Silly Season

"Milan's transfer market is closed," he told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "We have nine midfielders and our market is closed."

I am sure many of you read Fester's declaration and immediately sought the first bridge, cliff or building to jump off. If you are not the suicidal type then you probably rushed to the AC Milan Offside and began boldly claiming such statements like, "We suck" or "Flamini resigned, their you have it our Mr. X 2012" or my favorite "We got Didac Vila, yes, but who is Traore." That last one holds a special place in my heart, but I am not here to debate the merit, or lack thereof, of Spanish LB's who appear to have more value in virtual soccer than actual soccer. Alas, that is not my angle for today, instead I ask for a bit of patience.

If you have been around AC Milan and Uncle Fester long enough you tend to disregard all the little blips and bumps that go along with the early part of the transfer season. There is a reason they call it the "silly season" you know, because if you listen to every single rumor and believe every single pundit's BS you are well, for lack of better word, and sticking with my analogy, silly. I guess gullible would have been the more suitable word choice, but I think you got the point. The main point here is that Uncle Fester is a shrewd businessman who has been at the helm of this Club for longer then I can remember, and while you may not like what he does or how he goes about it, he still gets the job done year after year despite watching his "war chest" of transfer funds shrink like the Italian economy.

Speaking of the Italian economy, for those that maybe didn't get the memo, our Owner, Silvio Berlusconi, former Italian President is tied for better or worse to that economy. In between the fines he has had to pay, the divorce he has had to wade through, the falling economy and the fact that Milan looses close to $300M annually, it is rather a miracle this Club is still afloat. On the flipside it goes to show you how much money he really has. The point being is that the money isn't as free flowing as it once was, nor as easily dispensable. In fact, next time you debate buying that new kit each season, stop and buy three, and then maybe you can have that shiny new midfielder you want.

All this makes what Fester has done in the past few seasons all the more impressive, and the fact that Milan won two trophies in what should very well be rebuilding years from the sham of Leo, is not that bad. The reason I often plead patience is almost ten fold, but I want to highlight a few key points we all need to consider before we do one of the above noted routines and then we have to feel guilty. The first point is the money I hinted at above, Milan are not among the richest Club's in the World any longer, maybe revenue, profit and marketability are good, but the funds just aren't what they used to be. To make matters worse, the type of player that fans seems to lust after time and time again are of the attacking variety and most often the most expensive. So while teams are most often successful with strong defenses, no nonsense players, and strong goal differentials everyone still wants to be see big money signings even if they don't directly relate to success.

Another point is that current player values are extremely inflated. Take for example our very own Pato, who sits more games then he starts due to injury. The fact that an oil rich team would offer $35M for him despite this apparent flaw is all you need to know about player values and how messed up they are. Sure we can all sit here and blame Man City, and agree that no team will turn down the money, but at the end of the day no one benefits but a select few when average players are being valued 15-20M more then they are actually worth. Not to mention guy's like Fester become obsolete because if you have an infinite supply of dollars, say like Leo, being shrewd and tactical isn't needed when your check book does the talking.

Finally, I always plead patience because what happened the last two summers should be more then enough reason to stay calm and wait it out. Two summers ago the last day of the transfer season saw the arrival of Zlatan and Robinho and last summer was the buy of the season in Nocerino. So feel free to panic, complain, and whine, but you can save it and wait as Fester comes out and announces a solid move late on in the transfer window. For those who doubt the great "golden tie" just look at his past record, or better yet his January signings, all have proven crucial to the cause going forward regardless of your specific view of the player and their worth as a whole. Crucial players, crucial goals, and successful transfers. So instead of getting swept up in the silly season, simply enjoy your summer.