KaKa

Would love to see Hughton thrive and go on to be great.

Barring that then Sven Goran Erikkson, who would be a realistic option I think.

Rio it is then. Capello is brilliant.

Next captain has to be Rio. I was surprised Terry was made captain ahead of him in the first place.

 

I like the idea of Rooney too, but that will come in time.

 

Is Rio a guaranteed starter these days though?

If he's fit he has to be surely. Still a great defender, despite the odd blip lately, and just so experienced and accustomed to big games and high pressure situations. Also a very vocal leader on the pitch, and you need as many of those as you can get in big tournaments.

This isn't about taking a morale high ground though, the issue's more about how it would affect his role as a leader regarding trust from other players.

 

Wonder if Terry might decide not to play under Capello again...

Don't think the decision is completely based on morality either. I think if anything it takes the pressure of Terry.

Next captain has to be Rio. I was surprised Terry was made captain ahead of him in the first place.

I like the idea of Rooney too, but that will come in time.

Well done the press, nicely interfering in Englands WC campaign before it even gets underway. Hopefully they can piss off Fabio before then and a May injury to Rooney and were on for the usual tripe in the summer, at least they can pick the carcass clean for several months after wondering what went wrong.

 

Fuking vultures.

 

 

 

 

Think it's the right decision. Leaving him as captain would have been soft. Capello's MO has been discipline from the outset and it's worked a treat. Everyone knows he is no nonsense. It's got the best out of the team.

This move further emphasizes that. Absolutely no one is untouchable or above Capello's demands. I think it will serve to keep all the players even more on their toes and will therefore have a positive effect if anything.

It's an embarrassment and disgrace for John Terry, and if he is still in the squad then I imagine he will seek to redeem himself by playing his absolute best. Should have a positive effect on him too.

Good, strong move by Capello. Excellent leadership.

A number of interviews in the Journal with him today. Sounds like a very sensible guy. Really does seem to have his head screwed on right. Think he's going to do really well.

McDonald Mariga signed for Inter from Parma. A good buy! I played some games in the same midfield as him some years ago and he was a massive. Went for everything. Strong, hard..

 

http://inter.bloggproffs.se/files/2010/02/58.jpg

Black power!

Just can't beat it.

Adriano

Bingo!

This guy really could have been something else. Immense potential and was so young when he started coming through.

Completely threw it away by just being a bum. Maybe we'll sign him in the summer and he'll turn it around.

Harkes dropped due to allegations

February 3, 2010

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Associated Press

 

NEW YORK -- Breaking more than a decade of silence, former U.S. soccer coach Steve Sampson said Tuesday he dropped John Harkes from the national team roster two months before the 1998 World Cup because the American captain was having an affair with the wife of teammate Eric Wynalda.

 

Harkes has long denied having an affair with Amy Wynalda.

 

Wynalda brought up the situation Monday night during a discussion on "Fox Football Fone-In" about a scandal in England over an alleged relationship between current English captain John Terry and the former partner of Wayne Bridge, his teammate on the national squad.

 

Sampson told The Associated Press on Tuesday he was glad the story was coming out now because "maybe people will have a little better of an understanding of what happened in the final months leading up to the World Cup."

 

After advancing to the second round of the 1994 World Cup at home, the U.S. finished last in the 32-nation field at the 1998 tournament in France, getting shut out by Germany, then losing 2-1 to Iran and 1-0 to Yugoslavia.

 

"It wasn't about losing 2-0 to Germany or losing to Iran," Sampson said. "There was more to it than that that impacted I believe the outcome of this team."

 

Wynalda said he spoke out during the program he co-hosts on Fox Soccer Channel because he was asked about Terry, who has been front-page news since Saturday in British newspapers.

 

"There's a lot of similarities between what happened to us in '98 and what's happening now to England," Wynalda told the AP. "It's an unfortunate time for England, because I know how that can affect a team firsthand. Obviously, we all know how we did in the World Cup in '98."

 

Sampson was replaced by Bruce Arena after the tournament.

 

Harkes was a member of the 1990 and 1994 U.S. World Cup teams and became the regular captain before he was dropped by Sampson in a surprise move on April 14, 1998. He made 90 international appearances from 1987-90.

 

"I am not going to rehash the things that have happened in the past," Harkes said Tuesday in a telephone interview. "1998 was devastating to me and my family. It was hard enough not to play in the World Cup, but it was even difficult to go through that time period, the most difficult time period of my life."

 

Sampson said Tuesday that Roy Wegerle, another U.S. player, came to him and assistant coach Clive Charles between the Feb. 25 game at Belgium and the March 14 match against Paraguay in San Diego and said he had personal knowledge of the affair. Charles died in 2003 and Wegerle, now retired, did not return a phone call Tuesday

 

In 1998, Sampson said Harkes, then 31, was dropped because the midfielder refused to play a more defensive role. Sampson also cited "leadership issues" but didn't elaborate.

 

Sampson, much criticized by players during the World Cup and fired after the U.S. was eliminated, defended his decision to hide the truth. He said he discussed his decision at the time with then-U.S. Soccer Federation president Alan Rothenberg, secretary general Hank Steinbrecher and current president Sunil Gulati, a longtime member of the leadership.

 

"I felt that these are the kinds of issues that need to stay in the locker room and within the team and not [be] exposed to the public," Sampson said. "The private issues for me were the most serious issues. I think I could have lived with everything else and kept John on the team if it had not been for the private issues. It's one thing to have an affair outside the team. It's another to have one inside. ... There are just certain lines that one cannot cross."

 

Rothenberg said Tuesday he had no memory of any discussion of the matter, Gulati declined comment and Steinbrecher did not return a telephone message.

 

Wynalda, however, insists an affair did take place.

 

"I'm calling it an inappropriate relationship. It was a major contributor to why I'm no longer married," said Wynalda, a father of three who separated from his wife in 2003 and then divorced.

 

Wynalda said that when Sampson informed him in the spring of 1998 that he was dropping Harkes, Wynalda tried to persuade the coach to change his mind. Sampson didn't recall such a conversation, but said that doesn't mean it didn't take place.

 

"At that time, I felt that he was still a player that could help our cause and he was still one of the best 22 players in our country," Wynalda said.

 

Wynalda and Harkes played together just once after that, when called in by Arena for a January 2000 exhibition at Chile.

 

"At that point, it was still manageable," Wynalda said.

 

Harkes, the U.S. college player of the year in 1987 at Virginia, was one of the first Americans to make the move overseas, playing for Sheffield Wednesday, Derby, West Ham and Nottingham Forest in England during the 1990s. He also was among the early players in Major League Soccer, playing with D.C. United, New England and Columbus before his retirement in 2002.

 

Like Harkes, Wynalda was among the early U.S. players in Europe, playing for Saarbruecken and Bochum in Germany before appearing for San Jose, Miami, New England and Chicago in MLS. Wynalda was an analyst for ESPN's soccer coverage in 2006 and 2007, and joined Fox last year. He was appointed last month as a part-time assistant coach of the U.S. under-20 team.

 

Harkes also worked for ESPN's 2006 World Cup coverage and replaced Wynalda as a lead analyst for ESPN two years ago.

 

Now working for different networks, both are preparing for this year's World Cup. Wynalda also is writing a book.

 

"I've suffered quite a bit through this whole process. My healing is over, so I'm OK to talk about it," Wynalda said.

 

Sampson, who plans to broadcast for Futbol de Primera radio at this year's World Cup, said he wanted people to know that he and Harkes mended their relationship in 2005 and exchanged a handshake.

 

"Maybe now people will have a little bit more of an understanding as to why I made such a critical decision back in 1998," Sampson said. "The last thing I wanted to do was drop John Harkes from the team because I really did believe that he was an outstanding leader on the field."

 

 

Interesting to see how things play out for England, but it could get ugly.

 

But it hasn't just been the odd game. Most games we have been appaling and havn't deserved to win. Yet we do so. The idea of having a commitee of players to help him pick squads just cannot work. A manager can't be equal with the players. Otherwise he won't drop players like Butt, Smith and Nolan if they underperform, which they all have been recently.

 

He consistently takes too long to make subs. He never plays the same strike force more than 3 times in a row. He is a poor manager in a poor league with average players. It will spell for disaster come next season IF we get promoted, which recently looks doubtful since Barnsley 2 months ago...

 

As has been said before. How do you know that without him, we'd be playing football that deserved to win? You dont know that it would happen, people simultaneosly accept that areas of our team are rubbish & then also expect that we've the quality to take apart every team with the right manager. The central midfield he's had to work with, isnt really the best for passing & moving football is it. For all we know he's getting the best results out of whats largely been a side with a massive weakness all season. We may have had to play as we have been to get the results we've had, that doesnt mean its perfect each time. But in the majority, it may have been.

 

The commitee of players thing is based on little more than the players saying they got together after the Orient game afaia & has been exaggerated for amusement since then. It isnt rare for a manager to let the players have meetings and sort things out between themselves, its happened for many sides. It doesnt mean he has no control does it, again its assumptions formed to fit a negatively biased opinion of him.

not many are saying its simply down to picking the best eleven. But its consensus that he doesn't even do that. Can anybody really truly justify the choice of midfield that has been used consistency despite their apathy and ineptitude? I do understand that he has some s*** to contend with working at this mess of a club in the first place but sometimes he just baffles me to the point I can't be constructive anymore.

 

Before the last game itd only been 3 games since Nolan scored. Its a managers job to put faith in his players, let alone the sides top scorer. I imagine he'll be coming close to a decision to drop him soon, i see no reason to think he wouldnt. He has shown he can identify the weaknesses in our side previously, hes not blind. With Smith its a case of him or Butt & people are happy with neither at the moment. Butt was better than both in the last game for me, but people werent happy about him staying on either even though we ended up massively on top after the other two went off.

 

The things he does arent that baffling. You could argue that you'd do it differently, but the choices he's making arent as idiotic as theyre made out to be (on the whole).

Good reading. Very, very sensible guy.

He's been unhappy here for over a year,he is definitely prone to a huff,but as I said,he is strong and pacy.The laziness is possibly down to his unhappiness,yet he has been quite prolific lately.He is a handful on his day but in a poor side,he doesn't stand up and be counted enough.However he is currently at a poorly supported club,and I think playing in front of 40000 + fans every week might be the making of him.

Sounds like a worthwhile endeavor to me. I think in Hughton we have a manger who makes players feel good about themselves more so than the opposite, and so it hopefully works out.

Isn't it also quite refreshing that the club seems to know what it's doing this time around?

 

Moved very quickly onto other targets when they were unable to land the first ones they went for.

 

So early in the day and it seems this deal for Best has been all sorted out.

 

No more silly, cringeworthy emails with empty promises from Mike Ashley to Sky Sports. No more weird quotes from the manager about Ebondo and M'Bia.

 

Just an actual signing would you believe! An intriguing one at that. Let's hope he grasps his opportunity.

 

Word is he's s*** though. 

One man's dung is another's diamond.

We'll all cross our fingers and hope for the Best (see what I did there!).

Isn't it also quite refreshing that the club seems to know what it's doing this time around?

Moved very quickly onto other targets when they were unable to land the first ones they went for.

So early in the day and it seems this deal for Best has been all sorted out.

No more silly, cringeworthy emails with empty promises from Mike Ashley to Sky Sports. No more weird quotes from the manager about Ebondo and M'Bia.

Just an actual signing would you believe! An intriguing one at that. Let's hope he grasps his opportunity.

I have to say the response on here is really disappointing. This is a young player who seems to be coming into his own this season as far as scoring goals goes. At the very worst from the tiny bit I have actually seen of him, he has a lot of pace and he is strong. Two things we severely lack upfront.

I was actually pleasantly surprised to see that the club didn't just succumb to bringin in a tacky loan signing like Daniel Cousin in instead. Best I believe was in the final year of his contract so he wouldn't have cost much, and will now have a chance in a much better team to show if he can make the next step up. If he doesn't he will still be a very affordable and useful back up striker next season, if only for the fact that he would be useful of the bench because he is quick and strong.

People say he is worse than all our strikers? Really, as far as I can see our strikers not only struggle to score consistently, but they also cause no threat through their sheer physical attributes. The only one who seems to have any potential to do either of these two things is Nile Ranger, but it seems the club prefer to bring him along slowly.

I really hope by the end of the season we can all look back at the initial reactions in this thread and laugh at how silly they were. Why anyone would ever be so harsh on a player before he's even had a chance to step onto the pitch is beyond me. Moving to a club like Newcastle might just be the making of the player. In my opinion a lot of these sorts of players who are deemed too average don't get enough chances at better club, especially considering their youth. It might just excite him enough and give him more belief in himself.

Happy that we have another young player in who is not just a lazy loan signing. Also really happy that he is a good athlete who has got strength and pace as we need this badly.

Good luck to him.

Can't believe the attitude towards Hughton on here. In my opinion he is winning in spite of the state of the team. People on here were clamouring for Mark Hughes and I had to laugh. If Mark Hughes came in tomorrow who do you think would be in the first team? You think he would leave Smith, Nolan or Butt out? Keep kidding yourself. Huge credit to Hughton for benching Butt, which I honestly don't think most other British managers especially, would have done. It's a tough balancing act, as unfortunately our worst players are our most experienced. If he can just promote us and get us into the summer I feel he has a good eye for decent players and would sort things out properly. For now he's grinding out the results however he can get them. Sack him? Crazy talk.

Are people still really slitting their wrists over this?! Get over it for goodness sake.

Pathetic!

At least he isn't gone to the scum or one of our promotion rivals

Very good point. If he ended up at Forest or WBA that really would be tough to take.

Absolutely no chance of us gettings Dorrans. Should go for Ambrose as a realistic improvement on what we have now.

 

Ambrose wouldn't be a bad second prize. The only central midfield player who can really get forward is Nolan, and he's so slow.

 

Would we even play Ambrose in the centre though? Pointless bringing him here as a winger.

Ambrose has played behind the striker for Palace this season right? It seems he has really had a break out year playing there. Really scoring a lot of goals.  We have Jonas and Routledge, so hopefully he would indeed play through the middle if we did get him. I think it would be a good option if we could get Ambrose tbh. Still young at 25, and really seems to be hitting his stride now.

Wow ... no need to get so down about this guys. If we don't get him then it is what it is. Hopefully we can at least land an alternative player in a position we need to. We have brought in decent players so far, and hopefully we continue to do this, whether it's Moses or not. Don't get me wrong it would be dissapointing, but let's see what else we pull out of the hat first. It was fun while it lasted.

Hope our link to this fella was true if we fail to get Moses.

I think Hughton is trying to balance the fact that our most experienced players are our worst and it seems the younger our players get the more talented they are!

It's a tough situation for him. The fact that we're top shows he's done a decent job so far. We simply aren't going to play pretty football with Smith and Butt in the team. I'm sure Hughton knows they're crap. He just has to ... we just have to hope we go back up and I'm sure in the summer more changes will be made.

Stop playing 4-5-1, IT DOES NOT WORK.

 

It's like he fears every side in this league.

The 4-5-1 wasn't necessarily the problem I don't think.

It was the fact that Guthrie wasn't central n this formation and because Carroll was so poor upfront.

If we play that way with Guthrie and Smith central, Ranger or Shola upfront and Jonas back out left  with Routledge right.

We would play great I feel.

Williamson is class ...

Nobby is on ... no stupid freekicks around our box please!!!