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Monday Kickoff: Hull fires Brown, Beckham heads for surgery and more

Phil Brown (Getty Images)

Hull City fired head coach Phil Brown on Monday, leaving assistant coaches Brian Horton and Steve Parkin in charge of the club until a permanent replacement could be secured.

Jozy Altidore's squad currently sits in 19th place in the Premier League and is in real danger of being relegated as the Tigers sit what amounts to four points away from the drop zone due to a league-worst goal difference.

Altidore has been in and out of the starting lineup for Hull despite impressing when given the chance to start. His days at Hull appear numbered as it looks less and less likely that the club will be able to exercise its option to buy Altidore from Villarreal, particularly if the club is relegated.

Here are some other stories to get your Monday going:

BECKHAM IN FINLAND FOR OPERATION

With the World Cup no longer an option after suffering a torn left Achilles tendon, England star David Beckham has gone to Finland to have surgery on the injury he suffered on Sunday.

The timetable for Beckham's recovery remains unclear, but the surgeon set to repair Beckham's Achilles stated that a quick recovery isn't out of the question. Returning in time for the World Cup appears out of the question, with the real question being whether he will be able to recover in time to still be a factor in the Los Angeles Galaxy's 2010 season.

NEW KEEPER FOR VILLA?

Americans Brad Friedel and Brad Guzan have held down the goalkeeping position at Aston Villa for the past two seasons, but there could be a new netminder added to the mix.

The Daily Mail is reporting that Villa is considering signing Manchester United's Tomasz Kuszczak this summer to help bolster the competition at the position. Friedel is enjoying another stellar season for Aston Villa, but he is also 39 years old and could be set to leave Villa in the next few years.

Guzan had been seen as the heir apparent to the starting position, particularly given his success in cup competitions for Villa, but the club are apparently prepared to bolster the position yet again.

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What do you think of these developments? Glad to see Brown go, or think it was a mistake by Hull? See Beckham returning to MLS in 2010? Worried about the word that Villa is eying non-American goalkeepers?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. As a fan of the USMNT, I root for Jozy, and I’ve been heartened to see improvement in him over this year, and flashes of real quality.

    But there isn’t a tremendous amount of ammunition to argue for Jozy to be starting every game in the Prem either, if one was impartial. The quibble I have is with those who write as if Altidore is a finished product and are dismissive of him.

    That is a mistake. Altidore is too talented not to survive whatever the next couple years bring, and considering that MLS is a last resort place he could play if all else fails Altidore will be fine.

    I suspect he will find another team somewhere in Europe which is a match for his need for development and he will continue to improve. There’s still a chance he could make a quantum leap as well.

    As long as he doesn’t listen to internet trolls who project their own sense of failure on to him.

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  2. Regardless of whether or not this rumor is true, if Villa brings in another keeper intended to be above Guzan on the depth chart, he should get out of there. That would be an insult, and he should be able to find a team where he can contend for a starting role next season.

    As for Jozy, his playing time under Brown was a crapshoot, and few people expected him to be there past this year anyway, so, whatever. I’m sure Hull’s assistants are plenty familiar with him, and if they’re not idiots like Brown, maybe they’ll actually settle into a consistent lineup with Jozy and VoH starting every game.

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  3. I agree, Fred. And he not only kept them up last year, but he helped them to promotion before that.

    As far as bringing a defender on late game last week, it nearly worked. The one point would have been worth it had it worked.

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  4. I liked Phil Brown. I don’t know why. He isn’t a spectacular manager. He isn’t unbelievably charismatic. However, I did like him.

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  5. Guzan will be sold during the transfer window.

    Tomasz Kuszczak’s arrival – if it ends up being true – will be to replace Guzan, obstensibly to back up Friedel for another year or two. Look for Guzan to be starting next year in the EPL away from Villa.

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  6. I like Guzan, and he has looked fantastic in some games for Villa (including games last season in Europe). But he has looked rather poor in the last few games that he has played. To be frank, he was a liability in them. Still, I have high hopes for him at Villa.

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  7. I don’t know why people are so insistent that Jozy needs to go back to Spain. He’s gotten much better at Hull. He’s now a fairly capable target man. He holds the ball up really well, and is using his size and strength much better than he did. And quite frankly, it seems like the Premier League is a much better place for him to learn how to play physically than La Liga is. There aren’t too many big strikers in Spain.

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  8. rossi just got back to villareal (he was in us for 5 weeks). but da vcf will sell rossi, lopez, alitdore & nilmar. vcf has big time fianacial trouble. read skysports report

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  9. Villarreal has had a dismal year. They have little chance of Europe. Selling Rossi and another forward would make economical sense for this now mid-table team. Holding onto Jozy makes sense, since he has less market value than the other strikers.

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  10. Stephen Hunt with 6, one on penalties. Bullard has four, 3 of his goals on Penalties.

    I am pretty certain Jozy earned at least three of the above penalties.

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  11. Actually, if Jozy has a good Wold Cup, I wonder if Villareal will keep him as a sub. I noticed that Rossi has not started for Villareal as much as he did last year and there have been rumors (although unfounded) that he will move in the summer.

    So if Rossi leaves, anyone think the Yellow Subs will keep Jozy?

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  12. Finally some who also believes going back to Spain would better Jozy. I suddenly want to see him at Hercules CF who are gonna be Segunda champions. Though Segunda domination means nothing in La Liga(Exhibit A: Xerez who let Jozy rot on the bench and are going right back to Adelante)

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  13. I agree that Jozy has greatly improved his game all around. He clearly is our best striker and as a 20 y/o in the EPL is impressing. However, he has had opportunities to score more then 1 goal. If I had to pick a weakness it is his shot placement. He does not have a shot that finds corners. Too many shots are wither right at the keeper or wide. Even his goal against Spain was right at the keeper. In fact, I was greatly impressed since his Hull goal was nicely placed.

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  14. Pretty much. He’s a 20 year old striker who puts a beating on your defense. He’s been playing well, looked dangerous, the goals just haven’t come (not to mention Hull has often looked awful). He’ll get there. He should keep getting consistent minutes even if he doesn’t start.

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  15. We’ll see, with Brown he was at least getting consistent minutes and as mentioned before Brown brought Jozy in. Who knows with a new coach? Here’s hoping he plays even more.

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  16. I would rather Jozy back in Spain.

    If you watch the Hull game against Arsenal, it is so obvious they are a crap team.

    They are a direct ball kind of team and I don’t understand how that helps Jozy’s game?

    It seems that playing in a technical league would better educate Jozy on becoming a great forward.

    Guzan has not been heir apparent at Villa for some time. The rumor in the January window was they were moving to bring Marin Fulop into the squad.

    He was taken out of the Cup rotation.

    Why you all think he has done great at Villa is beyond me.

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  17. i have no idea how fagan barmby marney and garcia are getting playing time over ghilas and geovanni…like you said hull actually has talent in the attacking areas…brown just didnt have the guts to play them i guess…or maybe it was a personal thing…i dont know

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  18. Clearly Jozy has improved at Hull, if you have been watching. Points I would make include:

    1. Hunt and Bullard have been injured and IMHO are key to Hull winning possession and providing service from the midfield for any Hull Striker.

    2. He’s only 20 and his first year in the Prem

    3. He had a family tragedy in Haiti mid season

    4. Hull have played 29 games 5-15-9, Jozy has played 90 min 1 time out of 24 games he was a sub or starter.

    60-75 min 6 games

    33-60 min 2 games

    15-30 min 8 games

    <15 min 3 games

    No much or consistent time to develop fully…

    He will continue to improve IMHO. The right playing time and team would accellerate this process

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  19. Why is everyone talking about Jozy Finding another Premier League team? He’s not striker mature enough to make the cut, Id rather have him go back to Villareal and then find a new, “preferably a bottom feeder” club back in Spain;)

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  20. sarcasm aside, I think the Gomez does deserve a look- not sure how much time the USMNT gets to practice before the Final World Cup rosters are due, but at the very least Bradley should call him in to train. There aren’t (m)any US strikers in excellent goal-scoring form right now, why not give him a chance….

    Reply

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