Hey everyone! The international break. Yay? Usually these suck but with Milan reeling and stumbling out of the gate it’s probably a good thing. Of course in previous seasons this break would have come after round 2, which surely would’ve been welcome this season, instead Milan had to play a third game while not clicking before the break and the result has been a very disappointing and somewhat alarming 2 points in 3 games.
So, with the extra time this week and the alarming start, I spoke to Lisi and reached out to our old friend TR to get their takes on what’s going on at Milan. I chime in a little but what follows below is our conversation, lightly edited. Enjoy!
Alright, everyone has their theories so let’s start off with the $64000 question: what’s wrong with Milan?
Michael Lisi: Same shit as last year… we can’t defend. We can’t track runners through the midfield. Our right back is an abortion. now compound that with Theo not even trying and it’s a complete disaster. Our CBs are trying to do the job of 6 men and that’s impossible. Magic Mike is damn near sanding on his head and we are still giving up 2 goals a game. This is 3 straight years the defense has taken a step back. It’s a complete disaster back there.
TR: Oh man. How much time we got, lol.
Obviously enough blame to go around but is it mostly a fullback problem or the double pivot?
Michael Lisi: Midfield first. Fullbacks second. CBs last for me.
TR: On the pitch I agree with Mike. The larger problem is management. It’s not a poorly run club; there are enough competent people to keep it profitable and semi-competitive but we’ve squandered what could have been a pretty successful 2 to 4 year window following the scudetto and that’s largely because the sporting directors and management groups have demonstrated pretty poor judgment.
For instance, we never sell on time. Bennacer is the most recent example and next summer we will probably be saying the same thing about Theo and Thiaw.
I completely understand this response in the larger picture. How does it relate to what we’ve seen the first 3 games of the season?
Michael Lisi: We never adequately replaced Kessie or Kjær. Last spring I thought Gabbia was great down the stretch and now he seems to be the 5th option. I just think it’s a circus back there.
TR: The first three games are mostly on Fonseca. And he probably isn’t the type of coach that can handle big personalities. Ideally he’s probably a better fit in a smaller league or a smaller team. But I guess that speaks to the decision to bring in a coach that isn’t cut out for a stage this big or to manage a squad that has been really been stuck in the same gear for 2 years.
Even though I think we have a collection of players that have regressed or stagnated in terms of growth, we have more talent than Lazio, Torino, and Parma. The coach probably sucks.
I do feel kinda bad for him. I feel like anyone with half a footballing brain knew this had a really good chance of going south.
Ok, so what do you think is the simplest change Fonseca can make during this international break to get things moving in the right direction?
TR: Probably quit.
Gil, you’re gonna hate me for this but it’s either move away from the 4-2-3-1 or stop playing so damn high. And stop with the weird lineup selections.
gillis15: As you’ve alluded to (LOL), I’ve been very vocal about staying in a 4-2-3-1 but I love the idea of getting out of the high line. Doesn’t have to be parking the bus but it could help protect a very leaky backline and heck, even Calabria would be serviceable if Royal continues to disappoint.
TR: Yep. We have runners. Try some counter attacking football. It’s kinda crazy. We fired Pioli and then hired a coach that pretty much has all the same deficiencies but has the added value of alienating the locker room.
gillis15: Fonseca is reminding me of coach Josh McDaniels, Bill Belichick protege (of the New England Patriots), who went to Denver Broncos, butted heads with all of the Bronco stars (Culter, Marshall), who he ended up trading away for peanuts, and subsequently the team sucked and he got fired during his second season. So the Broncos were terrible, missed the playoffs, and were devoid of talent that took years to cover from.
Just chest puffing, big ego bullshit, “I’m going to win without my stars and let them know IM IN CHARGE”.
TR: I don’t get what he’s doing. To be frank, Leão and Theo are probably acting like assholes but JFC dude. That gamble not only had to pay off but you had to win resoundingly. So dumb
Michael Lisi: Totally agree with this being on Fonseca. He looks out of his depth and always has that Giampaolo/deer in the headlights look when things go wrong. The lineup choices make no sense (RLC every game?) and the subs are downright bizarre. One thing I will give Pioli credit for, he was the sub and rotation master most nights. The high line? FUCK OFF. Also whatever is going on behind the scenes is all bad and certainly isn’t helping the cause.
gillis15: Agree 100%.
Some people out there (blogs, podcasts, streams) wait to give season predictions until after the mercato closes. While I understand that, and it makes sense to wait to see the full composition of the team, it also gives you some insight on where the teams actually are and how they start the season because real games that count get played. This season started a week earlier than normal so we got an extra game in as well. So, two questions. The first: based on what we’ve seen so far, will Milan finish in the top 4?
Michael Lisi: I still have no doubt we will finish top 4. The only other teams I would totally assume are top 4 are Juve and Inter. Inter are the best team. no doubt. Juve are Juve and the league will make sure they are fine. Yeah, i said it. The rest is wide open. Atalanta is in for an overhaul. Same with Roma who are in deep transition. Napoli I won’t truly believe until the first of the year. I thought Fiorentina might be the surprise but maybe not. Torino is intriguing as hell.
Josh McDaniels can go to hell by the way.
Also, anyone that waits ’til 3 games into the year to make predictions is a pussy. Half these clowns believed in Roma 3 weeks. Now I imagine no one is gonna ride that bandwagon.
TR: It is going to be tough. I think the title race will be between Inter and Juve. Roma have improved and Atalanta always find a way to make things tough. I’m also of the mind Napoli hang in the fight. Right now, I don’t think we finish above all of them but it’s so early in the season.
Question two…and me asking this is deliberate based on the fact that some people wait to give predictions: who do you have as your top 7 now and who are your 3 getting relegated?
TR:
1. Inter
2. Juve
3. Roma
4. Napoli
5. Milan
6. Atlanta
7. Torino
Relegated:
18. Cagliari
19. Como
20. Venezia
Michael Lisi: Inter, Milan, Juve, Atalanta… Napoli, Lazio, Roma, Torino, Fiorentina…Cagliari, Como, Venezia get relegated.
Inter are the best team…then the next 3…Then about 8 points and then the next 5 are all closely bunched. Venezia and Como stink and any team that hires EDF (Cagliari) is just cursed. I think that’s pretty similar to what I said a few weeks ago
TR: Venezia are terrible.
Michael Lisi: All the hype around Como bringing in all these old timers was such a joke. Clowns all over the place acting like they were gonna finish top 10. This is one of the many reasons I hate the way the league is covered in this country. We treat it like a joke when the rest of the world takes it far more seriously.
Ok, final question: Marco Giampaolo had 6pts after 3 games and 9pts after 7 games, after which he was fired. Fonseca is at 2pts after 3 games and has Venezia, Inter, Lecce, and Fiorentina to reach 7 games in league play (and Liverpool and Leverkusen in between). Does he make it that far?
TR: I think so. I think he gets until mid-November barring complete collapse.
Michael Lisi: By that second international break he better have 10 points and at least 1 decent CL result. The bar is higher than it was 5 years ago and there are several high profile coaches sitting at home. I have a feeling it comes down to that last Fiorentina game before the 2nd international break. Win or get out.
Question: why the fuck is RLC starting and getting a free pass every game when he has done Jack shit in almost 9 months now? We have 2-3 other solid options for the CAM spot and he gets the start and no blame when we lose? Mind blowing. Has he been remotely involved in any goals?
gillis15: I’ve been talking about RLC! He’s had zero shots so far and has an xA (expected assist) of 0.28 FOR THE SEASON.
Michael Lisi: I just didn’t think RLC had come up in this dialogue yet. Gonna change his name to Pablo Osvaldo Smith…P.O.S.
gillis15: I think this is the perfect place to leave it, LOL.
Wrap Up
That was fun! BIG thanks to Lisi and TR for taking the time to chat. If things keep on like this I might need to bring AviA out of retirement too for a new WAGS post…
What do you all think about Milan’s struggles, Fonseca, Gerry, this conversation, anything?! Let us know down in the chat.
Forza Milan
gillis