MN: Player turnover, goals and discipline – why changing coach is no magic fix for Milan Futuro | OneFootball

The Milan Futuro project is now having the best first season, and while the decision has been made to change head coach other issues exist.

Instead, as MilanNews writes, sacking Daniele Bonera highlights a situation far more complicated than expected at the beginning of the season. One could have expected a period of adaptation and some teething issues, but all alibis have evaporated with ten games left.

Massimo Oddo will have little time available to pull the Rossoneri out of the quicksand, having been named as Bonera’s replacement and returning to the club for a fourth spell. What has gone wrong to this point?

Firstly, Milan Futuro have used 39 players across all competitions, and 38 in the league. There have been three goalkeepers who alternated (12 games for Lapo Nava, 10 for Noah Raveyre, six for Lorenzi Torriani), without there being a clear hierarchy.

There have been 13 defenders used, 12 midfielders and 10 forwards. The additional name is Marco Nasti in the Coppa Italia Serie C. Such a huge turnover in players historically indicates a team in difficulty, as shown by the fact SPAL (fourth-bottom in the league) are next with 37 and then Perugia (who changed coach twice) with 35.

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Then come Lucchese and Legnago Salus, two other teams with problems, at 34. There is no standard line-up, there is no standard module (the team went from 4-2-3-1 to 3-4-2-1 to 4-4-2 of the last round against Pescara), and without certainties the players suffer.

The proof is in the goals scored: the Futuro have the third worst attack. Only Sestri Levante and Legnago Salus are worse, and they are the only two teams directly below in the standings. Since the beginning of the season, a chronic difficulty in scoring and creating chances has been noted.

The ten forwards have never managed to receive the ball in behind often and are regularly forced to work with their backs to the goal. The top scorer is Kevin Zeroli, a player who was at too high a level and is now at Monza learning the ropes in Serie A.

After him, six players are on two goals, including Alex Jimenez – now a permanent fixture in the first team – plus Demirel Hodzic, Chaka Traoré, Francesco Camarda, Magrassi and Samuele Longo, the latter sold in January.

Among the mitigating factors for Daniele Bonera was the constant coming and going of players who shuttled between the first team, Milan Futuro and also the Primavera. The case of Camarda is emblematic: this season he has 13 appearances with the first team, 12 with the Futuro and one with the Primavera to play in the UEFA Youth League.

The same can be said for Jimenez, Zeroli, Bartesaghi and also Mattia Liberali. In fact, the coach often found himself without four or five players at the same time. Sometimes it was late notice as well, forcing a change in plans just before a game.

With eight red cards, Milan have the third-most sendings off in Serie C Group B. Only Campobasso (9) and Gubbio (10) have done worse. Since the beginning of the year, the team has made life difficult for itself, with some incomprehensible reds that have compromised games.