It would be very unusual. Ryan Shawcross and Robert Huth (former German International) are pretty entrenched as starters. http://www.stokecityfc.com/page/Appearances/0,,10310~201110310,00.html If by some great leap, Cameron raises his level, Huth could possibly be moved outside. Ryan Shotten is also a potential candidate in the middle. http://www.stokecityfc.com/page/ProfilesDetail/0,,10310~40820,00.html
dont they still have the great crippled one Jonathon Woodgate? thats what perplexes me about the whole stoke thing on paper they are absolutely stacked at the position. Would greatly prefer Everton or Schalke
Hmmmmmmmmmmm..........they have Huth, Shawcross, Matthew Upson, and a few other CBs on the roster at the moment. (I don't know who's coming and going) Who knows whether they're looking at him as a defender or midfielder.........
that's what i was thinking.... he'd have to be one hell of a CB to knock off Huth and Shawcross from the get go. Not to mention that Woodgate and Upson were once great CBs and are not dinosaurs yet.
Getting work permits is easier now than ever, not just for Americans. It really depends on the random panel of "experts" you get but I'd think that Cameron has a decent shot at it.
Shea is rumored to be back tomorrow, with FCD hopeful of a 20-30 min stint. He practiced without much pain and hopefully we'll see him start to get that form back if this turf toe is behind him. Game on Galavision, against another hot prospect in Agudelo who's looking better by the week.
Geoff is as much a CB as Brek Shea is. It was an experiment that sounded great on paper (and probably something that could've been great had he played there from day 1) but when you actually really watch him play the position its clear that his positioning and anticipation is subpar and he actually seems to be so uncomfortable back there that he looks to get forward at EVERY (read: wrong) opportunity leading to dispossession and a cascading disorganization. If scouts were at his last two games they would have seen that but they would have also seen someone who wins 90% of the aerial 50/50's , someone with good touch, someone who can make any type of pass accurately. ..Oh and someone who is 6'3 and agile ....A dream *cheap*.. DM prospect especially if you've got talent around and ESPECIALLY behind him to make sure he's organized. No one besides a desperate Kinnear and Klinnsman would risk the inevitable losses having him learn the basics of the position at his age.
the kids form has been off WAY before any onsett of turf toe. And his form was WAY off for a long time before the small window that it was on. My guess is that the serving of humble pie along with the novelty of all the toys hes probably recently splurged on will light a fire under his butt and we might actually see something that resembles consistency out of his game. I dont care if he's scoring wunder goals I just want him to be consistent. Ill take a consistent above average winger with flashes of brilliance (i.e Marvin Chavez) all day over "pre turf toe" Shea. I hope he puts it together though..he's young and gifted...with a little FOCUS he could be a legit star. FCD is gonna need him if they hope to salvage the season
I agree, but it would be interesting to see what JK would do if Stoke, or whoever buys him moves him to DMid, where I also think he could excel.
Yes his form was off before the turf toe, but I find it pretty one sided on your part not to mention why that might be, given FCD never rested him last year, MLS or CCL, he started most NT games during that span, three including travel to Europe, played into the playoffs, had about a two week break before a month of 1st team training at Arsenal which is considerably more challenging than training with FCD, came back and rested for two weeks before Camp Cupcake where JK ran 2-3 training session per day, with games at the end of Jan, plus U23 training and a few games, then straight to FCD pre-season training. Dude never took a break. Think the injury and suspension is the best thing which could have happened to him as it was a forced rest for over a month. Now, is all of that an excuse for him losing form? No. But the reality is players burn out, and if you haven't been through it before which he hadn't, you run into a wall and hopefully learn from it going forward. Landon has gone through similar situations but given his experience knows how to say no, as he did to an Everton loan after being burned out from the Everton-WC-MLS season.
I agree mostly but must correct you slightly as Shea WAS in fact rested by Schellas last year by sitting out and being subbed out of more than a couple games during the second half of the season. Was it enough? NO!! But Ive watched all but a handful of FCD's games since '09 and therefore my observation/opinion presented in that post was founded on more than 1.5 years of performances. Fun fact Shea's teammate John actually played more minutes through all competitions than him but when Johns form dropped from great to good* last year that was universally attributed to him (John) being a post transfer headcase no? *matter of fact a few here were saying he was actually in POOR form
Thats strange because Ive seen him score some nice goals at CM as long ago as..well last year. I will admit I haven't followed his career closely for too much longer THAN a year but im pretty sure he earned MLS best11 as a MIDFIELDER in '09 if Wikipedia is to be trusted. But wait Im supposed to believe hes automatically (read: magically) a better defender than John, Gonzalez, Marshall, Ihemelu, Borchers, etc etc as soon as Kinnear moves him to the back line? Based on what? that hes tall and skilled? Ok but wheres the "carfax"? Cameron doesn't have the work product that would support such claims but who needs that when all the pundits and message boards/comment sections on the net will tell you exactly why he's the best and that's his "rare" ABILITY TO PLAY OUT OF THE BACK Now (on any topic) when I see the same words or catch phrases repeatedly used by competing media personalities and parroted by the general public ad nauseam I get suspicious...especially when I've been watching things like this Mind you the above is ONLY examples of his errors in POSSESSION this year and its resulted in 2 goals and 4 clear chances. And yet yall don't recall nan but maybe one of those do you? Now tell me would some of those same plays go so unnoticed if they were made by someone wearing the #5 Redbulls kit?... #14 of Dallas... #4 of LA? Why is that?
Show a video or even describe a sequence that Cameron was ever tested in those games? (besides the PK and OG) Why is playing good and not playing terrible synonymous when it comes to our backline? Folks there is a difference and it will be exposed come 2014 if we get lulled into the false security that mediocrity brings.
Big swing and a miss. Geoff Cameron earned MLS best 11 in '09 as a centerback, making 25 starts there that year. That's the main reason that many of us has been hoping Kinnear would shift him back to the back line - because we've seen him excel there before.
well to answer your second question, we don't exactly high expectations when it comes to our defense (at least at this point i don't)... as long as you don't make a fool of yourself (*cough* onyewu *cough*) im happy, and when opponents were on the attacking side he always seem to be in good position and he seemed comfortable making passes out of the back. And it may not be his best position, im just basing it on the 4 international games he's played at CB recently, ive never watched him play at the MLS level. But the fact of the matter is, his value is best served (at least on the NT) on the defensive half. Our midfield is way too crowded at the moment, especially at CDM (where i think you are recommending he plays?). and you say false sense of security, our defense is old and slow. I am no way feeling secure about our defense, even with cameron back there. Now if chandler or lichaj could take over RB, i'd feel better, but our CB position would still an old group overall unless a guy like ream, gonzalez, john, etc steps up and takes a spot from goodson or onyewu. And also the fact that bocanegra likely will be our best CB come WC 2014 scares me a lot. Talk crap about Cameron's ability at CB all you want, but it's not like we are loaded with options.
oh and the reason im not showing a video is that im too lazy to find one tbh, if you want to burn some time, you could go to espn3 and watch the january friendlies, i know he gets a red card in one, but i think the first one you can see what he did. I'd be curious to know if he actually did well or really just hasn't been tested, i may be wrong about him; i mean i'm not dense as to my opinion of the guy.
Well thank you, I stand corrected. like I said I didn't follow him then and therefore should have done more research. But while on the topic of assumptions permit me one more... I'm guessing Geoff played better at CB in '09 than he is playing now no? So why is that?, and why is that ok? Is it because its understood that Kinnear may have hampered his development by playing musical chairs? OK I can buy that but lets start being real from here forward and start expecting him to SHOW AND PROVE on the field. especially domestically. With his past, his attributes, and with the recent instruction from team USA coaches there should be no excuse for him not dominating in MLS. NONE And I hope for our sake he does it and beyond that it would be just so very refreshing for once if the promise, projections, and hype regarding some of these players that yall have built up here ( I mean the ones you REALLY REALLY have built up) would actually mesh with what is happening on the field.
I've watched the games and thats why I posted that. Despite my blatant ignorance about Camerons '09 season I don't subscribe to sciolism. Look those are games that he wasn't tested, he wasn't put under any pressure. The time he was under pressure he was carded. Sure it was arguably a dubious call but why was he in that situation to begin with? Those were all games that you would have expected standout players to stand out. He wasn't terrible an any of those games but there wasn't a single positive thing he did that (at the time) maligned players like Fiscal, Ream, or even an unregarded player like Parke couldn't have done. My point is some of yall really need to start questioning whats being (t)(s)old to you. Because while the past is the past and it wont have a bearing on what Cameron might do today or for the rest of his season or his career (hopefully abroad) THERE IS NO NEED TO LIE ABOUT IT and more shameful then the liar is the person who parrots a lie "unknowingly" because none of this is rocket science and all of it is documented. You DO have a reasonable expectation TO KNOW about it if your gonna speak on it ( see me talking about Cameron playing Midfield in 09 above)
I think most people were quite impressed with Cameron last year during Houston's late season good form and run to the MLS cup final. Others have noted that Cameron hasn't been as solid this season, largely because he's been trying to do too much offensively and has been caught in possession or out of position. However, the tools are all there to be a great defender. What I want to see is him move abroad. In MLS he's putting too much on his shoulders offensively. Like Ream, he needs to test himself in a stronger league.
No idea. Lot of factors at work here. The new coach slotted him there right away after he'd spent most of the year on the bench. Meanwhile, Califf was traded and Williams broke his big toe and is out an estimated 6 weeks. So there is ample opportunity for Okugo right now. As someone who is getting downright gloomy about the national team's CB situation, I certainly hope he sticks at CB. We need more young quality options, while we have plenty of CM depth. (Of course ultimately Okugo should play his best position....I just hope that turns out to be CB!)