Michael Parkhurst at Nordsjaelland (Denmark) discussion thread [R]

Re: Michael Parkhurst to Denmark?

Good points. I think the next paycheck will determine the value of the move.

I agree that he probably could have come in around $250k in MLS, but there are two other factors:

1. The Revs are tough negotiators (see Joseph, Noonan, Twellman.)
2. For an MLS defender who is not named Davino, $250k is probably the ceiling for the foreseeable future.

 

Re: Michael Parkhurst to Denmark?

where is that from? Have a quote?

 

Re: Michael Parkhurst to Denmark?

Oh come now. If there was a quote, it'd probably be an Arena-esque endorsement of playing regularly for one's team. But actions speak louder than words for both of them -- they have a decided European preference. Not saying they shouldn't, but it's clear that the easy path to the USMNT is playing* in Europe.

*"Playing" being something more than Eddie Johnson lately. Feilhaber, Hill and Nguyen previously and Goodson, Davies and Perkins recently suggest that even a passing European glow will enhance your stock markedly.

 

Re: Michael Parkhurst to Denmark?

Well, you can read into those comments as you want.

I personally find that many Euro based players are called into friendlies because the games are held on the same day as some MLS games. And while Bob can call in who he wants on FIFA dates, he leaves MLS players behind if they have important matches. Hence why a Josh Wolff would be called up for England/Spain this summer, as opposed to Kenny Cooper. But maybe I'm analyzing it too much.

It's hard to know whether the Danish league is a step up or not, as there's very little real tangible evidence to go by. My gut tells me it's a small step up as far as the quality of play is concerned, but who knows. I also think Parkhurst's undersized/small stature for a central defender plays a role. Yes, we all know there are smaller centerbacks like Cannavaro who can do well. All things being equal, a team in a bigger league is more likely to take a chance on a bigger player like Gooch (or Marshall for that matter). They're gonna want to see more evidence of Parkhurst's ability in what they consider a better league, before they take the chance. And I really do believe MLS is still not respected in many parts of the world.

 

Re: Michael Parkhurst to Denmark?

I may have mentioned this before...but going to a foreign country is a challenge. One thing you have to remember about Parkhurst is that he is not being brought in solely because he is relatively inexpensive (no transfer fee, etc.). He is being brought in as a difference maker. This is much different than some other US players who are brought in as a project, etc, to see if they will develop into important players.

I imagine that Marshall, if he signs for Mainz, would not be brought in to be THE man right away. He is there to fill a need (to provide depth).

Parkhurst realizes that the Danish league is one where he can try to prove himself that he can play at a higher level.

I don't think the Danish league is particularly better or worse than MLS, BUT the game-to-game pressure is much higher (MLS really lacks this) and the amount of scouting of the Danish league by all sorts of leagues is much higher than in MLS. Even though the MLS's visibility is much higher that it has been in the past, it still can't be compared to the visibility of some of these Euro feeder leagues.

 

Re: Michael Parkhurst to Denmark?

If one works off an assumption that the SAS is roughly on par with MLS (give or take a few goals here and there), then the higher budgets in Denmark pretty much assure that a comparable player will make a lot more there than in the US.

I mean, Danny Califf is supposedly making around $500K now.

The US born defenders just don't get these offers in MLS.

 

Re: Michael Parkhurst to Denmark?

Yep. The salaries these guys are getting in MLS are well below their "market value." It just makes sense for them to move abroad from a personal finance point of view.

 

Re: Michael Parkhurst to Denmark?

Yup. Most of them are probably getting a 50-100% pay bump. Who here would turn that down for a lateral move with equally good prospects for advancement?

And even if it's only a net 12% bump over what MLS could offer, that's still a pretty big deal. I'm always astonished by the people who act as if a post-tax, cost-of-living-adjusted boost of, say, $30k/year shouldn't mean much to an American soccer player.

When you're making $180k a year--especially if you don't have a college education--that $30k is a huge deal. If you're halfway smart with the extra money, after four years abroad, you've got an extra $120k. Enough to put into a retirement plan that--even with the economic nightmare today--could all but ensure a decent retirement. Or to to save you tens of thousands of dollars on mortgage money when buying a house. That's important when you're highly unlikely to make enough money during your eight- or ten-year playing career to live on for the rest of your life.

And it's not like guys moving from MLS to Norway, Denmark, or Sweden are taking a step down. They're not hurting their careers by going. Odds are, they're helping 'em.

 

Re: Michael Parkhurst to Denmark?

To be quite frank, then most of the foreigners who are signed by Danish clubs are signed as an investment they hope to develop further and then sell to one of the big leagues... So for the most part they are in their early 20's or younger..

When it comes to scouting, ther are several things you need to have in mind... Danish Players have always been quite popular, especially in Germany and the Dutch league, so it's no surprise that foreign agents like Danish players because they are a very good sales object... You also have to remember that some of the big agents in Europe infact are Danish....

In the last summere transfer window AGF Aarhus sold a 19-yo winger to the French top-flight side Lille. He had never played a single first-team game or won any caps at youth NT level, but was sold for around $700k... I was asked in the Feilhaber/White thread how this was possible, but the fact of the matter is that it was a former danish International who used to play in France and now work as an agent/scout in France, Belgium and Denmark, who was asked by the French club if he knew of a good young talented danish left winger, so he asked AGF and the young player if they were interested in a trial, they said yes, and a few month later he was sold... The French had never seen this player before, except for this one trial that came about more or less by chance... So of course it matters that ther are many Danish scouts and agents working all over Europe, mainly former Danish internationals who know the business, the language and the clubs in the countries they work in.

If you ask the Americans playing in Denmark they will tell you that the games and training sessions are much more intense, in compare with MLS... as for a comparison, then OB Odense (that usually finish 4th in Denmark) have been on pre-season tour to the US the past two seasons, beating DC United both years... Though it was an Odense team without their Danish senior and U21 NT players, because they were on NT tour/camp of their own... Some Odense players were asked about the general quality of DC United and they said that it actually was a very good team, but that they would still expect to beat a team like this 9 out of 10 times, not because of a general lack of quality or skills, but because DC United tactically were far from the level of the teams they (Odense) are used to play against...
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Re: Michael Parkhurst to Denmark?

Parkhurst's presumable transfer value is said to be 500K euros. What is his salary at new club?

 

Re: Michael Parkhurst to Denmark?

$250k a year, though I strongly suspect it is $250k NET after taxes, since most of the Danish Superliga Clubs now chose to pay their foreign players income taxes, because of the difficult income tax system in Denmark...... The clubs dont want the players to worry about taxes....
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Re: Michael Parkhurst to Denmark?

If only my boss was so thoughtful.

 

Re: Michael Parkhurst to Denmark?

Did they tell you this before or after they mentioned that after being thoroughly dominated by DC's first team for 45 minutes and escaping to halftime nil-nil, it took them until the 80th minute to score against 11 guys in DC uniforms, 10 of which were on trial with the club, and only 3 of which ever actually made the team. Did they also mention if not for the cross bar the match would have finished 1-1?

 

Re: Michael Parkhurst to Denmark?

As I said, non of Odenses Danish senior and youth internationals were in this team, and if I remember correctly, they only fielded 3 of their usual regular starters in that match, so DC may have had much possession the first 45 minutes, but according to the Odense players they were never really much of a threat in attack and tactically it went just as they expected... As I said, Odense have visited DC two years in a row and won both games without DC being able to score...... Then you can dream all you want about "dominating the field" and 1-1 results that never happened ... As I said the Odense players said that DC were a good team, but tactically far from the level of the teams they are used to play against...
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Re: Michael Parkhurst to Denmark?

and MLS clubs routinely beat English Premier clubs in friendlies. What are we to conclude from all of that? We have seen players like Califf, who was a pretty average MLS player, become a captain of a championship Danish side. So excuse me if I am not overly impressed.

 

Re: Michael Parkhurst to Denmark?

It converts to $333K, almost double of his pre-tax MLS salary, right? I don't believe Parkhurst had second thoughts before signing FCN contract

 

Re: Michael Parkhurst to Denmark?

I would imagine that a team fielding 10 players who are on trial at the club would look tactically a bit disjointed.

 

Re: Michael Parkhurst to Denmark?

C'mon on guys, lay off Ceres. I'd hate to see another poster with useful info(like Grover whathisname and Jonathan Spector's brother) quit posting over these kinds of disagreements.

MLS is a non-UEFA league so direct comparisons are highly speculative at best.

 

Re: Michael Parkhurst to Denmark?

I will say that I find it interesting from a monetary standpoint that Parkhurst signed with a Denmark team rather at least trialing with an EPL or Cola team.

Perhaps he wanted the sure thing of a guaranteed contract of decent length?

 

Re: Michael Parkhurst to Denmark?

Signing in Denmark gives him a chance to have a long training camp before the second half of the Danish season.

If he had signed in Colaship, he'd be thrown right into the fire.

Plus, as I had stated before, the Danish league is more ground-ball based and it probably suits him a little better.

 

Re: Michael Parkhurst to Denmark?

Yeah, I'm pretty confused at why he didn't give the UK more of a look, given his Irish passport.

 

Re: Michael Parkhurst to Denmark?

More likely he simply wasn't approached by an EPL or Championship team, had the offer from FCN on the table and didn't want to delay for a long time in hopes of something materializing while wasting time that he could be training with a team - and without a contract/income.

 

Re: Michael Parkhurst to Denmark?

Good sentiment. But if Ceres is going to push opinions like this, he will have to accept that people are going to disagree with him, perphaps strongly. It's his choice then how he will respond.

As to the "debate", the MLS-based USMNT beat its Danish counterparts, Dan Califf was a top player in MLS and the Danish League, Wade Barrett was mediocre in both, etc. While the best answer is that it is speculative to try and say which league is better, Ceres' position appears to be rested on nothing more than the fact that Denmark is in Europe and biased nationalism. Let it rest.