Clube de Regatas do Flamengo, Parte V [R]

I like Airton. He was very important in our 2009 campaign. He helped solidify a backline that was previously struggling. He has been battling injury and poor form this year, but he does have quality. Honestly, we don't have another DM on the roster that plays deep, protects the CBs and wins balls other than Maldonado (and now Caceres). Muralha is better suited for the position Luiz Antonio plays.

Like I said earlier, Renato is useless other than his FKs. He doesn't mark, he adds nothing in the passing game, etc. Unfortunately for us, every coach that takes over always plays him and almost never subs him out of a game. Extremely frustrating.

 

Maybe we can convince Thuram to come out of retirement. He'd be our best CB easily...haha

http://globoesporte.globo.com/futeb...lube-do-povo-e-leva-camisa-de-recordacao.html

 

I read that about a week ago. I would take that with a grain of salt. Levy went on many trips before and came up empty handed (See last year when he tried getting Vagner Love).

I honestly do not know why Flamengo did not make a run at Seedorf. His wife is a flamenguista and he had already declared in the past that he admired the club. He would have been a great fit here for a much cheaper price than Diego. We were linked to Ederson a while back, but he made a move to Lazio. I honestly don't see anyone on the market right now that's feasible for us to sign. We were linked to two Argentines, but we already have a bunch of foreigners now -- Cáceres, González, Bottinelli, Maldonado (should be released after signing Cáceres IMO for some salary relief). At this point, I would rather pick up Roger who was released from Cruzeiro on a free and play either him, Bottinelli or one of the youngsters.

 

That's about the only time I can look at him and not cringe. I still have nightmares about that day in France...

 

Léo Moura probably still has a couple more years in him. His fitness is great, but he's starting to get hurt more often. What sucks is when he goes down, we don't have a suitable backup. There's a couple of interesting names we should look at in the Brazilian market (last year, I wanted Bruno Vieira from Figueirense who ended up at Flu).

I haven't been impressed with the names that have been thrown around for CB. I too was hoping Lucio would return to Brazil. Internacional was going after Naldo from Werder Bremen. He would be interesting, if his salary isn't ridiculous. I just don't have much hope with signings from this front office.

Ramon was solid when he was at Vasco, but that was when they were in the second division. He hasn't really played much at Corinthians. Surely, he can't be any worse than Magal. It would even be nice if they could rescind Egidio's loan to Goiás and bring him back. He started to play well for us early in the Brasileirão last year and then Luxa loaned him out after we signed Junior César. I heard he has been impressive for Goiás thus far. Leftback is clearly the hardest position to fill in today's market. It's extremely difficult to find quality players.

 

I honestly wouldn't do that for Diego unless they have plans to buy him outright in a year. He's a technically gifted player, great vision, but he is one of those types that is also a bit lazy and does not show up in the big games. We hoped he would be able to contribute with the Seleção, but everytime he got a chance he disappointed. I would rather take that money and spend it elsewhere amongst a CB and a #10.

When Boca lost the final and Riquelme announced his departure, I feared that he would be linked to us. I wake up this morning and read the sites and he's linked to Fla if the Diego move fails. If this was Riquelme of 4-5 years ago, I would say we should do it. Now? No thanks...

 

Yep, Adryan and Mattheus definitely added something positive to the team. I just hope we don't depend on them too much or else they may feel the pressure. That's why it's important to have another creative midfielder to divide the responsibility to create.

Vagner Love has looked awful the past 3 games. He's been losing some balls to CBs and falling down too much. I think he is trying to do way too much. He simply isn't getting any quality service from our midfielders and his striker partners. Diego Mauricio has struggled, Hernane was non-existent when he played and Deivid, is well, Deivid.

Luiz Antonio looked good even though he was improvised as a right back. As a commentator mentioned during the game, he would have been much more effective on the right side of our midfield.

Ibson hasn't done very much since returning. I'm still willing to give him some time to return to form. Most of the time, he has been played out of position as a creative playmaker of the midfield. He needs to play deep, where he can win balls and help initiate an attack.

Our defense straight up SUCKS. Horrible mistake on Fluminense goal. Fred should have bagged another after Marllon didn't cut off a cross. It was almost like he just gave up on the ball which was well within reach. We need a good, reliable CB ASAP! Hopefully, Ramon comes soon because I'm sick of Magal.

 

For the love of God, please tell me this true. It has to happen...

http://www.lancenet.com.br/flamengo/Negociacao-Juan-Fla-encaminhada_0_735526618.html#ixzz20RNmGuVI