Ji scored that marvelous winner against Man City, but overall didn't look ready. Graham had done very little at Swansea the first half of 2012-13, and continued that form at Sunderland. Wickham was really young. Looked pretty good when he finally got opportunities last year, but O'Neill is rarely one to play the kids. Adam Johnson had fallen completely off the boil at Man City already. Campbell was hurt constantly. Are you going to be selective and overlook how Danny Rose blossomed in his loan spell last year? Bent didn't fall off when he was here, either. Just to deal with another line you've been throwing around ... there usually are one or two matches besides Newcastle that are near sellouts. And really, to average 40,000 consistently without massive success and a relatively small, impoverished catchment area is a great accomplishment that speaks to the passion of the support at Sunderland.
http://www.soccerbyives.net/2013/07/completes-transfer-sunderland.html https://twitter.com/GrantWahl/status/354655738884390913
£8.6m or so being reported for Altidore, but believe that is the top end amount after add-ons all triggered.
After listening to soo many analyst saying Jozy should have waited one more season, its beginging to wash on me. Sunderland fans see him as their savior now, similar to Hull, hopefully he can handle it...cuzz just a few games without goals and the fans could get impatient. good luck to him
The bad thing about a high transfer fee is the pressure to perform. The good news is that he'll have ample opportunities to perform since he's their marquee signing.
Is anyone subscribed to SAFC and can summarize his video interview? http://www.safc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/elements/html/SAFC/TV/Home/0,,10281~226~17903,3,00.html
I think he's better prepared, and it's a much better situation. And for as bad as Hull was, I felt he did learn some valuable skills during his time (his hold up play for the Nats in 2010 was much better). The Sunderland board I went to doesn't really see Jozy as their savior, but they did want him much more than the other strikers they were linked to. Of course, they're also ecstatic that PDC is taking a completely different approach in the transfer window than the team has been taking. True, but I do think a huge thing for Jozy is how quickly the deal got done so he'll be able to gel with the team. Of course, from what I've head about what Di Canio wants to do and the players he's bringing in, combined with a healthy Fletcher and an in form Adam Johnson (who looked light years better once Di Canio took over) I think the move will be a pleasant surprise for many here.
This is great, made a jump from a successful small club to a mid-level team. Is it safe to say he has not been expected to produce until this past season with AZ, and the USMNT?
It looks like a great deal of money, however it could be a great bargain for them. Consider that Steven Fletcher was brought in for quite a bit more. Around 14 million pounds. Asamoah Gyan was 13 million pounds. Connor Wickham was 12 million pounds. If he produces, 8.6 million pounds for Altidore could be a bargain. Consider that they bought Bent for 10, and sold him for 24 million pounds. [Great business that.]
No that's not safe to say. Between this post and the Timmay thread post you're not exactly off to a flying start at BS new blood.
so the interviewer called him Hozy, welcome to Sunderland......... "premier league is the best league in the world, excited to be here and adjust to it as quickly as possible" How do you feel about playing in front of 40K passionate fans? "its exciting, and thats the next step about be a player .................i hope they like what i do on the pitch" how was your experience in Hull City? "It was important for me, i had no experience in European football...good experience for me........learned alot about myself and i look back at it as one of the things that helped me shape my career" excited to meet the rest of the team and coaching staff in Italy, i'm gonna give all i can to the team and thank the club for the investment in me and hopefully give that back. yup thats $5 interview
Good point. I guess given the translation of pounds to dollars is what makes it seem inflated to us yanks...but not that BIG of a deal in england...really. Edit: Maybe they thought his name was like they called him in spain "Ho-simar" ?
Who was the most recent forward transfer from a league outside of the big 5 (GER, ENG,SPA, ITA, FRA) that netted at least 10 goals in his first full season in the premier league? I can only think of Suarez.
It certainly isn't too big of a deal in England overall, but that's quite a lot of money for a club like Sunderland. And of course in the pantheon of transfer fees for American-born players, it's a big deal indeed. Way back when we used to have a debate about this until Jozy put it to rest. Unless I'm mistaken.........the former Brazilian national teamer Josimar pronounced his name with a silent J. So maybe that's where the confusion can come from.
I can barely think of any strikers bought from outside those leagues, so the fact that there haven't been many success stories isn't very telling, IMO.
Ha, Villareal love spending $10 mil on a player not expected to produce. Although, don't they look blushed now after the last few years and deciding not to follow up with that buy.