Our main issue as far as getting the right players is that this management lacks the ability to actually negotiate transfer deals these days. If you look carefully, there are only three types of players that we sign these days: free agents, players from our friendly clubs like Genoa or players that belong to our friendly agents like Raiola. Of all the players we signed in the last few seasons, almost all of them belong to those three groups, with a couple of minor exceptions. This is an important trend because it's a reflection of why we do business the way we do them.
The influx of money into soccer in the last decade or so changed the landscape completely. These days, it takes a lot of hard work to identify, find, recruit, sign and develop players, even young players. Even small teams these days understand that by keeping their talented young players around a few years longer, they can realize a much bigger gain than selling them while they are too young. Given the limited supply and the growing number of teams with big time wallet, competition for good players are absolutely fierce. Even teams who have big wallets often miss out on their targets, look at Man Utd for example. Galliani used to be able to walk into negotiations with smaller teams like he is the king and they are his servants, but he no longer has that leverage. Nowadays, he has to work hard to get any negotiations done. Instead of adapting to the changing environment, Galliani, of course, decided to take the easy and lazy way out every time. Free agents are easy because you don't deal with their clubs any more; Genoa players are easy because Preziosi probably shares the same hookers with Berlu; Raiola players are easy because Raiola will basically do all the negotiating for us.
My personal feeling about things is, I am ok with bad, but I am not ok with lack of effort. It's not a crime to say that you are not good at something, but if you are not even trying, then that's just unacceptable. Milan management, at this point, are not even trying. Galliani is one of the only GMs in sports (that I have heard of) who take vacations right before or during the transfer season, when he is supposed to be at his busiest. And the way he manage everything is just damned lazy. This management shows as little hustle and dedication as the lousy players they bring in. And that is why we will never be able to turn this thing around. If Berlu can tolerate spending 100M a year and getting no results, I suppose this is all ok then.
The influx of money into soccer in the last decade or so changed the landscape completely. These days, it takes a lot of hard work to identify, find, recruit, sign and develop players, even young players. Even small teams these days understand that by keeping their talented young players around a few years longer, they can realize a much bigger gain than selling them while they are too young. Given the limited supply and the growing number of teams with big time wallet, competition for good players are absolutely fierce. Even teams who have big wallets often miss out on their targets, look at Man Utd for example. Galliani used to be able to walk into negotiations with smaller teams like he is the king and they are his servants, but he no longer has that leverage. Nowadays, he has to work hard to get any negotiations done. Instead of adapting to the changing environment, Galliani, of course, decided to take the easy and lazy way out every time. Free agents are easy because you don't deal with their clubs any more; Genoa players are easy because Preziosi probably shares the same hookers with Berlu; Raiola players are easy because Raiola will basically do all the negotiating for us.
My personal feeling about things is, I am ok with bad, but I am not ok with lack of effort. It's not a crime to say that you are not good at something, but if you are not even trying, then that's just unacceptable. Milan management, at this point, are not even trying. Galliani is one of the only GMs in sports (that I have heard of) who take vacations right before or during the transfer season, when he is supposed to be at his busiest. And the way he manage everything is just damned lazy. This management shows as little hustle and dedication as the lousy players they bring in. And that is why we will never be able to turn this thing around. If Berlu can tolerate spending 100M a year and getting no results, I suppose this is all ok then.