Top Stories

The SBI Show: Episode 46 (Talking transfer season, MLS mid-season awards, and more)

Jozy Altidore

By IVES GALARCEP

The start of July is never a boring month, and the flurry of action and rumors of the transfer season have already begun all over the world.

On Episode 46 of The SBI Show, we discuss some of the transfer activity taking place, as well as the current situation with U.S. Men’s National Team forward Jozy Altidore, who is the leading American transfer target this summer.

Co-host Garrett Cleverly and I give our picks for the mid-season SBI Show MLS Awards, and no, we don’t agree on many of the categories. We also take a look at Wednesday night’s matches on a stacked mid-week slate.

Among the other topics we touch on are Carlos Bocanegra’s move to Chivas USA, the action at the Under-20 World Cup, and the latest installment of the SBI Show Q&A.

Give Episode 46 of The SBI Show a listen after the jump:

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/99513464″ params=”color=0700ff&auto_play=false&show_artwork=true” width=”100%” height=’166′ iframe=”true” /]

What did you think of the show? Which SBI Show host’s award picks did you agree with more? Where would you like to see Altidore wind up this summer?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. One thing I’d like to hear discussed is the basic question “How good is Altidore?” It’s a subjective question, obviously, but it’s very intriguing since in my opinion he’s better right now than Bayern’s Mario Gomez. Is he the same as Wilfred Bony? Adebayor?

    At what point does one believe that Altidore’s current form is permanent? I think that’s a good question because the main issue with Altidore is probably his commitment to sustaining/improving a top work rate on the field. How much further can he improve that part of his game? Has he already answered those questions?

    If Altidore produces more or less the same season for AZ, would that answer the questions? Or would his goals have to be more “self-produced”? What if he scores 10 goals less next season, but looks as good?

    If news reports are correct Sunderland opened with a 4 mil Eu bid, when AZ have him valued much higher than that, I’ve seen 7 and 8-10 mil quoted. Transfermarket has him listed at 5 mil. Is this partially due to him being American?

    One hypothetical is to imagine that all strikers for all the top teams in the world are gone, ie. remove pecking order considerations. Where would he fit, right now? Could you see him at Munich?

    Fun questions…

    Reply
    • He’s better than the backup striker for AZ, whoever that is. And he is good enough to be exceptional for AZ.

      What you may really be asking is how good Jozy is compared to other strikers in the world.

      And I see no practical, objective, definitive way to answer that.

      A player is only better than another player if he makes his team better than the other guy would if he were playing the same position.

      For example, would Chicharito score as many goals as Jozy if he played for this edition of AZ?

      The trouble is Chicharito is a very different player from Jozy. So it might not work as well because maybe AZ does not have to players to suit Hernandez’s style.

      Jozy has all the physical skills he’s likely to get; at his age it’s about getting better at reading the game, developing that muscle memory that separates the great from the good.

      Bob Latchford, an English international from long ago once said something like the difference between the great players and the good ones was that the great ones did not have to think, they just DID whatever needed to be done.

      What he meant was they had developed their game so much that everything was just muscle memory to them; they were already two or three moves ahead. Cruyff always used to say the fastest player was the one who started running first. Of course, that man instinctively knew what was coming.

      Jozy is good enough to play for any team that has a system that fits his abilities and that is willing to play him enough so that the system becomes second nature to him.

      In return for that Jozy has to be productive very quickly, enough to show that he is worthy of continued playing time.

      It’s pretty simple really. Just find a team that fits. Because these guys do not exist and play in a vacuum. It’s always about the team. Without the other 21 guys, there is no game.

      Reply
    • Right now I think Altidore is a 8-13 goal a year striker in Germany or England. Not good enough for Dortmund or Munich, but might be able to play for most of the other teams in Germany. I think with two more years of experience he could get into the 15-20 goals a year category.

      Reply
    • Great Question!!! Here are my two cents…In Europe, Jozy is considered a second class striker as are all US players by position Dempsey M/F, Bradley M….this is the reason he is a target of Sunderland. He turns 24 this year and no top four club in a top league is going to take a chance on him after two years of improving play at AZ. At 24, the expectation from a big club is he is the finished product and can step in and score at least 15-20 goals a season. Question: If you are AVB would trust Jozy to put in a 20+ goal season with the players the Spurs would put around him? If the answer is no and since no team like a Spurs has expressed interest in Jozy then Sunderland, Lazio or whatever other mid-table club inquiries about him is the answer to the question, he is considered a second class striker. Would I love to see Jozy playing for Spurs, Arsenal (My cable system only offer NBC) or some other Champions League Club??? Yes, but, tis a dream for another day and time I think.

      Reply

Leave a Comment