The Pirates Penned Sands: James Sands to St. Pauli(olf NYCFC)

Big result for St Pauli. Didn't see it but Sands with a 7.4 from Whoscored

 

Sands starts! St Pauli visiting Leverkusen (Tillman is on the bench.)

 

21 starts for James Sands this season, mostly at DM. I reckon he should be in competition with Roldan, Morris, Berhalter for one of those last spots. Maybe even Cardoso as well.

https://www.transfermarkt.us/james-sands/leistungsdaten/spieler/393321

 

worth saying that those 21 starts are for a terrible team. Def not above MLS quality team, maybe worse.

 

Comparing across leagues is fraught with danger, but worth noting that their squad value on Transfermarkt would put them in the Top 3 in MLS. It's not an infallible source, but it is a data point.

And there's a lot to be said for facing much tougher competition week in and week out.

 

The numbers are just numbers and while figures don't lie, liars do figure but the Sands is facing teams whose 3rd-choice No. 9s would walk into most MLS starting lineups every other game, if not even more frequently.

There's simply no comparison to the MNT preparation which that gives Sands

 

on the bench, ESPN+ in a minute

 

Crucial 3 points today for St. Pauli, as they leapfrog Werder Bremen out of the auto-relegation spots with a 2-1 win against them.

Sands subbed on for the last 10 minutes.

St. Pauli are also now only in the relegation playoff spot based on goal differential, as they're tied on points with 15th place Wolfsburg.

 

Sands starts! St Pauli visiting Hoffenheim.

​

 

starts today vs. Eintracht Frankfurt

 

Sands off with an injury in the 81’. He got his leg rolled up on in a tackle (after earlier drawing a yellow on a hard foul). Can’t really speculate too much on the injury. He was down quite a while but limped off under his own power.

Still 0-0 against a pretty good Frankfurt team. I only watch about 15-20 minutes, but Sands had a good game from what I could tell. St Pauli ceded possession, but they absorbed well and have been dangerous on the counter, especially from the first half highlights.

From what little I’ve seen, I’m not sure why he hasn’t gotten more of a look on the national team given the fact that folks like Berhalter, Roldan, and Morris have gotten a lot of chances under Poch.

 

It's mostly bad timing and bad luck with a bit of style preference mixed in.

Pochettino's first two camps were October and November 2024, which were heavily Euro-based because of the MLS schedule. No MLS midfielders were called up for either. Sands missed January 2025 because he moved to St. Pauli, then got hurt in February and missed the March games and the Gold Cup. There have been three camps since then - Sands got called up for one, starting against Australia next to Roldan, who had 2 assists.

I don't really see him as in competition with Berhalter or Roldan because they fit very different roles. He's more in the conversation with the other defensive midfielders behind Adams in the pecking order (Tessman, Cardoso, Morris, even Maloney and Castaneda) and we have a lot of guys who can play there. Sands being 5th or so on the overall DM list seems fair to me, which means his opportunities are going to be limited, especially when he didn't get a chance to make an impression on the new manager, in-person, for over a year.

 

Poch doesn’t seem to really play with a dedicated DM. Typically he has two CMs that have similar roles. We have no direct Adams replacement, and his role with the US is not as much of a destroyer as he plays with Bournemouth.

Roldan and Berhalter and Morris certainly aren’t attacking midfielders in the mold of McKennie or Tillman. They would all be played alongside Adams.

 

match today on ESPN+ 3:30pm vs. Gladbach

 

Fotmob says he's out for the season

 

Yeah the Bundesliga website posted an article an hour ago: St. Pauli midfielder James Sands ruled out for rest of 2025/26 season | Bundesliga

Sands hurt his left ankle in the goalless draw with Eintracht Frankfurt on Matchday 25, with subsequent tests revealing that the injury required surgery.

 

As stated. Dude cannot catch a break.

 

That stinks for Sands and St Pauli. He was having a solid.season.

 

It's a massive blow for St. Pauli. The club is in a relegation battle and Sands was important to the overall defense and not letting teams control the middle of the field.

The might not stay up without him.

I can't see St. Pauli exercising its purchase option on the loan for Sands if they go down.

 

Not looking good for St Pauli.