Well, the crew that Klinsmann has worked with for the past year at camps, friendlies, qualifiers, etc. are going to continue in the hex. Has Jurgen Klinsmann ever worked with Stuart Alistair Holden? When was his last cap? Pre-Gold Cup 2011, right? It's hard to tell Jurgen to call in a player he's never worked with for a critical World Cup qualifier. For the Gold Cup? Sure..........................that's the time to bring him into the fold with an extensive run of games with the group.
How's this prediction: Klinsi calls Holden and some 27 others in for the US camp prior to the June 7 and 11 qualifiers. After running the team with 2-a-days for a couple of weeks, Holden and 3 other players pull out with minor injuries. /ducks/
Klinsmann's is on record as a big admirer of Holden. He asked Holden to come into some camps even when injured to get to know the new staff. He's also on record as not wanting to rush Holden back, but if Holden starts Bolton's last 10 games in the Championship (as I am predicting he will), no one will view that as "rushing him in." You better beleive Klinsy is licking his chops at the prospect of having Holden at his disposal.
I will be amazed if Holden returns to even 80% of what he was. This sounds like a lot of day dreaming. Sorry if that offends anyone. Not only do I imagine there will be a lingering physical downfall from his injury, but more importantly the psychological aspects of having two major injuries when fighting for a ball. Will he be as gung ho as he once was? Not to mention the lack of play time will leave him less sharp, is it just going to miraculously return? I just dont see it happening, I'm sorry to say.
Here's a prediction: JK will play Stu at RM. -------------Edu------------ Holden---Jones--Jr---Shea That's what a USA five man mid will look like.
Meh.. your probably right. I would much rather have in the middle Holden and Bradley. He can play ok on the outside but his best position is centrally. Unfortunately I think that would only happen if Dono gets back
When determining if a player will be able to return to the effectiveness he once had, you have to take a look at what made him effective in the first place. So, let's compare Stu with, say, Charlie. Attributes that made Charlie effective: Pace, balance, strength, hold up play, power/physicality Attributes that made Stu effective: Workrate, passing ability, tackling/ball-winning ability, FK/dead-ball skills Now, when a player like Charlie has a major injury, generally the attributes he used to gain an advantage over opponents diminish, and usually don't return. When a guy with Stu's attributes goes through the type of injuries he goes through, his game has a much better chance of getting back on par with what it once was, because it doesn't particularly rely on physical attributes aside from being fit in a cardiovascular sense and toned muscularly, as far as the physical aspects go. These are really important factors to consider when trying to figure out the likelihood of someone returning to form from injury. Stu's game simply wasn't built on things he would have lost through injury. He'll get his touch, tackling, and fitness back. It could take a short amount of time, but people who have major doubts are in for a surprise imo.
I agree with all of this. Further, Charlie had numerous injuries and they were far more severe than Stu's. For Stu, it's a matter of time to recover to 100%. Charlie probably will never be 100%, sadly, due to the nature and severity of his injuries. Now, I do think there's a separate issue of whether Holden's style of never shying away from even the most wicked tackles (which is pretty key to his style of play) will find him back on the training table with a new injury sooner rather than later. To me, that's the bigger risk.
if Holden is even 75% of what he once was he is starting for the USMNT...he was THAT good...and his style of play like another poster noted above ^^ has a much better chance in succeeding after injury.
Official BWFC @OfficialBWFC Freedman: "To have the likes of Mark Davies, David Wheater and Stuart Holden all back in the squad for Saturday is great." #BWFC
Man you guys need to stop....we never even got to see Holden lay for the USMNT during his Bolton form.
players recover 100% from ACL injuries all the time. So that won't be a problem. But like you said, there is the psychological factor. That's the only worry.
Doesn't matter. There's plenty of foreign players we haven't seen play for the Nats who we'd take in a heart beat also. Pre-injury form Holden is a no-brainer.
He didn't have an ACL injury from what I remember. A rare miniscule fracture then followed by a meniscus tear.
There's also quite a big difference between a car crash where a man is really lucky to even be alive and a knee injury. Davies ruptured his bladder, broke his tibia and femur, multiple facial fractures and had bleeding of the brain. These are catastrophic injuries that don't really compare to Holden's.
This requires a realistic approach, a touch of common sense, and just a flutter of brains to realize that people don't just bounce back. Having been and known professional athletes myself, any of them with serious injuries that kept them out of "the game" for an extended period of time (more than typical, generally requiring surgery) have never return to full. We should be on a wait and see. To assume anything at this point is folly. I'll be ecstatic if he returns to form, but I'm not getting my hopes up as I see it extremely unlikely. More power to him if he proves me wrong, "yay" for me as I get to see our Nats improve. I win this discussion either way!
He showed very well for Bolton, but he has 17 caps, total for the senior side. 7 of those came in the quasi Gold Cup in 2009. 1 of them was a 4 minute cameo against England in the World Cup. Another lasted like 30 minutes before de Jong broke him. I also see two 10 minute cameos at the end of games, and an 18 minute one. That leaves 5 other games where he saw significant action. I understand why people were excited for him to get a consistent run out, but the fact of the matter is Stuart Holden is very much unproven at the international level, and that was prior to his injuries. Is it likely that he would have been able to replicate his form with the NT? Probably, but it was and is far from a lock. There are plenty of examples of guys who were unable to translate that form to the international game. I hope that he is able to come back 100%, and then take his club form and replicate it in whole at the NT level, I really do. But it isn't a lock and people shouldn't count on him either coming back 100%, or coming back 100% and then taking his club form and being similarly great for country.
It's never happened that an American player who's excelled in the PL couldn't hack it for our Nats. McBride, Friedel, Howard, Dempsey, Donovan. Jones. Holden was as close to a lock as it gets until his injury.
Hey, please do not misunderstand my post. Holden was/is a really good player. I want him to be the guy we all think he is and was and can be again. That said, I hate to be all wet blanket, but he's an unknown until he proves otherwise; between injury and inexperience the jury really is out as far as how much of an impact he can have on the NT at this point forward toward 2014.