Charlie Davies' quest to return to the Charlie Davies of old has taken him to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he began his one-week evaluation by D.C. United today.
Davies could see action on Friday when D.C. United plays its first intra-squad scrimmage of the camp. With his paperwork coming through on Thursday morning, the FC Sochaux striker can begin showing D.C. coaches he is worth keeping.
D.C. will evaluate Davies for the next week before deciding on whether to go forward with a one-year loan deal for the FC Sochaux striker.
"Before his accident [in 2009], I think we all know that Charlie was one of the best forwards in this country," D.C. United head coach Ben Olsen told the club's website. "Obviously he has been through quite a lot since then, and to his credit he has got himself back to playing form.
"Where that playing form is, that’s something we need to evaluate this week to see if [Davies] is right for D.C. United."
Here are some other stories to get your Thursday going:
Anelka to New York rumor resurfaces
The Nicolas Anelka to New York rumor has resurfaced, this time with L'Equipe chiming in with a brief (and we stress the word brief) report citing Anelka's brother as the source on a story suggesting Anelka could join fellow Frenchman Thierry Henry in New York and play for the Red Bulls.
If that story sounds familiar, it should. The same story surfaced in December, also citing Anelka's brother.
Is there anything new to the story? Not that we can tell. There are slightly different circumstances for Anelka now that Fernando Torres has joined Chelsea, but at this point it remains wishful thinking that the 31-year-old striker is ready to come to MLS.
The Red Bulls do have a third Designated Player slot they can use, and Anelka will likely be looking for new employment come the summer, but even if Anelka did want to come to New York the Red Bulls could find it difficult to squeeze a third Designated Player under the team's salary cap without having to shed some players.
Osorio officially named Honduras national team manager
Former new York Red Bulls head coach Juan Carlos Osorio has parlayed the Colombian League championship he recently won with Once Caldas into a national team head coaching job.
Osorio was named Honduras national team manager on Wednesday and the Colombian skipper will look to help the 'Catrachos' qualify for their second straight World Cup.
Fire signs Uruguayan striker
The Chicago Fire head into 2011 in need of forwards, but on Thursday the club has added a forward the team hopes can provide the spark up top the team lacked in 2010.
The Fire announced the signing of Uruguayan striker Gaston Puerari from Uruguayan club Montevideo Wanderers.
Puerari scored eight goals in 35 appearances for Montevideo.
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What do you think of these developments? Excited to see Davies in D.C. camp? Hoping the Anelka to New York rumor is legit? Think Osorio will do well as Honduras manager?
Share your thoughts below.
Will Osorio be staying with Once for the beginning or through the apertura of the Liga Postabon & Copa Libertadores? Or is he outa here now?
Agudelo will not be a starter this season people, its already been said that as of now it will be Henry and Rodgers up front. This year is all about giving Agudelo minutes, so dont expect an amazing season from him this year.
4) still to early to say anything at all, dont think the deal is done and dusted ya kno? there’s really no risk to DCU if they don’t sign him after the “trial”.
Anelka is good, but I hate him at Chelsea so it wouldn’t be much of a stretch to hate him at Thirst Mutilator FC I suppose. 😉
You might have heard of this really really ok REALLY bad coach Domenech who drove team to distraction….to point whole program melted down?
Yeah blame the players and Anelka, but it was the coach the federation who didn;t listen to years and years of complaints and warnings who are really at fault for whole fiasco.
Anyway, Anelka is still a class talent, whether he would find playing in MLS sufficiently motivating is another question.
I would not want Agudelo to study under Anelka. What rubs off is the mental stuff, not the skill or talent. Anelka has skill and talent, but the other stuff I wouldn’t want Agudelo taking that on.
I hated watching Anelka play in South Africa, and if he played like that I wouldn’t want him in MLS either, selfish SOB
1) Not fit/healthy enough to play enough to make it worth it.
2) Skill level/sharpness has not returned enough to make it worth it for DC to use up time on him on the field.
3) He still hasn’t matured. He continues to make decisions, something that could possibly come through in a weeklong interview.
Hopefully none of these are an issue, but these are reasons I can think of.
Did anyone catch the Chelsea match the other day? Anelka was, by far, the most influential footballer on the pitch. He was tracking back, inventive with his passing, and looking to get everyone else involved. If he was inspired by the signing of Torres and it lit a fire under him then I see plenty of teams vying for his services. But I am a RBNY fan, huge, so I would love to see him playing at THE ARENA!!
No way he goes to both
Anyone remember way back when Anelka said he wouldn’t ever play for the white devil in England or France anymore? And considered a move to UAE.
Even if only a bit of that religious/racial motivation remains, the UAE still seems like a better retirement option than MLS. Higher wages, luxurious lifestyle, better climate.
If I was an aging player, I think I would pick the posh option over MLS stil.
Post f the day Colin, POST OF THE DAY!
Reminds me of when I use to work at a Best Buy in West Hollywood or summers in Downtown hanging out and you see the girls, always pretty good looking too, driving the Red Bull Mini Cooper with the Big giant can on the back and then walking around with Red Bull can on their back as cooler back packs!
Ives, do you have any insight into Uruguayan striker Gaston Puerari that the Fire just signed? His strike rate is pretty good, but doesn’t exactly get the heart racing. I think he is only 25, so hopefully his career is arcing upward. How does the league he played in previouly compare to MLS? Any clues to the identity of the 2nd international player the Fire are targeting?
I can’t see a scenario where DC United would not take Davies. Even if he isn’t at his previous top level I’m fairly certain that he would be at a good to very good level for MLS. If he gets anywhere near to his form prior to the injury then he will tear up MLS.
With the U-20 WC and the Gold Cup NYRB is going to have to get used to not having Aguedelo
If NY takes another DP, the rest of the league gets more allocation money. I don’t know how smart it is from a competitive standpoint to severely restrict your own cap with a 3rd DP while enhancing the caps of other teams.
Then again, it’s Nicholas Anelka.
+1. Juanito is only 18. I don’t think anyone is giving him the keys to the Red Bull mini cooper with the giant can on the back yet. He can wait, get minutes, and learn from the best.
Sounds like Angel (substitute France with Colombia) when he came across the pond…..
+1
If NYRB is up for a long term deal I think he takes it. I just don’t know with his disposition that would be the most advisable decision.
Anekla is 31, has millions of dollars, has no future on the French national team, has just been effectively demoted from his starting spot, and probably wouldn’t land at a club equivilant in size/prestiege if he left, at least not now. Sound like another French player? Perhaps its unlikely that he would come to MLS at this point, but just like that other guy, he’d still make more millions, get to live in New York, and get to play a good level of football for a living with basically no pressure compared to what he would face in Europe if he stayed there. That doesn’t sounds so bad. MLS should attract players in Anelka’s situation.
I don’t see how having two experienced, international and former world class strikers on the team would be bad for Agudelo. He’d still get his minutes.
Anelka to NY would be great for everyone involved. Backe is considering a 4-3-3, and I could see Henry, Anelka, and Agudelo up top together. Of course NY will have to shed some players to make space under the cap. But there’s WAY too many players on the team as it is, and Salou Ibrahim’s salary could probably get NY half way to 335k mark. I’d be money that Anelka joins NY on a free transfer in the summer.
As long as Le Sulk can stay focused, I think he’ll succeed. Certainly, being away from the annoying British press, and enjoying the relative anonymity of the US, will delight a temperamental guy like Anelka.
Just drove by dc united practicing behind ft laudy’s baseball stadium off commercial but couldnt see davies as i was driving; but anyone in the area interested thats where they are/were.
Anelka to NYRB would be bad for Agudelo, right?