS: Any time the announcers bring up Romagnoli or Donnarumma being attached to Chelsea..... feel free to chug whatever you can get your hands on....

Game is at 10am EST Sunday morning and the replay is on Sunday night at 7pm EST on BeInSports.

Cheers! 

Lisi

PS: Teen Rockett is never allowed to do a gameday thread as a fan post ever again. THAT is what happened on Tuesday. It’s all HIS fault. 

Oh boy.... you’d swear that we showed up for this game still drunk from Saturday night... telling stories about how on Tuesday we were gonna PLAY FOR FIRST PLACE... and be TOP OF THE LEAGUE!! Well, as we all know, the rules say you actually have to show up and win the game. And we did neither....

As usual a sentence or two on each and some thoughts at the end

DONNARUMMA finally had a bit of a clunker. No way to fault him 100% on any of the goals, certainly not the first, but each of the last 2 he will feel that he could have done better on. He was due for a clunker.

POLI sucks. There’s really no way around it. He played barely 30 minutes against Juve on Saturday and almost got tossed. Yesterday he combined with Honda on one of our patented ‘fall asleep at the back post’ conceded goals. They both, in unison, got caught ball watching while their guys slid past them. Honestly, either could have scored. Get a body on the guy. Grab a shirt. Do SOMETHING!!!! 

PALETTA is the embodiment of the team so far this season.... started off terrible with a red in the opener against Torino (though we did win that game) .... proceeded to play 7 games where we only conceded 5 goals, scored a shocker against Sassuolo and looked like the answer to all our prayers!! Then yesterday he decided to film a FIFA instructional video on how to earn a red card in 3 easy steps. That tackle was indefensible. Holy crap. He’s fine for now, I’m glad we have him. he’s a step above Alex. For us to improve though, he will need replaced after this season though. He’s 2014-2015 Monty. Monty did a job for us at DM last year, but you can see that spot needs an upgrade for us to take the next step.

ROMAGNOLI..... I really, really, REALLY wanna pretend yesterday didn’t happen and so does he I’m sure. He’s 21 and we were reminded of that yesterday. The good thing is that he gets a chance to take the field again this weekend. We still love you Nesta Jr.

DESCIGLIO... I’m sure you’re sensing a theme here... but he wasn’t that bad! He and Jack have solidified things down their flank. He could have and should have stood more firm on the second goal. Sometimes he just lets guys get too deep before standing his ground. Lesson learned hopefully. 

JACK also had a decent game. The left side of our team used to be the weak spot with Antonelli wandering too much and Jack being forced to cover all the time. Our whole shape used to sag that way and it killed us. Now that side is clearly our ‘strong’ side to use an American football term. If there can be a MOTM in a 3-0 loss, he was it.

LOCATELLI..... yup. This was the game we saw coming. Up til this game we had scored a whopping 9 goals with him on the field and conceded 1 for a whopping +8 goal differential. Amazing, remarkable.... and not sustainable. He had a terrible time identifying who to pick up and was always a step late. He’s 18. 

KUCKA, KUCKA, KUCKA..... He’s kinda like the Green Lantern. When he can impose his will, get away with some questionable tackles and bomb up and down the field with abandon he is great. If he has the game taken too him early, he gets frustrated, allows opponents into his head he is in trouble. Confidence is key for him. Genoa had him wrapped around their fingers yesterday. Heck, they had our whole team frustrated. It certainly didn’t help him to have Honda in front of him and Poli behind.

HONDA... have we sold him yet? No? Why? Sure he has stretches of decent play here and there but he needs to go. His time here overall has been a failure. The right side of our team was complete shit storm with poor Kucka sandwiched between the two compete turn tornadoes. Gross.

BACCA... and this is why folks can get frustrated with poachers. When they don’t score they feel worthless. Not a special night for the Colombian. Odd Lapadula didn’t get a run out... seemed the perfect spot for him. He’s a ‘Tuesday night street fight away to Genoa’ kind of guy.

NIANG got sucked in almost immediately to Genoa’s mind games. If you would have asked me early on who would get a red for us, I would have said him. He was getting tangled up and poked and prodded all night. Also, looked the most tired of all of them. Barzagli put him through the ringer on Saturday.

MONTELLA really crapped the bed with his subs and he’d probably say so. Honda should have come off first, not Bacca. Then you yank Honda off for Adriano? That felt like a like for like waste of a sub. then last you bring on Suso for Niang? Sometimes everything you do comes up roses and other times everything you do goes wrong. That’s how the football world goes. Again, at least there’s another game in 4 days!

- I’m no lover of Abate, but Poli at RB was disgusting. There has to be another option. Is Calabria STILL hurt? It’s been a month now since he played and watching these other 2 is downright painful.

- Diego Laxalt is really good. He was one to watch going into this game and then we show up and send Honda and Poli out there. he must have felt like he was on easy street.

-Locateli is gonna need more help in the midfield when we play teams that crowd him in. Jack did good but Kucka and the guys on the right let him and all the rest of us down. Credit to Genoa though. They beat our press repeatedly.

-There were all conflicting reports going into this game on how and who we were gonna start. Poli was in and then Abate was in. Honda was in then he wasn’t and then he was. The one thing I was really excited about was them possible going with a 352 or 343, kinda like they finished the game on Saturday. It could have looked something like this:

Gomez-Paletta-Romagnoli

Abate-Kucka-Locatelli-Jack-DeSciglio

Lapadula-?????

Sadly we didn’t get that. I don’t know what the hell we got. Your move Montella.

Cheers,