The ever green Super Pippo

Okay, I know it is very early days and everything considered we should not expect too much from these pre-season games. Nonetheless, the early signs are not good by any stretch of the imagination.

Milan have been poor it has to be said in the two games played so far. Let us also remember that the two teams Milan have played are not of the quality Milan will regularly meet in the Serie A and especially in the Champions League. For a draw to be our best result from matches played against the Galaxy and then Club America, the early signs are worrying.

I once again reiterate my view expressed in a previous post that it is a right sided attacking player that Milan need, not a central striker. Zigoni and Di Gennaro are the two players that have been deployed in this position and they either do not possess the quality needed or a playing in a position not natural to them.

I know he only played 45 minutes but it was Oneywu that was beaten by his marker for the first goal. Not a good way to start your life as a Milan player. In his defense it was a fantastic cross with a finish to match but Oneywu will have to improve on this, his first performance in a Milan shirt, if he is to convince us, the fans, that he is a good signing.

Milan need reinforcements in the attacking third of the park for sure, but in the defensive half reinforcements are needed also.

Luca Antonini and Marek Jankulovski are liabilities. It was Antonini that was out jumped by Marquez for the match winning goal and Jankulovski, well, I have never been convinced by this player. He is consistently average and in big matches he is completely unreliable.

The goalkeeping situation is also a concern for Milan. The hapless Kalac needs to just to be sold. I am always ever so anxious when he is in goal as he never looks comfortable nor confident. Dida on form is world class, unfortunately he is prone to catastrophic errors. Abbiati is probably our best option given that he is at least consistent if not spectacular.

As for the new system Leonardo is implementing, it is probably too early to comment. The team will need some time getting used to this system. The players are clearly not used to this system yet, and this may have something to do with the poor performances so far. Lets hope, as the players warm to it, performances improve.

Now for the the few positives to come out of these early performances. The obvious positive is the form of Pippo Inzaghi. At 35 he really is Super Pippo. The ever green striker has been easily our best player in the two games played in America, showing that he still may be a great asset in the coming season.

A fan of Flamini ever since he nullified Kaka in the Champions League two season ago, the Frenchman has whilst not been overly impressive has showed good form at least. He is an all round player who can win tackles and set up goals, like the one for Pippo against Club America.

Ronaldinho has shown glimpses of his best form. It is just a matter of showing it regularly. It is his fitness that is a concern but, apparently he is working on it. Given his greater importance to the team and if he continues to improve on his fitness, Dinho’s performances surely can only get better.

So a few positives can be taken as well as a few negatives. One thing is clear from these two matches and that is that Milan need to buy new players. It is that simple but for a number of reasons I fear this will not happen. For more on why this probably will not happen check out a previous post of mine athttp://acmilanblog.net/2009/07/16/ac-milan-is-in-real-trouble/