Milan 2, Verona 2: A Different Conversation

Another game, another draw… Wait, did you say draw? Oh yeah, we didn’t lose. But something tells me a loss would have had fans happier for some reason. Sure, Milan conceded a penalty, then came back to take the lead, and then conceded a goal in the dying seconds to drop points again to a club lower on the table than us (but not for long!) But like Inzaghi said in his press conference, had the game ended 10 seconds earlier, we would be having a different conversation.

Even hardened criminals deserve a little love sometimes

First of all, Inzaghi could never win this game. Not even if we had actually won it. He sits Cerci, and people complain. He sits Pazzini and people complain. He lets them play, people complain. There is no winning in this “trial by media” that he referred to in his postmatch comments. Hopefully he doesn’t see the trial by social media that you people are conducting every day.

More depressing than Milan’s poor performances or results for me is listening to the exhausting rhetoric of some Milan fans online. Last summer it was “This season is a write off, so glad we don’t have Europe.” Now it’s like “We should be winning every game because we aren’t even in Europe.” After the summer mercato, “This team will never finish 3rd.” After Milan won a few games at the beginning of the season, “We can win the Scudetto.” After midseason, “I don’t even watch the games anymore, but...” Really, people?

But the best is reserved for Inzaghi. Last summer, many of us did not want to see him appointed to the bench – yet, anyway. We all called for his support despite the circumstances, knowing he would need it with this squad. But many fans mistook his nickname of “Super Pippo” and apparently assumed he was an actual superhero and would be able to take this team to the top overnight. Yet those same fans, when things started going badly, were the first to call for his head. And if some idiot journalists write “last chance for Inzaghi,” then these fans have Inzaghi’s headstone carved and a list of other coaches who aren’t available and we can’t afford to take his place. Really, people?

Could we have a different conversation for once? Please?

Frustrating, mindboggling, and yet they wear the Milan shirt. Everyone needs a little love

We all bleed red and black with our hearts and support our club in different ways. We all have our own opinions. But more tiring than watching Menez sublimely dribble the ball halfway down the field only to lose it near the goal is listening to fans act as if Milan’s poor results are a news flash. Or a personal insult to their soul. If you listened to both your head and your heart, you knew this was coming. And if you listen even harder, you’ll know it can and is very likely to get worse. The question is, how will you behave in the face of this pain?

Instead of making this all about you and your pain, can you think for a second of how we can support our boys and our coach through this tough time? Is it helpful to rage on social media? You know many of the players are on Twitter and Instagram, etc. If you were in their shoes, and already demoralized by these results and performances, would you want to see all of this hate from your own fans? Why not try to be a voice of support in the hatestorm instead?

Amidst the rubble of our team, some players stand tall and remind us what Milan is all about

Instead of lashing out about Muntari starting, why not take the extra second and just a pinch of brainpower to realize that because of injuries, he was our lesser of all evils at that spot today, even if that’s some kind of evil. We all have players we’d like to see never play again, but the fact is we have 31 players on our roster, so chances are good we’re going to have to deal with it sometimes. Or complaining about Mexes playing – he was the devil incarnate before he earned the penalty and scored the second goal today. Would he have stayed your flip-flop hero had we not conceded the second goal? For many of you, I think he would have, and that inconsistency of opinion is far more damaging to the team morale right now than the inconsistency we see on the pitch. This collective mindset builds up and creates unrealistic expectations, spreads untruths, and generally makes the situation worse for everyone.

As for Inzaghi, management are going to do whatever they’re going to do. But keep in mind we are already paying Seedorf’s oversized contract still, and we would then still owe Inzaghi his undersized contract, and then have to pay a new coach’s salary, too. With the expected 2014 losses expected to be announced next month in the €60-70m range, is that realistic? Or do management actually still believe that this squad can do a u-turn and earn a spot in Europe if they just change coaches? Is it really practical to believe that Tassotti or Brocchi could do better under the circumstances? I don’t know what management think, but I know that many of the same people I saw make comments like “Inzaghi is being thrown to the wolves” last summer and “He needs our undying support” are some of the same people calling for his head now. Disgusting.

He needs us to keep the faith

So let’s have a different conversation. We all know this sucks, we all seem to be aware that more than just a few more players or a coach need to change before this problem goes away. We all love Milan, we all want to see them win. But let’s try putting on our realistic-colored glasses for the rest of the season, shall we? And maybe try looking at the positives. Like how well Antonelli played and was even able to slot into the midfield for the last 13 minutes plus stoppage time. Or how Mexes seemed repentant for his psychotic breakdown earlier this year and put in that scrappy but determined goal. Or how Bonaventura has been such a revelation since snubbing Inter for the proper side of Milan. Yes, if you look hard enough, there are still positives in all of this pain.

Sure, we can still complain, as is our right as fans. But maybe we can all think a little before we burst into online word seizures: “Sack Inzaghi!” “Why is Muntari playing?” “Inzaghi caved into Cerci’s girlfriend’s demands!” Those exclamations don’t help anyone and aren’t born of a rational thought process. We can all do a little more to not buy into the childish media’s ridiculous opinions and rumors and to be responsible and try to offer support to those we claim to love so much. If we want to salvage this season, we just might have to do it ourselves. By having a different conversation.

This post inspired by “journalists” and social media

Our next match is

Fiorentina vs. Milan

Monday, March 16 • 15:00 CET (10am EDT)*

*note the time difference due to Daylight Savings Time