Could Vincenzo Montella Pay Massive Price for AC Milan's Faltering Start?

"AC Milan are a club with a long history—you sense it every time you go to Milanello or are at San Siro," David Beckham recently told La Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t Football Italia), with the former England skipper reflecting fondly on his time with the Serie A giants.

Having played for the club when it was owned by Silvio Berlusconi, he was then asked about the club's new Chinese owners. "Although I respect the old owners very much, I have to say that there's a lot of excitement and great expectations with the new ones," Beckham said. "I hope Milan can go back to fighting for the objectives they were accustomed to."

That, in a nutshell, is the predicament in which the Rossoneri find themselves. As Berlusconi stopped investing huge sums in the side, they slipped from title contention, registering eighth-, 10th- and seventh-placed finishes before ending the 2016/17 campaign in sixth.

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With an exciting young core made up of players from their academy, the promise shown in Vincenzo Montella's first year as manager hinted at a bright future. However, when Yonghong Li took control of the club in April 2017, it was clear this season would be laden with the expectation Beckham outlined.

Signing 14 new players, Milan committed to spending €248.8 million (£219.4 million) this summer, an outlay that meant the team would no longer be growing carefully and organically but would instead need to return to the top spots immediately.

"We are Milan," CEO Marco Fassone said at a press conference shortly after the takeover was finalised. "We can't say 'slowly slowly and let's see what happens.' The idea is to get back to the Champions League as soon as possible. The aim is to be in it from the 2018/19 season."

Qualification for the UEFA Europa League meant an early start to the new season, but the Rossoneri made short work of CS Universitatea Craiova and KF Shkendija to reach the group stage.

A 3-0 win over Crotone and a 2-1 victory over Cagliari saw them take maximum points from their opening Serie A matches, only for the new-look side to capitulate against Lazio in Rome. The capital club ran out 4-1 winners, with coach Simone Inzaghi out-thinking and outmaneuvering Montella on the sidelines while his team did the same on the field.

They bounced back to that defeat with wins over Udinese and SPAL, but the performances were unconvincing. And in their most recent Serie A game, they saw a hungry and organised Sampdoria expose their weaknesses in a 2-0 defeat for the Rossoneri. Many blamed Montella for his inability to produce the level of performance needed to achieve the lofty goals set by Fassone, questioning his selections and set up with equal concern.

"The problem, for me, is twofold," lifelong Milan fan Gino told Bleacher Report. "Does he know what his best side actually is, and does he know what formation to then play with his best side?

"He doesn't seem to have answers to those questions. Also, the signing of Leonardo Bonucci seems to have put too much emphasis on the defender rather than the rest of the squad to perform; if Leo has a bad game, the team have one. There is no denying it."

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El gol de Duván Zapata ante el Milán pic.twitter.com/QbrCG0fz6W

— Mauricio Vidal  (@MauricioVidal14) September 24, 2017"

Bonucci's mistakes on Sampdoria's opening goal were shocking for a player of his calibre, but rather than single out his new captain, Montella instead looked at the result as a collective failing.

"We don't need to look for one or more guilty parties," the coach told Milan TV shortly after the final whistle at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris (h/t Football Italia). He continued:

"The club has asked me to intervene and not repeat these kind of performances. Above all we need to work on the consistency of our performances, and that starts with the mentality. Winning mentalities are built over time, and sometimes you can stumble. If we're smart, prepared and lucid; these falls can raise our competitive level."

Yet there was a hollow feeling to his words on not looking for a "guilty party" when Montella took to Twitter under 48 hours later to announce the sacking of fitness coach Emanuele Marra:

The two had worked together for years, but despite this odd and surprising move, many believe it is the players on the field rather than those working behind the scenes who are most deserving of criticism.

"On so many occasions this season, even when Milan have gotten the result they wanted, individual errors warrant attention," Rossoneri fan and writer Matthew Santangelo told Bleacher Report. "Even in the game against Lazio, Bonucci was caught ball watching once or twice and even looked awful on the Ciro Immobile goal where he twisted him inside out.

"The same thing happened against Sampdoria. Yes, Montella's tactics have recently left much to be desired, but on the two goals, Bonucci was caught napping, while Alessio Romagnoli's lack of experience of how to handle that ball that resulted in the penalty showed there are tendencies within the side by some to show lapses in concentration. To be honest, individuals need to be held accountable for their mistakes on the pitch, just like Montella does on his selections and game plan."

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With all that in mind, the fixture list has hardly been kind to the Rossoneri, with their next Serie A outing seeing AS Roma visit San Siro on Sunday. The following gameweek sees a derby clash with crosstown rivals Inter Milan, but club legend Andriy Shevchenko says the clash with the Giallorossi could prove pivotal.

"Milan have to win, and I think they can do it," the retired striker said in an interview with Top Calcio 24 (h/t Football Italia). "It's a game which goes beyond the three points. It's a major crossroads in the team's season.

Calls for the club to make a change have already begun, with #MontellaOut trending on Twitter even before Bayern Munich's decision to sack Carlo Ancelotti on Thursday. The front page of Friday's La Gazzetta dello Sport noted that a return to the Rossoneri was possible for Ancelotti. However, not all supporters are happy to see such rumours.

"With Ancelotti being sacked and talks of him going back to Milan, you can see Montella nervous for the first time," Gino told Bleacher Report. "He needs time, and the players need patience. It will come."

However, with an ideal replacement waiting in the wings, an expectant fanbase and owners demanding immediate success, it is increasingly unlikely further missteps will be tolerated. Milan's problems are not all his fault, but if their form does not improve quickly, there is little doubt Montella will be the one paying a high price.