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December 21st, 2011 | by: gadsby | Comments Off

“April is the cruellest month”, said the poet T. S. Eliot in The Waste Land. I can only say that he was very, very wrong. The title of the cruelest month can go easily to January, when the winter break and the rain sets in, and most loathsome and reprehensible of all, the transfer season, a hellish month as dark, dreary, and unenlightening as a typical Robert Smith song (sorry, Elaine) kicks off. As something of an homage to C. S. Lewis, whose “Screwtape Letters” I’d like to think much of my writing influence comes from (along with Kim Jong-Il press statements and Susy Campanale’s excellent Football Italia quotes page), I will give you a bit of a preview of the upcoming transfer season, and its potential ramifications on La Nazionale.

As is known, Devis Mangia, Palermo coach, has been recently sacked, and replaced by former Palermo manager Bortolo Mutti. Palermo’s rather eccentric owner Maurizio Zamparini could very well be willing to let a few players go during the window, just as a few players could be willing to let themselves go, what with the difficulties of playing under a Zamparini club. As we saw with Antonio Nocerino during the summer, these sorts of moves can be incredibly profitable for a player, with a change of scenery providing more stability, as in the case of Nocerino, a player who should, as I stated only a few days ago and will continue to state, be seriously considered as a shoe-in for a starting role in Prandelli’s plans for Ukraine and Poland.

Perhaps Palermo’s most notable Italian of the moment is 30 year old left back Federico Balzaretti, an on and off Azzurri starter, a player under heavy scrutiny, mostly linked to nouveau riche French side PSG. The ultimate journalistic reference point and famed hub of cutting edge transfer gossip Wikipedia holds it that Balzaretti, whom they persist in calling Balzac, will “probably” move to the Parisian side in either January or in the summer. If this holds true, I fully back this move, as this will allow a prominent Azzurri player to gain experience abroad, which can never be a bad thing.

Another object of much speculation is Angelo Palombo, currently marooned at Sampdoria in Serie B. The Blucerchiati currently lie in 10th place, having dropped three spots since firing former Catania coach Gianluca Atzori, and it is speculated that Palombo, a player far too good for those miserable echelons, might make the move up to a Serie A side. Palombo has indicated that he wishes to stay with Sampdoria, unless the club has any remote desire to sell him, which, considering the nature of Garrone, they may as well. Personally, this prospective move reeks of prospective indifference to me, as Palombo, though a talented player, is 30, and we have several talented players in the defensive midfield position. I would like to see him make a return to the Azzurri as much as I’d like to see those videos of him crying when Sampdoria were relegated. In other words; no chance, mate.

Another player who has been linked with a move to a plethora of clubs is Juventus’ Fabio Quagliarella, pushed out of the first team by first an injury, then by the sublime Alessandro Matri, perhaps the only player for the Bianconeri who is truly better looking than Quagliagol. Of course, Quagliarella has had something of a return to form in the last few days, scoring against Novara a few days ago, so we might as well see him remain in the Piedmont capital by the time February once again lifts its ugly head. Interestingly, Juve Stabia have been on a good run of form in the Cadetti, and Quagliagol has mentioned a desire to play at the Stadio Romeo Menti if the club from Castellammare, the town of his birth, reach Serie A. Of course, this is all very speculative, but keep your eyes out over the next six months. As for the present, I will tip Quagliagol to sign on loan for Milan. Marotta and Galliani seem to have what could be called an… understanding. We’ll see.

Another player linked with the Diavoli is Fiorentina’s Riccardo Montolivo, who seemed to be angling for a move away from the city with the big red dome in it during the mediocre Mihajlovic era. While this was taken lightly by the Gigliati’s board at first, Montolivo’s theft of the Serbian coach’s glasses was interpreted as a gesture of open war, and his captaincy was rescinded. Possible destinations for the beautiful midfielder include Milan, as already mentioned, Inter, or, and you heard it here first (and last, come to that), perhaps even a shock swoop by Napoli. As with all transfers, however, we shall see how this pans out, as he was meant to move last summer, and we all know how that worked out.

These moves, in my opinion, would be excellent for Gli Azzurri, as more opportunities for Italian players is always in the interest of Italian football. Montolivo and Quagliarella particularly should have more playing experience, as not only is the first of these appearing to be a starter in the best laid plans of Cesare Prandelli, but the second is always useful to have around, even if we have little need of more strikers at this juncture. We could probably play a 0-0-10 on the resources we have. I’ll leave it up to you to tell me how this works.

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So recently, there has been a bit of controversy below the line about the way this blog is being run. The main complaint has been “too much satire” and “Too little football”. I am always open to hearing constructive criticism, but this has been going a little bit too far. I and my colleague Sam have written several articles in a direct attempt to address this criticism, yet these have been ignored. Having examined this trend, it appears the root stretches back to a few comments I made on the flooding in Napoli and the subsequent cancellation and postponement of Napoli’s game against Juventus, as prior to then, I can remember very few problems of this nature arising. I would like to explain that, in the culture from which I come, if there is a natural disaster or terrorist attack in a city, it is considered respectful to abandon a trifling matter such as a sports game. It seems these comments were taken out of hand as “anti-Juventus bias” from “an Interista”. Neither of these things are true. Please, in future, keep your comments relevant to the article, and if you do not like what I have to say, or how I say it, please do not read, and do not spoil this blog for everyone else coming for the Calcio by bringing politics into the equation. Grazie.