QUOTE (maldini03 @ Apr 1 2019, 02:45 PM)
I agree with some of what you have said here but if you don't think Romagnoli is a great player you are way off the mark.
If he was a great player, at 24 he'd be at a better team than this current Milan (Silva left a few years older to PSG for big money back in 2012 but had been a target for departure for some time - now HE was a great defender), and have played more than like 9 times for the national side which uses a 3 at the back a lot. I think he's a fairly good player capable of some great performances, I just don't think he's a great defender. Otherwise your Man Utds, Real Madrids etc would have shown interest. The fact is this Milan doesn't have great players - if it did, we'd be a lot better than we are.
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Also, your second comment nullifies the first, you're saying that if a big club threw $50M at us for Suso that would make him a great player?
I didn't strictly say the amount, I said big bids, period (can't really bid 3M for anyone these days)? No one, to my knowledge, though, has had a bid rejected for our best players. Surely a sign you have great players is richer teams try to buy them?
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Players like Andy Carroll, Benteke, Mustafi, Bernardeschi have all gone for $40M+ does that make them all great players because someone wanted to splash some cash?
Again, not the argument I was trying to make!
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I'm not saying that these players are superstars on par with the Kakas, Pirlos, Maldinis, Shevchenkos, and Nestas of the world but that doesn't mean they are **** players who can't achieve anything. If you don't believe me check that Porto team that won the CL in 04, or the Italy team under Conte that made a run in the Euros to see what good coaching and a smart system can do. I'm not saying that this squad could win the CL but to toss them ALL aside as decent and no more is an overreaction. 9 out of 10 teams in the world would kill to have Romagnoli and the same goes for Donnaruma. Other players have amazing potential (See Calabria, Paqueta, Conti, Kessie, Bakayoko, Piatek).
Bit of an overreaction there too surely? You don't need to kill to have Romagnoli, just bid 40M by today's money and Milan will sell. But no one does, that's my point.
As for the potential - if all our players with 'potential' had realised 10% of it over the years, we'd have won UCL, Serie A and the Superbowl by now. So easy to attribute potential and then years later they're at Genoa.
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I do agree that the Chinese summer was mostly just spending money for spending's sake and most of those players have not turned into what we thought they would be, but things are looking up with the new management and the transfers of Piatek, Paqueta (first great midfield purchase in a long time) and Bakayoko. As most things, the moves that were made look poor in hindsight but at the time they were considered to be smart signings. Calha was one of the more promising, dangerous playmakers in Germany, RR was a very highly regarded LB, Kessie had just put on a show in Serie A with Atalanta, Conti the same, Biglia was a calming presence and leader in midfield and Bonucci was considered by most as some of the best business of the summer.
It's odd - you say that 'most of it was spending for spending for spending's sake' and attack the players as not turning out as we expected but then manage to justify almost every single signing in there anyway. Which is it?
As for Paqueta, he's impressed me of what I've seen of him, and everyone knows I want Piatek's children.
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I would argue that the real issue that we have had has been the lack of a coach with tactical nuance some creativity. I love Gattuso and I think he should be given the year to see what happens but he is not a tactical genius. He is a motivator which can only take you so far.
You sound just like a Rangers fan backing Steven Gerrard! I'm seeing all the same patterns as both clubs mirror each other painfully.
I do get tired of fans backing managers come hell or high water when they haven't earned it. Rino was a failure at Sion and Crete before doing ok with our kids. Where in that does he (or Gerrard) earn our backing or trust?
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Overall we have had two poor games back to back where we seemed to have run out of ideas and dried up but this team is also lacking. We have 1 good creator from midfield and he is a kid coming into his own. Our team is very young, sometimes young teams struggle but we are most definitely on the upswing. Making CL and bringing in some reinforcements will do wonders for this squad. If we get back to winning ways there is still hope from this season. We are on track to meet our goals for the first time in a long time. Rome wasn't built in a day now is the time to be patient, not rash.
Hopefully we make the CL and when the summer comes we make savvy moves that help move the needle. We aren't winning the CL next year but it would be great if 1) we were in it and 2) we showed some fire and made some noise.
We've been on this upswing of yours for 7 years. Can't help feeling there's a different feeling to upswing compared with what I'd expect of one!