Devil’s Advocate: Petitions, principles and precedents – the dangers of external noise

AC Milan have once again failed in their season-defining period, but what has followed is a storm of epic proportions that has seen certainties swept away like sandcastles into the sea.

Make no mistake about it, the time for change is here. We have written extensively on how Stefano Pioli’s record in big games alone is enough for him to probably bite the bullet, as are other issues such as his rotation policy.

The straw that seemed to break the camel’s back for the management – the final straw that matters the most – is the Europe League defeat against Roma, a tie in which the Rossoneri lost both legs are were thoroughly outplayed.

Pioli was outthought by someone who is a rookie coach in comparison. Everything that Milan did was predictable and had a counter-plan from Daniele De Rossi, who in turn deployed certain schemes that the Rossoneri had no answer for.

The derby defeat against Inter – the sixth in a row in that particular fixture – added further salt to a wide-open wound. As the Nerazzurri celebrated the title in Milan’s home game, many fans wanted Pioli to be clearing his desk that same night.

What is clear is that Milan are now in the market for a new head coach; a man who can galvanise a talented squad, who can perform better in the moments that matter most and who can unite a club that needs everyone pulling in the same direction to try close the gap to the noisy neighbours across the navigli.

And yet, at the time of writing this, there could hardly be a bigger divide. The news emerged from a number of reliable sources that Julen Lopetegui is the man that has been chosen by the management to lead the post-Pioli era, and that things were moving fast.

This is where the supporters re-enter the frame, starting with an important point to make: Milan fans love a protest. They’re not the only ones by any means, but the ability to rally so quickly on key issues is borderline impressive.

Recent history gives us a couple of striking examples, the first being rather ‘full circle’ in nature as it concerns Pioli. When he was appointed as the man to replace Marco Giampaolo early on in the 2019-20 season, he was met with the ‘#PioliOut’ campaign which went viral on social media.

There are actually some similarities with today. In the eyes of a rather vocal portion of the supporter base there was an obvious choice back then (Luciano Spalletti) as there is now (Antonio Conte), without the realisation that things can be more difficult than that.

Then there was the sale of Sandro Tonali last summer. Once rumours became concrete and news spread that the fan favourite and future bandiera was heading to Newcastle United, all hell broke loose.

For many, it was a betrayal of the values that they hoped and presumed still existed at Milan, which was that attachment to the club meant something. Paolo Maldini’s sacking generated a similarly strong response, one entirely generated by shock, confusion and the evaporation of certainties.