There’s been a lot of turmoil this season with Milan and everyone has their perspective as to why this is the case. These reasons have ranged from poor squad reinforcements, Pioli not being good enough, or fill-in-the-blank player not doing what he should be doing.
So, we thought we’d ask a few of our favorite Milanisti out there to give us their take on what’s going on with Milan, even getting Fossa writers AviA and TR to knock off some rust and share their thoughts as well. Here’s what everyone had to say.
Q1: Rarely is it just one thing causing a bad run of form. So, out of all the issues you think are plaguing the team, what’s the biggest/most important one that comes to mind?
Joe Baccellieri: Team lethargy since the Roma game. This team is not a team meant to sit in a low block and play slow possession. They are at their best when they play a mid to high block which lets their centerbacks step in front and anticipate. Which allows for midfielders and other higher placed position players transition to defense. For whatever reason, the transition to defense has been lacking…which prompted the switch to the 3 man backline (awful btw), which has subsequently stymied the offensive phase while also leaking goals. It’s not a formation issue, it is personnel choices and effort. In conclusion…it’s Pioli’s fault.
Sabrina Belmonte: I think it all boils down to a hangover from winning the scudetto last season. Everyone in the group was giving their all for the scudetto and I think once they achieved that, the focus and determination waned whether they intended that or not.
AviA: I have to think its the squad. I’m totally at a loss to explain the drop in the players. As much as I want to blame Pioli, the players seemed to have hit a high after the scudetto and the hunger just isn’t there, watching them get turned over and run into dead ends on the pitch is starting to grind my gears. The squad don’t have the same hunger as last year.
TR: It is honesty tough to pick just one but I’m going with midfield. The Tonali-Bennacer combination doesn’t provide adequate defensive coverage; they’re both players who chase possession and try to close down markers. Our worst losses (minus the Sassuolo thrashing) have been with this pairing in the midfield. Too boot, whatever offensive advantage you think these two would have over another pairing hasn’t yielded anything. The Krunic inclusion in midfield provides more stability as he displays more discipline, but struggles to link up with the attack and control possession. Struggles is actually a generous description, so I’ll support my argument a little more by saying it is incapable of integrating anything in the buildup or transition and thus, you need to rely on individual brilliance or manufacturing for goals. The attack is a problem not far behind, but the lack of either a midfielder with Kessie’s attributes to pair in the pivot, or an attacking midfielder that can drop deep, defend, and distribute with range, keeps this midfield vulnerable and imbalanced.
gillis: You’ve all heard me complain about what’s going on here, ad nauseum, so I’ll keep this pretty short: lots of reasons for the current form but I think the club has lost its focus. The players are having WAY too many mental mistakes and the concentration just isn’t there. I think this is a pre-game/practice issue that bleeds over into the games and so needs to be corrected there, on the practice pitch.
Lisi: Despite the look of things I think the attack is fine. Everyone is on last year’s pace. This is also the period last year that Leão blew up. Maignan is world class. The defense is in flux but has the right pieces and just needs time. My beef is with the midfield. Tonali has taken a step back after a rapid progression all year last year. Bennacer is just kinda the same. Maybe not a step back but certainly step sideways. He flatters to become top notch but then vanishes for long stretches. As I mentioned the other day those 2 have combined for 3 goals in over 5000 minutes. That’s Banter era levels from our mids. Pobega has 2 in 794. Not saying Pobega is better but he’s different. We need some different. We really need that third player to mix things up. Too bad he’s at Barcelona now.
Q2: Has Pioli lost the team or has the team lost itself?
Joe Baccellieri: Pioli has not lost the team. He has obviously earned the player’s respect and trust; and he has always been an honest communicator with the players. Sometimes, cycles come to their natural conclusion. Some coaches only have a certain level they can get to…Pioli has obviously been able to win as a hunter. It’s a lot tougher to win when you are now being hunted. Pioli has always lacked some tactical chops; and if you are going to be a baller on a budget like Milan plan to be…then you better make sure your “system” so to speak is plug and play a la De Zerbi, Spalletti. Not something that predicates players taking a year or two to acclimate into (see CDk, Adli, Vrankx). You need to put these new players in obvious easy situations and he has failed to get them involved.
Sabrina Belmonte: I don’t think Pioli has lost the team, I think the team has lost itself. Nothing seems to be clicking and I don’t think that can be pinned solely on one person.
AviA: Similar to above, I think the squad overall have lost their mojo and Pioli doesn’t really know how to fix it. I did mention in the preseason piece that one of Piolis new tasks post-scudetto was getting a team to do it all over again after having clinched the title and this would a learning experience for him. I do recall that part of the old Milan Lab had a section that dealt hand & eye coordination and mental strength and expect that they should look into have a sports psychologist come along and look this squad over.
TR: I don’t think it is either. I think the team appreciates and respects Pioli. I haven’t heard anything but praise for him from the players and he did spearhead a campaign that punched far above its weight last year. I think the problem is manifold and involves shortcomings in a number of areas across the club and isn’t really indicative of deeper issues between the coach and players. It is very clear that a number of players have palpably regressed in their roles under the new system, but I don’t see that as evidence that the relationship between Pioli and the squad is frayed, or that players have lost ambition. I really can’t stress enough how important Kessie was to this team’s success not just last year but for the majority of the time he spent in red and black.
This is a little off the topic, but by my estimation Pioli’s probably hit his ceiling without significantly better options. But there is no excuse for the performances over the last three months: 4-3-5, 15 points out of 36, and outscored 21-15. Ultimately a team coming off a scudetto should be performing significantly better and at the end of the day the buck stops at the coach.
gillis: Neither, but I do think Pioli has lost some of his effectiveness in getting the players to adhere to what he is trying to get them to do. This international break COULD be coming at the perfect time to finish off the season strong or it could be more of the same and this break doesn’t matter. Maintaining focus after a winning campaign is always difficult and Pioli is learning this on the fly.
Lisi: I’m gonna go with the team. We ran back the same group from last year. It worked for a minute. Then Maignan got hurt and then it didn’t. Pioli tried to show confidence by sticking with it but ultimately relented. Credit to Pioli he didn’t just change a starter or 2. He changed the whole formation, benched the captain (Calabria) and introduced a new player at CB at MID SEASON. The change made sense and it worked. Then we got Maignan back. We advanced in CL. It looked like we were in the clear! And now it’s floundering again. I’m sorry, this isn’t on Pioli.
Q3: After a brief defensive renaissance we are a sieve again. How can that be AND what changes could be done remedy it with the pieces current available?
Joe Baccellieri: Switch back to a 4 man backline with Kalulu at RB(Calabria needs to never see the field again), Thiaw and Tomori as the centerback pairing. Go to a 3 man midfield by adding Diaz as a mezzala (if Luis Alberto can play in 3 man midfield for Lazio alongside SMS and Cataldi, Diaz can do the same) since you need an extra body to make up for Kessie missing. It also allows Tonali to play in a mezzala role which is his better role. Would bring more balance and strength to the midfield; and allow CDK and Leão to play out wide. Then get back to playing a higher press with more intensity when possession is lost.
Sabrina Belmonte: After a brief defensive renaissance we are a sieve again. How can that be AND what changes could be done remedy it with the pieces current available? King Krunić! When he was filling in for Bennacer he did an excellent job helping out the defense and we’ve missed his presence since Bennacer returned to the lineup. Going forward we need to play with three midfielders and Krunić needs to be one of them.
AviA: Really ragging on the backline here but I’m at a total loss as to what the issue here is and how they fix it. If the players stay like this we need new blood as our shoddy defense has really been costly this season.
TR: I could talk for hours analyzing how best to balance this setup, but truth be told, there is no solution. We simply don’t have the quality or the attributes needed to play in either the 4-2-3-1 or 3-4-3 but I think to keep it brief, Pioli needs an extra midfielder. Teams are steamrolling the midfield because when Rade isn’t in there, there isn’t that counterweight deep in our third. And when he is, Brahim doesn’t have the attributes to compensate for what is sacrificed offensively by Krunic as a deeper mid. This isn’t really a swipe at Brahim, he is what he is and as much as I critique it isn’t his fault, but it is very clear we need someone who better serves as that link and provide more effective cover for a pivot. Thus, maybe try a 4-3-3. But Lord, the midfield and attack just have so many limitations that I don’t really see a way out tactically.
gillis: With Milan back to full health I want to see them go back to the 4-2-3-1 with Kalulu at RB and a traffic cone at RW, and most importantly, back to the high press/high line Pioli used to win the Scudetto. The better balance in the midfield and Leão providing a threat and being out wide will impact the defense by providing the opponent something to worry about regarding Milan’s attack, which hasn’t been happening since the switch to the 3-man backline and has allowed opponents to overrun both the defense and the midfield with numbers.
Lisi: I kind of touched on this above following the midyear change. I think what we are seeing the last few games is some newly found OVER confidence. It worked perfectly in CL. It was compact and simple. We weren’t taking any chances. Now we come back to the league and it’s kind of scattered again. Tomori is running around like a headless chicken. Thiaw is chasing shadows leaving huge gaps behind him. Meanwhile Kalulu is looking at both of them like WHAT Y’ALL DOIN??? That’s leaving the midfield trying to plug a million holes. It’s unbalancing the whole thing.
Q4: What is going on with Leão? Is it really just tactics? Is it more?
Joe Baccellieri: Pioli needs to move him back out wide. Leão also needs to get back to his bread and butter…eviscerating souls by overtaking them to the byline. He has gotten a bit too obsessed with cutting in and shooting from distance for some reason. It’s the Lorenzo Insigne lazy approach. Get out wide and cook, plain and simple.
Sabrina Belmonte: There has to be some off the pitch issues affecting him. The easy explanation is that the contract talks are affecting him but it could be anything. His heart just doesn’t seem to be in it.
AviA: Leão? I say SELL! I’m actually don’t care what his issue is but if we can land a fat paycheck then take it and run and use the money for a new Tomori & Kessie getting injected into the squad.
TR: Probably tactics, but he is also just in terrible, terrible form.
gillis: Tactics or him not being where he’s supposed to be, as it’s hard to tell with us not being privy to what’s being said during practice. Either way, whether through formation change or coaching, gotta get him back out wide on the left with his heels on the sideline. This alone will solve most of the issues plaguing this bad run of form.
Lisi: He was league MVP last year but only had 11 goals. Not 20 or 30 or 40. ELEVEN. He never scored more than once in any game. He also had 10 assists, 5 of which came in the last 3 games. He was the best player on the league winner. Well, maybe the best. Giroud had just as many goals in 800 less minutes. Honestly he’s probably the same guy as last year, we just aren’t in first. This ‘fall off’ is mostly media lunkheads that didn’t pay attention to what he actually did on the field last year. He still scores in moments of brilliance which leave large periods of terrible body language and lots of walking. It’s that stuff that’s pissing me off. That needs to change and quick. This team NEEDS him to have a big finish.
Q5: Final question: We know Milan won’t start splurging, and that includes a coach’s salary, so if Milan does move on from Pioli who would you realistically like to see replace him?
Left to Right: De Zerbi, Sarri, Italiano, Pochettino, Juric, Dionisi, and Palladino
Joe Baccellieri: Milan need to go all in for De Zerbi…if that’s not happening, then bring in Sarri or Italiano.
Sabrina Belmonte: To be honest I don’t know who would even be a realistic option when you consider who is available and our budget constraints. If they do part with Pioli I hope they have someone lined up who is tactically astute and is able to develop young players.
AviA: Take someone from one of the German clubs IMO as I think they will have the same level of expectations. I hear the Bayern coach might be available? 😀
TR: Pochettino or De Zerbi, but neither are super realistic. There is a dearth of coaches for where we are at right now in our project. He’d most likely bomb, but I do like Vincenzo Italiano. It wouldn’t be a risk I’d be comfortable taking, but the way Fiore played last year overlaps a lot with the pieces we have.
gillis: I’m inclined to go with Italiano as the “most realistic” but my first choice would be Sarri. Sarri would need some time to implement his philosophy and get players that can do it, whereas I think Italiano could come in and work with what’s there more readily. That being said, I still think Pioli is the best option at the moment and a top 4 finish and with what they’ve already done in CL warrants his return.
Lisi: First of all I don’t think he’s going anywhere. The guy is pulling every lever at his disposal to keep things on course. We are in 4th and in the final 8 of the CL? That feels pretty on course. If he were to go what realistic options are there? I’d say Juric and Dionisi are realistic options. Juric plays a very similar low block, counter attacking system. Dionisi is a guy used to having to adjust on the fly and work in newer players. If I had to look long term I’d look at Palladino at Monza. Maybe in 2-3 years he’s ready for something like this.
Wrap Up
Big thanks to everyone who contributed, loved hearing what everyone had to say and especially to our guests. I’ll share their info below regarding social media and/or where else you can find them.
Thanks again! Forza Milan.
gillis
*Joe Baccellieri can occasionally be found on Twitter, firing back when someone spouts pure calcio or Milan cazz, or when Kay Murray of ESPN and the CalcioCast pod lovingly reads a question from Joey Bach…
*Sabrina Belmonte is on Twitter and blogs as well, although as you’ll see in her PFP on Twitter, she has other priorities rightfully occupying her time…
*Frank Crivello is also on Twitter and hosts the Serie A Sitdown podcast/stream and can be found on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts