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Altidore headed to Hull City on loan

Jozy Altidore 8 (ISIphotos.com) 

Jozy Altidore is heading to Hull City.

Altidore has confirmed the one-year loan move, offering this nugget on his Twitter feed: "First match is against chelsea subject to a work permit."

Yes, Hull City plays Chelsea in its season opener on Aug. 15th. As for the work permit, Altidore does not automatically qualify for a UK work permit based on his current percentage of matches played, but considering the number of U.S. national team games he has played in his appeal should stand a good chance of being accepted.

Hull is preparing to introduce two new signings on Thursday, just a day after Altidore visited Hull City to negotiate a one-year loan deal. Altidore noted that a press conference was scheduled to announce his signing on Thursday.

Altidore will look to fill the void at striker left by Hull's failed bid to sign Fulham striker Bobby Zamora.

What do you think of Altidore joining Hull? Worried about him joining a team in danger of relegation, or do you think it's more important that he gets playing time and gains experience ahead of the 2010 World Cup?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. I predict young Dozy will learn a lot this season . . . mainly that he is not EPL caliber. Won’t be long before he’ll be back playing 2nd or 3rd tier where he belongs.

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  2. Good for Altidore, if he gets playing time its a possitive move and I think this was a previous agreement… so, good for him

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  3. Hull stinks. Another blow to the US team. Jozy Out-the-door will not improve with this awful side.

    Red Bulls suck, but at least he had a competent partner in Angel.

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  4. I worry about this move. Feilhaber had a good summer tournament for the us and then left a big club for a small one in england. So i am worried the same thing could happen with jozy. He had a great tournament and now he will have a good bit of pressure on his back. I not always up for players moving to new clubs the year before a world cup. You need to be playing as much as possible but I hope he can get some games in england. France might have been a better place to go. THe same goes for Davies. I wish he would have moved after the world cup was over. If you are gaining interest now then after the world cup, if you play well you will only gain more interest. just a thought.

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  5. One last thing…everyone is so sure Hull is relegation bound. They were at the start of last season as well. The ball hasn’t even been kicked yet. Give it a rest.

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  6. If Hull gets relegated, Jozy goes back to Villareal. Even if he were sold to Hull and they were relegated, he’d be sold as an expensive asset they can’t afford to hold onto, or — heavens to betsy — he’d play in the Championship. Big deal. The relegation issue is a non-issue.

    My friend in Hull says he’s likely to be a starter. So if he’s right, Jozy will get significant time lining up against defenders and holding mids for teams like Liverpool and Chelsea. That’s going to be a great experience for him, especially in the run up to the World Cup.

    Finally, whoever said “at least there won’t be a language issue” has never been to East Yorkshire. He’s gonna have a hell of a time understanding that twang!

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  7. Americans rebuffed on UK permits has happened…but with someone of Jozy’s stature? I don’t think so. His goal against Spain pretty much exhibited his class as far as the FA would be concerned. He’ll be a Tiger against Chelsea, no doubt.

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  8. @Posted by: Frank | August 05, 2009 at 12:44 PM

    Who cares if Hull is dissolved and wiped from the face of the earth next season? It’s a 1 year loan. They could win the Prem (theoretically) and it wouldn’t mean he’d be around next year.

    I like that he won’t be riding the bench. However, Hull play atrocious football and he really isn’t going to learn anything there. I would have preferred he end up in a low table La Liga or a top La Liga 2 side. Hull is just gonna use him as a bruising dope with his back to goal all day and do nothing to help him develop technique of any sort.

    @Posted by: Chris | August 05, 2009 at 03:53 PM

    You are absolutely high. The 3-10 teams in La Liga are beating EPL teams more often than not. UEFA Cup has shown us this for years now. The EPL is a very top heavy league and technique-wise EPL is like watching a child try to fit a square peg into a round whole and La Liga is like watching Van Gogh create a masterpiece painting.

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  9. Josy’s speed of play will have to increase and his first touch under pressure get a lot softer to be successful in the EPL. I think he’ll get there but it will take him a year to acclimate. I’m also concerned that the skills he develops at Hull won’t translate that well to Villareal, which plays a very controlled, accurate, passing game. Still, much better than sitting on the bench in Spain!

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  10. Well he still has to get his UK work permit. Americans have been re-buffed on the permit issue before. So hopefully he gets past that and then gets playing time!

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  11. I just hope FSC continues to show too many Hull City matches like they did last year.

    I was hoping for Fulham, so that he could get that added experience playing with Dempsey, but it’s hard to be upset about a move to a Prem team that will probably have to play him a lot.

    I think he would have broken through at Fulham pretty easily with the number of competitions they’ll be in this year.

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  12. baaahahah so true on Pompey, Paul. I’m a supporter of theirs and i’m embarassed by the side they are getting ready to put out on the field this season. By far the worst team in EPL.

    great move for Jozy all around, anxious to see him play

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  13. This could be a great move OR disaster depending on the manager…

    I think back to Feilhaber at Derby. He was clearly good enough to play, and showed it when he got on the field. But the coach either didn’t recruit him, or got nervous in a relegation battle and only wanted to play veteran players that he was more familiar with.

    hopefully Jozy can get in there and establish himself immediately

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  14. @felix,

    I don’t think the comparison with Feilhaber is a good one. Benny is a headcase, while by all accounts Jozy is a smart kid who is willing to learn. All of his comments point to how humble he is as well.

    I like this move for him. Playing time is most important for Jozy right now, and I can’t see why he won’t get that at Hull.

    @ea, Hull were very good the first half of last year. The Phil Brown decided to scold his team on the pitch at halftime of a match. After that, they went into a tailspin.

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  15. Daniel Cousin and the other guy are crap. Cousin has fluffed his lines from every angle for a good while now and he’s 32. The key for Jozy is playing as many competitive games at the highest possible level, no matter the league/liga. And I think it strange that someone would knock the kid’s (soon to be dude) work ethic. he is 19, nineteen. He chose to leave NYRB ASAP, he’s wanting more, and appears to be growing by proving to his boss that he dserves more…

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  16. There is absolutely, positively no downside to this move. We need Jozy to be in shape and tough next summer. There’s no better way to get in shape than to play week after week (which he’s almost sure to do, given the paucity of Hull strikers) in the fastest and most physical league (which the Premiership assuredly is).

    A lot of people have commented on style of play, and whether Jozy would develop his skills better in Spain, with some even lauding the segunda (how did that work out last season???).

    In my opinion, the best teams in the Prem have moved away from having target-man type center forwards. Van Nistelrooy is long gone from Old Trafford, Crouchie is long gone from Anfield, etc. If we’re lucky, Jozy will develop into a player like Drogba (without the constant whining and crying), who can play the entire attacking half, not just the penalty box. Jozy can learn to attack at speed with the ball at his feet.

    Jozy, we’re psyched for you!

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