Time for Poch to step up and prove the difference in a transfer coming here or not. I doubt he made a difference to our first two.
If someone points put his international goals as a positive then I'm well within my rights to point out how in unimpressive his record is. I dislike Lovren because he isn't very good. Mikey covered it pretty well, I'm just less optimistic he'll sort himself out which is why I dislike it and Mikey isn't so against it. He might be good yet which is why I don't hate it, but he was often poor for Lyon and the Croatian fan we have on here says he was no better at international level.
Right now I'm a little underwhelmed by what we've done, although it certainly hasn't been a terrible window. I thought we needed upgrades in the centre of defence and out wide plus another striker. So far only one of those areas has been addressed, although we're obviously trying to do some more business. Individually the signings are okay. I think Lovren is an upgrade on what we had at the back so I'm relatively happy with that one. I'm pleased we got Wanyama and he certainly makes the squad stronger but, as others have said, we were strong in central midfield last year and I don't know that he'll be that much of an upgrade on the first team. I find the prospect of Damiao far more exciting as a signing than Osvaldo but I don't know who would perform better. I'm still not convinced we have enough creativity to play behind the striker but it seems as though we're not going for anyone else to play there.
Napoli president has confirmed that they are in negotiations with Porto over Jackson Martinez. Surely if they get him then they will have no interest in Damiao. FWIW I'm pretty sure Damiao won't be moving anywhere this summer, nothing to base it on really apart from a gut feeling. As for the Damiao v Osvaldo debate I think its pretty clear, Osvaldo is better now but most people seem to think that Damiao has the potential to be a real class act, better than Osvaldo. So it is basically whether we want the finished article for quite a bit less or a player not as good atm but with higher potential. Glad I don't have to make the decision tbh, but if I had to choose I think I would take Damiao
When I saw the amount of posts on this thread I was expecting to see major developments Have to admit that whilst it is pre-season and I've personally only seen highlights of the goals. It's not been a brilliant showcase of Lovren and I respect Dans opinion so I'm a little nervous on whether he will be a major improvement. Really chuffed with Wanyama and think he could become our yaya Toure. Hope Pochettino has an idea as to how he wants to attack and gets the blend he wants. Rodriguez was our only consistent outlet for the creative players. Personally I would try to play with two wing/strikers who are encouraged to drift inside rather than hog the touch line. That would give two options for Lambert and the CAM. A bit of pace in that role would be an ideal attribute, which I think is lacking from either Lallana or Punch.
Of course you are within your rights, what would be the point of a forum if people couldn't express their opinions? My point is that you are criticising a transfer target's ability on the international stage, only to admit that you haven't even seen him play. I am all for people making reasoned arguments for their dislike of a player (as Mikey did with Lovren), but blindly criticising someone you haven't even seen is just foolish in my opinion.
I didn't specifically. I only mentioned his scoring record, I was careful not to criticise his performances for the senior squad. I may have been projecting that with my indifference for his domestic performances and disdain for his international record, but I'd not say he was playing uselessly for Brazil without watching. His scoring record is a different story. I do fully agree with your principle, though, and can only apologise if it came across as if I was speaking about things I don't understand.
Fair enough, sorry if it seemed like I was singling you out specifically; the number of self-proclaimed foreign football experts on this board that profess their superior knowledge of every potential transfer target can get a bit irritating sometimes so I may have taken that frustration out on you! On a side note, Laura Robson tweeted me today so I guess you could say we're getting pretty serious ...
Some people do watch foreign leagues regularly, so there are some pretty valid opinions on here. Now onto this Laura tweet...
Well, the reason I talk so often about Damiao is because I have actually watched him play a fair amount, just not for Brazil! That's why I'm keen to try to temper the expectations of some people who may think we're signing a bonafide superstar. And you have no idea how jealous that makes me.
Yeah, true. Even I'm such a football fiend that I'll happily watch any game if I have nothing better to do but I'm not sure how so many have such an in-depth knowledge of Damiao's abilities considering how infrequently the Brazilian leagues are featured on British TV. I just think a few on here can be guilty of basing their opinions on a combination of YouTube highlights and FM/FIFA ratings! Shamefully the tweet was not one professing her undying love for me but instead a throwaway comment about Suits and Game of Thrones. But all good romantic tales have to start somewhere right? .... right?
People probably stream these games. You could probably watch every Internacional game online if you wanted to. I followed Deportivo's plight online last season, so if you want some detailed analysis of their squad I'm your man! And yeah, it's good to have things in common. You and Laura have the same taste in TV shows, so right now she's probably thinking "I could definitely settle down with that guy." Get in there.
Stop encouraging him Joe! but yeah firstrowsports/thefirstrow/whatever it is now show pretty much every game from Brazil. I watched Santos several times and also Internacional. I wish Andres D'Alessandro was 8 years younger, I can't believe Portsmouth had him.
Come on man, don't cockblock the guy. We should be guiding his cock. I'm not sure why D'Alessandro never really "made it" in Europe. Wolfsburg loaning him out was weird. He had a good stint at Zaragoza though, if I recall.
......could do a job for us? Took me a while to figure that one out. Al-Sadd have Nadir Belhadj! Remember him?
Could do a job for us indeed, and yeah Belhadj is out there, remember him playing (and scoring?) in the 4-1 at St. Mary's. Al-Sadd have a decent side in fairness, Mamadou Niang and Kader Keita have been reasonably successful out there.
http://metro.co.uk/2013/07/27/inter...-leandro-damiao-will-cost-22million-3900806/? £22M is steep IMO.
