Could you elaborate on that?

I wonder would ronaldinho be considered an alcoholic in english football? Ronaldinho won't have to be anywhere near as good as he was at his peak to shine like a supernova in serie A, and he won't even have to be particularly good to be acclaimed as the best footballer in the world by the Mediaset empire.

By the way, has anyone seen the pictures of ronaldao Grosso lately as he lolls around on the beach? going on a height of about 6 feet, I would estimate that that belly has him tipping the scales at at least 16 stone.

And the idea that berlusconi would be above buying a footballer with a drink problem because he's a billionaire is hilarious.

And I am the Life wrote:

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I wonder would ronaldinho be considered an alcoholic in english football? Ronaldinho won't have to be anywhere near as good as he was at his peak to shine like a supernova in serie A, and he won't even have to be particularly good to be acclaimed as the best footballer in the world by the Mediaset empire.

You stopped hearing yourself a long time ago didn't you.

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And the idea that berlusconi would be above buying a footballer with a drink problem because he's a billionaire is hilarious.

Based on what exactly. Do you have any arguments or do you just assert things.

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So winning the World Cup and a third Player of the Year in 2002 was a "good spell" then.

There is probably a decent body of opinion to suggest a player who had played next to no football then crops up to play competently and score a few goals against broadly weak opposition over half a dozen matches should never have got near any sort of award.

So yes, a good spell.

Berlusconi seems to have been engaging in a transfer policy of late which is all heat and very little light. There has been a massive campaign to link themselves erroneously with just about every player of worth around, even ones there are no chance of signing. The ones they do bring in are hyped up beyond their worth.

It all seems a poor attempt to disguise a relative (by Milan's standards anyway) lack of spending. I'd be interested to see some figures that detail monies spent and recouped by Milan over the past 3 or 4 seasons. I'd wager the net outlay is not substantial.

You stopped hearing yourself a long time ago didn't you.

what is wrong with that statement? That ronaldinho probably wouldn't be considered an alcoholic by northern european standards? that berlusconi's personal media empire won't be full of propaganda about ronaldinho regardless of what happens? or that ronaldinho won't have to be absolutely brilliant to shine in a league where Julio cruz is considered to be a viable forward at a top team?

As for suggesting that Berlusconi is liable to make fewer mistakes in the transfer market because he is a billionaire, I mean i just don't know where to start.

It all seems a poor attempt to disguise a relative (by Milan's standards anyway) lack of spending. I'd be interested to see some figures that detail monies spent and recouped by Milan over the past 3 or 4 seasons. I'd wager the net outlay is not substantial.

This is spot on, but I'd stretch it back even further than 3 or four seasons. The last two huge transfer signings milan made were inzaghi from Juve and rui costa from fiorentina, and that was seven years ago. This is probably the fourth big signing in six or seven seasons (nesta, gilardino and pato being the others, and even they weren't particularly big in the context of the wider european market) a lot of the high profile signings have been free transfers from borderline bankrupt clubs like stam, cafu and bonera, or european transfer market flotsam like seedorf. Silvio has been very lucky that his plot to hide his lack of investment by getting his creaking aging players to focus on the cl worked for so long.

Yes, whenever a player doesn't deserve his accolades it's because of "weak opponents." No sale.

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what is wrong with that statement? That ronaldinho probably wouldn't be considered an alcoholic by northern european standards?

I'm not privy to the quantity of alcohol Ronaldinho consumes on a daily basis, nor the average consumption in "northern Europe" whatever that's supposed to mean. Presumably you are, to be able to bandy the diagnosis so free and easy like.

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that berlusconi's personal media empire won't be full of propaganda about ronaldinho regardless of what happens?

GMAFB. Propaganda, oh noes! It's called advertising, get over it.

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or that ronaldinho won't have to be absolutely brilliant to shine in a league where Julio cruz is considered to be a viable forward at a top team?

Julio Cruz? I mean, do we need to start going down the list of Premier League forwards? So Cruz doesn't even rise to the level of "viable" then. As I said, I assume you've stopped listening to yourself.

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As for suggesting that Berlusconi is liable to make fewer mistakes in the transfer market because he is a billionaire, I mean i just don't know where to start.

Great. Now would you like to address the point I made?

I'm not privy to the quantity of alcohol Ronaldinho consumes on a daily basis, nor the average consumption in "northern Europe" whatever that's supposed to mean. Presumably you are, to be able to bandy the diagnosis so free and easy like.

my point here is that ronaldinho's reported boozing probably wouldn't raise too many eyebrows in england, but in spain or italy.......

as for julio cruz? do you honestly think he would get within an asses roar of a top premiership or la liga teams' front line?

Do you think Berlusconi would spend what he did knowing there was a decent chance he was buying an "alcoholic"?

yes, he's a global star available at a knockdown price. It gets him enormous bang for his money, and as such the purchase is more heat than light. It's not really about the football.

I figure if he were that stupid he probably wouldn't be a billionaire.

I don't know where to begin with this.

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This is spot on, but I'd stretch it back even further than 3 or four seasons. The last two huge transfer signings milan made were inzaghi from Juve and rui costa from fiorentina, and that was seven years ago. This is probably the fourth big signing in six or seven seasons (nesta, gilardino and pato being the others, and even they weren't particularly big in the context of the wider european market) a lot of the high profile signings have been free transfers from borderline bankrupt clubs like stam, cafu and bonera, or european transfer market flotsam like seedorf. Silvio has been very lucky that his plot to hide his lack of investment by getting his creaking aging players to focus on the cl worked for so long.

And other than Gilardino which of those signings didn't pan out? None of them were "creaking" yet when he signed them. You seem to be using the argument that Silvio found a bunch of great players without spending like Abramovich, and used them to win a couple European Cups and a Scudetto, as evidence that he must not know what he's doing. Or, maybe I just can't tell what your point is.

I think it's the last sentence to be honest. Silvio's been doing the Big man in charge of a football club thing on the cheap for a while now, and has ben very lucky to get away with it for so long. he didn't get away with it last year, and I don't think that the signings he made this season are going to work out either.

And I am the Life wrote:

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my point here is that ronaldinho's reported boozing probably wouldn't raise too many eyebrows in england, but in spain or italy.......

In Italy, evidence that his boozing has raised eyebrows. Apparently a lot of people are curious enough to come see him throw up on himself.

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as for julio cruz? do you honestly think he would get within an asses roar of a top premiership or la liga teams' front line?

Gee, I guess I never gave it much thought. He was Inter's top scorer last year,

EDIT: check that, it was one of the recent seasons anyway.

he regularly appears with the Argentine national side, but then that will mean nothing to you, since Inter are probably on par with Wigan Athletic by your lights.

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yes, he's a global star available at a knockdown price. It gets him enormous bang for his money, and as such the purchase is more heat than light. It's not really about the football.

Or, why can't it be about both? He's a global star because of his football. Of course it'll boost ticket sales, I just fail to see how buying up Ronaldinho constitutes some wacky, cynical move. Btw do you think Man City were thinking more heat than light when they bid up for him?

And I am the Life wrote:

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I think it's the last sentence to be honest. Silvio's been doing the Big man in charge of a football club thing on the cheap for a while now, and has ben very lucky to get away with it for so long. he didn't get away with it last year, and I don't think that the signings he made this season are going to work out either.

I just find it tendentious. It also appears to discount Ancelotti's and Galliani's involvement in these decisions. A less biased person might be inclined to look at some of these purchases as shrewd, not merely lucky. I think Pato was a great coup, and they paid huge money for him based on his unproven status. Perhaps you're somewhat tainted by the more inflated norms of the top English and Spanish clubs. Anyway nothing succeeds like success, or fails like failure, so if the music has really stopped presumably they'll have to adjust their strategy.

Gee, I guess I never gave it much thought. He was Inter's top scorer last year,

zlatan was actually.

he regularly appears with the Argentine national side,

he's the only argentine striker over 5'8". it doesn't mean that he's any good.

since Inter are probably on par with Wigan Athletic by your lights.

well wigan did manage to score against liverpool and managed a draw.....

It's difficult to make a direct comparison Given the age profile of their squad, and the patchy quality I'd say that inter would be a mid ranking premiership team at best. They would be well behind Roma or fiorentina who have younger, faster fitter players. Inter would be West ham.

Btw do you think Man City were thinking more heat than light when they bid up for him?

yes, that is exactly what they were thinking. They wanted to sign him so they would fill their stadium, that and to make themselves look like a bigger club.

That was their explicit reason.

And I am the Life wrote:

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zlatan was actually.

earlier post edited. I believe he scored 13 last season.

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he's the only argentine striker over 5'8". it doesn't mean that he's any good.

True...The fact that he's really good means he's really good, though.

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well wigan did manage to score against liverpool and managed a draw.....

To be sure. QED.

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It's difficult to make a direct comparison Given the age profile of their squad, and the patchy quality I'd say that inter would be a mid ranking premiership team at best. They would be well behind Roma or fiorentina who have younger, faster fitter players. Inter would be West ham.

Fascinating stuff.

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yes, that is exactly what they were thinking. They wanted to sign him so they would fill their stadium, that and to make themselves look like a bigger club.

That was their explicit reason.

Okay. 's what I figured.

BrunoMaggiore wrote:

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I'm not privy to the quantity of alcohol Ronaldinho consumes on a daily basis, nor the average consumption in "northern Europe" whatever that's supposed to mean. Presumably you are, to be able to bandy the diagnosis so free and easy like.

A professional athlete doesn't develop a stomach like this from drinking water and isotonic liquids. Hey, I should know!

Given that he would have been training five times a week and playing a game at the weekend, he must have been putting away a lot of beer to get that flabby.

Julio Cruz is fucking useless, by the way.

Maybe he has Irritable Bowel Syndrome?