Joao Alves

[s1ty m]

ffs people, reality check. jo is a bag of shity shite.

[carl_feedthegoat]

Nothing has changed whatsoever and anyone thinking that just because he has been half arsed in a couple of meaningless friendlies warrants a place in the 25 is fucking deluded IMO

Got to agree with this...Jo is not good enough for our squad of 25.

Get rid.

Yeah give him away and get back Castillo...

Perfect.

[Colin the King]

It's great that's he finally putting the effort in and has scored a few for his troubles, and I'd have him over Santa Cruz as the 'last resort' striker, but it's hard to gauge in preseason. Remember Corradi scored 7 in 07/08? He and Bianchi had a lethal partnership going that summer.

In fairness to Jo, he probably got such a tough time because it was so often reported in the press that he cost £19million, whereas the truth is quite different as I understand it- it's all broken down in installments, and we would've paid nowhere near that sum to begin with. I suppose if we recognise that he's not Tevez- he'll never chase relentlessly after the ball for 90 minutes- and accept that he could offer us something as a creative outlet, linking play between midfield and attack, he could still have some degree of success with us.

It's a win win situation in any case, we don't desperately need him, we don't desperately need to sell him, so if he stays and contributes, great, if he stays and is useless, we stop playing him, if he goes, we wish him well.

[Alioune DVToure]

I think that Hughes had a tendency to bring the worst out of our Brazillians.

Who knows, perhaps Elano, Robinho, and even Jo were decent players all along but it was Lesley's style that made them look lazy and shite.

Robinho, Everton away last season?

Still unconvinced about Jo, he looks clumsy with his first touch a lot of the time. However he certainly made more of an effort than Ade and looked more threatening.

Robinho had already been completely alienated by the time Mancini arrived, maybe he can come back with a clean slate. Hughes certainly managed to make the Brazilian contingent feel undervalued and unwanted. People forget that Jo was part of the 6-0 drubbing of Pompey and that we were getting good results with the 3 Brazilians, whatever they thought of their style and body language. Hughes didn't like them though and was quick to drop them. Yes, a different manager can get more out of them.

Wouldn't risk wasting a place in the 25 on the volatile little shit. Robinho that is. Jo can stay if he gets his head down.

[ronk]

Jo scored 30 goals in 53 games for CSKA. He was a young player moving to a tough league under crazy circumstances. Sven started the deal, Hughes finished it and by the time the season started he had seen our owner get arrested, put the squad up for sale (even losing Corluka) then sell the club, have this massive takeover and even see Robinho come in and shake up the way the team was playing. Then he was out on loan in Christmas and never seen again. All this happened during our bizarre UEFA Cup campaign.

He was always a player who was going to take time to settle. Even now at 23 you can see he's got talent but he still struggles to apply his skills at times (way too many backheels). People forget that he arrived for about 2 days training during the most chaotic summer I can recall for us then left to go to the Olympics.

Yes, there were some really poor performances, but there were also some good ones. He made some mistakes and probably partied a little too hard, but it's not like English players are never guilty of that. When you're young and new to Europe it can be hard to know where the line is when you see what your teammates get up to.

He wasn't really a Hughes player, he wasn't really a Moyes player he was a Sven player. Certainly the way Hughes used him as a target man at times can't have helped.

Against that backdrop it's probably not too useful to rely on his history when making informed decisions about whether he should stay. Viewed on their own, I think his recent performances stand up reasonably (but there are questions there). If you think he's one of the laziest and most inept players to wear blue, then you'll probably only see the bad. I certainly think he's a gamble, but part of me wants us to take that risk.

[Whassat]

I still am just finding it all quite bizarre and surreal that we are having this debate

I think credit has to go to Jo for (at long last) realizing that his career was properly heading down the shitter and trying to do something about it. Going from one of the hottest properties in soccer to having a transfer value of nil in the space of a couple of years must have been quite bamboozling to him and I was expecting it to be a terminal decline

It would be a very strange "comeback" but why not eh

This - Straight to the point.

Some people need time to adapt, in more ways than just footballing sense. The mental bit is very, very important for pro athletes and if Jo improves and gets gritty (with what proves the hardest bit for brazilian footballers); Then, and just then, we might have a very fine player worthy to include in the 25 man cut.

[horlock2000]

Strange one this but thoughthis link up play and footwork in some pre season games was excellent. Was quite impressed with him and would even say he was one of the better players in the pre season, HOWEVER..... they were only friendlies!!!
Id agree with those who say give hi a go till January... i honestly think he has something to offer if he gets his head down and adapts to the prem!

[Ted Hughes]

I think that Hughes had a tendency to bring the worst out of our Brazillians.

Who knows, perhaps Elano, Robinho, and even Jo were decent players all along but it was Lesley's style that made them look lazy and shite.

Robinho, Everton away last season?

Still unconvinced about Jo, he looks clumsy with his first touch a lot of the time. However he certainly made more of an effort than Ade and looked more threatening.

Robinho had already been completely alienated by the time Mancini arrived, maybe he can come back with a clean slate. Hughes certainly managed to make the Brazilian contingent feel undervalued and unwanted. People forget that Jo was part of the 6-0 drubbing of Pompey and that we were getting good results with the 3 Brazilians, whatever they thought of their style and body language. Hughes didn't like them though and was quick to drop them. Yes, a different manager can get more out of them.

What a load of absolute nonsense. I knew this would happen; Mancini fucking off Robinho in an instant doesn't fit with your profile of him so you blame Hughes for it. Grossly unfair & blatant lies in the case of Robinho. Funnily enough Robinho didn't blame Hughes though, he blamed Mancini. Hughes played Robinho whenever he could, even when it cost us games. Mancini gave him one start asked him for commitment & when he wouldn't give it, fucked him off. Quite rightly imo. He will ask him again when he comes back & if he gets the wrong answer he'll fuck him off again. Again quite rightly. No doubt by next year it will be Hughes' fault that Ireland has gone.

Jo lost his job because he was out on the piss & treating the place like a fucking holiday camp. He was involved on that fateful night when certain accusations were made about Robinho & THAT was the night that started all the trouble for both of them. Mancini would probably have sacked them both but Hughes allowed Robinho to get away with murder & still played him. Robinho rewarded him with what some described as the worst performance ever by a PL player.

Now Jo is making an effort we're seeing some of the ability he undoubtably has. Sven & Mancini are mates & both knew of him back when he was good, so there's a chance Mancini may back him. I say good luck to him if he puts the effort in. It would be good to see a young bloke fight his way back.

[BlueMoonAwoken]

New goater?

[the_georgian_genius]

He's talented and he has got great ability, anyone who cannot see that is watching the wrong game.

His problem has been he's young and brazilian (i.e that party lifestyle) and that the premier league IMO has never suited him, i think he would thrive and score alot in La Liga.

I would definatley have him in my squad of 25 and i hope he is, nothing is making me smile more than seeing Jo scoring at the minute.

[Grob]

The lack of distractions now Robinho and Elano arent there and maybe the embarrasment of last season may have pursuaded him to sort himself out and apply himself properly. It only took 2 years but at least he got there in the end.

He's shown glipses of being a reasonable player this pre season. Hes certainly out performed Adebayor. Scored some goals too.

But he isnt good enough or talented enough for where we want to be competing. His touch at times is awful, his awarenes not great, he's not strong for his height and he's no pace. But he can strike a ball and his arkward style must be tough to defend against.

He may sneak into the 25 if we fail to sign Ballotelli or if Roque or Craig are sold.

[The Man In Blue]

i want him to score a 97th minute winner against the scum.


i would not stop laughing for fucking weeks.

[Im_Spartacus]

Jo and RSC have both played a handful of games for city, and largely looked fucking gash.

The situation with Jo being slightly different in that it was a new league, perhaps more physical than he was used to. RSC just seemed shite.

However the fact is that neither were played in a position that exploited their strengths. RSC had no wingers flinging the ball onto the dancefloor, whilst Jo was subject to Hughes' longball game and playing with back to goal, when he should have been the one looking for little through balls to run onto and finish.

I think both could do a job WHEN PLAYED CORRECTLY and having seen Jo on Saturday he seems to have bulked up a little and maybe this will help him with the physical side of the game, and he looked like he could do a job off the bench and in the cups. RSC meanwhile is still nowhere to be seen, and although I was pissed by the time we kicked off, it seemed we still didn't set up with the intention of getting the ball in the box for Adebayor, thus I think persevering with RSC seems pointless and increasingly unlikely.