5 Reasons AC Milan Should Not Fire Pippo Inzaghi

Filippo Inzaghi took over at AC Milan in the summer full of promise. Milan had improved under Clarence Seedorf during the second half of last season, and fans hoped the club legend would capitalize on that momentum with fresh ideas and lead Milan back into Serie A's upper echelons.

Unfortunately, that promise has not been fulfilled. Milan sits in 11th place, dead even with city rivals Inter.

As is wont to happen in Italy, speculation has run rampant over the fate of the manager. Italian owners have a notoriously quick hook, and Silvio Berlusconi in particular can have a hair trigger. Since he bought the club in 1986, Berlusconi has made 18 coaching changes, not counting interim managers.

Inzaghi's first season as a senior-level coach hasn't been devoid of mistakes on his part, but he does not deserve to be fired; the problems in the club run far deeper than the manager's office.

Here are the top-five reasons why Pippo should keep his job until the end of the season—and possibly beyond.

Berlusconi Won't Spend

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Silvio Berlusconi has spent far less on the team than in the past.

In this day and age, a manager's tactics will only take a team so far. Berlusconi's first major managerial hire, the legendary Arrigo Sacchi, created what might have been the last major tactical innovation before the advent of global telecommunications and video scouting made it so much more difficult to shock the world with tactics alone.

The occasional tactical revelation has come since, such as Pep Guardiola's Barcelona, but nowadays, it's more and more important to have the best players.

Milan doesn't have the best players anymore. The reason is simple: Silvio Berlusconi isn't buying them.

In his first six years of ownership, Berlusconi broke the international transfer record three times. Of those acquisitions, Jean-Pierre Papin was slowed by injuries and Gianluigi Lentini's promising career was derailed by a serious car accident. The third, however, happened to be Ruud Gullit, who scored 38 goals over seven years in two stints with the club and spurred them to three Scudetti and two European Cups.

Over the years, big-money moves have seen the likes of Kaka, Andriy Shevchenko, Ronaldinho and Zlatan Ibrahimovic play in red and black. But over the last few years, Berlusconi's investment in the team has dried up. When that happens, it's hard for any team to continue to compete at an elite level.

Galliani Has Dropped the Ball

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Adriano Galliani has not adapted to the lack of funds.

It is possible to put up a competitive team with a smaller budget. Unfortunately, Adriano Galliani has badly mismanaged the squad since Berlusconi turned off the tap.

Over the past few years, Galliani has stocked the team with aging free agents and cut-price, over-the-hill veterans. The likes of Michael Essien, Alex and Cristian Zaccardo just take up space on the roster—and valuable money on the payroll—without adding actual quality. Money was wasted on this summer's Fernando Torres loan and the even less forgivable €12 million purchase of Alessandro Matri.

An obvious solution is to introduce inexpensive youth players to the equation. Milan's youth system is a good one—they made the knockout round of the UEFA Youth League a year ago—but Galliani has spectacularly mismanaged his young talent.

Riccardo Saponara, purchased two winters ago, was deemed to be the Rossoneri's next young attacking midfielder. Inexplicably, Galliani proceeded to buy an ageing Kaka from Real Madrid and Keisuke Honda from CSKA Moscow. The Japanese star has been productive in spurts, but it made no sense to buy the highly regarded Saponara, give him the No. 8 shirt, and then put two players between him and the field.

He's currently on loan for the rest of the season at his boyhood club, Empoli.

Andrea Petagna has been similarly marginalized and is on loan at Vicenza. But the worst transgression was the sale of Bryan Cristante—easily Milan's most promising midfield prospect—to Benfica in the summer.

Galliani has simply set the side up badly. That means that Inzaghi has had to try to get the expected results with a team that isn't worthy of Milan's illustrious history. When your highest-paid player is Philippe Mexes and you're forced to bring Salvatore Bocchetti in from Russia to find someone—anyone—who can defend, you aren't going to make much noise in the race for the Champions League.

The Team Is Actually Better Than Last Year

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Inzaghi has actually had a better start to the season than Max Allegri a year ago.

Believe it or not, for all their struggles, Inzaghi's Milan have actually had a better start to the season than Max Allegri's squad a year ago.

Through 20 games this season, the Diavolo are in 11th place with 26 points. That record is actually a point better than last year's squad.

It's not a monumental improvement, but it's a sign that even with an inadequate squad, Inzaghi is capable of making the team better.

It's also worth noting that Milan would likely be higher in the standings were it not for the fact that Sampdoria, Genoa and Palermo are all having seasons that have surpassed expectations. That Inzaghi has been able to hold his own with the players he has at his disposal despite other teams in the league improving is a positive sign.

The Team Can't Have More Dead Money

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Milan will be paying Seedorf until the end of next year.

Clarence Seedorf claimed 32 points in the second half of last season. He failed to guide the team into European competition, but his was a marked improvement over a team that seemed to have given up on Allegri.

Unfortunately, Seedorf's domineering ways lost him the locker room and garnered criticism from the likes of Andrea Poli, Giampaolo Pazzini and assistant coach Mauro Tassotti. That, more than anything else, was likely the reason he lost his job.

In firing Seedorf, Milan had to continue to pay him. He will draw a salary from Milan until his contract runs out at the end of next year.

Firing Inzaghi would add even more dead weight to the payroll. Once a replacement is hired, Milan would literally be paying three coaches at once—only one of whom would actually be working for the team.

In their current financial situation, Milan simply can't afford that kind of dead money.

Reinforcements Are Arriving

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Mattia Destro finally gives Inzaghi a true striker.

Inzaghi's team is not up to scratch, but there is a cavalry coming.

Young Spanish midfielder Suso has arrived from Liverpool. Bocchetti has arrived from Spartak Moscow to hopefully provide a bit more bite along the back line.

Perhaps most importantly, in a move confirmed by Milan's in-house TV channel (h/t Football Italia), Mattia Destro will move to the San Siro from Roma.

The striker was never satisfied playing behind the ageless Francesco Totti in the capital. Given the fact that Milan doesn't have a true No. 9 who merits starter's minutes, he is likely in line for a lot more minutes at the San Siro.

Destro gives Inzaghi the true striker his 4-3-3 needs. With Mario Balotelli gone and Giampaolo Pazzini still not the same after injuries, the manager has been forced to use Jeremy Menez as a false nine for much of the season. With Destro, he can begin to realize his vision.

Inzaghi should be given the opportunity to take this improved—on paper—team to the end of the season before any consideration should be given to letting him go.