More like all his predictions together.

Corriere dello Sport: Kaka at Milan in the last minutes of transfer market.

Malù Mpasinkatu: Milan, Mr. X is from Liverpool

Enrico Preziosi: There is no Mr. X. Milan is after Kucka, just like Inter.

This post has been edited by d'Arc.LP: Aug 14 2011, 01:03 PM

I really don't get some of the points you're making. 10m is a justified price for the level of quality of both Aquilani and Montolivo have. But you'd be ok with us spending ridiculous amount on Hamsik or Fabregas, etc. Sure Fabregas is a huge name, but what assurances do we have with him, he could struggle in Serie A and is a known choker in the big matches.

Also I don't think I'm being pessimistic here, you really think that a top player would choose us over Real, Barca, Man U if it came down to it?? They can offer more in terms of transfer fee, they can offer the player better financial conditions and their respective leagues are far more attractive at this point.

Also another point you made about our attack creating most of the goals? That's not really true, it's Ibra pulling wonder goal after wonder goal from long balls coming from the defence, that is different. If we want to go somewhere in Europe and even retain our title this season, then we need to have a midfield that can control tempo, build up plays through the middle and hold possesion for longer then a couple of seconds, something that our current midfield of VB, Rino, Boateng and Seedorf just does not do, we'll once again be humiliated on the big stage and we'd struggle in the league.

I think Montolivo and Aquilani will make a big difference, they'll make a difference between struggling in the CL group stage to doing well in them, and going out in the last 16 to making it to quarters or semi-finals. They'll also make a difference in the league, from relying on Ibra to put a long ball in to actually playing a controlled game which allows us to really stamp our authority on the pitch, control our opponents and score without relying completely on Ibra like we usually do when we have that dire midfield on the pitch.

Also, I don't get how I'm being hypocritical. If it were up to me, the management would have renewed Pirlo, let go of Rino or Ambro and signed a good CM that would have given us some depth, but now we're in this situation. And once again, you can quote me on this and I'll have to do an "I told you so dance", if we do go into the season with this midfield, then what I've said will surely happen. We simply cannot go into the season like this, Aquilani and Montolivo will give us that extra bit of quality to take us to the next level. No winning team is made up of purely superstars, that is usually the last team to be succesful, as Real have domonstrated year in, year out. A team should be made up of both super stas as well as unsung heros, who do the dirty work and those who craft things for the superstars.

I mean really, Xavi? Iniesta? Fabregas? Never going to happen for us, and this is me being realistic, not pessimistic.

Sorry for the long post, but the high and mighty attitude is really getting to me since we do have such a terrible midfield and Montolivo and Aquilani are both quality, Italian players who are on the right side of 30 and will add quality to our midfield which is just not good enough

H.

+1

Excellent post han

Either I wasn't clear enough or...


Did I say anything about Hamšik? In fact, you are very well aware that I don't rate him that much.
Fabregas is a world class player, he'd be doing very well.


(IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) I don't know what to say...Two of the mentioned clubs just played the Champions League final, the other is being maybe the most famous club in football history. Yes, sure, those three may have an advantage over us. Their leagues are far more attractive? The Primera, where you have weekly 8-0 or 6-0 results? Maybe, but I wouldn't say Serie A is "far" away from them, if Serie A was far away, leagues like the French would be miles away, etc - which in the end wouldn't be true. That's why I think you're being pessimistic. You tend to picture it way more serious than it really is. Yeah, Serie A hasn't got so many stars, Italian players weren't that bad for decades, the stadiums are a calamity and the taxes aren't like in Spain, but it sure isn't that bad. Surely, when you compare Milan to the recently best 2 teams in Europe and the best in history it's bad, but hey,...it's only the three. Against every Chelsea, Inter, Juventus, Bayern or Arsenal we have a fair chances, or even more.


No. I did not say this. I just pointed out that there are some teams that can play without extra creative force in the midfield and that we shouldn't act like it's the end of the world and the only option we have. Clearly it wasn't the case last season, but this season with a more settled Robinho, Cassano and El Sha this could be possible IMO.


Sorry, but here we disagree. I'm not that certain; and really, how can you tell? How much did you watch Montolivo play Champions League? We really can't tell, it only calms you down mentally when you picture more creative players on the pitch, but hell, I don't think those two make a decisive difference. Maybe Montolivo still has something to prove, but I stand by my assessment - you really cannot tell. But, I'll give you this one - yes, we'd be better with them, and yes, there is a fair chance at least Montolivo would do good.


I said hypercritical my friend, not hypocritical. But, is it maybe a Freudian slip? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)


Today or tomorrow, surely not. But in 2 or 3 seasons, why not? I know, people will say Ronaldinho will happen all over again, but truth is, we have some bright, great examples as well as some rotten apples like Oli or Dinho (who wasn't "that" bad).


You see, this is one of your problems - you tend to repeat yourself like it will bring something. Yes! We have a terrible midfield, but hey, let's try to make what we can with what we got now. Maybe we'll change our terrible midfield into a less terrible one. Do we have to repeat it over and over again all season long, every single match we'll loose?

So is this guy from Liverpool or does he play for Liverpool? Or is it all part of the mystery?

... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) total crap, all of it. I wish I knew what was going on but I doubt any of that is true. I mean look at that, every paper has a different story...

You didn't, but he has been mentioned in this discussion as someone who would "take us to the next level" (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif) So I mentioned him, also considering the price tag Napoli have put on him


Going for a top class player would mean that those teams would be involved as well. And lets not flatter ourselves, we're no where near those teams, not on the pitch or financially speaking atm. Chelsea and Bayern as well would probably be able to outbid us so...

And who really cares about the results in the La Liga? It is a stronger league then Serie A atm, finacially speaking, in terms of commercial strength as well as competitively. All those issues you listed are the reason that a top class player in his prime would pick a La Liga, EPL team, and I'm not talking about Ronaldinho/Ronaldo/Viera etc. I'm talking about players like Cesc, Aguero, C.Ronaldo, those kinds of players.


I don't think it can, not with the way we play under Allegri, of those players you mentioned, only Cassano and Ibra can place that sublime final pass in tight spaces. Cassano won't be playing that much, while El Shaarawy will probably feature in Coppa games


I'm certain because anything is a huge improvement over our current situation of watching Rino/Ambro/Flamini trying to gallavant up the pitch and link up with the attack, or Boateng playing behind the strikers, which he tries his @ss off to pull off, credit to him, but Boateng is far from being a trequartista.

Aquilani and Montolivo both offer very different things, but fundementally speaking, both are creative players, with a lot of Serie A experience who know how to move the ball well, and will help us a lot. Montolivo is more of a creater ala Pirlo imo, while Aquilani moves the ball quickly without too much fuss while also being a good goal scorer since he has an excellent shot which he isn't afraid to use. And sure Montolivo is an unkown entity in the CL, despite his 1 season with Fiorentina, however when I watched Aquilani with Roma in the CL, he always impressed me.


Sorry, my mistake there, probably skimmed over it too quickly


2 to 3 seasons from now all of them will still be succesful Barca players, and while Xavi will be in the twilight of his career, he will retire a Barca player, he's been there his entire career, he won't leave now when Barca are probably in their most succesful era. And if things keep going the way they are, without any changes, Serie A will keep hanging back while the other 3 leagues keep moving forward. Because while the Serie A stays as is, living on past glories of the 90s, the German league keeps moving forward in leaps and bounds. This mentality that most Italians have and their supporters as well because they're made to think that way. Just because you're champions now, does not mean you'll still be in the future, because while you bask in your glories without keeping with the changing tides, others will come to take your place as the best, and as this goes on you're still in the winning haze of 10 years ago, and still talking about it as if it just happened yesterday, a prime example would be Galliani and R7 (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)


I repeat myself because I feel it is necassary, because when I read stuff about going into a new season with this midfield, simply because we're champions thus we simply cannot lower ourselves to average rubbish such as Montolivo and Aquilani (huge (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif) ), then I have no choice but to repeat myself because that is a load of bull imo. We're not too good for them, we have Rino and Ambro starting matches FFS!!!!!

+1 as usual the more nostalgic fans think we still have a sense of entitlement because we are AC milan. If nothing else we have been ridiculed by So many 2nd tier teams recently by starting people who should pay the Club 4m/season to warm the bench, let alone actually get paid to play!!!

At this moment, considering Finivest, sure. But when things become normal, no, Bayern wouldn't be able to outbid us. Chelsea would, but most players still prefer Milan.


It was only a suggestion, but yes, you're mostly right.


Yes, I agree. Both could help us, but that's about it. Milan without Pirlo is fully lost, and we need a restart, a complete shift. Aquliani and Montolivo would only be temporary bumpers, players that will help the team immensely, but won't make the crucial difference (please don't mention that compared to Rino/Ambro/Flamini they are, I know that, but I'm not speaking about this aspect).


Look, not everything is logical and perfect. In a perfect world, sure. But almost everything can happen in 2-3 years. I find it highly unlike that Messi, Puyol, Xavi and Iniesta all will end their careers with Barcelona. Did Sergi, Abelardo or Guardiola end theirs? Remember what happened to them. Same will happen again, I'm willing to bet - at least with one or two of them.


Milan has a history that will always make us at least appear we're great. Look at Great Britain - they are a puppet of the US today, but still, due to their glorious history, nations respect them and regard them as a great political force. But forget the analogy, I just wanted to say - R7 has been accused of being greedy and sentimental at the same time - I think everything works in cycles. I don't think the German Bundesliga will always be ahead of us, nor will the Spaniards be always more attractive. Their country is in greater financial and political problems then Italy - whose history proved they're less chaotic than it appears, and more stable then it seems.


Yes, yes, Rino and Ambro are barely football players and we should be ashamed of them but that what things are and now with the Finivest happening I'm left speechless. Milan had a plan to replace Pirlo, but things took a bad turn and now we're here. What's there to do? I think we must accept our reality, and move on, stop whining how poor we are and how much class we lack. It sure could be worse.


Haha, thanks for the kind words. As always, I will think we're entitled because we are AC Milan - history cannot be taken away. Not that easily.

no but it can't be superposed to the current state of football with the same amount of entitlement and expectations.We are no longer a team that boast the great squads we once came used to love.

No, but are we that far away?

And before Fininvest? You think we would have been able to outbid those teams? Not unless Silvio made a huuuge contribution out of his own pockets. Also, Bayern are a very financially stable club, I think they can easily outbid us if it came to a head to head.


I think you're not giving either one of them the credit they deserve. I never said that they're top class players, and always said that they're just good players, they might have some great moments, but they're both on the good level of the scale. However, you're underestimating what they could give to this team, if they do gel well into the system (which I think they can) then they would take us to the next level imo. In the end that is all that matters, not their names or price. That they integrate within the system and perform well. Sure their names are underwhelming next to someone like Cesc, but if they do what is needed of them, then I don't care what name they have or how much we paid for them. Some of the best players a club has usually come for cheap and are unexpected hit, VB, Kaka, Pirlo. These are all players who came on for cheap and people thought they'd be rotation players, yet they turned out to be our best assets. Also I compare them to Ambro/Rino/Flams because they are the alternative should we not sign Monto or Aquilani, and I don't know about you, but I certainly don't want to see that come next season as our starting midfield, no matter how much you think both Monto/Aqui are average.


Sure, Barca also sold Ronaldo, Maradona, etc all in their primes as well. But again, this is a different time. I guess no one can really tell, but I'm 100% sure that none of those players will leave during their prime. And really, you want Xavi in 2-3 years time? He's 31 now, you want him when he'll be 34 years old? Isn't that just the same? Only this time instead of settling for someone that doesn't have a huge name, we'd be settling for the faded star, just like Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, etc


No matter the history, players usually have 2 things on their minds when signing for a club, those are money, and winning. Currently we cannot offer them the kind of money other clubs can while we're also struggling in Europe. How is that attractive? The sentimental value fades pretty quick when there's no huge deal or silverware involved, especially to fickle foreign players.

We've been talking about cycles for years now, saying Italy will get back to the footballing throne, yet it's only taken further steps back, while La Liga and EPL continue to race ahead, with the Bundesliga always moving forward. I never accused of R7 being greedy, nor sentimental (I know you didn't really aim that at me, just making a point), but the high and mighty attitude is something that I cannot stand, this is not the time to say no to a player like Monto/Aqui, simply because we're champions or AC Milan, our midfield has been depleted due to the loss of Pirlo, Kaka and Seedorf's nose dive in a short time span. And Montolivo and Aquilani wouldn't just be bodies thrown in there to fill up the numbers, which is I think what both of you guys view them as. They'd be steps in the right direction, and maybe next summer when the financial situation stabalizes we can go for a top class trequartista. But atm, we need these guysif we want to have a succesful season.


I think Silvio knew about the Fininvest situation for a long time, these things don't just surface over night. Montolivo and Aquilani won't do too much damage to the funds imo, their prices are fair, and we'd get 2 good players in, that is the point. If we can pay nearly 10m for an unkown kid that will most likely barely see the light of day this season, then surely we can bring in 2 player that are desperately needed. And that is the point I'm making. And don't tell me that El Shaarawy came in before the Fininvest issue cropped up, because like I said, Silvio knew about it long before now.


No it can't but it can be forgotten easily when the present status tarnishes that history. Sure we won the league, but we've been emberassing ourselves on the grandest scale for years now, and that is what gets taken into account, not the glorious history

First & foremost I am a Milan fan and my opinion of my team is high in terms of its tradition and pedigree. There are many successful clubs in Europe, Barcelona are current European Champions. And I applaud their victories because of the beautiful football that they display. With that said, I will always consider Milan as a direct competitor to Barcelona in Europe. And by saying that, I expect Milan to be on par with the quality of the opposition.

Sure, many restrictions prevent Serie A teams to tussle against lucrative offers coming from England/Spain/Germany for quality players. However, and as Fillipo pointed out, AC Milan are very much an appeal to those players, with respect to say Fiorentina. There are alternatives to go through when negotiating a transfer, the deal is not pure cash and upfront. And I think it could be considered an omen that we have a man in Galliani who can muster up the biggest of deals.

Aquilani and Montolivo are Italy NT players, but by no means do they match the quality of Pirlo, Kaka, Rui Costa or Seedorf. They will give us exactly what Flamini's, Urby's, Antonini's, and Broochi's would in each of their respective positions ... While, quality is the difference in how well the team plays ... You take Xavi & Iniesta out of Barca and they wont be as dominant anymore.

The number of players you have in a squad does not equate to anything if they do not take the team to the next level. Our midfield is depleted as it is, what we need is an injection of quality there, someone to take back the reigns of our midfield if you will. Handing it over to Montolivo/Aquilani will not change much, no matter how much you stress on about it .. Yes it will add fresh legs, yes it will bring in more competition, and it might mean Ringo wont be starting matches no more. But it does not mean that they will perform to the level of say our attack or our defense would.

Bringing in a quality player and one of Montolivo/Aquilani would be ideal .. But to run around with your hair on fire stating that without Montolivo and Aquilani we wont be going places is rather over the top. Furthermore, calling me delusional for not discounting my club as you do, does not really change the principle argument of
Milan Quality > Milan Quantity (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

So, Aquilani or Montolivo = Brocchi? Thats a bit harsh.

I think you lost me when you compared them to Brocchi...

And just because you and Filippo view them as extra bodies lumped in there, does not mean that they are that, or that everyone rates them as lowly as you guys seem to do, I mean really Aqui/Monto = Brocchi?????????? They'd be starters in our midfield, simply because they're good players, offer something we're seriously lacking, and are far better then the current options we have.

I never said you're delusional, just not logical about it. Sure I agree with you to an extent, II even said that first and foremost, however, taking into consideration the current circumstances, then no, what you're saying is not logical to me in any way, shape or form.

And yes, bringing in both players will be the difference between having another succesful season or not. That is my belief and not for a second, do I believe that it's an over the top assesment. I've seen Milan play under Allegri last season when Seedorf was playing like cr@p, and now in the pre-season, the only solution is to lump it to Ibra, andthat is just not good enough, certainly not for the Champions of Italy (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) Montolivo and Aquilani will give us a new dimension, and the idea that a star name means instant success is ridiculous to me, we've seen that proved otherwise multiple times by other teams

Also want to add that we have plenty of leaders in this team, starting from Abbiati, Nesta, Seedorf, Pippo and even Ibra. We don't need any more, we need quality players who will integrate themselves into our system, nothing more, bringing in extra big heads in the current mix will be asking for trouble