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MLS Defenders

TijuanaTim

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TijuanaTim

TijuanaTim

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I see that Parkhurst and Chad Marshall the two previous 'Defenders Of The Year' in the MLS have been picked up by Danish & German clubs.

 

This should be an option we look at, here's my rationale. These are fit, physical and good players that are plentiful at the moment as the season has just ended. They don't earn big bucks and they are not due back to their MLS clubs until March, which should give us adequate time to assess (cheaply) their potential for CCC or the English game, right.

 

Shaun Franklin, the outstanding 'rookie of the year' and local gem is paid barely 20 grand a year FFS. Surely he would jump at the chance??

 

To be fair (not trying to be offensive), I have watched Shaun 20 times and an our Lloyd James about 10 times and there is simply no comparison as Franklin seems far superior having blanked Blanco, Schellotto, Angel, Lopez etc this season. If he stays here he'll put Llundberg in his back pocket too.

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Thedelldays

Thedelldays

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John Harkes? Claudio Reyna? Brian McBride? Joe Max-Moore? Clint Dempsey?

 

At least a couple of them huh?

 

To be fair Johnny Harkes is superior to anyone that has pulled on a Saints shirt for a couple of years now.

 

so, what about a decent one then...;)

 

i remember all the fuss when were supposed to sign demarcus beasley...i know he played at rangers but not really heard much after that....

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TijuanaTim

TijuanaTim

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I know I'll take flack for this, but gotta lot of respect for US players. They are second class 'sporting citizens' over here after NBA/MLB/NFL so normally very admirable and humble men that play because they love the sport and are dedicated professionals.

 

There never seems much drama surrounding them, they are strong, fit and work extremely hard. All they need in a lot of cases is the opportunity to acclimatize to the rigours of the English game. England has almost invariably gone after half backs or forwards. I think Saints could look at a plethora of very decent full backs and center backs.

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Thedelldays

Thedelldays

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I know I'll take flack for this, but gotta lot of respect for US players. They are second class 'sporting citizens' over here after NBA/MLB/NFL so normally very admirable and humble men that play because they love the sport and are dedicated professionals.

 

There never seems much drama surrounding them, they are strong, fit and work extremely hard. All they need in a lot of cases is the opportunity to acclimatize to the rigours of the English game. England has almost invariably gone after half backs or forwards. I think Saints could look at a plethora of very decent full backs and center backs.

 

 

fair play mate...

 

just curious..how are the beckhams received in your neck of the woods...are they well known in the area..or do they blend in..are they on telly/billboards mych or are they no ones..

 

what about david himself..does he sell out the stadium or is he just another player..? has he actually been any good over there???

do the fans mob him or do they give him ****?

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TijuanaTim

TijuanaTim

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The City of Los Angeles loves Bex, he is a fantastic ambassador and a good player, not in Landon Donovan's class but still very good. He is superb with the fans and always spends tons of time with all the kids. He fills stadia all over the place. So far the Galaxy has sold well in excess of 500,000 replica shirts at 100 bucks a pop.

 

As far as Saints go, here is a short list of the players we should look at.

Bornstein and Kljestan - Chivas

Boswell and Ricardo Clark - Houston

Jimmy Conrad - Kansas

Kevin Goldthwaite - Red Bulls

and most of all Kyle Beckerman at Salt Lake and especially Shalrie Joseph at New England

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TijuanaTim

TijuanaTim

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If that Pele is still playing over there, he could get a game , even in our defence on one leg.

 

The Brazilian real Mcoy that is....even at 99 years.

 

Funny you mention Pele, I was just talking to 'our' friend about the last game he had .v. him and Giorgio Chinaglia. Chinaglia was actually the dangerman as he was in his prime. However, he got marked of the pitch as our mate had been converted later in life to a centre back by Jimmy Gabriel.

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CabbageFace

CabbageFace

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When they stop calling it "soccer" they may be taken seriously.

 

There has only been one decent outfield American player in McBride.

 

Freddy Adu was meant to be god on earth, but he is farily poor.

 

I would rather scout Africa or South America.

 

Why not round up 100 kids from the Brazilian Slums, 1 of them is bound to be amazing and the other 99 half decent.

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Andy_Porter

Andy_Porter

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I would rather scout Africa or South America.

 

Why not round up 100 kids from the Brazilian Slums, 1 of them is bound to be amazing and the other 99 half decent.

 

Problem would be getting work permits. Big clubs that do it like Sevilla, Arsenal and United can get them based on a player being an exceptional talent, we would have no chance.

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dubai_phil

dubai_phil

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What would be really useful would be to tie up some link between us and an MLS team and some in Latin America.

 

We could link up at Academy level, sharing ideas, loaning players around to get experience in different environments, and then when they are in that 18+ we could send some of ours overseas to develop and bring in some from over there.

 

We could send DMG across straight away.....

 

Oops sorry, think I recall seeing that linking up idea somewhere else a long time ago.

 

Anyone we could swap for DMG for a month or 75 Tim? A young version of Brian McBride could be quite useful in our current formation

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RoswellSaint

RoswellSaint

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I know I'll take flack for this, but gotta lot of respect for US players. They are second class 'sporting citizens' over here after NBA/MLB/NFL so normally very admirable and humble men that play because they love the sport and are dedicated professionals.

 

There never seems much drama surrounding them, they are strong, fit and work extremely hard. All they need in a lot of cases is the opportunity to acclimatize to the rigours of the English game. England has almost invariably gone after half backs or forwards. I think Saints could look at a plethora of very decent full backs and center backs.

 

The vast number of kids that play but give up, because there are limited opportunities to keep playing, suggests that there have to be many that have the talent but need the coaching and be given the opportunities to make the most of it.

 

It is a good investment by any club to establish contacts over here. As I have pointed out before, Ted MacDougall is Youth Dirctor with the Atlanta Silverbacks. What better than an old player to let Saints know about good prospects in Atlanta?

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TijuanaTim

TijuanaTim

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Does Tim live in America? I would never have guessed as he normally doesn't like to talk about it.

 

Where is it you live now Brad...Hants, nah Herts...hmmm? Not anywhere very nice and I know that f'sure. So...er, you wanna be here huh? Hence the obsession FAF. Where's your local now mushty. Mine's the Harp Inn Newport Beach anytime you want me to buy your a drink, or maybe I'll buy you one at Chrimble or in the New Year.

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TijuanaTim

TijuanaTim

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B Rabbit goes there to cuddle n stuff

 

Did Eddie Johnson stand out over there of interest? Cos he has bombed here for both Fulham and now Cardiff it seems

 

Eddie wasn't ready, he is a typical hot'n'cold forward, y'know like Fatty was krap when he came back...yet after leaving he is the first name on Bolton's team sheet for years. Plus, as I said, we shold go for backs, not strikers.

 

Oh not just Rabbit that likes an LA cuddle, also um-Nick-Essruu-Jezz-Gerry-Skooba-Warrens_Col-Kade-A_Kind_Of_Red...etc etc, a lot of the old (and new) Saints have come out and stayed with me...hey the weather is perfect, schitloads of things to do, babes everywhere....maybe you should try it one day

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TijuanaTim

TijuanaTim

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What would be really useful would be to tie up some link between us and an MLS team and some in Latin America.

 

We could link up at Academy level, sharing ideas, loaning players around to get experience in different environments, and then when they are in that 18+ we could send some of ours overseas to develop and bring in some from over there.

 

We could send DMG across straight away.....

 

Oops sorry, think I recall seeing that linking up idea somewhere else a long time ago.

 

Anyone we could swap for DMG for a month or 75 Tim? A young version of Brian McBride could be quite useful in our current formation

 

If we want an affordable striker to do the bizo, look no further than Edson Buddle (Edson named after Pele). Two good feet, tall -strong and decent in the air, very nice young fella. I would love us to link with the Galaxy, however, their profile is probably too high these days.

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TijuanaTim

TijuanaTim

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When they stop calling it "soccer" they may be taken seriously.

 

There has only been one decent outfield American player in McBride.

 

Freddy Adu was meant to be god on earth, but he is farily poor.

 

I would rather scout Africa or South America.

 

Why not round up 100 kids from the Brazilian Slums, 1 of them is bound to be amazing and the other 99 half decent.

 

Hey there CF, to be fair I think it's been gone over a thousand times but 'soccer' originally was very much an English term. Most of your 30's-40's and 50's players still to this day use that term. (Though I do understand you finding it annoying)

 

As far as the'African' idea, again a decent thought mate - we should be looking everywhere and not saying e.g. 'No Americans or Asian, only Africans and Brits'. I don't care if they come from Guam as as HCDAJFU.

 

However, it is a FACT that more children play 'soccer' in California alone than people who play in England. These kids are part of an exploding population of good players, that are taught and coached our way, on decent fields, have good educations and diet. They are strong, smart (in some cases), speak the same language and could fit in effortlessly in most cases....they don't come expensive either.

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TijuanaTim

TijuanaTim

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The vast number of kids that play but give up, because there are limited opportunities to keep playing, suggests that there have to be many that have the talent but need the coaching and be given the opportunities to make the most of it.

 

It is a good investment by any club to establish contacts over here. As I have pointed out before, Ted MacDougall is Youth Dirctor with the Atlanta Silverbacks. What better than an old player to let Saints know about good prospects in Atlanta?

 

 

My centre mid Melanie Schneider was a 4 year starter for the Silverbacks, before going to the Bundasliga and then joining the LA Saints. Here in Cali there is massive amount of leagues of every level, I see youngsters both American an Latino that could make the grade at some level I'm sure.

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Rut

Rut

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I watched quite a bit of MLS this season. Only on TV as my 2 closest teams (Chicago Fire & Columbus Crew (Champions!!)) are both around 200 miles away.

 

Anyway the thing I most noticed is how much more time they have on the ball before getting closed down. If a player has only played in the MLS it would be a big adjustment to play in the top English leagues. I'm not saying they couldn't adjust but I think it would be a bit of a shock for them to suddenly not have 'half an hour' on the ball before getting tackled.

 

Seeing some of the games I reckon AFC Totton (currently top of the Southern League) would have half a chance of beating them!

 

If Saints could tie-in their academy with a USA one under some sort of agreement like 'Saints will take one player a year' then that might have some milage. England is a mystical, wonderful place in a lot of American kid's eyes - to have the chance to live there whilst playing soccer (yeah, yeah) would be a great incentive to them.

 

Saints could give them a year to prove that they can make it. If they fall flat then back to the USA they would come. Nothing ventured - nothing gained....

 

You'd need a good legal team to sort out the paperwork though. Otherwise Saints find them, train them for a year & then they p***ss off to some 'better' English club.

 

Of course if this were to happen it would be important for Saints to come over here and play some games. Somewhere central-ish - like Indiana.

 

Thinking about it - sod all this 'academy stuff' - Saints should just come over here and play. Bring a bunch of Replica Shirts to sell and the trip would almost be free.

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jjsaint

jjsaint

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I believe Giallombardo was released by us this season, after that I don't know... probably working in a supermarket in Wrexham or something.

 

I'd love to see more American players here but so many from MLS think they are better than they actually are - big fish small pond & all that. Look at Dempsey, Adu, Altidore, Gooch etc. who all have struggled to make it big time.

 

IMO Michael Parkhurst is much too small for Championship football & would get eaten alive.

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TijuanaTim

TijuanaTim

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Altidore looks a good player, at Valencia i noticed?

 

Agree Stevo, young yet....also think everyone is harsh on Adu also. Truly excellent player, fantastic skills, fast, flawless attitude and still just a kid. I am going to go out on a limb a say he 'will' make it pretty big when he finds the right fit.

 

He came to the US with a single parent...in no time he was moved away from 'home' again to DC - then 5 minutes later to Lisbon - before he has unpacked he's shipped on again to Monte Carlo. He excels every game at every level for America and was awesome at the u-19 World Cup

 

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once_bitterne

once_bitterne

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Why don't you meet him when he's next over here and ask him yourself, oh wait ....

 

Hi Denz! How's the 3 year Ban from all football stadia in the UK thing working out for ya? Maybe you could write a column on what you have been up to on Saturday arfternoon's. What's it been? Watching rugby (or does the ban include that too?) or is it knitting and tiddlywinks? :smt060

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Denzil

Denzil

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Hi Denz! How's the 3 year Ban from all football stadia in the UK thing working out for ya? Maybe you could write a column on what you have been up to on Saturday arfternoon's. What's it been? Watching rugby (or does the ban include that too?) or is it knitting and tiddlywinks? :smt060

 

 

Hi Bradley, I should be back in a matter of weeks, and it's been money well saved tbf.

 

Thanks for asking, you spineless goon.

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