AC Milan general spiel

[stefano]

[maro]

[vtec]

the problem with pneumatic bolts is that they damage the brains, making it difficult for the brain to later be sold as cervelles in french supermarkets. so clubbing them to death is preferable, especially since it softens up the brain, making it a prime salad ingredient.

[RobHood]

[RomaShield27]

[p_maldini_3]

not sure if anybody watched todays game, but we played a lot better than the preseason friendlies suggest. we didn't get much width from the fullbacks, but im guessing that leonardo told them to play conservative unless necessary.

nesta is amazing; i wouldn't have minded if he became the next captain of the team (over ambro, rino and pirlo) because he has all the qualities required for it. but watching him play is an absolute honor.

ronaldinho played well, above average for his [milan] standards, but still is a little lethargic in running into space; lets hope he works on that.

above all, i can't remember the last time we won the opening game of the season, so lets hope its a good omen for whatever may come.

[RomaShield27]

So this is what the row after the final whistle last night was all about. I didn't know what was going on there when watching it. Seems like Siena are overreacting to me.

Siena Players Blast Milan's Alexandre Pato For 'Lack Of Respect'
The Bianconeri captain has been left fuming at the attitude of 'the Duck' last night...

www.Goal.com – 23 Aug 2009 10:31:58

There were fractious scenes at Artemio Franchi after the final whistle last night, and a number of Siena players have criticised Milan hero Alexandre Pato for his role in the Rossoneri's 2-1 win. The 19-year-old insisted that he did a trick with the ball, but opposition players felt that the Milan star was goading them and tempers boiled over at full time.

"OK, he is Brazilian but he can't make fun of us like that," Simone Vergassola told Sky Sport Italia after the game. "He can do what he wants with his legs, but then if he adds his tongue and signs with his hands to say 'come and get it', then that is too much - it is a lack of respect."

The captain's feelings were echoed by left-back Cristiano Del Grosso, who told Pato that he needs to grow up. "You can see that Pato needs still to improve, because his conduct was not that of a mature professional," the 26-year-old added.

[The MAN]

Agreed, Nesta was at his majestic best and when he's like that, he's the no.1 defender in the world bar none. Him coming back is probably the biggest improvement for us over last year at a time when most of the changes we underwent actually are in the wrong direction...my only concern with Nesta is that he, unlike the other veterans, looks so motivated that he's pushing himself really hard and might break down again....I really hope not though

Thiago Silva is a solid addition but there's still more time for us before passing a final judgement....I like what Leo is doing given what he has, which is very little. Flamini is a must in midfield and Rino/Ambro should fight for the other spot. Ronaldinho, while not at his best, was decisive and I hope he shows consistency moving forward but I remain suspicious. Pato was on song and hopefully he can form a good partnership with Huntelaar upfront.

We absolutely need a fullback though and it needs to be a LB more than a RB IMO as we have plenty of right-footed players who can play as fullbacks. I was not impressed with either Zambro or specially Janku but they can both be very useful for us...BF says we can only sign a fullback if Oddo is shipped so lets hope that happens sooner rather than later

[Amedio]

[SuperPippo9]

anyone see paloschi today? the kid looked good, awsome 1st goal. Hopefully we didnt give Parma a cheap buyout clause like gourcouff. Is he co-owned or just loaned out?

[RobHood]

Pretty sure it's just a loan; think we've earmaked him as a direct replacement for Inzaghi. Didn't watch him play but it's impressive that he keeps scoring.

Hugely relieved that Nesta appears to be close to his best again but even more so that Thiago has turned out to be quite the buy. We've long needed a hard man in defence, one of those "you shall not pass" sort of guys and its an added bonus that he's pretty good technically as well.

I'm catiously optimistic of Dinho's performance for us - he showed a will to win and even fight for the ball. Hopefully we will be competitive this season on one front at least so that he remains motivated.

[p_maldini_3]

[RobHood]

Once I read Fiorentina were interested in De Silvestri I knew we had next to no chance of signing him. They have money and are ready to spend which we can't/won't compete with now.
Sucks about Paloschi; still 6m for a replacement for Inzaghi shouldn't be asking too much; never know with us. We could always give them Borriello though.
Not too disappointed if we land Faubert; he should still be an improvement on our current FB's.

[RomaShield27]

Quiet here in the Milan thread, huh. I guess your all just shitting it cos your playing Inter at the weekend and know Mourinho's men are going to tear yis another a-hole, right?


Berlusconi's frugal policy gets Milan derby test
Thu Aug 27, 2009 11:00am BST

ROME, Aug 27 – Owner Silvio Berlusconi's policy of putting faith in AC Milan's existing players rather than opening his wallet for fresh talent faces a stiff test in Saturday's derby against Serie A champions Inter Milan (1845 GMT). Some Milan fans called on the Italian premier to sell up after seeing their best player Kaka join Real Madrid in the close season with the only major buy being Dutch forward Klaas-Jan Huntelaar moving in the opposite direction.

Saturday's impressive 2-1 win at Siena on the opening day gave credence to Berlusconi's argument that there was no need to splash out when the club already had plenty of big names looking to prove their worth after two disappointing seasons. Ronaldinho responded to Berlusconi's calls to show he could make up for Kaka's loss by inspiring both of the goals scored by his 19-year-old Brazilian compatriot Alexandre Pato.

"We have a 29-member squad. We can field two quality teams with champions others can only envy us," Berlusconi said on Italian television this week. "I wouldn't swap Ronaldinho with anyone I know, even though he is 29".

One area of concern before the season was that the signing of American defender Oguchi Onyewu, who came as a free agent from Standard Liege, was not enough to reinforce a back-line weakened by captain Paolo Maldini's retirement.

However, new coach Leonardo has Alessandro Nesta back from a year out with a back problem and Thiago Silva is now available for selection.

The Brazilian could not play last season after moving from Fluminense in January because Milan already had their full quota of non-EU signings and the understanding the two centre-backs displayed in Siena gave cause for optimism. "He's a great player. Together we can form a really good partnership," Nesta told the club's in-house TV channel.

But Inter, who beat Milan twice in pre-season friendly contests, will pose a bigger challenge than Siena and Nesta was quick to warn against the danger of Milan letting the good start go to their heads. "It was a good performance and a good result but we have to be consistent," he said. "We're just at the beginning."

Inter boss Jose Mourinho is already under pressure after the champions were held 1-1 by promoted Bari last weekend. Wesley Sneijder is set to sign from Real Madrid, which should add creativity missing against Bari, but Mourinho may not want to throw the Netherlands midfielder into a derby in his first match, even if the deal is completed in time.

In the weekend's other big game, Juventus, who started their league campaign with a 1-0 win over Chievo Verona, on Sunday visit AS Roma (1600), who lost 3-2 at Genoa.

[The MAN]

[vtec]

[Amedio]

[vtec]

[red]

[jawad]