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Davies signs with Danish side Randers

Davies (Getty)

American striker Charlie Davies is taking his search for regular playing time to Denmark.

Sources have confirmed to SBI that the 26-year-old has signed with Danish side Randers FC. Davies had been with French club Sochaux since December, when his season-long loan deal with D.C. United expired and the MLS side declined an option to purchase his contract.

Davies made just two appearances off the bench for Sochaux, his first since suffering major injuries in a fatal October 2009 car accident near Washington, D.C., that sidelined him for a year and a half and kept him off the United States' 2010 World Cup squad. Davies scored 11 goals in 26 matches during his loan spell with United.

Davies announced the move on his Twitter account, writing, "Today is a very big day, I'm happy to announce I have signed with Randers FC!"

What do you think of the move? See Davies doing well in Denmark? Think he can make his way back to the U.S. national team mix?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Never say never people. As long as he’s still playing professional soccer in a top division he is always in the player pool. Forward is the one position where a hot streak can get a player a call up.

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  2. Wondolowski is strictly a MLS brightspot, and has wooten even been called up to anything but a youth set up? Sapong has just one appearance so stop naming guys who are not in the picture right now! And to say adu is not and has not been a difference maker for the US team is just blatant hate or stupidity! I guess you didnt see the influence he had on the team against panama in the gold cup or the 2 goals he set up against mexico in the gold cup finale….adu has a proven body of work for every US set up he’s been apart of and to say any different is idiotic!

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  3. Dude, the guy is done. That wreck took right out of any semblance of a career that he had before it…

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  4. No one says this but to my eyes Davies bulked up too much, turned himself into a muscle man, that can sap your speed dramatically. Not saying this is why he’s not as fast, but he’s just so intense that I think it hurts him from time to time.

    Having said that I hope he doesn’t make the USA agan, as that will mean we have a stable of forwards who are better than him.

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  5. Who cares about his attitude? He can’t play soccer at the international level, heck he can barely play it at various clubs (all of whom want to get rid of him). He is lucky just to be ALIVE. It’s a miracle he has played a single minute of professional soccer since then.

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  6. No, he isn’t.

    I watched him a ton at RFK with DCU. It is obvious he no longer has the superior speed to even an average forward.

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  7. +1.
    Agreed. Haven’t heard ANYTHING good about his attitude over the last 2 years. All bad stuff.
    Damaged goods physically and a “me first” – poor attitude aren’t going to entice Klinsi.

    Sounds like he NEEDS time away to improve and mature.

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  8. That is just a mind-numbingly ignorant comment. Blackballed by Bradley? The fact that DC United declined his option in favor of paying more for Hamdi Salihi pretty much tells you all you need to know about Davies having never been near USMNT form since his accident.

    Look, I own a Davies #9 shirt and am a DCU ticket holder. I am a big supporter and not a hater. But the emotional reaction to his injury lead a lot of folks to make Bradley an enemy for not calling him up, and that is ridiculous and needs to stop. The past two years have proven that he is not capable of earning consistent first team minutes. That is his responsibility, not Bradley’s. He can’t hang with Sochaux now or DCU last year, and people are saying Bradley should have called him up for the MNT in 2010 for the freaking world cup? And not doing so is blackball if him?

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  9. “Ive often wondered if Davies has been blackballed for his bad judgement? He certainly was by BB and JK doesnt seem to have any interest”

    Being Blackballed implies the player in question was playing well enough to be left out unjustly.

    When was Davies playing well enough after his accident for BB to have “blackballed” him?

    Did you think Davies should have made the the World Cup team?

    I saw Davies at DC United and did not have a problem with him being left off of the Gold Cup team. And Olsen did not see fit to play him much either.

    And why should JK have any interest in a guy who, even though he was healthy, rotted all year on the bench of a team that was in a relegation battle?

    You may think BB is an idiot but it seems Olsen, the guys at Sochaux and JK agree with him.

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  10. You can stop at number 3. Don’t see Wondo getting anymore calls. Agudelo might but not this cycle.

    Ive often wondered if Davies has been blackballed for his bad judgement? He certainly was by BB and JK doesnt seem to have any interest

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  11. I don’t think he is done. Maybe USMNT, but his club career is still in the balance. Randers is the pivotal stop for him. If he can establish himself at Randers, he could still move to a better club or league. I like this move. Denmark is more competitive than Sweden and Norway. A great opportunity for him to test himself after sitting at Sochaux.

    As far as USMNT, we all soured on Charlie’s comeback after his run with DC United, but to count him out is short-sighted with such a questionable forward pool. Yes, the burst is gone but Charlie can still finish. His stay in Denmark may end up like Rolfe’s but lets wait and see.

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  12. stick a fork in him. he is D-U-N dun.

    A big part of Davies success was his speed. He lost that after the accident. Not the same player.

    He is done!

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  13. I saw Charlie during his 10 game run with the USMNT and I saw him quite a bit with DC United.

    At DC he actually displayed a better touch on the ball and better understanding of positional play.

    What I did not see was the confidence and all out aggression he had before. He would go through long patches where he basically seemed out of it. It obviously takes time to adjust but it, over time,seemed like Charlie got worse not better.

    I don’y know the guy but he seemed to have a lot on his mind besides being the best player he can be. Based on his DC gig, I can’t imagine Davies would survive a JK camp.

    Unlike most, I don’t believe it was ever easy getting a cap and under JK it is going to be even harder. Jozy is younger and the trend with him is he is getting better and more consistent, and Gomez and Boyd are clearly very popular with JK.

    Davies will need to be exceptional just to get an invite.

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  14. Anyway to get pt I suppose. A good season of form and goal scoring would actually probably be enough to get back in the USMNT discussion for Charlie.

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  15. The UEFA coefficients rank the entire league so, yes, obviously a newly promoted club is on the lower end of things.

    Still, from an overall competitive standpoint Davies is better off in Denmark than Sweden.

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  16. Glad to hear he got out of France. Did Sochaux get relegated btw? Because maybe Ligue 2 would not have been so bad for him. He’s way way down on the pecking order. Probably no10 at the moment but with over a year and a half of WC qualifying, he’s still got time.

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  17. I for one do not count out any player from getting a call-up especially strikers.

    Gomez- is not assured of getting quality minutes with Santos this upcoming season( he was barely seeing first team minutes at the end of last season.)

    Altidore- is consistently inconsitent still.

    Boyd- has promise, but still has a lot to prove club wise.

    Wondo- I think it’s very clear that he is a 80th minute sub for the National team.

    Wooten- Still has to prove himslef at club level.

    Sapong- Uhm, still not convinced by him.

    Bruin- Has promise

    Bunbury- Uhm, was never sold on him.

    Agudelo- Has promise, but also has chronic injury problems.

    Pontius- Has the talent but is better served as a LF.

    Cooper- Just doesn’t do enough.

    So yeah if Charlie Davies starts scoring goals and hits really good form; he may see himself back in the fold. Like I have always said you can never have enough strikers for the national team.

    Good luck to him, and may you find your swagger again.

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  18. Randers helped Movsisyan’s career. Maybe they’ll do the same for ol’ Chuck Davies. Still gutted for the guy. When he scored that goal at Azteca, I thought we had our world class striker. He just doesn’t have that extra explosive gear anymore, which means he’s a dime-a-dozen player.

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  19. wow! A lot of haters on this comment section. I, for one, think he’s got a great chance to get back into the US forward mix. We’ve seen players go on a hot streak goal wise before and suddenly end up with a USMNT camp invite. He matured a lot over the last year or two (got married) and if he can get regular playing time there’s no reason why he can’t be included in future USMNT team camps. Let’s be honest, our forward pool is pretty shallow in regards to players that have actually started meaningful games for the national team.

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  20. I think having speed causes you to play a different style of game. When it is gone it does make the player look ordinary. Fernando Torres with all his injuries is proof of that. His touch isn’t anything like most of the other Spanish Players. It is heavy as Torres tries to push the ball past defenders and run onto it before they recover. Gareth Bale does the exact same thing.

    I hope Charlie can get back, but it is very tough to remanufacturer yourself in a brand new way, especially when you’re 25 – 26 year old and all you have known is that you have been faster than almost any player you play against.

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  21. “And now Davies”?

    Is there some other Davies I don’t know about, because this one is NOWHERE NEAR making the US national team.

    The current forward pool:
    1. Altidore
    2. Gomez
    3. Boyd
    4. Wondolowski
    5. Agudelo
    6. Sapong
    7. Wooten

    There are guys who are barely in the picture (Pontius), or not really in the picture (Cooper, Bruin) who are ahead of Charlie freaking Davies.

    Charlie Davies fans need to give it up, he will never play for the US national team again, not even a Camp Cupcake invite. 7 of his 11 goals with DC United were penalty kicks, and they are far better now that he’s gone. I still remember all the rage when he wasn’t on the World Cup team. And the last Gold Cup roster. And January camp. Anyone who mentions Davies and national team in the same breath is more delusional than those who still think Freddy Adu is a difference maker for us at the international level.

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  22. Randers FC in particular isn’t better then an average side in the swedish league. But Davies will be playing AGAINST some better teams at least.

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  23. which is a good thing. with boyd, agudelo, altidore, gomez, and now davies all fighting for a spot on the national team. it just makes each player that much hungrier when they step on the pitch.

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  24. After witnessing his “performance” in DC last year, I’m very tired of Charlie Davies. A more self-absorbed individual is hard to find. All you need to know about Davies’ abilities and locker room presence is to remember that after Chris Pontius broke his leg and DCU was looking for someone, anyone to partner with DeRo, Olsen kept Davies firmly planted on the bench. The accident took away that which made him different, without pace, Davies is a very, very ordinary player.

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  25. Denmark’s league is ranked about 13 or one step above Austria’s league where Boyd plays with Rapid Vienna. It’s a step down from France but far above Sweden which is ranked about 26th or so.

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  26. Hate to say it, but I don’t think Charlie will ever fully recover from his accident. He’ll never have the burst and athleticism that once oozed out of every pore. Such a shame, he was the perfect complement for Altidore and his speed would also have made him dangerous in a 4-3-3 alignment.

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  27. Though newly promoted, Randers has been a solid Superliga club throughout their short history. This is Davies ticket to get back on track. Randers are providing the platform and level which Davies could excel. It’s all up to him and I, for one, can’t wait to see Davies get back onto the field on a regular basis. His MLS stint was more or less a rehab of sorts. Hopefully that was just a hurdle. We are all rooting for Davies. He may not ever rep the Nats again but any success is a miracle given what he’s overcome.

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  28. I’ve been rooting for him all along, but with so many up-and-coming strikers in the pool (Altidore, Boyd, Agudelo, Bunbury, Sapong) I’d be surprised if he’s able to reestablish himself in the team. Of course, I’d be happy to be proven wrong!

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  29. He has a better chance at Randers of gettin playing time but he will have to do something with the playing time to get back to the USMNT. With Altidore, Gomez, and Aguedelo all doing well with their clubs he is going to have to do better than they are to get back. I hope he is able to because he was a really good player with Jozy before the accident.

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  30. Good for Charlie! I hope he works his way back to earning regular minutes. He’s always going to have a special place for a lot of US fans, regardless of whether he ever makes it back into the mix.

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