If that first statement was correct, Southampton wouldn't have finished mid-table in the Championship last season.
My attempts to throw the numbers on this one came up with MLS = Norway = Bottom Half of CCC + Top Half of League One. My opinion is that there is some overlap between the English leagues. IE, the best three CCC teams are as good as the worst three Prem teams and so forth. My more controversial opinion is that newly promoted Prem teams can often do themselves more harm than good in the transfer market.
Unless a Norweigen of X talent has the same likelihood of playing for a lower level CCC team as for a Norweigen team, the numbers don't end up meaning much. MLS players are full of Americans, and the CCC couldn't hire them for the wages MLS pays them if they wanted to.
Apparently a desperation signing by a squad without avaliable transfer funds in order to fill in for a player on international duty (Diop at African Nations) is a success. The only reason Coleman signed Elliot is because he was cheap, he would accept a squad role, and Coleman had spotted him on the trip over for the allstar game. I'm as confused as you, but I'm more convinced then ever that this board will fight to the death to defend all USMNT members and their potential moves abroad.
The claim that Simon Elliot is a "success" in the Premiership is being used to back USMNT member Mastroeni for greatness in the same league throughout this thread, which I'm sure you have reviewed at length. Reading is fundamental.
I haven't seen anyone say that Mastroeni would be "great" in the Premiership. What I HAVE seen is people say that Mastro could be successful in the EPL. That has been countered by you saying that destroyers can't succeed in a 4-4-2 in the EPL. You still haven't explained that one. Simon Elliot was certainly successful given the expectations for him. He is was an average to slightly above average MLS player. Hardly a national team caliber player.
Elliot was long underated by MLS fans.. His stats show more.. He was always up there in assists and one of the best at free kicks which is exactly one of the things that they like at Fulham... He wasn't "flashy" here and those players are often overlooked by a lot of MLS fans..
Has anyone else been following some of the younger americans over seas? people like kenny cooper for man u...the kids nasty
He started more often than not for a team that finished (what?) 12th in the Premiership. Being fair-I guess it depends what you consider success.
Checked the stats and he started either 12 or 14 games (two sites differed) for Fulham, after arriving mid-year, no appearances as a sub, though. Obviously, they liked him a bit.
I think that had Elliot been American, he would have certainly been in the pool. Also, wasn't Elliot given the Arm Band after moving? If coming from MLS to the Premiership and wearing the Arm Band on a team that doesn't get relegated isn't successful, I'm not sure what is... Maybe success is measured in posts on Big Soccer...
Though I dont know anything about Norway, the CCC/League One comparison is fair IMO. Which isnt bad, the CCC is a good league, better than many country's top divisions. I wish our countrymen would let go of the silly notion that we have to be among the best to be worthwhile. We're just not as yet. Let go. Breathe. Read the Tao of Pooh. We're not there yet. There is most definately overlap between the leagues...Watford, for example, is not significantly better than, say, Leeds, though the two are in different divisions. I dont think this is controversial at all, this is true of any club anywhere. BUT...sorry for the tangent. My opinion still stands...Pablo Mastroeni is simply not good enough for the Premiership, if he really wants to go overseas he'd do better at a Championship side, where the brutally long season and competition for spots alone would make him a better player.
Weighing in ... 1. Was Simon Elliott under-rated? Absolutely ... in particular, his long passing was a significant asset to some strong Galaxy teams. 2. Was it surprising to see him land in the Premiership? Absolutely, but only due to circumstances ... even if he caught a coach's attention, team management might well view a 31-year-old with a lean resume as a bad buy. (IIRC, that's what Kerry Zavagnin ran into at Sunderland.) 3. Is there anything mystical about players on top-tier teams? Goodness, no. We could run down countless examples. 4. Could Pablo Mastroeni be useful in the Premiership? I think so. In addition to his strong defensive work, he controls the ball well, and plays it quickly and accurately. Not sure if people have soured on him after WC06, but on the whole his international performances have been strong.
Watford are in a higher division, but only for a few weeks now. If they strengthen, there'll be clear daylight in quality between the two. People (on BS) often talk of lower premiership/upper CCC as if they are of similar quality. They aren't. Lower premiership clubs often look poorer than they are due to either playing ugly football to scrap for results, or because their confidence is shot to pieces after losing a lot. The CCC isn't that good, to be frank. Solid but unspectacular.
Hence the need (not mere desire, but need) to add quality to survive. Which is why I'm getting nervous about Reading right now. In London this week, stopped by WillHill's and there's almost nothing to be made on betting on a quick return to the CCC (not that I was, just checking ).
Reading fans enjoy worrying I think. Just last year many Reading fans were worrying that they may be in for a tough year because the team was going to rely on a lot of young players and the squad wasn't going to be deep enough.