Lloyd Heilbrunn gets credit for the thread title, per discussion in the old thread. Let's hope Charlie gives us plenty of club success to talk about in this thread.
As most people expected, Davies does not start today. But it is only a 6-man bench, so hopefully he gets a shot.
Davies came in at the 78th minute, making his "triumphant" return to Ligue 1 soccer. Let's see what he can accomplish in the next few months.
He put himself in really good positions but his touch was off as soon as he entered. Hopefully he can settle down and provide a spark off the bench because Sochaux is really struggling.
Hopefully the more he plays and is comfortable with his body again, his touch will return. Even if he never makes it back where he was, I sincerely hope he is able to be a productive pro.
This excuse is getting old. He played a full year for DC United last year - he's as close to 100% fit as he's going to get. He either has the touch back or he doesn't. Still time to prove himself in France though.
Knee injuries can often take a full two years before a player reaches his former level of play. Davies' injuries were catastrophic to the point it's basically impressive he is even playing. My point being that one full season of play doesn't seem enough to claim "he's as close to 100% fit as he's going to get."
I agree, in fact, I would guess that he will continue to get more healthy for the next decade. I had a really bad back injury early on in my life and am still seeing improvements in certain muscles 5 years later. He may never recovery fully but it's impossible for someone with those types of injuries to be 100% 2 years later. Not to mention the fact that he probably wasn't able to dribble a ball for 6+ months after his injuries and he had to re-learn most of what was already muscle memory before he got hurt.
i concur as well. gooch only had a knee to deal with, and it took him 2 years to recover. cd9 has 10 times as much to overcome. he'll be recovering for years. he needs to be playing a ton of first team football in order keep recovering.
The difference is that Gooch did an admirable job against England on one leg, and he rebounded without "first team minutes." I think Davies, Sochaux, etc would agree: it is put up or shut up time. If you can't cut it you shouldn't be getting in the game. I didn't actually see the game...just responding the the excuse factory in here.
WEll Onyewu reportedly healed fine from his knee injury but then suffered a host of hip and back injuries that made it seem like he never recovered, when in fact he was just pulling a Whitbread.
Or what? They replace him with all those other strikers on their bench just waiting to lead them to glory? The team obviously thinks Davies is their best option at #3 striker. Whether that says more about Davies or Sochaux is up for debate, but put up or shut up doesn't really apply here.
I wouldn't say it's put up or shut up time. With significant injuries in most cases the tendency seems to be 1. Player comes out of the gate looking good 2.Conditioning becomes an issue as the season goes on 3.You see signs of full recovery the next season. Even with Gooch's injury (not including WC which was really his first action since being injured), he had a few good games to start his stint with Twente, got a couple other injuries and struggled with conditioning a bit, and has become one of Sporting's better players this season. I think too many people expect Charlie to go right back to what he was during the Summer of 2009.
He'll never get back to that. I don't think he'll do what Gooch did. Gooch didn't almost die. I think this Davies is the one we'll see for the rest of his career.
I don't think Davies will ever be the player he was. In reality this is just a desperate team taking desperate measures. He can still make a very good living playing soccer.
Physically I think Davies has at least came close to where he was pre-injury. However, what we're seeing is the consequence of being out of the sport for such an extended experience of time. Coupled with a lack of confidence, and no we're not seeing the Davies from 09. But to say that he can't return to that, when what's keeping him from making that return is a combination of mindset and touch, and not a PHYSICAL limitation is silly. Charlie very well could light up the league and even improve his game from where it was before the accident, or he could never get his touch and feel for the game back and stay exactly where he is. What will happen with him is anything but definite because what's holding him back is immeasurable.
In my opinion, most people don't prefaced everything they say by stating that the following will be their opinion. In my opinion, when people are referring to something in the future, that is something that no one can predict for sure, it obvious that anything they are saying must be an opinion. The second sentence of the post you are complaining about started with the words, "I think". In my opinion that is another way of saying "in my opinion." His last sentence also started with "I think". In my opinion, he did not state his opinions as facts.
davies does not seem to have his old high speed gear, and touch-at-high-speed that he used to have. that difference, right at the top edge of his game makes him a fairly ordinary player, and is hard to get back after his near death experience. many hours of first team football this year and next, will hopefully give us the answer.