What's been going wrong in Milan?

It could be worse Milan fans, look at Portsmouth

Fans of both Inter and AC Milan are used to success; however the two big-hitters are struggling to match their traditional heights.

The two powerhouses of Italian football have been perennial sights at the top end of the Serie A table for decades, but things have changed in recent seasons and they are now struggling to get into the Champions League places.

In the 2013/14 season Inter Milan scraped into a Europa League spot with a fifth-place finish, while AC Milan limped in at eight at the end of a disappointing campaign. This season has not been much better for the Milan giants and, at the time of writing, Inter are eighth and AC Milan are a place behind in ninth - with two points between the old rivals.

Things have gone wrong very quickly for both the Milan clubs, with AC possibly experiencing more of a dramatic slide. The 18-time Serie A champions and seven-time European Cup winners have now not lifted silverware for almost four years and they are struggling to find a manager to take them forward.

They won the title during Massimilano Allegri's reign at the club, but many were still unhappy with him as manager - however, the fact he has impressed at Juventus possibly points to the fact the problems at the club were not down to him.

Since he left, Milan have been scraping around trying to find someone to steady the ship. Club legend Clarence Seedorf took over with some pomp, but results were not good enough for the club's owner and the Dutchman was given the boot after just half a season. Considering the career he'd had with the club, it was a cruel way to treat Seedorf.

Milan turned to Fillipo Inzaghi, whose coaching career himself was limited to just two years with the club's under-19 team. The 41-year-old is now reported to be clinging onto his job by his fingernails at the moment, so don't be surprised to see the axe fall on Inzaghi sooner rather than later.

Milan are guilty of pushing former star players into management far too quickly and it is proving to be a failing tactic.

The problem Milan have is that their squad is way below the standard set by Milan's great teams of the past, and they play with woeful consistency. Inzaghi is cutting his managerial teeth in a high-profile and high-pressure job, trying to do so with an under-performing squad and little money to spend. It is not going to be an overnight job to turn this side around, but it is likely Inzaghi will soon be thrown on the Milan managerial scrapheap if things don't improve quickly.

Earlier this season Milan put out a matchday XI that hadn't cost them a penny and their financial woes are further highlighted by the fact they recently sold their own team bus to cut costs. This frugal transfer policy isn't going to help bring success and they are being further bogged down by the administration paying big wages to players who aren't justifying such pay packets.

They missed out on Europe last season - their eighth place finish was their worst since 1998 - and, judging by how his campaign is going, they won't play in Europe next season. It is a major slide for one of Italy's traditional powerhouse clubs and long gone are the days of AC Milan dominating Italian football.

Across the city, Inter Milan are also desperately searching for a return to the glory years. The 18-time Serie A winners replaced Walter Mazzarri with former boss Roberto Mancini back in November in the hope the former Manchester City manager could revitalise them. However, that positive effect has failed to materialise and they are woefully inconsistent under Mancini.

Inter don't have world-class players in their side and could face losing their one star, Mauro Icardi, as they face a huge uphill task to have any chance of Champions League qualification. There is no doubt Mancini was a success during his first spell as Inter boss, winning three league tiles and two Coppa Italias, but there has been no positive reaction since his second coming and Inter continue to struggle.

This Inter team look a shadow of the sides that used to regularly top Serie A, with the likes of Ronaldo, Christian Vieri and Zlatan Ibrahimovic having previously donned the famous black-and-blue stripes. Today's squad features few household names and lots of faces brought in on loan from other clubs throughout Europe. Like AC Milan, they are operating under severe financial restraints and have reportedly been racking up large losses for several years. The Milan teams used to be some of the richest in world football, but those days are now long gone

Inter's main woes this season have come in defence as they have looked catastrophic at times. A lack of leadership and inability to look secure whether playing with three or four at the back has hampered them.

Consistency has been a major problem throughout both Mazzarri and Mancini's tenure. For example Inter have won their last three Serie A games, while they lost to Sassuolo and Torino in the two before that and won just one of four prior to those back-to-back defeats. They also drew with Celtic in the Europa League last week and it is a hard task to guess which Inter is going to turn up for matches.

During that game at Celtic Park Nemanja Vidic and Mancini reportedly had a bust-up as the Serb was reluctant to come off the bench to replace an injured Andrea Ranocchi. It all hints that there are problems behind-the-scenes at Inter, and such in-fighting will not help them try to get back into Europe next season.

It is without doubt a time of transition for both the Milan clubs as they search for a return to their glory days. The club's hierarchy and fans need to accept there is no quick-fix and give their manager time to turn things around, during what is a testing time for both Inter and AC on and off the pitch.