Despite his precision finish giving AC Milan maximum points for just the second time this season you would still struggle to find many Rossoneri fans willing to hail the contribution of match winner versus Sampdoria Valter Birsa, instead the Slovenian international has been somewhat harshly singled out for criticism.
Arriving from Genoa towards the end of the transfer window in a deal that took full-back Luca Antonini to the Luigi Ferraris, it was hardly a like-for-like exchange. However, with the disappointing Bakaye Traore, originally earmarked for the move South departing to Turkey, Milan fans viewed Birsa as little improvement on the Malian.
With just two goals and 26 Serie A appearances during spells with Genoa and Torino after moving to Italy in 2011, his critics may well be right. But they would also be ignoring the general calibre of Rossoneri signings in recent years and their current form.
As with the Birsa signing, Milan’s performances this season have been well below the bare minimum expected at the Giuseppe Meazza and with the Slovenian the focus of the fans displeasure he can feel slightly hard done by, something coach Massimiliano Allegri was quick to point out after beating the Blucerchiati.
“He is a good player with good technique who had already played well against Bologna and Napoli.
“Obviously when the team loses then some players are likely to get blamed. He arrived from Genoa at the last moment and few knew him, but he can belong at Milan.”
Unfortunately for the 27-year-old it isn’t just the comparison with Traore that is against him. As the obvious replacement at trequartista he also had to contend with replacing the absent Riccardo Montolivo and Kaka, so at best is effectively third choice.
Every signing a club makes is usually preceded by a player departing their position, if not completely out of the club then certainly from the starting eleven. In Birsa’s case he was never chosen to fill the role full-time and was replacing the club captain and an 
Italian international, then the returning Kaka.
Whilst even the most optimistic Milan fans will admit that the Brazilian is beyond his dazzling displays of his previous spell, the former Grifone man was no doubt assessed on what he doesn’t provide the team in comparison to Kaka at his peak.
Therefore, despite performing sufficiently, he was still on average already a reduction on his teammates, in such circumstances fans instantly proclaim he is useless and certainly do not afford him the luxury of a ‘honeymoon period’ some others are given.
His showing against Sampdoria was more than many could have hoped for, particularly given the players currently missing for the Rossoneri. Unfortunately for the former Torino loanee the team’s form meant that for most of the first half he didn’t receive enough of the ball from open play with the players behind him quick to supply the ball to the much more inadequate Alessandro Matri and strike partner Robinho.
From set pieces though he rarely disappointed delivering several dangerous corner kicks that were well defended by the visitors and also going close with a free-kick that only just missed the Blucerchiati goal. However, the one free-kick that failed to reach its intended target just before half-time was whistled so strongly the San Siro crowd it was the biggest reaction shown other than the goal.
Once Milan did get the ball to the Slovenian early in the second half he showed a little of the technique that Allegri maintained to net an excellent finish. The relief was obvious and moments later a man who looks nervous with a demanding crowd on his back let fly with another long range effort which stung the hands of goalkeeper Angelo Da Costa.
Even with his goal he was given little more than a mild applause when substituted, yet while Milan await the return of at least one of their two stars the fans should realise just how counterproductive criticising their players can be.
While expectations will always remain high amongst the Milanista, even if he had had the opportunity to repeat his Sampdoria performance against Juventus in Turin on Sunday night it would probably not save the Slovenian from more jeers over the coming weeks, but the team will be the ones to suffer.
Follow Kevin Pogorzelski on Twitter: @rabbitrabbiton
