Photo by ISIphotos.com
(No, there are no updates on Kenny Cooper’s transfer decision. It appears will be waiting at least one more day, if not longer for a final conclusion. If you are wondering what is taking so long, you may not realize everything involved in this big decision. With that in mind, consider the following:)
You are Kenny Cooper, a 23-year-old American striker with two transfer bids to consider. What do you do?
Yes, it may sound a bit like a bad impression of Dennis Hopper in Speed but the question is a good one. If you are Cooper do you go with the bid from Norwegian power Rosenborg or English First Division club Cardiff City? It is the question Cooper is in the midst of trying to answer as two European clubs and one league wait with baited breath to see if the big kid from Texas will stay or go.
Do you take more money from Rosenborg in a lesser-known league to play with a team that plays its share of UEFA Cup and occasional Champions League soccer, or do you take less money and join Cardiff City with an eye toward possible promotion to the EPL, the richest league in the world?
You can choose A or B, or possibly C, which would mean staying in MLS at an increased salary with the hope being that your continued success leads to bigger offers from bigger clubs down the road. You’re playing for your hometown team, for a coach you’ve known and respected for year. Do you stay another season and enjoy dominating MLS?
Cooper has to know how lucky he is to even have the decision. If you had asked Taylor Twellman the same question he would have had his passport stamped before you could get the word "or" out of your mouth. The same goes for Shalrie Joseph, who still dreams of Europe even as he continues to lead the league’s best team and enjoys a big (by MLS standards) new contract.
It might seem like a no-brainer but sometimes the best moves are the ones you don’t make. Just ask Eddie Johnson, who could have jumped on an offer from Derby County, but chose to wait a while. He eventually joined Fulham and now heads into a second season in the EPL while Derby is back in the First Division. Jozy Altidore was seriously considering making a move to Reading, a club that pursued him for years, before things fell apart. Now instead of having joined newly-relegated Reading (and yes, you could argue that Altidore would have kept Reading up) Altidore is set to join La Liga runners-up and Champions League participants Villarreal.
You see? The decisions aren’t nearly as easy as some would like to believe. All three options have their merits, which makes it that much tougher for Cooper and his people to reach a decision. Perhaps staying in MLS leads to a move to an EPL team in the winter or next summer. Perhaps another injury like the one Cooper suffered last year costs him another year and the chance to make a similar move a year from now.
These are all the questions and scenarios that have Cooper so torn. It is far from an easy decision, no matter how easy it may seem on the outside.
So, tell me, what would YOU do?
Home based Cardiff City fan here. Admittedly Rosenborg play in Europe most seasons, but never go very far. Apart from that, they are currently 6th in one of the worst leagues in Europe and some way off the leaders – is that the sort of standard of football a player with international ambitions should play at? Attendances are small and the season in Norway is coming towards a conclusion, so his game time would definitely be limited until next season at least.
On the other hand, if he were to join us, he would be playing against good sides every week in front of a passionate crowd of 17 – 20,000 who are crying out for a goalscoring hero who wears the badge with pride. We currently have 4 full Scottish, two Welsh, a Finnish and 2 Irish Republic Internationals in our squad, along with an English Under 21 goalkeeper and a Dutch under 21 centre back. We have just beaten Middlesbrough, Glasgow Celtic and Guiamares [2 Champions League sides there] to win the inaugural Algarve Cup in Portugal and only lost narrowly to EPL side Portsmouth in the FA Cup Final in May.
I am sure we would match Rosenborgs wages and contrary to what you might read elsewhere on here, we play a very attractive, passing style of football that would suit Kenny down to the ground.
With a new 27,000 seater stadium well on the way to completion in readiness for the 2009/10 season, he would be joining a club that is ambitious and going places. Not forgetting our highly rated coach Dave Jones who has guided Wolverhamton Wanderers to the EPL before taking a job with us and he has built a squad of very talented younger players. Kenny come to us and become a hero – its a simple choice really…
Well, Rosenborg is in the Champions League, but Cardiff City went all the way to the FA Cup Final. Cardiff is middle of the table last year for the Championship. Kenny will do better going to Cardiff, he will get a lot of veterans helping him out.
i’m thinking rosenborg. assuming he can become a starter there, his chances of impressing b. bradley and other teams are going to be better on a team that has success year after year. the risk in going to a team in transition like cardiff (that is trying to replace two veteran forwards to make a push for promotion) is that the situation could easily go sideways (read derby county) and he might end up outside of the new coach’s plans like benny. i would go to rosenborg for the stability and the cash, but i would, however, give robbie russell a call before i pulled the trigger on this one.
I think I’m one of the only people who would stay in MLS, assuming I get the deal I want. Cooper is still young, if he could sign a one or two year deal worth around $300,000 a year, he’d be in great shape to stay here. He’ll keep getting first team minutes, I think he’ll be on the National Team radar in MLS much more than he will for a team in a lower European league, and he’ll leave the opportunity open to move to a big team if the opportunity comes. Teams like Rosenborg and Cardiff will still be there for Cooper in a couple of years, but I think Cooper can still raise his stock playing in MLS. He’s been a good forward in this league, but he has plenty he can still accomplish here.
How many Americans who have gone to smaller European leagues because of “easier access” to Europe’s bigger leagues and clubs have actually made that leap? None that I can remember… Rosenborg is bigger than most of the clubs yanks have played at before, but I’d still go for Cardiff.
I hope he stays and makes the Nats, if he does well with the next for an extended time hell get a shot at the EPL.
A bit of topic but what do either of these moves say about MLS? Admittedly I’m new to watching the league and there is a lot to be excited about but is US Soccer a feeder league for Cardiff City and Rosenburg?
Cooper is exactly the type of player the MLS should kill themselves to keep. He’s young, exciting and not ready for a major move. MLS needs players like him to move forward.
I’m not banging on MLS, I’d like to see it succeed and they need to quit shipping off the talent to second rate Euro clubs. If we were talking about a Marsille or even Schalke I’d say let him go
“Bobby Flekman…Bobby Flekman….yeeeeahhhhhh.”
Man, this hot stove talk is good reading.
Oops UEFA Cup not URFA
Doing well at the URFA Cup will open more doors than doing well at the FA Cup while in a 2nd division team.
Also, off-topic, but what’s the latest on the Michael Bradley situation? Have I missed any updates? I was hoping he’d be with Everton by now.
He needs to move now, that’s for sure. And my choice would be Cardiff, easily. He’ll make plenty of money, and he’ll have plenty of game time. And with all the cup competitions in England, he should get chances against bigger clubs. Scoring for Cardiff against Arsenal in the FA Cup would generate far more buzz for his abilities than scoring for Rosenborg in the UEFA Cup. And if he gets promoted, all of a sudden he’s a lead striker on an EPL team in the 2009-2010 season, which happens to lead right into a certain global soccer competition. Even Bob “Status-Quo” Bradley wouldn’t be able to ignore that.
by the way, 3rddegree.net is reporting that MLS has accepted the bid from Cardiff and that only the personal terms have to be worked out. They are usually extremely reliable on all things FC Dallas. (usually, with regard to Cooper, the unnamed source is his father)
For you Cardiff City fans, you are not only getting a good striker, but an even better person. Cooper is a class act, a bit like Brian McBride in that he’ll work hard the entire game, work hard in practice, and never let you down off the field. He has plenty to learn on the field, but he’ll never let you down off the field — you’ll be proud to have him in your community and our community will be sad to see him go.
Well, he’s probably got a better shot of learning the language in Norway. 🙂
I would stay in Dallas (seriously). I think Cooper is on the cusp of getting attention from larger clubs. Plus, the January transfer window is not that far away. And that will be when (a) all the crappy lower-end EPL teams are struggling to find answers to their striker problems (e.g. Fulham/Eddie Johnson) and (b) by getting transferred at that time, you get an ‘all eyes on you’ type scenario (which can be good or bad).
Some folks made a good point at CL action @ Rosenborg. That’s a good point to make, but getting some good minutes there doesn’t guarantee success (e.g. Benny Feilhaber).
Anyway, as an FCD fan…er, disinterested 3rd party…I’d advise the K-man to stay — for now.
Go to Norway, of course. Three words: Norwegian Black Metal.
If I am KC it all comes down to playing time. If I know that I have a good shot at fist team minutes then I would go with the club that would give it to me.
I’d go to La Liga. We need players to get more technical on the ball. Unless, he goes to one of the big four, or six at this point I don’t see him getting better. England has horrible football. Again the only teams that play nice would be the top 4. La Liga should be he his target. But since its between Cardiff and Rosenborg, I’d go to Rosenborg. European league action.
Rosenborg. Play in Europe, UEFA cup or Champs League, more money and different experience. Go for it Kenny! See you with the MNT soon.
I’d go to Cardiff… top to bottom it’s a better league then Norway so week in and week out you’d see better competition. Europe is all well and good, but other then a few games a year against very good opponents, why woulnd’t you take the chance to play against better competition the entire season?
MLS salaries are a shame, but I would like to see Cooper stay for the rest of the season and wait for a better move in the January transfer window.
With that said, if someone offered to double my salary, I probably wouldn’t want to wait for a better offer to come along.
We really need to raise this salary cap!
Rosenborg.
I would have stayed one more year in MLS and tried for a bigger team. He was at Man U and has the pedigree, so he could have held out and played his way onto a bigger club in the EPL.
Rosenburg will sign him for bench depth and his playing time will not be consistent
Cardiff will sign him to be their top line striker. He will get more playing time.
In the end though, as much as I love Kenny and want him to stay in Dallas – if he doesn’t stop drifting wide, trying to play “step-over like Nani” and start playing to his strengths (ie: Duncan Ferguson) it won’t matter what team he goes to because they won’t play him.
Kenny has so many positive qualities, but he makes the game too hard on himself by trying things both skill-wise and tactically that will make you nuts.
Rosenborg is based in this town:
“Trondheim is situated where the river Nidelva meets Trondheimsfjorden…At summer solstice, the sun rises at 03:00 and sets at 23:40, but stays just below the horizon – there is no darkness from May 20 to July 20.[5] At winter solstice, the sun rises at 10:00, stays very low above the horizon, and sets at 14:30.”
That sunlight stuff would freak me out in Trondheim. Go to Cardiff Kenny. They are already hyping you up and they are bringing you in to replace Fowler and Hasselbank, they think very highly of you. They are thin up front and you would be a key player for their squad. Alex Ferguson is already singing your praises. GB is the place to be.
Rosenborg. Rosenborg is a better team than Cardiff, plays a more attractive style and would still give Cooper a chance to shine on the field. And he’ll get paid.
I don’t know where some people get off saying he’ll “occasionally” get a shot at Europe. Everyone knows that Rosenborg are unquestionably the cream of the crop in Norway and are always involved in Europe. Come on.
I also don’t understand the notion presented by some that if he goes to Norway he’ll somehow disappear, as if the top leagues are for some reason forbidden to buy from Norway. Give me a break. If anything he’ll be exposed to talent-seekers from more leagues than just the Premiership. And that’s probably a good thing.
People need to stop ushering our best talent to the Premiership so you get to watch them on FSC. Cooper has all the tools to make is mark for a mid-bottom table Premiership side. Its what he doesn’t have and would develop in a more technical league that will help him improve by the greatest margin. Ultimately, that will only benefit our national side.
Technically, Kenny Cooper’s home city is Baltimore, seeing as though he was born there. But that’s all semantics.
Anyway, the decision is tough, regardless. You mention all the luxuries of playing for Rosenburg (the UEFA Cup and Champions League possibilities) and Cardiff City (possible promotion), but you don’t say the one thing that’s probably knawing at his brain: where will he get minutes?
If he goes to Rosenburg, will he play? Will he sit on the bench? What about Cardiff City? Where does he stand on the totem pole? Kenny Cooper doesn’t need to go overseas and not play. That won’t help his career, regardless of how much money he’s making. Sure, he shouldn’t be GIVEN a spot on the Starting XI either, but you have to go where you think you may get the most times.
He’s 23, not 18 like Jozy or Freddy. They can afford to go to organizations that might not utilize their talents right away. They have time to gain their teams trust, grow and thrive as players in sensational leagues.
Cooper is 23, nearing his prime. He needs to play NOW. And he needs to produce BIG, wherever he goes, if in fact he wants to have a higher payday somewhere else down the line.
Rosenborg — b/c if he does well there, he’ll open himself to more options in Europe. Cardiff isn’t bad, but playing there might pigeonhole him to the UK for a while.
If prem teams buy Championship players thats where the usually end up the next year. So going to Cardiff isnt gonna do anything different for Cooper. I think he should go to Rosenberg. Get the money so he can relax later in life. Get the money and then look to go other places.
Option C shouldn’t even be on the table. If the MLS is allowing him to go he should. If he signs a contract with the MLS for 350,000 a year they will hold him to the contract and not let him go if other bids come in (Taylor Twellman, Sharlie Joseph, and for a time Clint Dempsey come to mind).
I think either place would be fine. It probably would be easier for Cooper to adjust to life in CCC, and the BORG plays in Europe. So flip a coin.
Im gonna go ahead and recommend that he stays in MLS because i have tickets to the FC Dallas @ Columbus Crew game and i wanna see Cooper play.
I have no idea why he would go to Norway, sure Rosenborg occasionaly get in Europe but ranking wise I think the Norweigen league is down there around 19th on the European coefficient. Average attendances leaguewide of 10,000…
With Cardiff he has the chance of premiership football, will be moving into a nice new stadium next season, and the team has high aspirations after making it to the FA Cup Final.
Its a no brainer, go to Cardiff Kenny.
if i were him, i would go to Cardiff City over going to Rosenburg. What are the chances of Rosenburg getting deep into the champions league?I think theres a better chance of cardiff city going into the epl this coming season then rosenberg getting out of the group stages of champions league
Rosenborg. No doubt in my mind. Go to Rosenborg, play consistently in the UEFA Cup, perhaps even the Champions League, play well and you can get picked up by a top flight team anywhere.
If he goes to Cardiff City, the best he can do in a season is get promoted. Promoted clubs usually get whipped in the Premiership. If he does well, he can get picked up by an EPL side.
In my mind Rosenborg is a better opportunity hands down.
Go to Cardiff and play in a quality league. I don’t like that MLS loses out on players to leagues like Norway, where the quality of play is the same, if not less. The players go there for the money and that’s pathetic for the MLS. The MLS needs to step up and pay competitive wages to match these lower-tiered euro leagues. The MLS is never going to develop if they lose their best players to leagues like Austria, Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Unless players are going to a better league (or in this case a team with a good chance of going to the Premier League) the MLS will not work….
What is wrong with the “tense melange” KingSnake? Please explain. Because, as you should have probably noted, it isn’t really a melange at all, and while it is cumbersome, there is nothing wrong with it.
It hurts me to say it but I wouldn’t even think about staying in MLS if I were Kenny.
As for where to go? I’d value playing time over money. I would go to a club where, at the very least, I’d be in the first team and fighting for a starting slot. The money will come eventually, right now he needs to PLAY competitive, first team football every week.
I’d pick whichever team paid more, with the secondary decision being who played more attractive football. So its gotta be Rosenborg.
As a fan I hope its Cardiff cause I have no idea how to see any Norway league games.
I’m pretty sure Cardiff can offer more money than Rosenborg.
As a Reading fan though, I don’t want rival teams being strengthened. And as an MLS fan too, I want Kenny to stay in the league.
I think if he finishes out the season on this roll, he can go to the Premiership or another elite division.
In the words of the immortal Bobbi Flekman: “money talks and bullsh*t walks”
In other words, make your money when you can, you don’t know what can happen tomorrow, next season, whatever..
If I were KC, the biggest non-negotiable is playing time. Cardiff out of the two appears to have the best opportunity so Cardiff it is.
Yes – staying in the MLS pretty much guarantees a spot in the starting 11, but the long term goal is to make the USMNT. And the best way is to get better against better competition.
Good choices to have.
Either European team, especially Rosenborg, would probably be a step up in terms of quality of play. Either is sure to provide a much better salary. So if I were Kenny Cooper and if the family issues that helped bring “me” home from England are resolved, the only way I’d consider staying with Dallas is if the team were to match the kind of salary and guarantees that Rosenborg and Cardiff are offering. And I can’t imagine Dallas would do that.
Well, I might stay if I already had serious interest from a bigger club (not an offer necessarily). But I lean toward bird in the hand on this one.
Past that, it’s close. Rosenborg would give Cooper Europe, and Cardiff would give Cooper time in an environment that he already knows (which would allow him to focus more completely on soccer).
If Cooper were to play well and stay healthy, I think either team would give him a shot at attention from bigger clubs. (My hunch is that once the pros and cons balance out, doing well at either Rosenborg or Cardiff would be more likely to get him such attention than staying with Dallas.)
I guess in the end, I’d say Norway because (I’m told) Rosenborg plays more interesting and sophisticated soccer than Cardiff.
I’m an MLS fan, but I wouldn’t consider that. You have to go when you can. You don’t know what can happen in the future, he wants to go to Europe and he knows NOW that he has 2 options.
Of course Champions league is nice, but I’d go to Cardiff, and if I have a good year, even if Cardiff doesn’t go up, someone like Sunderland will buy me.
“would have helped keep Reading up” please. That tense melange bugs me.
Anyway, depends on if he is comfortable in an international/non-English speaking environment. (I am.) If so, Rosenborg is first choice due to money and especially European football. Plus it is a chance to learn other cultures, and how other people around the world do things. (Something more Americans of all kinds could stand to do.) Otherwise Cardiff. Not MLS, no way.
Rosenborg plays in Europe pretty much every year. Cardiff is in the Colaship. Big clubs in Europe care more about how a player plays in the big international spotlight than how they shine in a lower division. It’s a no brainer.
Plus, my hope would be that he’d get picked up by a league other than the Prem once his stay in Rosenborg comes to a close. His game seems more suited to La Liga anyway.
I’m of Norwegian descent, so Rosenborg for me. My great-grandparents would be cheering from the grave.
I’d play for Rosenborg. They’ll be playing in Europe and it would be more money. I’d love to see him playing against big clubs and see how he’ll do against their defenses. Cooper could have the opportunity to move to a bigger club with either team. Though Cardiff City has a chance to move up to the EPL, it isn’t in there yet, and we’re speculating on the best case scenario.
I know one thing. I would be leaning on my Dad (Kenny SR) for all his advice, as well as sounding out just what MLS would do to keep me.
Definitely go to Rosenborg. He’d get European competition, more money and would have better players around him. If he has success, surely the Premier league teams would come knocking, if he was inclined to get there.
The obsession with English leagues baffles me. I’ve not watched much of the Championship, admittedly, but I’ve watched plenty of bottom-dwelling Premier League teams, and the games are typically hideous.
Go to Rosenborg, Kenny.
I’ll go to Cardiff City, i still got a chance to be seen by EPL teams.