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Danny
The more this summer moves on, the more frustrating it feels as a Rossoneri.

Don't get me wrong, it's still a lovely feeling being champions, having the CL draw to look forward to, and having just won today's Italian Super Cup thrown in for good measure against our old chums Internazionale.

But I feel a real tinge of annoyance that becoming champions doesn't appear to have changed anything at all.

For me, this renaissance of Milan was a real opportunity to start bringing in some top class talent, to supplement an extremely successful core and reinforce our position as well as initiating a serious assault on the CL.

But we've totally failed to come close to doing that.

That Mexes (a decent if unexciting signing) is our biggest capture of the summer thus far shows a total lack of ambition from the powers that be at the club.

My sense of disappointment (despite the result) was never more highlighted than when I looked at the starting line up for today's Super Cup final.

Effectively exactly the same players who won the league last year. We had the reasonably young Boateng, Abate, Silva and Robinho in the side but they were completely outnumbered by the well over 30s.

Don't get me wrong, this group of players won the league and this cup final, and deserve huge credit for that, but it feels like the club has stood still this summer.

Look at Barca - by far the best club side around right now, and even THEY brought in an expensive high quality new signing. They did not rest on their laurels.

We have.

I felt when we won the league we had a wee chance of being a side who could challenge Barca - we had a very good squad and if we made some key signings to develop the team, we could do something in the CL.

But...nothing.

It's such a missed opportunity so far, a real chance to grow as a team yet it's the same old guard who still play rather than top class quality players being brought in to improve us.

There is still time left in the window to make 2 or 3 key signings - top brass who'd be instant starters, but I just can't see anything on the horizon other than continued speculation about how we're not signing Fabregas and Hamsik is out our price range.

It's really quite disappointing.
William405
Agreed,sadly,that's not how we handle our business usually,and it never was.(At least in the last 3-4 seasons where I've avidly followed Milan).What I really think we lack is in the midfield.We currently have one of the best attacking force in the world,in addition,to being quite diverse.We have two amazing supporting strikers in Cassano,and Robinho.Ibrahimovic is the full package when it comes to a forward,he can make assists,score goals,hold up play,link-up play,and he also tracks back a lot.We have Pato,Inzaghi,Paloschi as pure finishers that can get the job done,and slot that goal into the net.Pato might be more than that,but we'll see.For me,it doesn't come better than that.I doubt any club has such capabilities in the attack.

I also think we are very solid defense wise.We have the current best center-back in the world,and Nesta.Although,Nesta seems off-pace currently...I believe he'll get his mojo back,and if that happens'we'd have a great center back couple.Let's not forget that we have Mexes and Yepes as back-ups.Our fullback condition has improved with the signing of Taiwo,and the constant improvement of Abate.Zambrotta is a solid backup for them,so that hopefully we won't have to play Antonini.Taiwo,and Abate are both young,and athletic so I wouldn't worry too much about injuries or fitness problems when it comes to them.


So,in the sense of attackers and defenders,things are really looking great for us.I mean we could have maybe signed one fullback there,and got rid of Antonini.Or,even replace the dreadful Bonera.But,these players lie in the last pecking order when it comes to playing time that it normally wouldn't matter much.In addition,we could always be optimistic about them playing better.(That never actually happens ;p).
So,really I'm not sad about any part of the transfer market when it comes to defenders and attackers.

Let's see where the real problem lies in,the midfield.An integral part of any football team...Obviously.

Gattuso,and Ambrosini are both awful.Van Bommel is only one of those DMs that should get a starting position.I would be satisfied if both were squad players or a replacement for Van Bommel,but that is not the case.Either Ambrosini or Gattuso will be starting in a game next season unless something miraculous happens,and we sign more that a left midfielder,the infamous Mister X.

Personally,the only player in the midfield that I think is doing his job correctly is Van Bommel.Others,are either not up to the task or placed in a wrong position.For example,I can easily see Boateng excel in a right midfield role,his original position,then playing in a deep role where really high technical abilities are required in addition to sick dribbling skills,killer passes...Assets boateng doesn't have.We simply don't have a player who can play best in the attacking midfielder role.

Our best current solution is Robinho...although as seen last season,he might start drifting on the wings,turning the formation into a 4-3-3,and killing Pato's efficiency.Their isn't a plethora of solutions for this position on the transfer market either.

Aquilani is one of those solutions,and Kaka is an even better one,but he might come with a hefty price tag,and wages,in addition to other baggage.

On the left side of the midfield,we have Seedorf who has been performing lately,but he just can't keep up at such.He'll be a marvelous squad player though,if we get Mister "X".He can step his game up anytime,and provide that quality that we need when he's healthy,and all.Montolivo might be the solution for the left side of the midfield,although we can't buy him and rest our laurels if we want to compete on three fronts.Our midfield will have to work in an efficient way,without the playmaking part of the game being based on only one great player.

That's why I believe signing Montolivo,and Aquilani together would be the right thing to do,in addition,maybe to a flashy signing like Kaka or Ganso.We'd get a midfield that works like a unit,not depending only on one player...that causes us to be fucked when he is injured.

If we make such signings,I would only blame Allegri if we don't win at least a double this season.Although,I still like the fact that we have a young coach,it does come with some disadvantages to the club.He seems adamant on playing two defensive midfielders,and a large part of his success might be because of our star players.Although he got the job done last year,he will have to fix some small tactical problems and wrong selection for better performance from our team.Hopefully,all will be good.

Long post,acid style,yeah baby. cool.gif
acid911
QUOTE (William405 @ Aug 7 2011, 12:20 AM) *
Long post,acid style,yeah baby.

I'm gonna save this page and frame it on the wall next to my desk. cry.gif laugh.gif Agreed by the way, with both of you!
I_Rossoneri
Regarding signings: we will never be able to compete with Barca, Manu, madrid et al as they have more financial clout(and debt wink.gif ) than we have. Personally I think our mercato has been reasonable so far, we have signed a decent backup CB, a promising yet inexperienced fb and a very good and young midfielder. While I agree that Barca have spent heavily on Sanchez we must also remember that he has been a one season wonder, so to spend that much on one player is a gamble. And anyway the mercato is not over yet wink.gif
Milan Are Brilliant
Good posts, both of you.

I think it's not just Milan but the league in general which seems to be downgraded these days, certainly compared to Spain/England and even Germany/French leagues seem to get as many plaudits as the Serie A these days. I think the 2006 scandal still hurts the league, I just can't see many players around, top, top players in the Spanish or English league getting up and going to the Italian league nowadays, or choosing the league over a team from the Premiership/La Liga. Hence the reason I've constantly almost laughed at the Fabregas to Milan rumours.

Obviously there are teams in England/Spain who spend big and can give big wages but I do believe the allure of these leagues at the moment overshadows the Italian league (in most players eyes). Of course this can change, a few good years in Europe (both CL and EL) from Italian sides will go some way to this. Though, when I constantly hear the Italian clubs don't care for the EL that's why they went out to a bunch of nobodies, that doesn't help.

Still, the transfer window isn't shut yet. I'd be very surprised if some changes don't happen between now and then, at that point it might be better analysing the summer spending.
X-Offender
Our mercato has not been impressive thus far, I agree. But remember, at this time last year our only signings had been Boateng and Yepes. We got Ibra and Binho only on 30 and 31 August, the last two days of mercato. I'm certain our board will land another couple of signings before they call it a day.
acid911
QUOTE (X-Offender @ Aug 7 2011, 02:48 AM) *
Our mercato has not been impressive thus far, I agree. But remember, at this time last year our only signings had been Boateng and Yepes. We got Ibra and Binho only on 30 and 31 August, the last two days of mercato. I'm certain our board will land another couple of signings before they call it a day.

My thoughts exactly. smile.gif The way I see it, the club has trimmed the fat a bit this year. The main meal is incoming.
Dracoris
Silvio has a flare for the dramatic.
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