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Wednesday Kickoff: Bentley eyeing MLS, USA improves in rankings and more

Bentley (Getty Images)

Tottenham winger David Bentley could be the next Premier League player on his way to MLS.

According to reports, Bentley is seeking a loan move to MLS. The 27-year-old midfielder spent the last half of last season on loan with Birmingham City and the first portion of this season on loan at West Ham before suffering a knee injury in mid-October.

His loan from Spurs to West Ham was subsequently ended, as he was ruled out for up to six months after needing knee surgery. He is four months along in that process as of now, but is apparently ready for his next move. When fit and in form, Bentley is as capable a winger as there is, but maintaining fitness and consistency has been a struggle. 

Reports have the Vancouver Whitecaps as the leading candidate for his services.

Here are a few more stories to get your day going:

U.S. UP TWO SPOTS IN FIFA RANKINGS

Victories over Venezuela and Panama have the U.S. men's national team on the move in the FIFA rankings, as it moved from 33 to 31 in the latest edition.

Mexico still maintains its place as CONCACAF's highest-ranked nation, staying put at No. 21. Panama and Jamaica are the next-highest CONCACAF sides, coming in at 49 and 50, respectively.

The African Cup of Nations did wonders for a number of African sides. Champion Zambia climbed 28 spots to No. 43, and The Copper Bullets are followed directly by risers Mali (up 25 spots to 44) and Gabon (up 46 spots to 45).

Spain still maintains its perch at No. 1, but Germany has moved up to the No. 2 spot, swapping places with the Netherlands, who are now at No. 3. Uruguay, England, Portugal, Brazil, Italy, Croatia and Denmark round out the top 10.

SOLO, LEROUX SIGN WITH SOUNDERS WOMEN

WPS might be on hiatus, but U.S. women's national teamers Hope Solo and Sydney Leroux will have a place to play this year.

Solo and Leroux signed deals with the Seattle Sounders women, who compete in the W-League. For Solo, the move marks a return to her home state, while for Leroux it also marks a return to the Pacific Northwest. The UCLA product scored five goals during CONCACAF women's Olympic qualifying, was born in British Columbia, Canada, and previously played for the Vancouver Whitecaps women, for whom she won W-League Rookie of the Year honors in 2011.

WEST HAM SIGNING CHARGED FOR TWEET

Former Manchester United youth product and new West Ham signing Ravel Morrison has been charged by the FA for using a homophobic slur in a tweet directed at another person.

Morrison, 19, has until Friday to respond to the charge, which has been levied over his used of "abusive and/or insulting words including a reference to a person's sexual orientation" according to an FA statement.

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Would you want your MLS team taking a chance on Bentley? What do you make of the latest FIFA rankings? Will you tune in to the W-League this year now that players like Solo are making the move over there? What's your take on another athlete getting in hot water for comments made on social media?

Share your thoughts below. 

Comments

  1. Mexico should be around 10-12, and the USA 20-25.
    Mexico for their own good needs to play more games away from home, USA/Mexico, before the 2014 WC. I don’t think there’s another top team that play so many home matches.

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  2. Jones was brilliant during the US training camp. I wish him the best. Maybe Schalke, or even the Bundesliga, isn’t the right place for him.

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  3. Yes, Denmark won the group, but look at the competition. Portugal was the only strong team in that group and they split their games (Portugal beat Denmark 3-1 and Denmark beat Portugal 2-1). I am sorry, but splitting two games against Portugal and beating Norway, Iceland and Cypress is not sufficient to be named a top 10 team in the world. If you indeed think that Denmark is better than Argentina, you don’t undertand soccer.

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  4. Why do you pick a single most extreme outlier example. A single game is not a poor indicator. Argentina still advanced from that group and they largely outplayed the eventual winner (no.4) Uruguay in the elimination round, but lost in a penalty shootout. No. 1, Spain was unable to beat the USMNT in the Conferations Cup and Switzerland in the WC. England could not beat Montenegro (No. 51) in their TWO attempts in the Euro 2012 Qualification. Of course, the rankings are based on a mathematical formula – they are still flawed. Who would you rather have the USMNT play against to advance to the next round in the WC, England or Brazil/Argentina?

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  5. Hopefully West Ham can help Ravel Morrison sort himself out and become a model professional in the mold of a graduate of The Academy. He has phenomenal technical ability, but he’s had problems off the field when he was with United. Like ‘in a gang and regularly in and out of court’ problems. Being fined for a homophobic slur in a Tweet is a bad start though. Maybe the change of scenery will help him.

    I hope Bentley coming to MLS will help raise the profile of the league, or rather, diminish the Championship to the point that MLS is closer to its equal in the eyes of aspiring players. The “where would MLS, SPL, etc. fit in the English Pyramid” argument gets tiresome every time an MLS player transfers there, so it will be nice to see a transfer go MLS’ way for once.

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  6. It’s my understanding that MLS precludes teams from taking players on loan without the option to buy. If this is the case, seems like a pretty important detail to mention

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  7. Which is most likely the problem with a math formula ( which I have not seen ).

    If beating England (5th) is worth 6 times, or 26 places better, or however they figure it, than beating the US (31st), you might have a problem.

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  8. Argentina couldn’t beat the 107th ranked team in their federation tournament last summer. These rankings are set on a mathematical formula. These rankings make perfect scientific sense based on the data that is used to calculate these rankings.

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  9. These are FIFA rankings so there will be some baffling things. The fact that England is ranked higher than Brazil and Argentina is a joke. And with all all due respect to Denmark, if Argentina does not belong in the top 10, neither should Denmark.

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  10. Bentley to Vancouver is not true. The president categorically denied it. Furthermore, the move makes absolutely no sense with Le Toux, Chiumiento, & Camilo all being capable left wingers.

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  11. the fact that denmark are in the top 10 is egregious. Their best player is like Bentdner, which is a JOKE. Also, England should never be in the top 10. They are a team of pretty boy underachievers (when wearing the 3 lions jersey)

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  12. There is no doubt that Bentley’s talent level exceeds the average level in MLS. I think that he would be an excellent addition to any squad and its a great sign that these journeymen from top Euro leagues are starting to consider MLS for regular playing time.

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  13. Jermaine Jones says he is the victim of a witch hunt by the media, which helped trigger the severe 8-week playing ban, according to story in Kicker.de. Jones also says his kids at school are asked by classmates why their daddy is a “bad-boy.” The story also says Jones is eligible to play in Schalke’s Thursday’s Europa League match against Pilsin, although his Bundesliga ban is still on. Schalke has really missed Jones’s bad-boy spirit the past few games. They play better with him on the field.

    Jones spricht von einer “Hetzjagd”

    http://www.kicker.de/news/fussball/bundesliga/startseite/564669/artikel_jones-spricht-von-einer-hetzjagd.html

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  14. Well, years ago people were quick to label him as the “next Beckham”, I guess coming to the States to ply his trade in MLS is another step in that direction.

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  15. “Bentley is as capable a winger as there is, but maintaining fitness and consistency has been a struggle.”

    You know what else has been a struggle for him? Being an absolute t**t. Maybe coming to MLS would finally deflate his outsized ego, but I doubt it. He’s got a right foot, but for me he’s not worth the trouble.

    Reply

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