The Rumour Commode XLVII: Foamseca is out

[WILL2K]

Gerry is still the no. 1 to blame here but you cannot also discount the sporting damage done by Ibra, Moncada and co. Gerry has this hands-off approach and entrusted the management decisions to Furlani, Ibra and Moncada. He will have no problem spending 2-3 mil euros more on a coach if his stupid advisors warn him about the reputational and sporting risks in hiring certain coaches. But guess what? It was a power struggle, they wanted to claim glory, remember Zlatan's Instagram post after we beat Real Madrid away? You only do that when you win a major trophy, and in a classy environment like Milan, better not do that at all.

I am sure if one of the experienced RnB members is there instead of Ibra and/or Moncada, our squad construction and coach selection would have been more sensible. I understand there are challenges that we fans do not see, and I appreciate that but some of the decisions they made were simply inexcusable.

 

[leaf]

Gerry is still the no. 1 to blame here but you cannot also discount the sporting damage done by Ibra, Moncada and co. Gerry has this hands-off approach and entrusted the management decisions to Furlani, Ibra and Moncada. He will have no problem spending 2-3 mil euros more on a coach if his stupid advisors warn him about the reputational and sporting risks in hiring certain coaches. But guess what? It was a power struggle, they wanted to claim glory, remember Zlatan's Instagram post after we beat Real Madrid away? You only do that when you win a major trophy, and in a classy environment like Milan, better not do that at all.

I am sure if one of the experienced RnB members is there instead of Ibra and/or Moncada, our squad construction and coach selection would have been more sensible. I understand there are challenges that we fans do not see, and I appreciate that but some of the decisions they made were simply inexcusable.

All Gerry has to do is to hire brk (TD) and Sam (Furlani). Dead serious. Vulture to replace Moncada. Mrki to replace iBra.

 

[BrianAC]

80million? What are we in 2009?
He just renewed, so we should get the max.

Your right; top player graelish was like 100 or so.

 

[Ryo]

Finally something strong to stress and shake the management and the owner .

Betcha ownership don't even read their own emails, they probably have a personal assistant that do those and report back to them in 50 words or less.

This petition doesn't move any needles at all. Not unless media outlets will run a report on it, but that I have my doubts will happen.

 

[Pigeon]

All Gerry has to do is to hire brk (TD) and Sam (Furlani). Dead serious. Vulture to replace Moncada. Mrki to replace iBra.

let’s go

 

[Jivara]

Who signed him?

Since "he's rubbish" then probably Maldini

 

[ymsv]

Betcha ownership don't even read their own emails, they probably have a personal assistant that do those and report back to them in 50 words or less.

This petition doesn't move any needles at all. Not unless media outlets will run a report on it, but that I have my doubts will happen.

 

[WILL2K]

Can Curva chant in English too? That might be more effective if they mix it up.

 

[Mr. Anonymous]

This right here is something that Maldini gave our team, that MANY PEOPLE didn't realize he did, or DRASTICALLY undervalued him for.

Honestly, we are right where I thought we'd be.

It hurts to see us here even though I saw this type of pain (and maybe even worse) coming.

And to think it was, largely avoidable.

 

[jawz10]

Your confusion stems from what I'm advocating for: I don't want to just give the ball to Leao for no reason. You're right, we do that a lot. But why do we do it? Because we cannot create anything. We ask Leao and Theo to do something but we don't really have an idea of what that is other than hoping that our players will out-duel opponents in this increasing world of man-to-man coverage.

He's better than Coman, and Coman, unlike Leao, plays in a well-structured team. In fact, the wingers we tend to compare him to, they all play in teams with far superior coaching and structure than we currently have at Milan.

What has our coaching done with Leao? We hurl the ball at him and ask him to just win a bunch of duels, against multiple players--how are other teams able to have coherent plans and structures and we've had three coaches go to the same crappy 424? Conceicao bet his future on it, before retreating to this 343, with Felix as his centerpiece.

The problem is teams are going zonal on our left side, overloading it, and daring the other side to do anything: Jimenez, Jovic, Santi, Chuk, Emerson, Walker, etc they are given the time and space and they do nothing with it. When Reijnders and Pulisic don't win their duels, we suffer, and teams have keyed in on suffocating Reijnders (especially as we like to keep him on the left where space is at a premium)--but again do we recognize this? No. We play into the hands of this because 1) we don't have coaches who value passing to begin with, 2) the profile of players that we have recruited in the midfield do not lend themselves to a possession-based style.

How is Italiano able to impose a very different style to Bologna to what Motta used? How is De Zerbi able to impose that on Marseille? Or Conte at Napoli? How are players able to be coached and put into better positions everywhere but here? Is it because Leao is some uniquely nefarious player? Or because we have an ownership that fundamentally does not value coaching, does not value midfielders who can pass, and has a philosophy in their recruitment that prizes duel-success over any passing or possession characteristics?

When I say "they create tactics to put their best players in the position to do the most damage" the idea is that instead of having a structure that puts Leao in a dead-stop, why are we not sucking in an opposition, like Bologna, that likes to press high, and pull the ball right and central, to create the lanes for our most dangerous attacker so that we can try to find Leao in stride?

Look at what Carlo did to Man City last year with Vini. He let City come at them, and he used Kroos and his midfield to absorb pressure to create a lane for Vini to run into space, for the ball to go not to his feet (all the time) but also into space so that he can accelerate first, with the ball in front of him or hit into stride, before attacking the opponents. We do that very rarely.

Pioli, Fonseca, and Conceicao all tried to generate offense through adding another offensive player in a 424--they all failed. Our midfield structure is piss-poor--look at what Bennacer said when he went to Marseille: "De Zerbi has a philosophy that I like, he wants to have possession of the ball to win. Different from Milan, where they didn’t focus too much on possession and the role of the midfielders."

Is that not damning?

But the idea that "Leao is the problem" and then you say that we played better without him against Bologna in Serie A... first: we played like shit against Bologna in the league as well, without Leao, and second: that was Bologna's B team, they rotated and we didn't. Italiano then proceeded to say that he used the game to understand what we were going to do. It's embarassing.

Even if you look at our first two goals: they were from deflections, lucky bounces--bad pass from Chuk that bounced off the defender kindly to Pulisic to pass to Gimenez for the first goal, then a shot that hit off a Bologna defender from Felix that bounced kindly into the path of Pulisic for the second. We didn't create things in a systematic way and all it led was for Italiano to say after beating us: "We knew about Milan’s moves in the second half."

So all your critiques of Leao--sure, he forces things, but my question is: why are we putting him in that situation? We did the exact same thing against Bologna in the league, Felix maybe drifted a little more central to give a lane for Theo, otherwise, we did the same thing in both games: we were toothless in attack in the first half save an odd flurry (Leao putting it on a plate for Jimenez early on, for example) but we did not have possession, and then conceded early in the second half, Conceicao then switched to our 424 (later in the Coppa than Serie A) and we did not have the passing from anyone to take advantage of the higher-line that Bologna played before Bologna settled into their low-block to see out the game.

So I'm sorry, I don't agree that "he's the reason we look toothless" he was the only attacker that did anything of note in the Coppa. What did Pulisic do? Santi? Reijnders? Jovic? Chuk was ironically more dangerous than Pulisic--who I think is just exhausted, especially since unlike Bologna we didn't rotate in Serie A.

As far as whether we are better or worse with Leao, the stats underline a significant difference to what you're saying: with Leao we score 19 more goals than we concede with him off, for a +/- of +0.74 per 90, and his On-Off rate is +0.84--for comparison's sake Pulisic is +18, with a +/- of +0.70 and his On-Off rate is +0.70.

Pulisic was actually better than Leao last year, and his impact on our overall play this year has dropped significantly.

I hope that clears it up.

I understand where you're coming from. You're making a point that I used to make when Pioli was still here. We need to play a more team-based system with Leao as a central part of it. I felt the same way until I realized that it wasn't possible with the current squad. I believe you're answering your own questions about why three different coaches haven't found success in creating an effective offensive system at Milan, and the answer is the player that you're claiming should be a part of the solution.

I believe all three of these coaches have attempted to find a system that works and instead settled on catering to our most talented player, Leao. Pioli initially found a way to put Leao in a situation that best suited Milan, but since the post-scudetto period, Leao has proven that his ability to win matches on his own has waned for several reasons we're all aware of, including other teams' tactics. Yet Pioli's tactics remained, mostly because the unfinished player remained in the squad. Fonseca was supposed to be the coach who created a team-based attacking system, but found quickly that Leao- and Theo- aren't players who can play in such a system. Hence the benching, hence the water cooling incident.

The stats you use to point out that we score more and concede less with Leao on the pitch are interesting but may be deceptive; the system is still created to suit Leao, even when he's not on the pitch. Most coaches won't switch an entire formation just because their best player is unavailable. So we play with three in attack, even when Leao is gone. Even if it makes sense to play two strikers... or a trequartista...

Speaking of Theo, switching to 3 at the back has again hidden some of Theo's defensive deficiencies, and we've conceded less as a result. It's why I advocate for keeping Theo and selling Leao, because you can hide Theo in a lineup. But putting Leao in his best role forces us into tactical schemes and formations that don't suit the team, for example, a three-man attack, and/or to rely on his individual output despite his unpredictable and inconsistent team effort. Pulisic is the perfect example of how you replace a Leao and create a system; you buy someone who's hard-working and versatile. Leao is neither. He's mercurially talented but also, famously nonchalant.

Have you seen Leao play for Portugal? It is bizarre. There are nine outfield players passing, moving, interchanging, and then there is Rafa sticking out like a sore thumb. Doing exactly what he does here at Milan, staying out on the left side, waiting for the ball. Even when a cross is coming from the right, he sometimes doesn't make the effort to become a box threat. Watching him play that way numerous times for his national side convinced me that the issue of not finding a system for him is his own. He plays outside of any system.

In summary, trying to paint the issue as one of simply finding a system for Rafa is missing the forest for the trees. He's the reason we can't reliably run an offensive scheme due to an unwillingness, or incapability to adapt to different roles or grow his skillset.

 

[Caladan]

....................................

Milan fans calling for Paolo Maldini’s return on social media

On social media, the AC Milan world has been chaotic, to say the least. Fans have taken to Instagram to

milanreports.com

 

[Jivara]

This right here is something that Maldini gave our, that MANY PEOPLE didn't realize he did, or DRASTICALLY undervalued him for.

Honestly, we are right where I thought we'd be.

It hurts to see us here even though I saw this type of pain (and maybe even worse) coming.

And to think it was, largely avoidable.

Cardinale, Furlani.. all of these fuckers

They are jealous to the bone marrow of Maldini

 

[ymsv]

....................................

Milan fans calling for Paolo Maldini’s return on social media

On social media, the AC Milan world has been chaotic, to say the least. Fans have taken to Instagram to

milanreports.com

 

[Buske]

Good to see Zvone speak. Hard-hitting as always.

Why people oppose this kind of criticism I don't get. It's bullseye.

Because its the truth.
And without sugarcoating it and being nice, people here are one of the dumbest you can find on the internet

 

[IL-Capitano]

Sky: 'One last attempt' - Milan want D'Amico and Italiano to lead new era

AC Milan intend to make one final attempt to hire Tony D'Amico from Atalanta, and they want to hore Vincenzo Italiano from Bologna.

sempremilan.com

So as expected Milan will beg D’Amico to come to Milan should he turn them down and stick with Atalanta. The hierarchy remains as it is . Milanisti your new SD

 

[Buske]

That's why you're constantly throwing shit at the club afterwards and setting off disruptive fires before an important game. Marotta must be proud of Boban.

Its because journalist ask him and post interview before an important game...That was very hard to figure.
Also, this club and people at the helm needs to be criticized every day of the year, not just before an important match.
If you tried to pick the worst people to lead Milan, you wouldnt be able to find such people..

 

[ymsv]

Sky: 'One last attempt' - Milan want D'Amico and Italiano to lead new era

AC Milan intend to make one final attempt to hire Tony D'Amico from Atalanta, and they want to hore Vincenzo Italiano from Bologna.

sempremilan.com

So as expected Milan will beg D’Amico to come to Milan should he turn them down and stick with Atalanta. The hierarchy remains as it is . Milanisti your new SD
View attachment 49137

Autumn he will start courses to pass exams for a President .

 

[danilo1899]

Arrigo Sacchi believes that there are four major reasons why AC Milan have failed this season, and claimed Sergio Conceicao is the least to blame.

The final judgement of Milan’s 2024-25 season rested on the Coppa Italia final in Rome against Bologna. The 1-0 defeat after a performance lacking in quality and heart was symbolic of a campaign that has been nothing short of a disaster, barring the Supercoppa Italiana win.

The time has come to make big decisions and Sergio Conceicao is expected to be one of the first to pay given that results have not matched expectations. However, the general feeling is that the Rossoneri are a club lacking in unity and clarity, from the ownership down.

Sacchi published a column in La Gazzetta dello Sport in which he has provided an assessment of Milan’s failures and pointed out the things they must fix ahead of 2025-26.

“Seeing Milan in such bad shape makes me very sad, because I am tied to that environment, to the fans, to those colours. Watching the Coppa Italia final, deservedly lost against Bologna, I had confirmation of what I have thought since the beginning of this season: Milan are not a team, and it is not for some specific reasons. I list four, in order of importance.

1. Milan without ideas​

“The club comes first, even before the coach and the players. Because with its history, its vision and its style it must show the way forward. President Berlusconi, to whom I will never stop being grateful, told me when he hired me that his goal was to win and to convince.
“He wanted Milan to put on a show, to entertain people. He had an idea and he knew how to convey it to his collaborators. Does it seem to you that today’s Milan, understood as a club, has an idea? It seems to me not. We proceed gropingly, and in doing so we end up hitting a wall.”

2. Mistakes on the bench​

“The choice of coach, at the beginning of the season, is fundamental because the coach must be in tune with the club’s plans. Milan, on the other hand, last summer first thought of taking one, the Spaniard Lopetegui.
“And then, given that the fans were angry because he was not a name worthy of the club, they turned to the Portuguese Fonseca. Who had worked well in Ukraine, but when he had been in Italy he had certainly not enchanted.
“The managers who made this choice made a serious mistake and then, halfway through the season, they thought it best to eat their words and hand over the bench to Sergio Conceiçao, who, in my opinion, is the least guilty of all because he found himself working in general chaos.
“And in the end you will see that he will be the one to pay, because this is an old (and absurd) law of football: out with the coach, so we can sort things out. But how can you fix things if the same people who made mistakes at the beginning of this season are still at the top?”

3. Players who don’t make a team​

“Milan is a group of players who were chosen at random. I don’t discuss their individual technical qualities, even if I could: the problem here is that they are not elements capable of forming a team. I had a group of reliable, intelligent, available guys who followed my instructions.
“Now, however, they go abroad to make purchases, and frankly I don’t understand the reason, players arrive who come from different experiences and cultures, you have to try to blend them, but in this way how is it possible to give a style?
“My Milan, which was judged by FIFA to be the best club team of the century, had an Italian base to which two and then three Dutch were initially added. And we won the Scudetto in 1988 without being able to count on the contribution of Van Basten for most of the season, and we left the stadium in Naples to the applause of the opposing fans.
“The feat was possible because at the base there was a strategy dictated by the club and shared by everyone.”

4. Mercato errors​

“When you go to buy players you have to be very careful, otherwise you risk spending a lot of money and having players who don’t make a positive contribution to the cause.
“When I arrived at Milan, I brought players who came from Serie B and Serie C, I left one at home who was in the national team because he didn’t behave like a professional, I decided to focus on young people. And Berlusconi was not only always by my side, but he supported me and defended me.
“Before buying Rijkaard I sent a trusted man of mine to follow him during training, and in the report I received it was also written what he ate, what time he got up and who his friends were.
“Are these things done now? I don’t think so, judging from what you see on the pitch. And then you’re wrong and you have to fix it. Because seeing Milan still in such a bad state, for a lover like me, is truly unbearable.”

 

[Ryo]

Furlani: 'Milan no need to sell Leao, Theo or Maignan'

CEO Giorgio Furlani assures Milan ‘do not need to sell’ stars like Rafael Leao, Mike Maignan and Theo Hernandez, who are all ‘happy to remain.’

football-italia.net

I can't wait to see what he says this coming summer.
Technically we earned 62M from UCL this year, so in terms of earnings compared with last year, it's on par. Revenue-wise, because of the prize money from SuperCoppa, we'll have earned around 80M+.

The problem is budgeting for little/no European money coming in next year.

 

[Dokoa]

It’s really annoying man….like I have tons of criticism for him too. As much as he tried, he failed to deliver when we needed him the most. It’s not fully his fault. If the others buried the chances he created we wouldn’t even be having this conversation.

But to go to the other end and blame him for the loss when he was basically the attack is really off man

We are not 2003. 100 % im sure we won't get better LW than Leao if we sell him.

 

[VillaiN]

May not mean much, but FYI:

Sign the Petition

Boycotting AC Milan Ownership of Red Bird and Elliot

chng.it

Italians, curva sud etc.should boycott each and every game and merch.

But watch idiots fill whole stadium against monza.

 

[VillaiN]

Furlani: 'Milan no need to sell Leao, Theo or Maignan'

CEO Giorgio Furlani assures Milan ‘do not need to sell’ stars like Rafael Leao, Mike Maignan and Theo Hernandez, who are all ‘happy to remain.’

football-italia.net

I can't wait to see what he says this coming summer.
Technically we earned 62M from UCL this year, so in terms of earnings compared with last year, it's on par. Revenue-wise, because of the prize money from SuperCoppa, we'll have earned around 80M+.

The problem is budgeting for little/no European money coming in next year.

We can sell bunch of players to cover loss and invest. Theo, mike, adli, musah, cheek, ....But we re run by bunch of idiots.

 

[pippofan]

I know we've said it many times but the change really has to start up top

We need a new sporting director with a better vision and willingness to acquire talents

It can't be that a team with a budget such as ours is losing out on young talents over a couple million

I don't think our scouting is as great as many believe because we don't find players like Soule` or Yildiz that by age of 19 or so are already starters in Serie A or be sold at great plusvalenza. It's one of the reasons why Atalanta is among the top 4 on a limited budget, their ability to discover important talent. Bologna is following in their footsteps under Sartori and are enjoying success not seen since the 60s when they won a scudetto.

 

[R.Akbar]

 

[pippofan]

Some interesting names in the expiring contract list. Of course players like De Bruyne, Sane, Tah are highly desirable, but their salary demand would be astronomical.

One of the names I believe we must pounce on is Partey, I watch a lot of Arsenal games cuz my brother in law is a Gooner and we always agreed that Partey is Arsenal's most important midfielder. Would slot in perfectly as an anchor. I personally think he'd be perfect in Serie A. His salary is high but I don't think he has any leverage to demand because he's 31 and apparently he has a **** allegation going on. Rube is also interested and they're playing hardball with the salary offer.

Another name we should explore is Alex Meret. Maignan is demanding a lot and I don't think it's smart to make him one of our highest earners. If we do let him go, Meret is a worthy replacement, not exactly a WC keeper but he's definitely decent for free. Italian, champion, and still only 28 with tons of calcio experience.

All the management has to do is copy Marotta's playbook by making smart transfers that are free. Do I believe they'd think the same? Highly doubtful.

Another keeper out of contract is De Gea that Fiorentina wants to re-sign. We could have gotten Thuram for a few extra million instead we ended up spending more for Morata/Abraham/Gimenez. This policy of not giving in to agent fees or salary demands for a stupid self-imposed rule of sticking to our evaluation is foolish and part of the problem why we've been terrible this season, on top of awful choices of coaches. Mistakes should have consequences for those who make too many of them and taking responsibility like Furlani admitted is meaningless if you don't resign from your position. Of course the biggest culprit is Gerry who's deaf and blind to our problems.

 

[rossonero1]

Get rid of daddy and take the son

 

[rossonero1]

Some interesting thoughts from journalist and finance expert Felice Raimondo:

In my view, Cardinale should speed up talks with potential buyers, because pressing financial needs demand it. Losses need to be covered, a stadium needs to be built… The exit strategy must be brought forward compared to initial projections. I understand that he wants to bow out with dignity and profit – and there's a way to do that: retain a minority stake and manage the stadium project, a field in which RedBird has valuable expertise. But he must give up the majority share – otherwise, it's unlikely anyone will want to take over the club.

If he keeps raising the stakes, holding on to 99% and selling off the squad’s silverware, he’ll only expose himself to more costly risks.

If we look back, Elliott never sold players to balance the books – instead, they injected substantial capital increases. But that was after snapping up the club at a discount, thanks to the Chinese meltdown. Gerry, on the other hand, faces a €1.2 billion acquisition, with an outstanding debt of €489 million still to be paid, and a total exposure – including equity, interest, and refinancing – that has now climbed to €1 billion (I discuss it here).

In short, major decisions must be made to protect the investment and secure the gains that the investors are expecting.

RedBird has a reputation to defend – and the Milan deal may have turned into one hell of a hot potato.

Gazetta said Gerry was in Qatar during the Coppa Italia final. Lot of rumors on X about Aramco.

 

[pippofan]

Sarri has a history of not wanting much involvement in choosing transfers

I wonder what the squad would look like with him and D’Amico

He does make demands, however, and was upset with Lolito when the owner refused to improve the squad after finishing second at Lazio. Resigned without demanding money except for his staff, a man of integrity that's rare to see these days and love for the sport demonstrated by coaching amateur teams for free while he was a banker before his big jump to Empoli. I would love him at Milan, even if only a couple of seasons.

 

[rossonero1]

If Conte goes back to Juve they’ll dominate the league again. I think Allegri would then go to Napoli.

 

[rossonero1]