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Altidore facing heat for tardy tweet

Altidore Hull 1 (Getty Images)

Jozy Altidore's days at Hull City could be numbered, and his chances for playing time in the immediate future seem remote, after he became the latest athlete to get in trouble for posting something revealing via Twitter.

Altidore is being issued an undisclosed fine by Hull for tweeting an apology after arriving late to the club's match vs. Portsmouth on Saturday. Altidore was already punished for arriving late by not dressing for the match, but he drew harsh criticism from Hull manager Phil Brown, who believes the incident never should have been revealed to the public.

While Altidore was wrong for showing up late, do you think Brown was right to make such a big deal about the tweet? Disappointed by Altidore's tardiness? Who do you see leaving Hull first, Brown or Altidore?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. As much as people dislike and disagree with Phil Brown, he is the manager and he decides to run the team the way he sees fit. If his methods fail, it is his job to loose. It happens in all sports. Teams try to keep player issues in house and most have guidelines about how their players should address the press and the public about such things.

    There are plenty of instances where the most ‘vocal’ players in a team (i.e. T.O, Gary Sheffield, etc) have gotten themselves in trouble and caused disruption in the clubhouse.

    Now, I am not saying that Jozy is like those players, but regardless of his age, he should learn about tactfulness and ask his team what is permitted and what is not before shooting those messages. Technology has made it very easy to put yourself out there for your fans, but he is a public figure now and he represents his team (both club and country) and he should be more careful about what he does.

    Like someone mentioned in a previous post, he should have been apologizing to his teammates, his coach for his tardiness. Hopefully he can get his priorities straight.

    Cheers

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  2. You are right i did miss it in the first sentence. However I still think that this is what makes the site great. He ask questions, promts discussion. Lets take a look at a few things that make it a legit question.

    One when was the last time Jozy played a full game? Has this become something the coach holds against Jozy? Are coaches know to alienate players for weird issues like this? Is Brown a coach who would do that?

    It think Brown is the type coach who would put him on the shelf. Jozy is not yet a player that has to be on the field all th time. Even Beckham was put on the shelf for a while at Real Madrid because he was not coming back to the team. So i think there are several reason and scenarios(sp) that could see him not be used or even end the loan and the winter break.

    So was it sensational, maybe but I do not think so and it defenitely dose not bring into question his credibility or the websites.

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  3. This is all BS. Being late is not good. But the rest of it is crap. Tweet or no Tweet. In house or not. CRAP. Phil Brown is a joke. Sorry Jozy went to that place but hopefully Brown will want to save his job anf play the kid.

    Jozy has had his moments in the little time that he has been given in my opinion. Brown was keeping Giovanni on the bench early this season and he probably is their best player. Give the kid playing time and all this will be a memory. The way Jozy played over the summer tells you he can play for Hull. Get JVH out and put Jozy in. Hell this team went with Craig Fagan and Caleb Folan all last year and Jozy is not good enough? CRAP.

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  4. Mike, you are exactly right, especially when it comes to Freddy. That guy has accomplished NOTHING in soccer, yet acts like he’s a rock star.

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  5. If I were the manager of any professional team, I would ban twitter, facebook, myspace, et al, use during the season. It seems to be a problem across many leagues and it can create disunity on team. It is another form of press access which is usually controlled by the team during the season. The athletes need to be concerned about their profession, not needing to be “in touch” with their fans. It is self promotion above the team in most cases.

    Lesson learned for Jozy. Phil Brown will be gone in a month, let us hope that a new manager will play Jozy with regularity. He can’t score goals for Hull from the bench.

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  6. Judge someone else, Miss Amy.

    No. 1 – I was going to point out that Ives didn’t write this, but thanks to Leon, he already did.

    No. 2 – Of course I think this is a great blog, one of the best on the Internet, which is why I was so disappointed in the”exaggeration” as you so delicately put it. I would hate for this blog to turn into an “MLE Rumours” or worse.

    No. 3 – They’re all big boys here and a little constructive criticism never hurts. What’s good for the players is good for the writers here.

    No. 4 – Speaking of players: Jozy messed up big time. I’m hoping he responds appropriately and works hard and makes up for it.

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  7. Still can’t believed he showed up late. Very disappointed. He should be eating, sleeping, and breathing Hull City and sleep at the stadium. Take a page from the Peter Vermes book of dedication.

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  8. @smoke

    Tactfulness knows no generational differences. Like someone mentioned above, he should have cleared it with a team rep if it was OK to do it.

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  9. sporthull.co.uk

    this is total sensationalism and i’m disappointed in SBI which is a site i frequent regularly, more disappointed in the bashing of nicole who was dead on. but, to be fair, ives did not write this post. anyway, i follow hull city religiously. no one has ever said his days could be numbered, it’s a season long loan…. and although phil brown can be somewhat petty if you’ve looked at the link above phil brown’s made a point of putting out to the media (as he loves to do) that altidore will have the same chance as anyone else for a place on the squad.

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  10. Hey Ives: do you think you’ll ever move from being — for all intents and purposes — a reporter to adopting more of a commentator stance? I’d love to hear your take on a story like this, instead of reporting on it and then opening up the floor for discussion. And ETA on that podcast you mentioned in a Q&A recently? Give the people what they want: the public wants more IVES.

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  11. They didn’t have twitter when those guys were 19. And we have no idea whether they were ever late or not because WE JUST DON’T KNOW.

    Yes, he was late; only because of modern technology do we know that. Otherwise we’d all be wondering why a dog-bad team like Hull isn’t starting one of our most favored “sons.”

    But every other report about his bad attitude and behavior that I know of has been extremely vague. If there are quotes out there from his current and former coaches saying he has a bad attitude, lazy work ethic, and is a discipline problem, by all means, let’s see them.

    I hope this blows over. I really don’t understand why we hold him, or any other athlete, up to such a high standard. What difference does his profession make? I guess I’d submit that he’s one of soccer’s royal family and the rules for royalty are different, until they’re NOT different, which seems to be what Brown is trying to tell him. But maybe not enough people ARE telling him that the rules are the same for everyone, even him, and even though it would obviously be for his own good. Maybe he does need a mentor.

    I remain puzzled about why some of us here are so angry with him for being late. Are we worried for his future because we know repeated behavior like that will make it hard for him, and the team(s) he plays for? Is it that when he makes a mistake like this (minor though I think it is) it looks like he’s pissing his life away but not taking it more seriously?

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  12. Dumb move Bro, the game was still playing and he had already spoken to the media by tweeting, before any one at the club even did. That IS unacceptable

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  13. Jozy Altidore’s days at Hull City could be numbered

    _____________________________________________________

    where did u get that from?

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  14. very true, especially since this isn’t Altidore’s first season as a pro. He should have learned a few things training alongside JPA. Maybe he did, but let’s hope he shows it from here on out.

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  15. Nicole is 100% correct. Phil Brown has indicated nowhere that this will compromise Jozy’s standing with the team. To say otherwise is overegging the custard.

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  16. Kinda shocked at how little sympathy people here have for Brown in this situation. Altidore needs to learn that certain business stays in the locker room, and if it is made public it’s management’s perogative to decide when and how. The only people Altidore owed an apology to were his teammates and his manager, going public via twitter looks like an attempt to hijack the conversation (which is exactly what has now happened).

    People may argue that this is unfair, but most professional managers won’t have time for fringe players who show up late to games and then spend their time engaging in private PR.

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  17. It’s a lame excuse to blame the mistake he made on his age. You didn’t hear or read about Aguero, Messi, etc doing stupid stuff like this when they were 19.

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  18. Jozy made a mistake. Showing up late on game day is bad. He should learn his lesson and never show up late again on game day for the rest of his carreer. The tweeting showed a lack of judgment.

    But seriously, the notion that this should lead to his days being numbered with Hull seems like absurd over-reaction. Fine the kid, give him his lumps, and put him back on the fricking field.

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  19. And while I don’t like him much, I would love to see a guy like Wynalda get in there and provide some guidance. (and yes, I realize I will get heat for that comment, but I can take it.)

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  20. My thoughts EXACTLY. In fact, this is the most insightful post of the entire thread.

    He goes out against Costa Rica and plays with more energy than I have EVER seen him play with–running down balls, getting stuck in where he can.

    And then he forgets all of those “make the most of your opportunities” and “don’t take anything for granted” life lessons. WHERE IS HIS MENTOR? (actually, the better question is, does he have a mentor?).

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  21. Its apparent he has some attitude problems. There were problems with his training when he was with Red Bulls, Problems when he was a t Xerex and now this. Three times makes it apparent its the player and lack of comittment to training.

    He will be back in MLS next year

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  22. Jozy needs to put his head down and just work…he walks around too much when he’s on the field…he’s young and atheltic he should be pressuring everyone and using his physicality to make things happen for his team like he did against Costa Rica in DC. That was a inspired performance…needs to bring that type of mentality to Hull.

    As for Phil Brown…he needs to give his headset back to Britney Spears. While Brown is here though…Jozy needs to step it up to win back his favor.

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  23. I’ve watched Hull play a few times and being released would be a gift to Jozy if he could settle in quickly somewhere else. If they both stay, it may be wasted year.

    I’m not sure playing for a team fighting relegation is good for developing football skills. The same with Michael Bradley, Gladbach may have been a step up from the Dutch league but fighting relegation every day collars one’s abilities.

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  24. oh, and the simple fact that Jozy was texting while driving… two weeks after the Davies incident… sigh…
    I’ve lost a lot of respect for the kid. A lot.

    Get your sh** together, Jozy. Please. This is your life and career, not a video game.

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  25. Regardless of what one thinks about Phil Brown and/or tweeting, the biggest issue is that Jozy showed up late.
    That is absolutely inexcusable for someone who has been riding the pine a lot lately. It doesn’t matter how much Hull paid for him. Jozy has to get his act together before he ends up in Adu’s situation.

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