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I think this past glory hypothesis has a substantial claim, so I'm not going to repeat it here.
Instead, I'll just say why this past glory hypothesis may be false (leaving it to the readers to decide whether my assertion and example is right):
The use of past glory IN THE MEDIA is simply a way to tame fear among individuals and to induce a sense of self-efficacy in the team when the team morale is low. In addition, it is a way to manipulate (whether it backfires, that's another story) media talk.
In other words, it's just media talk. Just like Galliani says, "We are not buying anyone this summer", then they buy Nesta. "We are not going to sell Sheva under circumstance", and we sold him.
It is without doubt that media gains increasing attention in the world, thanks to the improvement in information and communication transfer. The key here is that what you say can even reach the poorest family in the world in China, or the Eskimo in Antarctica, something unprecedented in the past. How you frame it, who you address to... such public relation skill has taken a dramatic turn with the introduction of internet.
Leaving that aside, it's up to individuals to decide whether Galliani really means it when he says, "we won this and this so it's not that bad" to hide the actual reasons, only a few know, for why Milan didn't invest more in the transfer market.
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Anyway, again as I say it's up to you guys to decide whether Galliani is just talking for the sake of talking, or whether he really believes in it. Another key point to take is that if this past glory hypothesis is true, then Milan shouldn't have been so successful after Berlusconi's initial success in Italy and in Europe: Because they rely on past glory, there is no reason why they would have won 2002/2003. And if Ancelotti had relied on past glory, he would not have lost won the CL in 06/07 (though perhaps, whatever glory was washed away by the Liverpool nightmare; but even if that's the case, it suggests that our nightmare league campaign this yera will again wash away any past glorY).
This to me is the biggest counter-argument to the past glory hypothesis.
J
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