Marcus Haber - Info Please?

[Leedsunited]

As my username indicates I'm a Leeds fan, and i'll be following the club on the pre-season tour to Ireland. Marcus has been named as a triallist and will travel with the squad to play several friendlies.

Could anyone give me some info on his abilities, strengths and weaknesses, prospects and as he's a striker, goal scoring ability? Would he be a good signing for Leeds and would his current club (Groningen I think) need a fee?

If anyone can answer any or all of those questions I'd be most grateful.

Cheers.

[hodgkiss]

marcus is a very tall and somewhat awkward player but does have some ball handling skill. i think he grew up playing a striker roll but for canada has played more as a defender because of his size. he was a part of our u-20 team last year and was pretty solid on the back line when he saw playing time.

he is athletic and has the height to be a good aerial man but i just haven't seen enough of him to make a great critique. i believe he was with the gronigen youth team for the last few years but was released just before the canada vs argentina u-20 friendly just a month or so ago in toronto. he did play well in this game. canada drew argentina 1-1

i hope this helps. and please share any news you may have over the next little while concerning his trial. all the best to him and leeds this coming year!


-hodgkiss

[Aroundtheworld]

Well you came to the right place - I share some blood with the guy. He left a week to go on trial with Leeds and there's also some interest from Watford. He spent the last two years playing for the "A Youth" FC Groningen team where he was the second leading scorer despite missing several months because of a back injury. He can play forward or defender.

[Leedsunited]

marcus is a very tall and somewhat awkward player but does have some ball handling skill. i think he grew up playing a striker roll but for canada has played more as a defender because of his size. he was a part of our u-20 team last year and was pretty solid on the back line when he saw playing time.

he is athletic and has the height to be a good aerial man but i just haven't seen enough of him to make a great critique. i believe he was with the gronigen youth team for the last few years but was released just before the canada vs argentina u-20 friendly just a month or so ago in toronto. he did play well in this game. canada drew argentina 1-1

i hope this helps. and please share any news you may have over the next little while concerning his trial. all the best to him and leeds this coming year!


-hodgkiss
Thanks for the replies, he sounds similar to the kind of player that we are looking for. I'll be travelling to Ireland to watch the games, so I'll keep an eye out for him. Interesting that he's one of only three strikers going with the squad, so perhaps this is a player we've been watching for some time.

[Leedsunited]

Well you came to the right place - I share some blood with the guy. He left a week to go on trial with Leeds and there's also some interest from Watford. He spent the last two years playing for the "A Youth" FC Groningen team where he was the second leading scorer despite missing several months because of a back injury. He can play forward or defender.
Just out of interest how tall is he? Does he play left or right footed? Is he able to make the step up to first team football? If he was successful in his trial would he want to join a League One club or would he make an exception for a team like Leeds etc?

Thanks for the replies, I'm looking forward to seeing him play.

[Aroundtheworld]

^I think he's 6 foot 3. Here's an article about him.

http://www.rivals.net/News/pgArticle.aspx?artid=13662_3818315&id=42 (http://www.rivals.net/News/pgArticle.aspx?artid=13662_3818315&id=42)

[Leedsunited]

Just a Galway v Leeds friendly, currently HT, and 1-0 to Leeds. Marcus is on the bench, and gave an interview to www.leedsunited.com (http://www.leedsunited.com) which can be found here:

http://www.leedsunited.com/page/NewsroomDetail/0,,10273~1344947,00.html

There is also a match tracker, he is expected to play 2nd half.

[Leedsunited]

My thoughts:

He'd fit in well with Leeds, he looked sharp when he came on (just after 60 minutes) and although he didn't get the chances, he looked strong and quick and has fairly good control on the ball. I'm not sure he's better than Jermaine Beckford, the striker who scored both goals for Leeds before he came on, but I'd be surprised if he isn't offered something here. He linked up well with the other players, generally wanted to get involved, but only one player played 90 minutes so there wasn't the cohesion. I really want to see him getting his chance in the next friendly, especially as we look set to sign Jay Bothroyd from Wolves. It's going to be tough for him to get into the side with plenty of strikers, but he looked good enough for League One anyway.

The game finished 2-0 to Leeds, I'm sure there will be highlights on youtube at some stage.

[hodgkiss]

i just read on his facebook that he "got clearance"... so i'm not sure if taht means he was offered something or it just means that he now has clearance to play in england. hopefully both.

congrats on the win!

[Leedsunited]

i just read on his facebook that he "got clearance"... so i'm not sure if taht means he was offered something or it just means that he now has clearance to play in england. hopefully both.

congrats on the win!

That gives me even more reason to believe that he'll be signed to a permanant deal. He has an interview posted on the official website, something I've never seen a triallist having, and also that unlike Josh Wagenaar hes' actually in Ireland in the first place.

Gary McAllister said that he's been given a trial because he's not been able to see him playing, so my thought is that he is going to be offered a contract here.

It will do him good, the facilities are Premier League standard, the academy is one of the best anywhere, consistently producing players, and he'll settle in well with good competition. After seeing him tonight there seems a lot of promise, so hopefully he continues to impress.

[JinJin]

I can't say I was too impressed with him in the U20 last year but to be fair the whole team excluding Kennedy was crap.

@Aroundtheworld, do you think he's a better defender or a better forward?

[hodgkiss]

he scored today for leeds in a 3-2 win over bray wanderers. lets see what our friend from over seas says about his game play and the goal...

a little snip from (leeds united fans online)

"United pulled level through trialist Marcus Haber on the 68th minute mark. David Prutton delivered an inch perfect cross towards the back post which found Haber who had no problems getting United on level terms from close range."

link here... http://fansonline.net/leedsunited/article.php?id=260

[Aroundtheworld]

I can't say I was too impressed with him in the U20 last year but to be fair the whole team excluding Kennedy was crap.

@Aroundtheworld, do you think he's a better defender or a better forward?

His better position is definitely forward. Last year at Groningen he went to playing forward full time. The problem is with the national team they need him on defense even though that's not this preferred position.

As for the U20 last year, I don't think any Canadian player played well. Frankly, Dale Mitchell is a terrible coach and it showed

[Leedsunited]

Sorry for the delay in posting, but these are my observations.

This was a game of two halves for all the players, with us being 2-0 down and coming back. Playing against a team in mid-season, he struggled initially. I think he struggled to come to terms with the atmosphere, possibly didn't expect to be watched by 2,000 Leeds fans, but Ireland is a key Leeds fanbase, and loads of us made the trip across from England to see the games.

Initially he struggled to keep the ball, and didn't look very good, just nerves I guess, after all its important for him to impress. He's got a big opportunity at Leeds I suppose.

In the second half he started showing what he really can do, athletic, good control, and he obviously benefits from having a good coach in Gary McAllister, because he is picking up some of his ideas already. He learned to just take a touch and look for the next pass, which helped him play a key role in the comeback. After Rui Marques had pulled a goal back, David Prutton crossed for Haber to tap in at the far post. He deserved it after his effort and should have scored again just a minute later, a similar chance but he couldn't make a connection thanks to some good defending. He was replaced after about 72 minutes by Nigeria International Enoch Showunmi.

Creditable performance overall, and a second half performance that seemed to indicate he deserves a contract.

Piccy:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3085/2686246338_4c41a1c914.jpg

[JinJin]

Guess Haber didn't do enough to earn a contract afterall..

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11719_3877833,00.html

[hodgkiss]

he's off to hartlepool now of league 1.