And It All Starts Over Again

Some more news today, but it's the same old story we've covered here ad nauseum and now just needs a conclusion. First, AC Milan purposely sandbagged Alberto Aquilani at the end of the season to not trigger his automatic transfer fee from Liverpool. They sent him back to Merseyside, saying pretty much that's how it was going to be. Then Aqua's agent said that no one was interested in him and he's a Liverpool player. But when it's an agent talking, you can bet there's a ulterior motive behind it, and this one was probably to convince clubs they could have what can still be a pretty classy midfielder for a cut-rate price.

But then it comes out today that Milan are losing a boatload of midfielders. Seedorf is off to Brazil (?). Gattuso is going to Switzerland. Flamini won't be back. Sully Muntari is out until the new year with an injury. None of these players were automatic first choices for Milan except for Seedorf on occasion, but you can see where they lack cover. So now they're hinting that they might indeed bring Aquilani back after all. I'm sure you're sick of it by now.

A majority of us here would like Aqua to stay, but we've all accepted he has no feeling for the club after being pretty much screwed over by three different regimes in three seasons at Anfield. Rafa Benitez bought him and then wouldn't play him. Roy Hodgson couldn't wait to get rid of him, fearing he had too much talent to defend for 90 minutes or something. Kenny Dalglish appeared to rate him and hinted that he wanted him to stay, but Comolli didn't and by that point it was kind of clear that Aquilani had had enough.

So Brendan Rodgers would have a long way to go to convince him that Anfield is a place for him, even though his passing and IQ would fit pretty damn well with what Rodgers wants to do. How's Aqua going to trust anyone at Anfield now, and he's still got a wife and child in Italy.

Add to that the already crowded nature of the Liverpool midfield, with Sigurdsson almost certainly on his way, and you can see how this plays out. Even a punting of Charlie Adam, which a lot of us would like to see, would still leave Henderson, Gerrard, a returning Lucas, and Sigurdsson vying for spots with Aquilani. Maybe Rodgers doesn't want any part of Henderson either, but I don't see that flying with the brass upstairs.

So once again, we're left with that empty feeling of a class player who really could have made a difference with the Reds being shunted out again, and this time probably for good. I hope Aqua goes somewhere to revitalize his career, because it's cost him a place at the last World Cup and these Euros, and he really should be in the Italy team. He deserves it.