one thing about Gooch: nobody over in the EPL will be saying he needs to play tougher and faster. If he goes there, the other players better make sure their shinguards are strapped on tight!
Very true. And they need someone with his attitude to balance Me-o Ferdinand. As a big bruiser, he is better suited to the Premiership than other leagues, so United may not be the only club interested. But I dearly hope to see him in red within a couple of years. And not for Liverpool.
Our players are probably more successful but maybe not b/c the transition is easier but b/c our system is better at producing center halfs rather than skillful, creative players.
That's sadly the case. We aren't at the point of developing skilled players on par with Europe and South America. The main thing we have to offer is tenacity and heart.
can't agree with this anymore.Donovan, Beez,McBride,Convey,Spector, Reyna,Cherundolo are all highly skilled players.
So true - Standard are in a terrific bargaining position now as long as Onyewu says he still wants to play for them. Imagine if he did well in the World Cup... it sort of reminds of of the buzz surrounding Tony Sanneh of the USA after 2002. The difference though is of course, Onyewu is much younger and some may say even better. It could be a career altering summer for Onyewu on the positive if he manages to stay healthy and have a fantastic World Cup against the likes of Totti, Nedved and Essien.
Take a look at players age 23 and under. Take a look at our youth teams. Oh, the times they are a changing.
don't get me wrong...gooch is one of my favorite nats, especially after that borgetti picutre...but how do we know he's good enough to play at manu? have other outstanding players from the juliper league gone on to start at arsenal, chelsea or manu? like who?
The flip side of this argument is that Gooch's value can also fall after the WC. I think most of us here are too eager to proclaim that Gooch will have a good WC.
Plenty of Belgians have had good careers in Europe. Gilles de Bilde scored a decent number of goals in the Premiership at Sheffield Wednesday and had been a big star at PSV. Luc Nilis also starred at PSV and played for Villa, but he broke his leg in one of his first games and had to retire. One of the Mpenza brothers plays at a big club in Germany -- Shalke or Hamburg. I'm sure others have many more examples.
He hasn't set foot in the EPL, LA Liga, Serie A, or Bundesliga yet, but most know and agree Vincent Kompany (20-21 years old) would be a welcomed and sought after addition to any Champions League sqaud, aside from Anderlecht, where he plys his trade. Many in the league rate Gooch near his class and I while, I don't know if he could slide right in, 30 seconds after arriving at a place like Man U, after 3-5 games, his job would be secure.
How do we know? We don't, but if I'm SAF I'm thinking this guy is "lean, mean, big and bad Lord!" let's put him out there and find out. Seriously guys with his size, strength, agility and skill don't fall off trees. He's got enough skill to hack it at ManU, he's not afraid of jack and he's learning, learning, learning every day. Just think how much he would learn training/playing with Rio? He could become a monster in the prem league. Worth the risk for ManU and oh so good for Gooch's development.
Just to summarize: There is no news of a Gooch move. There are no rumors of a Gooch move. Gooch has said he doesn't want a January move. Standard are in a title hunt and don't want to sell in January. hmmmm.... So if this is pre-silly season silliness, why ManU? Why not a team with a much greater need, like Real Madrid? It's obvious Bruce will be the manager there after the cup, so won't he bring Gooch _ and a couple others _ along?
He shuts down Koller in the WC, and looks solid in the entire WC, his price is going to go up 2x, 3x..
It would be great if he could go to Spain... ... but I want Marines in Madrid if they make any "monkie" allusion in the stands. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Standard's Forum Store (With Onyewu's Bobble)
Madrid is a trully great city. Among the very few more pleasant places would be Barca. True, there are some jerks in the stands, as there are everywhere. But what a place to live. OTOH is Manchester. No comment needed. Hey, if it's dreaming time, ACMilan needs to reload, and Juve could use another back. And the Bmunchers are always looking. Seriously though, when he's looking to move this summer, I think he'll take a good look around. Could he do well in the prem? Sure, but he'd also do well in Spain, in Italy, in Germany. IMO, he won't be heading to one of the very big clubs just yet. He's a very strong player but he looks to need a bit more polish. I he'll end up at a very good club, a Villereal, Deportivo, Schlake, Roma type place for the next couple years, and I think he'll do quite well there.
May I ask how we produce quality defenders without having them defend quality attackers? The truth is MLS has some very talented attacking players. The main thing that separates MLS teams from 90% of the teams in the top 3-5 leagues is a lack of team depth.
I have to disagree. The biggest differences are: 1. The single ownership structure, which ensures parity. No one team can ever really be that good. Very Harrison Bergeron. It means there's competition for the title every year, but there's never a great team. It works in american football, where the NFL is alone as a top league. But in a competitive market, it holds everyone back. 2. Money, which builds not only depth, but attracts stars. MLS doesn't have one player who would be considered an international star, at least not one who makes the world player of the year short-list. 3. A regular season that barely matters. Been watching some MLS games today and left them, again, impressed at the growth rate of the league, but convinced the gap is still pretty wide. There's just way too much crap without thought going on. 4. Then I'd agree on depth. The founders acknowledge, it's a slow business building a top league.
A$$HOLE! Just kidding. To counter: 1. My point was that MLS teams would be competitive with 90% of the clubs in the top 3-5 leagues if not for the lack of depth. By saying 90% I eliminated the elite teams of Europe that are able to outspend the rest of the football universe. Taking those team out of their leagues would result in parity. 2. While MLS teams may have a disadvantage when it comes to attracting world stars it is greatly advantaged by the fact that American players a virtually trapped in MLS because of labor laws. Because of this, MLS teams get to underpay for a lot of quality players. While this may not completely offset the advantage an average Euro club has over an average MLS club with respect to wages, it certainly mitigates its effect. 3. That is a problem but I'm not so sure it means much to this debate. PSV can win the majority of their league games by just showing up but the loss of regular competition seems to have little effect upon their ability to beat a team like Milan. 4. A genius answer.
His chances of joining Man U are, IMO, pretty firmly linked to the Glazers business plan. If funds are really as tight as they appear to be then this increases the likelihood that they take a punt on a player like Gooch who would likely prove successful but there is still a slice of risk due to his not playing regularly at the level of quality that Man U face. Also bear in mind that a player like De Jong at Ajax is out of contract in the summer and would come on a free and would cost Man U less than Gooch would and probably be as likely to succeed. If, however, the Glazers decide to splurge in the transfer market to maximise their chances of competing with Chelsea then I could see the money being invested in a more experienced player such as Andrade who has already stated on numerous occasions his "dream" of playing for the club.