Livorno 0 – Milan 0

By: Gianfranco | September 13th, 2009

Fortunately I missed the game on Saturday. I had to Coach in the local Nutmeg Tournament in an effort to retain the silverware I had won last season. Much like Milan however my boys were not up to the task of the weekend. I actually see a lot of parallels with my squad and AC Milan. Both teams have lost integral players, both teams have not added any players to fill in the gaps, and neither team looks to have gelled on the pitch. The difference is, I can’t add players or control the loss of players to the next age bracket, but I can fix the gelling issue, not sure I can say the same for Leonardo.

Yes the game was on the road, a task that is not always easy, but after a season were many clamored that Carletto had no concept when it came to beating and playing against Serie A minnows, his successor doesn’t seem to fall to far from the tree. My initial reaction to the lineup was that Leo was resting some players after International break and in preparation for the upcoming game against Marseille. Oddo in for Zambrotta and Pirlo on the bench, but as the game ticked away, an ineffective Ronaldinho was removed for Pirlo and new striker KJH couldn’t find the net and left much to be desired in his debut.

When you don’t get a chance to see the game you rely on post match recaps on the many websites across the web. But after you read one or two and the common theme throughout are words like ineffective, lackluster, and incapable, it is hard to not to feel frustration for what should have positive result for this team. I can’t say that AC Milan will be able to get points against teams like Inter, Juventus, and Fiorentina, so a game like this one against Livorno was a must. An effort to gain confidence prior to Tuesday’s game and a bit of eraser for the last game against Inter, and instead we are still left asking questions. We have no real formation, we have no leader, and we have no real plan to fix it.

It is a defeatists’ view to say that the season is already over taking into consideration what your own expectations were for this club. For me a top half finish would be a dream, with top four the greatest possible outcome. With this in mind the next three weeks will make or break my goals, and sadly will probably make or break Leonardo’s coaching career as well.

I chose to refrain from saying a word on Ronaldinho here but need to say my piece, I didn’t see the game, but I think Ro said it best…”Dinho sucks.” I certainly won’t say I told you so, but it is painfully evident that this team needs to move forward without him to have any real chance. Every weel he has less and less defense, interesting how many fanboys are left at this point…When the going got tough in the late nineties Milan leaned hard on the old guard of Albertini, Maldini, and Costacurta…not sure who will take that mantle now, but much like fans, the player’s who step up now are the real soul of this club.