The third man

Got inspired to write this after reading on the Swedish fansite http://www.svenskafans.com/ about Allegri's midfield formation which in itself is not out of the ordinary in modern football.  Just like for instance Örebro SK, he is playing a three-man midfield a cleaner, a runner and a creator.  Svenska fans are writing well (in Swedish though) about who will play where in those three positions.  That's not what this post is about but in brief, based on what we have now (and Pirlo leaving) it looks like follows (bold means primary position, non-bold means playable in that position)

Cleaner: van Bommel, Ambrosini, Thiago Silva

Runner: Boateng, Flamini, Gattuso, Emanuelson, Strasser

Creator: Seedorf, Merkel

Seedorf is rumoured to be on his way out and Merkel is still too young.  So a new player is absolutely needed there.

But you saw in bold Boateng's name in the "runner" role.  The problem is all spring Boateng has been playing in the trequartista role behind the strikers, and he has done so well.  It was only when Allegri placed Boateng here that the team started to play convincingly.  So although I agree that Boateng's playing style is really best cut for the running midfielder role - there is a huge unknown here (and finally I'm about to get to the point):

Who will be the third man in the attack?

We assume we have the three midfielders we have discussed above (and that Milan has signed a good creator).  We also assume that Milan will play with two strikers (Ibrahimovic and Pato) and that the midfield will be supported by two attacking full-backs (Abate and new Taiwo).

One role remains and who will be played there will pretty much determine Milan's style of playing next year.  Here are the main options:

• The top of the midfield diamond.  This is pretty much how Milan played this spring.  Boateng is the only player that did really well in that role, which is not really a trequartista but rather a powerful midfielder that operates in the centre, deep.  I have not seen Strasser and Merkel enough to judge them, but I pretty much thing Boateng is the only option if this is how we want to play.  Flamini could do it but I would not want him there.
• The number 10.  This would be a more attacking player, and a player who gets and distributes a lot of balls.  A Rui Costa, for those who read the post yesterday.  Cassano could play in that role but he is for obvious reasons not a reliable player.  We can't build a team around him, but when on form he could be useful in particular at home against bottom of the table teams.  If we want to play a number 10, we should buy a number 10.  And maybe that is what Ganso is all about
• The fast and furious.  I find a tad odd to play a winger centrally.  I don't want anyone in this position, but I'm listing it as this is how Robinho was played for most of the first half of the season.  You get little creativity for the strikers and almost no ball-winning skills (although defensively this role could be useful with a player who can cut of much of the midfield with his runs)
• The three man attack.  A three-man attack would in many ways be an attractive option.  Only problem is that would mean playing Pato in a winger/striker position, which is not ideal.  And playing Ibra on the wing is unthinkable.  But with one of them out injured (or banned...) I would like to see two wingers around them.  Robinho could play to the left.  Surely the rumours about Ronaldo are to be ignored but there could be some substance in the rumours about Gareth Bale.  In particular if Milan finds a strong "creator" on the left of the midfield, it would be useful to play a winger with defensive back-up skills.

I think Allegri wants to keep his options open. I think he wants to buy a player that can alternate between the "cerator" role and the "trequartista" role.  Therefore Ganso is a very good buy.  But not enough to have a really strong side.  We also need to find a player that can (i) play as a relaible trequartista when Ganso is playing as a "cerator", (ii) play as winger/striker, preferable both left and right, in a three-man attack and (iii) accept the bench when Allegri wants to play more defensively.  For (i) and (ii) van der Vaart seems like a good fit, but not for (iii).  And in his case not for (iv), getting along with Zlatan.

So who is the third man?  Floor's open