BBC Gossip Column - EJ to Man Utd

The next thing you know PSV will invite him there.

 

Hmmm...let's see. Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Wayne Rooney, Alan Smith, Paul Scholes, David Bellion, Ole Gunnar Solksjaer. Am I missing anyone? Let them track someone else. Greedy buggers.

 

Yes I am. Louis Saha.

 

Yeah, but they are short on players that wouldn't be able to get a work permit for another year and a half...

 

Haha...nice one. I heard they were interested in Gaven as well. Since when have we become a feeder nation for ManU? Spector, Kenny Cooper, Timmy, Rossi?, and now they are trying to get their dirty little fingers on GrownAss and Gaven. Keep away you red bastards!

 

The story is that PSV heard that Manchester United is inviting GAM to train two weeks (a trial if you refer) after Panama game. So PSV sent a scout to check at the Jamaica game. So apparently, the scout loves what he/she saw, so the asked for two weeks trial after Man. U. But I guess MLS's tag price may scare them away.

Remember the story of Kenny Cooper? He was ready to go to Benfica for trial, then Man. U. asked him to go before that, and did sign him right away. But of course, the transfer price is involved.

I suspect that MLS would put at least $5M on EJ's neck.

 

PSV could afford 5 million easy. I have a feeling he may be in Holland a lot longer than 2 weeks.

 

If anyone of the current young stars in MLS is likely to be sold while still under contract this winter it has to be EJ. His value right now is sky high, and his potential, rather than his accomplishments, play a major role in that. I bet there is a good chance that MLS will sell now while EJ is basically worth as much as he ever possibly could be or will be while still being in MLS. $5 million is not unreasonable.

The question is...who is willing to pay that? No matter how you look at it, buying EJ for that price is a significant risk. He is not nearly as experienced as Beasley or Donovan, and the best team he has ever played against is probably Jamaica's MNT. This all adds up to the problem of risk assessment for the PSV's of the world who have the money, but it isn't such a trivial choice for them to take a player like EJ.

For EJ, it is in his best interest to go to Europe now, most likely, as with his stock as high as it is he will certainly get a fair shake at playing time, and he will get at least a chance to prove his worth no matter where he goes. In the MLS, he would remain playing for sub-par Dallas and his stock really can't get any higher than it is regardless of how well he does next year.

I certainly agree with those who say MLS shouldn't let all of its best talent go to Europe, but in this case, though I'd love to watch EJ play every Saturday next year, I think it is best for him and ultimately the USMNT if he is sold to PSV or a similar club (or Man U followed by a loan to a club where he will get serious playing time in the EPL, La Liga, Bundesliga, or Seria A). I don't think that MLS will get low-balled on EJ, because what is his value really? It is so tough to say that perhaps MLS will sell him now and make out like bandits. This all makes any transfer rumours involving EJ to the likes of Man U very welcome.

 

Has EJ trained w/ United or PSV yet? If not, when is he supposed to train w/ with them. I was under the impression that he was already training w/ them.

 

Then we really should all kill ourselves. First we evacuate the marquee players, now we're evacuating the up-and-coming prospects that replaced (in part) the marquee players. It's a dream come true.

 

I disagree. How would EJ develop more for the Manu reserves than playing in MLS week in and week out. Coz that's where he'll end up if he goes to Manu. Even if he gets loaned out, there is no way he will ever crack into their first team with RVN, Rooney, Saha and Smith. It would be a terrible career move. I agree about selling him to PSV, though. A club like Manu will only view him as a luxury or a squad player and nothing more. So for that reason, Manu stay the féck away.

 

EJ will waste his talents (development years) in MLS. The best of his game is the intelligent runs he made. With his physical, skill, pace, and speed, he is a nightmare player for any defenders. The problem is that when he made the kind of runs, he never get the pass he needs. So he would stop the run. But in US team, Donovan, McBride, Mastro, Reyna, etc. all can make that passes. It would not be a problem if he plays for PSV.

Of course, the problem in US NAT is that EJ himself cannot make the kind of pass when Donovan made a good run.

 

Actually, you agree. I said "I think it is best for him and ultimately the USMNT if he is sold to PSV or a similar club (or Man U followed by a loan to a club where he will get serious playing time in the EPL, La Liga, Bundesliga, or Seria A)."

A sell to ManU followed by a loan from ManU to another team which will play him is basically the same as selling to PSV where he probably will play or has a good chance to. Certainly, as you said, ManU is not the best ultimate destination for EJ because he won't see first team action, or the chance of that is extremely, extremely small and would require multiple injuries.

I think selling EJ such that he winds up at a good club (like PSV) and as a starter with significant minutes is better than having him stay in MLS, both for EJ and for MLS itself.

 

Only because the league sold off all of the former league players against which he would best develop. This is not the first export in MLS history. The precedence of a feeder league was set up a long time ago. Luckily for the regulars of the YA board, this will not change for quite some time.

 

I agree with you both.

 

Of course there is a balance that the league must always be trying to figure out...when to sell and when to keep their stars and up and comers.

Obviously, if MLS just went and refused to sell their better prospects altogether, or unless a ridiclously great offer was made, then these prospects would wait out their contracts and jump across the pond for free and MLS would lose millions (which has happened in some cases). No player will remain in the MLS making a maximum of $100,000 to 300,000/year when they could go to Europe and make double that at least (Howard, Bocanegra, Donovan, Beasley, Lewis, McBride etc.). Salary is important to these players because they only have so many years to make the bread money. MLS has to be smart about who it sells and when it does it...and I think EJ is a borderline situation where it is really a tough call on whether holding on to him is best or not.

Until MLS stabilizes itself to the point where they are willing to raise the salary cap significantly (which means pretty much all the teams need to have their own stadiums and be profitable) MLS will have to be willing to cough up some of its best prospects in order to be as successful as it possibly can. If they wait until EJ's contract is up, and he goes to Europe then, perhaps MLS loses $5,000,000.00 which could pay the salaries for 1/4 of the current MLS teams. So it is certainly a grey area, but you do have a point that MLS can't go overboard with selling players (though, at least with Donovan, they have shown a significant reluctance toward giving away their starlets).

 

I dont know if there is a right or wrong answer but do you think Jonathan Spector would be as devolped as he is now if he went to MLS insted of ManU? Being 20 years old i would like to see him to stay in MLS getting first team games or going to a europeon team where he is getting first team action and we know ManUtd is not that place right now.


Lets not forget the orgin of this story is an English tabloid

 

Much to the chagrin of this board's regulars. But my problem is not with the league (though I have fundamental disagreements, and I'm also happy you acknowledge the dangers of "going overboard"). For the last two years the attitude of YA proponents has been "LD needs to get the hell out of MLS now." Then it happened, and the conventional wisdom now is "Donovan should quit whining, MLS doesn't deserve him."

What does that say to me? Well, it says that around here, it's not the best players people want sent to Europe, it's every player. Whatever happens and whatever the benefits are for Johnson or the US team, if this league sells EJ within the next two years, this league will suffer.

 

I think they are different situations. Spector wasn't anything special until he went to Manu. Johnson is already special and ready for first team action in a top European league. Also, Johnson is 20 and Spector is 18. If Spector hasn't cracked the United first time by the time he is 20, then I think he would be best off somewhere else. I just can't see how playing for the Manu reserves and occasionally getting a carling cup game would be an improvement over starting in the MLS. Simek, Whitbread, Karbassiyoon, Cooper and to some extent Spector are having their careers stalled by being at a big club. Teams like Manu, Arsenal and Liverpool are under intense pressure to win every week and giving their youth players a run of games is just not a reasonable solution.