I don't doubt Galliani simply passed on a defender last window to wait for better opportunities in the winter. Probably did the same with a CM after Kucka didn't get done.
If you think about, he "completes" the squad every year in the winter (+ replace departures). He thinks it on a 2-3 windows base.
The points it cost us on the way though
Exactly, last year we were really lucky that Montolivo and El Shaarawy were playing all games with a very few exceptions, the management should have learned the lesson and not be so stingy on who we bought.
The truth is that the management says one thing, but does another. I probably should have learned by now
, but I still felt disappointment... *sighs*
I agree that Galliani doesn't like to overpay, and according to the statements made, our year starts in January. That said, considering the last two transfer periods ... we have spent less than 20 million after considering both players that were bought and sold ... very little to be competitive. Add to that the fact that Ambrosini, Yepes and Bojan got replaced with Cristante, Vergara and Saponara which unfortunately seem far from solid backups ... and all reads like Galliani is just trying to buy time .
I'm sure that in 2-3 years we'll probably have a good team ... Galliani is good at finding deals (sometimes they're good and sometimes not), however today I don't see our team as ready to fight for the top 3 spots. Roma, Napoli and Juventus are way ahead of us ... and as much as this might sound contradictory, to me the one team with the highest possibility of catching for a 3rd place is Juventus. Napoli and Roma are hungry and better in quality.
Personally I think that once we get Honda I doubt we'll buy another midfielder ... Kucka will come only if another player leaves (Nocerino?) ... either way this season is already compromised too much, we currently have no more than 10% of making the third place.