I'd love to see him sign with Sunderland for some token wage if they win the playoff. It would be nice to end his time in English football where he started, and back in the Prem.
Crazy to think Gooch won’t be 30 until December. He’s been around soooooooo long that it’s easy to think he’s closer to 33-35. But he’s not. Gooch still has considerable time left. I’d love to see him come home and land in MLS. Surely someone could use a winger / wingback with 325 matches across the PL, Championship, and League One. Maybe one of the Californian clubs since he’s a Cali kid? Shit…. I’d take him at the Rapids in a heartbeat. edit: Just scrolling X and there seems to be a lot of pundits saying he’d be a great fit at Wrexham with his experience and the fact he previously played for Phil Parkinson at Sunderlnad.
I’d love to see him with the Earthquakes, which would be the most convenient to Santa Cruz (where I live as well). He seems to have really made Sunderland his home (wife, kids, etc.) and has now spent more of his life there than in Santa Cruz, but it wouldn’t be out of the question to take advantage of a couple years in San Jose to allow his young kids to really get to know the grandparents and his brother. Wrexham would be cool as well.
It would be surprising imo -- would be uprooting his family and moving across the world to a pretty expensive cost of living in comparison to the midlands. Quick google search puts San Jose about 6x the average home price compared to Sunderland. Schooling his kids would probably be another kick in the pants too.
After 4 head coaches in 2 seasons, he's better off out of Stoke. They're a club with some serious issues to address and while Robbins is a good coach, the club have become a bit trigger-happy in recent years.
i think hes one of those players thats underrated in the pool, generally a lot of the players in the championship like sargent, haji, ream, horvath, ream, etc played big roles on the usmnt and got a lot of playing time, whereas gooch has been left out in the cold
All of those players (except Horvath) have been regular starters during their Championship stints. That's been true for Gooch for one season.
With the partial exception of Horvath, who spent 2024-25 battling relegation, all of those guys have been playing for Championship promotion challengers. Gooch has been playing for a bottom-feeder. When he hasn't been playing in League One that is
hes played 6000 minutes in the championship.....clearly good enough for that league and level i think if there wasnt such a strong motive to get fringe guys like shaq moore, gressel, lovitz, lima, herrera, vines, lennon etc time....there's no reason gooch couldnt have had his shot as well this idea that "promotion challenging championship" is some higher tier that is worthy and the rest of the league isnt is baloney
He’s good enough to be a squad player at that level, absolutely. He’s had a nice, solid club career. The other players you listed are good enough to be impact players at that level. Only one set of those players is worth keeping in the national team picture.
well im not trying to set up a long debate - or argue that he should be on the team right now - i just think he couldve done something if he had been given more of a chance internationally....and leave it at that i think he is exactly the kind of yank abroad that falls through the cracks because he isnt playing domestically...and isnt playing for a glamour club abroad......i think he compares favorably to plenty of domestic players that got featured on the usmnt bit at this point we'll never know fwiw, he does have 4 usmnt caps and played well with the team when given a shot...including 30 mins in a 1-1 draw w portugal
He's just chillin' https://www.sunderlandecho.com/spor...-sunderland-star-stoke-city-departure-5174118 “I’m not too sure at the minute,” he told The Echo when asked what could lie in wait ahead of the new season. “Obviously I am out of contract and I am just weighing up my options and seeing what comes my way. I just want to enjoy spending time with the family, with the kids, and then hopefully something can get sorted in the next few weeks or whenever it is. I’m just trying to be patient, weighing up as many things as I can and seeing what can suit me and my family before any decision is made.”