To be even fairer, both those guys have gotten twice as much playing time as Jozy. You will be hard pressed to find another forward--or many midfielders--with a better assists/minute rate than Jozy this year. For a player on such an inept team, how can that be described as anything other than "phenomenal"? How many other Hull City players were any good at anything this year, let alone one of the best in the Premiership?
Are there any photos of Hutton from after the incident? Steve Bruce is being quoted as saying Hutton is lucky he's not in hospital and that he has a broken tooth, cut lip and busted nose. I find it hard to believe the little contact Jozy made could do all that.
I'm not saying that Hull is a good team, but I think their criticisms are being overstated. They've had spurts of quality, though none of it has been very pretty (pretty and quality are not the same thing). They play an ugly game, and when they play bad, their uglyness makes them look even worse. They are where they are, and they've both earned their place in the Prem this year and in the Championship next year. You can't say that they don't deserve to be in the Prem after earning their way up. You also can't say they deserve to stay in the Prem for the same reverse reason. And if they are promoted again next year, they deserve to be in the Prem again.
Only on BigSoccer does a striker scoring one goal all year get described as having a phenomenal year. I thought he added a lot to his game this year. I would label the loan to Hull as a success for Jozy. To label his season as phenomenal is ridiculous. He made a lot of progress in a lot of ways, but he's a striker and he scored one goal the entire year. That is never phenomenal at any level of the game.
Let's say all seven of those assists are goals that Jozy scored. It is still not a phenomenal performance. It is a much better year, but phenomenal? We need to exert a lot more discipline in our vocabulary if we are going to hold a discussion about players online. I need to bow out of this conversation right now. Sometimes, without the proper discipline, a discussion just turns south.
He said he had a phenomenal assists/minute ratio for a bad team. It doesn't mean he had "a phenomenal year." It's one stat, and it's per minute, and "for a bad team" isn't even a stat. Sometimes I think we can't say Jozy had a good haircut without the one goal being dragged into it. Let me just say that personally, I am just as happy with Jozy's time in England as I was with Donovan's. Donovan did better, but Jozy was 19, and I didn't realize Jozy was a man-beast even to the strongest PL players. He did well. Still has a ways to go, but I'm impressed.
Just so we are clear: 1. Jozy is in the top 20 in the league in assists, and top 5 among forwards, despite being on the field less than half of the time. 2. Jozy had 7 assists in 1458 minutes, so one about every 208 minutes. 3. That assist per minute rate is not merely "good". The only forwards in the entire Premiership I can think of with a better rate in significant playing time are Van Persie and Eduardo, who play for one of the best attacking teams in the world. It is better than Drogba and Anelka. If Jozy played "starter minutes" with that assist rate he'd be battling Fabregas and Lampard for the league lead. 4. This is a superb accomplishment on any team, and for a player on a bad team it is pretty amazing. People seem to have a hard time getting their heads around #3. Perhaps they think it's a fluke, but that doesn't make it less true.
Why do people keep saying headbutt? That was a two-handed shove. Nothing more, nothing less. There are red card-worthy offenses other than headbutts.
Notice the towel in the clip, I see no red blood on the towel whatsoever. He flopped, but Jozy deserved the red.
Jozy definitely deserved a red, I just don't like Bruce making it seem like it was more vicious than it was.
hey, com'on now...the dude threw the ball at this head, what you want him to do...cry? give the kid a break.
Far from a head butt, nonetheless, a stupid decision by Jozy to fall for Huttons bait. Luckily, he is still young and will learn from this experience.
No, I don't want him to cry. He should control his emotions. Right after he lashed out, he did "cry" as you put it, he hid his face in shame. I want him to not do exactly what Hutton wanted him to do. He can have a word without losing it. And no, it doesn't worry me that much. Players make mistakes. Jozy's always played with his heart. That's both the best and worst aspect of a player like him. I know people get tired of hearing this, but he's still learning and growing.
This. That was basically Hutton acting like a coward and diving with minimal contact. However, Jozy needs to handle his reaction better in the future. He gave into anger and it cost him and his team. And Steve Bruce is a god damn fool or a liar. Pick one.
And for the anecdotal evidence: remember Jozy running at Terry and drawing foul after foul from the veteran England defender? He has had some great performances during his time at Hull. Also, here's the obligatory tweet: http://www.twitlonger.com/show/110imr
This is also a great post and provides the needed balance here that this thread has missed in assessing Altidore's time at Hull. Someone said a few weeks back that Altidore's season reminds them of Bobby Zamora last year, and I really think that's spot on. The only difference I say is that Zamora had way better service last year to score goals and he didn't, in comparison to Altidore's lack of quality given to him from a poor midfield. He never was given a chance to blow even one clear cut, full chance opportunity this year.