Start time in about 3 hours, obviously Hulk, Sandro & Danilo are with the Brazil Olympic team, I'm excited to see who starts and plays well! I'll post lineups and first half notes as that's all I'll be watching.
Our XI: -----------------Helton------------------ Mangala---Maicon---Otamendi---Lopes- ---------------Fernando----------------- -------------Defour---Lucho----------- ------Atsu--------Martinez-----James Isn't Mangala naturally a CB? Interesting to have him at LB. Maicon back to CB while Miguel Lopes is at RB! I'm excited to see Martinez! Also to see what Atsu has to contribute. They showed the lineups so fast, I didn't see the bench
Ended 0-0. I missed the 2nd half. In the first, we looked good! Great ball movement. much better than last year. Hopefully that keeps up! Atsu was especially impressive. We really need to sell Alvaro & Hulk already; saddens me to say it but Moutinho as well. If they're not gonna stay, clear them out now. Rolando may stay but I don't mind seeing him go (Maicon is better, plus we have Otamendi & Mangala). I'm indifferent to Rolando staying. Back 4 should be Lopes at RB, Sandro at LB, Maicon at CB paired with Rolando OR Otamendi. I truly believe Maicon is better than both. Sapunaru & Mangala as backups. Fernando at DM, Danilo & Lucho at CM with Defour & Castro as the main subs. What's going on with Belluschi? We can't afford to sell Fernando with such ? in MF. We don't know what Castro will offer either, and I imagine Danilo will be at CM with Lopes at RB. James, Varela & Martinez as the 3 up front; Atsu, Djalma, Iturbe & Kleber as the offensive options. I'd like to sell Janko also.
This season worries me. If we don't sell all those guys, we might end up with disgruntled players who will lose tons of value like Guarin for example. I think hulk is a pro and will still give it his all but guys like fernando and Alvaro will bitch and moan until we have to dump them on the cheap. I know Moutinho is a hard worker and a pro but he isn't true blue and white so he might get all diva on us too. I hope our youngsters have a great season. Really looking forward to see what iturbe has to offer.
I hope Fernando stays. We don't have another DM on the roster. I'd be content with letting Alvaro go for 15. Hulk needs to go also, and I hate to admit it, but Moutinho also. Do you think Iturbe will get lots of playing time? It's tough at winger with James, Varela, Djalma & Atsu.