AC Milan fail again, and it won't be the last time - Ryan Duggins

A very unconvincing start to this seasons campaign continued this weekend, as Milan were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Catania. This rather sluggish and completely unpolished display follows a 2-0 win over Auxerre (in which the scoreline flatters them to a ridiculous level) and a 2-0 defeat to Cesena. With optimism around the red and black portions of the San Siro, fans are becoming rightfully disrupted by this start to the season. So let us delve...

The main problem lies within the tactical abilities of Massimiliano Allegri. It is hilariously lazy to just say that the core of the team are a little old, but these guys are very talented professionals who are not adapting. Against Catania, the team was very much split into two parts. You had the front three of Ronaldinho, Z'ibra and Inzaghi, none of which have ever tracked back in their entire lives. So with a maximum of 8 players behind the ball, you need the sprightly guys to really put a shift in, to cut out any kind of venom from the opponent. But where are they?

If you decide to play this 4-3-3 formation, then the first thing you do is make sure that the guys on the wing will track back, and the three midfielders also have very good engines. OK, maybe you can get away with one older hat that will sit in the centre and dictate, but not two. Seedorf and Pirlo can not play in this kind of project. If you put these two in the same three-man midfield, not only will you reside yourself to the termination of the third midfielder, but you will leave yourself always open to the counter. This is exactly what has happened to AC Milan.

So you have a front three who wait for the ball, and a midfield that also wait for the ball, which will surely mean that the back four, if nothing else, will be as strong as oxen and have the pace of a spirited gazelle in a rush. This is not the case, as Thiago Costa was the youngest player for Milan at 25 against Catania, and his reading of the game left the hosts almost constantly under threat.

Up until now, Milan have relied on the big names to get them out of a sticky situation, but this can not continue. One day, Ronaldinho won't be able to cut through, and Z'Ibra will be off form, which will lead to a demoralising destruction. New manager Allegri needs to look at his squad as individual entities to a successful team, rather than the names of the players that he has been dreaming of managing.