Mathis says farewell..... ?

He said he wanted to go to Europe last year on the Jon Stewart show, we can't act surprised.

If he gets a deal with a shot at playing time for more money than he's making now, he's gone. So, thanks for the memories, we wish you the best, sorry it ended the way it did.

Just save your money for those Standard Liege away kits.

 

I wonder if he really believes this.

Of the 3 countries mentioned, he's not good enough to play first division ball anywhere other than Scotland (hard to envision Clint in a kilt).

He's just doing his negotiating schtick. Look for him to stay with MLS....but with another club.

 

Did Mathis knock up your sister or something? You seem to take every possible opportunity to trash the guy. While I think the injuries took enough from him to keep him from playing for the top clubs in England or Germany, it's foolish to think that he couldn't contribute to a low to mid table team. He's in a slump, and that slump was helped along by the fact that he is a central player, on a team with NO wide play. It affected the play of all our central players as the season went on (or did nobody else notice the decline of Guevara, Lisi, Williams and Clark?) The only central player who did well was Gaven, and that's because he has the ability to take the ball wide himself. With a new set of wing mids and a strike partner, Mathis would be a potent scoring threat again.

 

We cant let that happen. Sure go ahead and leave to play in Europe and make more money... but please not for another MLS team. You know what would happen, first time we play his new team he scores like 3 golas on us..

 

Let him go anywhere just get us an allocation or multiple draft picks. We've seen the best of Clint at this point.

 

Doubtless, but personally I think a change of scenery would be required to bring back or improve on the striker we all remember so fondly. I just don't see anything at the metrostars that would make his change his attitude and focus back to scoring/winning, not at yelling at refs and getting dumb cards. He's already making league max and is a "star" - all w/o his best game.

For the sake of our national team at least, let him go to Europe, where he will have to fight for a place every week. Just don't sell him to another MLS team cuz after a change of scenery, he would haunt us.

Thanks Clint - I wish you well

 

See, I don't think he's all that different, attitude-wise. Mathis has ALWAYS bitched at the refs. We just notice it more now because it hasn't been backed up by his production. Look at his most successful seasons, and you'll notice that he had wide players who could spread the field and give him space to operate. Having Mark Chung on the left will give him more space than having Digimarino on the left. Having Josh Wolff running up front (with the nats) gave him more space to work than having Mike Magee or John Wolyniec. Mathis has always needed a decent team behind him. He hasn't had that lately. Also, in regards to the stupid cards, they have been stupid, but in both directions. While cards for dissent are wholly Mathis' fault, that red card against NE in the Open Cup was ridiculous. That's not the only one either. Everybody has problems with MLS refs. At least Mathis hasn't attacked one yet (see Stoichkov). I think with the right personnel, Mathis can be a dominant player in a Metrostars kit. Bradley has already got him running alot more than he used to, something even Arena couldn't manage. Mathis finally has a coach who stands by him, and he seems to want to succeed for that coach. Let's see if he can do it. Mathis as a known quantity is a hell of a lot better than the crapshoot allocations/discoveries. I'd rather have him and one new striker than 2 possible Juskowiaks.

 

I hope Clint doesn't become the American version of Gazza...

 

Become and American version of Gazza? He already is. The man's already got a keggerator in his house and that's at 270k per year.

 

I think Clint suffers without good distribution from the midfield, which he hasn't recieved from the MetroStars or the US Nats at all, lately. More so, he seems to thrive on confidence from his teammates, coach and supporters, and I think that's been lacking, as well.

Specifically, having watched him at the Confeds and Gold Cup, it seemed his teammates were entirely unwilling to play him the ball.

I truly hope he succeeds in Europe. Regardless, he's still my favorite player and in the right environment and situation, he can suceed immensley.

Despite how many times its been re-hashed, his goal at Korea/Japan was world-class - an expert finish. There, O'Brien put the ball on his foot and he did what he does best. Now, he doesn't get that same distribution.

Best of luck, Clint.

 

If he decides to stay in MLS, I hope they team him up with Wolff. He not only needs distribution from midfield, but also from his forward partner.

 

Well, he does kinda have the Euro look here...

So he could fit in somewhere over there. Best of luck to him.

 

I like Clint, I really do, but check out the following:

Rodrigo Faria, 2002: 28 games, 12 goals, 5 assists, 29 points, 2285 minutes, ~ $ 50,000.

1.04 ppg

Clint Mathis, 2003: 22 games, 9 goals, 1 assist, 19 points, 2019 minutes, ~ $ 270,000.

0.86 ppg

Take Mathis' 0.86 out to 28 games, and he gets 24 points, 5 behind Faria.

Mathis is better than Faria, no doubt, but it is time for him to move on and give another team, another place a shot. He will finish his Metro career with the team 22-0-4 in games where he scores, nothing to sneeze at.

Admit it or not, we will miss him. I wish him the best. Please direct all allocations to Bob Bradley, Metro FC, One Harmon Plaza, Secaucus, NJ.

 

Mathis . . . good riddance. I agree he's great by MLS standards, but his attitude, cards, and work rate are cancerous to the Metrostars. I'd rather have a Noonan and Ralston than cry-babies like Mathis and Guevara.

 

but Gazza would drink him under the table.....

 

Hope he doesn't become the next Kirovski.

 

Hey, rock star, you can't post the entire article. Take a quote or two, and provide a link to the rest.

Also, this is just an a-hole quote to make:

A lot of them probably didn't know? How arrogant can you get. You think guys like Edgar, Magee, etc can't read? He is beyond delusional. Everyone on the team knew, he'd been talking about it on TV for over a year. Eddie Pope can't watch TV? The Howard transfer was a shock transfer; surely a lot of the guys that broke camp expected to finish the season with him. Mathis, with a contract up, was an easy call.

Whatever. He's gone. Best of luck.

Frankly, I could see him at a team like Blackburn looking for scoring to stay in the Prem, desperate for a spark and able to throw cheap money ($ 750k signing plus $ 500k a year) at him. Friedel puts in a nod, Souness looking to save his job...there you go. Really though, he was having problems getting shots off vs. DC, imagine getting by the likes of ManU, Chelsea and Liverpool.

 

My thoughts exactly when I read the article.

Speaking of Tim Howard, I admired his professionalism and the way he handled himself when word leaked out about the Man U move.

 

yawn, of course you did, your act is tired. Mathis could donate a bunch of money to a charity and you'd find a fault in it.

absolutely ridiculous ... now we're breaking down Mathis' quotes and there true meanings. Of course though, what else would be expected of this forum.

 

From a purely mercenery point of view the best time to close the deal for Clint was right before the world cup.

Performance and expectation were at the highest. Yes, there would have been a transfer fee, but MLS likes those dollars. Several teams were looking and opportunities were there to construct a deal.

Then his stock fell -

Sports Illustrated, NY Times Magazine articles - both painted him to be more interested in partying than soccer.

Bruce Arena bad mouthed him in the press, Despite his very real contribution to the nats, perception was that it could have been more and BA did not use him as much as expected.

MLS Metro seasons performed under par and expectation.

ACL recovery.... took a lot longer than perceived and there is the thought that he never got "it" back.

Timmy gets the big deal sign, exits respectfully, gets the start, earns the positition, plays well, fans and team like him. In effect becoming the highest profile American sign in the history of the sport.

Clint's thunder is gone. Yes, once a star always a threat, but his agent really missed the window of opportunity for the big bucks and perhaps if he went over then, his whole career would have been different.

From a purely mercenary point of view, there are always booking to be had on Hollywood Squares.

That's a real cynical take, but bet it's not far off the mark. Do wish him the best, saw him play some killer games, however strikers are judged by their last goal.

Will replace cynicism with optimism shortly, just getting over that first leg loss.... lag time.....

 

Re: Mathis sais farewell..... ?

Good luck to Clint! I hope he finds a spot on a team somewhere. Anywhere besides NJ.

He lacks the skill, sense, style, and testicular fortitude to play in Eurpoe. When you produce so little and complain so much it is unlikley a European team would invest in you.