As of now, we're "only" 1 point worse off compared to last season at the same time. We're not (yet) that deep in crisis as the mood suggests sometimes. But the injury situation kinda worsening and being as good as out of CL does make it feel like we're back to loosing 5:0 to Atalanta and sitting 13th place in table
Also, I hope my high esteem for you is clear too
That being said, even Maldinis former team collegues called him out for choosing this exact moment in time to finally speak out. One of them being Costacurta, who usually is rather critical about our management. That's quite telling to me.
Also, I don't think the anti-Maldini-propaganda-machinery supposedly launched by Redbird has been this incredibly loud and vulgar as you make it seem. The Zaniolo and Berardi rumors were already there long before Maldini was fired. As a matter of fact, the tone in Italian press towards Gerry and Redbird has been way more hostile, both when he first took the majority and even more when he fired Maldini. The tone only began to shift once we started the new season with 7 wins in 8 games. Only then. And obviously, that wasn't the time for Maldini to strike. So IMO, what has been said or leaked to the press (some silly ass Pirlo rumors or Scaroni, whom no one likes and no one gives a fuck what he has to say) has had very little influence in all of this. Maldinis anger comes from how he felt misstreated by first Gazidis, Scaroni & Eliott and then by Furlani, Gerry & Redbird, and apparently during his entire time here. Which again, if you think about it, paints a pretty clear picture of how the separation was bound to happen sooner or later. Maldini, as he himself painted the picture in his own interview, seemed to be in constant battle with everyone at Milan.
And I'm not saying whether he was right or wrong. Only that the relations didn't seem to be nearly as harmonic as they seemed from the outside (and as I hoped them to be, especially during our Scudetto season). So... what to tell. Redbird could have handled the separation more smoothly and with more dignity, no doubt. That's on them. But I don't think it would have changed a lot. Maldini was already pissed af before that. Rightfully? Maybe. There will always be two sides of the story.
Also: Redbird has been championed as ruthless corporate executives? In Italian press? When? As a meme here in RnB maybe. Italian press rarely painted them that favorably. Only for that brief period when we were sitting 1st in table and Pioli hadn't begun his butchery with our players. Compared to the months and weeks of generating a rather toxic enviroment for foreign clubowners - for Elliott too - that's a rather short timeframe.
My priority is the CL, and being out of the group stages (most likely) is a travesty for me. Yes, it was a very difficult group, but still I think we should have progressed out of it. Our injury situation has gotten progressively worse each year, which is the other huge concern.
However, I don't think that Redbird made the massive changes they made to be worse off than last year, or even equal to where they were last year, wouldn't you agree?
As far as Billy questioning Maldini's timing, there was also Tassotti who sided with Maldini--so I'll disagree with you on the significance of Billy's comments.
It has been vulgar, they talked about him being drunk with power, and it wasn't about Zaniolo or Berardi, but also about players like Arnautovic. I also think you are dismissing the Pirlo rumors too quickly, they were widely disseminated, and then there were Furlani's comments about how they wanted Dybala instead of CDK. They piled on Maldini, they made sure to make him look foolish, especially pinning CDK on Maldini, despite the wide reporting about Moncada being enamored with CDK and pushing for his transfer.
Remember when RLC was pinned as a Maldini example of disaster, that talks ended once Maldini got fired, and there was wide mocking of RLC as a viable option in Maldini's mind? Then RLC signed with us, it was a great illustration of partisanship over substance.
I do not look at Maldini's comments as some sort of vindication of him. There are things in there that don't make him look great, but I read that as him being more honest about the situation, even to his detriment.
I see dysfunction from Redbird, that's the centerpiece of my issue.
I have read many editorials from Serafini and comments from Suma (among others) about how great Redbird are, so I'm not sure if things were as difficult as you make them out to be. The transfer market was praised endlessly this summer, with maybe some sour grapes with the Taremi/Jovic saga at the end.
At the end of the day, if you're going to fire Maldini, sell Tonali, and give an interview where you say you want to be "Berlusconi 2.0" then you have to perform. They haven't.
I look at Maldini hitting them like this as blowback from their terrible strategy in dealing with him--and again, I'm saying: okay, let's say Maldini was a problem. Cool. Why are we not seeing anything change? We haven't.
All summer we heard about the new 433 and how Pioli got players that match his philosophy, more harmony from Scaroni, and we're seeing players yell at the coach, we're still dropping points, we've
returned to the 4231, all the work in the summer with inverted FBs and whatever was abandoned a while ago, and our injuries are worse than ever before.
To me, it looks like Redbird have made the wrong choices, sporting-wise, often. That concerns me, long-term.
if only for a little longer they will need the funds . Either way Milan need to finish this season as well as possible.
