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Report: Adu plays 45 minutes for Blackpool in closed-door game

Freddy Adu Bahia (Bahia)

By DAN KARELL

Freddy Adu’s appearance at Blackpool might lead to a trial.

While training with the club to regain fitness after a failed stint with Brazilian club Bahia, Adu reportedly played one half of a closed-door training match for the Blackpool first team against their youth squad. Reports first surfaced on Thursday that Adu was training with Blackpool, and he accompanied the squad to Ewood Park last Saturday to watch Blackpool fall 2-0 to Blackburn.

“Freddy is just over to train and I’m going to have a look at him,” Blackpool interim manager Barry Ferguson told the Blackpool Gazette prior to the closed-door match. “That’s as far as it goes at the moment. He’s not played in two months and he’s just come back from Brazil. We’ll see how he does in training.”

Adu’s last official match came on Aug. 28 with Bahia in the Copa Sudamericana. In that game, Adu started and played 71 minutes in a scoreless draw. If Adu did sign with Blackpool, it would be his 10th club in ten years.

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What do you think of this report? Think Adu can impress Ferguson enough to earn a contract? Think it’s the right move for Adu?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. I secretly think Klinnsman is saving To add Freddy to the very end. That way, he will surprise teams and he will be out secret weapon. :). On another note, Adu embarrassed brasil. They know what he can do. So he goes to Brasil to play and the coaches don’t play him so he won’t make the team. Reporters reported how good he played in the first games but after that they did not put him in. Mexico still fears him as he is the only one that actually takes them on successfully. Altidore says he is the most talented to play with, Donavan, Dempsey and even captain Howard are amazed by his talent and skill set and know he can make a difference. I’d take him to brasil and give him those last 10 minutes to work his magic. Who else can come in to do that, shacha? Williams? Whatever. What don’t understand is why Klinnsman sees the talent adu has and does nothing to mentor him, help him, bring him in to show him the ropes. Sure klinnsey looks for talent but he must also develop and bring out the talent you have. I would take adu as the 23 player! Teach him the ropes if you say he does not know and have potential to come in off the bench and change a game. If he does not play defense as well, so??? He plays better offense than 90% and has magical moments. Surround him with the talent we have now and see what he can do. I’d take his offense any day than beckerman, sacha, Williams Evans….for crying out loud..the Evans experiment must be over….2nd tier South Koreans schooled him. Imagine ozil, Ronaldo and the others????

    Freddy…u are needed.

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  2. People who wonder why some of us still wait for Freddy Adu news. I follow soccer because:

    1. I want my national team to do well. Freddy has rarely diappointed me while playing for the USA
    2. I want my local club team to do well–That has nothing to do with Freddy right now
    3. I want to be entertained. Few players from this country can match his creativity and occasional moments of brilliance. I will root for the Beckermans and Joneses and greatly respect them as players, but give me Freddy to watch every time… For pure entertainment value, its no contest.

    Wherever he is playing, i will be looking for the grainy highlights–its entertainment!

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    • Well said Cairo! We don’t need to do a “Freddy vs whoever” breakdown to pull for a guy who can do amazing things with the ball. I will follow him, root for him, and continue to hope his on field performance will agai surpass his ego….cause he’s effing fun to watch!

      (In the voice of the players at the end of the movie “Rudy”). Freddy….Freddy…Freddy!

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  3. I am rooting for the guy. Regardless of whatever he was supposed to be, what he is and is not, what he wants and what he’s got. I want him to succeed. Think about it. He is an excellent study in the underdog now. No longer the golden child. And still a youngster really. I don’t give a siht if it takes 20 clubs – if he eventually settles and contributes I say it will be worth the entire long ride. Go Adu.

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  4. So funny to read comments accusing JK of “blackballing” Adu despite his enormous talent. Adu has jumped around from club to club without ever really settling in or winning a long-term starting position. His professional development has been stunted for his whole career. He may have the best technical skills in the world, but that is only one component of being a professional soccer player. And even if he had the whole package, it’s another jump — in consistency and commitment — to the international level. For me, Adu will always be the “what could have been” story.

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  5. The fact that Freddy can still generate over a hundred comments for training with a lower division English side is astounding to me… and I just added to it.

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  6. Here’s where I’m confused. He was in Philly this weekend, so I guess he must have flown back to England immediately after the super bowl, or on Monday. But I do know he was in Philadelphia this weekend.

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    • I played one season in the J-League. Japan is a fun place to be, and the players have so much fun out there. Nightlife and cuisine is great too

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      • Thanks for that piece of useless information that you used as a way to tell us that you played professionally.

      • No problem! I do birthday parties and signings every Wednesday. I won’t charge you, I like to do charity cases every so often

  7. Love me some blackpool. They were awesome when they came up–tried to play Arsenal style ball and made the fans happy. Adu fits that mold perfectly.

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  8. Freddy has always had talent. His problem has always been his work ethic, ego, and price tag. 10 Teams in 10 years points to a significant issue with the player. If he does somehow sign with Blackpool I hope he keeps his ego in check and does what the coaches ask of him. Until then I hope this is the last Adu story we see for a long time.

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  9. I think Freddy would take less money (something in the $250-300K range), but not in MLS, where I don’t think he felt appreciated or treated fairly. I kind of agree with him, to be honest. Philly was dumb enough to sign him for a big number, and then wanted to reduce his salary by two thirds. That’s too much to ask a guy who played ok (not great, but a lot better than people seem to remember) in his first year. He was not a flop in MLS–he just didn’t live up to the size of his contract. He was worth probably $250K in Philly, and if they’d had decent strikers he’d probably have ended up with 8-10 assists that year. That’s certainly worth a decent contract.
    I still pull for him. He will never be a big star, but he’s got some game, and he’s more entertaining on the field than most. Would love him back in MLS, but hard to imagine at anyplace but Chivas USA, where he might feel the style is different.

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  10. Great. Another mega crappy team to follow.
    Why can’t our players go to teams that don’t make me want to poke my eyes out when watching?

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  11. Excuse me while I grab a big bucket of popcorn. Only 21 responses so far? If Jozy and Freddy played on the same team, might break the internet.

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  12. To be fair, The English Championship has been a place where careers have been rehabilitated for players on the fringes of the USMNT pool.
    Danny Williams fell out of favor for Hoffenheim, now he is consistently performing for Reading.
    Eric Lichaj played his way out of a spot at Villa, and at Nottingham Forest has performed well, and finally got a USMNT callup.
    Brek Shea has found consistent minutes at Barnsley, and Oguchi Onyewu is getting regular starts at Wednesday for the first time in years.
    Tim Ream is a curious case, but for most of US players in the Championship, their careers are better for it.

    Reply
    • they way you describe being “rehabilitated” in the Championship is akin to being “rehabilitated” in Siberia in Soviet times.

      none of those players you listed are coming back to the EPL.

      More like could not cut it in a top 4 league and found a more comfortable home in a top 25-30 league

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  13. I’m surprised Fredy doesn’t go to Spain, he would perfectly fit in LaLiga. If a lot mexican players go to Spain, why can’t Fredy go. I’m also surprised cosmos, galaxy, dc united and even skc have not shown interest. Fredy needs to stop his global tour sooner than later 🙂

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  14. Thanks for all of you guys faith in me. I knew that that the real soccer fans of SBI would be here to support me as I try to make good on my promise. Tell Jeurgen to save a ticket for me!

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    • Freddy,

      I get up at 4 every morning to work on a writing project for which I have a deadline. And I love the work that I do. Even the blessed – I once believed much of the crap about talent – have to bust ass. You’re young, much younger than me, and you’re talented. You also seem like a good guy. Bust ass, remain committed, and do the right things. OK? I’m cheering for you, pal. And one more thing: stay off social media…if you can. Go get ’em, Freddy.

      Reply
      • Findley, for sure. guy was lucky CD9 went out. but Gomez was the Liga MX’s joint top scorer in 2010. and Buddle was MLS’ leading scorer at the time of the 2010 call ups. so it’s not like they were just magically included.

      • Gomez yes… i see your point…anything in MLS nope sorry what did Buddle do as a starter vs real world talent…? How many goals.? People will realize soon that the MLS is Light years away from being a real league. They are good but nothing to break your neck over.

      • who is talking about what Buddle did or didn’t do? or about the quality of MLS? that wasn’t the point.

        the point was you said if they can do it, Adu can. i don’t disagree with that because Adu is talented. but he would have to go on a goal scoring tear, just like Buddle and Gomez did, in order to be included.

      • E 250 is around $300 so that isn’t a bad deal if you are trying to rehabilitate your career. He’s only 24 and if he has been prudent with the money he has earned he won’t exactly be living out of garbage cans.

    • Tons of rec teams in the DMV area both indoors and outdoors and NASL season starts soon so he needs to comes back down to earth and realize he’s in way over his head at Blackpool.

      Reply
      • LoL how is he over his head in the 2nd Tier of the English Football, when you have Shea, and Holden staying put there lol….Adu is equal..if not better than both of them yet you have nothing to say about them???

      • Techskillz… really? You do realize that Holden was a force in the Premier League before going down with injury, right? He was starting every match in the EPL, and was arguably Bolton’s best player. Of course now Bolton is in the Championship, but it doesn’t take away from what he was when healthy. He was leading the league in tackles at one point, and was a lock to start for the USMNT.

      • You see this is the problem with American Fans. Please tell me ANYTIME Holden was a FORCE in the EPL…and if so why was he not picked up by one of the big four?? It’s ridiculous the love that a very good player, yet made of glass gets lol… HAHAHA A FORCE?? Van Persie is a force, Toure, and Silva, Hazard, and Oscar. Et’o…and your going to say Holden was a force bwhahahahahahahaha. This is why we have fans ready to jump off of buildings when they lose FIFA matches lol…cause they are this stupid….

      • This is the problem with internet tough guys. They don’t know nothin’.

        From the Wikepedia: “In the 2010–11 season, Holden helped Bolton reach seventh place in the Premier League and to the FA Cup Semi-finals. However, his season was cut short on 19 March after he suffered a knee injury against Manchester United at Old Trafford when going into a tackle with Jonny Evans.”

        Holden was a FORCE that season. He was earning all kinds of plaudits from everyone in England. He got no interest from bigger clubs because Jonny Evans shredded his knee before the summer of 2011, and he’s hardly played since.

      • Techskillz,

        Holden was a force for a mid to lower table premier league team and was held in high regard by coaches, players and reporters alike. He just got set back due to a couple of serious injuries.

        I am not sure why you are so high on Adu. I like Adu too. I saw him in the Gold Cup final v Mexico and he was great. I hope he does well, but if he was as great as you are saying, wouldn’t he have a more stable club situation. I mean ten clubs in ten years is pretty bad. Something definitely needs to be worked on in his game. You don’t need to just ask ives bloggers, I have heard this from USMNT reporters and correspondents about his weaknesses which are holding back his potential and success. Agreed he does have good ball handling skills, but if he can’t run, he doesn’t score much, and if he doesn’t have passing skills or vision, what good is he to a club (which is why he has been released so many times). If he can stay and learn with a club and work out his issues then maybe there is a future for him with the USMNT. I still follow the guy and wish him all the best success.

      • hahahahaha, Holden is a force because of what? His blonde hair? A lot of people on here just hate Adu period. As long as they admit that I’m ok with it. Like you said Adu trainings with a championship team he’s washed out, other players play one and he’s a force in the EPL. This is a force in soccer since the past matters:
        At the age of 14, he became the youngest athlete ever to sign a professional contract in the United States, On April 3, 2004, he became the youngest player to appear in a Major League Soccer (MLS) game, cost Benfica US$2 million, the youngest player to debut with the U.S. national team, became only the second player in the world to play in three FIFA U-20 World Cups, the first player to ever score a hat trick in both the U-20 and U-17 World Cups, lead the U-23 men’s national team in Beijing and leading all players in scoring, and was selected to the tournament Best XI.
        If holden was so much a force why didnt he get calls raining in during his rehab to secure him as a player?
        As fan as we all feel that Adu failed us because of lack of his dedication and work ethic but damn this is hatred on a different level….wow.
        Techskillz416 I with you hoping this kid can turn things around soon

      • why is this turning into an Adu v. Holden thing?!?! Holden was voted the player of the season in the entire EPL (link above) before Evans took him out.

        “If holden was so much a force why didnt he get calls raining in during his rehab to secure him as a player?”

        this comment doesn’t even make sense to me. why didn’t he get called while his leg was broken? or when his femur was broken? or when he had a torn ACL? once he was fit, Holden actually did join up with the US team. he even came into this January camp to continue rehab (http://soccer.si.com/2014/01/28/us-national-team-stuart-holden-jermaine-jones-fabian-johnson/).

        don’t get mad at someone hating on Adu and then turn around and throw the same irrational hate at Holden. completely destroys your argument.

      • Holden’s name shouldnt even be mentioned….he’s played barely 30 games for Bolton and he’s being compared on a talent level as Adu? Secondly his call up was as a guest for training/rehab something we should be doing for all our potential players.
        My point was why down one player but hail another….

      • 1. i didn’t bring him up, but once he is brought up, people aren’t going to just sit quiet when someone says Holden hasn’t done anything.

        2. yeah, because he was INJURED. but when he did play, he was voted as the EPL player of the season! the EPL. Adu is a great talent, but he can’t say he was voted as the EPL player of the year. he has fantastic achievements of his own though, i’m certainly not saying otherwise.

        3. DUH. that comment was in response to your comment, “If holden was so much a force why didnt he get calls raining in during his rehab to secure him as a player?”

        4. no, that was not you point. or if it was, you are terrible at getting your point across. you just got down on Holden while making a point in which you are saying don’t get down on players?!?! huh?!

        relax dude, Holden and Adu are two completely different players with completely different talents. i wish them both the best.

      • HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…..stewart Holden was vote player for the season SO FAR (which if we remember it was around mid season) by the guardian readers…..hahahahaha not a football governing body….GUARDIAN READERS….fans!!!!. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA so if everyone on SBI votes for Bornstein what has he achieved? hahahahahahaha NOTHING……OK you got it Bryan man…..

      • you two are truly something else. racist because people think Holden has accomplished more than Adu on the professional (not youth) level?

        learn to have a conversation like an adult. how old are you?

      • (Okay, my original comment is in moderation. Never will figure out the no-no words here.)

        bryan: you really are too smart to be wasting your time feeding the tro-lo-los. If their uneducated comments weren’t enough of a clue, the “ra-cist” accusation was a dead giveaway. Wait two more minutes and they’ll compare someone to Hit1er.

      • hahahah you mad bro…. Holden is a mediocre player at best….EPL player of the year so far….hahah what ever..you corny guys love your great white hopes and swear by them lol….. Holden is a decent player but he def has NEVER been a force for ANYTHING…..

      • Techskillz: you are making a strong push for dumbest commenter ever on this site. I hope you’re proud.

      • Why are people so mad when Adu is trying to succeed Techskillz416? Please explain this to me. Is everyone bitter because he found success early? Or is it because they thought we had the next Messi….wow its unbelievable.

      • Bizzy most of the USMNT fans are closet racist because Adu is originally from Ghana and not a blue blood American. I have NEVER understood why fans of the USMNT would hate a player who has nothing nothing but Positive things when wearing the national shirt.

      • I feel honored to have my first SoccerbyIves stalker lmao….. this clown has followed me through ever post and not making one soccer related post. I’m honored!!! lmao….

  15. I think Holland would be the best move for Adu. It would allow him to focus more on his strengths as a player. Where perhaps it is a less pyschical league then the Championship. It’s also a league where that kind of play maker role I think is given alittle more importance.

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    • Me too. It’s insane that’s he’s still 24. If he was anyone else, we’d still be clamoring for him to become a world class player. He has the skill as the Gold Cup shows, I just think his style is too unique for most clubs. He doesn’t track back enough to play on the wing, he’s not a good enough passer to play as an attacking mid. His best position as a youth was behind Jozy, but I don’t think he has the goal-scoring chops for that anymore.

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      • yeah it’s pretty crazy. maybe it’s because i’m a DCU fan? i agree with your assessment of where he could play. i wonder where he played in this game. sounds like they destroyed the other team 6-2 though.

      • I think its because we all feel a bit at blame and he does seem like a good guy. However its almost like this was something we had learn the hard way in developing as a soccer nation. Its just bad that it came at his expense.

      • Adu is the USMNT’s Riquelme. He would be the greatest if he only found a team who would use him properly.

        Maybe they can just put Freddy on a swivel in attacking midfield and he can show those boss technical skills.

      • Blackpool used Charlie Adam exactly like that when they bumped up to the EPL a couple years back. Fascinating, actually…they’re actually quite similar players, though not an association I would have made before now.

      • This is a great point about Adu. He excels when the team is set up around him in role where he can roam freely and you do not have to rely on him doing much work off the ball. The problem is that he is either not good enough to build around, or the manager doesn’t believe he is good enough, or the manager is risk averse and doesn’t want to fail if it doesn’t work out.

        I still wonder what would have happened if Adu started his career under anyone not named Petr Novak.

      • He is asking for too much money. That is the real issue. If he dropped his salary requirements some team would pick him up. But I think he is basically supporting his family, and his agent is not going to tell him to ask for less money since the agent gets a percentage. If he was playing consistently he could perhaps show something.

    • Just because you haven’t seen Freddy play in awhile does not mean he all the sudden stinks. I still rate him as one of the best USMNT prospects but one that needs to find a club that is using him for more than marketing purposes.

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      • Any team that thinks Adu still holds any marketing value I think would pretty well mistaken at this point. Perhaps thats a good thing for him going forward.

      • Only if he right-sizes his self- and salary-esteem to the informed perception of his quality. I think he would be a solid role or bench player in MLS, Scandinavia, A-League, that level, but he has to bring his ego and his salary down to the point where he is valued more for contribution — which is solid but not great — than cap impact.

        But as long as he approaches things like he is a DP player worth DP money, in serious leagues, he’s going to struggle. Blackpool, for example, can’t get him a work permit probably. If he can’t get the work permit it’s actually more valuable for him to be trialing in a league where his teammates are also in offseason shape. Trying out with an in-season team when you’ve been rotting is setting yourself up for failure.

      • Freddy is a good highlight reel guy but thats it. I wish I was wrong but at this point in his career thats the case. We need to give it up and focus on the talent we have right now that are working their butt off and deserve the recognition. You don’t see England chasing Kieran Richardson, Chris Eagles or Spain chasing Jose Antonio Reyes to fulfill their “Potential” the move on to the next player thats working hard to EARN it. Or what kind of team would Barca be if they keep trying to force Bojan Krkic on the field or giving him all the media attention when other deserve it more???

      • are you suggesting adu has no talent? how did he perform so well in the u20s without talent? Luck? How did he perform so well against Mexico in arguably the most important gold cup final since 2007?

        adu will always be a story because of the potential he has demonstrated on the field. And newsflash, the reason Adu got so much potential in the firs place is precisely because the US is not Spain or England. We dont churn out youngsters with that much talent on the regular. For that reason. No one is wasting anything on Adu. An update on his status is news (124 comments). Deal with it.

    • Blackpool is known for scouring the lower leagues of England and other obscure European leagues to find talent. They have a cap, I believe, of three hundred thousand pounds per player, and they’ve floated around in the Championship and even got to the EPL a couple years back. “Desperate” and “bad” are not two words typically associated with Blackpool. “Opportunistic” is more appropriate.

      Blackpool is sniffing around Freddy Adu right now because they think if he’s willing to play for them for what they’re willing to pay players (keep in mind Adu hasn’t made that little money in QUITE some time) they think they might get a bargain with him. If he doesn’t work out…well, no biggie, it’s not like they’ve got a ton of money in him anyhow.

      Typical Blackpool business, actually.

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    • There are way to many novice US soccer fans. It’s really sickening lol. Ok sure, he has jumped clubs 10 times so what! He is still better than 95% of the current players on the USMNT. You saying you’d rather have Kyle Beckerman in vs a Brazil, Spain, Uruguay etc..? Have you not seen what the kid has done vs Suarez and Cavani, The Brazilians who currently are on their Senior Squad, same as the Spanish?

      How is it that Freddy Adu can jump from 10 different teams, yet Klinsmann recently stated that there is no demand for any of his players in Europe, yet a kid who hasn’t played in 2mo can get a call up for a tryout? I see Brek Shea and Stuart Holden jumping around teams recently where is the outrage in that? Your hate for Adu…A USMNT PLAYER is very odd. You would think someone of his skill set would have more supporters on a team that currently will get raped by any top dog in the WC yet you somehow believe in this USA, Hulk Hogan taking your vitamins, saying your prayers, blood sweat and tears is gonna carry us to the top lol…. Tracking back on Defense is one thing…it aint gonna win us a Cup thats for damn sure….

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      • TGA is correct, the problem with Adu is his lack of speed, strength, and quickness. A player with Adus size (small) and skill (large) must have the quickness and speed to seperate from people and the muscle to hold them off. Adu has the skill to beat people off the dribble but he is so slow he cant seperate. I still think there is a spot for him on the team, but to state he is 95% better then the current pool is silly.

      • Id argue “el pibe”, Riquelme, etc lack speed, strength, and quickness. By no means am I putting Adu in the same sentence as these guys, but there other attributes lacking in Freddy’s play on and off the field.

      • I agree with the attitude problem and the excessive salary but little else

        The last time he got significant minutes with the NATs,. was in a Gold Cup game and he was the best player on the field for the US. JK has since basically black balled him. He needs to be brought into the pool and worked with, not shunned. He does have a lot of talent and also needs to be worked with on other things

        He has a lot more talent than other favs that JK fools around with and is a darn site more dangerous than the toothless tiger Altadore

        Work with him if he can be worked with but dont shun him unless he is unreachable

      • Jurgen likes a 4-5-1 and it would SEEM that Freddy would be a good fit as the CAM/withdrawn striker. Especially given that the rest of the US midfield pool is pretty much a bunch of hard-running defensive midfielder types…again, it would SEEM that Freddy is the missing piece to spark an attack.

        Donovan and Dempsey would seem to be the guys who fit that role in this cycle, but they’re not going to be around for Russia 2018…my suspicion is, if Adu can just find a stable club situation somewhere I think he can definitely work his way back into the conversation for the next World Cup.

        I haven’t completely given up on Adu either. He does have a skillset no one else on the roster has.

      • do yourself a favor and listen to the A.S.S. Podcast (American Soccer Spectacular) by Jimmy Conrad. That will give you an inside look at the dedication and fitness of Fred Adu.

      • Sorry bro but that Jimmy Conrad podcast is talking about Adu as a 16yo child. Which is also why the USMNT and the USSF SUCK. How is it that you can’t get in a 16yo kids face and scare him straight and have him get his fitness right…instead you shun him and you end up losing 3 games at the WC in 06 and you go home….

    • Blackpool is 16/24. I don’t think there is downside to these teams in kicking the tires without commitment. They have minimized the downside even further by labeling this a training assignment and not a trial.

      Reply

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