The Odyssey continues: Erik Palmer-Brown at Panathinaikos

I think at this point, since he's already played (sort of) in Portugal, the Eredivisie and the Jupiler, before stepping down to the Austrian Bund, he's running out of good options in Europe, unless he goes back to one of those or to the BL2. I mean, he's 23 and not exactly been a resounding success at anywhere before his current team, so he's probably getting to the make-or-break point in his career. I think (and I'm not normally one to recommend this) that he may need to come back to MLS to get his career going again. Maybe I'm wrong, but staying at a low-end Austrian team (yeah I know they used to be good, so what) is not going to showcase him or give him any experience advantages that playing in a better league would. As others have stated, outside of Salzburg, who have the chance to compete in the CL, the league goes downhill quickly, so he's not playing against the best level of comp in most of his games. If he doesn't get interest by the end of the season from a meaningfully better team in a better league, he should just come back to the States and see if he can show something here. At least MLS has much better consistency between the teams, and he would have opportunities to show his quality, assuming he has it. Maybe then he would be getting mentioned in the rumor mill like McKenzie or Long or other are.

All of this presumes that an MLS team would be interested.

Just my 2 cents.

 

Not a resounding success as a 21, 20, or 18 year old center back is hardly the death knell of a career. It’s clear he should be looking to move up, but I’m not worried that only being a part-time first team player in the Eredivisie while on loan at 20 means he’ll have trouble at that level or higher.

 

But can his performances so far this season produce a worthwhile next move for him? What plans does City have for him?

 

He turns 24 in April, so he's realistically got this season and next to prove that he has a European future beyond starter at a mid-level side in a tier 2 league. There are worse fates in life, but if he doesn't fancy keeping at it once the dream is gone I'm not sure why MLS should be all that interested in him.

He's never played in a league whose average level is better than BL2 (Belgium and Holland have 3-4 sides that could hang in BL1, but outside their Top 6 the level drops fast to BL2 and lower-mid-table BL2 at that). It's good that Wien wanted him back and all that, but it's noticeable that none of the better, EL-challenging, sides in Holland or Belgium wanted to take him. Meanwhile, MLS keeps improving. I'm sure he'd get a deal there, just not at the level of Kansas City

 

Philly just won the Supporters Shield while giving a combined 2,800 minutes to a guy who came from the 11th place finisher in Norway and an English guy who spent one year in professional academies (at age 12) before playing at West Virginia.

I get your broader point about MLS getting better, but centerbacks aren't where that development is happening.

 

True, but the Union were this season's surprise packages and this season was, shall we say, . . . unusual. Full credit to those two and to their coach, but I'd like to see them repeat that level next season before talking about their level.

I guess your point stems from my being pretty unclear on the gap between (what I can see as) his potential MLS future - Colorado, San Jose, etc. - and the level he was at - a playoff regular side - when he left. Maybe you're right that his record in Europe won't hold him back him if he decides to go back, but it's hard to see how it will advance him either. If July sees him joining the likes of Paderborn or Hannover and being a key player as they get promoted or Utrecht as they win the Cup, then he still has an upside to speculate about. Otherwise, not IMO. As for the MNT . . .

 

Lots of CBs develop into their mid-30s.

But yes, he should be looking to make some kind of move soon.

 

Supporter's Shield is not the top trophy in the league, so wouldn't be so useful to bolster your point.

 

How much better can he do? he keeps making team of the week...not every game but mutliple times this season...he's doing fine....modern generation has no attention span.

yeah it would be nice if a team was swooping but he's playing well and on track for a look from a bigger club.

 

He's made the TOW twice, in a 12-team league with the league having just 6 games in a typical week. And his team requires A LOT of defense.

Not knocking it. I think he's good. Just trying to put it in perspective

 

hes also on a bottom feeder in the league table...scrapping to get what they get.

making team of the week on a team like that with an overall negative goal differential for the season is a bit harder, imo....so should be considered as well

 

Right, but anytime a crappy club gets a result, it usually draws praise for its defense from critics (like when Austria Vienna draws LASK). That's the gut instinct. Sometimes it's also the result of an overall improved team performance.

But then there is the flip side that you can't ignore - how did he do in the bad games? Was he a rose among thorns or was he part of the problem? Austria Vienna as been bad more than they've been good.

Getting TOW is good but how much did he struggle when his team was getting whooped? For central defense, it's not about your best performances, it's about what your typical level is on a consistent basis.

 

And?
how has he been?

 

Gotta keep this kid's career in perspective. Dad not around, single mom who worked (or works) at Walmart.

He's earned more in the past couple years than she'll make in a lifetime. He's not making mega-star money, of course. But he's making a really good living and should be able to do it for another 10-12 years.

He's putting himself in position to change not just her life, but the life of Palmer-Browns for the next couple of generations.

It's nice to worry about level of league and chances with the USMNT and all that, but ultimately, this is a job and a career. EPB is out here playing every week, changing his fate and his family's fate.

With most of our players, they come from pretty comfortable existences. Even the first-generation immigrants might have working class parents. But they're almost all doing OK, at a minimum. Success for their kid on the field, while great, isn't necessarily make-or-break.

So, yeah, I want him to do move up to a bigger league. I'd like to see him get some looks with the national team. But, as long as he's using his skill to better his life and his family's life, I'm good with what he's doing. Sure, moving up would allow him to get more security for his family. But, the kid took that Man City cash and is now living up to his end of the deal. Good for him. He's an American success story as far as I'm concerned.

 

That's all well and good, and more power to him, but keep in mind that his City contract is up in 18 months - in most cases clubs will look to maximize the value by selling players when they hit 12 months. That means that he has half a season (with Covid and everything else) to show his quality so that he can get a decent contract. I would be surprised to see City extend him at this point, so a sale seems like the best outcome, and it is certainly possible that he will end up with a big drop in salary if things continue the way they are. I guarantee that the players for Austria Wien that are not on loan from a big league team are not getting paid very much, relatively speaking.

 

As to how he’s performed in losses...AW has given up 18 goals in 12 games, by far best outside the top 5 in the table. 3 of those 18 after a 69th minute red card on 12/5 and 3 on 12/20...those are the only times they’ve given up more than 2 in a loss (AW also with a 5-3 win). 12 goals scored in 12 games, so it doesn’t look like D is the issue.

 

Clubs look to sell when there are 12 months, at the very least, left on a contract. they really want to sell with 24 months to go, as that's when you get the biggest payoff (unless you can sell with 36 months left on a contract, but as most contracts are for 36 months these days, that's kind of tough to do. At 12 months, it's a bargain basement sale, because 12 months is really six months.
When EPB left SKC, he turned down a decent offer that was reported to be in the $350,000 (a nice increase from his $75,000 a year in 2017 (according to MLSPA), While a big bump, leaving made total sense, as the CFG offer was reportedly in the Besler range, about $700k at the time. But remember, SKC did not sell him, and they didn't sell him because he's a local kid and they have said they do want him back. This off season, a Besler sized chunk of the budget has opened up, because Besler has left in free agency. In 2022, another, larger, Fontas sized budget chunk opens in the defensive ranks (MLSPA says $1 million). SKC both owns his MLS rights and really likes him, so the idea of him returning to MLS is, at this point, about returning to SKC. SKC now has a need, and will have this need through this off season and next, at least ( a salary capped league means there are limits to what a club can do). He could do worse than returning to SKC, but I'm not sure he watns to. On here, there's a sense that he left with bad blood, but I've never seen confirmation of that. MLS is a difficult move for him if he doesn't want to return to SKC, because they'll want a decent chunk of cash for his rights. But I would be very surprised if his post CFG move is as lucrative as his current contract. Still, if it's Austria Wien v SKC, SKC will almost certainly pay more.

 

europe, etc

How things have changed. Ten years ago, an SKC salary would have been, at best, parity with Wien.

As for what his options are, $700k is a bit above the Championship average, which is a level he hasn't shown himself to be worth since joining City IMO. MLS is improving all the time and, crucially for the post-COVID world, very well-funded, and SKC are one of the better sides in that league. If he becomes another Jimmy Conrad for SKC, he'll probably reach a million a year before he retires and will have something to do (club ambassador, media work, coaching, etc.) afterwards. Being a local hero has its advantages. Unless he's one of those guys who's fixed his mind on the continental lifestyle, learning new languages, cutting his coaching teeth in Europe, etc. it beats being a 10--year journeyman for tier-two sides in Europe's second-tier leagues for League One wages

 

Absolutely. Ten years ago, (okay, 11) Conrad was lucky if he was making the league max, but there was no mechanism outside of the DP slot to get him above that number. Today the pay is a different world. It's different than in 2017, when EPB left SKC, In 2019, SKC had three defenders earning the sort of money that would tempt a a lot of defenders away from a second tier league, plus a Dmid at $900k. In 2020, I'm guessing that number was up to six, but the MLSPA hasn't put out the 2020 numbers, so our best source for player pay, anywhere, sadly might be vanishing. I'm making this guess because they added Winston Reid and probably picked up at least $600,000 of his reported $3m salary, and Puncec, who I would guess arrived at about $450,000, but cannot prove because, as noted, MLSPA went dark in 2020. They also had Martins for a full year, and all we know about his pay is that for half a year in 2019 he cost $250.000. OOh, I forgot, whatever they paid for Reid is also now available.
All of this means that EPB does have acceptable options stateside. At the very least, i hope that gets him more money with someone over here.

 

Wow! No love for EPB. He goes 90 in an away win, 0-1. Austria Wien goes down to 10 men in ‘51 too. Palmer-Brown starts basically every game, in a solid league. He needs to be in a camp this year.

 

I'm a big fan of EPB, but I'm not sure performing well on a mediocre to bad side in the Austrian Bund says play me, Greggggg. Every regular starter in MLS can make a similar argument, and plays in a league that's certainly better after we get beyond the top couple sides. MLS does not have a side as good as RBS, IMO, but they do have 20 teams better than everyone from second or third on down..

 

Hopefully these performances can get him a push to some club in Ligue 1 or Bundesliga or at least a promoted side to those divisions.

 

It's so weird to read people writing about Austria Wien that they're bottom feeders, when they're possibly the most successful team in that country. They're just going through a terrible patch, and I don't think EPB is one of their weaker spots.

 

It's what happens when we get our info from wikipedia