Why would he want to play in the UEFA Champions' League when he could play in the play-in games to the USOC?
How so? (To be clear: I'm asking, not challenging. I know nothing about Harewood other than what I read in the linked article.)
An aging foreign striker with questionable touch brought in without addressing the players who deliver service to the front line.
I wouldn't trust any online UK news sources. I only posted this since it looks liked we are starved for news right now.
That's true. Besides, other papers are saying he is being targeted by Galatasaray, which sounds ominous.
This guy was a beast two years ago--I have no idea what happened at Villa. If anyone can find an interview Carlos Bocanegra did in Four-Four-Two(?) mag two years ago, they asked him about the toughest player he had gone against in England--and remember he had played against Drogba, Henry, Rooney and Convey--and he said Marlon Harewood at West Ham. Boca went into detail about how great this guy is/was. edited: Found the article. This is Boca in summer 2007 (I think). It seems like the biggest adjustment for a back would be getting used to the abundance of offensive talent playing in England, but when I ask him to talk about the players in England he hopes not to face this season or had a hard time with last season, it's not the names you'd expect to hear. Names like Henry, Mutu and Shearer come up, but a certain one sticks out, one that Bocanegra will not soon forget. I have problems with this guy from West Ham, Marlon Harewood. He's this big dude, like 6'2 and 190 pounds; he's just a horse. He was thick, strong and fast. Usually, I can get a hand on players, get an arm on them, but he was running right through me and I was like, 'oh my god,? I can't handle this guy. He was probably my biggest nightmare on the field. He was just fast as hell. I couldn't grab him, so I had to foul him, then when I tried to foul him sometimes he just knocked me off and I was like? alright? this isn't working too well, he adds with a self-depreciating laugh.
He seems pretty good, but I dont think he'd be worht DP money. We need a central midfielder, and I rather give a chance to Allsopp and Christman so far.... [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd-lN7LmzxI"]YouTube- Marlon Harewood Forest, West Ham Tribute[/ame] Midfielder first, and if Chang wants... this guy as a second DP!
Harewood would be an upgrade to Allsopp. I agree about what everyone else is saying - we need a DP/Decent Player in the midfield. I doubt we would find our DP in Europe -- I am guessing we will pick someone up in Central/South America.
I would like to see DC go after some young guys from South America, than another forward. Although, I think he would be an upgrade if DC had someone to pass to him. Someone asked why he would leave Villa. Obviously he is not getting any playing time.
Harewood is a decent player. I'm familiar with him from his time at Forest many years ago. They didn't utilize him and he went on to more success with other teams. He would be an upgrade from Allsop, and a massive upgrade from Christman, Moreno (gasp), and even Pontius/Q on current form. But I agree with other comments that we need a stronger player in the middle of the field to set the rest of the players free to see what they can do. As long as Harewood did not prevent that necessary acquisition, I'd be interested to see how it works out.
To cut DK a tiny bit of slack, we don't know that he isn't attempting to address our weaknesses in midfield simultaneously. It would be negligent if he wasn't.
I agree with everyone else that forward shouldn't be a priority but Harewood wouldn't be bad. His problem at Villa was he was behind Carew, Agbondalohor and Heskey. He spent most if not all of last season at Newcastle and had 5 goals in 9 total appearances, only 3 of them were starts. He is a best of a player and is still pretty speedy. Of course without any service he would probably struggle here. If the team were playing well and were looking for one last piece for a strong run at the end of the season this wouldn't be a bad pick up, but in the shape we are in right now it would be a waste.
He's making like $3-4 million as a backup in the EPL. He's proved that if he wanted to be big fish in a small pond someone in the Championship will put that kind of cash down for him. And probably a promoted team (Newcastle, WBA, Blackpool) or one of the other bottom 16 teams in the EPL could use him. Is there any team in MLS ready to put up over $2 million a year for a back to the goal striker? Is the attraction of playing in the USA going to outweigh the fact you'll be playing for about half of what you could get at home and probably a third of what you could get as the big foreign star in Turkey? Harewood won't be putting butts in seats like Beckham and Blanco did. And I don't see his quality as being that of making a team a winner, as GBS, JPA and Keller have done to command that kind of money. DC already lost once (or twice) in the designated player game. I don't think Harewood for megabucks, MLS-style, is worth it. He's for sure an upgrade over talent here, but I just wouldn't be comfortable seeing the team paying him more than LEmelio got as DP. And I can't see him settling for under a million. What did Huckerby get in SJ? Would Harewood settle for that? Thx, Jay!
He can't create his own chances. He's just big and fast, horrible touch. He is like a raw version of Heskey, even though the guy is 30, he is still raw. If we are going to spend DP money, we need a forward who can create his own chances in addition to just finishing.
In scoring goals and poaching, yes. I agree with your assessment. But your comparing Apples to Oranges. With the form we are currently in, I think Pontious and Moreno would be better for United then Harewood. Harewood is more of a poacher, like Emilio, Christman, Pizzaro and etc... Touch isn't very good. Moreno and Pontious are not very good poachers, but they have a good touch on the ball. At this point, we just need a NEW COACH, not so much new players. ARENA just beat a strong BOCA JR's team with a very depleted LA GALAXY. COACH FIRST, players 2nd.
LOL! Typical English player. That's why ROnaldhino, KAKA and many other south Americans refuse to play there. Very hard league to play in for players that depend more on their talent then their physical attributes. If you don't have speed or physical aspect down in the EPL, good luck.