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FC Dallas loans John to West Ham

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photo by ISIphotos.com

George John left the U.S. men's national team camp last week to pursue an opportunity abroad.

That move has been completed, with John moving to a club in England.

According to various reports out of England, FC Dallas has loaned John to West Ham United. The move to the Championship club for is a short-term loan with an option to buy at the end of it.

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce believes John has the tools to succeed in the Championship, but he also said that John will not available for selection for Saturday's match against Portsmouth as he adjusts to life in England.

The 24-year-old John, who has three years of MLS experience under his belt, joins a Hammers side that looks a good bet for promotion to the Premiership this season.

What do you think of John's loan to West Ham? Think he will do well? How do you see FC Dallas faring without him?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. “boosted335 – are you trying to imply that John plays more balls back to his GK and partner than Ream? ”

    I see you are a die- hard George John fan who seems bent on putting down other center halves in order to make John look better by comparison. Your stance seems pointless since Ream and John are different types of players. They may well form the USMNT CB pairing in the future.

    Other than telling you that John and Ream both seem careful with the ball, the comparative statistics you cited are meaningless.

    There is a lot more to being a center half than having a high completion percentage of passes, so to speak.

    Center halves are often the last line in the defense before the keeper. They often have to make clearances, which by definition are bad passes since they usually either go out of bounds or to the opponent far down the field. They often have to make back passes to the keeper. They often have to play the ball back and forth with the keeper and other defenders. All of these go into the “completion percentage” stat. They don’t tell you who is quicker and better at playing the ball out of the back so that they team is in a better position to attack, something JK has said he is interested in.

    You rate these “passing percentages” as if these guys were QB’s in the NFL and that is misguided. John and Ream aren’t there to do what Xavi, who probably does have a fantastic completion percentage, does.

    This whole nitpicking debate about which of our young center halves is better than the other is also premature.

    Ream (7 caps) , George ( 0 Caps), Gonzo ( 2 caps) and Cameron( 1 cap), did not get much international experience with the USMNT since JK took over for a reason.

    The USMNT has been more solid defensively than it has been in a very long time. Dolo, Gooch, Boca, and Chandler seem about as solid a back four as the team has had in some time.

    JK has kept Boca around because he wants stability and experience at the back, which is what you want during a transition period with Qualifying just around the corner. Center half is the last place you want to put inexperienced players, if you have a choice. Yes, these guys will eventually have to be worked in but from what I’ve seen the team doesn’t need them right now and it has more important things to work on.

    I’m sure many fans were outraged by Klinsmann giving that early chance to Fiscal instead of one of their faves but, hey get over it. Ream was in camp all that time and obviously did not do enough to get on the field. John and Gonzo are different players from Fiscal. Cameron may have a beef.

    These guys were outstanding in MLS but since when did that guarantee success on the national team?

    Chad Marshall, Kenny Cooper, Conor Casey, Jeff Cunningham, just to cite a few examples, were all outstanding MLS players and they did not achieve the same level of success with the national team.

    Three of the four look like they are moving/will move abroad sooner or later. If they do well then they will be that much more ready for the USMNT.

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  2. Gap is already filled, we took Matt Hedges in the draft. He’s very John-like btw. We’ve also picked up Hernan Pertuz (an international from Panama I think), also we’re in trade talks with Tauro FC for both of their CB, Moreno and Rodriguez. FCD has surely moved on from John. He’s been offered several new contracts but won’t sign them, his contract is up soon, he’s focused on Europe, what else can we do but move on?

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  3. True

    But are you trying to imply that John plays more balls back to his GK and partner than Ream? Hell a NYRB fan doesn’t even have to ever watch anyone else play and would admit Ream and Marguez dink the ball around the back line more than anyone else in the league and what do they have to show for it? Ream got the first and only assist of his career this year. John got his first and only this year too…care to guess who was “guarding” John when he notched his?

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  4. Big risk?

    The risk is John won’t do well and West Ham won’t buy him.

    Do you doubt that Hyndmann has already moved on? This way at least he has time to fill the gap.

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  5. As a West Ham and FC Dallas supporter, I see it as a win win.
    Also despite being in the Championship League, West Ham now is probably in a better situation as far as management, support, and future status than most Premier League teams. Relegation honestly was probably one of the best things to happen.

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  6. No to Blackburn Adam Henley is in the team and so far is on the starting sqaud. I’m hoping the teams that get relegated are Wolves, QPR, and Wigan. It’s time for Wigan and Wolves to finally go!

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  7. spammers suck.

    good for john though big slow man!

    love tim ream. going to bolton we all hope.

    stuart holden and him can build that relationship next month.

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  8. John is 24. He’s not “younger”. He is exactly the kind of player MLS needs to be moving on to make way for younger (18-22) players.

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  9. Johns passing % in 2011 – 83%

    Reams passing & in 2011 – 85%

    Those figures leave out a lot of information.

    Do they tell you what kind of passes were involved?

    In other words doesn’t a three yard back pass to the keeper count just as much as a fifteen yard diagonal pass to a winger?

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  10. The way I see it is that these are the type of players that need to be kept in the MLS, a loan would be fine but if West Ham peruse the option to buy then will the league ever be taken seriously as one of the worlds best when the younger players are leaving?!

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  11. “What do you think of John’s loan to West Ham? Think he will do well?”

    There won’t be enough time or opportunities to do well from a fans perspective. However, the subsequent offer to buy or not will tell how the coach feels about John.

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  12. OT — but there’s a local NoVA report that Junior Flores turned MLS down. I’d provide the link but I gather that’s frowned on here. ‘Nuff to say there’s a hint buried in my post.

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  13. Dallas has nothing to do with it. Deals are between MLS/Bidding Team/Player.

    Also “mental state likely shot again”?
    What a joke

    Dallas played damn near more games and traveled more than anyone in the league.
    Dallas also rarely ended a game with more than 35-40% possession all of last year. Dallas had the lowest Goal for total the second part of last year
    John played the most minutes out of anyone on the team.
    Any drop in performance of FCD and its backline was more likely due to the above than anything related to Johns “mental state”
    If John’s mental state was an issue he’d have been benched just like coach Hyndman has benched Shea,Jackson,Cunningham,etc etc

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  14. Dallas sets the price. He’s probably going on loan because West Ham are not keen on spending that kind of money without it. In the end, it goes like this: get promoted, win a contract. He can do it, they can do it, and FC Dallas stands to make some $$

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  15. Actually Matt, I would expect to see them both in the Premiership next year. I think Bolton will stay up.

    At least I hope so anyways. I’m still a Ream fan overall. I think his confidence was just shaken with NY last year.

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  16. 2nd the Ream deal isn’t concluded.
    and the article is about John.
    Congrats to him. He has all the tools to succeed over there

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  17. Johns passing % in 2011 – 83%
    Reams passing & in 2011 – 85%

    The difference isn’t as great as some would like to believe. Also John makes the same passes with BOTH feet without hesitation. Ream rarely uses his right foot and never attempts long passes with it.

    Hopefully Ream can transform the leakiest EPL defense with his distribution so that the John vs Ream debate can continue in the EPL next year.

    I wish him the best but have my doubts

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  18. Sure seems like Dallas is taking the big risk here allowing him to be rent to own. What upside is there for them, unless there weren’t other offers on the table for him? I mean if he performs well, he is gone, but if he sucks or gets hurt he comes back and his mental state is likely shot again.

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  19. Can anybody tell me how George John gets a work permit? He doesn’t have the national team appearances to qualify via that route.

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  20. Yeah, but that will most likely swap after this season and West Ham is a better club with more history and support than Bolton. (not knocking Bolton)so it will be a good move for John.

    Go make us proud George!

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  21. Anyone else find it slightly amusing that John is off to a championship team while Ream is off to a Premiership one while the former clearly had the much better season?

    Reply

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