I think people really can't expect a six quad program from any of the russian men competing right now in seniors, it's just not feasible, and I might have to bite my tongue later, but Ithink it's completely unattainable, be it for Samarin, Aliev, or Misha. Perhaps Erokhov might have a different luck coming from Eteri, but I don't know, he's barely half a year younger than Nathan. The thing is, you can't just come out one season with three, four new quads and land them like nobody's business, and I feel like Misha is always having to defend himself in these questions because he knows he never will be able to do that.
Also, skating under Valentina lets him stay close to the family, and unless he moves to Rukavicin, or someone else in Spb other than Mishin who's always around the world, I don't see him going as far as Moscow to train, much less Canada. I don't know, I don't see it. He loves skating, but I think he relies a lot in this environment that makes him feel good, and I don't know if he'd be willing to move away - which is his prerrogative, and might cause him to be stuck back in the rankings, but that's his decision.
For an outsider, or a fan that wants results more than anything, it's easier to say, why not move away, why not try a different coach, and a bunch of different things. It's the same people keep saying about Russian ID, why don't the skaters go out of the country to train, but it's not just an easy decision to be done with. If a skater is already training in NA for example, moving camps might seem a bit less straining, though I don't see how it can be something easy. But just imagine having to move to the other side of the world where you don't have any buffers, where you don't speak the language, and you still won't be able to escape from the pressure of the Fed and general public when your results are bad. That can't be an easy decision to be made, and I'm not even going into the financial side of things, which is a whole another game.
Misha has great professionals around him that are also learning how to cope with his changes and the way his career goes. I'm sure many wish things were different, I do that all the time, but this is the way he wants to go, and I'd rather support him this way than fight everything he or Valentina does.
