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Cameron approved for UK work permit, completes transfer to Stoke City

Cameron (ISIPhotos)

Photo by ISIphotos.com

Geoff Cameron's transfer saga has come to a satisfying conclusion for all parties involved. 

Cameron was approved for his UK work permit Wednesday after a successful appeal hearing at Manchester City's Etihad Stadium, which puts the finishing touches on his transfer from the Houston Dynamo to Stoke City.

The approval has a two-pronged effect. It means that Cameron will fulfill his dream of playing in the Premier League while leaving a void on the Dynamo roster that will quickly be filled by former Dynamo standout Ricardo Clark.

The Dynamo officially announced the signing of Clark Wednesday, who returns to the club for which he played from 2006-2009 and is eligible for selection when the Dynamo meet the New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena on Friday night.

Cameron needed to go through the appeals process, because he did not meet the requirements for automatic approval. He is the fourth American to win an appeal in the last year, following in the footsteps of Alejandro Bedoya, Tim Ream and Robbie Rogers.

"We wouldn’t have come this far and worked as hard on getting the transfer done if we didn’t think that we had a good chance of getting a work permit," Stoke City chief executive Tony Scholes said on the club's website.

Cameron had joined his new Stoke City teammates during their North American preseason tour, although he was not able to play with them while the transfer was still in the balance. He started 15 games for the Dynamo this season but has not played since the club's 4-0 victory over D.C. United on July 15 at BBVA Compass Stadium, a game that was arguably his best showing of the season and wound up being his farewell to Houston.

"It’s been a difficult period between agreeing the transfer deal and the hearing, most difficult for Geoff in particular because his life has been on hold, Scholes said. "Thankfully though, we have now progressed to a point where Geoff can focus on the start to his career at the Britannia Stadium."

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What do you think of this development? How do you see Cameron faring in the Premier League?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Partially, yes. They only retained his rights because they made a counter-offer. An MLS team has to make an offer in order to retain the rights of a returning player.

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  2. very likely if he gets consistent time with Stoke. if he does not then id put him right in the middle of the pack with ream, gonzo, john, gooch, goodson and anyone else, at that point which ever 2 cb’s are in the best form at the moment but a lot can change in 2 years…

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  3. A lot of those players you listed are natural midfielders. I think picking up a veteran CB, if there is legit one available, is a smart move at this point in the season.

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  4. I believe it’s because Rico left on a free transfer, so Houston was not compensated for him and thus retain his rights.

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  5. In other defender news, Twitter says that Will Packwood was named to Birmingham’s first team. I guess he was originally a CDM, but now central defender. Is he another wildcard for USMNT 2014?

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  6. How is it that Clark doesn’t have to go through the allocation process, since he’s been a USMNT player. Is it because he played for Houston originally, or was there something in this deal that I missed? Just wondering, since Boca, Howard, Clint, etc will hopefully return to MLS one day down the road…

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  7. “He made a mistake in th WC. Everyone does.”

    I would like to go on record as having never made a mistake in the World Cup.

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  8. I don’t think we’re as thin as feared on defence.

    Taylor and Hainault can play anywhere along the back line.

    Creavalle and Sarkodie provide cover at fullback. I don’t rate Sarkodie, but DK obviously does since he waived Recio.

    Also, Ownby has been deployed at RB at least once this season, even if it was in the USOC or against Valencia (I can’t remember).

    Also, Rico can play CB as well… I know Frankfurt deployed him there occasionally. From a CB position, he’s less likely to try and make a move into the attack where he might make a costly turnover.

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  9. His Norwegian club, Stabaek, was in a strange situation. They had some financial issues and sold or loaned out ALL of their good players (including Mix Diskerud, who is now back from loan).

    I’m not sure exactly what caused them to take in Rico on loan, but he was on average a decade older than the rest of the team. And the team sucked. I highly doubt they would be any higher with De Rossi, Busquets, or any other world class DM in his place.

    Plus, foreign media love to scapegoat Americans. That said, I did read about one of his giveaways in a particular game that led directly to a goal.

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  10. Yeah I mean it’s a toss up. The majority don’t end up like Clint, but I think the injured guys just fell on hard luck. That sucks, but that’s the game. I just want Geoff to get the chance. We’ve seen the flashes of brilliance from him. The question is: Can stoke bring all of that out into full form?

    The key phrase here is “traded to a contender”. I don’t mind seeing Geoff go overseas to see if he can weather the EPL. If we transferred him interleague I’d be livid. That’s simply because the EPL is better than the MLS. It just provides better opportunities. If that wasn’t the case I might think differently.

    I agree it’s taken time to recover but Dom, given the lowest payroll in the league, still makes better decisions in the draft and offseason than almost everyone else. He’s done it time and time again.

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  11. I am a little dubious on the dream aspect here when a lot of Dynamo players have made it into the pool or the team from here, then gone to Europe and gotten hurt or out of favor and either come back or gotten stuck in some limbo. For every Dempsey that explodes there are usually one or two more guys who raise their paycheck but stay about the same or worse or gets injured, and a couple kids who get flushed. Like I said, an interesting choice and we’ll see which one of the stereotypical outcomes he gets.

    And as someone also familiar with the other Houston teams in town, I think a certain amount of self respect demands that I rebel against the sort of “traded to a contender” mentality where I am supposed to be happy our good player has “moved to greener pastures.” What about pride in my team, which is made up of what is left when players like this leave? It’s taken this team years to overcome DeRo + Clark + Holden, only reason it’s not more of the same is the parallel signing spree and an against-character bit of tactical imagination from Kinnear in terms of formational approach.

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  12. when should we expect Cameron to get his first game in? End of the month? September? what about Bradley? do you think he will be starting in a few games.

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  13. So many American players have left for Europe, been forced to the bench, only to return out of shape and deminished skills (remember Freddy Adu?) Sure, there are plenty of exceptions (Clint,Landon,etc.) but for the most part it’s true. I hopoe Geoff is able to showcase his skills and succeed and doesn’t get injured like Holden.

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  14. I take that stance in support of the USMNT. The idea is that better development, coaching and competitors will bring out the best in a player. Quite obviously, that is not always the case, but that’s the goal. I pray that Stoke does NOT use him as a midfielder because I’m afraid he won’t get USMNT time if that’s the case. And no lol you can’t really be giddy about losing a guy like Stu. But at the same time, after watching these guys play so much, I want them to move on and do greater things. Although, that thought is only possible because I know Dom is running the show. In Dom We Trust.

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  15. this void, as stated in the article

    “while leaving a void on the Dynamo roster that will quickly be filled by former Dynamo standout Ricardo Clark”

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  16. With Robert Huth hospitalized with Meningitis; it looks like Cameron is the man to fill in at CB now. Good Luck Cameron!

    Depending on the severity of the Meningitis Huth could be out up to a month and half.

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  17. EXACTLY! Sure, at times it can look like MLS is holding players hostage, but can you blame them? This is a business. You don’t just let young, developing talent go overseas without a solid payment or even an overpayment. That is how you develop as a league. Simple.

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  18. I find it strange for people to be taking this stance when Rico Clark who received similar accolades on his exit, has made a U-turn and come right back. To me, he’s made an interesting choice, it is to leave the team I support — I mean, should I really be that giddy we lost Holden, etc.? — and we’ll see if it pans out.

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  19. I find people taking this stance are always confused, it’s like how dare they hold onto this emerging player of value, until they get the right deal? Well, because they are of value and under contract. MLS is not a charity and Cameron for instance was mid-contract, like year 2 of 4. Stoke tried to lowball him down to $2 million but Bolton had just paid $2.5 million for Ream. It would be a lack of self-respect to not cash in.

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  20. I don’t buy it because there is always a layer of naive Euro-bench sitters that make MLS PLAYers relevant. So there will be 2-3 MLS studs plus a handful more who get regular PT fighting with some European-based who doesn’t.

    If the UK ever dropped the work permit rules I think you’d be more right because our cheap talent would be in such demand. But as long as it’s like UK with work permits, decent pay but mediocre play in Scandinavia, snobbery in Spain and Germany, political and financial issues in Mexico, I think MLS is relevant for domestic born players.

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  21. So the same thing really? He had maybe a game or two of New Kinnear 433 Ball before transferring so it’s basically 442 hoofball to 442 hoofball for him.

    I’ll be interested how much Stoke uses him and where.

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  22. Sometimes things just don’t work for players overseas: see Donovan in the Bundesliga. Clark is coming to a new stadium that has a pillar dedicating him as a Dynamo hero. He’s been in the 433 and he knows Dom. Trust me, once he gets his fitness back, look out for Houston. They’ve already been playing without Geoff for awhile and they’re on their best run of the season.

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  23. Cameron was playing back mostly, and we have plenty of DMs, they’re just mediocre, so what void are you talking about, exactly?

    I actually think he’s an upgrade relative to the people playing his position and the irony of your argument is that we’re going to have to see if the Dynamo BACKLINE can cope without Cameron long term. Backline, not DM. I think we’ve upgraded the offense so much it’s harder to pressure our defense but we’re thin on depth in back so I’m interested if we can stay injury-free and not get pressed by anyone.

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  24. As a Dynamo fan I would like to encourage you to modify your statement sir. We don’t take kindly to ppl of your persuasion and dare I say, “Don’t Mess with Texas”. lol.

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  25. How much is Cameron making? I sure hope they don’t low ball him with a salary. He deserves at least a million. Ream is definitely getting like 1.3 million I think

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  26. He’s got one year left on his contract then he’s available on a free transfer. So its pretty likely he will go to Europe by then.

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  27. Perfect timing on the trades by Houston – those guys really know how to manage a team. Too bad they’re in houston and not in Philly or Portland or Toronto, etc.

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  28. Or, someone in the MLS will develop and then the MLS will hold them hostage for a ridiculous transfer fee which keeps that player in the MLS when they shouldn’t be.

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  29. The reports that I read from Norway was that Clark was not playing well on a very bad team in the bottom of the division. Let’s hope you are right and he turns it around.

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  30. People have been saying the for the last three cycles. Someone in MLS will develop at the right time to make a run at the starting lineup.

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  31. By the next WC our whole squad will be playing in Europe or Mexico besides Donovan (heck maybe he’ll be in Europe or not even there)

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  32. In the ideal world Clint Dempsey would be worth 12 million pounds and would be sold to like Bayern Munich or Arsenal or Valencia.

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  33. Another Yank Abroad. Sweet. What are the realistic chances he’s 1 of our starting centerbacks come WC2014/ He already jump-frogged Gonzalez and John. Arguably Ream/Gooch’s competition for the partnership with Boca.

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  34. dude give him a break. He made a mistake in th WC. Everyone does. And he suffered for it. Too many injuries cost him a starting spot for Frankfurt after some matches where he was quite good. And then they were relegated and he lost his spot and went to Norway where he played well but probably cost too much for a permanent transfer. He’s coming back. I’m sure he will fit right back in.

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  35. Ricardo Clark may have to adjust to filling a void rather than causing it. He hasn’t done that in quite a while…

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