What is strange is that even if I agreed with you; Atlanta not only dropped Nagbe for Hyndman but pays Emerson more than Darlington ever made. So, Atlanta seems to disagree with us.
Nagbe wanted to go back to Ohio. I think he's being paid more than Hyndman this year, but Atlanta wanted to keep him -- he wanted to go home.
I dont think I am the only one that would take EH over Nagbe all day long. Hyndman's development isnt close to what it could have been but still a solid professional for an MLS guy. If the you guys dont break out, I would think Hyndman should be in the usmnt picture.
so we now have 2 players in the Polish first division, Saief and Lederman -- and amusingly not lichaj or the once-Polish U18 miazga.
what's funny is that photo is after a game where alvarado's team lost and he was stripped in possession for one of the goals.
this vastly over-states what it takes to merely be competent in EPL. Kei Kamara -- though he wasn't very productive -- looked fine there. Espinoza from SKC looked decent there for Wigan. these are not best XI players. these are merely above average players. mind you, their tenures were short, because EPL is chasing high quality imports. but the distinction between their Goal and the level that Actually Hacks The League seems to confuse people. most teams are chock full of the merely competent. the difference tends to be who has more star power around along side the hardhats. you can be EPL-competent, as good as the average journeyman EPL Englishperson, and be expendable because they want star imports and feel like they can cover their squad player needs locally. but plenty of squad players see EPL minutes and don't embarrass themselves. there is a distinction between the level of play -- and the way English teams want to compose a roster. we get caught in the middle. there is a reason we are now widely populating German leagues but less so England. to be blunt, if there were no permit rules the US could have dozens of hard-working, fairly skilled, hustling journeymen in England all over the pyramid tomorrow. demerit and others have basically made this case from the lucky standpoint of having the right passport. snobs seem to forget there are 18 people dressed and 30+ registered on each team, that while liverpool has players like salah, they also give first team numbers to kids and makeweight at the end of their roster. every team does, even the good ones. you go down to Norwich and they have Cuban wingers, plenty of people who would be beat out by MLS' best. you would think the people who tout europe and the CL would actually know how that world works, and i don't just mean the pretty part you see on TV and obsess about, but the nature of a full squad there, and why MLS/Americans might be brought in only for certain roles when many would be competent for most league and cup games. ******* play a game -- i am serious -- pull a roster like norwich and start asking yourself, would this team beat seattle? how do you think MLS players compare to each rosteree? part of the game that snobs play is to say that norwich doesn't even belong, except every year 3 new teams just like them come up to take their place, and most often aren't any better.
Again, it’s a meaningful difference between being a one-year player (ream, altidore, Wood, haji Wright, Kamara) on porpoising teams and those who have multi year careers at those levels (Yedlin, Morales, Brooks, cherundolo, Cameron). Jozy and wood were not major league players even though they actually did play a season there. That’s all it took to show that it wasn’t the right level for them.
Two points: - I think Ajax is certainly a major league team - I think dest will have many years at that club or better so yes, I think so but I guess it’s possible he disappears after this season.
oh, im not expecting dest to go anywhere but up- my point is altidore played in the same league for 2 1/2 or 3 seasons scoring 40 goals and the league cup (over "major league team" ajax as youre now putting it). so if dest is in, jozys in. though i know people love making it all about sunderland...
Ajax today and AZ when Jozy was there are totally different levels IMO even though they play in the same league. It’s like Celtic and every other club thats not rangers in Scotland. I could be misunderstanding you and you are saying that Jozy at AZ was equivalent to starting at Ajax at the same time. if you want to say that Jozy was a major league player because of two very good years at AZ, by all means go ahead. I was pretty surprised at how bad he was at Sunderland as I had pretty high hopes. I am now anticipating a slew of comments from @feyenoordsoccerfan - ugh.
Alitidore actually played a decent amount over three PL seasons despite not producing much so hard to say wasn’t a major leaguer in the past.
you and @rgli13 make very good points and I concede the argument to you both: Jozy was a major leaguer for a period.
Probably. He has started in the Champions League. Can't get much major league than that. Playing in a Top 4 league for a bottom club is not incredibly different from playing in the second tier for a top club. What is significant is that playing for a mid-table club is significant versus all the other players and is also a step below playing for perennial UCL entrants.
so, romain gall? major league? im not being ornery for no reason- it just that setting these parameters to justfiy your (not you specifically) opinions of players/their "level" doesnt prove anything.
When Jozy plays/has played for the USMNT, they are/were miles better than when he doesn't/hasn't. Playing for bad Hull City and Sunderland teams should not be held against him. The same can be said of Bradley when he went to Villa, that stint shouldn't be held against him. There are stories every year where a Club changes managers, and players suddenly fall out of favor simply because the new guy doesn't "rate" them. Sometimes players transfer to another club and it's just not a good fit. *Alexis Sanchez was a good player at Barca and Arsenal, yet didn't make it at Man United. Does that mean he's not a Major Leaguer suddenly? Coutinho tore it up while at Liverpool, yet couldn't reach those hights at Barca.... Was Landon Donovan a Major Leaguer? His loan spells at Everton would suggest he was, though his spells at Bayern and Leverkusen would suggest otherwise according to some. *Yes I realize these are extreme examples, and that US hasn't really ever had players on their level. Just using them to point out how trivial the whole :major" vs "minor" leagues criteria is.
I assume you're talking to me. I simply don't understand why it's so hard for posters to understand that there's a global soccer meritocracy and players on major league teams are by and large better than those in minor ones and that the gap is material. Using the EPL and Championship, do people really have a hard time understanding that EPL players are better than Championship ones? Are there dispositive examples where it's not the case? Sure, just as there are frequent examples of extremely cold days that don't disprove global warming.
all you're really trying to say here is players with stable homes are somehow better. malarkey. ream has actually been in one place years and porpoised. but you have him in one year wonderville "because sucks." Cameron actually has been moving all over the place, but presumably you like him c. 2014 but just haven't caught up to even your own argument's implications. so ge goes in the stable career pile even though these days he's same level as ream without the club stability. and no NT and moves around because well, now he sucks. if you block me and then spout this gibberish instead, that is amusing.
I think Bradley, Landon and (now) Jozy were major league players at their peak. Not UCL level players but major leaguers. Again, the point is to distinguish players who have multi year careers in the majors from guys who have spent their entire career in the minors (except for perhaps a porpoising year at a higher level). You can consider it "trivial" but its a direct response to those who think that strong performance in MLS is comparable to performance in better leagues. Would it really surprise anyone that Holmes and Morris meet the same wall that Wood faced? Not to me.
I don't block you @juvechelsea, I simply scroll quickly past your multi-thick paragraph soliloquies without really reading them.