Danny 0 Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 I know what you're saying about the fact that he got called up whilst playing with us. However he is very much a fringe player and in no way guranteed a place in their squad. I don't think he'll want to take the risk of staying in Scotland when he could be seen week in week out in Portugal pushing himself more into the frame for definite selection. This will be at the forefront of his thoughts IMO. In all honesty, I really think he'll be looking to go back to Portugal. If it had been anyt other time, then maybe not. But in WC year, he will think that he cannot afford to pass up any opportunity to get inton that squad. To be fair, you can see his point. A last crack at being part of a WC squad is massive. Fair points, but they don't address his years in the national wilderness while still gaining premium exposure plying his trade for Portsmouth and Spurs. tbh, they actually kinda do - Pedro Mendes is not a very good player he's not good enough to play for his country over the options they have in there. The guy has 4 feeble caps, and at his age, he's extremely unlikely to get into Quieroz' thoughts. I suppose his caps did come when he did play back in his homeland, so maybe he truly believes playing for one of Portugal's big 3 will give him the best chance of being on that flight to SA. That said, he wasn't on the plane to Germany in 2006 despite playing for Spurs/Portsmouth at the time. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny 0 Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 Yeah, by and large, McCulloch has had a good season; ironic then that he may lose his place over the next fortnight due to suspension. Thomson and Edu have a lot to do to prove themselves more deserving of that single place alongside Davis in the centre unless Smith decides to move Davis back out to the right side. If Walter Smith shifts Steven Davis out to the right wing I will throw a very large rotten egg at him. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny 0 Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 sorry mate - i can't agree with that. i certainly don't think McCulloch has been 'excellent'. Far from it. Then you are hereby banned from Gersnet His touch is still poor, his distribution is poor, he doesn't in any way shape or form get a grip of the midfield and his timing of tackles is way off. Sorry, but I think he's just hiding in that position and doing the minimum. Couldn't disagree more there - I think in many games in the past 2 months he's been doing the work of 2 players, when either Davis or Thomson went hiding. I'm afraid your opinion carries a custodial sentence. yes he scored a great goal at the Piggery, but that goal and the one in Lyon do not excuse almost 3 seasons of dire displays from the guy. Big waste of money IMO. If you include transfer fee and his salary over the years - he has cost us in the region of �£4.5m - �£5m !!! (is it any wonder we've been fecked financially ?!) We've not had anywhere near that back in value of performances. Not even a fraction of it. His displays are one of the main reasons for our excellent recent run. I've decided to increase your sentence to death. Do you have any last requests 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoodyBlue 0 Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 Fair points, but they don't address his years in the national wilderness while still gaining premium exposure plying his trade for Portsmouth and Spurs. tbh, they actually kinda do - Pedro Mendes is not a very good player he's not good enough to play for his country over the options they have in there. The guy has 4 feeble caps, and at his age, he's extremely unlikely to get into Quieroz' thoughts. I suppose his caps did come when he did play back in his homeland, so maybe he truly believes playing for one of Portugal's big 3 will give him the best chance of being on that flight to SA. That said, he wasn't on the plane to Germany in 2006 despite playing for Spurs/Portsmouth at the time. I can't give specific examples at the moment, but I reckon Portugal had a stronger squad back then. They've struggled over the past couple of years - just scraping qualification this time for example. This weaker squad - if my instincts are correct - has opened the door to players like Mendes. He'll want to do all he can to ensure he has a chance of getting in their squad - and if heading back to Portugal is the option then I'm sure he'll grab it with both hands. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoodyBlue 0 Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 Then you are hereby banned from Gersnet Couldn't disagree more there - I think in many games in the past 2 months he's been doing the work of 2 players, when either Davis or Thomson went hiding. I'm afraid your opinion carries a custodial sentence. His displays are one of the main reasons for our excellent recent run. I've decided to increase your sentence to death. Do you have any last requests Last request - Lee McCulloch is transferred to Motherwell please !! I just don't see where he he has been doing a good job tbh. IMO his involvement in games is very minimal. never dominated in any way and has been dominated on many occassions. Piggery (aprt from his goal) was a classic example - didn't get a look in. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny 0 Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 I can't give specific examples at the moment, but I reckon Portugal had a stronger squad back then. They've struggled over the past couple of years - just scraping qualification this time for example. This weaker squad - if my instincts are correct - has opened the door to players like Mendes. He'll want to do all he can to ensure he has a chance of getting in their squad - and if heading back to Portugal is the option then I'm sure he'll grab it with both hands. As a sincere skeptic of his ability, I'll grab it with both of his hands too... 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny 0 Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 Last request - Lee McCulloch is transferred to Motherwell please !! Request denied I just don't see where he he has been doing a good job tbh. IMO his involvement in games is very minimal. never dominated in any way and has been dominated on many occassions. Piggery (aprt from his goal) was a classic example - didn't get a look in. Neither did the rest of the team, tbf. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoodyBlue 0 Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 Request denied Neither did the rest of the team, tbf. very true. we were abysmal. didn't even try to compete and win the game. against such a shite **** team (and even withus having a few players missing) we should have been going for their throats. Instead we showed fear from the first minute which is totally unacceptable from any Rangers team in any circumstances against that mhob. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig 5,199 Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 Re Mendes quote about a team challenging for honours, and just to put a slightly different slant on it..... It could be that what he actually meant was that signing for a team in Portugal that is challenging for honours, rather than just generally a team challenging for honours ? I am not explaining it too well but perhaps what he wanted to say was something along the lines of "If I was to move back to Portugal then it would be hard to turn down one of my homeland teams that would be challenging for Portuguese honours". It is a subtle difference which could have been lost in translation. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankie 8,182 Posted January 7, 2010 Author Share Posted January 7, 2010 That's how I read it Craig... 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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