What is Pope doing nowadays? I recall him supposedly turned down European contracts so he could stay in this country to help inner city kids. Is that what he has been doing? What a noble goal if true!
Eh, found this: https://www.si.com/planet-futbol/2015/10/15/mls-players-union-eddie-pope-octagon-sports
Some more info: http://www.immerhertha.de/2017/04/25/hueftkranker-brooks-und-papa-langkamp/ Personnel problems are nothing new. It was only on this Tuesday that the next one came: John Brooks suffered a tear in the fiber of his hip muscles. How long Brooks will be out exactly, no one could say. Hertha has to do without the American at least in Bremen. Pal Dardai was naturally not amused: "There will be a ten-day break. I already asked our fitness trainer today about the remedial exercises. We did not practice a lot of shooting, nor many long balls. And, according to Hegeler, Brooks has a tear on both sides [of the hip] and Plattenhardt has again trouble with a small muscle. That's not ideal. We must keep things in check to avoid doing too much or too little."
So is this REALLY what happened in the qualies? I wasn't buying the "dehydration" bit. It looked like a leg/hip issue from the beginning.
No he appeared like he was struggling to stay upright. He was not struggling with a muscle issue there. I immediately was worried about his knee, but his demeanor looked like he was dealing with a more global issue rather than limping on a bad wheel. He was likely just pretty ill at that point.
Brooks had a rough one tonight. He was getting run around, jumped over and in between, and was lackadaisical on the ball; for which RB Leipzig punished him and Hertha ruthlessly. It wasn't quite the shambolic performance that we saw at Costa Rica, but it wasn't that far off. There may be a tendency here to go in the tank when things start to go south, before he can get them to go back north again. When he's good he's really good, but it's fair to classify him as inconsistent at this point. I think he was getting some flack for a stint earlier on in the season before a good run of form.
Well he is coming back from injury right? For that reason I don't think it's fair to file this performance in any folder. If Brooks is inconsistent then what is Gonzo? Incompetent? What is Mike Bradley? Grossly incompetent?
The evaluation of Brooks stands on its own. Don't need to hyper-protect him and throw others under the bus in the process. He has been up and down for club and country. Periods where he's the best player on the field and then the worst. Ale Moreno, not American, gives him flack for it. The announcers today, not American, were giving him the business. I think he got some criticism locally in Germany for a stretch earlier in the season. I think last year or the one before he was playing great then all of a sudden he was out of form and benched a while. It is what it is. Incidentally, Gonzo is actually very consistent, at least as it pertains to his club play. It's much lower highs, but higher lows. He does win a ton of trophies. Whether they were in easier competitions is immaterial to the matter of his inconsistency.
When JAB has a good day, he's truly excellent. When he has a bad day, he does stink up the joint. A fascinating player to follow. You could make money (or lose a lot) by betting on which JAB is going to show up.
Starts: For the final time this #Bundesliga season, here is your Hertha 1️⃣1️⃣Get the job done, boys! 💪 #hahohe #BSCB04 pic.twitter.com/fHmI0j2eAj— Hertha BSC (EN) (@HerthaBSC_EN) May 20, 2017
He's been terrible. Partially at fault for goal 1 as he was beat for pace. And then on goal 2 he coughed the ball up to Brandt who then ran by him, and put the ball across to a runner for an easy goal.
well Hertha went from Europa GS to Europa Qualifiers. but I think if Dortmund wins the Cup than Hertha go to the GS.
An early transfer rumor to start! BILD say that Wolfsburg are about to sign Hertha's 🇺🇸 defender John Anthony Brooks. Reported fee €17m. pic.twitter.com/JnwD8Ktr0Y— DW Sports (@dw_sports) May 30, 2017 Quickly gathering pace this story. Berlin papers report the 24-year-old will move. Would become the most expensive 🇺🇸 soccer player ever.— DW Sports (@dw_sports) May 30, 2017
Stay away from Wolfsburg, JAB! They are a mess from top to bottom. They may have a star-studded lineup but they have majorly underperformed the last couple years. I am not sold on Jonker as a amanger but who knows maybe he can turn it around at Wolfsburg. Hopefully there will be more options for JAB.
if he goes there then from the Bundesliga, Puli would be the only US player that would be playing in Europe going into the WC season.
Can anyone come up with some positives for a Wolfsburg move? I assume his wages would go up, but that's about all I've got.
Wolfsburg has a better recent history and is probably a "bigger" club in a general sense, although it's not like they're Bayern/Dortmund.
He would get a change of scenery, which could be useful if the relationship between him and the Hertha technical staff, front office, and fan base is beginning to sour.