This mercato feels eerily familiar… our CEO telling us that
there will be no purchases in this transfer window. How many transfer windows
have we been told this? At least this time it’s because they spent too much
in the summer, brought in too many players all at once. But in a way, it
kind of accentuates our empty dreams.
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| Before our dreams were dashed like so many waves on the rocks |
It’s no secret that Milan are not living up to expectations.
It kind of seems that Milan are barely living at all. But despite the unrealistic hopes
that tend to come each new year, the pain of each poor result reminds
us that we are all achingly still alive. Sadly, we are used to not expecting
anything in the transfer market, then being surprised when we sign three
players from Genoa or some loan or free transfer deals. But with management
focused elsewhere, even those kinds of insulting signings won’t happen.
Nothing else echoes our empty dreams like having a coach
like Gattuso. During the neverending sale of the club saga, Mirabelli and
Fassone courted Maldini, insisting they would hire a “club legend” to be part
of upper management. But when he refused, that idea went away completely. And
now, when the coach they chose failed to meet their expectations, they hired a
club former midfield bodyguard instead. A coach with no Serie A or European
experience. So we went from getting a second generation captain and legend
whose jersey is retired in management to having a player who would literally do
anything for the club, often with unnecessary force, but with no experience or
success as our coach. The fact that he’s ex-Milan was supposed to sugar coat
the fact that he was not hired to win or even help with the rebuilding, I guess.
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| All Milan and no tactics or experience |
The biggest void in the hearts of fans now, though, is the
financial situation. Reports today that the exclusive negotiations with
Highbridge for refinancing have gone south only add to the concerns of things
suspected and reported since before the sale closing. With the UEFA
Voluntary Agreement declined, and more mystery than ever shrouding Yonghong Li,
it seems that management are more consumed with hiding and or solving the
deeper financial issues than making sure their investments on the pitch are
performing. Which in turn causes more alarms for the fans.
I wrote in the previous post that we could afford ourselves
some optimism until Milan play again on Saturday, but then the financial news reminded
me that there is little room for optimism at our club these days. Despite
having a roster of players that are better than any other we’ve had since 2012,
they are also the most expensive roster of players we’ve had, and thus likely
not to stay on our roster for long given the situations on and off the pitch.
So with the mercato kicking into full swing for other clubs, Milan fans are
left with only empty dreams.
This post inspired by the music of Stone
Temple Pilots’ “Big Empty”
Our next match is
Serie A Week 20
Milan vs. Crotone
Saturday, January
6 • 15:00 CET (9am EST)