Jozy can have good touch sometimes, but he is too inconsistent with it. Which is essentially the same thing as having bad touch. I think people who like Jozy say he has good touch to justify their own means, even when his play on the field doesn't mirror it. There is nothing wrong with defending/liking Jozy (i do as well) but to act like every criticism of him is totally wrong and just a symptom of blind over-criticism is incorrect
on voetbalzone theres a poll the question: Will Jozy score 20 goals next season for AZ? 461 votes 57% yes 43%no i knew he was the next drogba
Pretty sure he will hit 20 goals next season. Heck, he might reach it by season's end. He's 4 games to score 6 goals. If only he wasn't subbed early every match.
this goes both ways though. I think some posters have blown his "poor first touch" out of proportion. Could it be improved?? Of course. Is it as poor as some would lead you to believe? Of course not.
As are most young players in search of minutes of the highest level possible. Would be more upset if he were sitting on his arse somewhere. With Jozy - you win games. Without Jozy - AZ has an average to poor season.
The context is quite important too. He was brought (to europe aswell as AZ) with big expectations. He is being compared to the top-strikers because that is what is expected of him. In that context, pretty much everybody agree's that in Holland so far, he has not lived up to it yet. Doesnt mean hes a bad striker, but just that he is currently clearly behind the likes of especially DeJong,Dost,Guidetti,WilfriedBony etc. (which are all class strikers of the same agegroup)
Fair point - I'd say that fans who have followed his career closely have reset their expectations to a more reasonable level, so this has been a good season with tangible, visible progress in his game.
I don't understand how expectations can be so high. All fans need to do is look at his output before arriving at AZ. Virtually non-existent. Breaking into double digits is monumental for him.
Exactly. He's starting just about every match and scoring. Thats outstanding even if the Eredivisie is ranked like 8th among European leagues
Not too long ago Jozy's thread debates were on how many fouls and free kicks he was creating. Yikes. He is finally playing regularly and scoring at great rate really for the first time since he left for Europe. All around a great season for Jozy. Not sure how/why people would have these great expectations for him considering his career thus far in Europe but hopefully it pushes/motivates him to reach the next level.
(quoted myself since this is complementary) Well I dont know what AZ paid for him or what his salary is now. But he plays for the USMT, Villareal bought him for over 7million euros and gave him a yearsalary of about 1 million. On top of that, while he didnt shine/succeed at his time at Villareal, he was still widely considered a youngster with great potential. So I really dont think its unreasonable, based on that, to expect him to compete with the before mentioned strikers. And if your argument is that the expectations shouldnt be based on the above, well, thats a fair argument
High expectations on potential then? Regardless, Jozy has had some poor performances, but overall is AZ's top goal scorer. Ranked 7th overall with 4 games to go. Even if he doesnt catch any others in front of him, if he continues this path he could very well hit 16-17. Not too bad for a striker who has only a couple of goals in Europe prior the move.
I think he was brought over on a hope and a dream. I think he achieved what they could ever hope for, but not as much as they dreamt. Do I remember a quote right from AZ's manager claiming that he knew little about Jozy's game when he arrived?
Testy. Are we debating places as a place to develop or for the overall strength of the league? Because while the Netherlands is still a phenomenal place to develop, I don't think 8 sounds far off ( Big 4, Russia and France, netherlands/Portugal/turkey seem 7-9 for me).
Because when he's focused his technique is very good, his passing vision is exceptional, and physically he's got all the tools. The Dutch looking at that skillset is like Da Vinci looking at a blank canvas. There are always going to be high expectations.
where did dejong, dost, guidetti, wilfriedbony etc. play last year, and how did they perform? people who expected altidore to be a class striker this year 1. ignore the tendency of americans to bloom late, and 2. don't seem to be paying attention to jozy's history in europe i'm actually pleasantly surprised by his output.
Yup. Even a cursory glance at Jozy's record before the transfer..............would suggest AZ couldn't have expected more than he's currently providing. Since leaving the Red Bulls in 2008, Jozy had scored 6 first team goals (3 at Villarreal, 2 at Hull City, and 1 at Bursaspor). He's scored triple that for AZ already this season. (14 in the league, 4 in Europe) He'll probably get to 20. Before the season, if somebody had set the over/under at 10 goals.............I think many of us on these boards would even have taken the under.
I wish we had this data. We should have a mandatory poll at the beginning of every ya transfer. Someone can crystallize the issue. For defenders probably playing time, for strikers goals, for attacking mids points, for defensive minded mids some playing time or cards or something. The over/under concept would be perfect. Personally, I think I would have taken the under as you presented it. And I'm naturally optimistic. But hull/turkey left me with pretty serious doubts about whether jozy would produce in year 1. I bet I would have had lots of company.