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Cameron unavailable for Stoke opener

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Photo by ISIphotos.com

Geoff Cameron's Premier League debut will have to wait a week.

According to Stoke City's official website, Cameron won't be able to return to England until early next week while finalizing his visa, and he is unavailable for the club's opener against Reading on Sautrday.

"I am disappointed that we couldn’t get Geoff back from America in time, he’s going to be a great player for this club," Stoke manager Tony Pulis said. “He had a great game for the States in their historic win over Mexico, but now he has to complete a biometrics test as part of his visa application. We’re expecting him back early next week and then he should be available for our first home (match) of the season against Arsenal."

Cameron is coming off arguably his finest performance in a U.S. national team jersey, going 90 minutes as an anchor of the unit that shut out Mexico at Estadio Azteca in Wednesday's historic 1-0 U.S. victory. Stoke's match against Arsenal at Britannia Stadium is slated for a week from Sunday.

What do you think of this development? Disappointed Cameron won't be part of the action this weekend? Encouraged by Pulis' comments?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Defense is not the problem for USA…It is the creative leadership in midfield/around goal that will come as the domestic league grows and learns from experienced foreigners.

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  2. Agreed. However he was also the reason Hernandez didn’t score. Ream would have gotten torched by chicharito. Plus Cameron won many balls in the air and has an edge. I was skeptical on him but for me Cameron and Edu are firmly challenging for starting spots

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  3. Nick,

    Many of the criticisms I’ve seen of the USMNT in general tend to make it seem as if the critic has a level of information that they usually do not, in fact, possess.

    One of the biggest things that JK proved with this Mexican game was that he has a very good handle on where all of his players are psychologically speaking, unlike most of his critics.

    First string not available? Okay, let’s coach up the second string to do the job. Knowing the makeup of all your players and when and how to use them is the mark of all the good managers.

    It is really one of the first times I’ve seen tangible evidence of actual coaching ability, beyond the motivational aspects, from JK.

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  4. It seems you wish to punish the guys who did not play in the Mexico game but that is impractical and treating your players like wayward children is rarely advisable. The USMNT will need just about everyone in the player pool sooner or later.

    This display of depth was important. We have four more WC qualifiers this year and the grind will only increase next year as JK has indicated he is planning a heavy schedule.

    Given the vagaries of injuries, club responsibilities, losses of form, and so on, chances of having in the exact same lineup for all these qualifiers are pretty slim and not really desirable.

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  5. Fans tend to confuse a player-club relationship to a marriage. They talk about loyalty and owing the club/player something. If the terms of the contract are fulfilled then no one owes anyone anything.

    Fulham and Dempsey have had a business relationship that now appears close to termination. Both sides are maneuvering for maximum advantage. All these criticisms about how one party is screwing over the other seem misplaced to me. I haven’t seen anything in that situation that appears abnormal. I would expect some sort of resolution one way or the other in fairly short order.

    These guys are professionals so this stuff is just business, however unpleasant seeming it may be at times.

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  6. Agree somewhat. He definitely fluffed a clearance.

    I’m not sure he deserves all the blame when there was virtually no pressure on the wide players as they crossed the ball. Chicharito did get loose, but I don’t think he is particularly easy to mark and the service from out wide was spot on.

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