just to show that all english press isnt rude and sarcastic, this pretty good article about howard appeared today: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,27-720289,00.html according to this the deal is definitely done, howard is an excellent keeper who has earned his transfer based on his mls performance (good sign for mls), and he plans to educate us english about tourettes.
Excellent. You'd expect nothing less from the Times. Here's hope Howard gets the chance to continue his work while proving himself in the EPL.
The Meola line was wrong, but overall good article. That line about ignorance in America - I'm sure it's true that there is a lot, but at least our media doesn't make those jokes (as far as I know).
Aside from our poor showing so far in the Confed Cup, Howard is still a bright light in a dim room. He has kept games close that could have easily gotten out of hand. I think he has cemented any plans to go to England with this performance. Good Luck!! Our loss is your gain.
A few things, I don't think it comes down to ignorance or not, but the fact that our media/culture is becoming(already is?) so PC, that you couldn't get away with making jokes about his condition. The fact that most people on bigsoccer didn't even know he really had TS is saying something, I don't even think we ever heard anything about it in the Rivalry section..
------------ "Howard will not be competing for a first-team place immediately, but his potential is such that he is far more than a mere promotional gimmick for the club’s forthcoming promotional tour of the US." ------------ I wonder if the writer is a BS regular.
Good on you, Times! It was informative and a bit educational. Cause I didn't know that Mozart had Tourette's Syndrome. Go Timmy! Knock 'em dead at Old Trafford.
Great article. However, somebody said the Meola line was wrong. I thought he did play in two World Cups (Italy in 1990 and the US in 1994). Anybody else want to weigh in on this?
Meola definitely was the US starter in 1990 and 1994. Maybe the comment about Howard's emergence forcing a Meola trade was where the inaccuracy was. I don't recall the circumstances of Meola's moving to Kansas City, but I don't believe Howard stepped in right away. Wasn't Mike Ammann the starter for awhile in between?
When I was in Lyon, I had a little chat with Sunil Gulati before the Brasil game and asked him about Howard's transfer -- whether or not it was a done deal. He said that all they were waiting for were the work permits. I asked if he thought there would be a snag there and he said that Howard's situation is unique with him being a goalkeeper behind two world-class goalkeepers that are also playing in the Premier League (Keller & Friedel). He also said that Manchester United had a very good relationship with the people that issue the work permits. That led me to believe that the work permit issue is all but a done deal...
Yes, he was, until he moved on to DC United, thus paving the way for Howard to take over the starting role on his own merits. Great find, indeed, on the Times-- and probably the most respected London paper, IMO. However, with Ammann having played for an English club in the past (can't remember which one off-hand, I think it was in Division One?), I'm surprised that the Times didn't make that connection as well. Oh, and Meola moved to Kansas City because it was part of a trade that sent Ammann to the MetroStars.
To follow up on that, from MLSnet.com's news archives... http://www.mlsnet.com/content/99/0128metrotrade.html And Ammann previously played for Charlton Athletic, prior to making the move back home to MLS.
---------------- "Sufferers have included Mozart, Dr Samuel Johnson and the former LA Dodgers outfielder, Jim Eisenreich." ---------------- Four things come to mind immediately, 1) Do the brits have any clue who Jim Eisenreich was??? 2) Geez that's a huge dropoff in name recognition 3) Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (Chris Jackson) is a more famous Tourette sufferer than Eisenreich and 4) who's Dr. Samuel Johnson? (yes, I am asking seriously)
My 12th grade English teacher would be pissed that I can't remember more details, but he's an 18th c. English writer. I think he was the close friend of the man who wrote the first English dictionary, or he himself wrote it.
He was a writer and diarist. I went to his museum in Lichfield a few years ago but don't remember seeing anything about his illness.
Not sure what you are referring to, but everything I've seen suggests that he is getting the WP through the Hungarian passport.
I swear that I was responding to a post (which seems to have disappeared) in which the poster described a conversation with an MLS official, who told the poster that ManU has good relationship with the work permit office and ManU will claim that Howard plays behind two good keepers who are playing in the EPL. Can some one tell me whether he/she saw that post too? I hope that I am not hallucinating!!!!
latest Howard rumor http://www.planetfootball.com/article.asp?id=152304&cpid=218&title=Howard+will+have+to+wait"/>