"We are at year zero. Twelve champions have left, most due to their age but two because of choices made by the club. Even if there are many others who have remained, we must now work from scratch." – Massimiliano Allegri

It's been a summer of discontent at Milan. Following the release of several members of the old guard, the Rossoneri received ‘an offer they couldn't refuse' from PSG for their most prized assets. Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva departed for Ligue 1, leaving Milanello feeling a little empty. Early pre-season results indicated reason for optimism, European champions Chelsea amongst Massimiliano Allegri's victims. However, following a humbling defeat by Real Madrid, should Milanisti be worried about the season ahead?

Flavio Roma, Silva, Alessandro Nesta, Gianluca Zambrotta, Mark van Bommel, Gennaro Gattuso, Clarence Seedorf, Filippo Inzaghi and Ibrahimovic. It's a list that has been published countless times, depicting the painful blow the club has incurred in losing such icons. In their place have arrived the likes of Gabriel, Francesco Acerbi, Cristian Zapata, Kevin Constant, Bakaye Traore and Riccardo Montolivo. Not quite the A-Team.

Adriano Galliani and Silvio Berlusconi have made little secret of the club's inability to spend vast amounts of money on star players. Additionally, with the sale of the Rossoneri's two most talented individuals, Berlusconi cited the financial benefit the club would gain from the significant drop in the wage bill. The season ahead is perhaps more about managing expectations, barring any late transfer movement with a potential return of Kaka being well documented. Milan will remain competitive domestically, whether they can mount a serious Scudetto challenge is debatable. In contrast, the club's decision to drastically cut costs ahead of the introduction of FFP means the Champions League is an unrealistic ambition, a sentiment reflected in Allegri's recent comments that reaching the knock-out stages would be an achievement.

"This team is aware that times have changed because we have lost so many important players. The season is long, the results on the field will tell if this team has managed to become more of a team. We really want to start the season” – Massimo Ambrosini

It is a phase in the club's future that has long been needed, moving past the glory years of the old generation and allowing a new one to flourish. While the talent across the squad may not be striking on paper, there is little else to do but back the club in financial hardship. It will be a big season for the likes of Alexandre Pato, Kevin Prince Boateng and Stephan El Shaarawy, who now have the opportunity to step out of the shadows of their old team-mates and herald a new beginning for the club. Antonio Nocerino, Massimo Ambrosini and Riccardo Montolivo will provide the steel and guile in the middle of the park, while the defence must both individually and collectively stand up and shoulder the added responsibility. Increasingly sounding like a rallying cry, this may not be a vintage Milan side of years gone by, but it is a Milan side that will undoubtedly grow in stature through hard work and determination. Who knows what the future holds…

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