10-13-2015, 08:58 PM
(10-13-2015, 07:27 PM)WCmilan Wrote: At least Cerci had a good season(s) at Torino, Ranocchia has always been mediocre.
I'm honestly puzzled as to Gallianis transfer dealings this summer, now that I'm seeing things unfold. It's strange, dont we have scouts, or Galliani himself that go out and watch the players live, before they buy them?
We should have invested in Xhaka. He's been really impressive lately.
In fairness to him, Rano did well at Bari when he broke through alongside Bonucci. However, back then he was compared to Nesta, something I can't say I ever thought about when seeing him.
Xhaka's a sore point for me, knowing we've been linked to him and not gotten him is frustrating. He's not been firing on all cylinders this year, but he's head and shoulders above any midfielder in our team. The last couple of seasons he's been outstanding. I posted this earlier in the summer, but this is an interesting article on him:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/24603...-in-flames
To quote a specific section:
Quote:Xhaka attempted to enforce his authority on a Borussia Monchengladbach dressing room low on morale, fearful of being dragged into a second relegation battle in three seasons.
"I heard my new team-mates saying 'we have got to hope that we don't go down'," Xhaka said, per Tages-Anzeiger (h/t ESPN FC). "I thought to myself: what kind of a mentality is that? from Basel, where everything was about winning."
Unproven at Bundesliga level, Xhaka intended to inspire, but was detrimental to team chemistry.
Entangled in righteous indignation, Xhaka traded verbal barbs with then-team-mate Marc-Andre ter Stegen, a once-in-a-generation goalkeeper, whose words carried more weight than the Swiss newcomer.
"Not even my parents treat me like that. [Ter Stegen is] my age and I don't let anything like that happen [to me]," Xhaka said, per [i]Tages-Anzeiger (h/t beIN Sports). "I thought, 'what the hell is going on here?'"
Borussia Monchengladbach director of sport Max Eberl mumbled his way through justifying how Xhaka, the club's second most expensive player ever, treated his team-mates.
"[Xhaka is] ambitious and maybe mad that things aren't going the way he had planned," Eberl said, per Bild (h/t Ian Hudson at Goal). "That's no problem for me cause we like players that are ambitious."
What made Xhaka so unbearable was his do as I say, not as I do disposition.[/i]
Now that's an excerpt that doesn't paint Xhaka in the best of light (I implore people to read the whole thing and not just this bit), but it's that personality, the slight arrogance and confidence as well as leadership that our team is lacking in abundance. That mentality of wanting to win, not just survive is something that is part of Milan's history and culture that we've lost. The fact that he went through an extremely tough period and was on the verge of being sold and instead reacted by proving himself on the pitch and being the undisputed star of the side is the mental strength we don't have. Not to mention he's an outstanding regista with great talent and also has fight in his game. It all sounds like qualities we need in Milan right?
Same goes for Allan, I'm very bitter with him not being considered. Again, it's the same sort of story, a guy who was bossing in midfield at Udinese, both playing in front of defence and as a box to box midfielder. He's got a lot of fight in him, his tackling stats I think being some of the best in Italy for a good number of years now. Technical ability, pace (which is so undervalued when we discuss players we need), the ability to take on opponents are also qualities he has. He's actually surprisingly technically gifted, which isn't always recognised because of the more notable tough destroyer qualities he's known for. However, if I'm correct I think he actually played as a wingback in early parts of his career, which would explain why he's able to work so well box to box. Again, a good article on him:
http://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/meet...M8xOPnBV4A
I'm actually really bitter, because these guys would make such a difference in this Milan side. I'm not saying they'd fix all our problems, as I said in other threads, I think it's very deep, never mind the obvious issues we still have in defence with no partner for Romagnoli, or at least another midfielder or playmaker we'd still lack even with these two. However, they actually show a lot of qualities we really need. They have the sort of work rate and personalities that Miha would probably love, never mind the fight that both offer, again fitting perfectly with what Miha wants to build. As far as cost, together they would have probably cost a similar amount we were prepared to pay for Kondogbia. Urrgh, Galliani's an incompetent fool!