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Davies speaks on his Sochaux comeback

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  1. ‘all of you guys sound like you have a lot of dark anger buried deep inside of you. give davies a chance to prove himself (not with DC in the crappy MLS) before you write him off for good. The Nats have never seen another striker like him, and that is a fact”

    You are being overly dramatic but that is actually very appropriate since Charlie himself is something of a drama queen. There is no dark anger against Charlie and if there was it ain’t buried deep, it’s right on the surface.

    Speaking just for myself, I’m a little tired of CD’s act. It’s always someone else’s fault, the French, Bradley, Olsen, his inferior teammates at DC, whatever.

    If DC United and MLS are such crap how come CD was unable to come in and dominate? The man is a frontrunner. When things are going well he’s a hero but when times are tough he starts looking for someone to blame. That is just the kind of guy you want next to you in a tough tournament.

    As for “The Nats have never seen another striker like him”, what steaming pile of diseased cow manure.

    He had a nice run of ten games or so and was very inspirational in the Confederations Cup run, which helped boost the US confidence for the 2010 World Cup. Losing him certainly hurt but I would argue losing Gooch and Demerit for so much time that they were not at all sharp when they came back for the World Cup tore the heart out of the defense and was at least as important. Had Demerit and Gooch being able to retain their Confederations Cup form going into the World Cup, there is every reason to think we could have beaten Ghana and maybe make the semis, even without the Drama Queen.

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  2. I disagree with anyone who says Davies should be called in. For me he needs two things to make the cut: 1) Be a starter 2) Score goals
    Then let’s see where is attitude is at and if the rest of the guys accept him.

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  3. all of you guys sound like you have a lot of dark anger buried deep inside of you. give davies a chance to prove himself (not with DC in the crappy MLS) before you write him off for good. The Nats have never seen another striker like him, and that is a fact

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  4. I heard him on Extra Time radio the other day and he seemed as delusional as ever. He just comes off like someone who takes no accountability, including accountability for poor performances (with DC). He is also high as a kite if he really thinks he was going to make the Gold Cup roster last year (which he alluded to repeatedly).

    He is miles away right now. Miles.

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  5. I’m currently living in France and I wear my l’OM scarf all the time, lol. You have no idea how much warmer they keep you because they help trap your body heat in your jacket much better.

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  6. because buddle was the leading scorer on his team. Buddle scored the last game the USMNT played. Just because Davies got 5 minutes on the field with a bad last place team in france doesnt mean he deserves a look. Also D Williams and Johnson were both getting minutes before their call up

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  7. You are absolutely correct; we don’t know what the future holds.

    I did not say there was no way he makes the 2014 roster. I merely said he’s got a long way to go and it won’t be as easy as everyone seems to think.

    The Davies we all saw in that 10 game run he had back in 2009-2010 was all about sheer youthful exuberance, confidence and relentless physical aggression, allied with blazing speed.

    He built up to that with good years in 2007 and 2008. He was just a 20-year-old kid then with nothing to lose and everyone cheering him on.

    Now he is a 25-year-old man, recovering from some very serious injuries, with a history of legal issues and conflict with management at Sochaux and DC United. In other words he now has a fair amount of baggage to go along with an older, damaged body, a damaged physche and a questionable public image.

    There is an old saying that adversity builds character; that is BS. Adversity REVEALS character. Charlie’s adversity is showing us his character, good and bad.

    So for him getting back to the USMNT savior mode that US fans feel they are entitled to expect from him is more than just a question of getting some games with players worthy of his talent and getting back in the groove.

    I believe he will have to change his game because he just doesn’t seem to have that physical power he used to use to dominate opponents. If he does get back to the USMNT he won’t be the same player exactly, and that might be a good thing.

    I hope that happens because I’m a fan of the US and think options are a good thing even if they mean having to support as unpleasant a person as Davies.

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  8. I agree Andy there is literally 2 options right now for the USMNT. Dempsey and Jozy. Buddle is not in match fitness form, but I think he will be called in. Davies has a case for being called in. If for nothing more than for Klinsmann to evaluate him face to face. I would like to see Davies, Altidore, Sapong, and Buddle. Dempsey can either play as a with drawn FWD or continue to play as the CAM. I think this would be a good time to get Davies back into the fold with the USMNT, and allow Klinsmann to evaluate him in person. Davies already resides in Europe, so it won’t be a strain to call him in.

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  9. Awesome. Another story about a guy who’s shown that broken bones still heal faster than broken character. Not a hater at all, just wanting to see the quality of the person catch up to the quality of the footballer

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  10. Why would Klinsmann call in Buddle( I think he will.) Did D. Williams or F. Johnson show much befroe being called in. The USMNT will literally have only dempsey and Altidore in 100 percent match fitness and form for the FWD positions against Italy. Buddle is not in match fitnes and form. Davies has been training the past couple of months with Sochaux and now has some gamtime minutes and will get some more this up coming weekend. Buddle on the other hand has bounced around the past two months on trial. Hasn’t seen real gamtime minutes since the end of november, and has been only training with LA for the past few weeks. If Buddle is called up(and I think he will be)then Davies has just as much of a case of being called up as well. Remember the U-23’s will probably take Agudelo, Bunbury, Boyd, Wooten, Taylor, and Adu for the match against Mexico’s U-23’s. So that leaves Dempsey, Altidore, Buddle, Davies, and Sapong to be selected for the FWD positions. But maybe Shea will be used as a FWD. At this juncture I would take Davies over Sapong. So that leaves Buddle, Dempsey, Davies, Altidore, and possibly Shea for the FWD positions. All I ma saying is that Davies is putting himself back into contention for selection. Not only that he is already based in Europe.

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  11. I see what you are saying but that actually makes him come off as a bigger jerk.

    United were a crap side last year. Davies could have chosen to alter his game to help the team but he did not.

    But then what can you expect from the man who tried to hijack the USMNT’s 2010 World Cup and turn it into the CD9 redemption tour.

    You may be right. Now that he is on a presumably better team, he may play much better. And maybe he plays well enough to get back on the USMNT. Weirder things have happened.

    However, one thing his year in DC has shown is that he not a guy you want around when things are not going well.

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  12. Yeah I know, and now he’s on LA, but he’s still 30 years old with no upside so for me he’s not a good pick. I’d rather see Gomez than him if we’re bringing an old striker.

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  13. If you listen to his interview on Extra Time over at MLS.com you will come away with similar notions to what you say here. Sounded like things boiled down to Davies not being mentally ready to be the player he was before the accident. I would guess that he potentially thought he could be a big fish in a small pond at D.C. and when the mental side of the daily grind caught uP to the emotional start he had to the season, the true state of where he was as a player showed up.

    However, I agree with others that this move back to France will force him to work that mental part of his game out and reprove hImself at that level. But I completely disagree with your comment that he can not make it to 2014. It only took Buddle and Gomez one season easch to come out of national team obscurity to make the squad. Bottom line is that if he is playing and scoring goals in Europe he will get a chance at some point. You or I don’t know the future of that so we wait and see.

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  14. If you look at the shots when he is on the field it is nice to see him unable to hide his joy of being back on the pitch in france. When the opposing players touches is back as a way to say congratulations, he tries hard not to show is pleasure at being back. A warm and fuzzy moment to watch for sure.

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  15. Andy, Buddle was released from Ingolstadt because they couldn’t afford to keep and pay him, otherwise that he was their leading scorer and they were in relegation zone.

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  16. I know there is a lot of Charlie dislike going around lately after his season with DCU, but with the U 23s tied up with their camp at the same time, I would like to see him called in.

    Who else should they bring apart from Jozy? Buddle (just cut from a 2. Bundesliga team) or Robbie Findley (knocking tap ins over the bar like it’s his job)?

    Even if he doesn’t play it would be good to get him into training just to evaluate him a little bit and get him integrated with Klinsy nice and early if he is going to regain his past form.

    I’d like CD, Jozy, and Sapong for this camp.

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  17. He was one of the primary reasons the team didn’t perform as well as hyped… he should have challenged himself to play harder and also tried to help them come together as a team. Instead he dived, wined and only made runs when the ball was being passed to him. He rarely made runs off the ball and rarely got back to help. Then he was benched and was at odds with the coaches and became a recluse in the locker room.

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  18. I’d be sad if I was on that DC team and not succeed like what was initially hyped. No offense, but Davies doesn’t belong in MLS he needs better competition. That’s probably why he got disinterested

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  19. I saw a number of his DC United games and was overall disappointed. On the bright side he seems to be technically a little sounder, seems to be “smarter” player than he used to be. On the other hand he just seemed to disappear for long stretches at times. And his issues with management at the end struck a sour note especially coming from a guy who should be grateful DC gave him a shot. Mostly CD comes across as an entitled jerk who is all about #1, hardly unusual in a striker. Even so, he is exceptionally selfish and self centered.

    Maybe others saw it but I never saw him energize the team like he used to with his passion, aggression and relentless pursuit of a goal.

    He may be physically healed but it may take a while for the mental part, the concentration and focus to come back.

    Those of you who are thinking of him for the 2014 World Cup need to get a grip on reality.

    He is a ways from meeting JK’s requirements and he may never do that. He had a great run in 2009 -2010 but those runs sometimes are once in a lifetime deals.

    He was an unknown kid coming out of nowhere then. Now, it’s a bit different trying to meet up to the insane expectations placed on him by US fans that want their savior to come back.

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  20. I may be the only one here (and I am a DCU fan) but I was disappointed in his effort last season. It wasn’t about the diving (which even as a DC fan, was pretty bad), it was more about he seemingly gave up towards the end of the season and then quarreled with Ben Olsen when he was benched. I wish him all the best, but I hope he can stay strong mentally and keep his ego down if he starts getting more time and playing well.

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  21. I am at the galaxy Montreal scrimmage and just overheard someone talking directly to someone on the montreal bench about Ching coming to LA??? Not sure if it has anything to do with Chivas or Galaxy or to just to sign paperwork but it sounded like the announcement would be made tomorrow.

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  22. People have been saying he should be back in since April 2010 (when he obviously wasn’t ready). Some fans aren’t interested in things like form and fitness, but want to see feel-good stories and the next big young star.

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  23. – I’m still not used to how his face has changed.

    – I’m glad to see him back. I really wish him the best, whether he gets back to where he was and exceeds everyone’s expectations or not. I think he’s done a lot of growing up and I hope he’s able to keep making progress.

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  24. Hope Davies works hard and shows well to the manager. He’ll be on the bench for a while but if he can take the most of his time, and score a goal or 2, he can become a starter again. Maybe he will play a role in WC qualifying. His only competition is Jozy, the rest of our strikers are either too old, MLS caliber or rookies.

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  25. great to see him back on the pitch in france. If he starts starting and scoring I might be able to look past his pitiful diving antics while at DC. He burned up a bit of fans goodwill with that crap. Who knows, he may yet get to play in a WC

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  26. I agree. I think he is ready to get back to dong what he is best at and that is scoring goals. It will be a huge boost for the USMNT if he becomes that dangerous striker again. Does Klinsmann call him up aainst Italy? Wouldn’t hurt to bring him in, in my opinion. That wayward strike was all about being anxious on the field. He will calm down with more minutes on the pitch.

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  27. hard to believe it but it looks and sounds like he is back. That year in DC was good for him, got it out of the way, but now he is ready to return to the form he had.

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