you misunderstood
theres no glee in my part
sad day
but theres some logic behind it
now it’s up to Gerry to deliver
where do you see me praising this move
I’ve been trying to get my thoughts together on this decision while avoiding emotional or reactionary posting.
BUT
I’m not sure I see the logic in it and my initial reaction is that it is very short-sighted.
We did not win trophies this year, but the season was still a success by every other measure, especially the measures an American PE company would normally prioritize. Revenue grew, expenses declined, we will be one of the only large clubs in Europe to post a profit. All 3 of those measures can be attributed in large part to Maldini’s work over the last several years: He has cut our largest cost (wages) while dramatically improving our performance on the pitch - resulting in revenue growth (Gazidis deserves credit as well obviously).
Yes, we didn’t win, but again this is sports and no one just wins year after year, especially as early into a project as we are. We won the Scudetto a year ago, Maldini built that team and hired the manager. We went to the CL SF this year and finished top 4 again. Financially, we accomplished our base level goal (top 4) and generated a windfall with progression to the semi-final.
It’s short-sighted if the decision was made because we didn’t win a title. Looking at the bigger picture, Maldini has generated incredible results, almost impossible truth be told. It’s a huge mistake to make a change based on this one season, just like I argued all year that discarding Pioli after 1 rough season didn’t make sense.
Americans don’t care that Maldini is a legend, I get that. It’s business, not personal. Got it. But it reeks of bad business to me.
My best guess is that Cardinale wanted to pull the trigger last year after Maldini went to Gazzeta and demanded authority. He absolutely couldn’t fire Maldini then from a PR perspective, so he gave him a year and the on field failures gave him the cover he wanted to make a move.
