Worst Transfer season ever!

Great stuff about the young kid.

When we were first interested in this super quick Oliveira, I thought he was somewhat of a fast "Jock" as they say in America. But having watched some of his goals, he seems to have good technique and his interviews seem to suggest hes an intelligent guy. Im looking forward to seeing him more closely.

Originally Posted by joumasepoes

hes an ou and out winger and thats the end of it. Besides, gourcuff is kakas replacement.

That's the end of what? That's the end of it because you said so? Give me a break.

So what if Gourcuff is Kaka's replacement, that means nothing.

We can still use Foggia.

yeh i saw that france game, he was bought on as a sub he has got great potential, i read ricardos comments on channel4 he seems like a good guy hope he does good at milan, we really do need him

With regards to Oliveira, there is no doubt that he was a great player BEFORE his cruciate knee injury. If I'm not mistaken, he has played football for about four months after recovering from injury with Sao Paolo back in Brazil. Fingers crossed---a) Hopefully he regains his pre-injury form, i.e. hopefully his injury will not affect his speed, balance, and ball control; b) Hope he does not reinjure himself

It is a bit of a shame that the only SERIOUS test he will face post-injury is after his 15M move to us wearing our number 7. It would have been nice if he had a few months back in Spain to truly demonstrate his fitness and ability. Well, hopefully Milan lab has checked him out thoroughly---the last thing we want is another "Redondo"

I know I sound extremely pessimistic here, but being in the medical profession, I can tell you that cruciate ligament injuries are very serious and can literally end a footballer's career. It is not common that a player can come back to be 100 percent the player he was before the injury. For instance, look at Del Piero--has never been the same since injury. Ronaldo--what more needs to be said. Pippo Inzaghi---is still awesome, but had to go through a huge rehabilitation process as he was getting constantly re-injured. Oh well, hopefully we will see a fully fit, injury free Oliveira in top form for us this year.

Originally Posted by rt9

With regards to Oliveira, there is no doubt that he was a great player BEFORE his cruciate knee injury. If I'm not mistaken, he has played football for about four months after recovering from injury with Sao Paolo back in Brazil. Fingers crossed---a) Hopefully he regains his pre-injury form, i.e. hopefully his injury will not affect his speed, balance, and ball control; b) Hope he does not reinjure himself

It is a bit of a shame that the only SERIOUS test he will face post-injury is after his 15M move to us wearing our number 7. It would have been nice if he had a few months back in Spain to truly demonstrate his fitness and ability. Well, hopefully Milan lab has checked him out thoroughly---the last thing we want is another "Redondo"

I know I sound extremely pessimistic here, but being in the medical profession, I can tell you that cruciate ligament injuries are very serious and can literally end a footballer's career. It is not common that a player can come back to be 100 percent the player he was before the injury. For instance, look at Del Piero--has never been the same since injury. Ronaldo--what more needs to be said. Pippo Inzaghi---is still awesome, but had to go through a huge rehabilitation process as he was getting constantly re-injured. Oh well, hopefully we will see a fully fit, injury free Oliveira in top form for us this year.

I understand the seriousness and volatility of knee injuries (having had one myself), but what I don't understand is why a player would have to be more healthy to play in Italy than to play in Brazil. He was playing regularly for Sao Paolo in both the league and in Copa Libertadores (he played 12 matches after coming back). Milan had people there watching Copa Libertadores, so I'm sure they were scouting him as well as Sobis. And he passed the Milan medical, so obviously their doctors were satisfied.

I found a description of his performance in the last match he played for Sao Paolo against Chivas Guadalajara in the Copa Libertadores semifinal:

Chivas were made to rue their profligacy in the 33rd minute when Ricardo Oliveira played a one-two with fellow striker Leandro, drawing all the defenders to him before slotting it through for Leandro to tuck into an open net.

Oliveira set up São Paulo's second six minutes later when he chested down the ball in the area and left it at the top for Brazil midfielder Mineiro who struck a bullet into the top corner.

Chivas attempted to regroup at the break, but the second half started as bad as the first ended when Ricardo Oliveira headed home a goal to make it 3-0 in the 49th minute off of a cross by Souza.

Now obviously judging from a written description is as dangerous as trying to make a diagnosis from afar, but it certainly doesn't sound like someone who is having problems. He played 82 minutes in that match and played 120 minutes in a match against Estudiantes in the quarterfinal that went to a penalty shootout. Of course there's always the possibility that he could reinjure the knee. Then again, there's always the possibility that any healthy player with no history of knee problems could blow out their knee. So I will trust that Milan scouted him well during Copa Libertadores and that their medical personnel are competent enough to accurately determine his health.

Oh, and by the way, if you don't consider Copa Libertadores a "serious" test, the you obviously don't realize what Copa Libertadores is -- the South American equivalent of the Champions League. It's extremely serious and is at least the equivalent of the CL when it comes to passion, heart and desire among the players. It's probably less about money and more about pride to players down there, so the effort is probably unsurpassed in any club tournament on Earth. Ask any of our Brazilian posters whether or not Copa Libertadores is a "serious" test.

I understand what you're saying Rick. BUt I must say that you have a real good habit of "twisting" other people's words.

1) Nobody is saying that you have to be more healthy in Italy than Brazil. The point is that complete recovery from a cruciate knee injury takes a long time---and 12 matches is not enough to get someone to his "pre-injury" state. So he may be healthy enough to play in Brazil, but has he reached his pre-injury condition? That is the question. He may be able to play at 75 percent for Sao Paolo, but at Milan and with the level of competition he is going to face, we need him at 100 percent. Now nobody knows the answer to my questions. I dont and you certainly dont. I was simply expressing my concerns. We will know the answer when he steps on the field and demonstrates his worth.

2) Nobody is saying that the COpa LIbertadores is not an important or serious competition. All I'm saying is that Oliveira got injured, recovered, and was sent to Brazil to play some games. ANd then, we bought him. He is still untested "post-injury" in Europe---where the game, fields, level of competition is different than in South America. He may have done extremely well in the Copa LIbertadores, but that doesnt mean that he will automatically do well for us. I personally would have liked to see him get back to his usual level with Betis in the Primera Lega or in the CL before we swooped for him. I consider that a more firm guarantee of his ability to perform in Europe post-injury than his performances in South America. But then again, it wasnt possible due to our circumstances during this transfer season.

Dont worry guys, we had a bad transfer season but e still have this guy playing for us, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20T20PtXPXg&NR, this is the game against Argentina two days ago. The ones that havent seen the game pls watch this video.

[/quote]
In other words, Teamwork has been the second best strength of Milan.


2) Kaka's performance this year will determine Milan's results this season. Not Inzaghi, nor Gila, nor Oliveria; but Kaka. [/quote]

I can draw out 2 questions from Jeff's:

It looks contradicting, how can a teamwork system depend on an individual ?

are we in a very dangerous situation? If our performance decided by an individual's performance we have our hand cuffed ?

[quote=kastriot]Dont worry guys, we had a bad transfer season but e still have this guy playing for us, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20T20PtXPXg&NR, this is the game against Argentina two days ago. The ones that havent seen the game pls watch this video.[/QUOTE

kaka is next zidane for sure he play easy and with high elegant that can only master

Originally Posted by rt9

I understand what you're saying Rick. BUt I must say that you have a real good habit of "twisting" other people's words.

1) Nobody is saying that you have to be more healthy in Italy than Brazil. The point is that complete recovery from a cruciate knee injury takes a long time---and 12 matches is not enough to get someone to his "pre-injury" state. So he may be healthy enough to play in Brazil, but has he reached his pre-injury condition? That is the question. He may be able to play at 75 percent for Sao Paolo, but at Milan and with the level of competition he is going to face, we need him at 100 percent. Now nobody knows the answer to my questions. I dont and you certainly dont. I was simply expressing my concerns. We will know the answer when he steps on the field and demonstrates his worth.

2) Nobody is saying that the COpa LIbertadores is not an important or serious competition. All I'm saying is that Oliveira got injured, recovered, and was sent to Brazil to play some games. ANd then, we bought him. He is still untested "post-injury" in Europe---where the game, fields, level of competition is different than in South America. He may have done extremely well in the Copa LIbertadores, but that doesnt mean that he will automatically do well for us. I personally would have liked to see him get back to his usual level with Betis in the Primera Lega or in the CL before we swooped for him. I consider that a more firm guarantee of his ability to perform in Europe post-injury than his performances in South America. But then again, it wasnt possible due to our circumstances during this transfer season.

You seem to be contradicting yourself. On one hand you tell me that you're not saying you have to be more healthy to play in Italy than in Brazil, but on the other hand you go on to say that he can get away with being at a certain level of health in Brazil (75 percent) but needs to be healthier in Italy (100 percent).

At about the same time that Oliveira was injured last year, an American football player named Daunte Culpepper suffered a far more serious injury than Oliveira's. He tore his anterior cruciate, medial collateral and posterior cruciate ligaments. Knee injuries can be of particular concern to quarterbacks because they depend on their legs in their throwing motion, they're always planting their feet, making quick motions to escape and, of course, being tackled by 300-pound oxes. It was thought that he might miss half of this season. But in preseason he has had no problems and he will be in the starting lineup for the Miami Dolphins when the season opens on Thursday. That's only one example that comes readily to mind, but it shows that athletes can accelerate their comebacks with hard work.

Now I understand that there is a higher risk or further injury upon returning from ACL surgery. A study conducted on professional footballers in Sweden a few years ago proved that. According to the study, the usual six-month rehab from an ACL injury probably isn't enough. The same study also noted that the first few months after a player's return to action are crucial since many injuries occur during that period. But Oliveira returned to the field at the end of March, so he's had more than five months to test the knee.

So I will continue to be the eternal optimist and trust the Milan doctors and the Milan scouts until something happens to prove otherwise. I just don't see how any of us can presume to know one way or the other, but Milan has invested a lot of money in this guy. They're not idiots. If they weren't satisfied that his knee was okay, they wouldn't have bought him.

Originally Posted by Graeme C

Dont want to be a member of the doom and gloom group, but i am sooo angry with out transfers this summer, its more embarrasing than anything else!

The Milan management had the perfect chance to improve the current squad and reinforce in areas that we were lacking! ok the world cup, scandal and Champ League qualification knocked us back a lil bit, but in most cases we failed to sign players because Milan were too tight to spend Money. We were linked to Torres,Ronaldo and Sobis, we failed to land any of them because Milan thought there were too expensive!

Hitmannq8 wrote what i wanted to say, so im gona quote him!



On sports.it Milan got 5.5 for overall transfers, Torino, palermo, Livorno all got higher ratings that milan did! that is just heartbreaking!

"Milan: non un mercato esaltante per il Milan che è stato 'disturbato' dalla vicenda di Calciopoli. Il brasiliano Oliveira potrebbe essere una rivelazione ma sostituire Shevchenko non sarà certo facile. Voto al mercato: 5.5"

In the early 90s we had a kick a*s team with alot of talent and depth. After the loss to Liverpool and Barcalona there should have been a wakeup call to do something with the squad! is it Ancelloti or the directors.... £4 mill for Oddo isnt alot when you consider we useto spend more on Laursen, De ascentis and co!

I personaly think Galliani and Braida should resign , as this transfer season is a disaster! If we had signed Oddo and another defender maybe we might have done ok, but to get nothing back from the Sheva and Foggia deals is too much! Next year we are going to be in a bad position as for example Dida, Serghino, Maldini, Billy, Cafu are all 35+ and reaching the end of their career.. i personally cannot see us spending money on 4 defenders.. thats before buying midfield and attacking options.. Gourcuff might be the next Zidane, but he hasnt played in Europe or against Italian defenders.. For this reason i cant see the logic against buying players like Torres and Tevez who did well in the world cup!

Galliani the one who got us into the trial for not admiting knowing that Meani complained about the refs, for getting us a 8 point penalty this season, and making us have to qualify for the champ league! with Galliani still being in Milan our Integrity is in doubt, and we will always have the trial arround our necks! It would be better for our image to start new! If the scandal has made it harder to attract players its Galliani's fault!

As for braida i just cannot see how he has made such a mess with the transfers, they should have been scouting and made a list of players who could be available and target lists before the world cup. Pre season agreements should have been considered! Milan is to kind to the Chelseas and the lazios when really they have to be a bast*** and think for the great of the team!

Me and jimUk have discussed this and think it would be interesting to have Leonardo and Cesare Maldini as Directors of the Club. Leonardo speaks at least 8 languages and is well respected as a Player... Both are Scouts for us atm. Cesare has spoken Public ly about players who he thinks are good enough for us, and he is extremely experienced and would be ideal for the job!

As for Belusconi? what is this brazilian obcession he has? Ronaldinho is a dream, but does his team have to suffer for his dream? Think, why did we sign Oliveira? who is his agent... Oliviera's agent is Ronaldinho's brother and agent, logic behind the move is to get Ronaldinhos bro sweet and try to lure Ronaldinho to Milan for next season!

i respect Belusconi for what he has done with the club up to now, i respect him as i grew up in a area owned by him.. But now i think hes been sitting in the sun to long or something... my 2 cents

I just can't believe the management didn't take full exploits of Juve's downfall, or any other club for that matter

Originally Posted by Karim Abdoun

I just can't believe the management didn't take full exploits of Juve's downfall, or any other club for that matter

strange ehhhhh....

ZAMBROTTA

So many of you were weeping and moaning and gnashing your teeth over Gallas, who threatened his team, his employers, as this article from theguardian states:

Gallas threatened to score own goal, say Chelsea
By Ken Ferris
LONDON, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Former Chelsea defender William Gallas refused to play for the team and threatened to score an own goal if selected, the club said in a statement on Monday.

The speedy defender, who played for France in the World Cup final, has since been sold to Arsenal in exchange for England left back Ashley Cole and five million pounds ($9.52 million).

"Before the first game of the season against Manchester City, when only four defenders were available and John Terry was doubtful with an injury, he refused to play," said the statement.

"He went on to threaten that if he was forced to play, or if he was disciplined and financially punished for his breach of the rules, that he could score an own goal or get himself sent off, or make deliberate mistakes," it added.

The Premier League champions said Gallas, who joined the club in 2001 from Olympique Marseille, had also initially refused to play against Liverpool in last season's FA Cup semi-final.

Chelsea said it had issued the statement because it was important for the fans to be made aware of the full facts.

"Despite leaving he (Gallas) continues to attack (manager) Jose Mourinho and this cannot be left unchallenged.

"Chelsea made William Gallas a very substantial and attractive new contract offer to stay towards the end of last season. This was rejected.

"The issue was purely one of money, despite his public comments that he wanted a new challenge, to play abroad and so forth. These were just a smokescreen to cover up the fact he was hawking himself to the highest bidder.

INCREASINGLY INTRANSIGENT
"Having failed to secure his demands, his position became increasingly intransigent and unacceptable."

Gallas, who had asked to leave the club in May, was criticised by Mourinho when he failed to report for pre-season training on Chelsea's tour of the United States.
"...he refused to join up with the team in Los Angeles during pre-season, despite agreeing the dates for his return as the other World Cup players did..." said the statement.

Chelsea said Mourinho offered Gallas a way back into the "family" but despite attempts to resolve the problems the defender made it clear he would never play for the club again.

"Clearly this was a totally unacceptable situation for the manager, the team and the club. Chelsea's interests had to be protected and a solution was collectively agreed," said the statement.

"If a satisfactory deal for Chelsea could be found, Gallas would be sold. If that did not happen it was agreed by all that Gallas would have to fulfil the terms of his contract."

Gallas has joined compatriots Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal manager, and France team mate Thierry Henry at the Emirates Stadium.

Gallas was not immediately available for comment.

Certainly the sort of gentleman and player we want at Milan!

And for all those who are bemoaning our summer spending, or lack thereof:

Get real. We could have been relegated, we could have been out of Europe...luckily we werent. Management did what they could, but obviously it wasnt good enough for your liking.

Why not support a club that buys all the stars you like then? PLEASE!

This is not monopoly or Football Manager...this is the real world, and apart from us wanting a player, the player in question, and his club, must agree with the terms that we can offer...there are no supermarkets out there...

Why criticise the man that has brought us from a residence in mid-table Serie B, and whose spending continues to bankroll the club? I mean, I think thats smacks a tad bit like ingratitude to me....but then again, I am a mature, responsible person, who tries to live within my means, and can accept and respect a man who thinks likewise about his businesses and his club.

And if the man wants to be a bit eccentric, then he is entitled. His eccentricities havent hurt the club so far, and we remain competitive in my book.

Lets see how well we do this season before moaning and groaning about how much of his own money Berlu spent. Sheesh!

Bantan I Couldnt Agree With You More, Berlu Was The Man Who Took Us Under His Wing, Were Would Be Without Him??????????

Originally Posted by Warro Bantan

So many of you were weeping and moaning and gnashing your teeth over Gallas, who threatened his team, his employers

This I Dont Agree With, There Are Always 2 Sides 2 A Story

Following From Gallas Himself:

Gallas denied Chelsea's allegations, saying: "I am surprised and shocked by these claims.

"I never said that I would score own goals if I had to play for Chelsea again.

"I was firm about my wanting to leave, that is true, and I will explain in due time why I wanted to.

"But I never went that far. But if people want to hide behind false accusations in order to give a reason for why I left so they can calm down the club's supporters then they can."

Supreme, good point, and I am glad to hear the other side, because I hardly believe everything Chelski says...but either the player did something close, or the club is really abysmal, or both. I tend to believe with "both".