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Jones completes loan move to Blackburn

Jermaine Jones 2 (ISIPhotos.com) 

Photo by ISIPhotos.com

Jermaine Jones needed to escape the doghouse at Schalke 04 quickly, and now he's heading to a place where he will be able to play as well as work on his English.

Jones has had his loan move to Premier League side Blackburn go through, meaning he will join fellow U.S. national teamers Tim Howard and Stuart Holden, among others, in the Premier League.

Jones had failed to see regular playing time at Schalke since November after a falling out with manager Felix Magath, who accused him of leaking team secrets to the media.

A native of Germany who earned caps for the German national team before switching to the U.S. national team last year, Jones has earned two caps for the United States and figures to play a key role for the U.S. national team in 2011 .

What do you think of the move? Glad to see Jones heading to England? Excited to see his English improve? Looking forward to his first meeting against Manchester City's Nigel deJong?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Vince, I agree that Deuce and Donovan are locked starters – but maybe not in the midfield…pls stay with me for a minute.

    (Assuming a 4-2-3-1… which we seem to be adopting)

    Uncle Bob really needs to sort this one out in a full squad camp. And he must keep an objective POV with regard to his son’s first team activation, that is if other’s show up and take the spot in a legitimate way.

    (I’m also in favor of changing the system so the current new guys camp are also active in separate camp action and can show up to play a couple of competitive games against the senior guys, but I digress…)

    With regard to Deuce and The Don, unless another 2 forwards show up and claims # 10 and #9, I start Dempsey at #10 linking up with Donovan at the attacking mid-#9 (with Don making his killer through runs and playing fluidly across the line). That opens up the midfield to some current creatives (i.e. Holden, Benny, Torrez – etc.)and new talent options (current u-21) and new comers – and may make this problem into a real opportunity.

    Jose Altidore just isn’t cutting it at C-forward, (he might make a better defender…) we need goals, not the promise of goals that don’t materialize from the front. And we are developing a tradition of just that problem.

    What do you think Vince?

    Murph

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  2. He was interviewed by Studio90 last time he was in camp and he appeared very near fluent, but he appears to lack confidence in his English. I imagine living in England will boost that.

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  3. Yeah. He has consistently been rated as one of the top midfielders in the BL (besides this year, of course). He provided much needed stability and maturity on the field during the Poland game.

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  4. I’m sorry, but we need that bite in the midfield. We haven’t had it. We are not Spain, i.e. have the skills to hold possession and dribble around people. So, we need his bite. Less cards? Maybe. Bite? Definitely.

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  5. I was thinking the same thing….Jones in front of Bradley and Holden might make more sense in a 4-2-3-1….if we’re intent on playing Holden in the middle, My preference is more like Deuce in the hole with Donovan and Holden on the wings and Jones and Bradley behind them.

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  6. I wonder if you realize that Europeans learn British English in school, rather than American spelling and pronunciation. Granted, you usually can’t tell because they have a native language accent over the top of it.

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  7. At the very least, he provides valuable depth during qualifying and the Gold Cup. At his very best, he’s one of the best players on the field for the USMNT and a valuable mentor for guys like Bradley and Edu that strive to be in the same player mold as him. I think even his most ardent supporters realize he isn’t a godsend, but just imagine if BB’s holding mid decision for the Ghana game had been between Jones or Edu rather than Clark or Edu.

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  8. I agree with this 4-2-3-1 setup. It gets 2 out of Bradley, Jones, Edu on the field plus Holden between Deuce and Donovan.

    But I don’t like when these boards get all certain about players and lineups. Holden, despite his Bolton success, will need to prove he’s good enough to setup Deuce and Donovan. The fact that Holden hasn’t played much with the A team in mostly Nigel de Jong’s fault, but still….

    And I hate the “Edu and Jones are so much better than Bradley” argument at this point too. Edu needs to prove he can stay healthy. And Jones needs to stop collecting cards like he’s playing Go Fish.

    But bottom line, these are GOOD problems to have in midfield. I, for one, am really looking forward to the March friendlies especially. That’s when guys like Bradley, Holden, Jones, and even Feilhaber will get a chance to prove they should be in the Gold Cup midfield. Let these guys compete against each other in March and let’s see what happens.

    (Note: I’m booking Deuce and Donovan as lock starters in midfield for right now.)

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  9. Still not sold on Jones as being some godsend to the USMNT that a lot of people seem to be saying he is. At least with him now in the EPL, it’ll be easier for me to track down his games and keep a closer eye on him.

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  10. “Jones had failed to see regular playing time at Schalke since November after a falling out with manager Felix Magath, who accused him of leaking team secrets to the media.”

    What kind of secrets? That Magath loves to wear thongs and high heels? Nonsense.

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  11. Laughable…your user name is consistent with your opinions.

    A pairing of Jones and Holden at CM for USMNT makes a lot of sense as 1st option for 2011, assuming both are healthy.

    The back-up plans, based on current play, are Bradley and Holden, Edu and Holden, Rico/Torres/Spector and Holden.

    Dempsey and Donovan as first choice wide mid options for foreseeable future. Ok Dempsey is also first choice as 2nd striker based on current form, but moving Holden to wide mid only slows attack and hurts d.

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  12. Ranking doesn’t really matter. It is about formation and how guys work with each other, right? Holden upped his stock this fall, but he wan’t in the best game shape last summer. We need to see more of Holden and Jones and see how they work together on the same field. We could have a Bradley-Jones tandem behind Donovan-Holden-Dempsey, or we could see other players rise/fall that affects formations.

    I’d rather have one pure forward along with all these midfielders based on the current availability.

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  13. Is it different because its a loan? Because he’s been playing in the Bundesliga?
    Because he’s a German citizen?
    Also, he would easily qualify on appeal if necessary, but it doesn’t sound like he has to for one of the above reasons… not sure which one.

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  14. Jones has gotten quite a bit of rest over the past 2-3 years. Perhaps that could lengthen his national team career… I know part of why he switched to the US was to play in a WC. My guess is he’s gonna do everything he can to make that happen (including moving to a team where he will actually play).

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  15. Giving any credence to someone who chooses “Laughable” as their username is, well, laughable.

    Your view/opinion only solidifies that theory, too.

    Maybe try a less antagonistic username?

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  16. without a doubt Holden is our best current central mid. will he play there with the NATS? I hope so unless BB has something to say about it 😉

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  17. I think that is exactly what we will see. I really like the idea of a 4-2-3-1 with our pool. Holden has some real bite to his game as well. That line-up could be dangerous if we find a LB

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  18. Precisely.

    True confession: I am one of those who thinks that Michael Bradley has a been clearly one of our very best players over the last two years — and yet should now be behind Jones and Holden in any ranking of central midfielders.

    Provided Jones stays healthy…it would be exciting to see him in 2014. We will see how he holds up…

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  19. Jones was one of the toughest mids in the Bundesliga, which itself is a very physical league. I’d say “rugby hacks” suits him quite well. Just go look up one of his highlight vids on youtube and you’ll see why.

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  20. I would argue that he’s much better centrally than he is out wide. His delivery outside is great, but the calm that he brings to the center of the field is desperately needed on the USMNT. No reason he can’t be the middle offensive mid in a 4-2-3-1 with Jones and Bradley as the two defensive mids.

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  21. The USMNT central midfield should NEVER have Jones and Holden. Holden is not one of the best CM on the team. Out wide, perhaps, but not centrally.

    Let’s just hope Jones proves to be a better teammate at Blackburn then he was at Schalke. Problems seem to follow him.

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  22. glad to see this- would’ve preferred somewhere else tho. He should help stabilize rovers’ play the rest of the way. Not sure wher they are in the table but it’ll be a fight for them and others.

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  23. looks good on the surface, but blackburn are just a bunch of clogging rugby hacks…they dont play football. he should have gone to bolton or newcastle if he was going to go somewhere in england.

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  24. i think the usmnt midfield should have jones as a cm behind bradley, have landon and holden on the wings, and bring dempsey up top behind altidore.

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  25. This is a good move on a bunch of levels:
    –works on his English
    –gets out of Schalke
    –probably gets a lot more PT
    –makes some better NT connections
    –a possible midfield pairing (Jones and Holden) gets some serious playing time together.

    What’s not to like?

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