[X-Offender]

Speculation has been focused on Cerci and Iturbe for over half a year though.

Like it or not, those two have been the only two we've really been linked with. In that position.

Cerci, yes. Iturbe, I don't recall. But doesn't that actually prove you wrong? That it's the club who's signing the players, not Pippo? Cos Pippo wasn't our manager months ago if I'm not mistaken. Whereas Allegri, everyone and their grandmas know he specifically asked for Matri.

[kurtsimonw]

And do you really think Cerci is worth 20m? Because those are the kind of numbers Torino want for him

20m euros nowadays is nothing.

I find it odd that people are so against signing someone who, playing in a poor team with zero creativity behind him, has manage to contribute to 45 goals in the past 2 years. Yet would've been more than happy to spend more on a player who hasn't even played 45 games in Serie A. If people are convinced this kid is the absolute real deal after, probably, seeing him no more than 10 or so times, then it just goes to show what's wrong with football and the prices involved. Overreaction at its finest.

[han2503]

You know what the real issue is? Allegri is the only manager we've had inside the past 14 years, Terim aside, who isn't a 'Milan man'. Everyone else has been.

And guess what, Terim was as hated in the day as Allegri is now.

Rossoneri don't like outsiders.

I'm sure if Hiddink or Van Gaal or Mourinho, or any other top coach that has absolutely nothing to do with Milan came in, he'd be well received.

20m euros nowadays is nothing.

I find it odd that people are so against signing someone who, playing in a poor team with zero creativity behind him, has manage to contribute to 45 goals in the past 2 years. Yet would've been more than happy to spend more on a player who hasn't even played 45 games in Serie A. If people are convinced this kid is the absolute real deal after, probably, seeing him no more than 10 or so times, then it just goes to show what's wrong with football and the prices involved. Overreaction at its finest.

I went on record here and said that spending that kind of money on Iturbe would have been too much of a gamble. But, having said that, comparing what Toro want for a relatively average player like Cerci and what Verona wanted for an obviously talented player like Iturbe who is still very young and has bags of potential, it's pretty obvious which one is the more sane investment.

Cerci would not be an investment, he'd be money down the drain because he's probably only got 2 good seasons left in him considering he relies so much on his pace (if that as he could easily bomb with us)

20m nowadays is nothing when we're talking about young talent with potential. Not players who are over 27 and have only ever succeeded at Torino, and yes, that is where he's only ever succeeded at. His spells at Roma and Fiorentina were failures. Cerci when taking into consideration age, talent, previous experiences with bigger sides and potential influence that he'll have on the team is not worth more than 12m (and even that's a stretch)

[kurtsimonw]

No point talking about it really, we're not going to agree. Even if he is a top player here, you'll be so focused on pointing out the bad, you won't see it.

It'll be the whole Gila thing again, he could bang in goals and there would be "but it wasn't against a top team", "it wasn't an important goal" posts.

[Danny]

One of those occasions I side with Han - Gila was an unmitigated flop. He couldn't do it in the CL or against good teams. That's not what you shell out £25M or so for.

[Danny]

Cerci, yes. Iturbe, I don't recall. But doesn't that actually prove you wrong? That it's the club who's signing the players, not Pippo? Cos Pippo wasn't our manager months ago if I'm not mistaken. Whereas Allegri, everyone and their grandmas know he specifically asked for Matri.

Get over Matri! He's not the only player Allegri signed in 3 years! Yes, Allegri has a weird hard on for him but it's ancient history now. Point is you can't blame Allegri for all HIS bad signings and the Club for all Pippo's.

As for Iturbe, this is from January.

http://forzaitalianfootball.com/2014/01/ac...-verona-winger/

[Danny]

And here we come to the conclusion - we do not have a true project. Capello said it when he rejected us some time ago.

Only one person on here believed Galliani when that horsesh*t got fed us in 2012. And that was R7.

Quite adamant he was that it was all about building for the future and starting again.

Then Milan signed 87 year old Michael Essien (in fairness even I thought that was a good signing. I was horribly wrong).

[han2503]

No point talking about it really, we're not going to agree. Even if he is a top player here, you'll be so focused on pointing out the bad, you won't see it.

It'll be the whole Gila thing again, he could bang in goals and there would be "but it wasn't against a top team", "it wasn't an important goal" posts.

I have to confess, I was one of the very few here who defended Gila on countless occasions until it got to a point where I just couldn't anymore.

Cerci is an average player, if we sign him for some ridiculous fee, then I would expect that we get performances that would reflect that fee, anything less than that, then yes, he is a failure. And I'm sure he would be as the guy is just not worth that kind of money

If he proves me wrong I'll be happy to admit it, just like I did with Pazzo, and like you did with Matri

[han2503]

Get over Matri! He's not the only player Allegri signed in 3 years! Yes, Allegri has a weird hard on for him but it's ancient history now. Point is you can't blame Allegri for all HIS bad signings and the Club for all Pippo's.

As for Iturbe, this is from January.

http://forzaitalianfootball.com/2014/01/ac...-verona-winger/

I don't think anyone here can get over Matri or can say that he's "ancient history" we still OWN the player! And we're still paying part of his wages. That's the goodbye gift Allegri left us with that we now cannot offload.

And yeah, Allegri made some really inspired signings, like requesting countless defensive/physical mids and being unable to incorporate any of our creative mids bar Seedorf and Monto

[kurtsimonw]

I have to confess, I was one of the very few here who defended Gila on countless occasions until it got to a point where I just couldn't anymore.

Cerci is an average player, if we sign him for some ridiculous fee, then I would expect that we get performances that would reflect that fee, anything less than that, then yes, he is a failure. And I'm sure he would be as the guy is just not worth that kind of money

If he proves me wrong I'll be happy to admit it, just like I did with Pazzo, and like you did with Matri

Thing is, you're already making excuses for yourself.

Now even if Cerci is brilliant, you're acting like 20m euros is a lot of money. 20m euros is nothing in modern football. For that, you expect average performance nowadays.

[han2503]

Thing is, you're already making excuses for yourself.

Now even if Cerci is brilliant, you're acting like 20m euros is a lot of money. 20m euros is nothing in modern football. For that, you expect average performance nowadays.

20m in the world of Serie A is a lot of money. It's not an excuse, it's a fact, if we're going to be spending 20m on him than at the least I'd expect performances which yield the same stats he had last season. And that's just the minimum of expectations considering that's what the 20m price tag is based on since he's never achieved anything of note before in his carreer and failed with the NT when given the chance.

[X-Offender]

Get over Matri! He's not the only player Allegri signed in 3 years! Yes, Allegri has a weird hard on for him but it's ancient history now. Point is you can't blame Allegri for all HIS bad signings and the Club for all Pippo's.

As for Iturbe, this is from January.

http://forzaitalianfootball.com/2014/01/ac...-verona-winger/

But Pippo specifically wanted Iturbe. Yes, we were following him since January as the link you provided suggests, but it was after Pippo's assignment that we really opened negotiations with Verona. Pippo plays 4-3-3, so he obviously needs a left-footed forward on the right, and Iturbe was his favorite choice. Galliani said it publicly and Pippo even spoke with Iturbe over the phone to convince him. But the club couldn't fulfill his wishes, so now they're going after the second-best alternative here in Italy, which is Cerci.

As you can see, to an extent I blame the club if we end up signing Cerci, as it could not cough up the cash necessary to sign Iturbe. However, Galliani had no problem spending €12 million on a useless dud like Matri, just so he could keep his secret lover Allegri happy.

[Danny]

But Pippo specifically wanted Iturbe. Yes, we were following him since January as the link you provided suggests, but it was after Pippo's assignment that we really opened negotiations with Verona. Pippo plays 4-3-3, so he obviously needs a left-footed forward on the right, and Iturbe was his favorite choice. Galliani said it publicly and Pippo even spoke with Iturbe over the phone to convince him. But the club couldn't fulfill his wishes, so now they're going after the second-best alternative here in Italy, which is Cerci.

As you can see, to an extent I blame the club if we end up signing Cerci, as it could not cough up the cash necessary to sign Iturbe. However, Galliani had no problem spending €12 million on a useless dud like Matri, just so he could keep his secret lover Allegri happy.

There is no quote where Pippo confirms it's Iturbe rather than Cerci that he'd prefer. He is/was happy with either.

As for Iturbe, Roma paid 30M Euros. That is too much to spend on a risky player when you're Milan. We're not the Milan of old that COULD spunk that kind of cash on a loser like Gila, we're a new Milan which would rather spend £20M on a surefire player like Cerci. He might not be Robben, but there's no guarantee Iturbe will become Robben either.

Last time we spent big on a young potential player, 15M on SES. And that has been a total waste so far. You want to make the risk double as pricey?

[X-Offender]

There is no quote where Pippo confirms it's Iturbe rather than Cerci that he'd prefer. He is/was happy with either.

I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that Galliani stated Iturbe is the player Inzaghi wants and we'll try the possible to please him. Pretty sure.

As for Iturbe, Roma paid 30M Euros. That is too much to spend on a risky player when you're Milan. We're not the Milan of old that COULD spunk that kind of cash on a loser like Gila, we're a new Milan which would rather spend £20M on a surefire player like Cerci. He might not be Robben, but there's no guarantee Iturbe will become Robben either.

Last time we spent big on a young potential player, 15M on SES. And that has been a total waste so far. You want to make the risk double as pricey?

€22 million + bonuses. And yes, Cerci is a surefire player, a surefire player for mediocrity. My point is that we should look elsewhere, to the Iturbe's and Shaqiri's of this world, not a dud like Cerci.

[milanbuf88]

Last time we spent big on a young potential player, 15M on SES. And that has been a total waste so far. You want to make the risk double as pricey?

A total waste? You're joking right? We probably made that back off of his efforts that got us CL football his last healthy season. He's also still incredibly young.