Clarence Seedorf returned to Milan in January to much fanfare. The former AC Milan star was brought back to the club as a young vibrant coach you could hopefully return ‘I Rossoneri’ to great things.

Nineteen games in and things haven’t really gone swimmingly for the Dutchman. He has watched his side lose eight times, draw twice and win nine. Now in Italy the chat is that Seedorf’s tenure in charge could be ended in the summer.

The form isn’t the best but what were the Milan side expecting from such an inexperienced coach?

Before last Fridays defeat to Roma, Milan were actually on a good run having won five on the trot. The fact is that Seedorf is still finding his feet. Yes he was a superb player who had a vast amount of experience but this is a new role, especially at such a big club and it was always going to need more than just half a season to get used to the step up in responsibility.

His first decision was to rip up the more defensive 4-3-3/4-5-1 formations that Massimiliano Allegri preferred and replaced it with his own more attack minded 4-2-3-1 look. Again changing tactics and formations halfway through a season will cause teething problems and issues that need ironed out. The personnel need to get a good pre-season under their belts to get used to it.

The problems at Milan lie further at the heart of the club and things won’t be transformed by just continuously changing coaches like most teams do in Serie A.

Look at the ownership of the club. Silvio Berlusconi has come out recently denying that the club are up for sale. But he should maybe take a look at city rivals Inter, where Massimo Moratti sold his majority share to a foreign buyer (Erick Thohir). Moratti looked abroad and saw English, Spanish and German sides easily outspend their Italian counterparts. Those countries have huge TV deals and sponsorships that the Italian sides can’t seem to get. Quite a few teams in England and French side PSG have mega-rich foreign owners that have spent hundreds of millions of pounds and again taken them away from Milan and their Serie A adversaries. So maybe after almost thirty years it is time for Berlusconi to leave.

Now with UEFA looking at Financial Fair Play (FFP), many will look at Milan and think that they could come back as teams like Manchester City and PSG get sanctions but again Berlusconi is a problem. The fact remains that Silvio no longer has too much interest in AC Milan. If you look back at some of his most recent big buys they were done while he was needing political help and these players were soon moved on when he no longer needed the spotlight.

Surely now with more known about FFP, the time is right to sell knowing that it should be harder for potential new owners to ruin the club and its finances.

Milan’s CEO Adriano Galliani has also been at the club for nearly twenty-eight years. During that time Milan have won everything at one time or another. He has been great at recouping monies for the Italian giants but the cut price replacements have started to fail in delivering the quality needed at Milan. The coaches can’t work wonders with ordinary players. The fans understand that times have changed but surely Galliani should be expecting more from the clubs scouting network.

For me things at the top may have become stale at ‘I Rossoneri’ and the decision to say that your own time is up, is usually the hardest to make.

As I’ve already suggested the pool of players at AC Milan isn’t what it used to be.

For me, they have too many ageing player who no longer cut the mustard like Michael Essien, Daniele Bonera, Cristian Zaccardo and Sulley Muntari.

They also have a lot of deadwood there, quite a few of these Milan players are making a living off of previous exploits. Players such as Robinho, Urby Emanuelson and Giampaolo Pazzini need to be moved on.

Decisions also need to be made with the likes of Alessandro Matri, Antonio Nocerino and Bakaye Traore who are currently out on loan. If they aren’t good enough then sell them on!

I’m also a bit concerned about Christian Abbiati and Philippe Mexes. I know they are experienced but I think they are now over the hill. Seedorf will need to decide that of course.

A big decision that has to be made is whether the club keeps hold of Mario Balotelli or decide, like Inter and Man City did before them, that the Italian international forward is too much hassle. When on form Mario is super but the crazy hitman and his antics can have a negative affect on his team. When its all about Mario it makes it difficult for Clarence Seedorf to create a continuous harmony with the rest of the squad. But if the Dutch coach and his bosses did decide to sell the twenty-three year old then they’ll have to go out and replace him with a big name, the fans will demand it.

I would be inclined to keep Kaka, especially if they can secure him on a new short-term deal on less wages. The Brazilian playmaker might not be the same player he was during his first stay in Italy’s fashion capital but he reminds everyone of a better era. His experience can be best utilised by welcoming new talent and by becoming used more sparingly to get the most out of him. Should be used like Ryan Giggs has been at Manchester United for the past few years.

So instead of getting a new coach the Italian giants should offer Seedorf more time to get things right. They should look at trying to get new investment into the club and seek a recruitment drive that gets in players that fit into the new system and can wear the red and black stripes with distinction.

Posted on May 2nd, 2014 by scott
Filed under: Article