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Friday, 10 August 2012 21:17 |
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Bento is playing it safe in the friendly to not disrupt things too much to get a good start on WC qualifying. The first 11 are settled but the back up depth is weak.
The first 11 has about 2 years left and are in their prime, there are some players with 4 years left. Our first 11 is pretty solid with the exception of striker as we know and maybe a new attacking mid field player.
At some point, Bento will need to introduce couple of new central defenders, a 1-2 additions to midfield, and find a new striker to help with the depth.
It is incumbent on players like Fernandes, Carrico, Andre Martins, Ve Tez, Danny (if he ever gets healthy and can produce for NT) and Rudi to have good regular seasons to make a case to be on team. There are low hanging fruit on the bench that can be easily replaced if these players step up to reach their potential. It is simple, play well for club and you have a shot. Bento will not replace these players until others step up.
The reality is that you don't see the transfer windows opening for Portuguese players as the current players in the young 20's have shown nothing. These are the players that would need to produce and there are few. The hope is in the players in the late teens to step up but that could take another 2-3 years. Bento has few options to work with.
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