Looks like the lad's move from forward to center back for the U-17s has paid dividends for both team and player. Manchester United are said to want him. Here is the URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/10/sports/soccer/11SOCC-PLUS.html
memo, gaven and spector have produced some articles as well hell, there's been articles on a couple others in the u-17 system
My favorite part is when he says Man United declined to comment, not wanting to single a young player out. This exactly one day after receiving a quote on Jonathan from the club and inserting it into the story on our web site Of course, a quote in the Times might have been seen by just a few more people ;-) Anyway, good article and good recognition for a deserving player.
great article about spector. cannot wait to hear reports once he reports to man.u. later this year...
go the mls news and analysis forum in there you will see threads that are titled (m/d/y: title... example.... 3/17/03: Breaking the Bank) click on these threads and newspaper articles from around the country will pop up... the farther back in time you look, the more articles you will find myself or someone else put up the news in the morning every day... year round
Am I the only one who thinks this may be a bad move for Spector? I think he would be better off with a team in a smaller league. However, I'm also not privy to his mental make up. If he's the Donovan type, then hell yeah he should go to a smaller league first. If he's the JOB type, then he might just make it at ManUre.
he'll be fine. if you don't think you can handle it then you shouldn't even be at bradenton to begin with. these players are some <note the some> of the best we have to offer and i think he will be just fine. he has shown a great deal of promise as a centerback which is why man.u. wants to sign him and i don't think he would travel over there unless he felt okay with the move.
Anyone know if there is an issue with the "community" bigsoccer login for the NYT? I tried both bigsoccer and bigsoccer@bigsoccer.com (using password "bigsoccer"), and neither worked. However, when I tried to register under the name "bigsoccer", the NYT web site indicated that it was already taken. Has anyone gotten it to work?
Re: Re: New York Times article on Jonathan Spector it's not an email address login, but some jerk changed the bigsoccer password use bigsoccer2/bigsoccer (login/password)
No, You Have Company Make it two. This definitely could be a mistake. Just like some kids do better at small colleges than big colleges. Might also be the best place for him. Many pros/cons of signing for a big club vs. a smaller club. Depends on the player's talent, the club's situation & promotion philosophy, the player's mentality, etc. We sure as heck don't know if ManU is right from the outside. Probably Spector himself doesn't know. In a few years, he will.
and he hasn't shown it? just b/c he was in a bad situation in germany didn't do anything to his ability. he is an amazing player, he just longs to be near his family which is why he is still in mls today... i am not going to argue whether the kid is making the right decision or not...obviously he thinks it is best and i cannot fault him for his belief. will it work? who knows, but i am not one to doubt what he is doing.
He has shown it, but luckily he's an offensive player and MLS decided to invest money into him. Will Spector end up so lucky if he gets mired on the ManUre reserve team?
he is 16. he has lots of time to develop in to a professional 'epl' level defender... i'll worry about his decision 8 years from now.
I think it will be good for Spector. After a year in the Man U set up they'll loan him to Royal Antwerp and he'll get his chance a year later. He may not end up at Man U in the long run, but the fact that he went over will open some doors for him.
I think so, but their site is too slow for me to verify. I'm sure Buff will give us the skinny in the morning.
I'm not counting on him, just that he'll have an EU passport in something like three years if he sticks it out there.
Of course this "might" be a mistake. Hell, it "might" be a mistake for ManU if the kid isn't as good as advertised. Let's give him some time -- and keep in mind that while making it to the first team would be great, it's a pretty tall order for any player in that system and so that shouldn't be the only mark of success.
Exactly. He goes there, learns how to be a pro, and takes his game to West Ham where he lifts the FA Cup. Hey I can dream!
Wait a minute, I thought he already had that...otherwise, how could he go overseas before his 18th birthday???