I wrote this and posted the link on a thread on another board a few months ago re Damiao. Seriously - that defending...
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"I know we all like to get excited about stuff that's unknown but we've got remember that the guy is very young, very unproven and hasn't played a minute of Premier League football. I know that's all boring and obvious but I for one will not think "job done" if we sign Diamiao this summer. All transfers are risky. 21 year-olds (?) from another continent especially so.
Having said that everyone has to start somewhere and he's been doing the business so far. All his goals for his club so far:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbm7jVzLY-Y&feature=player_embedded
I have a bit of mixed feeling when I watch that. On the one hand you can see that he can finish nicely, has a bit of pace by the looks of things, can head and tries a nice trick for the second goal that sort of comes off (though doubt he'd get away with it in the Prem).
On the other hand though the defending is woeful. For a good proportion of those goals (almost half it seemed) he's about six yards out with no-one marking him.
Particular highlights of the comedy defending come at:
2:18 where the goalkeeper kicks the ball against his own defender, then gets busy celebrating that his defender bailed him out even though the ball is a couple of yards away from him, in play and in the possession of an attacker. He then makes the most incredible decision to not even challenge for the ball when it's played over. Damiao heads it in from point-blank range with no challenge from the goalie. I would be disappointed with myself if I did that and I'm horrible in goal.
3:04 I think there are eight defenders (maybe nine) plus a goalie in the box. There's an appalling heading clearance attempt, a crappy, ineffective clearance attempt and then, when the ball is played in there seem to be THREE unmarked attackers! Our boy tucks it away from about five yards out.
Note as well that one of the games looks like it's being playing in the local park.
So it's difficult to say how genuinely good he is. But, well, I'll still be as optimistic as anyone if he does come. But I'll be amazed if he doesn't take a while to settle and adapt. Nicely amazed, obviously."
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Lol! He does that trick again in the video in the post above. Have to echo the thought that if that sort of stuff worked in the EPL don't you think we'd see a lot more of it? I mean - surely any Prem footballer can do it, no?
But the hat-trick looked pretty decent.
