According to Goff tonight, DCU reached out to Daniel Sturridge, but either wages or fitness were the biggest roadblock (depending on who you ask). Also, Goff is skeptical of anything happening with Ozil, but DCU officials put it at a 25% chance they can sign him.
Sturridge is in no position to look down upon MLS money considering no European side is knocking on his door right now.
I'm a big fan of Daniel Sturridge. Whenever I hear or read his name I still think of that marvelous 2013-14 season. But injuries have really taken their toll on his skill set. He just hasn't been able to stay healthy. He's become what the Brits call brittle. He'll be 30 in September and I just don't ever see him regaining full form. I don't think a physical league like MLS is the place for him. I do hope he can find a place in a more technical league somewhere, but no, it wouldn't work at DCU. asitis
DC needs to shake the MLS 2.0 DP mentality of the well known older foreign star. That player may still have something in the tank but I doubt you get more than 18 months out of them. They can't all be David Villa. Portland, SJ, LAFC, Atlanta, etc. are going younger on their DPs and are able to get a few years and then can sell them on for a profit. We aren't going to be able to get anything for Rooney, etc. James
Also, I wonder if part of Kamara's work visa issues don't stem from the fact that he gave up his green card to go to China.
When compared to what the rest of the league is doing, yes 30 is old. However, 30 is not old in normal people years.
For professional soccer players that started playing at a high level it is old. It is 10+ years of wear and tear. For every Beckham, Rooney, or Villa there is a Lampard, Pirlo, or Gerrard. Atlanta has some coaching issues preventing them from putting Pity, Barco, and Martinez on the field at the same time but their plan to get young players and sell them on seems to be a better plan for the long term. James
And I still don't quite understand how we got nothing for Rooney. I know that it was well known that he wanted to leave, but with a year an half plus an option year on that contract, I would have thought we could have gotten a courtesy fee of some sort from Derby. I think we all know that in the year we've had Rooney, we got far more from him than anyone could have reasonably expected. I can't imagine we'd get that lucky with a guy with the injury history of Sturridge or the the lazy tag that Ozil carries around. I think Ozil has skill for miles, but if he doesn't work hard and can't/won't keep up with the athleticism of MLS, he's not going to be successful, especially following Rooney who has demonstrated a die for the shirt attitude.
Agreed. Pablo Hernandez is tearing up the Championship again and he's 32. He's played in 41 matches in a very physical league with a schedule as tight as MLS the last two years. This is probably his last decent year and I see loads of 30-32 yr olds play well in the Championship (who would do well in MLS).
First he gets stuck behind Zlatan, now his new team who he hasn't even practiced with yet is rumored to be pursuing Daniel Sturridge. He's probably thinking "In five years when I'm retired and ready to coach some second division club, I'm sure Alex Ferguson will decide the time is right to come out of retirement."
Lets not forget that England & Wales are about the size of Georgia. Spain and France are like the size of California and Texas. MLS teams regularly travel distances that are rarely traveled for UEFA competition. which they often describe is tough or challenging and they usually do it by charter, at least the big teams.
I've never listened to this podcast before (DC United Kingdom podcast), and it starts slow and predictable, but then Quincy Amerikwa starts talking and it gets more and more interesting. I haven't gotten past him talking about which MLS players he has learned from and how he embraces his interesting "journeyman" role - so if it sucks after that, I apologize But what he's saying is very engaging. https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/dc-united-uk-fans-podcast/id1454152550 - the one dated yesterday - and sorry to send an apple-related url, I hate them, but that's the only link I have and am currently enjoying using their bandwidth.
I almost feel bad that I was shocked. Other than the new-age 7-step craziness, he had it going on. And all athletes are deserving of one crazy thing that keeps them sane while working out every damn day forever and trying to navigate all those politics, etc., so I'm not too mad at it, I can roll my eyes just fine and wait for the conversation to move on