Who’s Afraid of PSG?

I’m not afraid of Leo, Carletto, or PSG. I’m afraid of their money. But it is not their fault. If they had asked for Thiago Silva or Ibra last year, they would have been met with laughter. We had just won our 18th Scudetto, our first title in a while, and both players were considered fundamental to a second title run. But that was then.

"Not enough Serie A players. Bring me Zlatan!"

Last year, when Fininvest, Milan’s parent company, was fined a record €564 million, Berlusconi insisted it wouldn’t affect the club or its transfer market. And it didn’t… last year. But this year, things are the leanest they’ve been in about 15-20 years, I believe, in terms of spending, with more players leaving than coming, and new players only coming in on free transfers and loan deals. We were told there is no money to invest in any more new players unless current players leave, meaning that every player now has a euro sign on his head. It seems that all loyalty left the club when the legends walked out the door.

So who’s to blame? Well let’s start at the top. It was Berlusconi’s improper business practices that led to Fininvest’s fine. Or, if you believe him, he and his family were robbed. Given his stellar legal record in both business, politics, and his personal life and his well known reputation world wide as a man of upstanding moral character, I’m going to go with the improper business practices, and go so far as to say that Fininvest were lucky to only be fined as much as they were (based on what little I have read about the case in the past.)

He threw a statuette at Berlusconi's face, they said he was crazy...
crazy is starting to seem pretty smart right about now

So feel free to give a giant thank you to Milan’s generous benefactor, whose 25 years of investing in the club will likely only be remembered by this third PSG scare, even if it doesn’t go through. It really is the thought that counts in this situation.

But it’s more than that. I have mentioned in the comments in the past, but our mercato superhero, Galliani, has actually contributed to this situation, too. You see, a player on a free transfer or a loan deal commands a much bigger wage than one for whom a transfer fee was paid. So what seems like a genius move initially seems appealing, but costs a lot more in the long run. And has also contributed to the fact that we have been carrying such a large wage bill.

My, how the mighty have fallen

It’s harder to be mad at Galliani, because he’s one of us, he comes to every game and wears his red and black heart on his sleeve. But while he’s a shrewd negotiator and has brought us so many amazing players at so many great deals, his mismanagement of the funds we’ve had and penny wise and dollar foolish purchases are part of the reason Leo is even being talked to.

I’m not afraid of PSG, I’m afraid of Milan management. The Fininvest fine is one of many costs Berlusconi’s bad behavior is costing our club. Galliani, for all of his negotiating power, has contributed to the giant figure in red at the bottom of our balance sheet. That means they’re blinded by desperation and have lost sight of what we all want for our club: to win.

€65 million for this one, now €65 million for two players?

Now we are the laughing stock of the football world, ready for anyone with big money to come in and make them an offer they can’t refuse. No one is safe, with the Senatori gone, there is no one to protest the selling of players like cattle. There is no one with a strong enough personality and bandiera heart to slap them around and get them to realize that no amount of money compensates for the loss of our two most important players. Well, supposedly Barbara Berlusconi tried, but obviously she doesn’t wield the power that some of you thought she did.

I feel like the victim of a horrible crime, helpless and defenseless against the travesty. The media are not helping, they are loving the way this saga is toying with Milan hearts like a yo-yo… again. But no one deserves the blame more than those we trusted with our hearts, Berlusconi and Galliani. They may have counted on the fact that our hearts are slaves to the red and black, and we will suffer through anything. And they’re right. But it doesn’t make them right, and it doesn’t make this easier to swallow. Thank you again, Mr. President, for the generous gift of throwing our hearts to the media to toy with them… again. Your “generosity” is unparalleled.

This post inspired by the music of Nitzer Ebb

A Little Housekeeping

I have been told that this is one of the best blogs around for Milan fans, and I believe it is largely due to the people who comment here. For the past 17 months, the conversation has been almost exclusively smart, funny, and respectful, and that has kept me going through thick and thin, churning out new posts for you guys every 48 hours like clockwork for no other apparent reason.

But lately, there has been an increase in the level of disprespect and thus moderating. I don’t get paid, I don’t have some pageview quota to fill to keep my job, I don't put ads on my site for gain, and I also don’t pay for this domain, etc. and work so hard just to have this place become like all of the other blogs. So, although I’ve never had to do this before, here are the House Rules for Commenting:

1) Be respectful – no name calling, personal insults, or fighting (disagreeing is fine if done without namecalling, insults, etc.)

2) No hate speech – no racist, sexist, etc. comments

3) No rumormongering – Please post and discuss only credible transfer rumors from reputable sources (or ridiculous rumors that are strictly for humorous relief and are clearly intended as such) This is not The Sun, L’Equipe, or Goal dot com and I don't want the fighting that goes with those petty rumors.

That’s it. Well for Juventini, there’s a bit more, but for the rest of you that is all I ask in return. I know of no other English speaking Milan blog that keeps you up to date with actual news almost 24/7 in the comments (with your help, of course!), posts so regularly and previews and reviews every single game, has fun art, keeps you up to date with both the schedule and the mercato, and has such a great comment section all in one place. So whether or not you like my house rules or agree with them, I’d appreciate it if you’d respect them, and respect me if I give you a subtle warning (or not so subtle if you don’t listen the first 3-6 times.) Seriously, thanks for all you do to make this blog a fun place to be. Here’s to continuing the tradition of fun, sanity, fairness and integrity here that has restored my faith in the interwebs these past 17 months.