Is It Imperative for Filippo Inzaghi That AC Milan Finish in the Serie a Top 3?

Filippo Inzaghi is living game to game as coach of AC Milan. His job is safe, for now—even after losing twice to Lazio in four days and even after losing four of the past six games. 

Such is the situation at Milan that a first-year coach is already answering questions about job security. 

Inzaghi talks about bringing back the Milan of old, per Rai Sports (h/t Football Italia), but they are long gone. They have to lower expectations before they hurt even more fans.

True, the Champions League is a salvation for a club in the red like Milan. It looks like the place they need to go. But third place is a red herring. A late-season drive to third place would not change the fact that this team does not have a plan. It would only reassure the higher-ups that what they are doing is right, when really what they are doing is plain wrong.

Remember 2013: Milan needed a late (and dubious) penalty from Mario Balotelli on the final day of the season to clinch the last Champions League spot. They made it, but it did nothing to deter this current reality of cheap spending. 

Antonio Calanni/Associated Press

The club earned more than €37 million from their last Champions League campaign, but that did not change the fact that Milan are in debt, and it certainly did not prevent them from overspending on wages. Milan, who are closer to the relegation zone than they are to third place, have the third-highest payroll in the league. And for nothing.

Milan are starting to look like the team Silvio Berlusconi inherited in the 1980s: a broken brand with financial problems. Pointing to Financial Fair Play is an excuse for a club that mismanages the little money that they do have. A loan here and a bandage there: that is the Milan way of doing business nowadays.

In other words, the Champions League is a mirage for Milan. Of course, sitting out of the competition has cost them millions of euros, but that is a consequence of selling stars like Thiago Silva and Zlatan Ibrahimovic for exactly the amount of money they are now losing. In this case, selling your best players has hurt the bottom line more than it has helped.

Before Milan tackle any objective, they have to devise some kind of strategy. Going in for an assault without any tactics is doomed from the start. That’s exactly why this team is struggling now.

Sacking Inzaghi for this poor run of results is not going to alter the course of history. A midseason sacking never really works at all. Inzaghi deserves the full season, even though he has failed to make changes.

But he has to come up with his own vision. He has to impose some kind of philosophy. This club badly needs some kind of direction.

If Inzaghi is not going to ask tough questions to the upper management, then who will? The lack of leadership at the top is evident. Inzaghi has to push Galliani and Berlusconi to make signings that fit in with some greater goal. Do they want to attack, attack and attack, or do they want to defend?

Galliani is out trying to sign Roma's Mattia Destro, according to reports from Gianluca Di Marzio, but that has to be the start, not the end.

Before Milan identify a target like the Champions League, first they have to decide what they want to be. And that will ultimately determine whether Inzaghi is the coach that Milan really need.