07-27-2011, 06:21 PM
Man, there are a lot of pessimism going on around here these days. While it is certainly understandable for people to be somewhat disappointed with what's been happening the last month or so, I think we should still feel good about our current situation.
The fact of matter is, we have (or will have) signed three useful players in Taiwo, Montolivo and Mexes. All three guys can be starters or at least very useful back up players. Montolivo might not be Pirlo but he is a solid two way player who is not a huge liability on the field, unlike Pirlo and Seedorf. El Shaaraway, on the other hand, is a rising star in Italian soccer who can have a very bright future. He is the type of young star in the making we have not signed since the days of Kaka and Shevchenko. With kids like him, it might only be a year or two before he blossoms into a superstar. I would call him a very high quality signing as well. So that makes four quality signings for us. On a normal year, we'd call that a successful mercato already, even without the possibility of adding another big name. Which brings us to my next point.
It is true that we have yet to sign the big name star we all wanted. But all signs point to that somebody will arrive. The truth of matter is, Milan's spending had always been cyclical. During some years, we spend heavily on getting good players. On other years, we hold back and go the low budget route. After last summer's major spending, all signs point to that we are back on the spending period again. Galliani and Berlusconi are not going to sign Robinho and Ibrahimovic for all that money only to watch them fail in the CL due to lack of support. As is always the case, Galliani is playing mind games with the fans and will only try to close the deal in late August. Think about it, at the beginning of the summer, everyone would've been ecstatic about signing Ganso. Then, after all the hype about Hamsik, Fabregas, Schweinsteiger and Pastore, we think Ganso is garbage. Now that the chances of signing the big four are slipping, we are going to think Ganso is pretty great afterall. This is typical Galliani mind tricks and nothing unusual. I can't predict what will happen in the future, but I do find it hard to believe that they are going to tighten up the wallet this summer.
If I have to make a prediction on the big signing, I would say that Pastore, Hamsik and Schwein are out of the question. Zampalini hates us, De Laurentis has high ambitions for his team and Bayern has more money than us. I believe our number one target is Fabregas. While the player does want Barca, it is not a sure thing that he can really go back. Barca does have a lot of midfielders that plays his position (Xavi, Iniesta and Thiago) and limited budget (in debt and already signed Sanchez). If Fabregas can't go back, then he will probably sign with us, since he can't really go back to Arsenal any more. If Plan A (Fabregas) fails, then we would probably go to our fall back plan of Ganso. And that is why it is taking so long for us to make a move. We can't seal a deal for Ganso because we still want to follow through on our plan A. But we have to wait until Barca and Arsenal actually conclude their negotiations before we move on to Plan B. So, I say let's be patient for now and enjoy the summer. And this is really saying something considering how I am usually a very pessemistic person.
The fact of matter is, we have (or will have) signed three useful players in Taiwo, Montolivo and Mexes. All three guys can be starters or at least very useful back up players. Montolivo might not be Pirlo but he is a solid two way player who is not a huge liability on the field, unlike Pirlo and Seedorf. El Shaaraway, on the other hand, is a rising star in Italian soccer who can have a very bright future. He is the type of young star in the making we have not signed since the days of Kaka and Shevchenko. With kids like him, it might only be a year or two before he blossoms into a superstar. I would call him a very high quality signing as well. So that makes four quality signings for us. On a normal year, we'd call that a successful mercato already, even without the possibility of adding another big name. Which brings us to my next point.
It is true that we have yet to sign the big name star we all wanted. But all signs point to that somebody will arrive. The truth of matter is, Milan's spending had always been cyclical. During some years, we spend heavily on getting good players. On other years, we hold back and go the low budget route. After last summer's major spending, all signs point to that we are back on the spending period again. Galliani and Berlusconi are not going to sign Robinho and Ibrahimovic for all that money only to watch them fail in the CL due to lack of support. As is always the case, Galliani is playing mind games with the fans and will only try to close the deal in late August. Think about it, at the beginning of the summer, everyone would've been ecstatic about signing Ganso. Then, after all the hype about Hamsik, Fabregas, Schweinsteiger and Pastore, we think Ganso is garbage. Now that the chances of signing the big four are slipping, we are going to think Ganso is pretty great afterall. This is typical Galliani mind tricks and nothing unusual. I can't predict what will happen in the future, but I do find it hard to believe that they are going to tighten up the wallet this summer.
If I have to make a prediction on the big signing, I would say that Pastore, Hamsik and Schwein are out of the question. Zampalini hates us, De Laurentis has high ambitions for his team and Bayern has more money than us. I believe our number one target is Fabregas. While the player does want Barca, it is not a sure thing that he can really go back. Barca does have a lot of midfielders that plays his position (Xavi, Iniesta and Thiago) and limited budget (in debt and already signed Sanchez). If Fabregas can't go back, then he will probably sign with us, since he can't really go back to Arsenal any more. If Plan A (Fabregas) fails, then we would probably go to our fall back plan of Ganso. And that is why it is taking so long for us to make a move. We can't seal a deal for Ganso because we still want to follow through on our plan A. But we have to wait until Barca and Arsenal actually conclude their negotiations before we move on to Plan B. So, I say let's be patient for now and enjoy the summer. And this is really saying something considering how I am usually a very pessemistic person.
