Man, you gotta shake up a bit. How can Inter be a positive example when they already had a Tohir happen before and now they got sold quickly like you wished and what? No real transfer rumors as well, a mess with the coach and players? Icardi probably leaving? What's positive in their situation other then the quick sell?

Yes, sure. We're in a mess. But if Berlusconi finds the Chinese worthy of selling (to say so), we're back on. Whereas Inter took the path of quick and numerous transitions without any true judgement. If they're lucky they'll be okay, if not, they're in the same mess.

You're being negative just for the sake of it. Let me retort.

Firstly, quick way out doesn't necessarily mean bad. Do you know who the new owners are? Do you know what their plans are? Do you even know for how long they might have been negotiating behind the scenes? Like I said, the purchase just happened a few weeks ago, a lot of things have to be settled. Give it time.

Secondly, Inter had a very good signing campaign last summer. Miranda, Murillo, Kondogbia, Perisic, Jovetic, Ljajic. Compared to ours, it was far better. So, you can't say Thoir was a lost cause for them.

Finally, there's no real issues with the players, just Mancini. And that's his problem. According to Mediaset, Arsenal have offered 60 million for Icardi, Napoli are willing to offer 70 million, but Inter don't want to sell him because they have a project they want to carry through (which I don't agree with cos I don't think Icardi is worth that much, but that's another issue).

If Inter are a mess right now it's because they're in a transition phase, which is completely logical. On the other hand, we have no clue what the f*ck we're doing.

Yeah man, give it time! You were the one who first labeled it as a great development for Inter. I merely said that the transition they're going through isn't as smooth as one would think reading your comment.

What?? I didn't label it as a "great development for Inter". I merely stated that they closed their negotiations in a matter of days, whereas we've been dragging this crap for over a year now. It was simply a comparison, but then you started throwing all sorts of negativie remarks towards Inter, which I don't really agree with and which most importantly have nothing to do with my initial point.

Perhaps you're right. Anyway, speed doesn't mean anything. I'd rather we do it carefully and benefit from the transition as soon as possible then rush things and enter a cycle Inter entered. Because you can praise them as much as you want, in the end they're still poorly managed, make mostly bad signings/poor choices and have pretty questionable future goals.

I still believe that they (Inter) are in a better position than we are. The players they brought in last summer have for the most part increased in value, and they seem to have a project. Sure this summer has been slow, but their summer has still been so much better than ours. They have brought in Banega, who will improve their midfield considerably, and I also saw today on Gazzetta that Candreva is headed there. He would improve their forward line. Their defense was quite good last year mainly due to Miranda and Handanovic, and they are both still there.

We on the other hand don't have one good quality midfielder, and all we seem concerned with is bringing in more forwards. The defense needs work, the midfield needs work, and even our forwards aren't good enough if we sell Bacca. The only saving grace we have is Donnaruma and Romagnoli who are young players destined for a bright future. Our management is a mess and this takeover gets pushed back every time things seem to get close. This year we will be lucky to make the EL while they will be competing with Rome and Napoli for the silver medal and a CL berth.

This is a big year to make the jump back into the CL. No one can touch Juve but Rome and Napoli are both weakened by the loss of stars. If we spent the money and made big moves this summer we could be right there competing but if anything our squad on paper looks worse than last year. With one month left there is still time but with the state of things right now and our inability to strike a deal with the Chinese things don't look good.

Yes, they benefit from last year's investment. However, they still are a bit of a mess. FWIW, the rumor is that Chinese buyers had approached Moratti, but Moratti refused to sell to them. So Thonir stepped in to make it happen (knowing he would eventually sell to the Chinise). If true, this could explain how the sale was closed so quickly (these negotiation normally take time), and why it happened after Moratti sold his remaining shares.

So (assuming the sale happens) we need to be patient one more year (we can start building in the Winter). If, OTOH, it does not happen, then we have problems.

I know we have to be patient, but I feel as though we all have been patient for a long time. Why couldn't they get this deal hashed out before the two months when we could have made moves to really solidify the team. It doesn't make sense to me that they pushed this deal back to August when we have been hearing it would get done by June, then July.

AFAIAC Inter is in a stronger position than we are. Last year the top dogs in the league were Juve, Napoli, Rome, Inter, and Fiorentina. The Viola haven't made any groundbreaking moves to move up the table, Napoli and Rome each sold their best players to Juve, making both of them significantly weaker. If there was a time to jump back into the conversation it was this year. I'm not saying we drop the ridiculous money that is being thrown out, just put the team back on the right track. Our midfield is abysmal, not one quality player our defense has a gaping hole in the center. I think Montella's tactics will suit the players better than his predecessors but the lack of quality is apparent.

On top of this, every promising name we are linked to amounts to nothing. I understand that the money isn't there to splash, but man we aren't doing anything. The team is playing in the US now but it seems that the players that were left home are the ones we are looking to offload. Menez, Bacca, and DS among them. I think DS can still come out good, he played very well at the Euros, he just needs a bit of confidence but we seem intent on getting rid of him which baffles the mind. Instead of getting stronger we seem to be falling even further into mediocrity. Every year we burn before a takeover will be more time on the other end when the money comes in. At least if we sell players put the money into young players, building blocks for the future and success. Niang and Menez are perfect examples of this. We got both for peanuts, Menez we are sending away for nothing, while Niang's stock has only risen.

With the way the transfer market is now and the astronomical prices that players are going for, the best way to become successful is by buying young players when their value is low and selling them and turning a profit or using them as cornerstones to a successful team. Juve is the perfect example, as much as I dislike them, their model is fantastic. They have found sustained success despite giving away a guy like Verratti. They built most of the team from the ground up and now as they push for CL success they can afford to drop silly money on Higuain. Now they are completely out of reach for the rest of Serie A.

Juve has been managed very well, we have been managed very poorly. Even when we have thrown money at the transfer market, the results have been inadequate. Our situation will not change short of an acquisition leading to a change in management. As for Inter, yes, they are in a better situation than us in that they have gotten decent players and money to spend. However, they have their problems as well.

Just cos I'm bored, what do you guys think would be the best starting line-up with the players we currently have?

I think that anything other than 4-4-2 would be stupid. 4-3-1-2 is outdated and we don't have the trequartista for it, just like we don't have the appropriate players for 4-3-3. Hence, I'd play:

Donnarumma; Abate, Zapata, Romagnoli, De Sciglio; Suso, Montolivo, Bertolacci, Bonaventura; Niang, Bacca.

By the way, are we playing the Supercoppa this year by any chance?

Yeah, take notice: 23rd of December, Abu Dhabi. Supercoppa final, Juventus-Milan. Maybe the inaugural final of a new era? Who knows.

Anyway. I think 4-3-3 is doable, but more importantly - that's what Montella will play IMO. My picks would be:

Lopez; Abate, Zapata, Romagnoli, De Sciglio; Montolivo, Bertolacci, Bonaventura (Poli); Niang, Suso (Bonaventura), Bacca.

About Donnarumma. I'd seriously sit back a little on this. He was plain awful against Bayern.

Isn't Lopez going to Chelsea?

Fell through. Chelsea couldn't get rid of Begovic so they won't be signing Lopez. Who we were also willing to let go for free might I add, instead of trying to get some cash in for a good player we were going to give him for free just to get his wages off the books

Also, I'm with Fillipo on this one, I'm not convinced by Donna, and I do think we should slow our role a bit with him. We've jumped head first into it with no reliable back up aside from Gabriel who I far from trust

Indeed. Last season we had veterans like Abbiati and Lopez holding the ladder to Donna. With them probably gone (Abbiati already retired), I'm very skeptic. Yes, you gotta play youth and create your brands/franchise players. But let's take a look at De Sciglio who didn't benefit much of our environment.