Another loss. At home. To a lower table team. We are halfway
through the season, sit in eighth place, and fans are dropping like flies with
these results. Inzaghi’s honeymoon is over, and for many, he’s already
overstayed his welcome. The mercato is open for 15 more days, so clearly that
is where the answer lies. Or does it? We are midseason, midtable, and fans are
having a midlife crisis. So how do we “fix” it?
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| Maybe we're all just trying too hard? |
Fans everywhere have seen this coming. Fans everywhere have
tons of ideas as to how to fix it. Fans everywhere are angry about the results.
Fans everywhere are lashing out at anyone and everyone and trying to find who
or what to blame this all on. But fans everywhere are ignoring reality.
The reality is that we have had three coaches in a calendar
year. The reality is that we have sent 50 players out of the club and brought
in 42 in 2.5 years. The reality is that you get what you pay for, so if our
squad are all free loans and transfers, how can we possibly expect them to
perform like the squads whose transfers and salaries put us into perpetual debt
and are exactly why we have the squad we have now?
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| What if their best isn't good enough? |
I can’t get mad at Inzaghi. There isn’t a coach alive who
could realistically take this team to third place this season. Barring a series
of miracles, it’s just not possible. He was given a midtable team, a team whose
players change clubs faster than the opinions on Twitter. A team who were
mentally broken and physically not so well, either. It’s one thing to make
lemonade from lemons, but how do you make lemonade from eggplant? How do
players perform their best when they are worried about being forced out of
their club every six months? How do they play well together when they just met
for the first time three days ago?
So my suggestion as to how to “fix” it is this: Don’t. Try
this instead, it’s much better for the blood pressure and your aging process in
general: Accept reality. Accept that this Milan is actually now a midtable
team. There is simply not enough talent in the squad to believe otherwise
realistically. Instead of betting your life’s savings on getting a result,
watch them play. At their worst, they are still playing better than last
season. Well, except for Palermo… that was a disaster.
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| Improving hair, improving play... has our little Pharaoh returned? |
Take for instance, today. Milan had some really nice linkups
and some nice shots, too. 15 in all, with four of them on goal. We also did not
concede on a set piece. After some poor possession of late, we had our season
high possession of 69%. Some may say it was wasted since we didn’t capitalize
on it, but it was important to at least hold the ball instead of giving them
even more chances.
El Shaarawy had some great shots (even a header… was it the
hair?) and played well with both Bonaventura and Bonera on that side, despite
having taken a knock. Bonera starting at left back ahead of the actual left
back should tell you how far this squad has fallen in quality, and we saw that
when Bonera was injured and was subbed off for the Colombian in the 34th.
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| Nice to see you back, we've missed you |
Menez did his usual drawing of the fouls and taking some
shots, but to no avail. Cerci was invisible, and Pazzini was subbed on for him
at the beginning of the second half. Pazzini did much better up front, and we
had a lot more chances in the las 45 minutes. Montolivo was also subbed off for Niang in the 77th, with the birthday boy particularly disappointing for the first three quarters of the game and his replacement bringing some life to the squad. The subs worked, and it’s nice to see the
squad be able to improve within a match. It’s that learning curve we were
missing for so long. Bonaventura played well against his former club, Niang
came on and was a force to be reckoned with, Abate seems like he’s getting back
to his early season form.
But unfortunately, matches are rarely judged on improvements
or strengths. The Denis goal conceded in the 33rd started in the middle of the
field, when Menez attempted some fancy foot work and lost the ball, then a
couple of passes later, he strolled between Mexes and Bonera, the latter who at
least had to break a sweat to get there. But those are the kinds of mistakes
players on a midtable team make, and just because they are paid better than
other midtable players, don’t mistake that for quality. Just because they have
the Milan crest on their jersey or shorts, don’t fool yourself into believing
they have magical powers beyond their abilities.
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| Even with a boot to the head, Niang brings a spark like no one else |
Another negative is that we lost Rami to suspension for
yellow card accumulation, and won’t have him on Saturday away to Lazio. Also, I
have yet to hear if Bonera’s injury is serious, but without De Sciglio, he
seems to be our best option at left back. Inzaghi was sent off in the 80th for
throwing a ball in frustration, it’s his first time with the senior team, but
happened at least a couple of times with the youth teams, too. The frustration
and pressure has clearly gotten even to him. Those are all justifiable reasons
to be upset about this match.
Not that it isn’t justifiable to be angry to watch the
quality we have now compared to three or five or eight years ago. Of course it
is. It is normal to want different tactics or lineups or to otherwise
disapprove of Inzaghi or various players or whatever. That is normal. What
isn’t normal is this disconnect with reality that Milan fans are having. As if
they didn’t endure the CEO debacle, the myriad transfers, the loss of morale
and the way this team played under Allegri, the sacking of Seedorf despite good
results, and so many more things. It’s not normal to look at this team, whose
best players might not start at a Champions League level team, and expect them
to play like that Champions League level team.
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| There is not another coach who could make this team something that is just simply isn't |
We all want to return to greatness, but if we are expecting
Inzaghi to make wine from water, then we need to turn social media’s harsh
mirror around and take a good look. We are finally making slow but steady
progress with the team we have after several years of insanity and turmoil. If
we want big changes, the club is going to have to make big changes. Not in
quantity, but in quality. And not just on the pitch, either. It is midseason.
We are a midtable team. But we can choose individually and collectively whether
or not that is worth a midlife crisis. Sadly, there is no quick fix for this
Milan side, and nothing looking to change anytime soon.
This post inspired by the music of
Ludo’s “You’re Awful, I Love You” album
Our next match is
Lazio vs. Milan
Saturday, January 24 • 20:45 CET (2:45pm EST)