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Friday Ticker: Clark inks Eintracht extension, Barry sidelined and more

Ricardo Clark 2 (ISIphotos.com) 

Photo by ISIphotos.com

When Ricardo Clark signed a half-season deal with German club Eintracht Frankfurt after leaving Major League Soccer, the move looked like a mistake after injuries sidelined him for much of his time in Germany. The move looks much better now after he showed enough in recent starts to score a three-year contract extension from the Bundesliga club.

Clark and Eintracht Frankfurt takes on VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday in their season finale.

Here are some other stories to get your Friday going:

Barry to be sidelined a month, World Cup in doubt

Manchester City and England midfielder Gareth Barry suffered an ankle injury in Manchester City's crushing 1-0 loss to Tottenham on Wednesday that will keep him sidelined for a month and could jeopardize Barry's selection for the England World Cup squad.

NEWS & NOTES

U.S. national team midfielder Alejandro Bedoya continued to make a strong case for his inclusion on the U.S. World Cup team, recording an assist and playing 90 minutes in Orebro's 2-1 loss to Helsingborg on Thursday.

Highly-regarded Tottenham fullback Gareth Bale has signed a new deal with Spurs, putting to rest rumors that he would be sold to one of England's bigger clubs.

Here is a recap of the Copa Libertadores Round of 16, with Flamengo, Sao Paulo and Chivas de Guadalajara among the eight quarterfinalists.

Carlos Costly suffered an ankle injury on Thursday, putting his World Cup hopes in doubt.

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What do you think of these developments? Encouraged to see Clark rewarded with a new contract in Germany? Think England will miss Barry, or will Fabio Capello find a suitable defensive midfielder?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. “Back 4 was dominant against Spain, and if not for Bornstein being forced into action, was dominant against the Netherlands a few months ago, with no Onyewu.”

    The Back 4 from the Spain game has had Onyewu and Demerit injured and Boca playing in the middle so that Back 4 does not exist at this time. Yes, everyone is finally back but both Onyewu and Demerit are in uncertain form. The Spain game might have been the best game both center backs have ever played and it’s unlikely they could do that again.

    I would not point to the Holland game as evidence of how good the US team defense is.

    The US lost on two moves that basically went straight down the middle. The goals were caused not just because Bornstein was there, but because everyone else was either out of position or ballwatching. Had Holland decided to actually play it would have been worse.

    “But, when I thought about it, Bradley’s never really made a defensive sub. It’s not like the US has had a ton of late leads to protect this cycle, and when they have, to my recollection, there’s been no change similar to the one I laid out above.”

    You point out something Bradley haters rarely mention whne talking about his poor substitution skills. They are poor because the US subs are poor. Look at the subs Bradley had available in the Confederations Cup final and then compare them to the two subs Brazil brought on ( Dani Alves and Elano). Those two together had more talent than the entire US bench put together.

    Until Gomez came on the scene the US had no credible late sub instant offense goalscorer types. And before all the Adu freaks get hostile, Freddy is a creator more than he is a scorer. Not that it makes a difference. The Brazilians, who are a very physically powerful teadm, would have run right over either him or Torres.

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  2. Just My Opinion about Bradley. Seems to me he is the most advanced US player as far as comparing to European play. Poise, relaxed and not always trying to cram the ball up field. I think the US style doesn’t necessarily show the true value of MB. But please just because EDU is having a good run as of late doesn’t mean squat to me. Do it consistently and for the National Team then say that he’s better than BRadley.

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  3. Back 4 was dominant against Spain, and if not for Bornstein being forced into action, was dominant against the Netherlands a few months ago, with no Onyewu. Boca at left back adds defensive qualities, and for the most part intelligence, that Borsntein/Pearce just don’t have. That said, with a lead (a la the 2nd half vs Brazil in the Confed Cup final) I’d love to see a defensive sub like Bornstein/Pearce come in, and have Boca move inside as a 3rd center back, it seems like a tailor-made move if your starting back 4 is Boca, Demerit, Gooch, Spector. You could also bring in Dolo and move Spector to the left side and achieve the same or greater effect. But, when I thought about it, Bradley’s never really made a defensive sub. It’s not like the US has had a ton of late leads to protect this cycle, and when they have, to my recollection, there’s been no change similar to the one I laid out above. So we’ll see how that plays out next month. (Which, by the way, is how I can describe the World Cup now. Which is quite awesome.)

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  4. Haha, aren’t they? I mean, I’m not necessarily endorsing Clark to start – while I think he can do a fine job, I probably prefer Edu, Feilhaber, and Torres, depending on matchups and situations. I’m just saying… one memorable red card does not a habit make.

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  5. Edu ain’t no lock to start. But I agree – he’d make a fine partner for Bradley. Feilhaber and Torres and Clark have their merits too though. I think who gets the start will be largely based on the matchup.

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  6. Bradley was voted best Midfielder last season by BMG. He is not having as a good of a season this year as is indicated by his 3.8 – 4.0 Note for the season.

    Every time I see Bradley to include the time I went to see BMG at Hoffenheim, Bradley seems to play so lazely. He will lull you inbto a deep sleep, then wow you one moment and piss you off the very next.

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  7. The kid at Mainz would be Jared Jeffry.

    I hope the best for Clark as well. The Kicker has given two 3 Notes in a row, which is average, nothing star stunning, but not bad play. I hope to see more Yanks in the BL. It’s a tough nut to crack, but Bradley and Clark seem to be adhering to the discipline that comes with this territory.

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  8. WTH you talking about? If you’re a club wouldn’t you want to test and see how your new signing will gel with the team? Loads of players go on trial, only the few big names that does not. It is not an American bias.

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  9. Ha! MB being subbed. Hahaha!!!

    I’m not saying it shouldn’t happen, if he has a card and the game is out of reach, but it’s not going to happen with BB at the helm.

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  10. Before we can do that with Clark someone has to sit him down in a class all by himself I show him the difference between a players leg and the ball so he doesn’t cost us the game with a late penalty or something plus i hope his positioning improved because bad positioning is the main reason he’s always in foul trouble and a bad temper (Carlos Ruiz he basically kicked and stomped him out of the MLS)

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  11. American soccer players are still not even close to be respected by the europeans. If its ignorance then pardon me but who else gets only 6 month contracts with only the clubs ability to extend it. Just last UEFA transfer window, both Clark and Holden not only had to go on trial but only they got a 6 month contract to make an impact. Talk about a slap to the face!

    Im glad both midfielders got their contracts extended and overcame the bias toward americans

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  12. Great for Rico, still hope Edu starts alongside Bradley. I would even rank Torres ahead of Rico in CM for the moment. I have no issue with Bradley and Edu going forward as long as they work together. Assuming LD and SH start on the outside, they are both quite capable of tracking back when needed if one of the CM’s get caught too far forward. I think we need our CM’s to score a goal or two in the course of the WC to do well.

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  13. I agree that Clark hasn’t earned a starting spot in the middle. He could be tried out at LB and probably be an upgrade over everyone except Boca and Spector(Should start at RB). He could be vital sub though, especially after 75 min for MB, given his propensity to pickup cards.

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  14. See, this is where, to my mind, you’re making the mistake of confusing dominance to competitiveness. I certainly don’t think that most German terms could stand up to Madrid and Barcelona, or United and Chelsea. I think Bayern could pretty easily hold its own against the two Milan teamsover the course of the season. But, and this is crucial to me, the teams in the BL are better, top to bottom. That’s why there’s so much movement in the table. They’re all pretty competitive with each other. The relative strength of the league is born out by their results in Europe, which shows in the fact that they have every chance to go up in the coefficients. These indicators lag reality, since they factor in the past few years. I think it would be hard to argue that the Italian league is better, top to bottom, than the German one. That is, put four German teams in the Champions League and they will generally manage to get farther in the competition than their Italian counterparts. Milan and Inter skew this by being so much better than everyone else in Italy.

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  15. I agree. I think if Bradley moved to Italy or Spain he could develop into more of a Xabi Alonso type of player. His ball skill and distribution are improving every day. If you look at the Spain game, he played a great pass from deep to Davies on the first goal that Charlie brought down for Dempsey. Then, he had a cross-field pass to Benny Feilhaber that led to Dempsey’s goal. If he goes to England he probably continues to become a well-rounded player like Gerrard, and I could actually see him going to Liverpool if he does well in the World Cup. They could really use some help. The point is that Bradley is improving more and more every day, and the type of player that he becomes is still kind of up in the air.

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  16. Dear JD and CIB,

    Truth to tell there has been talk of a long time of forming a “Super League” of sorts featuring the clubs who really matter in Europe. Teams would be Man U., Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Bayern, Juve, Milan, Inter, Real, and Barca

    I may have missed a team or two but that list just about sums it up for the teams who are always going to be there.

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  17. No, I think it is fourth. Spain, Italy, and the ENglish leagues are better. Germany is in the discussion though and along with the French and the Netherlands leagues are in the top 6 in the world.

    Why in the world will you say he (MB) is the best overall player?????????????????

    IMO that is completely incorrect. He is not even the best at his position right as stated earlier on the thread, Edu is playing much better than he is and fits the USMNT gameplan better too. Please defend this statement, immediately.

    However, I do think MB can have a good WC w/ Edu/Jones (if healthy) playing next to him.

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  18. Xavi is a particular kind of player. Barca and Spain play a certain way that Gladbach and the USMNT cannot/will not play.

    So comparing Bradley to Xavi makes little sense. More reasonable would be comparing Xavi to Pirlo for example or Bradley to Cambiasso.

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  19. Agree w/Josh D. It doesn’t matter whether Edu has started in the last year or not. The bottom line is that his play right now is the best of all the centermids on the USMNT. Thus, he is an automatic starter. The question should be, who is playing next to him.

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  20. Thats retarded. US leads all nations in WC ticket sales. That would mean we put money into their economy the longer we stay in the tourney. Please correct me if I am wrong

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  21. But from the bottom to the top, there isn’t much whereas in the rest, I get the sense there’s loads of competition. Sure you have your dominate teams but that’s with every league or any competitive situation, but pound for pound, they don’t make my cut.

    Just opinions.

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  22. The USMNT defense is a shaky as jello.

    Someone has to protect the back 4. Jones was supposed to do that so now that he seems to be out, Rico becomes more important.

    I like edu but all this ” he’s good going forward” talk tells me that our pedestrian back 4 will be exposed while our midfield is up in the opposing penalty box.

    The US must defend as a team or it will ripped to pieces.

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