Milan Obsession

This was a tough podcast to record, following the tragic Derby loss. However after venting about what went wrong and all of the darkness of that match, we did manage to discuss some light that will hopefully make Milan's future that much brighter.

Braving the Derby loss was our President of the Curva Sud America, Francesco. For his bravery alone, please give him a follow on Twitter @FrancescoPetra8. Jonathan was back from injury, too, so all of us chatted about:

• Lightning Round: quick questions about favorites
• News of the Week: stadium news, new baby, Scaroni in Serie A, Milan Glorie, record sales, new partnership, quote of the week
• Match Reviews: reviews of recent Serie A matches
• Maldini Dynasty: Will the Primavera's #10 be Milan's next #3?
• Coming up: upcoming matches and International Break

Thanks again to Francesco for braving the post derby conversation. Please give him a follow on Twitter @FrancescoPetra8

With Milan in third place, everyone is going crazy for Milan. It may be a little premature, as recent performances show that the team's mentality is still fragile. In the podcast that was recorded right after the Sassuolo match and nearly didn't make it to air because of technical difficulties, we talked about changes at the club, Milan's recent form, as well as our rise on the table. And, of course, why everyone is crazy for Milan.

Jonathan was literally on the injured list for this one, but luckily, Federico was still available for the starting lineup. Follow him on Twitter @fefinho83 and also give his Milan Club Buenos Aires a follow @MilanClubBAires. We chatted about:

• Lightning Round: quick questions about favorites
• News of the Week: double value, Fondazione Milan, new leadership, leaked Milan kits, Paqueta callup, return of Caldara
• Match Reviews: reviews of recent Serie A and Coppa Italia matches
• Higuain Tribute: recycling and gratitude
• Coming up: upcoming matches

Thanks again to recycling legend Federico for sharing his brilliance with us. Follow him on Twitter @fefinho and also his Milan Club Buenos Aires @MilanClubBAires.

By some miracle, Milan are still in fourth place. Morale is high, especially with the performances of a few individuals. Still, there is plenty to discuss and much to be improved within the team. And no one knows better what those things are than the most devout of Milan fans. Good Times.

The most devout of Milan fans includes podcast favorites Pete and David. You can follow Pete on Twitter @PDAcquaviva for his wisdom and follow David @DavidLSwan for his humor. Or is that reverse? The four of us wisely laughed about:

• Lightning Round: quick questions about favorites
• News of the Week: UEFA and ECA, making babies, Valentine love, new kit, Inter schadenfreude
• Match Reviews: reviews of recent Serie A matches
• Donnarumma Form: stats and discussion
• Midfield Form: talking Bakayoko and more
• Coming up: upcoming matches

Thanks again to both Pete and David for both making us think and making us laugh. For more wit and wisdom, follow them on Twitter @PDAcquaviva and@DavidLSwan.

Milan are still in fourth place, even if they still struggle to take advantage of opposition teams dropping points and widen the gap. But confidence is growing, the a number of clean sheets is growing, and we finally have a competent management. Which is why we had the best January mercato ever. Not only is it our first January mercato in so very long, but we truly strengthened the squad to make us more competitive, and we also lowered our wage bill at the same time.

Because we recorded during the absolute worst Super Bowl game in history, our guests were all sitting in shock while Jonathan and I talked about all things Milan. Our discussion included:

• News of the Week: Actual respect, respect fail, benevolence, clean sheets, European top ten, Mihajlovic for the win, Elaine's luscious schadenfreude week
• Match Reviews: reviews of recent Serie A and Coppa Italia matches
• January Mercato: all of the ins and outs of this mercato
• Coming up: upcoming matches

Milan are back in fourth place, and despite a heartbreaking Supercoppa loss, seem bound and determined to fight for fourth, against all odds. This week, we looked more in depth at Gattuso and what kind of future he might have at the club. In an all-Americ

No one is more harsh on a team or its players than the team's own fans, and that is why we do midseason player ratings. Fans got a little relief after a much needed win against the mighty SPAL, having survived the wreckage of a tedious December tailspin. Luckily, the players were rated for their entire season's performances.

For some fresh perspective this midseason, we turned to a new guest, Walid. Follow him on Twitter @Silm_213 . We chatted about:

• News of the Week: Fassone irony, captain fine, heartless move, more appealing, year in a number, transfer win, return of Strinic
• Match Reviews: reviews of recent matches
• Midseason Ratings: discussing and rating the players
• Coming up: upcoming matches and moral issues

Thanks again to Walid for sharing his passion and opinions about Milan. Please give him a follow on Twitter for more wisdom @Silm_213

Milan are celebrating their 119th birthday having just crashed out of the Europa League and then being slapped with sanctions from UEFA. Not the birthday gifts we were hoping for, but at least not playing in the Europa League might help curb our injury crisis. It's enough to give anyone the holiday blues.

With nothing to celebrate, we needed twice the star power, so we invited both David and Pete to be on the podcast this time. You can follow David @DavidLSwan on Twitter and Pete at @PDAcquaviva on Twitter. Together, we lamented and laughed about:

• News of the Week: new player, small profit, new head of scouting, new CEO, nomination, godless January, Curva milestone, happy birthday
• Match Reviews: reviews of recent matches
• FFP Sanctions: discussing the new sanctions
• Coming up: upcoming matches, lesson in timezones

Thanks again to both David and Pete for blessing us with their wit and wisdom. To further bless your lives, follow them on Twitter @DavidLSwan and @PDAcquaviva.

Gattuso just celebrated his first year as Milan's head coach, so of course his track record has been under the microscope. But with recent results and performances improving, the microscope is looking pretty favorably at him. Much of the attention this week is turning towards Milan's new CEO, Ivan Gazidis. Certainly, there is always plenty to talk about at Milan.

This conversation needed some genius, so we obviously invited Jovan to join us. We discussed all things Milan, especially:

• News of the Week: indestructible defender, political statements, UEFA list, surgery news, scoring savant, 4th place!
• Match Reviews: reviews of recent matches
• Welcome Gazidis: a new CEO for Milan
• Gattuso's First Year: strengths and weaknesses
• Coming up: upcoming matches

Thanks again to Jovan for sharing his genius with us. Beware of exceptional genius wandering at large around Montenegro.

From Injury emergency to crisis to a full blown injury apocalypse, our season has drastically changed for the worse. Especially for so many of our players, who are personally feeling the pain of this apocalypse. We are already seeing the short term impact of these injuries, but they will also have long term ramifications as well.

We needed a true Milan fan to discuss our suffering, so we turned to Francesco. You can find out more about Francesco by following him on Twitter @FrancescoPetra8. Amidst the pain, we talked about:

• News of the Week: new clothes, strange ban, Golden Boy, new dad, new CEO, awards, waiting for sanctions
• Match Reviews: reviews of recent matches
• Injury Apocalypse: why so many injuries so soon?
• Coming up: upcoming matches

Thanks again to Francesco for suffering with us yet again. Please follow him on Twitter @FrancescoPetra8 to suffer along with him.

Like a most improbable dream, Milan are in fourth place right now. Which is a huge shift from recent years and shows that while our football may not be pretty, in fact it may be really frustrating at times, it is more effective than it looks. And that Champions League objective might not be quite so far away as it has seemed all of these years without it.

With a win, a clean sheet, and fourth place all happening simultaneously, sometimes people get lost in the celebrations. That was clearly the case with our guest this week, so Jonathan and I took the reins once again. We discussed:

• News of the Week: new partner, best in form player, coach Oddo, fortress, Conti comeback, Zlatan
• Match Reviews: reviews of recent matches
• Injury Crisis: why so many injuries so soon?
• Coming up: upcoming matches