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MLS Ticker: Dawkins joins Aston Villa on loan, Olsen given D.C. United extension, and more

Photo by ISIPhotos.com

By VINCE MADURI

The exodus of MLS players to England included a player who already came to MLS from across the point, with Simon Dawkins returning to his native country on a loan move to English Premier League side Aston Villa.

The Tottenham player had spent the past two seasons on loan with the San Jose Earthquakes, and enjoyed an outstanding 2012 along with the rest of his teammates. He produced 14 goals and 3 assists for the Earthquakes, helping revive a career that had been derailed by a major knee injury.

“I worked for two years to get over my injury and regain my fitness and now I’m really motivated to make the most of this opportunity at Villa,” Dawkins told the Aston Villa team website.  “Tottenham have been great with me and the past two seasons with San Jose have really kick-started my career. I never lost my belief and everything I’ve been through has made me stronger mentally as a player and as a person.”

According to multiple reports, the Earthquakes are still interested in potentially buying Dawkins this summer.

Here are some other MLS stories to round out your day:

OLSEN SIGNS NEW D.C. UNITED DEAL

After an impressive 2012 season that saw D.C. United come within a game of the MLS Cup Final, Ben Olsen has been rewarded for his success running the team.

D.C. United exercised an option year on Olsen’s contract, which will leave him as D.C. United head coach through the 2014 season.

“Ben has had the leading role in rebuilding D.C. United and he is extremely deserving to have his option exercised a year in advance,” general manager Dave Kasper said. “We are very excited about our future with Ben as our head coach.”

JUNINHO HELD OUT OF TRAINING

Red Bulls’ new attacking midfielder Juninho was held out of training Wednesday as a precaution.  The Brazilian missed both sessions with the team but coach Mike Petke says there is no injury.

“There’s no need to for him to get into this where it could be a possible injury,” Petke said.  “Maybe he has a little tightness in his calf, but he’s exactly where we want him to be.”

Juninho joined New York from Vasco da Gama where he spent two seasons.  He is most notable for his time at French club Lyon where he made 248 appearances and scored 75 goals.

The Red Bulls are currently training in Florida ahead of their trip out west for the Desert Diamond Cup in Tucson, AZ beginning on February 13.

BARRY ROBSON SIGNS WITH SHEFFIELD UNITED

Former Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Barry Robson has joined English League One side Sheffield United on a free transfer.

The Whitecaps and Robson mutually decided to terminate the player’s contract on January 21st.  Robson had made 17 appearances for Vancouver last season, scoring three goals.

The 34 year old Scottish international could make his debut for Sheffield on Friday against Conventry. Sheffield currently sit sixth in the table and are vying for promotion to the Championship.

ARRIETA CALLED INTO COSTA RICA SQUAD

Columbus Crew striker Jairo Arrieta has been called in the Costa Rica squad for the first match of the Hexagonal on February 6 against Panama.

Arrieta earned the Golden Boot at the 2013 Copa Centroamericana with two goals and helping La Sele to a first place finish.  The 29 year old has nine caps over his career thus far.

Arrieta scored nine goals and recorded four assists in 18 appearances last year after joining the Crew midseason from Deportivo Saprissa.

CREW EARN 2-1 PRESEASON WIN AGAINST CHICAGO

The Columbus Crew defeated the Chicago Fire 2-1 at IMG Academy in Bradenton, FL Wednesday.

Federico Higuain opened the scoring, converting a penalty kick after Eddie Gavin drew a foul in the box in the 21st minute.  Sercan Guvenisik then doubled the Crew’s lead, beating James Belshaw in the 65th minute.

Fire second round pick Yazid Atouba drew one back in the 89th minute but Columbus was able to hold on in the end.

FIRE SIGN MIDFIELDER BRENDAN KING

The Fire have announced the signing of Brendan King pending the receipt of a visa Thursday.

King had a terrific career at Notre Dame where he made 81 appearances, scoring six goals and recording 14 assists.  The 22 year old midfielder has spent time with the Chicago Fire PDL squad.

“Brendan is a local product that we have watched over the years,” said Fire President of Soccer Operations Javier Leon. “He is a talented, versatile player and it speaks highly of our player development system that we are able to add him to the first team roster.”

Comments

  1. The thing about talent is when talent leaves the league other talent steps up to replace the departures. The talent is already here it just need to be developed and given a chance. Where would Stuart Holden be had De Ro not left Houston, he was filled the shoes of De Ros departure and it did wonders for his career.

    Reply
    • All due respect but as a Houston fan what I have witnessed is we now have a DM playing the spot that in succession was held by DeRo, Holden, Cameron. It sounds nice in theory but the reality is that production at CAM in Houston has steadily deteriorated as we’ve let everyone go. Since I’m a fan of Houston as in the team that goes on the field, and not the Alumni Club, I’m a little troubled at our inability to replace the players we’ve lost. When you look at what happened in the finals the past couple years, maybe we could have used a DeRo?

      I wish these people well in their careers but you’re never going to get me 100% excited about the players headed out of town. It’s a wierd mentality.

      Reply
      • Stuart and especially DeRo would be hard for anyone to replace. Look at what happened to Bolton after Stu was injured. I’m with VCU though. There is someone out there that can develop in that role and Houston needs to find him. Perhaps it’s a weird mentality but I believed it is shared by those who care about US Soccer and MLS’ development

  2. I’m okay with Dawkins moving on. Six of one, half a dozen of the other. On the plus side he is technically very good, with the ability to usually beat the first defender…he also has a good shot and can contribute a handful goals. On the down side, he cheats high and is always late getting back on D…he is a poor defender for a flank mid. He slows the attack to a crawl when he’s on the ball, very deliberate, and counter to just about everyone else on the field. Dawkins leaving will give Garza an opportunity to compete with Salinas for the starting 11. I think Garza is going to be very solid and the starter by the 2nd half of the season. I wish Dawkins well.

    Reply
  3. Everything is leaving but barely anything is coming in. This is starting to get a little crazy, MLS needs to make some splashes ASAP!!!

    Reply
  4. Is there a universal football protocol for dealing with multiple soccer players with identical one word names such as Juninho? If not, it needs to be created.

    Reply
    • In Brazil, they usually attach either a word indicating where they’re from or else some other distinguishing feature. So the Red Bulls’ Juninho is always “Juninho Pernambucano”, that is, from the state of Pernambuco. At one point he played at Vasco da Gama with Juninho of Middlesbrough fame, who then took on the moniker “Juninho Paulista” (from the state of São Paulo).

      Similarly, Ronaldinho quickly became “Ronaldinho Gaúcho” (ie from the south, the state of Rio Grande do Sul) to distinguish him from Ronaldinho “Fenomeno” (the nickname big Ronaldo had in Italy).

      Reply
    • I think this is an excellent development. If EPL players know that they can come over here to get their career back on track, and in the future go back to England, it’ll really raise the profile (and quality) of the league

      Reply
      • I agree with this. How awesome would it be if top teams start sending some of their young guys to MLS on loan instead of League 1 teams? Could get some exciting young talent.

      • They should send their players to MLS over League One because it is better. However, the Championship is better than MLS so that is where they will continue to loan out players.

      • I don’t think it’s to the long term benefit of MLS to invest time and resources in reviving the careers of foreign born players who do a u-turn back to Europe or South America when their career has a heartbeat again. It becomes a “rental” and SJ is back on the market for a replacement.

    • See and I thought I was the only Villa fan in the US. I still think I am probably the only one in Oklahoma! It is nice to see someone else sharing in my misery though. Cheers Jamie

      Reply

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