I think the opinion is based on the fact that he's American, he didn't play well in the summer friendlies, and he may have looked clumsy in practice, which I assume the Milan media watches sometimes. Gooch has a tendency to look clumsy because he's so big. Of course this is all speculation. If Milan keep Gooch he will get another chance to prove his quality next year.
Made a pretty damn good impression of a center forward late in the Milan v Club America game in Atlanta.
I've heard/read the same thing but I take any supporters thoughts with a grain of salt. He's played 1 game. One stinking game for ACM. If they can evaluate talent based on one game more power to them. They should apply for the soon to be vacant manager's job. Like I said previously he's played one game. There are bigger fish to fry in the Milan side and singling out Gooch or even mentioning his name (aside from his recovery) is just an easy and unfair target for the Italian press. It's like kicking a man when he's down. I have much respect for Milan. They were one of the first sides I followed as a kid. Maldini, Baresi, Albertini, Desailly, Donadoni, Costacurta, Bodan were the reasons. They were winning and in style but over the last few years the titles have dried up the critics have come out. Essentially nothing is off limits. So they pick on anyone they damn well please. It's kind of rubbed me the wrong way. I will always have a soft spot for Milan but lately the fans and media have annoyed me.
The problem I see with this is that successful clubs like Milan (or Chelsea, or Bayern, etc.) clearly have other ways of evaluating talent, skills, and where a player fits on a team. This is simply the "behind the scenes" stuff to which we aren't privy, and because we aren't privy to it we're more likely to see managers' decisions as arbitrary and, if we don't like them, as unfair.
It happens all the time in Italy. The fans are very quick to label a foreign signing as a flop if he doesn't make an immediate impact.
That would apply to Huntelaar who was given many chances though, not somebody who got injured after having only played 30 minutes with the team in official competitions.
I get what you're saying and wouldn't question a manager's decision. It's the characterization (no offence to Superpippo - he's just relaying information) that a player is a flop coming from, most likely, ill-informed forum posters and the media. The problem with those kinds of assessments at a club like Milan is that they expect superstar signings and immediate contributors and have forgotten (passively or actively) that players need time and health in order to make their way within the team. Yeah, AC is looking to sell off players and Gooch's name often gets dropped in the same breath b/c he hasn't made an impact on the field yet. We've not heard the club weigh in on that topic, just fans and media looking to sell papers/magazines/page hits. I kind of doubt that Gooch is in line to get sold. He's relatively cheap for them and unless he has an astounding WC which would be tied to overall team performance, they'll not recoup their investment in him. It makes more sense for them to get him up to speed and see what they really have. Having said that, big clubs like that sometimes do overreact to sentiment from the fans and press.
I thinky you may have a point and I hope that is the really the case, that Onyewu will be given the chance he deserves next year. I have always seen him as a great potential duo with Nesta, with the option to move T. Silva on the outside right or left where we seriously lack. I was hoping this would have happened in pre-season, especially playing along Nesta, but it never did. Whenever he was on, it was either T. Silva, Kaladze or Favalli playing with him and that didn't certainly help his confidence. Two things though I thought were maybe a mistake on his part: 1. Starting training late (although the club had given him permission due to Conf Cup). This implied that he was thrown on the field against Club America without any training (and for the rest of the US tour for that matter). If I were him, I would have given up the chance for extended vacations and met with everybody in Milanello on the first day of pre-season. This would have given him a chance to get his feet wet in one of the very first pre-season games which were played against 3rd/4th division Italian teams. 2. Once injured he spent too long in the US rahabbing becoming in some way a misterious object to the team and the press. He also really SHOULD have spent that time in Milan to learn Italian. That is a fundamental issue at this stage since the team communicates in Italian on the field.
Milan got him on a free transfer. They've hardly invested anything in him, so they could very well recoup their investment and turn a profit without even getting that much for him.
Can I just say that human beings aren't products that can be bought and sold. Does anyone else find it weird and slave-like when club X "sells" a player. Even weirder when a third party (like a corporation) "owns a player." Creepy.
Sto imparandolo invece Come tifoso degli Stati Uniti, voglio che Gooch abbia succeso, dovunque sia. Ma allo stesso tempo, saro' a Milano nell'autunno (alla Bocconi) e mi piacerebbe avere l'opportunita' di vederlo al San Siro una volta Quindi, spero che lui riceva una valutazione giusta nell'estate. Vedremo...il calcio puo' essere un'industria crudele.
I agree. Hopefully his performance in the world cup will show Leonardo and the rest of Milan that he has the potential to contribute.
I think you're overlooking one very important piece to these arrangements. The players willingly participate and are well paid.
Teams own contracts, which players sign voluntarily in a semi-free market system. Any transfer/loan and the new salary is likewise subject to approval by the player(s) involved. If you're concerned about "slavery" (and good football), you should campaign for all these leagues to eliminate trade barriers on non-EU players, which would allow players move from club to club without any restrictions.
My comment, in response to SeaOtter's comment that was not specific only to fans, was simply implying that I'm sure someone at the club has been able to form an educated opinion about Gooch. SeaOtter later specified his remarks, and I agree with them.
Bonera is still injured and won't play today. Favalli will start with T. Silva against Fiorentina with Kaladze on the bench. Sucks that Onyewu couldn't make the squad. Am I wrong or his recovery has been kind of slow? Gattuso last year tore his ACL in December and made it back for the last few games in late April.
They both had knee injuries, but they were very different knee injuries, so you can't judge them on the same timeline. Gooch's recovery is pretty much right on schedule according to the surgeon's prognosis.
Clarence Seedorf on Gooch: "We have become good friends. I think he has potential as a great defender for AC Milan in the long term, and I really wish for him to have a great World Cup where he can set the tone for his next season with us. He is on a mission. I told him he is on a mission. He can be one of the first American player to really make it at the highest level with a big team, a big club like AC Milan."
Milan won 1-0, almost sure to be playing in CL next year. Hopefully, that will mean Onyewu will get his chance in one of the last two games. Bradley confirmed he won't have to report to camp until after the last game against Juventus.