FM 2009: Official AC Milan Thread - Rebuilding Needed?

[Syzz]

yeah cheers il have a look for him! impressive transfers you made so far.

how much did Insua set you back? is he performing for you?

Ehm i payed around 7.25 million euro for Insua with another 2.5 after 20 International caps. So far he is considered a wonderkid with the potential to far exceed that of Zambrotta. I think again in my game he just had the better of a random potential. Ill post a screenie when i get home, i think u all will be impressed.

Ill give an update on my season aswell, so far all i can say is that i think i got the tactics worked out (until the AI catches on to them again). Ive played 16 games and won 15 only drawing to fiorentina away from home 1-1, where i had 22 shots on target out of 24, 63% possesion and 5 clearcut chances, Fiorentina had 2 shots and 1 on target, mutu scored a 25 yarder. Thank god Ronaldinho has great free kicks he really has saved me on some occasions. And finally thing im most happy with is that Pato is starting to score. Ive made him to place shots, and he finishes a lot more now, he has 12 goals in 14 appearances. Once again ill show some screenies when i get home (at work now). Haha i just love browsing the site when the boss aint lookin. If i can help anyone just shoot!

[lfc7]

Just wondering if people have kept Maldini as captain? as i dont plan on playing him that much so was wondering wheter to have Gattuso©/Ambrosini(VC) or the other way round what do you think? thanks

[Syzz]

In my opinon it is better to have a captain that is on the field. This doesnt mean is has to be ur first or second captain.

A good captain will give his side a mentality boost, influence is the measure to how much his own stats will boost the squad. Maldini having a great mentality with a high influence means the squad will have a better mentality overall. This is ofc a hidden attribute, and u cant measure how much the squad actualy gains by each means.

In the A.C Milan case Maldini is useful for a half season only. After that his physical stats will decline due to age, and he will start to be a weak point in ur team. But i would keep him as first captain until the season is over. This because Maldini's influence in the whole milan club is so big that when u change captains, u will demotivate a lot of players, and some will become unhappy. Not to mention that this has effect on some staff members also.

As a second captain and in the first season the best option is Gattuso. He has a great will to succeed and his mental stats (Bravery, Determination, Teamwork, Workrate) work as an example to the squad, this combined with his high influence gives ur squad a higher mental resistence against the opponent. Also i obviously presume that u will be using Gattuso a lot in the first season as a captain has to be on the pitch for most of his benefits.

In my second season i chose Alessandro Nesta as my captain. In my game his influnce has risen to 19, and his mental stats are good. For me personally i most like my captain to be in defence. I dont know why but i feel this boosts my defence a little bit. Just my own personal preference. I would however not recommend putting Nesta as ur second captain in the first season, because he will only be able to play around 15-20 games for you due to his injury. I hope this helps a bit.

[ladislao_kubala]

Ehm i payed around 7.25 million euro for Insua with another 2.5 after 20 International caps. So far he is considered a wonderkid with the potential to far exceed that of Zambrotta. I think again in my game he just had the better of a random potential. Ill post a screenie when i get home, i think u all will be impressed.

Ill give an update on my season aswell, so far all i can say is that i think i got the tactics worked out (until the AI catches on to them again). Ive played 16 games and won 15 only drawing to fiorentina away from home 1-1, where i had 22 shots on target out of 24, 63% possesion and 5 clearcut chances, Fiorentina had 2 shots and 1 on target, mutu scored a 25 yarder. Thank god Ronaldinho has great free kicks he really has saved me on some occasions. And finally thing im most happy with is that Pato is starting to score. Ive made him to place shots, and he finishes a lot more now, he has 12 goals in 14 appearances. Once again ill show some screenies when i get home (at work now). Haha i just love browsing the site when the boss aint lookin. If i can help anyone just shoot!

Interesting note about Pato and placing shots. I see Pato as a technically gifted striker.

I will try that as well, seems like something that Pato would do - what I did instead was to reduce his attacking mentality so that he hangs back a little, away from the defenders and not get lost in the tangle of defenders as the single striker. Worked quite well, hit 4 goals in 5 games then-after.

[lfc7]

In my opinon it is better to have a captain that is on the field. This doesnt mean is has to be ur first or second captain.

A good captain will give his side a mentality boost, influence is the measure to how much his own stats will boost the squad. Maldini having a great mentality with a high influence means the squad will have a better mentality overall. This is ofc a hidden attribute, and u cant measure how much the squad actualy gains by each means.

In the A.C Milan case Maldini is useful for a half season only. After that his physical stats will decline due to age, and he will start to be a weak point in ur team. But i would keep him as first captain until the season is over. This because Maldini's influence in the whole milan club is so big that when u change captains, u will demotivate a lot of players, and some will become unhappy. Not to mention that this has effect on some staff members also.

As a second captain and in the first season the best option is Gattuso. He has a great will to succeed and his mental stats (Bravery, Determination, Teamwork, Workrate) work as an example to the squad, this combined with his high influence gives ur squad a higher mental resistence against the opponent. Also i obviously presume that u will be using Gattuso a lot in the first season as a captain has to be on the pitch for most of his benefits.

In my second season i chose Alessandro Nesta as my captain. In my game his influnce has risen to 19, and his mental stats are good. For me personally i most like my captain to be in defence. I dont know why but i feel this boosts my defence a little bit. Just my own personal preference. I would however not recommend putting Nesta as ur second captain in the first season, because he will only be able to play around 15-20 games for you due to his injury. I hope this helps a bit.

Thanks Syzz will keep Maldini as Captain with Gattuso as V.Captain

[ladislao_kubala]

SEASON 2 (CON'T)

What a weird season!

Unfortunately, I did a "Ranieri" and finished second in Serie A and Coppa Italia. Galliani is looking over my shoulder now and my job is rated as insecure, which could complicate things in the beginning of the new season. I expect the pressure to be enormous from the start to have a strong run to lead the crowd or potentially face the sack.

Hey, at least I won the Super Cup! Jeez! Okay, but to be honest, Milan should be performing in the CL - it's Milan's trademark competition.

So, the initial expectation was to win the Serie A and semi-finals of the CL - never had the chance to negotiate, this was top down direction. The transfers are explained above so I will not go through it again but here's a summary.

The key transfers were of course Zapata and Messi.

Here's a rundown of the season

1) Match 1 to 10 saw 9 wins, Milan drew including 8 wins in a row, 17 goals scored and 0 (yes, zero) against. Milan got of to an absolute flyer and was on amazing run of form. Zapata was imprelious in defence and Pato-Kaka-Messi were behaving like the holy trinity already. Ronaldinho had to sit out several matches. I stuck to my formation of 4-1-2-2-1 as everything seemed to be clicking fine. Pirlo in particular was absolutely peerless in the first 5 matches, absolutely deciding matches by himself.

And then the cracks started appearing ...

2) Match 10 to 20 saw 5 wins, 5 draws including 22 goals scored 8 against. Abbiatti started to give away 2+ goals in some matches. The stats for Abbiati say it all - 19 played, 14 clean sheets but 8 goals conceded or close to 2 goals per match conceded when Abbiati conceded. Milan's strong strike-force though managed to paper over the cracks. I was struggling to figure out my first team though.

But it was the beginning of my indifferent form ...

3) Match 20 to 30 saw 5 wins, 2 draws and 3 losses with 20 goals scored and 12 conceded. My defense and Abbiatti seem to be in shambles conceding silly goals (like goal-kicking on to your own defender - own goal). The losses were exceptionally difficult to shallow like the 90th minute goal my team conceded while losing to a 10-man Inter and the 3-2 lost I suffered in the hands of Fiorentina after coming back from 2-0 down. The other loss caused me a 2nd round encounter with CL winners Man Utd as I lost the top spot in the group matches. Morale was not high, Kaka and Messi were having poor morale after several highs (Messi scored average rating of 8.4+ in 5 matches) in the first 20 matches. Messi now was scoring ratings of 5-6's in some matches and Zapata suddenly looked very ordinary scoring 6.5+ ... unbelievable!

In the bigger picture, the losses were still digestible as it was to better teams but I was very worried in the lackluster way Milan were performing in the wins and draws. The wins were scrappy and the goals were drying up together with the inexplainable crappy morale of my holy trinity. My lack of tactical options were beginning to show as I only had 2-3 variations of 4-1-2-2-1. I resorted a few times to 4-2-3-1 but with inconsistent success.

I believe that the forums refer to this situation as re-ranking - I did not recognize this and this probably cost Milan its season.

4) Match 30 to 40 saw 6 wins, 2 draws and 2 loss to Man Utd which ended my Champions League ambitions. Milan scored 25 goals but conceded 14 goals. Things are still not looking up most of the matches and I am struggling to keep the team spirit up. This is the most difficult stretch of loss of form which I have encountered and Kaka is injured for 2 months + Veloso for 5 months. I discovered that there was a player interaction option for Ambrosini to call for a player meeting - it boosted morale for 3 matches but was not sustainable.

I concluded that it was not the morale only but the bosses tactics. The boss was out of ideas. My teams truly behaved like Jekyll and Hyde, winning 4-0 in one match and then subsequently drawing with substandard teams or incredibly drawing 3-3 with Udinese. The boss hit the forums again, trying my best to figure out the weakness in my play and to increase my options of tinkering (no, not Ranieri) during the match. The last match (40th) though gave some hope that the players have finally regained some morale as everyone seemed to get a big lift to superb morale.

5) The TTF forums were good for these details and found guidance:

- Use determined players even though they may not be as good as your first team when you start to have a crap run of matches. They will notch that 1-0 win for you which allows you to build to the next wave of wins.

- Use the mentality settings to your advantage. I studied several matches and found that Pato, Kaka and Messi were often crowded out the moment they receive the ball. I decided to drop the mentality by 2 notches and this has done wonders in allowing Pato, Kaka, Messi and Ronaldinho to drop back a little and find that yard which they need. My flowing attack was working again!

- Recognize re-ranking and note the soccer bet odds for guidance. Milan was the defending champions and faced many teams would would park a bus in front of the goal. This particularly made it difficult when teams of acceptable talent like Udinese, Genoa, Fiorentina and sometimes even Juve decided to defend and counter attack against your team. I did not expect such tortoise-like behavior from Udinese and Genoa at home and suffered for my oversight.

I created a new 4-2-3-1 formation for teams which decide to hide bus. For better or worse, I have been using it more and more regularly as almost all Serie A teams with exception of Inter and Juve (at home) are considered as weaker than Milan.

In any case, my last 13 matches saw 8 wins, 4 draws and 1 single loss to Fiorentina. My record showed 30 goals and 9 conceded. This was championship form but too little too late. Prandelli did the double over my team and in both matches, it was troubling that my Milan was outplayed. My lost to Fiorentina more or less sealed the Scuddetto to Inter although my Milan did the honorable thing to push Inter all the way to the end and only lost by 2 points. I could not help but to reflect on all the lost points in draws which Milan should have gotten.

Below is how it ended.

IN RETROSPECT

My Milan actually had the best attack by far in the league, notching up 87 goals, 9 more than the closest competitor Udinese and a massive 20 more than Inter. My Milan conceded 29 goals and actually had the second best defense in the league. So, best attack and second best defense ... but what went wrong?

a) The most telling statistic was the 10 draws which costed my Milan the title. I mean Inter lost 5 times and still won - I needed Championship form more often, and left it too late to come back.

b) The second most telling statistic was from last season where my Milan only gave away 19 goals. This season saw 10 additional goals suffered. Read: New GK

As such, my NEXT SEASON THOUGHTS

a) Milan particularly has trouble dealing with a 4-3-3 Inter and Fiorentina puts out and I need to figure out an anti-(4-3-3). My record against this formation is 3 losses and 1 draw. It is also most unsatisfying that Milan has not once managed to beat Inter in the past 2 seasons! This cannot do, especially with Inter!

b) Find a proven scorer? While my team does not appear to have issues scoring bucket loads of goals, a signing of Giuseppe Rossi is tempting. Not a priority as Paloschi and Pato are beginning to look the the part but my target is the CL which may demand for a proven goalscorer. Rossi is available for little over 10 million. I have to think hard on this because I have Bojan, Paloschi, Pato and Aquino all waiting for one striker berth.

c) Find a superman GK. I saw Carlo_Sheva signing Frey for 39 big ones and I can relate to that. I would like to give Fiorillo a chance to make it at a tender age. I have all but given up on Abbiati at the highest level - hey, even Milan gave Kalac a season as a show of faith. I mean look at this ...

25 clean sheets in 45 games means that Abbiati conceded 37 goals in the other 20 matches or close to 2 a match. This kinda sums up the weird season that I had. Amazing in one day and then absolute hell the next. My unbroken keyboard needs a new GK.

d) Find a balanced way to deal with a defensive Juve. This is difficult to figure out, how to attack but yet not attack too hard.

Lots of things to think about on my formation.

[ladislao_kubala]

Anyway, to end on a high. If you ever doubted Messi ... you get a real high when Messi pulls a rabbit out of nowhere

[Syzz]

Ladislao i know what u mean, me myself was always struggling with the 4-3-3. But i found that if u let ur fullbacks tackle hard, and tight mark them, and have a defensive mentality, they can be neutralised. Also i would have to tell u to take a look at Sergio Asenjo for a GK. I have a high opinion of him and he is doing great all season for me. Messi for me is a bit dissapointing, Ronaldinho and Kaka have played a lot better for me, but maybe he is still blending. I have Zapata coming next season. And Will focus on trying to get a World Class DM. Ive been unsetteling Daniele De Rossi all season and im now is his favoured personel. So cross my fingers i can get him. Because Ambrosini, Gattuso, and Pirlo are getting old. I have the new "Pirlo" in my team called Davide Salti, who at the age of 16 allready made 12 starts for me, potential to far exceed Pirlo and allready 20 free kicks, 18 passing, and 18 creativity. Man i love this game. Currently on a 27 match unbeaten streak and 16 points clear at top of table.

[Harryseaess]

Another great update Ladislao . Unlucky about the Serie A and the Coppa Italia, i'm sure you should be able to win the Serie A next season due to you building up a very good squad.

Keep us informed on how you get on.

[Harryseaess]

It's a sad day in Milan:

I decided that I had taken Milan as far as I could and will now focus fully on my job as England manager. Hopefully someday in the future I will be back for another spell at Milan (in the same save).

I have saved the game before I resigned and have made a new save file so I may return to the Milan save if I don't like or enjoy the next stage of my career. I will still come on this thread and add advice and input into peoples games and also to see how people are getting on with Milan .

[ladislao_kubala]

It's a sad day in Milan:

I have saved the game before I resigned and have made a new save file so I may return to the Milan save if I don't like or enjoy the next stage of my career. I will still come on this thread and add advice and input into peoples games and also to see how people are getting on with Milan .

Sad day indeed ... but you had a good run!

The fact that you saved the game before retiring tells me that you will me back ()

Before you go, do let us know how you found all the great regen players!

[ladislao_kubala]

Ladislao i know what u mean, me myself was always struggling with the 4-3-3. But i found that if u let ur fullbacks tackle hard, and tight mark them, and have a defensive mentality, they can be neutralised. Also i would have to tell u to take a look at Sergio Asenjo for a GK. I have a high opinion of him and he is doing great all season for me. Messi for me is a bit dissapointing, Ronaldinho and Kaka have played a lot better for me, but maybe he is still blending. I have Zapata coming next season. And Will focus on trying to get a World Class DM. Ive been unsetteling Daniele De Rossi all season and im now is his favoured personel. So cross my fingers i can get him. Because Ambrosini, Gattuso, and Pirlo are getting old. I have the new "Pirlo" in my team called Davide Salti, who at the age of 16 allready made 12 starts for me, potential to far exceed Pirlo and allready 20 free kicks, 18 passing, and 18 creativity. Man i love this game. Currently on a 27 match unbeaten streak and 16 points clear at top of table.

Thanks for the comments - will give it a spin. I do have my fullbacks on tight marking and defensive mentality i.e. stay back with no venturing but the results have be inconsistent - will add hard tackling to it.

On Asenjo, I am aware of his talents but I am a little concerned on the amount of first team Italians playing. I used to have Abbiati, Nesta, Zambrotta, Gattuso, Ambrosini, Pirlo and even Zambelli as my regular first team but now only have Abbiati, Zambrotta and Pirlo as consistent first teamers. Ambrosini, Criscito and Gattuso are in squad rotation and Nesta will be slowly winding down to backup over next season. Hoping to get a good Italian GK, maybe Amelia? I also plan to bring in Criscito and Paloschi in more prominent roles in the team perhaps to maintain the base of Italian passions in my team ().

So it would probably look like this:

First teamer: Pirlo, Criscito, Abbiati (or Fiorillo), Fazio (1/2 Italian heh heh)

Squad rotation: Paloschi, Gattuso, Zambrotta

Backup: Nesta, Ambrosini, Zambelli, Zuculini (1/2 Italian)

Up and coming: I have 4 regen defenders, 1 DMC and 1 AMC up and coming. Some maybe good enough for the first team within the next year or so.

It's a tough way to play because this means I will leave out the very immense Zapata but it would be how I wanted it in the first place. I may instead drop Guilherme despite his good performances because he dislikes Zambrotta and may cause squad disharmony

Good luck on De Rossi - it's a noble target. My dream Italian player wish-list would be Buffon, Chiellini, De Rossi but all seem impossible to get. Your message on De Rossi makes me want to try again! The other Italian players include Bolzoni, Palombo (Inter stole him in season 1), Santon, G. Rossi, De Ceglie (low determination though).

I am thinking of building in the constraint of determination in my Italian based, South American flavored Milan team - this should help in consistency in matches. Zapata has fairly low determination btw, but is simply dynamite against players like Ibra. Finally found someone who can neutralize Ibra.

I do not plan to play beyond 5 seasons simply because the game loses a little of it's attraction with more unknown players making it less interesting.

[Harryseaess]

Sad day indeed ... but you had a good run!

The fact that you saved the game before retiring tells me that you will me back ()

Before you go, do let us know how you found all the great regen players!

Thanks mate, I have really enjoyed it. Yeah, I think I will most probably be back aswell.

I just searched for players under 17 and then listed by price and looked at all the players that came up down to the players that were valued about £900k. Hope this helps .

[Noni.]

SEASON 2 (QUICK REVIEW)

COMPETITIONS

Dominated serie A, but failed in CL (lost in semifinal v Barcelona) and coppa italia.

TRANSFERS

IN:

Darijo Srna (30m euro)

Sebastian Frey (39m euro)

OUT:

Seedorf (Lyon – 6m)

Storari (fiorentina – 2m)

Digao (mantova – 1.8m)

Cardacio (Cagliari – 2.2m)

Oddo (chievo – 2.5m)

TACTICS

Pretty much the same tactics used in 1st season. But after the loss against Barcelona in CL semi, looks like the AI beginning to understand how to break my tactics. Barcelona play a 41221, formed by two pure winger with a lots of creativity behind a fast & strong striker, supported by aggressive fullbacks and tireless midfield. It did suffers my tactics a lot because my fullbacks is vital for attacking variety. if they stay behind most of the match, I will get very few chances. But if they go up, messi and modric (they sign and play him as AMR) will tear up my defence apart (it kinda tear your heart apart too). No good solution yet for barca’s 41221.

SEASON 3

COMPETITIONS

This season is officially my worst in FM09. Thanks to the last season CL semifinal v barca, almost all of my opponents used the 41221 barca’s style. Of course the quality is not the same as barca, but still they put many difficulties. So, its alot harder to win serie A (still win it by a single point thou). Lost in CL quarter final to… who else.. Barcelona 3-4 (0-3away, 3-1home). No interest in Coppa italia so I leave it to my “c” team and lost in quarter final. Kaka’s injury (3months from oktober) and slow recovery really make the situations more difficult because thiago neves still need adaptation and dinho started to slow down.

TRANSFERS

IN:

Paloschi (14m) – third striker

Juan Manuel Vargas (11m) – main choice in DL pos

Thiago Neves (22.5m) – backup for Kaka n Dinho

Federico Fazio (2m) – third MCdefensive (after gattuso n ambro)

OUT:

Dida (free)

Inzaghi (free)

Viudez (loan to ascoli)

Boriello (atletico Madrid - 13.5m) – couldn’t get the best out of him plus I already got Adriano

TACTICS

Still using the same tactics 41221 xmas tree, but with more modifications after the winter break. We are now playing with focus passing down both flanks which forces the twin AMC to move to the flanks more often. Another addition is the implementation of target man run onto ball instruction which is successfully give more goals and chances. Still tweaking the tactics to find the right balance thou, and will update it here soon as I think its already balanced enough

You can download the tactics here:

http://hosted.filefront.com/carlosheva/

PRE SEASON 4

The main focus is in the attacking dept, especially striker. Pato get injured to often and Adriano is to inconsistent. Will try to offload Adriano, and replace him with top class striker maybe Fernando Torres, Adebayor, or Benzema.

Second priority is the midfield. Pirlo is getting old so I set up flamini to rotate with him this season and to replace him next season. That makes de jong need a backup so Miguel Veloso is already signed to strengthen the midfield engine. I also planned to give the MCd more involvement in the game. More thru pass, more longshots, maybe. While Fazio is still to young, Gattuso and ambro is getting old and slow to do the job perfectly. Veloso I think is the right choice for the moment. If gattuso n ambro is really really bad, than another MCdef will arrive in winter.

Third priority is the new DL/R. still looking for the perfect candidate thou. De Ceglie, Philip lahm, any other suggestions?

Your tatics are great, thanks!

[carlo sheva]

Your tatics are great, thanks!

you are very much welcome..

[carlo sheva]

I do not plan to play beyond 5 seasons simply because the game loses a little of it's attraction with more unknown players making it less interesting.

exactly.. 6 or 7 season is way too much..

[carlo sheva]

EARLY SEASON 4

Pre season as usual began with several friendlies and because of my 'unfinished business' with barca last season i decided to invite them in two matches home and away. First match in nou camp showed my domination, successfully turned off their winger but unable to give the final touch. Then from a weird situation, xavi managed to tap in the only goal of the match and its ended 0-1. Also Pato got injured for 2months (arrrgh..) from harsh tackle by milito. The replay in sansiro showed barca play in a different tactics 41212 diamond with assulin and messi in the wings, modric as amc supporting henry an bojan (etoo also got injured in the 1st match). To tell you the truth i play this match three times by reloading the saved game . I only do this in friendlies btw. My aim is: finding the balance of the basic tactic, and finding the right way to improve the MCdef. First trial ended losing 3-1, second losing 2-0, third drew 0-0. Still havent found the perfect solution yet. But i’ve learned a thing or two with this 41221 (aka 4321) xmas tree formation:

Milan will suffer against a team who played at high speed and very fluid football which focusing their attacks especially thru the flanks. The aggressive fullbacks is the problem. Our fullbacks can mark their wingers, but nobody will mark their overlapping fullbacks.

Milan will depend very much on the performance of the attacking tridente (twin AMC + SC) . So if they are having an ‘off’day, you have to replace him with another AMC, or playing a more direct attack with 2 strikers.

TRANSFER

IN:

Miguel veloso (27.5m)

Royston drenthe (12m)

Karim benzema (67m)

Dimitar berbatov (15.25m)

Veloso is a modern midfielder who can play anywhere in the central mid (same type as flamini).

Drenthe is an aggresive DL who will rotate with vargas (whom is a more balanced DL).

Benzema is a fast striker who moves a lot and give more attacking variety and also more room for the twin amc to improvise (more like Milan with pato IRL). this is why i chose him instead of adebayor. And also becos the 95m price tag on adebayor really make me uncomfortable (even if i can afford it).

Berbatov is a surprise signing and only made possible after the injury to pato. It kinda open my eyes that i still need a big man upfront (when i have to play with 2 strikers, or on a more direct attack). Yes he's already 30, but i think 15m is a fair price and also leonardo still rate him 4stars. Besides berba 15m + benzema 67m still 82m, compare to a single player who costs 95m.

OUT:

Adriano (Aston Villa – 5m)

Shevchenko (Cagliari – free)

Viudez (Parma – 1.6m)

Adriano is very inconsistent. Shevchenko is past his best. Viudez is only mediocre. I want to see Sheva retired in Milan to be honest, but he refused to extend his contract (maybe because I rarely played him last season).

It is 20th of August 2011. The next friendly will be against Sporting CP in sansiro. Only three days after that, Roma is waiting for the Supercoppa.

[ladislao_kubala]

Thanks mate, I have really enjoyed it. Yeah, I think I will most probably be back aswell.

I just searched for players under 17 and then listed by price and looked at all the players that came up down to the players that were valued about £900k. Hope this helps .

That helps! Thanks.

[ladislao_kubala]

Milan will suffer against a team who played at high speed and very fluid football which focusing their attacks especially thru the flanks. The aggressive fullbacks is the problem. Our fullbacks can mark their wingers, but nobody will mark their overlapping fullbacks.

Milan will depend very much on the performance of the attacking tridente (twin AMC + SC) . So if they are having an ‘off’day, you have to replace him with another AMC, or playing a more direct attack with 2 strikers.

Just a thought: have you tried closing down their fullbacks? I find that this generally works, especially important when you are playing against Man Utd. Like anything, this does come with the downside of less effective attacking play though the MC would likely be the one rushing to close down the fullbacks.

I fully agree with you about the performance of the trident affecting the overall attacking play. I try to get Pirlo and another MC to contribute in controlling the centre of the park and keeping the pressure of attack up, but it is still very much work in progress.

[lfc7]

Havent Milan ever put 7 goals past anyone before because ive just beaten Genoa 7-1 and it said it's the clubs biggest ever win

[Syzz]

Dont think so LFC my biggest win was also a 7-0 and that was also the biggest win for me. Btw guys ive just gone mad, im after spending 30 million on regens who are good/quality signing about 10 of them lol Hope i can keep the really good ones and sell the others for profit.

[Bradz FM]

ok made 1 more signing before season 1 kicked off, signed Danny Welbeck for €7m but instantly loaned him to Stoke.

first few games went as follows:

4-3 A Atalanta Serie A (Sheva hattrick, Pato)

3-1 H Cantania Serie A (Sheva, Pato, Ambrosini)

3-1 H Banik Euro Cup (pato, kaka senderos)

1-1 A Lecce Serie A (Pato)

3-1 H Roma Serie A (Kaka, Pato, Kaladze)

im leaking more goals then i would like but making up for it with goals scored, i dont want to have to rely so heavily on strikers to perform as we have seen many be let down by their frontmen on the forums.

im currently top but it's way too early to get carried away!

[ladislao_kubala]

Dont think so LFC my biggest win was also a 7-0 and that was also the biggest win for me. Btw guys ive just gone mad, im after spending 30 million on regens who are good/quality signing about 10 of them lol Hope i can keep the really good ones and sell the others for profit.

Well, if it makes you feel better, I spent probably about 10-12m already and are still hungry for more.

Its darn difficult to figure out the good from the best especially when they are at 16 and have so much to go for. Would probably narrow down in the future to players with in-built high determination and really good stats - working on tutoring them kids as well.

I have been rather surprised to be blessed with £150m in the 3rd season despite my 2nd place finish and slightly unsatisfied board. Come the new season, the board finally decided that they were satisfied with my performance so far and decided to bump up my pay to £100k, up from £84k previously.

Need to think of who to buy - Aguero and Chiellini looks awfully tempting ... or maybe a totally crazy offer for Fabregas to beef up my sub-standard midfield. Also, will be targeting Santon or trying my luck any other super fullbacks that I can think of - Dani Alves, Maicon.

[ladislao_kubala]

I have the new "Pirlo" in my team called Davide Salti, who at the age of 16 allready made 12 starts for me, potential to far exceed Pirlo and allready 20 free kicks, 18 passing, and 18 creativity. Man i love this game. Currently on a 27 match unbeaten streak and 16 points clear at top of table.

I know what you mean .... I totally adore managing Milan.

[ladislao_kubala]

I want to see Sheva retired in Milan to be honest, but he refused to extend his contract (maybe because I rarely played him last season).

Extra note (or I may be just slow ... ): I managed to convince Nesta, Gattuso, Guilherme, Abbiati and Ambrosini i.e. the old players to take a pay cut and a reduced squad role in their advanced years. I plan to keep them for the next 2-3 seasons as backups or fringe squad players until they choose to retire - with the exception of Gattuso which I expect to still contribute actively until 35 (heh heh)

Also managed to re-negotiate contracts with Fazio, Guilherme and Cristico with reduced squad roles but with same salary and longer terms. This was mainly due to my over-enthusiasm to sign them that I forgot to consider the their squad roles properly and over-promised. I do not deny that this found its way into my thinking to play them just keep them interested because of the contractual roles - which was not the best thought considerations.

If I had simply reduced the roles manually, these players would probably raise hell. Good luck on your new season!

[Syzz]

Yeah the first season is a bit of a pain, having to deal with more issues and aging squad but the potential they have is absolutely brilliant. Im loving it so far. My tactics are spot on, im winning games and the team is just getting better and better. Sakho at center back is starting to outplay Nesta, ive brought in Fazio for 15.5 m. I wanted Zapata but he wouldnt come then i signed Fazio, and he was unsettled. Inter bid 14 m for him. So i bid that as well with no money left, offered him everything i could, he accepted me over Inter, then i delayed the transfer 2x till the deadline passed. I do everything to keep inter at bay. im winning everythin 31 games played 29 won 2 draws. Agains Roma Away and Fiorentina Away. Beat Juve 1-0 at Home, and Inter 3-1 at home! Still have to play them away though. currently Pato is topscorer with 23 goals outta 29 appearances, Messi has 17 assists and Ronaldinho and Kaka both have 10 goals. So the team is playing well.

[Syzz]

Oh i never pay attention to my wages as i cant really much with it, but im on another 2 year contract worth 115,000 a week. If only it were real life!

[lfc7]

I have just been given 19M to spend on the 1st November could of done with the money much earlier but better late than never:)

[ladislao_kubala]

Oh i never pay attention to my wages as i cant really much with it, but im on another 2 year contract worth 115,000 a week. If only it were real life!

I don't bother about the amount either since it's not mine IRL, but the "increase" in pay was somewhat interesting since I thought the board were slightly unsatisfied. The action of increase tells me they are satisfied.

[ladislao_kubala]

Okay guys, as mentioned, I have about £150m to spend in Pre-season 3 and have so far found the following below:

G. Rossi £16m - unhappy

Carlos Vela £16m - unhappy

Bolzoni £12m + Axel Witzel - will rebid at a lower price

Chiellini £95m (?) - may not leave Juve

Aguero £48.5m - minimum fee release clause

I was initially interested in Vela due to the "low price" and the left foot but he is requesting a somewhat astronomical £130k per week! I mean he is putting himself in the same league as Kaka and Messi - is Vela really worth that kind of money? Anyone with experience with Vela?

Any thoughts or good recommendations for:

1) Rampaging Fullbacks ala "Roberto Carlos" - preferably Italian or Brazilian

2) GK - preferably Italian or Brazilian

3) Left winger - Preferably Italian or Brazilian. Would prefer a player with high determination 15+ and a regular scorer (composure 15+ and finishing 15+)

4) Italian players - either already performing or should perform within 2 seasons e.g would be Santon, G. Rossi or Bolzoni

5) I am also willing to let Axel Witzel go since I already have Gourcuff and Kaka in AMC role. Axel has been a great backup player but will whine when there is too much competition. Anyone with good experiences with him?

I decided to splash the cash this time around, and would be open to all suggestions - including the seemingly crazy (think Chiellini at £95m). I hope to be getting at least GK, AML, DL and DR - preferably World Class for all positions, if not at least one World Class player.

I plan to sell Axel Witzel and Guilherme if the World Class DL and AMC arrives. So put another say £20m on top of the £150m heh heh

[ladislao_kubala]

Yeah the first season is a bit of a pain, having to deal with more issues and aging squad but the potential they have is absolutely brilliant. Im loving it so far. My tactics are spot on, im winning games and the team is just getting better and better. Sakho at center back is starting to outplay Nesta, ive brought in Fazio for 15.5 m. I wanted Zapata but he wouldnt come then i signed Fazio, and he was unsettled. Inter bid 14 m for him. So i bid that as well with no money left, offered him everything i could, he accepted me over Inter, then i delayed the transfer 2x till the deadline passed. I do everything to keep inter at bay. im winning everythin 31 games played 29 won 2 draws. Agains Roma Away and Fiorentina Away. Beat Juve 1-0 at Home, and Inter 3-1 at home! Still have to play them away though. currently Pato is topscorer with 23 goals outta 29 appearances, Messi has 17 assists and Ronaldinho and Kaka both have 10 goals. So the team is playing well.

Dude, you need to share your tactics with me. Obviously, you are doing something right.

[Noni.]

Just got Giovinco for £2.7M and Paloschi for £1.4M!

Shame they dont fit in my squad !

[carlo sheva]

Just a thought: have you tried closing down their fullbacks? I find that this generally works, especially important when you are playing against Man Utd. Like anything, this does come with the downside of less effective attacking play though the MC would likely be the one rushing to close down the fullbacks.

I fully agree with you about the performance of the trident affecting the overall attacking play. I try to get Pirlo and another MC to contribute in controlling the centre of the park and keeping the pressure of attack up, but it is still very much work in progress.

thanks for your thougts mr kubala. already tried to close down their fullbacks but find it only effective defensively. why, because these fullbacks will be closed down by my twin AMC, and this will reduced my attacking force. my MC's cant do the job because they are busy closing down their MC's. but, your thoughts also gives me the idea to move the twin AMC to AML&R position. only they still do it with the same individual instructions to make them do more cuts inside thing and not become real wingers. the purpose is to give the opponent fullbacks pressure, to prevent them from going forward to often. with this, the MC's (especially Pirlo) will be vital in taking longshots and killer thrupass. just a thought thou, not tried it yet. will tell everyone here if its working well. thanks again for your inspirational thoughts man

on Pirlo and the other MC's contribution, i can say that i already satisfied with what they done right now. especially pirlo. i manage to make him play like pirlo irl (maybe a little to forward but its okay. hey, nothing's perfect.. ). my only concern is gattuso. and oh, what beckham did irl with milan its fantastic i think. off the ball he do the "gattuso" thing (even only a good 50-60% of gattuso). on the ball he do the "no 7 man utd david beckham" thing. crosses, longpasses, all perfect. thats also inspired me to do the same with my MCdef. its a little hard because: arrows are not meant for arrows anymore in FM09, and MCdef players rarely have a good crossing skill. but will give it more thoughts on this in season 4.

a little off topic, my idea for future versions is a "cuts inside" and "move to flanks" option in players individual instructions (especially attacking midfielder). what beckham did is a good example.

[carlo sheva]

Yeah the first season is a bit of a pain, having to deal with more issues and aging squad but the potential they have is absolutely brilliant. Im loving it so far. My tactics are spot on, im winning games and the team is just getting better and better. Sakho at center back is starting to outplay Nesta, ive brought in Fazio for 15.5 m. I wanted Zapata but he wouldnt come then i signed Fazio, and he was unsettled. Inter bid 14 m for him. So i bid that as well with no money left, offered him everything i could, he accepted me over Inter, then i delayed the transfer 2x till the deadline passed. I do everything to keep inter at bay. im winning everythin 31 games played 29 won 2 draws. Agains Roma Away and Fiorentina Away. Beat Juve 1-0 at Home, and Inter 3-1 at home! Still have to play them away though. currently Pato is topscorer with 23 goals outta 29 appearances, Messi has 17 assists and Ronaldinho and Kaka both have 10 goals. So the team is playing well.

yeah yeah yeah... the same with me in season 1 and 2. wait til the so called "reranking theory" appear, and the optimism will a little bit reduced (just a little bit.. ).

great job on pato man. what is his individual instructions? can you give a screenie? are you playing a single striker too?

[ladislao_kubala]

thanks for your thougts mr kubala. already tried to close down their fullbacks but find it only effective defensively. why, because these fullbacks will be closed down by my twin AMC, and this will reduced my attacking force. my MC's cant do the job because they are busy closing down their MC's. but, your thoughts also gives me the idea to move the twin AMC to AML&R position. only they still do it with the same individual instructions to make them do more cuts inside thing and not become real wingers. the purpose is to give the opponent fullbacks pressure, to prevent them from going forward to often. with this, the MC's (especially Pirlo) will be vital in taking longshots and killer thrupass. just a thought thou, not tried it yet. will tell everyone here if its working well. thanks again for your inspirational thoughts man

on Pirlo and the other MC's contribution, i can say that i already satisfied with what they done right now. especially pirlo. i manage to make him play like pirlo irl (maybe a little to forward but its okay. hey, nothing's perfect.. ). my only concern is gattuso. and oh, what beckham did irl with milan its fantastic i think. off the ball he do the "gattuso" thing (even only a good 50-60% of gattuso). on the ball he do the "no 7 man utd david beckham" thing. crosses, longpasses, all perfect. thats also inspired me to do the same with my MCdef. its a little hard because: arrows are not meant for arrows anymore in FM09, and MCdef players rarely have a good crossing skill. but will give it more thoughts on this in season 4.

a little off topic, my idea for future versions is a "cuts inside" and "move to flanks" option in players individual instructions (especially attacking midfielder). what beckham did is a good example.

Hi carlo_sheva

No problem. Glad that my thoughts to be of some use.

It was strange because I was thinking of the new role which Beckham is now playing as well and thinking how this bit of style could be made useful or spring another thought in FM2009, I guess great minds think alike. Or fools seldom differ! I prefer the former.

[ladislao_kubala]

PRE-SEASON 3 - REWORKING TACTICS AND TEAM PHILOSOPHY

Season 2 was an eye opener to the difficulty of the game and perspectives (poor run, bus parking re-ranking, lack of determination) which I did not consider but it has bought about a rethink on the tactics and the overall approach to the game.

With my own target not to play more than 6 seasons (I shifted it 5+1 just to sneak in one World Cup) .... my team needed renewal in philosophy.

I took a look at my original plan for the first eleven to have Abbiati, Nesta, Zambrotta, Pirlo, Gattuso, Kaka, Ronaldinho and Pato as the new backbone of Italian defense and Brazillian flair ... I realized that much evolution in thought has changed since then. Nesta and Zambro has since weakened physically while Gattuso and Ronaldinho has been eclipsed by stronger players like Flamini/Veloso and Messi. All four backbone now are set to become squad players instead or reliable backups in the new season.

I mean when Messi was made available, it was a must-have! I fully trust that the Milan management IRL would have done the same.

But where does this leave Milan and my Italian defense with Brazilian flair?

Well, firstly let's look at the stats again from last season. The two most prominent being goals scored 89 and 29 against. In simple terms - it meant that my attack was fine, but my defense did not measure up in Serie A, let alone the CL.

In the goalkeeping department and notably the fullbacks were found wanting often against better wide men like Rosina, Mutu, Quaresma etc. I needed rejuvenation in these areas and the £150m will help this. Also, my MC never looked up to the mark many times during the season.

So the team philosophy has now been refined to the following:

1) Italian defense with a distinct South American flair. I still harbor the hopes to have 4-6 Italian players consistently in the first team - this was important because it was the reason I started playing Milan anyway.

2) A determined team - determination is now a pre-requisite in my first team

3) The heart of Milan - Fazio (the roaring lion), Pirlo (the peerless), Messi (the maestro) and Kaka (the new symbol). Fierce loyalty to ex-key players like Ambrosini, Gattuso and Nesta.

4) Entertaining style of play - this one I have very much displayed with the 89 goals scored and plan to continue.

5) Ancelotti pragmatism in tactics and approach but with a touch of Wenger-like confidence in youth. IMO it was Zaccheroni's touch which laid the foundation for Italian players like Abbiati, Ambrosini and Gattuso (signed) which still feature in the team today. Zaccheroni may have just won one single title, but a little bit of his signature still remains to this day.

This Milan is due for a refreshing of new Italian faces and to me, that would be the inclusion of Fiorillo, Fazio, Paloschi and Criscito to stalwarts like Pirlo. To this, I plan to add Santon and Chiellini (gasp!) and should form the new Italian nucleus of the team.

It may take another full season and massive amounts of confidence in youth to blend in Fiorillo, Paloschi and Criscito especially but this is where the Wenger-like confidence comes in. I fully trust that with regular games Fiorillo with be among the best there is. I may sacrifice 1-2 seasons getting there, but my "long term" plan is 6 seasons, not 3-4. Fazio already looks massive for defense and Paloschi looks on the way to be able to be capable of producing decisive goals consistently. All this should give me 5-6 first team players for the whole season.

To this, I plan to add a truly Galactico attacking midfield line of Messi-Aguero-Kaka. On top of this, I plan to officially crown Kaka as the new Captain and hence, hope that the new Prince of San Siro will really get an extra boost in confidence to totally blow opponents away with Maradona worthy performances in the CL. The AMC line will be my demonstration of determination, entertaining play and composure in finishing. All three rate highly on the relevant stats (at least 15+). The second line of AMCs of Ronaldinho-Gourcuff-Sanchez bring close to same qualities (mostly 14+) of the first line with additional different qualities like free kicks (R80) and blinding pace (Sanchez) when called upon.

To repair the seemingly broken MC position, I plan to play with 2 DMCs instead. With the likes of Flamini, Veloso and Pirlo, my creative DMCs all rate very highly in passing (all 3 players passing are above 17) and I plan to maximize their qualities in passing by implementing regular short passing to all my defenders - one notch into normal to be precise. This makes majority of the passing pass through the DMC and should help involve the players much more.

Hence the formation will be a 4-2-(0)-3-1.

(P.S. I also read that there is a MCa/AMC bug in version 9.2 but do not know whether it is relevant here)

The (0) means that there will be no central midfielder (s) but my DMCs will be placed in the MC position when the team decides to attack and fall back to a tight DMC position then in defense. I found that the opposition's AML/AMR are more likely to be closed down by my DMCs rather that my DL/DR and this is ideal, since my DL/DR (no tight marking) should be able to mop up any loose play and hopefully create my anti-thesis to the 4-3-3. Of course, there is still the matter of the fullbacks to cover, but I will continue to test and refine this as I go along. The backup line of Gattuso and Zucculini should provide more than sufficient cover and different qualities to be called upon for difficult away matches.

The tighter position of the DMCs but with good passing should be able to reach the AMCs more consistently rather than to rely on the fullbacks to pass to AMC when they roam to the wide spaces. The 6-man defense releases the fantastic 4 to do their work too.

Fullbacks should be strong positionally and occasionally join the attack. Perhaps, I would try to have a 2-0-4-3-1 (or 3-0-3-3-1) when in attack and 6-3-0-0-1 when in defense. Lippi's usage of the legend Maldini for his 4-3-3 to 3-4-3 during the WC06 is the model here.

This overall framework hopefully gives better control of the match which is Ancelotti's trademark. So this leaves to with the mandate to buy Chiellini for £95m and Santon for £26m (or another Italian DR/DL). Or I may let go off one of them go for the excellent looking Gareth Bale. Aguero is already part of my team for a record £48.5m transfer fee.

Wish me luck!

TRIVIA (in case you were curious)

Cech was quoted at £128m + Witzel + Gourcuff + Paloschi

Buffon was quoted at cheaper £121m (ha!)

:confused: Ronaldinho was glad that Mr. Kubala had a sense of humor for saying that he wanted to sign up Buffon - no, I am really not kidding! He also has 2 front teeth.

[Sir frosinone]

Started again will update 2morow.

[ladislao_kubala]

MINI UPDATE ON FRIENDLIES AND TACTICAL REFINEMENT

I have finally managed to clinch the signature of elusive Chiellini for rather ridiculous £70m. Never before in my whole history of CM/FM have I ever spent more than £30m but with Milan's riches, I have exceeded that 3 times already.

Actually, I typically prefer to manage the perennial underachievers (e.g. Newcastle/Aston Villa) or up and coming Division 1 folks like QPR or Parma. But Galactico is the game here!

I put up several friendlies against class opposition like Barcelona, Real Madrid, Inter and Juve to judge the progress of my team and tactics.

Promptly lost 2-0 to Barcelona, with my fullbacks Guilherme and Zambro un-inspiring in attack and constantly skinned in defense. My overall play suffered as a result of being pegged back my their wide men as my team spent most of the time too deep in defense and unable to move out to attack. Criscito and Fazio performed ok, but not immense. My DMCs were not dominating the park and my AMCs were too isolated. Not a good game, deserved loss.

I revamped my team, keeping my fullbacks Guilherme and Zambrotta from moving forward and having my back 4 sitting back most of the time and without venturing forward. Used Flamini and Veloso in the DMC position and they did ok (about 6.7 to 7 score) so at least the "MC problem" seems to be better now. Promptly drew 1-1 away with Madrid but with much better overall play but the worrying sign was I was not able to score more despite several chances. Criscito was not exactly convincing in the center of defense.

Finally got Chiellini in (I was surprised to be honest) and revamped my entire backline again. Chiellini partnered Fazio in the center of defense and Criscito at DL and Zapata (!) as DR. Essentially, I had 4 centrebacks in my back 4 but what a surprise! I managed to beat Juve only 1-0 ... but it was the total dominance which really excited me. The 4 centrebacks did nothing but just breakdown attacks and make simple passes to the DMCs. On top of that, the hugely improved defensive skills totally dominated the wide men both in creating chances and locking out shots and crucially headers in crosses and corners. I typically leave the 2 fullbacks during attacking corners and with essentially 2 centrebacks instead now, it is even stronger to cut out any quick breakaways. Ultimately, the back 4 which sits back now allows me to release my DMCs (Pirlo or Veloso or Flamini) to gain control of the match and link with the AMCs consistently. Very good vibes.

The effectiveness of the new setup was finally sealed with a very, very satisfying 4-1 win over Inter. It was the way my team managed to keep Inter's attack firmly in their pockets which was the truly satisfying point. Inter found no consistent way past my back 4, and this allowed the magic of Messi and new Captain Kaka to eventually weave through the tight Inter defense.

I think I have found the "right balance" Ancelotti speaks about so often!

[Purefun]

Sounds like a great tactic mate.

[ladislao_kubala]

Thanks for the encouragement.

I just thought of one final change to shift my "fullbacks" away from the near/far post when defending corners or defending free kicks so that they can contribute more to the man marking.

Really excited now for the start of the season

[carlo sheva]

@ mr. kubala

you should upload it here man..

[Ibbo2012]

Syzz

Is Gai Assulin a regen?

no mate hes at barcelona in the c team to start

[Strawberry Fields]

I'm having troubles with my tactics, any chance of a download?

[ladislao_kubala]

@ mr. kubala

you should upload it here man..

Will do that over the weekend. A bit busy at work right now and I noted some marked decrease in performance for the AMCs instead. The results, however, so far are quite good.

vs. Udinese (friendly - home) 3-0

vs. Torino (h) 4-1

vs. Livorno (h) 5-1

vs. Zurich (a) 5-1

vs. Siena (a) 2-0

Pirlo (unhappy fella) is in real hot form in this new formation - 8.85 in last 3 matches

It's of course all the small teams, and could be that re-ranking from my performance last season has rated my team lower. Torino played in a usual style and not defensively against my team.

[Cas46]

Hi guys, I started a new game as Milan and so far it all seems a bit too easy:p

I started in Brazil 2007 to get the first transfer window and deleted Gourcuffs loan as well so I could have him back, now in February 2009 so the team now looks like this:

GKs: Carrizo(11m), Abbiati

CBs: Fazio(16.5m), Thiago Silva(5.5m), Nesta, Senderos

FBs: Kolarov(7.5m), Srna(15m), Cassani(2.3m), Zambelli(950k)

CMs: Veloso(12m), Ambrosini, Flamini, De La Red(3.6m)

AMs: Ronaldinho, Kaka, Gourcuff, Marquinhos(12m), Sanchez(5.5m), Buonanotte(12m)

FWs: Borriello, Pato, Milevskyi(10m), Keirrison(10m)

So far we are top of Serie A and unbeaten, 3 points clear of Inter who are also very strong, what I really need is an injury to Ibrahimovic. Won the Uefa cup group and just won the first leg of the first knockout round 2-1 away at Saint Etienne. Generally the defence has been immense despite the very attacking nature of my fullbacks who are often my best players. Carrizo is solid in goal and Fazio with Silva will be there for a long time, Nesta's just not strong enough for me and I'll need to sign some other CBs in the summer, though looking at how quick Milan make money that shouldn't be hard. CM is probably the weakest area, no one really has good ratings in there, Gourcuffs playing there now for his extra creativity over the others, might promote Mascio from the youth team to replace Ambrosini for next season. Ams are doing really well, Kaka of course even though he's playing on the right a lot, Ronaldinho was out for 5 months which was annoying but the others were very good despite their inexperience. FWs are ok but not spectacular, struggling to find someone who I can count on for 30+ goals a year, Pato probably the best even though his stats aren't great, Borriello solid but not great, Milevskyi the same and just got Keirrison who might be the man, we'll see. Will try to get Paloschi back at the end of the season who will be a good squad player and homegrown. Only other decent strikers I have in mind are Laurito or Aguero but he's obviously going to be massively expensive.

[Bradz FM]

ive been battling away until November keeping up pace with Inter until Cagliari hammered me 3-1d, ive also been beaten in my 2 UEFA Cup group games so far which ain 't good. got a cash injection of €18.5M. Ive agrreed deals for Feghouli (9M) and Ekici (1.6M). my efense is very erratic

[uppercut]

people always seem to say that milan is a footballer's retirement home, what with all the ageing players they have so i've decided to do a milan game where im limiting myself to players who are over 30 at the start of the game, so pirlo, ronaldinho and kaka have to take a hike. i doubt pirlo/ronaldinho would want to go on loan for a year until they hit 30, if i can swing a loan spell for them, even better!!

so, who are some good, relatively inexpensive over 30 players i can bring to milan? i can field a full team using 4-1-2-1-2 from the start but i have no depth! the only player i managed to get was lucio for relatively cheap until he decided to ask for around 80k in wages(!) which i wasnt too impressed with!

edit: im tempted to wait for the 930 patch, at least i'd get becks for a bit which would help me out.

[Deano554]

I know what you mean; as Milan I'm always tempted to sign ageing stars who are at the end of their contracts, and having a mixture of age and youth in my team. Too bad John terry decided to retire on my current save. Still, I've got my eye on a few, and after I've played the World Cup with England I'll have a season review.

[uppercut]

well i was going for everyone over 30 i've found 2 players that will should the cause.. smertin and gravesen! and possibly henrik larrson too.

(im really scraping the barrel now!)

[Deano554]

Are you playing 9.0.2? If not, then you can get Big Ronaldo on a free (if he's willing to rejoin his former club), but on 9.0.2 he's at Corinthians.