Sporting4ever

Don't get your hopes up, guys... I'm not a great fan of him, I expected more from him, honestly. Nuno Gomes has always been lackluster at best, and i hoped Hugo would do some good stuff on our national team, but... He's an average scorer in germany, and I think someone of his stature should score more goals from crosses. Maybe he'll work better in the EPL, but I honestly don't see it.

A late equalizer in a Derby game away from home, when your side's players have cost less than the opponent's striker, is that not reason to celebrate? As for the league, you DID loose the lead, you may say you're level on points, but they have a game less, so potentially, you're 3 points behind. And United's games are a lot easier than Liverpool's, namely they play you and arsenal at home. Face it, every time you guys have gotten a late goal, you've held back and defended, while what you should be doing is trying for the 2nd, not give your opponent the iniciative. You did, and Cahill made you pay for it, so unless you change that sort of attitude, you can kiss the tittle goodbye. Oh, and don't forget, the reason you're still in contention is because both united had chelsea have been dropping waaay more points than they did last season, otherwise you'd be out of it already...

Very good points. In my view, it all comes down to two things: A- you have alternatives lined up and ready to be brought in as soon as the check clears; B- if it's too close to the transfer window closing date, screw them. It would only deplete the squad, and force Everton into trying to wrestle someone away from another club that might not have a replacement ready. Just to name Moutinho as an example, I don't think we have someone prepared to come on board to replace him, and with us still fighting on 3 fronts, League cup, Champions League and National League, loosing a key player at this stage is devastating. And as you so eloquently pointed out, the advantage they get by getting someone already routined in the Premier League is a big plus at this point in time, and Everton would more than likely have to go outside for replacements, meaning adjustment time when you need top performance NOW, not in 2/3 months. So at this point, any sale would very likely compromise the rest of the season, I, for one, don't think you can put a price tag on that...

Well, with work, and college, and also a family problem, I haven't had much time to post, but i always read what's beeing said.

Get well soon, mate. cuz there's lots more to celebrate till the season ends And just for your giggles, a post from an aussie manc:

By the way, as anyone else seen this: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/...g.html?ITO=1490 Seems like, not only do they botch the transfer, but now Robinho is gone missing, possibly because of the deal colapse

And, as always, that's all they're gonna do. They think they're gonna win the tittle, but...

It's the spell check Oh, and have fun: Liverpool 1-1 Everton Post Match Depression

Well, I don't know about you guys, but I think Moyes should rest some players for mid-week match against ARSEnal... The FA Cup is what is, of course, and no one likes to loose, especially in a derby, but the fact is, it's highly doubtful Everton can go all the way anyway, and with a somewhat smaller squad, to keep an effort on 2 fronts, with 2 important games on each, I'd rather risk loosing one than maybe loosing both due to excess games. Everton really need to fill in the ranks, if you want to be competitive in 3 competitions next year, EPL, FA and CL

So another game gone, and 4 points out of a potential 6, and, also that bonus of, thanks to Everton, liverfool have lost the lead ARSEnal appear to be improving in form, with 3 draws and 3 wins on their last 6 matches, and their away for is on the rise too, with 2 draws and 1 win... Even with Fellaini back, seems like a tough nut. any thoughts?

Well, it looks like the boy has more than money on his mind. Seems he turned down City's offer, so he'll stay at Milan http://www.setanta.com/uk/Articles/Footbal...aka/gnid-36204/

Ei, guys. Just got home, and saw the result, awesome, to come away with a point like that. From your comments, looks like it was a balanced game, but I wonder if Fellaini was in the pitch, would Gerrard have the space to set up a shot like that... Anyways, great goal from tim, his move from the back to the front post left him completely unmarked, not the sort of mistake a team that wants to win a premiership makes... Now it's the FA, right? If they rest players for the league game, it can be won, but, imo, Everton should too, and beat the crap out of ARSEnal come next week

It's always like that, the big against the not so big... Big guys get away with things other can't...

Well, like I said, you clearly don't undestand the south americans, when i say they're very devout to their religion, even more so than the traditional christian countries in europe, like italy, spain and portugal. I mean flogging themselves kind of devout. Crucifying themselves kind of devout... As for you, wearing a shirt saying "I belong to Dr Davies", well... Everyone is entitled to their preferences, and, dare I say, your mother would be proud, after all, not everyone get's to hook up with a doctor

The fact that he didn't play so much in a winger position isn't the point. The point is that his training wasn't on goalscoring, it was on speed, pace, crossing, some shooting, yes, but the emphasis isn't on goal-scoring. That's my point. The fact that he also scores a lot shows the range of his skills. I'm not saying Kaká is without skills, and do't forget, they play in very different positions, so it's not that easy to simply go on an simple numbers comparison, like comparing goals and assists. Milan is NOT a weak side. True, they were involved in that scandal a few year's back, but weak they are not. Milan, Inter and Juventus are on par with the big 4 on england, maybe even Roma, but to a lesser degree. I dissagree. Kaká played ok, but Robinho and Luis Fabiano were clearly the deciding factors. And no, it's not a question of him beeing a former Sporting player. I do try to keep a level of consistency in my oppinions, and be as unbiased as possible. Our national team is doing very bad at the moment. A loss at home against denmark, 2 stupid draws against sweden and letonia, or some other low level european side similar, that in itself shows you you can't judge one player for what the squad isn't doing. I've already said it, I hope Queiroz crashes and burns. I have serious doubts we'll qualify to the world cup this year, and it's about time. We lost a once in a lifetime opportunity to win a competition playing at home, but still, the same corrupt people stay in our federation, and the same has been coaches keep coming and going, with certain players having garanteed places, even when clearly out of form. Anyways. this is just to put into contrast that, while brasil has a squad of superstars that play as team, portugal as a team of superstars that play for themselves. Well, individually, seems pretty balanced, club and national, well, shows the difference between playing for brasil and playing for portugal, and playing for united and playing for milan. If you look at the dates of individual awards, I think you'll have to agree that there's a level of consistency to both of them. If you go by the fifa award, they've both been in the top 10 these past 3 years, and, dare i say, will be there again this year. The thing is, while ronaldo did an amazing season last year, I've not seen any player achieve that before, beeing so instrumental in a team's success. Messi is certainly doing it this year, and Barcelona appear to be an unstopable monster at the moment. However, my point of the age gap still stands. While Kaká is pretty close to his prime, and in 3-4 years he'll be slowing down, Ronaldo, in 3-4 years, could very well be at the top of his form. So that why I stick to my view that, all factors considered, between Kaká and Ronaldo, Ronaldo is a better player, for all he's done, what he's doing, and what he can still do. Nevertheless, to show you that i'm not biased, I have no problem in saying that, if things keep progressing as they appear, Messi is gonna be above them all.

I get what you're saying, but remember, south americans tend to be very devount religious people, and given his history, and his recovery, it's easy to see where he get's his devotion. Points to him for staying true to himself and his faith. Also, it appears that the deal is going through. He's hurt that Milan agreed to city's offer, and that might swing his will...

Nobody but the big sharks have to worry about this. Bosman is an asshole, saying this will affect players, when the only thing it does is exactely the opposite. Who defend italian players in italy, or english players in england? How good do you have to be to play for a premier league team, and how underpayed are you, compared to the foreign stars? This simply balances things out, meaning you give equal value to home and foreign players, instead of simply going abroad to buy cheap, and tempt them with big paychecks.

He's not a winger on paper. He's a winger since he was youth, it's what he's been trained to do, what he does best. Not having a proper striker last season meant he had the freedom to come into the area and score. This year, like you said, with berbatov, and tevez, and ronney and anderson, he has more support, but less room, so naturally he'll score less. To say that it was just one season, well, I seem to recall that in 2006/07 he was a pretty influential player as well, netting united the tittle, against mourinho's chelsea. He scored 20+ goals, and people we're saying at the time it was an impressive season fo him, and hard to top. About that brasil-portugal game, did you actually saw it?? We got ripped by everyone, but actually, kaká didn't do all that much, Robinho and Luis Fabiano pretty much did the most damage. Not to defend Portugal, since i'm up to here with Queiroz, and i hope he leaves fast, but a friendly game, played after a 10 hour flight, against a side with the quality of brasil, it's bound to be a goal fest. And they scored practically everytime they got to out area, which goes to show how well we defended... But calling a friendly a big game, even if it's brasil and portugal, i mean... And by the way, isn't the mark of a great, world class player, the trophies he's won? Kaká, champions league against liverpool, but internally, unable to prevent Inter from dominating the scene, and, this year, with a host of star players, even Juventus seem more threatning. Ronaldo has 2 premierships and a CL, mostly due to his influence on the team, and, granted, this year, he's clearly still bellow the highest form he produced last year, but united are still the team to beat, with far more solutions, meaning they don't depend on him so much. Anyways, it's clear that we share different views on the matter. I understand city's move for kaká, they need creativity in their mid-field, and someone that has played with robinho before is a great adition, so I'd probably do the same as them, and it's more likely kaká accepts than ronaldo, that's for sure. And besides, at this time, if I had the means, there's only one player I'd do my best to buy, and that's messi.

Have you seen any of his games lately? Ibrahimovic's problem is that he's inconsistent. He did amazing thing at Ajax, then, at Juventus, wasn't that special... But he's been getting more and more consistent, and, this year, he's clearly on fire. I don't think he did an outstanding season last year, although he did nice things. The fact he wasn't at the top 5 cerimony is testimony to that, but, like I said, AT THE MOMENT, I see the top 3 players as Ronaldo, Messi and Ibra. And note the fact that i mention ronaldo merely for what he did, mostly last year. This year, he's yet to show himself. If I go by this season alone, so far, i'd be inclined to put robinho or kaká in place of ronaldo, but I'm basing my oppinion on what we've seen of their potential. And for the record, I doubt we've seen all there is to see from ronaldo and messi. Ibra, this is probably is top form ever... or not. Every other week he seems to surprise me... Ronaldo is a freakin playboy. He's top dog, getting the gold, getting the cash, getting the babes, so yeah, this summer, and in the beggining of this season, he's been a spoiled brat. Kaká is a very religious guy, due to his past history, so it's natural that his views are completely different from ronaldo's, bot on a personal and private level, as well on a professional one. Also, they play in very different positions, meaning they're not marked in the same way, and they have different roles in a team, kaká beeing a creative midfielder, it's normal he scores less, and has more assists. Ronaldo is an explosive player, he uses his speed and dribbles to get to the line and cross, or get to a shooting position and shoot, so he scores more, also, he gets fouled more, because he mainly dribles, yes. If you see that as beeing more selfish, then yes. But his job on the pitch is to provide the breaks, while kaká's is to supply the breakers... As for regularity, it's just hard for me to understand how you qualify a winger that scores 40+ goals in one season as irregular... Sure, it was an extraordinary season, but i've yet to see a similar one from anyone else, although messi is well on his way.

They are comments from the summer, in fact, but in all fairness, even though I'd like him to stay, he didn't snub Everton. I've said this before here, when this was happening, his reasons were financial. Apparently, his family got in some sort of construction debt, and he asked for a move to be able to pay for it, i.e., make more money. That didn't sit well with the fans, or the club, since just prior to the Euro, Sporting offered him a new contract, which he accepted, making him the 2nd highest payed player in our team. So you can imagine that, after you've made the effort to keep him, and he accepts, gettiing a plea for departure not 3 months after, THAT was a snub... So, and in all fairness to Everton, I don't think he wanted a move to Everton, it was just that, through the relations between Zahavi and EFC, and given that Everton were the only ones that actually made an offer, he said what he said... So I cannot tell you anything about his feelings for Everton, or if someone else comes along and pays, he'll go, but I'm leaning more to the later. What I CAN tell you is that he'll always do his best, no matter where he is, or how he feels. He's a true professional. He must have been dissapointed to have stayed, but he clearly doesn't show it on the pitch, he gives it all.

Fair enough, I guess. Although to me, it's not an argument anyways, just a debate of ideas Well, in all fairness, you should allow that a lot of the gripe about ronaldo is due to what happened at Euro game, where Ronney got sent off. Most of the bad mouthing he and Carvalho got from that, and a lot of it from Gerrard shows how much of an hypocrit he is, when he does the same or even worse. Remember, players that are more creative tend to be fouled a lot more, so it's also them that are more on the spotlight when people think they go down to easily. I don't like it, most fans don't like it, but it's just another part of how bad the game has gotten, in a chivalrous point of view. The days of gentlemen footballers are long gone. And my point on Gerrard beeing worse isn't that he dives more or less, cuz I have no idea, i don't keep a running tally on the numbers, BUT all his vaunted higher moral ground, his schpeel against Ronaldo and others, his claims of innocence, when he's just as bad, make him, like I said, a hypocritical A-hole... It's not the number of stars, it's their attitude. In a team, you work as a team, you practice as a team, and you play as a team, but our National Squad didn't do that, because every damned idiot out there was trying to flash his goods. No team play at all!! We had one of the best sides last year, and their performance was lackluster, they didn't have their minds on the game, every single one of them, Quaresma, Simão, Ronaldo, Moutinho, Meireles, Veloso, etc. was trying to shine. Get the spot light, earn that mega-deal... Can't say I can blame them much, when the idiot coach did the same thing and dropped his pants for the russian petro-dollars... Spain, on the other hand, which were pretty much the underdogs for the Euro, ended up playing good, quality football, as a team should, and won it fair and square. I'm not saying they don't have talent, they clearly do, but given their past, and the qualification run, it was indeed unexpected. He had a lot of freedom last year, true, and that allowed for the amazing season he had. But remember, he's not a striker, he's a winger. Given how united played last season, he had his fair chances at goal, true, but it takes quality to make the best of them. As for fading in the big games, I don't see it, and the CL final is a clear case of that. Well, let me tell you, not everyone here is a ronaldo fan. benfica fans aren't that thrilled of him, mostly cuz of this: This was ronaldo's answer to the benfica fans that were booing him when he was beeing subbed at a game in their stadium. Shows he still has Sporting in his heart So yeah, i like him, but it's not just a case of bias. You point to this season, and I agree, ronaldo has yet to show the same form he did, but a few remarks on that: 1st, it's nigh impossible for him to do it again, mainly he has less freedom now, and united are not so dependent on him up front; 2nd, he was injured during the season, had surgery has soon as the season stopped, and missed the pre-season and the season start too; 3rd, that whole madrid thing, can't be good for him in the locker room; 4th, he has been clearly thinking waaay to much on the bloody awards lately, the balor d'or and all that shite. So yeah, you haven't seen the ronaldo from last year, but he's 23, to Kaká's 26. Players usually peak (or peaked) at around 27, which is when they have just the right mix of experience and youth to be at their prime. Maybe that'll change, I don't know, but I do know that, not only is ronaldo a winger, and kaká a midfielder, he's 3 years younger, meaning, all things beeing equal, he'll play 3 more seasons. your turn

So in Europe last year, when he was the champions League Top Scorer, with 8 goals, he was far from world class? The fact that he had a surgery, missed the pre-season, and the start of this season, and yet, already is united's top goalscorer with 8 goals, he's far from world class? And calling him a diver, well... he does fake a lot, but Ronaldo is an amateur when compared with Gerrard. Everyone dives. That's the plain truth. Kaká is wonderful player, i won't deny it, as is Pato, and Pato is only 19, but, to me, he's clearly bellow the top 3 players in the world at the moment, Ronaldo, Messi and Ibrahimovic. Messi is having a dream season, much like Ronaldo had last year, let's see if he can keep it up for the rest of it. Ibra is also doing amazing things, and I can't wait for the United-Inter showdown. Ronaldo is clearly bellow par, yet he's still influential. Scored 8 goals already, when he plays less on the box then he did last year, he scored twice against chelsky, but both were dissalowed. Now, if you tell me that his performance in Portugal's national team has been dissapointing, now there, I'd agree. Too many F*KING stars on that team, plus, he had always 2 or 3 opponents on him the whole Euro, so... But yeah, I expected more too. Aside from that, your arguments don't have merit...

benfica are a bunch of A-holes. They payed through the nose for this guy, which is, behind Di Maria, their best striker (imo), and now they've loaned him because he doesn't really fit into the spanish speaking team quiqo flores is building... a sort of real madrid B (hell, not even that, more like E or F). He's a powerful striker, with good ball control, a sort of Yak, you might say... I wish him luck, since he clearly deserves it. Although it's his own fault, accepting benfica's offer...

Yeah. Although, if you look at it, if you don't sell players, the youngsters are gonna get locked out of 1st team football. Look at Adrien and Pereirinha. Why the F*CK did we keep Tiui and loaned Celestino, or sold Varela? And next year, if Veloso and Moutinho stay again, you're gonna have players like Diogo Rosado to add to the bench warmers list. These are youngsters that we need to let grow, in terms of their football, and you're blocking that. So unless you sell, you're gonna be swamped with loans, and then mutual rescisions, and you're gonna loose talent. We already lost a striker that might have prevented the Tiuis and Purovics from ever setting foot on Alvalade, João Paiva, we let go of Varela, Boa Morte, and now, we risk a lot more... You have no room at the moment for Diogo Carriço, Adrien Silva, Bruno Pereirinha, and Diogo Rosado. We need to sort this out. Odds of getting a loan are indeed nigh impossible. It would be easier to get loans on these youngsters I mentioned. But anything I say at the moment cannot be taken for granted, as it's possible that, coming July, a new President could be elected, with a different agenda. I doubt much we'll sell talent the way we did until the season before last, but I can't really say. Not many clubs currently have the ability to fork 20 to 30 million Euros for a player, so there might be policy changes. I, for one, would love to see players hang around longer, but we're still a very effective formation ground, and if we stiffle that, we push out players that have no way to progress. We need to find a proper balance between continuity and rejuvenation... Well, Sporting was always pretty direct regarding the ammount for Moutinho, his release clause, i.e. , 25 million euros. So even if we want more, that's all you really need Pretty much all our players have release clauses, which we try to keep high, to maximize the return we get from a player, especially now that we're not forced into selling a player every year. That might change, however, but more is something we cannot force you to pay. I think pretty much all clubs in Portugal work with that policy, of a release clause in the contract.

well, last season was nothing short of miraculous... He's already scored 11 or so goals, and he had surgery during the off-season and came in late into form, not to mention that whole real bussiness... Anyways, messi is the wonder boy so far, this season, but kaká beeing above Ronaldo, I don't think so...