MILAN ARE BACK.

We have just signed Italy's (formerly?) best team's prize defender. A man Allegri called a 'leader of the dressing room' three weeks ago.

This is a statement guys. The biggest we've made in almost a decade. It's one thing trying to big up all the defenders (honest pros most of them) that we had in recent years, Alex, Mexes, Zapata etc - trying to fob off some kind of legitimacy such rubbish had for being in our shirt, quite another signing a player of this quality direct from our rivals and weakening them.

Meanwhile we EVEN GET RID OF MDS AND GET 10M FOR HIM INTO THE BARGAIN!!!!

This has turned into a great window, and while we cannot get too far ahead of ourselves, this is the spending and level of transfer we needed.

We have to already be strong contenders now for Scudetto and UEL. And yes, before Bonucci I wasn't even looking at either. But that for me is an absolutely colossal signing.

Changes everything.

I'm honestly in awe of Fassobelli at the moment. I thought I'd been watching football for just too long and I'm too old to feel 'wonder' anymore, but credit to them they've brought it back to me. I almost feel like a teenager again, watching this team get assembled. And for this if nothing else, I'm grateful.

Man, I love this stupid club and this frickin team!

Well the alternative for you is Newcastle while mine is the equally hopeless Rangers

Couple of observations;

De Sciglio was not part of the deal, his transfer will be done separately. We'll see what happens but Fassone seems to be standing firm on his 15m valuation of him while Juve want to low ball us.

As for the scudetto, man, it's hard for me to say this, especially after all the great things we've done so far. But I still think that Juve and Napoli are ahead of us, even if we get the marquee striker we're after.

On paper we'll be very close to Napoli, but the fact that this is basically an entirely new side that has to gel and become a team will take some time. I don't see us hitting the ground running in the league tbh which will hinder our chances at top 2.

I still think the objective should be top 4. CL for next season is simply the most important objective for us. And we should aim at that for now.


True. They have done a simply amazing job. Slightly cautious about how much money is flying out not to mention the huge wage bill we're racking up again, but I have to believe that there is a plan in place to not only cover them but make us profitable as well

Haven't heard from Berlusconi and Galliani in a while...

Last time Berlu opened his trap was when Donna rejected the initial contract offer, obviously gloating that had he been in charge he'd have renewed, now it's back to silence.

I wonder what Galliani thinks watching the fans chanting and singing Fassone dedicated songs. Had he had this kind of cash to play with he'd have wasted it on the most obscure signings + spent the entire summer wasting time chasing unrealistic targets like Ronaldo/Messi, only to say we tried, but in the end couldn't prize them away

Didn't say he was.



I think we've matched Napoli now. I also think we've weakened Juve to an extent that we've closed the gap. The advantage both have is time and experience, as you point out further down.



I'd still be happy with top four but I think we have to be looking at third minimum with the work we've done.

Not all perfect - we appear to be spunking away 80M on Silva and Sanches. But we have spent the other portion well on the Musacchios, Bonuccis, Calhanoglu etc.

For me Silva and Sanches are Galliani calibre signings. Spending too much on dross.

And yes, I stand by my opinion on Silva. Only he can change that.

...and I doubt Silva will change your opinion really quickly. He's 21 years old and yet to play in Serie A. It's one of the harder leagues for new strikers to play in. I think Silva is a purchase for the long run, and much like Dzeko is going to take some time to come good.

My only reason to have a new striker is that it would take some load off Andre Silva, and he won't be forced to be the sole goal scoring threat for us.

Dzeko had a resume behind him through. An experienced striker who had done it in quite a few leagues including Germany and to a lesser extent in England - plus he had dozens of caps for his country with an over 1 in two scoring rate. Silva is a completely untested quantity and it's a 35M gamble IMO. A lot to pay for a young striker with little pedigree.



He's not good enough to be a goal scoring threat, regardless of any extra striker.

I know I sound like a hate club against Silva, I am really not. I am just looking at quality like Kessie, like Bonucci, like Cahanoglu and Conti - and these are players I admire and all of whom impress. But Silva doesn't. He hasn't. And he's our joint most expensive signing.

Hopefully I get proven wrong, and I can look back and say how silly I was to doubt him.

Galliani wouldn't have had the foresight to sign Silva even if it hit him straight between his eyes.

You're basing all your opinions on Silva on pretty much nothing. Can you please at least have an open mind with regards to him? Because it sounds like you've already made up your mind and I don't understand how...

Sanches imo is still a long way away and I don't think we'll get him in the end, so let's not jump off the deep end, I personally like him and think he has a lot of potential but the number quoted is too much

What I saw and what I've read. No, I don't have an open mind on this. It's nonsense to be open minded when it comes to football - I've entirely changed my philosophy on it. If I like a player, great. If not, it's down to him to prove me wrong.

Why exactly SHOULD I have an open mind to him? I think he's a bad signing. I will support him and hope him to be a great one and me wrong, but I don't see any more why my opinion should be held on ice.

For me Silva doesn't do anything Suso doesn't. Same scoring rate roughly, same role in the team. Admittedly Suso is more of a winger, but essentially both fulfil that same support role. And up front is where we need a goalscorer. And amusingly I'd rate Suso considerably above Silva given he's done it in Italy, regardless of how consistently.

The problem is that you're making a judgement about someone you know nothing about. What do you know about Andre Silva and his career so far? How many times have you seen him play? Do you even know the kind of player he is? Because you say he fulfills a support role but the guy is a pure striker. Played the only striker in Porto's 4-3-3 and is supported by Ronaldo in Portugal's 4-4-2.

His stats last season were pretty solid as well: 21 goals in 42 official games, of which 5 goals in 10 Champions League matches.

So, exactly what are you basing your opinion on? Oh wait, the Confed Cup. Sorry, but anyone who heard you say that would roll their eyes.

Why are you not having a go at Han for praising him re: his performances in the Confed Cup?

PS: I am basing my opinion on his career stats, his age, the league he was in, and the position he plays. Incidentally you're contradicting everyone else with your assessment in this post.

What exactly is your issue with the Confed Cup anyway? The only team who weren't at full strength were Germany!

PPS: why are you so angry I don't agree with you?

I feel like I'm being made out to be wrong, a w*nker and an ars*hole just because I don't rate Silva.

First off, I only praised his group games (the 2 I actually saw) where he scored and assisted in the game he started.

But again, how can you make an assessment, especially one as conclusive as yours, when you haven't really watched him play? Confed cup aside, I tend to not judge players too much on what they do with their country as club football is a completely different animal.

Also, no one is trying to make you out to be anything, but I just don't get how you can be so conclusive about something you have no real grasp on aside from checking out a few stats. Heck, I'm personally even keeping an open mind about Borini and we've all actually SEEN how much he's sucked in the EPL over the last few years.

And maybe I'm making a big deal out of this because I personally think you're being way too harsh on someone who hasn't even trained with the team yet, let alone have something you can actually criticise him on for while wearing our colours

I was in a very grumpy mood last night so I retract certain aspects of my emotional response, but my reasoning was indeed sound.

If you sign someone whose record does not stand out for a lot of money, why should you automatically have high hopes for him.

It's not about open mindedness or otherwise, it's about looking at someone's record, and how they play, and how much you paid, and making a deduction on what they can deliver for your team based on it. And based on that Bonucci is a stunning signing I'm overjoyed with. But Silva isn't.

I simply hope he proves me wrong, and I can only keep repeating that. As for Borini, it helps that he's only been signed for squad depth and nothing else. So our expectations can be low for him without any catch.

Also your argument goes the other way. Bonucci hasn't trained with the team yet either yet you're not telling me off for being overjoyed with that signing? Why is criticism only merited when I don't rate a player as highly as everyone else?

But Bonucci is a known quantity to all. Personally I don't rate him that highly as a CB in the classic sense. I think part of what's made him so great is the system Conte created at Juve. He does have flaws imo, BUT he's still considered as one of the best CBs in the world because his defensive qualities although not perfect are still very good and his ball distribution is simply second to none. With all that, I still think he's a game changer for us.

Also, being positive is one thing, but being overly negative is something altogether completely different. I'm personally optimistic about all the guys we brought in, I have bigger doubts over some (Hakan, Silva, Musacchio, Borini), while with others I'm more confident they'll work out (Bonucci, Conti, Kessie, Biglia). Why? First off I'm much more familiar with the guys coming from Serie A, second I think they'll find it easier to adapt, as for Rodriguez I think he's a very classy player that will adapt quickly.

Still, I'm not saying that any of the 4 I mentioned I have doubts about are bad and it's up to them to prove me wrong. I'll keep an open mind and wait until we're at least in the middle of the season before I can judge whether they were good signings or not

You're too liberal for me. If a player or manager isn't doing it inside a month or two, chances are they never will. Fed up with the 'give it time' or 'let it gel' brigade which affords extra time to things which never work out.

Not everything work with the snap of a finger, sometimes things do actually need time to really start working to the best of their abilities.

Just like I don't think we'll hit the ground running as a team, I don't think all our signings will either. It's a completely new side, You simply have to give it time

Only a modest amount of time. Not the months and months folk want to give. It's far more the case when something is rubbish at the start, it remains the case. Only a minority ever turn it around. In Milan colours I can think of very few players who were poor for three+ months then eventually became great.

Danny, you're wrong if you think we are praising Silva. We're not. Personally, I know nothing about him. Before signing him I had never heard of his name. The only things I know about him are his stats, a few info I've read about what type of player he is, and some YouTube clips.

I am completely open-minded that he might either turn into a great player or a failure. Given the high expectations people have about him and his stats with Porto last season, I am more inclined towards the former. But anything can happen. However, I cannot judge him before he performs for us.

That is what you are doing and why we're disagreeing here. You see now?

No, I don't think you're praising hm, I think you all wish to deny me a right to have my opinion though, because you dislike it. You're literally calling me wrong to have major doubts about him, and I stand firm with my strong caution.

So, that's not what I am doing - I am exercising my right to not buy into him. If I turn out wrong I will joyously apologise. But if not, I think I deserve an apologise myself for basically being told to shut up.

Incidentally, I was done with Han as he was with the topic too, and I am now 100% not engaging again in debate of this nature about Silva. I will see how he gets on and cross my fingers that he works out.

It's not that we're denying you the right to have an opinion, but rather we're saying that the basis for your opinion are not very solid.

You mean the facts? Ok. We can agree to disagree. Move on, because, and I say this with the highest respect from one Milanisti to another; I'm utterly sick of this conversation and it's making this forum unenjoyable.