Tracking the Pool: news & discussion about USMNT players’ club moves & contracts

I find it amusing (not really surprising, given recent history, but amusing nevertheless) how an "American CM" is becoming the hottest fashion accessory for an EPL club since the snood.

 

Remember Donovan's stint with Bayern Munich was also initially described as "off-season training" to the press right up until the club decided to give him a jersey.

From all the times I've seen and heard of this situation, it seems like there's usually some element of "trial" involved whenever a player is training with a team; just that there are degrees of initial interest. There's the "we're seriously interested in this player but he usually plays at a lower level and we'll have to see him first," and then there's the "well... we'll let him train with us and if we're really, really impressed, then maaayyyybbee."

I don't know where Bedoya falls on that spectrum, but it sounds closer to the first than the second. That said, I don't rate his chances of signing and then being played regularly by Birmingham all that highly. I don't think he's quite an EPL-level midfielder. Someone in the Championship might benefit from him, though.

 

40th to 60th? Really? That seems a little low. I mean, are there 60 real pro leagues in the world?

There is nothing inCentral America or Canada that compares to MLS. I gotta think Brazil and one or two other South American countries have better leagues. There is ONE better league in England. SPL is not as good. La Liga; of course. Serie A, yes. Germany, France...

I bet MLS is more like about #12.

 

I'd bet that if it were hypothetically possible (which it's not, and squad limitations on MLS club would make it a bit apples-to-oranges anyhow, but nevertheless), probably around half of MLS would find itself in the Championship's relegation zone at the end of the season, with the strongest sides around mid-table. I think the Championship is better than MLS, in other words, but League One is not, IMO. (Similarly, I'd bet most MLS clubs would be riding high on the League One table.)

I'm a little less familiar with lower-league play in the other nations with major leagues (Spain, Germany, Italy), but I'd bet a similar quality relationship exists between their 2nd and 3rd tiers and MLS, though MLS might compare a little more favorably to some of their second tiers.

Rangers and Celtic would completely clean up in MLS, that's true, but I agree with you that most of the rest of the SPL would struggle in MLS.

My experience watching Eastern European leagues leaves a similar impression; the biggest clubs are better than anything in MLS and on top of it several are virtual talent gold mines with highly advanced youth development set-ups, regularly turning out quality European top-flight players and replacing them just as often as they sell them, but the rest of the table is sub-MLS quality. (I'm not talking about Russia, Turkey, or Greece, all of which I believe are better than MLS.)

My guess (and that's about all we can do is guess) is that MLS is probably around 20th-25th.

 

Well Sweden isn't part of the EU and a week spent in England isn't going to help him.

His only option is playing A LOT in the Gold Cup or going to Spain and getting the fast track to Spanish citizenship which still takes 2 years.

 

Swing and a miss.

 

Yeah my bad but still it won't help him get a work permit in England, unless he wants to stay there for 5 years, get Swedish citizenship and then move to England.

 

George John's move is huge. I think Bocanegra really took a step backward. Adu's move will get him regular playing time, which is important for him. I think Eddie Johnson's confidence would have really been helped by a move to MLS, but it doesn't look like that's still in the works.

Which other guys, from the player pool, are we still expecting moves? Bradley has to find a team, and it looks like he's hoping for a team in Italy. I keep hearing that teams are interested in Ream.

What else is out there?

Oh yeah, I also think the Beasley move has & will continue to help him remain in the national team picture.