Patrick Vieira - from Midfielder to Manager

Now we're talking! Hopefully old Pat will stay longer than he did in his playing days where he played 5 times for Milan haha
 
Average Joe said:
Now we're talking! Hopefully old Pat will stay longer than he did in his playing days where he played 5 times for Milan haha
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I know mate, wasn't very successful that was it haha! Hopefully I can :) as long as I don't get sacked before 5 games I'll have improved haha!

SeanFlett said:
You're dead to me. haha
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Sorry mate, you just don't say no to the Rossoneri :) Please forgive me haha!
 
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So, first day in the job and all the lads return from their holidays and back to training

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I decided to let my assistant take the first training session while I just observed to see what players I was working with here. I haven't really kept up with Italian football so don't know what sort of quality I have to work with.

The training session went well, although a lot of them are lacking fitness which is to be expected after pigging out on their jollies.

Anyway, this is the squad I have to work with ...

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A few seriously good players here who I'll look to build the team around.

The squad isn't quite as big as I'd like, especially as you need 12 to fill the bench in Italian football.

Alessio Romagnoli, Thiago Maia and Jose Mauri look to be players to build the team around. All 3 are young and can improve even further, especially Maia and Mauri.

We don't look brilliant going forward though, especially in the wide areas. This is where we'll need to improve the most I feel.​
 
Having 12 on the bench is great when you have a lot of younger players you want to slowly gel in, instead of a choice between the known pro players and youth, take both! Things going well? Take off De Jong for Mauri :)
 
Average Joe said:
Having 12 on the bench is great when you have a lot of younger players you want to slowly gel in, instead of a choice between the known pro players and youth, take both! Things going well? Take off De Jong for Mauri :)
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Yeah, we've got a few decent youth prospects as well who can feature more :)
 
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So my first job is to assess the squad fully so I knew who can be kept and who to get rid off, and also where we need to improve in the transfer market.

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First up, I spoke with our goalkeeper coach who gave me the above report card on all 3 goalkeepers currently at the club.

The 3 'keepers we currently have are, Ron-Robert Zieler, Diego Lopez and Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Our goalkeeper coach feels that Zieler will be the best option and has only just been bought for big money. However, in my eye's he doesn't seem loads better than the other two. He's only been at the club a few days more than me though so will be assuming he's number one this season.

Diego Lopez is the experienced choice having made over 50 appearances for Milan and played around 300 career games. He was number one here last season and failed to impress with an average of only 6.65. At 35 though his best days are probably behind him.

At the other end of the scale is Gianluigi Donnarumma, an 18 year old 'wonderkid' with very little experience. He spent last season on loan at Cagliari, playing the majority of games but he couldn't save them from relegation. I've no doubt that this kid will, one day, be better than the other two options, I just don't know if it's too soon for him this season! Especially with the pressure at the club for this season.
​

VERDICT - No need to strengthen but a big decision needed before the opening day in around 6 weeks time.
 
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I then moved onto central defence and had the same chat with one of the defensive coaches ...

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Alessio Romagnoli is the stand out player for this position and will be one of the first names on the teamsheet, regardless of who we're playing. The only decision I have to make is who partners him, with no one really standing out it's going to be a tough decision.

Romagnoli is quality and must be one of the best defenders in the country, Milan bought him for €25 million a couple of years ago. He hasn't quite kicked on as expected and had a particularly poor season last year. I don't really want to read too much into last years form though because no one played well, everyone has a clean slate from now on.

The rest of the pack are fighting with each other to be the other center back, Francesco Acerbi is probably leading that race right now but anything can change between now and the end of the season.

Their doesn't look much between Zapata, Paletta, Acerbi and Mijailovic. Mijailovic is probably the best footballer out of that lot but I'm not convinced center back is his best position, I see him more as a holding midfielder. Although with the competition for that role he'll be used more in defence I think.​

VERDICT - Romagnoli will be a nailed on starter but the others have everything to prove. May look at brining someone in if the deal is right, no drama if we stick with what we've got though.
 
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This is probably one area we can leave well alone.

Without anyone particularly standing out, the players we currently have should be plenty good enough.

Davide Zappacosta and Luca Antonelli is probably the pairing we'll go for although Ignazio Abate and Miiko Albornoz could come in and do a job if needed.

Zappacosta and Antonelli both seem to prefer the attacking side of being a full back than their defensive duty so we may need to work around this to get the best out of them.​

VERDICT - No need to strengthen, the players we already have should be plenty good enough for this season.
 
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Next I moved onto the central midfield area, where he looked to have a few options to chose from ...


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It all looks very close between De Jong, Onazi and Mari for the more defensive minded midfielder. All 3 are equally as good playing in defensive midfield.

I'm torn between whether Nigel De Jong and Thiago Maia as the defensive option. De Jong brings great experience and a nasty edge which I feel we may need in certain games. However, Maia looks a real prospect but needs to play games to fulfil that. I guess I'll have to judge it on a game to game basis.

Jose Mauri looks to be a nailed on starter and the midfielder to make things happen, he also can improve massively as well.

Juraj Kucha doesn't look to be up to much if I'm honest and will be a back up as best.​


VERDICT - Probably no need to strengthen, although a more attacking minded central midfielder wouldn't go amiss.
 
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With me undecided on the central midfield areas, I decided to look at the more attacking minded midfield players to see if any could drop deeper or whether we need to buy one ...

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Once again, none of the three attacking midfielders in the squad really stand out.

Admir Mehmedi looks okay and useful to have in the squad as he can play as an attacking midfielder, central midfield or even on the wing if needs be. I just don't know if he's good enough to be starting every game.

Andrea Bertolacci looks to be slightly better option but is restricted to playing in a central area, either central midfield or as an attacking midfielder. Milan only bought him a couple of years ago for €20 million but he just hasn't kicked on as hoped.

The final option is former Liverpool youth player, Suso. Suso looks decent enough and my coaches are telling me can improve further. But I just don't feel comfortable starting him every game and asking him to make things happen.​

VERDICT - I'll be looking to strengthen here without a doubt. We certainly need to be signing a couple of wingers as we haven't got a single one in the squad. I'm also not happy about either of these 3 being the focal point of the team.
 
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Lastly I moved onto the forwards already knowing we need to strengthen.


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Carlos Bacca looks a good player and will probably the main striker throughout the season. The only thing that worries me with him is that he had a really poor season last year and only managed 8 goals in 37 appearances. He's also 30 years old so I'm concerned his best years are behind him. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt though and see how he does until January.

Jermey Menez offers something different and can also play wide if required. However, I think he'll be best served coming off the bench.

The same applied for M'Baye Niang, he's a quick young forward who again can play wide. He should improve over time as he's only 22 and hasn't really been given a proper chance yet.

And then we get to Fernando Torres. I still can't believe the decline of this lad! He looks absolutley dreadful and is on ridiculous wages (£175k per week). I've already offered him out to any club willing to listen but no one has come forward, no doubt because of his wage demands!​

VERDICT - We will be strengthening here. Bacca looks good enough to be the main man but I'd prefer Niang and Menez to operate off the bench. As I'm planning on playing 2 up-front, I'll definitely need to improve here.
 
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Straight after deciding on which areas of the team need, the chairman emailed me with the budget I'd be working with this season ...

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I'm actually pretty happy with this. £64 million to spend and nearly £200k on wages available. I'd also be entitled to 100% of the income I manage to bring in.

However I'm going to try and keep the players already here (apart from Torres) as I don't want the squad to get any smaller.
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So, if the season was to start straight away ... this is the side I'd be lining up with ...

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4-4-2 with a diamond midfield.

I've decided to go with the diamond simply because of the lack of options we have out wide.

Antonelli is showing as being injured but he should be fit in a week or so.

I'd fear for us if we had to line up with this in our first game so my full concentration is now on recruitment.

However before that, I must face the media.​
 
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So after meeting the players and coaching staff, it was time to meet the media. People aren't quite sure what to make of my appointment just yet. They say 'great player but hasn't done anything as a manager yet'.

Let's hope the media are a nice bunch today.

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Reporter #1 - Welcome Patrick, how have you found your first day at Milan? Have you had chance to meet the players yet?

Patrick Vieira - Thanks you! Today has been good, I've met all the players and watched them train. I let the coaches take today's session so I could watch more closely, they seem a good bunch.

Reporter #1 - Do you know where you'll be looking to strengthen then? Who will stay and who will go?

Patrick Vieira - I have some ideas, I think we most need to improve in the attacking areas. I don't want anyone to leave the club, the squad is small enough as it is.

Reporter #2 - Hi Patrick. I, like many of my colleagues, feel this job has come too soon for you. Do you feel the same?

Patrick Vieira - Not at all. Yes, I've only had 2 years in the job but both were very successful years and the club improved massively whilst I was there. I also have great experience as a player which counts a lot.

Reported #2 - We all know experience as a player is not the same. How will you cope with the big personalities and the 'big club' mentality that the Milan fans will have?

Patrick Vieira - I understand that the fans will expect us to win every game, even against Juve, and I will expect the same but it won't happen overnight. The fans need a little patience. And I don't think any of the players can act up due to their poor performances over the last two years.

Reported #3 - What can we expect from your line up and tactics? You used the wide players very effectively at Newcastle, can we expect more of the same.

Patrick Vieira - No probably not. The squad here isn't blessed with great wide players so we will probably be using the middle of the park more.

Reporter #3 - Your home form was exceptional at Newcastle, how do you plan to turn the San Siro into a similar fortress.

Patrick Vieira - Our home form was good, especially in the second season. However we drew far too many games. I aim to be more attack minded and go out for the win more, even if it means we lose a couple.

Reporter - Okay, that wraps things up for today, Patrick is a very busy man. ​
 
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After meeting the media and the players for the first time yesterday, my main aim now was on recruitment. The midfield area, wingers and strikers are my main aim. However the attacking players usually are harder and more expensive to sign.

However the first signing I made was for a more defensive player.

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Eliaquim Mangala becomes my first ever signing as AC Milan manager.

The more I thought about it, the more I wasn't happy with the current defensive options. I don' think Zapata and Paletta are good enough, certainly not good enough to be relied upon which would just leave Romagnoli and Acerbi as the two main recognised center backs.

Mangala only signs for a fee of £5 million (which could rise to £6.25 million based on appearances and form.

Mangala hasn't had a brilliant time at Man City, he only played 10 times last season as they failed to retain the Premiership title. However it wasn't long ago that City bought him for over £40 million.

He should challenge Acerbi all the way to partner Romagnoli at center half.

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He's a big strong lad with decent pace and great aggression. He should be a good signing for us but will have competition from Acerbi for the other center back spot.​
 
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With the Mangala signing done and dusted I really focused on the attacking areas. I'm happy with the defence so far, I'm still not sure about the 'keeper but I don't need to bring another one just choose out of the three we already have.

So, I targeted the forward line and a couple of wingers.

First up ...

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Chelsea youngster, Kenedy signs on loan for the full season.

Kenedy hasn't really been given a chance with Chelsea, like so many of their youngsters. However,e went on loan to Fenerbache last season and scored an impressive 19 goals from 30 games.

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Kenedy prefers to play left wing but can play anywhere behind the striker, including on the right hand side if we need him to.

His playing time all depends how we line up, if we go narrow with a diamond in midfield then his chances will be limited, however if we play with wingers then he should be given a fair chance at left wing.​
 
Ex-Inter Milan player as Milan manager. This is going to be great. :D

Looks like you have a solid squad to start with.
 
mask0991 said:
Ex-Inter Milan player as Milan manager. This is going to be great. :D

Looks like you have a solid squad to start with.
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I know mate, he did play for Ac as well but only played about 5 games and only last one season haha.

Squad isn't bad but needs improving in some areas :)
 
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