I must admit, this might be the best crossing/restarts day we have seen from Sunderland all season. Of course, it is also worth noting that Wickham has not found the end of a single one of them.
I felt like AZ were really helping him dial things in, giving him specific things to work on and another year of such pedagogy would have benefited him greatly especially going into the World Cup. Playing in the EPL and especially for a bottom dweller, you're really not there to learn, you're there to perform. I am amazed with what Martinez has been able to accomplish with this Everton side.
the only problem is Verbeek was already on his way out at AZ at the start of the season. Lil Dickie is a pretty good player manager too, with a different style, but he's a bit of a "teacher" type too, so might not have hurt, but really at 24/25 it's time to get on the horse and ride.
The crazy thing is with the way other results are going if S'land had gotten one or two points in the last, what 8 games? they could still have a shot at saving themselves. They really don't want to be in the Prem next season, plain and simple.
Yes, this is true, but the real difference is Sunderland operates nothing like AZ in game day attacking. At AZ, the idea is actually to tactically operate in a way that creates for your guys intentionally stationed closest to goal. They one-touch pass and run combos all over and keep the ball whenever possible, slowly draining the energy/will of the opponents. And to his demerit, Altidore waited far too long thinking they would ever play that way. At Sunderland, of course, they think it is some sort of special favor to have to "serve" the striker for goals - what unbelievable madness.
Fwiw, the S'land Echo wrote a few days ago it was 'not a punishment" although Poyet's "explanation" is opaque at best. http://www.sunderlandecho.com/sport...-outing-not-a-sunderland-punishment-1-6557634
Maybe so. Then again, I've never considered the EPL to be the end all, be all for a player. Perhaps at 28 or 30, when he's looking to really cash in before retiring, but in the meantime, there are other more tactical, skill-oriented leagues and a couple of World Cups. Someday, I'll complete that statistical analysis of how the various leagues stack-up for national team players, but for today, all I have is opinion.
Oh, I agree with you 100%. They are like a big guy with no training wildly flailing away against a seasoned boxer. In the EPL, not only are there better fighters, there are also bigger guys with better training. It's pretty much a worst case scenario for him. Being on a team with no real vision for how to play the game in such a tough league, it was always going to be an uphill battle.
He does sound like a guy looking for the exit door, but that's just me. The crazy thing is they have 2 games in hand on Norwich and could at least get close simply by winning those two matches. But they simply can't do the simple things right.
Yeah - I think they are two different things. Whether EPL is be all and end all, it does seem, from what info I saw, that S'land/EPL was the "best" real offer Jozy had. I don't know that the EPL was/is the be all, but I do think that Jozy was at the point he had to take the leap. It didn't work (If making a jillion dollars but having a lousy season is "not working") but if I'm Jozy's advisor I would have said give it shot. It's not like he can't go back to the Netherlands or another league if he's so inclined. So I don't really see the downside. I guess he could have hoped to stay in the Ered and win the scoring title - but even then he's not going to Chelsea, most likely, he's going to Villa or Swansea or Norwich or... What I think is unrealistic is the idea that he has someone gotten worse as a player. Usually, unless you really are a fragile mentality or have a drinking/drug/mental problem, you don't completely lose it due to one bad season. Jozy will either get on a team that plays to his strengths better, figure out how to play with the team he's on better, or have another crappy year, I guess. That's football - esp. for a striker. It's a high risk/high reward position.
Exactly - just a couple of ties in the last, what 9 games? I think they have like 1 pt in 9 games. That they can't just grind out a tie or two, then win out v. Brum and Cardiff is it? or Swansea - I forget the other bottom feeder. But basically they needed one or two more pts. and gave away games to Hull, N'wich, West Ham.... Just amazing. If there was top draft pick for the bottom I'd investigate them for tanking.
But, see you're still pointing him back to the EPL. Sure the money is great, but by and large it is a lousy league for his skill set. I know folks here would like to say it's every size fits all, but clearly he doesn't do well in England. He needs a league that plays the passing game with combination play. But the hoof it and hope of bottom tier EPL is especially bad. In the EPL there are a handful of clubs that actually try something approaching something more universally good, the Continental game. As you say, he was never going to one of those clubs. So pick a team that is a better fit in another league, or stay put. If last year, he'd had the chance to move to a PSV, a more or less lateral move might have been beneficial. Otherwise, he was better off staying put. The dollars on the table just weren't worth the risk to his long term career.
But of the clubs he was, from what I read, actually made real offers, S'land was the one I would have picked. There were not, as far as I heard, offers AZ would have accepted from, I don't know, Monaco or BMG or Benefica. And much as you might want to play at Roma, unless they make an offer AZ will accept, it's all wishes and horses. I suppose he could have tried to force the issue and stayed at AZ, which might have worked - but then he'd be off this year - and if he didn't put in another top 5 scoring season for whatever reason, his choices diminish. So now, he can take a pay cut if he likes, go back to the Ered, or La Ligue or Juliper ro wherever if S'land let him go, and make his case again. But you can't go where you aren't wanted. And you can't go if your club won't take the money.
Agree with you 100% except for the conclusion you come to. I still don't think he was obligated to take the Sunderland offer. You don't always have to take the highest offer. His career statistics and earnings would both be enhanced by taking a more measured approach.
maybe his career statistics. I'm not sure how you figure his earnings. But had he stayed in the Ered and done another top 7 or so finish, it would have done him no harm for sure. But only a top 2 or 3 finish would have really upped his standing, and AZ would still have been looking for big transfer money. Probably would have ended up this summer going to Norwich as they just pip S'land to stay up!
Again, you're laser locked on the EPL. I don't know where his career will end up, but I hope decides to play the rest of his career elsewhere.
But you're kind of ignoring the fact that AZ was selling to the high money - and the high money was in EPL or Russia/Ukraine. In that choice, I think EPL was the only choice. And in the EPL, it sounded like S'land was the only - or most serious at least - choice. Imagine if he'd had a bad season at Spartak or someplace! Transfers are negotiations between players, the team that owns them and the team that's buying them - just cause I player wants to go to team X doesn't mean AZ had to sell. Now, with S'land going down, they are more likely to just want to dump S'land salary. So they might be willing to sell him to teams for less, which means there is a better chance of him ending up someplace more interesting and less high profile. But as long as AZ was trying to maximize investment, Jozy's best bet was EPL.
Something most overlook is that Altidore signed with Sunderland the first week of July. That was what surprised me. I think he had a lot more time to potentially field offers.
It seemed at the time to be very positive that he'd have a month of training to gel with the squad and get all the off-field matters taken care of so it wouldn't bother him on the field. But you're right. Would have loved to see what offers might have come through around the end of May especially after the Bosnia match.