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Reports: Clark on trial with Stabaek

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Photo by John Todd/ISIphotos.com

Ricardo Clark's stay in club purgatory could be nearing its end.

According to reports out of Norway, Clark is on trial with Stabaek IF — the parent club of current U.S. Under-23 and KAA Gent midfielder MIkkel Diskerud — with an eye on a loan deal that would afford him much-needed playing time once the Norwegian season begins in a month.

Clark played 45 minutes in a club friendly against Spanish side Deportiva Minera on Monday, and reports suggest that Stabaek is interested in going forward with a transaction if they can come to an agreement with Eintracht Frankfurt, where Clark is under contract until the end of the 2012-13 season.

Aside from one start for Eintracht Frankfurt at the beginning of this season, Clark has been relegated to reserve duties and has rarely made the matchday roster, let alone seen the field. He participated in the U.S. national team's January training camp and received playing time in friendlies against Venezuela and Panama, scoring the game-winning goal in stoppage time against the Vinotinto.

What do you think of this development? Think it would be a good move for Clark?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. You guys are crazy. He played really well at Frankfurt. He just couldn’t convince the new coach of his skills.

    MLS is getting better, but none of the teams have the amount of competition for spots that you have in the top Euro leagues. There is no shame in riding the bench with a big club like Eintracht. All over Europe there are ridiculously talented guys who would DOMINATE in MLS that ride the pine (for whatever reason) in the top Euro leagues. Having said that, he should switch clubs to get playing time. He’s still got plenty of gas left in the tank.

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  2. I don’t know…Rico just seems like the epitome of mediocrity to me. If hadn’t been for The Legend of Bob Bradley, he’d have never had made the World Cup Roster. I don’t know what Bob saw in him & never have.

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  3. Just come back to MLS, Rico. He’d still make a nice midfield anchor for most teams, and I’m sure he’d command a decent salary.

    It’s sad that ignorant American fans blame him for losing in 2010. A better case could be made for blaming Claudio Reyna for ’06 (not that I would make that case, either).

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  4. Clark showed well (not amazing, but well) for the USMNT last month.

    He’s got quality despite his flaws.

    Plus, playing anywhere is better than rotting on the bench in 2.Bundesliga.

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  5. Stabæk is in a deep financial mess. That’s why they let Mix Diskerud go to Gent. The Norwegian league has been a good fit for some Americans (see Clarence Goodson, Hunter Freeman, Ramiro Corrales, et al.), but this seems like a risky move for Clark.

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  6. He was starting for Frankfurt in the Bundesliga before his injury. It was Bradley’s fault for playing him in the World Cup when he hadn’t yet regained his form.

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  7. I don’t think he should be starting in the World Cup but that’s why we carry 23 people.

    And the idea that being (arguably) USA-insufficient means you are Stabek-insufficient, is a massive non sequitur. He was an All Star level DM at Houston just 3-4 years ago. If Parkhurst and Rolfe and Co. can excel in Scandinavia he’ll be fine.

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  8. I think there is a fair argument to be made that he is not truly “elite” — ie, the sort of guy we need against Brazil or Italy, which would be more like Jones — but to act like the guy is “in no way shape or form at the international level and doesn’t deserve call ups” after he just scored the goal to beat Venezuela, a few years after he bailed us out late against T&T in a key qualifier, is not just hyperbole but inaccurate.

    I think it would be wise for him to come home but I don’t think his MLS value is even $500K in present circumstances, and that’s why I see him in a Freddy Adu/EJ catch-22 of it being more lucrative for him to beat his head against a wall in Europe than to play here. Someone will probably pay him that to merely compete for time there. Granted, I would rather play here than sit there, but some people like the European cachet and superficially higher pre-tax paypacket number.

    Personally I think his downward spiral started with the move to Frankfurt — which happened the window before the World Cup, and meant he was getting rusty before that awful tournament for him — and I’m amazed two years later he’s still there rotting his career away. I do think he can be lackidaisical and careless on the ball and occasionally obnoxious in behavior, but I think he’s better than Larentowicz or Beckerman if he’s actually playing, and would be a 23-roster guy if not really a first 11 or 18 person. He’s too talented for this.

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  9. Well, let’s see. They gave him a trial and now like what they see enough to pursue taking him on loan. They’re not exactly jumping into this blind.

    I would imagine Stabaek needs a bit of grit in the midfield and he will clearly come with a reasonable price tag.

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  10. Clark is in no way shape or form at the international level, and doesn’t deserve call ups. Nor does he have the skill set to cut it in the German top flight (I know his club got relegated). But he was once a top five holding mid in MLS. I would like to see him come back. Like him or not, if he played at the same level before he went to Germany he would improve the level of play here. Having said that, MLS should bid no more than 500k for him.

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  11. I can’t believe any team would want Clark at this point. He is consistemtly mediocre, commits ugly fouls & the memmory of his sub-par World Cup performance should be etched in people’s memories forever. Stabek can’t do better????????

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  12. I hope this works out. I’d like to see hime getting consistent pt somewhere.

    In other news involving Americans that haven’t played in a while: Lichaj scored for the Villa reserves today in a 4-1 win against WBA

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