I'm not making any suggestions here or claiming to have any "inside sources" with the club, but Owen Hargreaves, or Whoregreaves if you prefer, was in Vancouver the past week. (seen at STEVE NASH Sports Club of all places) With his injury situation it seems unlikely he'll be playing for Man U again anytime soon if at all so he could be looking for a new team sometime in the near future...
If he is willing, he'd be a good signing. I know some Canadians resent him but do you really pass up a chance to sign a guy who at 31 played in two World Cups (including the QFs in 06), a Euro, won two Champions' League titles, 5 domestic titles, combined, in Germany and England and several domestic cups? And on top of that, he won't take up a foreign spot. If he's interested, this is a no-brainer.
as much as i hate to agree with you, it would be a very good signing-- IF he were injury free-- and if he is injury-free, then why would he want to come to the MLS with vancouver?? he probably would like to prove he can still play at the highest level-- i wouldn't read too much into his appearance in vancouver
if he signs I will throw anything I have in my hand every time he comes near the southend . and he really is done and would be a terrible singing plus the team is looking more to youth than washed up traitors.
He deserves a burning hot poker jammed up his ass. I for one don't want to see that washed up dickhead here.
In principle, you're right. But I don't really think he's healthy enough to pay him what he'd probably demand. You can be young at 31, but he isn't. And I wonder if the fallout Thomas Niendorf had with the club would give Hargreaves a negative view of the Whitecaps anyway.
I think he is a good player, regardless of his turning his back on Canada. However, he is injury prone and the Caps will be playing half+ of their games on turf. Turf + re-occuring injuries (back, knees, ankles, etc) = trainwreck of a player & wasted $$.
agree-- a waste of $$$ because of his history of injuries, not because he chose to play with england-- what quality player would want to play for canada if he had some roots in another soccer-enhanced environment???? canada will not qualify for a WC for 8-12 years minimum-- plain and simple-- we have a longgggggg way to go to respectability and a WC appearance i have a friend who chose england over canada for the same reason-- while i disagree with him-- he grew up here and played his soccer in the lower mainland--, i understand why he chose to try for england, even though he never quite made it
A quality player with some class and respect for his country of birth and where he grew up and learned the sport. You play nationally for you country. If you are talented enough you can play your club soccer in a country more suitable for your ego.
A quick history lesson on Hargreaves. I actually play football with a guy that made the team that Owen was cut from. The U-17 National Team. IIRC, At that point Thomas Niendorf had arranged for him to go abroad and hook up with FC bayern Munich, and the rest is history as they say. He actually is the only person in his family actually born in Canada. Dad and Brother Neil were born in Jolly Ol England and Mom and brother Darren were born in Wales... I don't hold him in the same level of disdain as many of my fellow Canadian Supporters, as I see how he could have turned elsewhere after being deemed not good enough by Dale Mitchell (IIRC? It could have been someone else) If you grow up in a UK family that immigrated to Canada because of Dad's pro career are you Canadian? I suppose you are by birth certificate, but really...lok at his family. 4 of the 5 hold UK passports and he qualifies for one by default... What would you do?! Especially after being shunned by Canada!? Jono DeGuzman is a different story, and still has the chance to cap for Canada... although I'm not sure I want the little wretch.
As much as this pains me; I must agree that you make a good point about his allegiance to the English and Welsh culture; especially after cut by Canada. I hope Jono DeG never gets picked by Holland to cap-tie him, and never plays for Canada. He turned his back on his country and I hope he suffers a career of never making international football.
My younger brother is the only one in my immediate family born in Canada, all the rest of us were born in England. That's 5 out of 6 that held British passports. He feels not one iota English. I was born in England but grew up here, I don't consider myself English. I don't feel a bit of sympathy for Owen Hargreaves inability to be/feel Canadian. So yeah, even with that history lesson nothing has changed in my mind. I still feel he's a prick.
I think Johnny Ranger got it right. Canada shafted him when he was young, so why would he come back when he made it big time. Hargreaves simply returned the favour.
I have to add to this. I'm with JohnnyRanger on this subject and don't have the same view of most Canada supporters about Hargreaves. Frankly I'm blown away at the amount of abuse I hear aimed at him, which I find really embarrassing. I fully support his past decisions. And here's why... Patriotism is a tricky word and is very subjective. After all there are no laws on patriotism. I'm a dual citizen and how I view my patriotism may be different than someone else with the same citizenships, but no one has the right to question where my loyalites are with both citizenships; I'm 100% a citizen of each country separately, not half of one. I love Britain and I love Canada equally. But a decision has to be made on a players part, does he choose the country he was born in or the country of his family? It's entirely his decision and no one has the right to question it. Hargreaves was already a British citizen at birth due to citizenship laws as well as Canadian. He was raised in a British family and his father used to play football in England. He went to Europe to play when he was young and he had to choose one of three countries he could play for. He chose one that that connects to his ethnic and cultural background. C'mon, surely there is nothing wrong with that. Sorry, most of those against Hargreaves are on the bandwagon, don't know the facts, or have sour grapes. This situation on Hargreaves is not even debatable. This is a different situation than those other players.
I agree fully with what JohnnyRanger and PG Tips have stated about his family...etc, but the fact that he had never even lived in England before playing for them is what I find a bit shocking. At least with De Guzman (not that I'm a fan of his decision either) he's lived in the Netherlands since he was 12 and being with Feyenoord had Dutch $ invested in him while developing as a player.
as for Owen with the Whitecaps, it's unlikely (again I only posted this because I have a friend at Steve Nash who's seen him in twice in the past week) but i think it would actually be an incredibly smart move if he could stay healthy. He's got quality, experience, and a name for himself.
I, too, find it embarrassing. There should be more abuse hurled at him than there is. The level of abuse that the turncoat -- who comes "home" to Calgary on vacations and is married to a Canadian girl -- gets from Canadians is embarrassingly low. I hope he signs for Vancouver. I need a real reason to hate that team, because right now I really can't work up any emotion for or against them.
I think there is a difference here. Carl would not have made the English National Team (no offence Carl, you were great) on a regular basis. So, I think playing for another country is very acceptable if you are not able to crack your own country's lineup. OH is different because he would have been a regular on his home country's team. And simply wanted to be a mercenary. However, in his defence.. he got to play in two world cups and a euro.... something he can always cherish that he never would have got playing for Canada.
Sorry I see sour grapes and a conformist mentality and that's what's embarrassing. There isn't a justifiable reason to have a negative say on Hargreaves' choice to play for England instead of Canada. He deservedly had a choice of 1 of 3 countries to play for. To have animosity over that decision is purely personal opinion, but so what? I like broccoli and you don't. Brad Pitt sucks as an actor, my girlfriend thinks the opposite. Alonso is my favourite F1 driver but many disagree with this opionion. These are hardly debatable subjects. Debate involves fact and without it, it's just your personal opinion unsubstantiated with any fact. So what. Owen Hargreaves is 100% a British citizen since birth and is lawfully, culturally, and ethnically warranted to play for England. Your personal reason to say otherwise actually is embarrassing. Sorry there is no other word to describe it. Does this anti-Hargreaves opinion work the other way around or is this just a one-sided argument? I'm guessing the latter. But keeping with that same opinion then, do you agree then that these Canada national team members should immediately stop playing for Canada and only play for the countries of their birth? - Haidar Al-Shaïbani, Eddy Sidra, Michael Klukowski, Pedro Pacheco. Almost the entire Canada Cricket team should quit too actually and go back to India and Pakistan. What about Team Canada hockey player Dany Heatley, he's German born and a dual citizen?