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I am just as guilty! Yesterday we had a Little Balotelli Day and it was a BLAST! We celebrated, talked tactics, and simply enjoyed a small bit of good news on this roller coaster of a season. I say "good news" liberally and I will elaborate on that later, but having your Club in the news, for a splash like this one, is always a good time.
The problem is, as the Title suggests, we have been duped. We have been duped into believing this transfer window was a success. I mean sure we sold Pato, a WIN, but in terms of truly helping the team this was a failure. Our courtship of attackers, specifically Kaka and then the purchase of Balotelli shows that the Owner of this Club continues to meddle in the business and best interest of the Team and that strikers remain a priority no matter what. We can have seven on the roster and he wants, no, demands more; while the team struggles at the back. The problem is like Berlusconi, most fans are enamored by offense. Goals is the buzzword, never balance, so much show that players are often measured not by what they accomplished in the season but the number of goals at the end!? This does not make for a successful team, campaign or transfer window.
Our real need this window was a CB to repair the void created by the departure of Silva and Nesta. Scoring goals has not been the problem this season, but conceding them has. While I realize the window is not technically over $20M spent for team with little money makes that relatively clear. We added Zaccardo to the team, and he may prove beneficial, but players like Santon and Astori were simply pipe dreams glossed over by the banner buy of Mario Balotelli!
Yes we said goodbye to some deadwood...Pato, Mesbah, Urby on loan to Fulham and we welcome a dynamic attacker in the form of Mario Balotelli who is filled with possibility and potential. But we did not address our needs to make this team better in the long run. Sure it was great to celebrate and prove that Milan can still swing a deal now and again but at the end of they day the team has not improved as I would have hoped and expected.