Yeah, the last few seasons have clearly left him traumatized.

Yep


Yep

What's different is that there is a possibility that there might be both money and a real change. Hard to stay positive after the last few seasons, but I will try ...

Edit: Starting from the rumor that we might get Emery instead of Miha. Also, Ibra rumors persist. Trying to stay positive, I doubt Ibra will re-join us unless he can see some evidence that we are rebuilding the team.

I don't think it's realistic. Ibra surely wants CL games and isn't getting any younger. Also, isn't he in some kind of feud with Galliani over his last transfer?

I think Ibra would return on the spot if offered the possibility. True, one year without European football for a 34-year-old is a bit too much, but I think he's past the point where he cares about that stuff anymore.

As for Emery, he just renewed with Sevilla and said he wants to coach them in the next CL, so I don't think he's a possibility.

Can't we go for Spaletti? Or heck even Prandelli? Either are more acceptable than Miha. Granted they're far from my first choice and certainly not what's needed to be competitive but I rate them much more highly than Miha

Whatever happened to Rijkaard anyway? Does he have a team?

Last I read Ibra was still bitter at Galliani for the transfer. Still I don't think he's all that satisfied with life in Paris tbh, and he's always said that Milan was his favourite city to live in as well

I don't think bringing in Ibra would make much sense at this point anyway.

As for the options, I'd take Rijkaard. He's a former Milanista but has distance and experience.

Mihajlovic is not a done deal, though. There's nothing official yet. An now with Mr. Bee on board, who knows, we might aim for somebody else.

But really, you're all acting as if we've got the next Inzaghi or something. Mihajlovic is not that bad. It's not as if Prandelli or Montella are any better. Not for me, at least. And besides, if he fails then we can just fire him and hire Carlo next season when he'll be available. Or Klopp.

What does make you think otherwise? What's making him good?

- solid job with Samp
- not very good run with Serbia
- awful spell with Fiorentina; several disputes again
- good job with Catania, 13th
- he managed to bring Bologna into a relegation place (after he left they took a turn); had several disputes
- he's a former Interista which irks me but it's irrelevant really

That's really nothing special. With 21 wins and 16 defeats for Samp and his bad run at Fiorentina, I dare again ask you what makes you so positive?

I don't agree that there're no difference between him and Montella or Prandelli.

Prandelli has more experience than both of them put together. While Montella imo is a far more talented tactician. I'd take either of them in a heart beat over Miha

I said Mihajlovic is not that bad. He did very well with Sampdoria, his most recent spell, which is what really matters. He's matured as a coach over the years. He seems ambitious, has a strong character, and a lot of experience as a player behind his shoulders. Obviously I'd have preferred Ancelotti or Emery or even Spaletti, but it didn't happen so let's be optimistic about it, shall we?



Never liked Prandelli. He has a very rigid mindset that reminds me a lot of Allegri. Montella is alright, but I don't really consider him any better than Mihajlovic. They're the same level, regardless of how you look at it.

Our offer for Ibra: €6.5 million per season and €15 million to PSG.

Source: Mediaset

Is it worth it? I have my doubts.

It's half of what he's making now.

Tbh I'm pretty sure he'd be great, he's still an amazing player and he'd also be the guy that can really turn things around for us as he's simply that kind of player.

But I'm hoping that if we do actually sign him that it won't simply stop there. I think a striker should be second priority at this point. That's the main thing that concerns me at this point with all this Ibra talk.

Anyway, I still think it's mostly fantacalcio. How long does Ibra still have left on his contract anyway

One year.

Dani Alves being linked as well...

With Alvez stating he wants to come to Milan, Ibra also being strongly linked ... I sense the new strategy is to ensure the team wins from day one. Then attracting the promising ones. At this point in time, I couldn't care less who comes in or not, what is important is to go back to the CL and if that requires 33 year old players, then so be it.

Yeah, I read that. I honestly don't want us going after +30 players regardless of how good they may be. I'd rather spend on established players who still have a lot to give.

I agree with that too. Ibra for me is an exception as he's not just any old run of the mill 30+ year old

Alves on the other hand is someone we do not need and a huge wage that will surely become problematic for us quick. Just renew Abate's contract and focus on areas that really need improvements. Mainly midfield

I'll gladly take Ibra (assuming he is interested in coming), because I think he can still deliver for a few more years. The idea of building the team around him is rather intriguing, though I have to wonder how well that would work.

Hopefully, however, we will get younger players for the rest of the team. (With all of Berlu's statements about only focusing on players under 25, we seem to be going for a lot of 30+ players.)

Not too happy with Miha, but at least he has experience and ambition, and hopefully he has learned from his past mistakes. (Pippo, OTOH, did his learning on our nickel. Same for Allegri IMHO, though to a lesser extent.)

Agreed, but I'd rather take Montella over Mihajlovic, not only because I think he is slightly better in his footballing philosophy than than the latter, and that may come into play when (or if) we have a better squad with more talented players around. That, and his name is easier to pronounce. Just kidding.

The thing with Mihajlovic is that he seems someone that is better at getting performances out from his players, at least as he's recently shown, so that's a bit of a plus point. But overall both are on a similar level. Emery would have been an awesome risk, though, only because of his lack of Serie A experience. But he'd have been great.

Was quite glad that we were being linked with him, might have signed him too had he not won the Europa League and subsequently a ticket to the CL.

Intriguing, only if we don't fill the rest of the squad with deadwood and failure losers like Robinho (who was very obviously discarded at two big clubs at that time). We all saw what happened with our last project that we had going with Ibra in the center, and it wasn't all that good in terms of strategic planning.

Still, I'm liking what I've been hearing these past couple of weeks. We could be on the verge of something big.


Maybe it's got something to do with the rather deep hole we seem to have dug ourselves into. Under 25 will not be enough to get us out of this predicament, and into the top tier of Serie A and Europe. Then again, signing players over the age of 30+ is not the exclusive answer here, either.

I can only hope our new investors know what they are doing, because Galliani and Berlusconi don't.


Exactly, I have the same feelings, for all these individuals. But at least Allegri and Mihajlovic are bona fide coaches, instead of experiments like Inzaghi and Seedorf. At least with the Dutchman we had some style going, something of a project, what with his tactical knowhow and knowledge of the game.

With Inzaghi, though, I had been against his appointment from the first day. Would have required a miracle for him to settle and deliver with the crisis we've been going through recently, and miracles like that rarely happen. Everything has to go right in such a case. Pity the idiot that brought him in for top job, this green.

Well put, and I do hope this really is the plan. Because another fifth or sixth place finish next season (when we don't even have Europe to begin with) will be a waste of money, time and talent. In fact, if the new owners splash the cash in terms of transfers, I expect the title, or at least a race. Provided we get a good coach.

The thing with Mihajlović, when compared to Montella, is that he never was able to become a builder. His fierce style of man-handling and overall coaching adds passion, granted, but as seen on various examples, it soon fades out. What then should step in i.e. tactical knowledge and flexibility isn't his thing.

Therefore I think Montella is the better pick. He has far more tactical knowledge and is able to build a team, nurture it and guide it through rough and smooth terrains.

Exactly. He may have been the right pick for this season instead of Inzaghi. And probably could have seen us mount a challenge for the CL spot, ending up with Europa League qualification easy. But while I'll be okay with him managing us, if we are getting some significant investment towards new players, I'd rather have someone else.


True, he has his faults, but out of these two I'd pick him to lead us into this new direction. Montella seems like someone that can grow with the team, and the thing about him is that he is not limited by a single philosophy, a la a certain Allegri. Much more adaptable, so hopefully we go this route.

Doesn't seem like we are, but one can always hope until we actually make our new coach official.

A bit worried with some of the names we're being linked with. Godin, Guilavogui, Soriano, Obiang, Eder. How are these players any better than what we currently have? Are we really going to start wasting money again, now that it looks like we might finally have some to spend?

There in lies my main point about giving Galliani a transfer budget to waste on pointless players

We'll see. But out the the mentioned players, almost all of them are Sampdorians. So it's probably either Miha who wants them or just pure inventing.

• Galliani will meet Porto for Brahimi and Jackson Martinez
• Dani Alves' agent confirms Milan's interest
• Lyon are interested in Rami
• Reuters reports that Fininvest will make €150 million available for the club to finance the new project
• Mihajlovic should be presented this weekend after the club has reached a mutual solution with Inzaghi

Link

Thanks for the update.

Not so thrilled about Alves, and Rami can go for all I care.

Martinez has an impressive record, hmm.

150 million..as han said, it's not the amount. It's the quality.

Mixed feelings about all of this, I must say. Good mixed with the bad. I expect much better from the experienced management if they are to begin a new project, particularly in terms of transfers. Guess we'll see.

Well the current players we're linked with don't give me much hope, and neither does our coaching selection tbh

Going after Alves at this point, considering the wage demands he'd have for me shows that Galliani simply has not and will never learn his lesson

guys this is totally OT:

but i'm not getting to see all the posts in the thread :/

the forum just shows me the most recent posts, and plenty of small "links" for the other posts. and then i have to press each and everyone to see them...any clue how to fix it?! thanks

http://prntscr.com/7eocg7

I think you have your display mode set to 'Outline'.

Scroll the page up and click the options button. Set the display mode to standard and it should be fixed. If not refresh the page again or close the tab and re-open

• Fiorentina have fired Montella
• Other players linked with us are Douglas Costa, Kondogbia, Hummels and Chicharito

So we could have gotten Montella? (Bummer.)

Not overly impressed by what I am hearing, but will keep an open mind.

Well, we can at least cross one name off the list. Dani Alves has (surprise, surprise) signed his Barcelona contract for an additional two years. Had very mixed feelings about him joining us, and even his agent said that we offered him a deal. But nice to see he stays away, wouldn't have been a step in the right direction.

We spent £250m over 3 years, a long time ago. The difference between when we did it and when Juve did it, is now it's not much money. £250m between 2000/01 and 02/03 was an insane amount of money.

More to the point, our net spend was £170m in that period. Juve's net spend was only £110 which includes making a £20m profit last summer and, despite making a profit, made he CL Final and won the double.

Looking exclusively at expenditure doesn't make sense when it comes to transfers.

And that is why I'm still sticking with my point of having to endure another season of Allegri if (hypothetically speaking) it meant we somehow got rid of Galliani. Apparently, it's rather hard to get rid of the loser, and it seems even with the investment coming in, he will stay. For a long time.

I know Berlusconi is one of the big reasons why we are down, the prime reason one being the circumstances, but Galliani is the one that made things all the more difficult for us. Sure he pulled off magic back in the days, but man, the past few seasons Galliani has been an absolute joke in terms of management.

Signing a champion like Ibra and a flop like Robinho in the same window. All the extravagant contracts he gave to has beens and free transfers, and more importantly, not developing our brand in markets where we already enjoyed a following. The Middle East, Far East countries like China, Japan and more, as well as South America.

Horrific performance from a high ranking official at a big football club.

We have to be very careful with how we spend these money. Prices nowadays are crazy. €35 million for Jackson Martinez, another €35 million for Kondogbia. As if we're talking about alleged champions here. These guys are nobodies. They're good, but still nobodies. Clubs are looking in every way to extort exorbitant amounts of money at every chance they get. I really like Kondogbia, but I would never spend €35 million for him. I'd rather get Nainggolan for half of that amount. Hopefully Galliani doesn't screw this up, cos we ain't getting another chance like this at building a competitive team.

I will say one thing though. Don't really feel that there are too many good players on the market right now. Clubs like Chelsea, PSG and United have hoarded many of the prospects. So if the management goes in with a few old hands along with a few players that are on the fringes, and maybe a champion or two, then I'll be pleased.

Godin, Hummels and Chicharito? I'll take them. Just mix these guys up with the right young ones. Age 25 or so.

And now apparently Inter Milan want Juan Cuadrado on a loan deal. With an option to buy. Another player that I wouldn't mind, even though he is not of ideal age right now to build upon. But a good one to have for the short term, has talent as well as league experience.

Khedira to Juventus official, by the way. Man, these guys are getting good at signing free players.

Agreed acid, it's the same things I've been saying for quite some time now. Galliani has been putting us under and making bad decisions for a while now


Agreed with this as well, and has been my main worry about a big transfer budget and leaving that in the hands of the same man that has steadily lead us to the position we're in


Hmm, could mean that either Pogba or Vidal could be on the way out, not to mention Pirlo as well

Worst thing that can happen. Gallliani seems to still be stuck in the 90s. Modern football has evolved beyond that, and you need to be ruthless in the transfer market to make the most of it. Hopefully those paying the money are aware of this, because a less than stellar summer window will mean we'll waste another year.

But more than that, I'm more interested in finding out who we finalize as the coach for next season, and what kind of an input he has in all this. Apparently, we're still discussing things with Inzaghi (with regards to his package), but now with Montella out of a job, a little twist may be on the cards. Who knows?!

What I'm unable to understand is why are we apparently ready to spend money but at the same time still aiming for unproven coaches?

Exactly, this factor alone can bring it all down. We all know how that (small) project that Galliani initiated a few years back with Ibra and Silva fizzed out. Not just bad signings, but also unproven coaches and preferring certain players over other more capable candidates.

I really like how you mentioned Rijkaard, Fillipo, a few posts back, and personally I'm amazed we haven't approached him all these years. He knows how to build a team, and the input of a coach is vital these days in terms of transfers, and seeking players out. Hopefully we sort out this coach issue first and foremost, as soon as possible.

And only then go on about signing players. Otherwise, I'd have the same doubts with the management as I've had them in the past. Berlusconi and Galliani have given us two highs and two lows over the past three decades, and that's as clear a signal that they are neither ruthless, nor particularly forward thinking when it comes to management.

Maybe that's because up until now, they had the luxury of knowing that they have the necessary funds to right the wrongs. And they have, the 2000s team was full of class players, but they surely can't make the same mistakes now. Not in this environment. So hopefully the new investors know what they're doing.

Because I'm not sure our current management does!

I think Miha is set imo. I wish we'd go for Montella but I can't see that happening.

Re your comment about Galliani and the new investors, it's still an issue because they don't have control, just a minority share, which still leaves things up to Silvio, and as long as he's alive, he'll continue to let Galliani do as he pleases. Unless Barbara decided to try for another dethroning endeavour, I can't see him being removed from his position by Bee and his consortium.


The big money talk is all just speculation anyway. Until I see us actually spending on proven talent worth more than the odd 7m I won't believe that we're all that keen on spending

As for the coaching issue, imo it has to do with vision, which Galliani imo no longer has. Look at what our options were. The only top class coach they were trying for was Carlo, someone from our past that they know well, forget trying to bring in someone who's great but looking outside of the box for once.

Once Carlo closed the door for us, we went from looking at someone who's on a world class level to run of the mill Serie A coaches like Sinisa, who imo offer nothing that Allegri didn't in the past. Hey, at least we didn't repeat the mistake for a 3rd time running and went for a rookie like Brocchi

Skittles! I too would have preferred Montella over him, but I'm still holding out for a little miracle. If only Sevilla had not won the Europa League, we might have been in with a better chance for a proper coach.


I personally feel that this is the end of the Berlusconi era. One way or another. 48% still is significant control, or should I say, sway. Throw in some corporate boadroom politics, and some of the other smaller share holders could switch camps, change alliances.

But even if we leave this scenario aside, I think there is a fair chance that these new investors will aim for a bigger stake within the next few years. Provided this project kicks off. Not to mention the fact that no one will sit aside while a bumbling idiot keeps on making wrong moves.

Not when they have thrown in more than half a billion into the frying pan! There is hope still.


Nah, there has to be something here. FFP only allows new owners one season to splash the cash before the regulations kick in. And if we are to spend in excess of whatever amount is thrown around, 100, 150 million, then the time to do it is now. Unless of course, the new owners find it pleasurable to pay fines.

May only concern is that the lack of Champions League football limits our options greatly, in terms of proven players at least. Galliani said last month that there will be a lot of signings this window, and for better or worse, I believe him this time. Because otherwise, we're looking at an even more devaluation of our brand and prestige.


Agreed. Still even with the Miha connection, I'll hope against hope that we go for a better choice, and a proven coach that can stamp his authority and philosophy from the first match of the season. Not someone that learns on the job and gets paid good money to do so.

More than that, I hope for some sense and say from the guys that are bringing in the investment. Footballing sense.


That said, I don't think Carlo would have come. He's not just the luckiest cat around, he knows that even with the investment, the Milan job will not match the highs of say Manchester City or Bayern Munich and other high profile clubs. I believe he would have said no either way, and the wait for an extra few days was just a ruse.

Wish him all the best for his surgery, but come on, he did not mention taking a rest, and year off, when he was coaching Real Madrid. Had he been allowed to continue there, pretty sure he would have for one more season.

Thanks man, you're a lifesaver!