Milan Obsession

Life is strange. Sometimes when things are going great on one front, they fall apart on another. For example Milan are doing so well and don't look to be stopping soon, which is absolutely fantastic. On the other hand, Inter sacked De Boer, who was doing so well at keeping Inter in the bottom half of the table. So many lessons to be learned, so little time. But for today, rather than searching for "the Answer to the Great Question… Of Life, the Universe and Everything…" I have a very quick podcast for you….

During the International Break, there is time to reflect on how the season is going so far. As usual, it's a mixed bag, even if the results are flattering to the performances. But the one thing that is obvious and everyone seems to agree upon is that Milan is getting younger. A lot younger. So many young players have been getting playing time, it's actually very exciting.

To help me discuss the young talent, I needed the best scout in the world, which is obviously David. You can follow the legend himself on Twitter @DavidLSwan. And while you're there, let's make sure that he gets the Director of Sport job instead of Mirabelli, so be sure to use the hashtag #DavidForDS. In between saving Milan from making a massive mistake, we also discussed:

• News of the Week: Milan taking over FIFA, Powered by Diesel, Golden Boy Award nominee, Papa Paletta, Milan average age, Milan fans holding strong, Milan Ladies won, Inter suck, Galliani announcement

• Update Sale of the Club: latest updates

• Season Update: reviewing the matches to date

• International Break: the Milan players who are representing

• Injury Update: players on the training table

• Coming Up: upcoming matches to watch for

Thanks again to David for gracing us with his presence once again. Follow him on Twitter @DavidLSwan and remember #DavidForDS. I want to see this trending.

The season started, the mercato ended, there was an International break. Oh and there was big news about the sale of the club. So much to talk about, some good, some not so much. But amidst all of the news, the progress toward the sale of the club stands out the most, and gives fans a reason to hope.

A new season calls for an important guest, so of course I turned to the President of the Curva Sud America, the legendary Francesco. If you want to be amongst the most important Milan fans, y ou must follow him on Twitter @FrancescoPetra8. This time around, we tried to touch on a lot of Milan news, including:

• News of the Week: Shevchenko speaks, Champions League changes, Milan Glorie, Gattuso's back, Ciao Umberto Gandini, Milan Ladies honored by the Mayor of Milano, the wage report, Supercoppa news, Milan twins, Balo is back

• International Break: recapping Milan players who played

• Season Update: reviewing the matches to date

• Mercato Wrapup: players in and out

• Injury Update: players on the training table

• Sale of the Club Update: discussing the progress of the sale

• Coming Up: upcoming matches to watch for

Thanks yet again to the legendary Francesco for some great Milan conversation. Go to Twitter now and follow him @FrancescoPetra8, all of the best Milan fans do.

It's hard to believe what has and hasn't happened this summer. With a preliminary agreement finally in place, an unimpressive preseason, and a very light mercato, fans are left to meter their excitement with a large dose of reality. With the new season starting up before the physical transformation of the club and our team, it's harder to be excited or optimistic about the first half of our season. I think most fans are watching as closely to see what happens off of the pitch with our transformation.

With so many changes and a new season on the horizon, I needed a big name guest, so of course I turned to the fantastic Gio of Rossoneri TV. Follow him on Twitter @RossoneriTV and be sure not to miss a single video by subscribing to his YouTube channel Rossoneri TV. He is also one of the admins for the Milan Club Montreal, so be sure to follow @ACMClubMTL. To catch up on all of the big news, we chatted about:

• News of the Week: Third kit debut, Forbes assessment, watch out for Gattuso, how did Boateng find a new club?, Milan TV interview, Milan Ladies

• Sale of the Club: discussing the preliminary agreement

• Marco Fassone: a little bio on our new CEO-to be

• Mercato News: players in and out

• Friendlies: catching up the summer preseason

• Montella: talking his tactics so far

• Injuries: who's on the training table right now

• Season Preview: the main issues and early fixtures this year

Thanks once again to the amazing Gio for some great conversation in the face of a very bleak time at Milan. Follow him on Twitter @RossoneriTV and subscribe to his channel Rossoneri TV. Also be sure to follow Milan Club Montreal.

Whatever the opposite of news is, that's where Milan is out. Everything is on hold until the sale of the club is resolved, one way or the other. And that date keeps getting pushed back and pushed back. Meanwhile, everyone else's mercato is rolling on and our transfer targets are being signed one by one… by other clubs. Still, there are always things to talk about, so even if we're all so stressed out, we're still Milan fans… for now.

For my part in Milan's commitment to youth, I found an awesome new guest who also hails from the West Coast here in the U.S. His name is Pierluca, and you should absolutely follow him on Twitter at @PierlucaCalcio. Despite our massive concerns about the club and all of our frustrations, we talked about:

• News of the Week: The Primadonna Curva Sud, new coaches, attention starved, Zapata's surgery, Ciao Tassotti, new away kit, shut up Wanda, Serie A & Coppa Italia fixtures coming up

• Bordeaux Friendly: nothing to write home about

• Mercato News: youth players out

• Future of the Club: Does the club even have a future?

Thanks again to the awesome Pierluca for some great conversation in the face of a very bleak time at Milan. Follow him on Twitter @PierlucaCalcio

A new coach is the start of a new era. How long that era will last largely depends on how much power Berlusconi is given, if the rumors of the club's impending sale are true. But for now, it's a new coach, a new season, and a new mercato. Nothing says new like revamping your website and club channel, too. But will Milan's past come back to haunt them? Or will we finally change for the good? This week the spotlight is on one man, the one they call l'Aeroplanino, to see if he can get us back to winning ways.

Speaking of winning ways, my guest this time was the legend himself, Vinny of @RedCardWeekly. You may also know him as one of the admins of the Milan Club Montreal. We discussed all things Montella plus:

• News of the Week: The Honorable Honda, new look to Milan media, expired contracts, update on the sale of the club

• Mercato News: Exits and new player

• International News: Players representing their national teams

• New Coach: looking at Montella

Thanks again to Vinny for the great convo. Follow @RedCardWeekly for the very occasional tweet, and follow @ACMClubMTL because it's the best Milan club in the world.

In the mostly quiet lull that we are all forced to endure while negotiations for the sale of the club continue, there isn't a lot to talk about that is concrete. But there are a couple of little tournaments going on and a few things that are known. So give a listen and feel free to join in the conversation as we are waiting and speculating.

For this podcast, I called upon the legendary cofounder of Milan Obsession, Jovan. If you are new to the blog, you missed out on his epic posts here, but at least you can listen to is brilliant wisdom now:

• News of the Week: Dumb things, Inter ahead again, negotiation update, Berlusconi's health, Youth team win, I get to see Donnarumma

• Former Player News: so many ex-Milan players

• International News: players representing their national teams

• Mercato News: contract extensions

• Milan's Next Coach: what should Milan be looking for?

Thanks again to Jovan for the fantastic chat in the midst of so much unknown. And good luck with that Euro bet.

If you thought there wasn't a lot going on at Milan, think again. Or I guess I should say that if you thought things were bad at Milan, think again. They can always get worse. Especially with the season over, the only entertainment is Berlusconi's concept of a joke. And it's more criminal than entertaining. With so much at stake but so little actually happening, many are questioning their fanship, and with good reason. For those of us who are still loyal to the club, we realize that the M in Milan is for masochism.

Longsuffering fans are getting harder to find, but when you find them, you know they are the best of fans. For this podcast, I found one of the best, Gio from Rossoneri TV. You can follow him on Twitter @RossoneriTV and his YouTube channel, rossoneritv.com is a must subscribe and watch. Also help him rebuild the official Milan Club Montreal by following @ACMClubMTL. Sifting through the good and the bad post season, we talked about:

• News of the Week: Cesare Maldini honored, Abbiati disappointed, new team for Mihajlovic, Oddo back in Serie A?, Champions League gap widens, FIFA better watch out, 3 more years of #TEKITANKA, party at Casa Milan

• Mercato News: extensions and new signing

• International News: players representing their national teams

• Gigio Donnarumma: serious fangirling

• Milan's Future: what's at stake and what's been said

Thanks again to Gio for commiserating with me and discussing all things Milan. Follow him on Twitter @RossoneriTV and subscribe to his awesome YouTube channel rossoneritv.com. Also help him rebuild the official Milan Club Montreal by following @ACMClubMTL, the one club that you can be sure is properly rebuilding.

Just when we thought Milan were finally rebuilding, Berlusconi derailed this season with only six games left. With negotiations happening for a potential sale of at least part of the club, the season left us on a giant cliffhanger with very little optimism justified. Still, out of duty or madness or some other reason, a season wrapup seemed the least we could do to maintain some loyalty. Rating the players was also difficult, so I took a high school yearbook approach to make it bearable. For me, humor is the only thing we have left, at least until the big questions are answered.

Milan fans everywhere are praying for something to finally change, so I also went to The Other Pope for guidance, Francesco. Follow him for divine Milan tweets @FrancecoPetra8. For this epic hour long podcast, we chatted about:

• News of the Month: Maldini honor, online petitions, back to court, tackle stat, new dads, new kit, ciao Abbiati, birthday, team of the season, Rami trophy, new player, Conte crimes, BREAKING NEWS

• Club News: shareholder meeting, negotiations, Berlusconi speaks, His Majesty

• Serie A News: season dates, promotions, relegations, broken records, El Shaarawy success

• Season Update: summary of recent matches

• Player Season Ratings: ratings of all players

• Mysteries of Milan: discussing all of the question marks about Milan

Thanks again to Francesco for taking the time to share his thoughts on Milan at this delicate time. Follow him on Twitter @FrancescoPetra8

Everyone was stunned when Mihajlovic was sacked and replaced with the promoted Brocchi with only six games and a Coppa final left. After seemingly finally doing some of the right things to actually rebuild after almost four years, this took us spiraling straight down to that horrible limbo between the champions of yesteryear and the success of the future. So while we wait to see what becomes of our beloved club, all we can do is talk about what can be done to make Milan great again.

For such an important discussion, I needed a truly passionate fan, so I asked Steve, aka the Bonaventura of Milan fans. Steve didn’t let his fame from @RedCardWeekly go to his head, instead he founded a fantastic company called vintagepitch.com with amazing football t-shirts, which you can follow on Twitter @VintagePitch. And as if that wasn’t enough, he is involved in the relaunch of the Milan Club Montreal, or @ACMClubMTL on Twitter. We chatted about:

• News of the Week: Niang update, Drones, Sexism, VAR technology, Panama Papers, Kobe retires, Milan’s recent loss

• Season Update: summary of recent matches

• Make Milan Great Again: discussion of Milan’s demise, the sacking of Mihajlovic, and how to get back to successful ways again

• Coming Up: a look at the games ahead

Thanks again to Steve for taking time out of his insanely busy schedule to talk Milan with me. Follow him @RedCardWeekly, @VintagePitch, and especially support the relaunched @ACMClubMTL.