Pepe is a lock for me until the World Cup. After that, we'll see but I can see him maintaining shape for a while, he will be a Ricardo Carvalho situation. Old but still better than most CBs.
The guy might not be a good commenter, he (and several others) thought the goal would be disallowed because "he used his mano." I said, no it was the defender's mano (hand).
I'm not surprised once I saw the starting lineup. I hope Santos realizes he cant draw his way to third place and replace various options in CM like during the Euro because Joao Mario and Sanches arnt here. The lack of ambition, energy, and quality is just infuriating given the talent at his disposal. We didnt look like we even wanted to be there and play unless the ball somehow ended up in Mexicos half, which is when we accelerated our play and cut them open. Andre Gomes is shocking, where was the power and vibrancy to push the ball upfield he used to half at Benfica/Valencia? He is nowhere near Joao Mario and should not be starting. Moutinho and his injuries have almost finished him, he has no more engine. This leaves us with Adrien, slightly above average personified. Nani can't start, and Quaresma only works as an impact sub. He ruined some great attacking opportunities. Santos shackled Ronaldo again by not starting Andre Silva, and Bernardo Silva not even off the bench when he's our second best player? The only encouraging thing is that William Carvalho asserted himself in the second half, he needs to leave Sporting before he stagnates even more. Cedric has grown in the EPL. And Gelson impressing some is encouraging because this was nothing but an average cameo from him and he is capable of so much more. Gurreiro with his worse performance since I could remember seeing him, but then again at Dortmund he often played in CM, it'll take a couple games for him to get used to fullback again. Fonte has been trash since moving to West Ham and Pepe is out of form due to lack of playing time. Please Pepe since for a competitive club like PSG who was interested in a one year contract to give us one more tournament where you are one of if not the best CB (2012/2016). In hindsight taking into account all of that it's obvious why the defense was unrecognizable. Coupled with Santos' idiotic approach of no ambition and attack no wonder we looked lethargic. If Santos remains a dinsosaur and doesnt make the necessary changes I hope Russia wins to force his hand. Better here than at the actual World Cup. The starting line up is easy: -----------------------------------Patricio---------------------------------- ----------------------Pepe----------------------Fonte------------------------ Cedric---------------------------------------------------------------Gurreiro --------------------------------William------------------------------------------ ----------Adrien/Moutinho------------------------------B.Silva------------------ Gelson---------------------Andre Silva-------------------------Ronaldo Or if he wants to keep Gelson as the ace in the hole off the bench start Andre Gomes and B.Silva in his Monaco position
Lol. God, You're a f*cking clown. That's what it feels like to have a micro-penis. Great point. We need to revive our CBs. It's over for Fonte and almost over for Pepe
Pepe was fine this season for Madrid when he played, he'll be like Cannavaro and be solid at CB until he retires at 35/36. Fonte needs to be replaced, we need Ruben Semedo, Fabio Cardoso, or ruben Dias (will replace Lindelof) to have big seasons next year for their clubs.
Bite me bitc h. What's all the hate for Fonte? One bad season and everyone wants to hang the man. Talk of being fickle.
Fonte isn't bad he just seemed to have quite a poor game. The entire defence looked suspect, very nervy defending the likes we used to see under Bento. I think he is decent but I do hope a replacement comes in time for the world cup, hopefully semedo or Paulo Oliviera can take his spot if they improve. The starting lineup shocked me as well, right when I saw Nani and Quaresma I said to myself what the hell is this 2014? I do trust in Santos and I think for the first game against the toughest opponent he wanted to go with the vets. I fully believe that Andre Silva will be starting ahead of Nani next game, and I hope that its either Bernardo or Gelson in for Quaresma. I like Andre gomes, but Moutinho had a terrible game, I think maybe Adrien is a better option at this stage but he certainly doesn't have the playmaking ability in midfield like Moutinho so I would be too disappointed if Moutinho starts next game.
Russia has the crowd on their side. Hopefully that makes them over-ambitious and they pay. No excuse not to beat them with what we have at our disposal, it just comes down to Santos getting it right. @Area 51 is thinking the line-up we all want to see. Mexico had alot of cagey possession against us. It literally amounted to nothing. They were extremely careful with the ball. Man.......That was just such a simple clearance for Raphael to make. That's what happens when you don't play the same position at club level.
There was a close up of Infantino in the crowd during the Portuguese national anthem. Don't lose hope, man.
Vezo? He couldnt even start for a Granada team that got pummeled week in week out. Neto is poor. We just need to hope one of the younger CB's emerge over the course of the upcoming season.
Fernando Santos needs to get on the central back line without delay. The Confed Cup doesn't really matter, but it is important to prepare for the next year's world cup. I don't think André Gomes is bad. He was doing great while at Valencia but he played at the center of the field back then. Clearly he isn't a winger, he doesn't have the pace for that, he's a marathoner not a sprinter. It's also just a matter of letting go of a few aging glories. Portugal has more than enough material in hand to have its best team ever in a couple of years.
Andre Gomes played as a CM for Barca and was horrendous. He just simply does not have it and it is not worth investing anymore time in that experiment. We can development his talents on his club team. It's not worth throwing him out there to watch him play like he's stuck in the mud, turning over possession every chance he gets. Adrien, Bernardo, etc. are all superior players. You have to keep some veterans around for experience and influence, but I agree, we need more faith in our young guns.
Didn't Neto have a few good games for us the last time he played? Fonte is struggling like mad at club level right now and it's radiating over to the national team. A player that is especially his height should not have been out-jumped on the 2nd goal, should have been another easy clearance.
So, question for those who question Jose Fonte: Do you replace him with Bruno Alves or Neto? given those are the other two CB's on the roster.
For Santos, Alves is clearly the next choice but for me it's Neto. We could use some speed back there when we attack against teams like Russia.
That's the most important point here. Dude has been downright sorry for an extended period of time now.
Though he is in the final stage of his career, Bruno Alves has proven through the years that self-control isn't his strong. He is a red card waiting to happen and can't be trusted. For that he reminds of Beto back in the days. You never know when he is going to lose it and do something stupid spoiling it for everyone.
Wow, I had no idea Fonte was playing that terribly at West Ham. Neto & Bruno Alves are sufficient covers for a Confederations Cup, but I wouldn't feel confident one bit with either of those three at a World Cup right now, and I liked Fonte but all signs point to him being past it. If Santos really wants to match JJ for invencoes he could at least not waste Danilo's talent and try him at CB. Don't see why he wouldn't do well there, mainly because he's an intelligent player.
He would be immense at CB. It hasn't been tested so it won't happen right now, but i think it should be STRONGLY considered for the world cup. It's getting really bad back there, all we have is Pepe. The young CB's need more time to grow before they play for the senior team.
Danilo at CB is something I thought of too. Even Fonte himself said he had a bad season and his first game was a continuation, he could turn it around the problem is replacing him with Alves with the other option being Neto who hardly plays for Portugal at CB, this could be our autoestrada. Alves to be fair was ok when he played at the Euro's but that was against Wales (I think) and they played to his strength which is is his strength and header-ing ability.