SportingCPOrtugal

Sporting4ever, JM will eventually go out, if things go as everyone expects. It is difficult for SCP to match offers from England, Spain or Italy, but the reason, in my opinion, wouldn't be the youngsters, because JM is central for Sporting in a way that perhaps will take a youngster a few years to achieve. To let JM go is most probably to reduce the quality of SCPs squad and go to the uncertainty of signing new players. JM has the importance for SCP ,more or less, in the dimension Arteta has for Everton. Everton fans can understand the risk of letting Arteta go to give way to a youngster (and lets not forget that JM is around 22/23 years old) - that only played youth championships. The players you mentioned like Carriço and Adrien, although they are with the professionals already, they play in different positions from JM, and Carriço is having his chance as you know and it seems we have a C. Defender for the future. Adrien is more complicated because he has the competition of M. Veloso and Rochembak wich makes him a 3rd choice, but even so he is playing bits here and there and if he shows the quality, then probably you can release M. Veloso with less of a risk. but for Moutinho there is, for now, in my opinion, no match in SCP, wich is why i would like SCP to renew his contract. SCP is a team that likes to bring up young players (2 of SCPs former young players got the FIFA best player prize, C.Ronaldo and Figo) that is true, their fans demand it, but it is a team whose fans also demand to compete for the title at home, and, abroad, to go past the group stages in the CL, wich we did for the first time this year, so we need experienced players along with the young ones. In rough terms this is my opinion. And it is allways nice to visit this Forum, even if it is to talk about SCP :|... sorry about that!...but i guess you started it... Cheers everyone. Cumprimentos para o (regards to) Sporting4ever.

~ The policy of SCP is to keep all its main players for this season, including JM. And about its youth is to bring them to the first squad (professionals) first. Good luck with Liverpool. Cheers.

Thank you guys for your hospitality here in the Forum and for the supporting words towards Sporting. Good luck to Everton this season! Cheers

Moutinho was called for tomorrow's game away in Braga, wich means they will travel today. There is no sign of him staying in Lisbon to in order to go to England. Sporting's coach is already saying they are waiting for 6:00 pm tomorrow so that the transfer rumour around Sporting (Moutinho and Veloso) will be finally over. It is not closed yet, but it doesn't look likely, it is my impression, that Moutinho and Veloso will be leaving. Only a very fast and surprising bid and transfer move would contradict this impression.

What is extraordinary about J. Moutinho is that he can play all the positions in a "diamond" midfield formation without loosing his importance in the overall game. He can play 6, 7, 8 and 10 in midfield. Although being a natural number 8, in my opinion, the coach can move him around throughout the season, or a game, and still have the delivery. Mainly is the guy who is going to link the defense with the attack, both defending and attacking with the team. If the team has a good number 6 and a good number 10, than João Moutinho will play together in the defensive and offense miedfield, being the extra man defending and attacking. Besides that he has control of the ball and quik decision making. He is not the player who is going to leave oponents sitting on the groung but he can move the whole team, being a player his mates can trust with the ball.

I think after this draw it might be a bit more dificult for Everton to sign Moutinho. The biggest assets Everton has to sign Moutinho is the finacial conditions offered to the player as well as being in the PL. But with the CL coming, the sporting (not the club...) appeal of international high level football might draw Moutinho closer to Sporting. It may be that even for 20 mil, Sporting (the club ) will not be willing to let go of the player that easy. I guess we just wait and see what happens until the 1st of Sept.

Yeah, i think Shakhtar is an "incognita". I'd say, agreeing with you, it will be especially difficult to play in their field. But i believe this applies to all the group's teams. I like having Barcelona so that our team is faced with one of the bigest clubs in the world. It will be exciting for the players as well as for the fans.

It is not the hardest of all possible draws but Sporting needs to be in theit maximum strenght in all games to get through. We need a happy João Moutinho in our team...

True.

I guess i have to wait and see who is coming next to fulfill our group. In a way it is nice to see Sporting playing against Barcelona, but as you say it is a very hard draw. ...waiting to see who is coming next...

Moutinho proved very important for Sporting yesterday when he came in the second half and helped managing to save face a little against Real Madrid, when coming from a 5-1 at half time we were able to reduce it to 5-3. Hopefully Sporting will make him happy at home, maybe by renewing is contract. And we just got Barcelona in our groupe stage in the CL so it is one more reason to keep the player happy in Lisbon. Hopefully you guys will be able to come up with an alternative to João.

If i may go a bit deeper on your affairs, as i am developing a bit of a taste for Everton, after these few days logged into your forum, you might need a 3, 4 yaer project with the aim of bringing Everton to a more certain 4th, 5th place in the PL. It is hard for fans to come to terms with this, but if the club starts thinking in longer term, with deeper resurch into youger talent it can, maybe, be less competitive this year and the next year, but followed thoroughly you can build a foundation where you can find yourselfs not only with a good starting 11 but also with a good bench. Because the problem of aiming to one or two stars without a proper suporting bench is that troughout the season the team loses strengh to suport the oscilations of fitness in the usual 11. Sporting have done this, we are now 7 years without wining the portuguese league, but i think i can say that our team is now more in balance, with a better bench, and so, a wider groupe of valid choices for the coach. Of corse, i don't know if Sporting will win the tittle, or even come in second, but it is clear that our team is finally ready to fight troughout the whole season. We played with loads of players on loan, these past years and now for the first time all our payers have contracts with Sporting, having none loanded from others teams. This is good, but i can understand that Sportind needed to have a few years with players on loan because the margin of risk was very tight. We have now a few young players, not all portuguese, suported with more experienced ones, with the distinction that all, except one of our goalkeepers (probably 3rd choise, maybe 2nd), have portuguese league experience as well as Champion league and Uefa Cup. And this is extraordinary for Sporting, as we were used to have a very different team almost every year. It is this path, that i think Sporting is doing well, working with it's budget limitations by resurch and a 3, 4 yaer project, that Everton may have to do, regarding the english reality, of course.

I am sorry about that I just think if you guys are having problem getting players from top european championships, like Italy and Spain, you have the asset of being in the PL as well as being a PL classic team. I am sure there are plenty of good players in other contries that would be more than willing to play for Everton, and if you are willing to spend 20 mil euros on one a player why not get two very good players from lesser teams, or from bigger teams in lesser rich champioships like Brasil and Argentina. That was my point. It is a matter of prospection. I know the visa is a problem but with that kind of money you could probably get quality recognized players who would convince the english visa authorities.

I understand. I am not saying to get Lucho from Porto, he would cost the same as Moutinho, i was mentioning the cahnces of Everton getting high quality players from the brasilian and argentinian market. Lucho didn't cost half the price of Moutinho and he his as much of a player as the portuguese...When Porto won the CL in 2004 they didn'd had any player who had cost them more than, let's say, 6 mil Euros. Maybe not even that much... Deco was another example of a brasilian player made a star without a big investment. Pepe, the central defender, the same.