[Jack Sparrow]

They don't like us, but the one team they really hate is Juve (there are a number of things they will not forget, stolen players and such).

Oh they hate Juve for sure. But I generally think they have delusions of grandeur. And play victim a bit too much. It's always the big bad clubs who are poaching their players.

Take Badelj for example. His agent came out and said, all they're asking for is a new contract at the same wage. But Fiorentina want him to take a 25% paycut!! 25% paycut for someone who is a regular starter?!

And yet, it is Badelj and Milan conspiring against Fiorentina - not their management trying to exploit a professional.

Yes, we get it once upon a time the great Rui Costa and the great Batistuta played for you. But they played elsewhere to win.

Get over Da Vinci and the Renaissance and build a football club and run it like one.

[Forza Milan!]

Oh they hate Juve for sure. But I generally think they have delusions of grandeur. And play victim a bit too much. It's always the big bad clubs who are poaching their players.

Take Badelj for example. His agent came out and said, all they're asking for is a new contract at the same wage. But Fiorentina want him to take a 25% paycut!! 25% paycut for someone who is a regular starter?!

And yet, it is Badelj and Milan conspiring against Fiorentina - not their management trying to exploit a professional.

Yes, we get it once upon a time the great Rui Costa and the great Batistuta played for you. But they played elsewhere to win.

Get over Da Vinci and the Renaissance and build a football club and run it like one.

FWIW, I have a couple of big Fiorentina fans in the family / extended family. While I get what you are saying, the situation is a little more complicated. They have legitimate reasons to be irked at Juve and (to a much lesser extent) at Milan. They have dodgy ownership (the Della Valle make Berlu look like a classy guy), which causes problems on a regular basis with both players and coaches (Badelj is just one example, there are many others, like for example Monto, Prando, Montella). OTOH, their budget is limited, and they keep running into roadblocks when they try to "get creative". For example, plans for a new stadium are not going anywhere due to city politics, and the idea to turn Prato into a "feeder team" was derailed by petty provincial rivalries.

[X-Offender]

Who the f*ck are Gagliardini and Caldera?

[han2503]

Who the f*ck are Gagliardini and Caldera?

Gagliardini is doing really well at Atalanta this season from what I've been reading. He's a mid. Caldara is a CB if I'm not mistaken

But tbh I've seen very little of both

I guess we'll see the up close and personal later today. But Gagliardini definitely is someone that should be watched closely

[Forza Milan!]

Sell Bacca (after last nite I cannot justify keeping him around), plus sell anyone else warming the bench that can bring in some money. Strengthen our midfield and get a decent CB. With that, we should be able to reach EL, maybe even CL.

[Jack Sparrow]

Curious that a few of you recommend selling Bacca for a new Centre Back and midfielder.

First of all, I think it's a stretch to assume we'll recuperate 30 MM for him with the way he's been playing. Second, why a centre back. I think changing a centre back pairing in the middle of the season will be a disaster. It's not like Paletta and Romagnoli are doing badly.

Midfield I understand, but the issue here is letting Bacca go, leaves us with Lapadula and Luiz Adriano. Luiz Adriano as a sole striker who hasn't played at all this season would be a disaster.

Essentially, we would have to sell Bacca and buy another striker and then look for a midfield replacement. All too complicated.

I just think this new 0 Euro budget for winter has screwed us over nice and proper.

[Forza Milan!]

Curious that a few of you recommend selling Bacca for a new Centre Back and midfielder.

First of all, I think it's a stretch to assume we'll recuperate 30 MM for him with the way he's been playing. Second, why a centre back. I think changing a centre back pairing in the middle of the season will be a disaster. It's not like Paletta and Romagnoli are doing badly.

Midfield I understand, but the issue here is letting Bacca go, leaves us with Lapadula and Luiz Adriano. Luiz Adriano as a sole striker who hasn't played at all this season would be a disaster.

Essentially, we would have to sell Bacca and buy another striker and then look for a midfield replacement. All too complicated.

I just think this new 0 Euro budget for winter has screwed us over nice and proper.

With a net zero budget plus Zapata coming back plus Gomez we my want to fucus on a mid (and wait until Summer for a CB).

You are right that Becca's value is dropping, plus I keep reading that management (current and future) don't want to sell him. OTOH, it is not as if he is contributing much these days, the Juve game is a good example.

[Danny]

We have no one striker we can now rely on. But isn't it odd how both Adriano and Bacca fell out of favour with both management and fans after a failed move to China?

Bacca didn't become a bad player overnight, but on top of Montella's system just not suiting him, he clearly doesn't want to be at a club whose fans don't love him any more. For right or wrong. And that shows in his displays.

[Fillipo Simone]

This anti-Bacca campaign has been hilarious IMO. The guy came out of weeks without playing and had a fair game. Missed a few chances, but it's only due to a lack of match fitness.

Relying solely on Lapadula is madness. A completely unknown striker became overnight "better" then Bacca.

All this Bacca talk is based on shaky foundations and assumptions like the one that he's worth 30 million and we can reinvest this money into a class midfielder...

[Jack Sparrow]

Look, at the moment Lapadula is better for our game than Bacca. In the last season, we just had no options if not for Bacca.

But now we can't afford to let Bacca go because we have no strikers. We're one injury to Lapadula away from disaster. Or starting the youngsters.

[Fillipo Simone]

Look, at the moment Lapadula is better for our game than Bacca. In the last season, we just had no options if not for Bacca.

But now we can't afford to let Bacca go because we have no strikers. We're one injury to Lapadula away from disaster. Or starting the youngsters.

Why is he better for our game? Are you sure he is? I think Bacca is for one much more efficient. Perhaps Montella's system would work more smoothly with Lapadula because he works more and tracks back, but in the end it would mean less efficiency and less goals IMO.

[Jack Sparrow]

Why is he better for our game? Are you sure he is? I think Bacca is for one much more efficient. Perhaps Montella's system would work more smoothly with Lapadula because he works more and tracks back, but in the end it would mean less efficiency and less goals IMO.

Not really. Montella's system clearly doesn't work by giving opportunities to strikers in the box. It often depends on strikers winning or enabling opportunities to score.

So if we see Lapadula in a position where he can finish and misses, we can say Bacca would do better - but chances are he wouldn't ever have worked himself into that opportunity in the first place.

It would be less goals and less efficiency even with Bacca, because - He will get no chances and doesn't create for himself. Two, he doesn't give the benefit of workrate either putting extra load on Suso and Jack/Niang.

[Danny]

Anyone got Lapagols and Bacca's DNA so we can fuse them and make the perfect Montella striker?

[Jack Sparrow]

Meh! You'd just end up with Shevchenko. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)

Though the ideal Montella striker from what I've seen is Luis Suarez.

[X-Offender]

Why is he better for our game? Are you sure he is? I think Bacca is for one much more efficient. Perhaps Montella's system would work more smoothly with Lapadula because he works more and tracks back, but in the end it would mean less efficiency and less goals IMO.

He said at the moment, and it's true. Bacca has been crap for a while now, whereas Lapadula has been playing well, scoring goals, winning penalties and overall working better for the team. It's useless to deny it.