What did I say...? One sexy philosopher.

Well from what I read on Milannews, it seems that Galliani is going to wait it out on Aquilani and Montolivo until the final few days as the management deem their prices are too much given their current situations at their respective clubs (Montolivo being on his last year while Aquilani is not in the plans at Liverpool)

I think 8 to 10m each is a fair price imo considering their quality... After all, we did spend more then that on an unkown kid and were willing to go for Cesc

6 million the maximum we are willing to pay for aquallani according to gazzeta

6mil is a steal. I think we'd go up to 8 if given the option. G never pays the asking price.

I think that's too low, and Liverpool wouldn't go for it. He's worth more then that, and I've been scowering some Liverpool fan sites, most of them want Aquilani to stay, he's been great for them so far in pre-season but Kenny doesn't seem to view him as an important part of the squad, so that could work in our favour. However, they want 10m for him. I think that's a good asking price.

So either Robinho is the new starter or....

http://www.milannews.it/?action=read&idnotizia=59014



Boateng has been pushed back to midfield.

This is leading to kaka imo

Currently watching the Liverpool game, Aquilani is not in the squad, not even on the bench. Last time I checked he wasn't injured. I think this speaks volumes

well they've made it clear for some time they don't want him, it's where he goes we don't know.

So, here's my definitive pick on the debate that's going on for (p)ages.

I think R7 has a point when saying some of his opinions. If I understand him correctly, he does not want to regard Aquilani or Montolivo as a Pirlo replacement, just a handout addition. Indeed, Milan should replace Pirlo with someone equally talented or gifted. We tried Fabregas who has the potential, but failed. We shouldn't splash our funds on players like Aquilani or Montolivo (especially if both Liverpool and Fiorentina are gonna play hardball), rather try bring in someone new. Xavi or Iniesta will leave at some point, there are players like Götze or Ganso who could in terms of potential mean a significant upgrade.

R7 is however, for my taste, a bit too sentimental. Although I wouldn't be as hypercritical as han (usually is ), but yes, Seedorf cannot be reliable. He's becoming a nice bonus, a high quality option like Pippo is.

On the other hand, the last few weeks made us a bit over-concerned about the state of our creative department. R7 again made a valid point when he said our attack can generate creativity as well. Look at Uruguay, both at the World Cup and the Copa America - the usually field a midfield consisted of Perez, A. Pereira and Arevalo. One could easily discard them as a team with a hard-working but uncreative midfield. But, Forlan and Suarez (apart from Pereira) do most of the creative work. Why couldn't we do it with Cassano and Robinho + Iba and El Sha? Sure, the comparison isn't the best one, but it's meant more as a demonstration.

Montolivo and Aquilani won't make such a big difference, but they will help. If we keep the money (with someone better/or with better potential in mind) not much will change. I know, this is a very big if, but I'm only providing an alternative.


I think you're being a bit too pessimistic han. This is Milan we're talking about. I really think, no matter if this is the 10's and not the 90's, everyone or almost everyone wants to play for Milan. Maybe not for Palermo or Napoli, certainly not for Sampdoria or Udinese, but for Milan - most definitively. Fabregas rejected us only because of his ties with Barcelona. If we were near of signing Cesc, it's an evidence we still can attract almost anyone.


Only you CHU are able to put both players in the same sentence and threat them as equal losses

Don't know about CHU, but Han in my opinion always had links to the Maltese mafia. Oh by the way, great post, (long post, mmmm) agree with most of it, though I am much more critical about Seedorf, for what it's worth. I feel like it was about time to hang up his boots, or at least do a stint at some smaller club.

Running around in the midfield takes a whole lot more energy than a defender or poacher - something our #10 has little of. Now if he's going to play select matches, and maybe just keep up with proceedings that's not going to do us a whole lot good. If he can't keep up, then we'll be in harms way. And then some.

An year extra will not make too much of a difference for him - he's practically won everything with us, anyway.

We can, and we have most of last year, relied on our attackers to produce most, if not all, of the offense.That being said, we want to be better in possession so that we may compete against Europe's better teams. we can't just have 8 players dumping it to 3 players all game via long ball; this isn't Ibra's Inter. We want competent 2 dimensional players that can run and support the attack as well as constantly press and place pressure on the other team. Right now we only about have 2 "mobile" mids in Emanuelson and Boatang. The others are fairly static and rarely actively pressure the opponents. I, personally don't disagree with our domestic results, just the mentality versus european competition as well as the disposition of players that can't effectively play a more "european friendly" football.

+1



Also,everyone seems to have a view of Aquilani and Montolivo as average which I view wrong.They might not be Barca quality,but still to our team they will be significant.All of the names mentioned like Hamsik and etc... are not just not worth the gamble,and fuss.We saw Ganso in coppa america,I don't really think he's even worth the tag they've slapped on him.He will not take us to a new level...While,Hamsik's price is downright funny.Other players mentioned are impossible to get anyway.(Xavi...)To really succeed next season,we need a good consistent midfield with depth.In those situations,I don't know how someone could refuse Aquilani and Montolivo for 20million.It's beyond stupid.Look at Liverpool,they bought Henderson for 16million,downing for somewhat the same price tag too.All clubs are playing hard ball these days.


Also,I like this http://acmilan.theoffside.com/azzuri/tacti...creativity.html

We are linked with Christian Eriksen through Genoa, maybe a similar deal like Boateng's.

http://www.milannews.it/?action=read&idnotizia=59006

Oh, it feels so great to have a farming club like Genoa. They take care of us like there is no tomorrow, I wonder what Galliani is feeding them folks. Christian Eriksen isn't half bad a player going buy what I heard. Though I've seen very little of the kid, let's see how this pans out.

They get their $$ from us. i think you need not look further then what we payed for El Sharaawy and the fact that we co-owned Merkel, a kid who, if nothing else, Allegri had great admiration for.

Ditto. Cash is still king. Win-win for both Milan and Genoa, really.

Yea, the price tag drops if Genoa knocks on your door. Although other clubs will catch on soon enough

sigh........

?

No Cesc got you down?

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.

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.


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?


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?

... 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" 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


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 ), 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

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 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

As stable as they might be, Bayern is a stingy club that rarely even undertakes bidding wars; most of their time they are oriented on the Bundesliga, only the few last years the broke out of that cycle. I stand my ground - Milan could get a Mr. X much sooner then Bayern.


Are you now comparing Monto and Aqua to Pirlo, Kaka and van Bommel? Really? Kaka was cheap because he was young and not yet fully tested, Pirlo because he wasn't yet put in a position comfortable to him and because of the chaotic Inter situation, while van Bommel...well...was running out of contract. Why are those two cheap? One is also running out of contract, but at an age that is different then van Bommel, where real talent or quality would have been sold long before his contract was running out, while Aquilani failed at Liverpool and failed at Juventus (who decided not to pick him up) and has a serious history of injuries.

I never said they're bodies thrown into our team, they are solid player who make the right steps into a the direction of a stronger team, but only a few steps. I don't expect them to bring us to the next level, because they simply can't IMO. It seems to me that you are willing to say that any creative player in Serie A and abroad, no matter if it is Valbuena, Sergio Pinto or any one else would get us to the next level.


I can agree only to an instant, because this is way to simplified. It certainly does not come only to those things. Especially in inter-Serie A or inter-Italian transfers this won't apply.


And yes, cycles last for years. What, you'd expect a cycle last 1 year? Italian football will maybe be able to come back in 5, or 10, or 20 years, I can't tell, but it's normal.


Silvio yes, are you sure about Galliani though?


You see, this is exactly what I've been talking about. You've been blowing things out of proportions. I mean, with such an attitude you are no better then me or R7 who still think of our club as the mighty AC Milan. Because only arrogance can lead you to the conclusion that a elimination against Tottenham, Manchester and Arsenal, and a prior win in the CL final are embarrassments on the grandest scale. The you could say Real Madrid is doing the same even longer then us. In fact, those are set-backs, painful moments of weakness or blows, but going on that far to call us a team that has been embarrassing on the grandest scale is, or was, a title reserved for Inter.


I get you. +1


You know that wasn't meant to be the main point. Sure, Aquilani and Montolivo are better then Brocchi. But, let's forget Brocchi now. Are they closer to being average at best then world class? I think they're much closer to a Flamini then they'll ever be to a Kaka or Rui.

I guess no one can say who's right unless it occurs, but I stand by what I said. They might be stingy but at least they would have the money to back an offer up, unlike Italian teams.


Oh my. I only compared them to when they came over not the top class players they became. And I'm not even saying that Montolivo and Aquilani will become top class players either. I'm saying the situations would be similar to those players when they were brought in. Pirlo was a failure at Inter, Kaka was an unkown, even though he was a hyped Brazilian, you can never really tell how those signings turn out. I remember people were appaled that Carlo would even try to test Pirlo out in the DM spot, since I remember Ambro was doing well at the time in that position, they thought he'd be a utility player, same goes for Kaka, someone to releive Rui Costa of some of the work load. The VB transfer was different in certain way but the same as others, everyone thought that he'd be an extra DM in the growing pile we were already accumulating, yet he turned out to be an integral part of our Scudetto win.

My point is, that I'm not expecting these players to become huge stars or to turn us into the next Barca, that was never really my point. But if they do adapt well and integrate into our system quickly, then we don't need a star, we already have those, we need low key quality players who will make that extra bit of difference, and that is what Aqui and Monto would offer.


We were champions last season, no one really thinks that we can win the CL just yet, and maybe next summer we can get the star player in to take us to that level. But for now, those extra few steps will enable us to hopefully reatain the title as well as go further in Europe, I don't know about you, but I'd be happy with that. And no I wouldn't be willing to take just anyone, I've always really liked Aquilani, although I do acknowledge that he's never really reached the potential he once alluded to having, I was iffy about Montolivo, but out of the realistic names that we've been linked to, I think he's the best option


I think you glorify certain things too much. I made a point about mentioning foreign players, because imo, that is the way most of them value things. We've seen it happen countless times now


We've been talking about it for years now not just 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 or even 5 years. Serie A has been going down for a long time now. While other leagues continue to move ahead. 20 years from now? Maybe, no one can tell. But until then I don't see any plans for improvement being made, so I wouldn't discount the possibility that the French league will overtake Serie A by that time


I'm going to take a wild gues and say that he knew. Galliani only spends money with the full consent and approval of Silvio, I'm 100% sure of this (we've seen the cissokho debacle ). So if Silvio didn't want Galliani to spend any money, then we wouldn't have see the Shaarawy deal go through, not in a million year would Silvio consent to such money being spent on an unkown kid, especially when he knew the financial situation he was in. I really don't believe that he would keep Galliani in the dark about such things since he handles the club finances


When I said on the grandest scale, that was to imply the CL, not the size of the emberassment

However, all the exits were emberassing, and I never said that Real's have been dignified The fact here is that ever since we went out to Arsenal it has been one humiliation after the other in Europe, losing the way we did to Man U was horrifying imo, and should never be happening to us. And yes I do hold Milan in as high as standards as you guys do, wanting Montolivo and Aquilani does not make me less of a Milan fan. I know what we're capable of and what is unrealistic expectations. And imo, retaining the title and doing better in the CL is what we're capable of should we bring in suitable players for our midfield, if not we'll struggle to retain the title, while I don't have any false hopes of winning the CL. In the next 2-3 seasons


I don't believe that, I think they're somewhere in the middle, they're good, solid players, which imo, is what we need to achieve the goals we've set out. Galliani can talk about the CL all he wants, but he's just BSing, he knows we're not there yet, and splashing all our money on one star still won't get us there imo.

How could I loose you? Broochi is an average-good player at what he does. Just like Aquilani or Montolivo, sure they have different attributes, but that does not mean they are any better. Had both players been all that you are claiming, why hasn’t Madrid, City, United, Barca, FFS Juventus, Roma, Genoa, anyone Getafe come sniffing about.

First delusional.. Now illogical … Milan bringing in a quality player ! God forbids it
There is something called faith, have a little of that when you sit and dwell about how bad our midfield situation is. You want realistic? Realistic is the track-record of this club bringing in high-quality players to win for you, however you never seem to give the benefit of the doubt.

Running around up and down this thread stating we wont win without them? Please, and hell-no! They wont be starters if we bring in a quality midfielder.

My point is, why are you making everything seem so dramatic? Wait till August 31st, then you can set torches on fire, surely that would be much more fun

yup

i'm not happy with just kaka and montolivo

U still positive they both are coming

Yeah kaka will come and either we'll get montolivo now ----- or ------ aqualani now and montolivo in january.


But thats not enough.

Why in January? I expect him to come in Summer then.

news:


“We are closely following a midfielder from France, who is a phenomenon,” - Braida


-Ibra has called on Milan to sign more players.


"Cassano will stay. I have no doubts, and neither does the entire club." - Allegri


-Carolina (kaka's wife) has come out and said that she will be house shopping in Milan next week and if possible she'd like to work for Armani again.


-talks have broken down in regards to the 3 way swap for montolivo as veloso does not want to leave genoa. Milan is now proposing a zambrotta and montolivo swap.


-Galliani has said in an interview that our squad is fine as it is and we do not need more players. He also said If Kaka were to join Milan, it would only be on a permanent transfer.


-Drogba has come out and said that he has no intention of leaving chelsea and that he wants to finish his career there. He is looking to sign an extention.






Inter stuff:

-Eto to Anzhi is looking like it will happen.

-Sneijder is also on the verge of moving to manchester.

-Tevez's agent has landed in Milan to begin talks.

-Inter are now after aqualani as well.


MN/TMW/CM

Cuz in January his contract expires in 6 months so we'll pay fiorentina 2 or 3m and get him. Like we did with Emanuelson.

Reduced price. Fiorentina will be desperate to sell him then as his contract will run out in 6 months time in January. They are trying to get 10m at least now, while we know we can lure the player out either fore free of for peanuts. To be honest, I rather liked Fiorentina and how they bought Gilardino from us.

I'd probably buy Monty for 6-7 million now, and have it as a win-win for all parties involved.

Big head slap

I'd be happy with Kaka and Aquilani and Montolivo coming in January, I'd also be happy with Montolivo and Aquilani. But we are certainly not fine as we are

R7, I have a monster post coming your way

Where does that guy Braida come up with all that crap?


You keep calling him that, he's not some water product, his name is Aquilani.

Haha, Olives and water - mostly make people sick when combined, didn't you know?

I have to at you comparing them to Brocchi. Didn't Liverpool spend 20m on Aquilani? They loaned him because he got injured a lot and didn't manage to adapt to the EPL, like most Italians fail to do, so nothing special there. Montolivo has had ups and downs at Fiorentina, and he's known for disappearing in the big matches, but then again the same could be said for Fabregas.

Again, I never said you're delusional. I always agreed to an exent with what you said, I just didn't find it logical due to our current circumstances. Huge difference there. And a big fat OH PLEASE to the bolded part. Just because a troubled Robinho and Zlatan came in last season does not discount the recent history of the "Mega" deals Galliani has pulled off. Are you talking about bringing in Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, getting ripped off for Zambrotta, Becks, Brocchi, Emerson, Oliveira, etc, etc the list could go on. That has become the reality of our situation. Zlatan and Robinho were massive coupes and Galliani deserves the credit for them, but you have to take into account their situations with their previous clubs, plus we had to make some kind of big moves after 3 dire seasons for the club in both the league and the CL.

I stand by what I say, I believe we will struggle without a new injection of brains into our midfield. Take into consideration that last season Inter were horrible in the first half under Rafa, yet almost managed to over take us, not to mention our toughest competition were Napoli. Next season will be different, and resting on our laurels and going into the season as we are will not help us in the title race.

The main point here is that you guys don't rate either Aquilani or Montolivo, while I do. I believe that they can help us to improve next season, while you don't. And personally I'd rather have them then not, while you would prefer that we go into the season as we are if they are our only options, and that is what I find illogical.