The Rumour Commode XLIV: Paragliding to Piolistine Crisis

[Milan10]

Need a true DM behind Reinjders and Adli. Make us more solid defensively & allow them to cook/control possession. RLC, Musah, Bennacer can all rotate but we need 2 DMs in the squad to provide steel.

 

[punisher]

Cdk golazo

What a team we will have next year

Fuck this stupid bitch

 

[Samaldinho]

All kidding aside what is the issue you think Adli hasn't been playing? Is this solely on Pioli? Are there issues with his defending or physicality? Concentration maybe? Maybe he has completely ironed these things out and took on board what the coaching staff have told him but when you see those kind of performances it does appear criminal the amount of minutes hes had during his Milan career. Guy seems a great team player and obviously well liked by team mates its baffling really and he clearly has been determined to stay at Milan and prove himself which I respect immensely

I wrote a lot.

If the excuse is his defensive "issues" then... lol, he was never a DM. You're asking a CAM to play as a CDM, I feel like in evaluating his defensive contributions, many people go blind when he makes interceptions and positions himself to block out passes, and he tends to win his tackles.

I think where Adli has a truly big problem defensively, is that he does not have the recovery speed if he is caught flat-footed. He doesn't have that, at all. If he's caught out, a player can beat him for pace, pretty easily. Maybe he'll foul them, maybe he'll tangle them up, but if his tackle or interception doesn't happen (which he does well), he can get beat badly. That is where his lack of recovery speed really hurts him.

He's put on muscle and mass to his frame, he is noticeably bigger. When I hear about "physicality" I kinda... I kinda roll my eyes, not when it comes to speed, he isn't fast, but he's not some weakling.

I keep hearing about physicality as the reason he can't play as a CAM--but for some reason physicality isn't a problem for Pioli to play him as our CDM... a position that probably requires more physicality than CAM.

But even past that, last year... we played with CDK and Brahim last year, y'know, the two players who when they play you think "holy shit, what physical freaks!" In short, I think this excuse is bullshit.

If you are evaluating Adli as a player and not factoring in the fact that he's adapting to playing in a new position as our CDM, to try and pick his game apart uhhh... realize that this is not his position. He's played as a CM in a double pivot with someone else playing DM, but mostly he's played as a CAM.

The arguments about his quality (as a footballer) have melted away, it's clear he has talent. It's not about defense, which... he's not bad at. The scope of his defensive abilities isn't bad, but... he's never had to fixate on that skillset. He's a good defensive presence as a CM (in a 433 for example), he has great defensive presence as a CAM, but as a CDM? He tries hard, but as I said above... if he gets caught flat-footed, he'll get beat. He's improving pretty fast considering he just started playing the position 6 months ago.

I find the arguments that he doesn't have the strength to play CAM to be... odd, considering he did in Ligue 1, a league known for more physicality than Serie A. Serie A is the better league, by a large margin, don't get me wrong, but the level of physicality (strength and speed) really is emphasized there.

There's also the small fact that... we haven't seen him play CAM for us. When we did, it was in pre-season, and he did very well.

The kid can dribble and can glide past players, he's done that from CDM this season quite a bit. The other argument against this physicality bit is that... if you actually look at what he does in tight spaces, he actually makes a lot of smart plays. It wasn't just against Roma, in tight spaces, he actually lays the ball off, flick passes, and his through balls... if you want to play fast, and on-the-break, he's the sort of player you'd want to feed the players you have rushing forward into space.

If Adli transforms into a top-class CDM, fine. But considering we have this huge hole at CAM, where RLC is underwhelming, frustrating, and not the answer... and neither was CDK nor Brahim... and everyone (in retrospect) is talking about "oh we never replaced Hakan" I just... Adli is right there. That's the exact same sort of player. There he is.

Pioli doesn't understand how his system works, that's his problem. It's why he plays in a style that doesn't maximize Giroud, but starts him week-in, week-out. It's why he plays high defensive lines when he shouldn't. Why his press isn't working like it used to. Why CDK looked like dogshit under him and now at Atalanta he looks like a star.

Pioli has changed everything about the way he approached this job after he won the Scudetto. I can see what he was trying to do with the 424 last year. But it required a level of physical fitness of our squad, rotation, and preparation that he does not do. And yet he sticks with it, and with his evaluations, because he's stubborn.

If Adli was terrible, I woudn't give a shit if we got rid of him or not, but when you have someone who is so emotionally dedicated to your team, not using him makes no sense. Pioli has to eat shit for that, because the idea that he "wasn't ready" last year is bullshit. Adli was the captain of Bordeaux at 21, the kid is a leader.

So... uh, yeah. Pioli is an idiot.

Also, if you hate me and read all of this, then... I'm sorry you take me seriously enough to read it all. This isn't directed to you, duck, it's just a funny element I put in here to poke fun at people who have the audacity to talk about lying when they can't read and should probably stick to reddit.

 

[Hugh Janus]

The worst player in the world: 7 goals 5 assists 1370 minutes
One of the biggest talents in the world, smiles when he dribbles, mister 180m: 6 goals 6 assists 1780 minutes

 

[Buske]

Has to be an inside joke:

- 21 years old
- French
- Loan (because we're broke haha)
- Suffered two hamstring injuries already this season

He is ours, checks all the boxes. Look no further

 

[Alo88]

If Pioli wins EL or Scudetto not extending him would be a farce.

If he ends up 2nd or 3rd with good results and has a decent run in EL he should at least get his last year on his contract to show what he can do with a squad with more chemistry and a different summer preparation. It is not like the replacements are Ancelotti or Klopp. Neither Conte nor Motta guarantee more across competitions.

I don't trust Pioli anymore when it comes to summer preparation. Every fall we run into an injury crisis. Even during our Scudetto season. Then we say next year will be better. But instead the amount of injuries gets even worse in the subsequent fall.

Rinse and repeat.

 

[Alo88]

From Milan to City to Milan to Juve to Napoli

Brilliant advisors this guy has

Mind you, the rumor says it's the same "we buy you but loan you immediately to our pseudo B-team for half a year" formula he refused with us

That trip really didn't help his cause. I'd be pretty pissed with his father if I was him.

 

[LordMilanese]

Great Goal CDK!!

 

[Alo88]

Great Goal CDK!!

What a goal. The 24M earned from him this summer will be well invested.

 

[Deep Fried Pizza & Chips]

Where is CDK primarily playing for Atalanta?

I've only seen him a little but he seems to be played on the left off centre forward?

Playing devil's advocate, and seen as it took Adli 18-24 months to "adapt" and "learn" Calcio... If CDK ends the season strong, where could he fit in back in Milan?

Or does the kid want to cut his loses and move on himself?

I'm going through various options and scenarios, and if we drop out the EL and struggle into 4th, while securing the stadium deal....we might not have the biggest budget.

Is selling a star to fund players better than keeping stars, spending what we have on a position or two that we desperately need and perhaps welcoming back CDK who can cover a few positions up front?

Also, under a new coach that knows what the fuck he's doing, and doesn't cripple players for funzies, this squad doesn't need much to challenge properly for the title next year.

Or who do we get for the £23 million or what ever it is we're getting for CDK?

As I say I'm just thinking out loud...

 

[Raz]

Maldini flop signing

 

[Samaldinho]

Now to Leao being a detriment to the team... The kids having a weird season and I think a lot is mental and emotional(maybe he's a pussy yeah?).

I think under a new coach he'll be fine, it will hopefully give him a lick you the arse abs he might look back at the last 18 months and read his interview and be like "yeah I'm not in the top 11 players... Fuck".

For a team.thsys so driven by numbers and G/A, he 1 off 10 contributions, following injury, while playing in a stuttering team... Let see if he can regain full fitness, @Samaldinho has commented a bit about this.

He's not playing 100% and whole it's frustrating, I'd not be rushing just yet to cash in on him. Maybe only to spend the money on players that only 50% off work out.

I wrote a lot, again. I am avoiding a huge amount of work I don't want to do.

I think Leao is getting a disproportionate amount of shit this year. Part of that comes with getting a big contract extension and taking the 10 shirt. He said he wants to be a leader, and is clearly trying to be one.

There are games where I sort of understand the shit Leao gets. I think he's just coming back to a place where he can trust his body after his injury, I think he rushed himself back and that showed in his play.

Last night against Roma, though? I don't think he had a bad game. He dribbled, tracked back, and looked to give the ball to his teammates. He didn't try and force shots. He was actually playing... unselfish football.

Pulisic has been getting praise up-and-down for last night's performance and... I don't think he played badly, he dribbled well (like Leao did) and he puts in a few good balls for his teammates (RLC in particular) but... unlike Leao, Pulisic gets these chances to score and he gets this space to make things happen because of the opponents' fixation on Leao. Pulisic got into those spaces, but he missed two headers (both Leao crosses [I also don't really fault him for not scoring those headers I'm glad he got there]) but more importantly, he had the opportunity to score and he missed his shot went sent clear on goal from a Leao pass.

If Leao missed those chances, he'd be killed for it. If people wanna say that Pulisic isn't the star, but Leao is. Okay, I think that's a fair argument. But I think that also means that Pulisic is getting more opportunities because he's asked to be Robin, not Batman.

Mind you, I like Pulisic. I like his attitude and he's becoming a favorite player of mine. I've made fun of him, a lot, before he came here because Pulisic fans are... they're funny guys. But Pulisic gets away with a lot, in my opinion.

Now, players are going to miss chances. I think the fact that our wingers are creating chances for each other and they don't seem to have egos, when they could be butting heads, that's a great thing. Leao isn't seeing Pulisic as some threat to his status and not passing to him. Pulisic doesn't seem to be annoyed that he's not the main man, nor does he seem to care, he seems to be happy about being a big part of our team, and I think he's earned his starting spot, which gives him confidence. Leao and Pulisic can be a devastating 1-2 punch becuase they offer such different approaches.

I keep hearing that Leao hasn't evolved his game, uh. I dunno man. I think he's pretty unselfish, especially when you compare him to other top-class wingers. He didn't try and force shots, he was happy to draw the attention and look to pass.

Crosses don't work that often, but they can create havoc, if you plan for them. My issue with Pioli is that I don't think he has complemented the crossing scheme he's obviously telling our players to do, because Liverpool rain crosses into the opposition. Trent, Salah, Diaz, Robertson, etc, they hurl crosses, constantly into the opposition's box. Leao, last night, had 3-4 really good crosses that could have been goals. He also mixed it up, going with long crosses, back post crosses, low driven ones, some of them worked, some of them didn't. That's how crosses work. Our problem as a team is that we don't mix the crosses with the possession and passing that opens up the space for those crosses. We did yesterday, but that's thanks to Adli and Reijnders who seem to have plenty of fun together.

I dunno man. Leao is getting a lot of shit, and when people are like "oh, he hasn't scored a Serie A goal in a so long" okay, but like... he's scored in our last two Coppa games, those count too, right? Like, they were a few days ago.

I think Leao has just started to get back into the swing of things, fitness-wise, in the last few matches, hence his uptick in performances since then. There are games to give him shit, I don't think last night was one of those games.

 

[Samaldinho]

Cdk golazo

Great Goal CDK!!

Maldini flop signing

 

[Shiby]

Its fucking frossinone.

Lets calm down with this cdk hype

 

[Deep Fried Pizza & Chips]

For a team with no plan and passing patterns, we score quite a lot

IMO, the talent of our current squad is undeniable. We've considerably improved our talent pool compared to last season's squad, and only Pioli's butchery hindered it from unfolding. Either that (we score a lot despite Pioli because our players are actually freaking good) or Pioli's game plans are not as bad as they seem.

Pick your poison, I guess.


View attachment 29496

We're lucky, and Pioli is lucky to have some stars and good players... We should be scoring more and playing way better.

Pioli is done, thanks and fuck off.

I'm still curious to find out if the real RLC is the one who ate Serie As midfields alive until his Napoli and PSG injuries or the current one.

He's the guy that in the right circumstances can shine a few times a year and that glosses over the fact he's average as fuck.

27/28 and never held down a starting spot. Previous coaches at the club he was at, what, all his life, said they didn't know what his position was lol.

Waste of money...

The issue with Pioli is the injuries and his stubbornness of playing a high line against teams like Inter etc.

Unfortunately the injuries can’t be overlooked.

I've said over and over that he's lost his humility and what made him endearing.

He was the players "guy" and simply played players in the best and natural position.

Now he's trying to be some sort of fucking chess grand master at Calcio, and can't crawl back out his own arse.

musah would actually be a really good dm in a midfield 3. i swear thats his role for the nt; hes the ball carrier. apparently people who watch both say he looks like a completely different player who uses his good feet a lot more. pioli is using him as some inverted running winger like dafuq

This!

What drew my attention to Musah was his performances for the USNT. Player deeper usually on the right of midfield. Not fully as a DM but he recovers and recycles the ball so we'll for them.

Playing there shouldn't mean he can't carry the ball forward, he has that in him.

But I think he needs to play regularly in a dedicated role, identified for him, and play with in a structure or formation that dictates to him a little.

I have a friend who supports Sporting and he says Hjulmand is top quality. Granted, it's in an weak league but the fact the club are rumoured to only being willing to sell for his buyout which is €80 million - with Man United and Arsenal interested - suggests me picking him as great business in the summer wasn't too bad a tip. Though, I'll admit that Nicolas Dominguez was my first choice and he hasn't done as well - 2 goals in 10 starts.

Hjulmand was an algorithm player too. Cheap and top of the stats table. €18 million - wonder where we'd be if we got him instead of RLC

You know my thoughts from the summer, I've been consistent since in my belief... Yeah we made a poor choice in RLC and Hjumlund was my pick alongside Musah. They'd give us so much steel in the centre, allowing Deers or Adli to create, while still have a player in Musah that can make runs.

If we want a DM, my pick is Ricci... I've not followed him greatly but I just feel he can develop quickly and nicely into done suet if Ambro/Gattuso midfielder that offers some bite in the middle of the field.

We've lacked that since Kessie left, it's still an issue, old and new management never addressed it... Hopefully a new competent manager will have a quick chat with Moncada and sort it out in the summer.

 

[Raz]

The worst player in the world: 7 goals 5 assists 1370 minutes
One of the biggest talents in the world, smiles when he dribbles, mister 180m: 6 goals 6 assists 1780 minutes

RaFail Flopao

 

[Deep Fried Pizza & Chips]

Oh, Devis Vasquez is returning early from his loan in England...

Good use of an EU spot and a Moncada masterclass?

Or was this another guy that was personally scouted by Maldini and we were forced to sign?

Asking for a friend x

 

[Qaas]

It actually isnt Giroud's fault we hate him, its what the club asks him to do at an advanced age.

This… like i would actually like him if he was a sub or got full matches here and there

 

[Qaas]

Vini had 10 goals and 9 assists last year in the league, and 4 goals so far this year. Playing in a much better team. And people talk like he’s world class and levels above Leao

DONT LET THEM SILENCE YOU

 

[vB9]

Gianfranco Zola was in attendance for Cagliari’s 2-1 victory over Bologna on Sunday, watching the game alongside Fabrizio Maiello, a man who was part of a group who had attempted to kidnap the former Chelsea man 30 years ago.

The story dates back to 1994, one year into Zola’s spell with Parma and a few months after Italy’s run to the World Cup final in the United States.

As told by La Gazzetta dello Sport in August, a small gang of criminals had planned to follow Zola after a Parma training session, rear-end his car so he would have to stop and then take him away in another vehicle to a country house where they would hold him for ransom.

And so, a convoy of four or five individuals followed Zola onto the streets, but their plans stalled when the then-28-year-old pulled into a petrol station on his journey home.

According to Maiello’s retelling of the story, Zola had practically talked his way out of a potentially life-changing situation.

Two men had approached Zola while he was refuelling. Zola, a recognised star of the national team and in Serie A, made a gesture with his hands and asked if the two men would like a signature.

According to the widely reported version of events, the two individuals were Napoli supporters and were said to be taken aback when one of their former star players was stood just a few yards in front of them.

Maiello claims that he accepted Zola’s offer. After rushing to find a pen from the dashboard of his car, Zola then proceeded to sign Maiello’s ID card, or so he says. And, the indications are that the signature on Maiello’s ID is authentic.

At this point, the attempted kidnapping was effectively called off and after a short conversation, Zola got in his car and drove home.

Maiello, who was technically a fugitive at the time, was keen to avoid making too much of a scene according to the story, and also proceeded to drive away.

According to more recent updates, Maiello has left his criminal past behind him and is now involved in education programmes in schools and other institutions across Italy, telling his story in an attempt to persuade others against following his example.

On Sunday, Zola and Maiello were able to meet for Cagliari’s game against Bologna in Sardinia. They embraced in a hug and Maiello, who had been hoping to do so for many years, was able to offer his apologies.

it happens more often than we care to think... sumtimes players pay unpleasant sort a % every month over safety

 

[Alo88]

Its fucking frossinone.

Lets calm down with this cdk hype

No no, players who do well at Atalanta do well everywhere.

 

[Alo88]

Something fishy going on here.

 

[justhope]

I don't trust Pioli anymore when it comes to summer preparation. Every fall we run into an injury crisis. Even during our Scudetto season. Then we say next year will be better. But instead the amount of injuries gets even worse in the subsequent fall.

Rinse and repeat.

didnt we fire all the physio/cardio staff under Pioli? or it is just a dream I had?

 

[Pigeon]

Something fishy going on here.

View attachment 29506

 

[Deep Fried Pizza & Chips]

DONT LET THEM SILENCE YOU

Milan beat Tottenham...

Man Utd draw with Tottenham...

Milan > Man Utd

X

 

[Shiby]

Oh, Devis Vasquez is returning early from his loan in England...

Good use of an EU spot and a Moncada masterclass?

Or was this another guy that was personally scouted by Maldini and we were forced to sign?

Asking for a friend x

It really doesnt matter anymore.

But didnt he start really well there? I remember he had some great saves.

 

[Deep Fried Pizza & Chips]

It really doesnt matter anymore.

But didnt he start really well there? I remember he had some great saves.

It's how you finish things sometimes that matters more than how you start.

Kinda matters when we look at the numbers for players bought and players that have performed etc...

It's good to keep it real and recognise failures as much as successes x

 

[Alo88]

didnt we fire all the physio/cardio staff under Pioli? or it is just a dream I had?

Did we?

 

[Alo88]

It's how you finish things sometimes that matters more than how you start.

Kinda matters when we look at the numbers for players bought and players that have performed etc...

It's good to keep it real and recognise failures as much as successes x

 

[Deep Fried Pizza & Chips]

Did we?