I basically agree. There's potential. But there's also a lot of hype, and while Martinez is an improvement over Wilmots, I still think that we can beat them and that they'll struggle if they face the top teams, pretty much like we will. Even more, if we compare them only based on talent, they're not much more than us. And I think Colombia works better as a team. Courtouis>Ospina Meunier<Arias Alderweild=Mina Vermalen<Davinson Verthongen>Fabra Fellaini>Sanchez DeBruyne>>Aguilar Ferreira=Cardona Mertens<Cuadrado Hazard=James Lukaku<Falcao
I was expecting maybe two or three games. But five????? That just seems like FIFA wanting to make too much of a politically correct point here. Some guy can step on someone and basically not make him walk for months and he gets a 3 match ban. Cardona does a stupid ignorant gesture that hurts people's feelings and he get 5 matches? Does not make much sense to me.
I'm thinking we appeal and probably get it down to three games... Official friendly games should count towards the suspension right ??
They discussed this on ESPN FC back in Novemeber with Shaka Hislop who is apparently on a FIFA rules comittee of some sort. If I remember correclty he did mention something about the punishment being extended to friendlies so maybe you are on to something here.
Yeah for sure, they haven't put it all together and are still relatively young and without a clear identity and system. Its hard to analyze national teams because they play such a small amount of games and its usually over a span of years, 2-4 years for a team and players can be a life time. Debruyne especially is a guy who has really put it all together in the last year and has embraced a deeper CM roll, and many of these guys just recently are becoming alot more mature and moving from young talents to professionals. Their WC qualifying group was a joke so they weren't tested but in terms of talent they are great. I think France is the deepest squad talent wise in the world, they have almost 3 very good players for every position but they still had some poor results in qualifying, Deschamps really hasn't got his lineup correct and is probably going to waste all that good young talent.
Mertens is way better then Cuadrado. He had 19 goals and 9 assists last year. And scored some amazing goals. Meunier is way better then Arias going forward. Martinez is weak tactically he's probably there biggest set back, our problem is our weaknesses are pretty damn weak our fullbacks and CM are a big disadvantage, I just don't think you can have a very good team without the core in the middle of the pitch being able to control games. That's my biggest fear for us, that's the heart of any good team.
Mertens and Cuadrado have played in the last years in different postions...... Mertens explosed very late in napoli...........indeed have more goals.....but the displacements of cuadrado in the field are longer............Cuadrado have played in more important stages too and have been in better in europe ( exelent eprfomances againt bayern, barsa, lyon)
I thought Mertens is more a James. Hazard and James aren’t anything alike. Our team Vs them We have better CBs in Mina and Sanchez James is def better then Mertens and Hazard. Falcao better then Lucaku. Everyone else is debatable. I don’t think Cuadrado comparison is fair. Cuadrado has a couple goals a season but def isn’t a false 9 like Mertens or James.
Mertens have speed and positioning............. Not close to the techique and creation of james......Hazard in terms of leading the midcamp is the more similar
All this talk about Belgium and nothing about Poland or Senegal. You guys are nuts to think we are guaranteed to make the next round. For once, I hope Pekerman isn't taking advice from you all, haha.
Easy group. No one is saying it’s a sure thing but with our roster not going to the last 16 with our roster would be pathetic
I'll be honest with you guys, it's not the talent that worries me. It's the mental. Our guys are weak minded. They don't seem to have the fight like they did 4 years ago. Very few leader types in the group. We're in a tough spot. The leaders are older and slowing down. The youth seems talented but inexperienced. We're going to need a good balance if we are to be successful.
how do you figure you make the World Cup in Conmebol despite losing more than half of your WC2014 roster and consider the team 'weak minded'? You can dislike the play, certain players, specific matches ...but these guys didn't get to play elite futbol by being weakminded...Juventus, Real Madrid/Bayern, Boca Jrs, Tottenham, PSV, Fiorentina, Palmeiras, Monaco, Sampdoria, Sevilla and on an on are clubs that have payed plenty for our weakminded players... We are the SECOND youngest squad in the latin american region and the "leaders are older"....?
be honest....have you EVER made a some racial joke or been part of one or been around one where you did nothing to stop it....? (hint: It's a rhetorical question ).... He's an idiot for doing so but to judge who he is in one generic swipe is just as unfair.
There's a difference between doing a "joke" and purposely insulting someone in a matter such as this. He did that as a straight forward insult against another human being while representing us. I can't forgive that from any human being. Yes he apologized but it's not right of him to react like that.
I did post before I started reading the other thread. But as a whole this team isn't the same. Maybe its a lack of toughness. Maybe I've been reading so much doom and gloom from Crazy that I am starting to think he might be right.
This coming from the guy who made interesting jokes about Jews while representing us on a message board. Anyway, I think most of us here can come to the conclusion that what he did was ignorant, stupid, mean spirited and wrong. However, just like anything that has to do with poor sportsmanship on the field in a heated situation I think we can't hold this one incident as an unforgivable sin. I believe we should give him another chance and if he blows it somehow then really punish him.