Oh i completely agree that the squad still needs improvements but its in a much better state at this moment in time than it could have been with everything thats gone on. Back up cb left back cdm striker I totally forgot about Doumbia aswell, whats goin on with him ?
Doumbia is still there and in training, I have this hidden optimism that if given a chance, he can actually show up for us. Of course, that means not having 1000 crosses per match because that's not his strong point
I thought that was the case because I can remember reading his thread on forum scp. I think he could do a great job as the leading forward under a different system which isn't so reliant on crosses into the box
Doumbia on paper should fit right into the squad with some of these new/returning players. Capable with his head but also with his feet and decent speed. Unfortunately he didn’t show it in his first year here. Not sure if it was lack of time but his touch was pretty bad. I chaulk it up to time because I felt like he was playing pretty well before his injury this season. 4-2-3-1 would be interesting with Doumbia (ST), Matheus (LW), Bruno (CAM) and Raphinha (RW) on the attack. I think you have a pretty solid combination of speed, creativity, power and finishing with those 4. You gotta respect everyone cause they’re all capable of putting it in the back of the net, which would open up a lot for the others. Then you got decent depth at each position with Acuña, Chico and Mané. You know what’d be fantástic? If Slimani somehow found his way back home.
That is a good forward line on paper, still got 2 months in the transfer window so anything can happen. Doumbia in his career has always rotated between a bad season and a really good season, so if you believe that history repeats itself, this season would be a breakout season for Doumbia.
Yup. With 2 months to go I’d like to see the midfield shored up defensively. If Coentrão is back I think we’re pretty good at the back line. Marcelo should provide depth/insurance behind Mathieu, I feel he is more mobile like Mathieu while Pinto can be #4 behind Coates as he plays more upright I think. And then yeah, if we’re banking on a bounce back from Doumbia I’d feel more comfortable going out and getting depth at that position as well. I like Montero but I think he should be a break glass in case of emergency type player at this stage in his career.
Nothing official, but the rumour is that he does not want to stay, there is allegedly an offer from Fenerbahce between 15-20M
Dost is the only one I would take the fee for. All other players I would be forcing their hand. SCP shouldn't be selling guys like william and Gelson for 15 mil. This is absurd. The players know they have no grounds whatsoever. They can come back for a year and then we can sell them at a proper value. That's the best interest in the club. I don't want to go back to those old days.
How many times have they heard the "one more year" argument though. It is bs that they'll go for that low, but it's better than nothing. If William really is going to Betis, it's safe to say there isn't a huge market for him. I'd be happy for anything around 25mil for William. It'd be interested how Atletico proceeds with Gelson. They have a pretty good relationship with us and they could ruin it forever by not giving us anything.
Unfortunately, we are in a fragile position and we might have to settle for less than what is ideal but I think we can try stretching things a bit more than what is rumoured. Another thing that bothers me is the fan reaction if players come back, how will they be received? Theres a lot of fans that believe they are mercenaries and we should go to court with them.
Who cares. Does it matter? things change. The players ultimately have the option of signing a shorter deal. Why do they sign till 2020 or 2021? If they didn't want to potentially be there till that time, sign till 2018 or 2019 thus forcing the club to sell you a year before so that the player doesn't just walk away. "it's better than nothing" is the wrong mentality. It's not in the clubs best interest. People need to fight for SCP's best interest. I'd take 25-30 mil for William, not 15. With Gelson, i would hold firm on 35-40 mil. don't want it, lets battle it out in court. The players will loose, hands down. I'm sick of saying this, but there's no just cause, PERIOD!!! Why haven't players signed yet? Cause they know. Why did Wolverhampton pay the original 18mil that was offered and rejected? These players only did this to force the entire destruction of BDC. Nevertheless, I would not be held hostage by these players trying to force their hand. F that.
We don't have to settle. We can choose to, but don't have to. Listen, if there's a fair market deal for the player, sell them. If it's a couple of million, no biggie. But to sell them at bargain prices because they want to be sold at any cost, no way. It's a business. I'm looking at it from the point of view if I owned the club. Other teams can sell nobodies for 20-25 million and we're going to settle for national team stars for 10-15 mil? Really? I'm I really the only one that thinks this way? It's about SCP, not about players, presidents, coaches, etc.. Why sell a guy like Gelson for 15 million when he can come back for a year and then be sold next year for minimum 30-40, because the courts will favour SCP. But if a team says here's 30-40 million, then go. I just want the fair market value.
Fair points, I do feel like we are negotiating for more though, there is 2 months left, let's not rush anything.
We'd all want top price for any player leaving, but I'm not so sure why you're so confident the club would win in court? Unless you are a lawyer or understand the law, it's just your passionate opinion that the club would certainly win. The club probably wants to avoid lengthy court cases with uncertain outcomes, that will no doubt be costly. Most of the buying clubs also want to avoid litigation, which makes sense to me as wel. Also they want to keep a decent relationship with Sporting because they may return to buy a young talent from the club in the future. Mendes is also taking the long view and thinking of future business. Again, I understand fighting for better returns on players but surely they have lawyers looking at this and feel selling is the best move to be done with this dark period and move on. Like mentioned above still a good amount of summer left, maybe some stay and fetch better fees in the next few windows, but for a few it seems like that ship has sailed,
It's a combination of things but I do know more than your average person in law. There's just nothing there that will give players just cause based on what's happened. "IF" there's one player, it'll be Bas Dost, that's IF. I'm sure both parties want to avoid lengthy court cases, but you need to protect your business, Period. If there was just cause, players would be signing new deals already and SCP would get nothing, but the opposite is happening. Other teams want to avoid court battles. Mendes is a guy SCP needs to be careful with. He looks for his best interest first and doesn't give a crap about SCP. Remember when he tried to sell Brahimi to sporting for about 13 million and ended up going to Porto for 6.5 mil??? Yes it's dark times, but it still doesn't mean you protect your own interests. you don't just take any deal because it's there. Let's see what next two months bring. Rumor is Gelson to Madrid for 30 mil and a future % of sale.
Vietto was promising a few years ago but has taken a dip in his career. Could go either way. Guess he is worth a shot because he is still young but I wouldn't pay him a ton.
I think those are the type of players we need to be chasing in the Portuguese league tbh. Players who had a lot of promise but didn't live up to it in stronger leagues/teams. Worked extremely well for benfica and porto in the past.