Did the dismissal of Vincenzo Montella actually change anything at Milan?

Is everyone who jumped on the ‘Sack Montella’ or #MontellaOut bandwagon eating their words? Maybe not, and maybe something had to give eventually, but the tabloid media and results-orientated football have created an atmosphere where patience is nowhere to be found and fanbases that can become little more than robots.

I, personally, am not a fan of mid season managerial changes, and more often than not, success doesn’t come overnight. There are cases that can prove me wrong, you may very well slap me with Zidane and Pep rebuttals but hey, here’s the counter, that Barcelona and this Real Madrid side, are not your average team specially when you have those two extraterrestrials on board, who also share 10 Ballons D’Or between them!

Coming back to the point, appointing Gennaro Gattuso and sacking Vincenzo Montella might have been just as bad as letting Andrea Pirlo go for free. Gattuso is not an upgrade on Montella, in any department, in any capacity. One may argue that his recent stints over in Europe and in the lower leagues of Italian football were plagued by eccentric presidents who love firing people for fun, so on and so forth. But the reality is this: Rino is far from the manager Milan need. I hope it isn’t, but maybe Gattuso’s fate will not be that much different from the likes of Pippo Inzaghi, Seedorf and the long list of club legends who stepped up to the managerial plate.

Gattuso’s Milan played their second competitive match against HNK Rijeka in the week. That team went on to beat Milan 2-0. So, the mighty Milan, the pride of Italy, have become a prying victim for everyone. We saw that against Benevento.

So what now for Milan? Well, let’s get real, that means accepting what we are denying. Milan doesn’t have top class players, if you think we do, then either you need to watch more football modern football. Do we have a decent team? Yes, we do, but are they capable of winning big matches against the likes of Napoli, Juventus, Roma, and of course Inter? The answer is no. Not right now.

A lot of people are tweeting in a hope that maybe Carlo Ancelotti will wake up someday and will see a random tweet and decide to join Milan to save them! Well, sorry, I hate being the bearer of bad news, but that ain’t coming through.

Let’s move to the roster now. Milan went on a shopping spree like there was a flat 70% off on all your favourite outlets and spent 220 million of your favourite currency in the process signing a player for almost every outfield position, managing to keep Gigio Donnarumma as well.

So, ideally, it should have worked. We had a good manager who helped us getting back in Europe, we have a new owners with hefty pockets and a new squad. But sorry to break it folks, but Montella was not Pep Guardiola or Jurgen Klopp.

So, to conclude, what are the solutions? In hindsight to all being said and done, Gattuso should absolutely be given time. Yes, he isn’t an upgrade ,but he is the right man to at least bring dressing room to life. Gattuso was never a tactical genius in his playing days but boy did he play with some passion! We need that passion, we need that hunger, we need these players to feel the same responsibility and pride when they put the jerseys. That loss to Rijeka was just the second match under Gattuso, but no one expected to draw against Benevento and lose against Rijeka. With the future looking bleak for Milan, Gattuso needs to lift the morale of the dressing room. He has tried two tactical variations already, and as tactically flexible he is, he needs to find the right fit sooner rather than later. Folks, Gattuso is the best we are going to get at the moment, stick with him and have some faith in him. Maybe our Rino will bring something to cheer again.