Hughes Lands Jo for £19 Million
Man City have confirmed the signing of Brazil striker Jo from CSKA Moscow for an undisclosed fee - believed to be a new club record of £19 million.
Jo, full name João Alves de Assis Silva, arrives with a superb record at the Russian club having scored 44 goals in 77 matches in all competitions. CSKA signed the striker in 2005 for a fee of £3.5 from Brazilian club Corinthian where he lined up with the likes of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano. His impact at CSKA was immediate, scoring 14 goals in his first 18 games for the club.
A towering 6 foot 3 inch figure, Jo has the appearance of an awkward target man but he is in fact anything but. Despite his size he is described as “average” in the air but “skillful, strong and pacey”. Jo much prefers the role of supporting striker, dropping deep and playing in the hole than as a traditional centre forward that leads the line.
A first capture for Mark Hughes, the new boss at Eastlands was understandably delighted with the acquisition.
“He’s a big guy, in stature and in ability, so I think everybody will enjoy watching him play,” remarked the City boss.
It’s interesting however that Jo has been a target for City long before the arrival of Hughes. Given that owner Thaksin Shinawatra was looking to conduct the deal whilst Sven was still in charge, it seems unlikely that Hughes has had major input in the deal. Now however, the City boss finds himself with a brand new striker who has a style of play that Hughes will have to accommodate around his existing squad and new arrivals.
With Elano already at the club and Ronaldihno a target, it would appear that City are likely to look to Jo to provide the cutting edge up front rather than to adopt a deeper role. That’s just pure speculation but it will certainly be interesting to see how Hughes utilises his new £19 million striker. One thing is for sure, Mr Shinawatra will expect him to be handed plenty of starts.
At just 21, Jo is certainly an exciting prospect but, given the huge transfer fee and distinct style of play, there are understandably some reservations. Interestingly, in contrast to his record at CSKA, Jo made 85 appearances for Corinthian but scored just 13 goals playing a deeper attacking role. Despite his goal-a-game transformation in the Russian league, there will be question marks about just how this record will translate to the Premiership.
From the video evidence kindly supplied by YouTube below, there’s no doubting his goalscoring ability. He has a tall, lanky frame but certainly looks powerful enough to handle anything that Russian league defenders can dish out. Whether that will be the case in the Premiership is another matter and, looking at some of the goals, it’s hard to imagine him enjoying some of the space that is evident in the footage.
Like all new foreign arrivals, the best tactic for fantasy managers is always “wait and see”. In my opinion, that advice rings doubly true with City’s new record signing.
At the young age of 21 and stature of 6 foot 3 inches, you’d also have to argue that he may only need the training under a decent manager / forward coach before adding more than an “average” heading ability up front (whether City can offer this is another question). Definitely one to watch as the mobile ‘big-men’ strikers seem to fare pretty well in the EPL style of game (e.g. Berbatov, “Swan-dive” Drogba, Viduka, Adebayor, Crouch [when he is played... damn you Rafa]).
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When I pick my team I always go with one ‘risky/unknown’ player…last season it was Petrov and it worked for me
This year I think it may be Jo!!! Considering how good Hughes is at choosing strikers (Santa Cruz, Mc Carthy) I think he may be a sneaky pick
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Certainly someone to watch, especially if Hughes will play him in is favoured supporting role. Wonder what is starting price will be… 7.5mill?
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I think even I would look good up against those defences! He doesn’t look too shabby in the air, could give Petrov someone to play with….
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If (when) we set up a Scout Picks league this season I’d like it to be named ‘The Fergie to Shorey up his Defence Scout Picks Memorial Premiership League Southern and Northern Divisions’, sponsored by McVities Chocolate Hobnobs.
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Reply by yer dad on July 3, 2008 5:12 pm:
With a 40inch TV as first prize.
The Wombats, so last year and I have never seen them. Jay-Z is the way forward.
Final places for Euro fantasy melarchy.Well done Ade. I struggled on the last day due to not being able to find a laptop in a field full of hippies, so that is my excuse for not finishing 1st
Messiah’sScoutPicks (Rank: 3,459 / 21,868) Overall Group stage Final phase
1 Piranha FC Ade Sodeinde 310
2 rock on the gaffer 273
3 Euroroot Yogesh Agashe 266
4 Reach Around Nick White 264
5 higgo fc cormac higgins 261
6 Nigeineuropeutd Nigel Goulding 249
7 European XI S daniel 245
8 TheyThinkItsAllOver Paul Kitchener 244
9 Phillips Eurostars Leighton Phillips 233
10 SMA FC darren elliott 203
11 Little Brother John-Paul Smith 171
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Reply by TheNecromancer on July 3, 2008 6:32 pm:
Did someone say something about hippies???
-TheN
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Reply by Alex on July 4, 2008 2:18 pm:
Awww…I feel like Pavlov now.
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Reply by yer dad on July 4, 2008 2:43 pm:
Happy 4th of July Necro and to every other Yank who loves FOOTBALL from us Limey’s. We did not want the country anyway as from the 4th of July we needed to concentrate on picking our teams and constantly check on 18th century FPL sites to see if it was up and running yet.
Have a few buds and plenty of bourbon while you sing Yankee Doodle Dandy.Enjoy.
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Reply by puffinboy on July 4, 2008 3:12 pm:
It was a bitter day when Sir Nobby of Stiles was priced up at two farthings for the 1827/8 season, even though he got 124 goals and 356 assists the previous year.
I expect you remember that day clearly Yer Dad; it’s remembering where you left your glasses 10 minutes ago that’s the problem.
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Reply by yer dad on July 4, 2008 4:06 pm:
As you can see from my picture I have no bins and can see a rat down a drain from 500 metres and have it on my plate in 15 minutes.
Good ole days of transfers. I remember when I bought William “Fatty” Foulkes
as my goalkeeper for the 1905-1906 season.
Willie “Fatty” Foulkes was Chelsea’s first goalkeeper and first captain. Willie was perhaps the most famous player of the very first Chelsea squad. Willie was 6ft 3in, and weighed in at over 22 stone!
Stamford Bridge was the first ground to employ ball boys – these were mainly employed in order to help out Willie.
One of the many stories about him concerned an early away trip to Burton which yer dad will share with you.At the team’s hotel, Willie decided to go down for dinner early. The away crowds that bait any plump Chelsea fan with the now legendary “Who ate all the pies?” chant would have been in hooligan heaven, because that is literally what the goalkeeper did. When the rest of the team came down they found that all eleven plates had been cleared. Foulkes redeemed himself the next day, though, by stopping two penalties. That begat another apocryphal story. The Burton manager raged at the poor forward who had missed two penalties, screaming that both kicks were straight at Foulkes. “Yeah, but where else could I place the kicks? There was nowhere else to aim,” replied the forward.
The good ole days.
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Reply by puffinboy on July 4, 2008 7:21 pm:
You’ll be delighted to know that Mr Carter’s Reasonable Doubt is dissected on BBC2’s Classic Albums tonight, Nigel. Shizzle. Word. Etc.
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Lets be honest, is it REALLY that hard playing in the Russian League? I mean if that was Serie A or the Primera it would be hugely impressive, but he still has a lot to prove in a more competitive arena. In any case part of his huge transfer fee must be due to his age and potential, so he should have time to learn and adapt to the premierleague and become a great player.
I can see City being a strong team next season with Petrov and Elano providing a first class service, Jo should get plenty of goals, if he can adapt to the physical side of the game.
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will the scout be having a provate league for the FPL? im definetly look forward to the season
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will the scout be having a provate league for the FPL?? im definetly look forward to the season
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Reply by Mark on July 3, 2008 10:00 pm:
I imagine so Evan. An unofficial one started up last season by a regular visitor so I imagine I’ll make that more official this season and post a league code on the site. I was slightly intimidated by the standard though so I might just watch from the sidelines rather than face a season struggling in mid-table.
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Reply by Evan on July 3, 2008 10:14 pm:
hahaha alright i look forward to it thanks for the quick response
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Don’t worry Mark, I’ll be signing up for the official Scout private league, which means you are guaranteed to at least come second from last
I think there is more risk that people will just copy your team each week, apart from yer dad who I expect to pick Shorey each week regardless of which club he’s playing for.
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