Top Stories

Altidore fails to make 18 as Sunderland falls in League Cup Final

JozyAltidoreSunderlandTottenham3 (Getty)

By IVES GALARCEP

American fans woke up on Sunday morning hoping to see one of their favorites potentially lift a trophy, but by the time the Capital One Cup Final was over, those fans were only left with questions about one of the U.S. Men’s National Team’s most important players.

Jozy Altidore failed to make the 18-man roster for Sunderland’s 3-1 League Cup loss to Manchester City on Sunday, raising fresh questions about his status with the English Premier League squad.

Altidore was dropped in favor of Steven Fletcher and Ignaccio Scocco, who were Sunderland’s forward options on the bench, with Fabio Borini given the start as the lone striker.

Sunderland took a 1-0 lead into halftime, but three unanswered Manchester City goals left the Black Cats beaten.

What next for Altidore?

He will join the USMNT in Germany for training camp ahead of the friendly against Ukraine on Wednesday. After that, he will be faced with an uphill battle to regain his place at the top of Sunderland’s depth chart. With three months to go before the World Cup, Altidore needs to find regular playing time in order to not only ensure match fitness, but also to try and find some success to boost his confidence heading toward Brazil.

What do you think of this development? See Altidore fighting his way back into the rotation? Think it’s time for Jurgen Klinsmann to start considering other starting forward options.

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. F. Torres scored buckets of goals for Liverpool. He has struggled to be consistent for Chelsea. Same league, on a better team, can’t score consistently even after well over a year. Surely Torres should be sacked and never play in the EPL again!

    Or at least that is kind of what people are saying about Jozy, except he has been at Sunderland less than a year, is on a team that struggles to ever maintain possession and cannot provide service to any forward. Clearly Jozy is as washed up as Torres and just as useless!

    For those who are tone deaf, the sarcasm button was fully on.

    Reply
    • Torres had serious injury problems that resulted in his drop in form.

      Even then, he finished last season with 22 goals in 64 matches for Chelsea. This year he has 9 goals in 28.

      The guy is a beast still.

      Reply
      • Yes, Torres is a great player. But recall in his first year for Chelsea, he really struggled and fans were all over him as being a waste. He did play so his injuries weren’t enough for fans to notice anything except that he was not scoring. Fans can be sooooooo fickle!

        And yes, we can only hope Jozy can return to goal scoring in a similar fashion.

      • By comparison, he flashed onto the scene. The difference is that Torres was proven before making the jump and expectations were naturally high. Jozy’s expectations were relatively low. He could have scored 4 or 5 goals for Sunderland and no one would be trying to make excuses for him.

    • nice; good for him. can anyone who’s watched the games confirm whether he’s been playing at fullback or mid?

      Reply
  2. Villarreal, Xeres, Hull and now Sunderland, I would love to see Jozy be successful but it may not happen for him in any off the big leagues in Europe, and that may just be the reality at this point. I still think he rates ahead of Fletcher and Scoco but we will see in the next few weeks. For me the biggest problem is and it is the same with the national team, is that he looks at time very lazy. If the team is winning and you are scoring that would be given a pass but when they are struggling and he doesn’t seem to be working hard then he becomes the scape goat as with the national team.

    What he needs to do is stay and fight for his job as Dempsey did at Fulham, coming back to MLS is not the answer. If he did come back and is successful it will only make the league seem weak. We need successful confident players to return with heads held high not tails between there legs.

    Stay and fight jozy your a yank for god sake,

    Reply
  3. Gus Poyet is no genius. Fletcher just proved this today. Sunderland didn’t win the FA cup and they will also be relegated. Jozy should have never left the Dutch league for a crappy team like Sunderland.

    Reply
  4. It’s completely shocking that Jozy is left out of the 18. Sure, Jozy has to accept some responsibility for his play but the fact is, there is still an undercurrent of discrimination against Americans in the EPL. The second an American stops performing, all faith is lost. Yet, if Jozy was Spanish, he’d be in the starting 11. Look at Soldado who scores the game winner today for Spurs after not scoring for two months. He hast done Jack this season but yet retains the faith on his manager. Why is that?

    Reply
    • First off, Soldado has a long history of being a stud including a half decade in the top flight of Spain with over 50 goals and 7 goals in 12 starts for Spain.

      And even then he had 5 goals for Tottenham before his injury.

      Jozy has 1 goal and one great season. 1 goal. 1.

      Reply
      • The Spanish top flight plays slightly better defense than the Dutch top flight..eg, not much. Dempsey had a more productive season with Spurs than Soldado is having now and I bet Soldado figures into their plans for next year. I’m telling ya, we get no respect in Europe. It’s lame.

      • despite being a big star at a relegation/mid tier club Dempsey got no respect. SPURs wanna believe they are a BIG CLUB and can buy “world class players” just to have them. sadly soldaldo is not that, though he was 1 of the best strikers in spain.

      • Wait, seriously?

        La Liga allows less goals per game than the EPL. And dominates European competition.

  5. Unless he was injured, leaving him off the team for the cup final was a slap in the face and a signal that his days at Sunderland are numbered. By mutual agreement, he’ll be heading to another club after this season. The question is where? Hard to see him staying in the EPL or going back to La Liga. The only solid options seem like going back to one of the leagues where he’s previously had success–the Eredivise or MLS.

    As for the World Cup, whether he starts or not will come down to how he plays in training and friendly matches prior to the tournament. Hopefully, he can get his confidence back in that process. But your two starting strikers not scoring and a shaky back line isn’t how you want to go into the World Cup. Its reasonable to assume the U.S. will give up two goals a game, so it has to be able to score at least that many. That could give Johannsson a bigger role than expected.

    Reply
  6. It was a big mistake to leave his club in Holland. He was having success in Holland. EPL teams do not like Americans, they rather sign low skilled Spanish or Europeans.

    Reply
  7. Guy needs to find a new club this summer, but for him to get a good suitor means that he’s gonna need a strong showing at Brazil. Though, since he’s coming into this WC with low confidence, I’m worried about Jozy.

    Reply
  8. To me all this says is Poyet knew Sunderland was going to have zero possession against the likes of Manchester City. It’s been a rough year but this is still no reason to go into panic mode, lets see how Altidore looks in the US set up. At the end of the day thats all that matters for this summer.

    Reply
  9. I said it a few weeks ago and at the time was hoping I’d be dead wrong. Poyet’s comments ‘supporting’ Jozy were akin to the dreaded ‘vote of confidence’ for a manager. I said at the time that he better FIND a way put the dang thing in the back of the net or he was heading to the reserves. Happening quicker than I thought. I don’t want to say that I hope it was his hamstring, if the game goes on as planned, maybe we’ll find out Wednesday…

    Reply
  10. The handwriting has been on the wall since Poyet talked about maybe Jozy not being able to play in the Sunderland team, that he might do well in another setting. Yes, Klinsmann should be thinking about someone else, and he should use a 4-4-2 formation. The USMNT doesn’t have a lone striker talent other than Jozy. But he is not performing in that capacity very well. He is too slow.

    Reply
    • “Poyet talked about maybe Jozy not being able to play in the Sunderland team, that he might do well in another setting.”

      when saying that, poyet was explicitly referring to how well jozy’s been playing for the usmnt in the same timeframe–talk about selective memory. but yeah, klinsmann should totally drop him because jozy’s one of *all the strikers* that can’t score for sunderland.

      Reply
      • Uh, now you’re being willfully ignorant.

        Poyet specifically said Jozy is performing for the USMNT and has talent, but maybe isn’t a good fit for Sunderland.

        The entire point of his comment was to politely say that Jozy is finished at Sunderland. Don’t think Poyet could have made that any clearer without outright ragging on him.

      • you’re not disagreeing with me.

        poyet’s intent may have been to indicate that jozy is “finished at Sunderland”; sure, whatever, i’m not going to guess at that.

        birgit is actually trying to take poyet’s comment and say that it means that jozy shouldn’t start for the usmnt because of his struggles at sunderland, which is what i disagree with.

      • are you even a us fan gerard d?

        we know where calhoun is coming from….personal animus against altidore’s “character” or something. But how about you? What explains your singleminded criticism for the US’s best striking talent since Donovan?

  11. I am going to keep this simple. For those who have watched Jozys season you should know that Sunderland sucks…bad. Poyet has been under duress the entire season and know has try everything despite knowing Jozy has not been the problem(see his previous comments). Jozy needs a better team and opportunity before we judge him on Sunderland. AND please, relegate him to MLS, not a chance IMO

    Reply
    • That’s what we said when he was with Villareal ….. and Stoke.

      Let’s face it, Altidore just doesn’t belong at this level.

      Reply
      • You’re probably right. But give him the benefit of the doubt. Look at Soldado also having a nightmare season. He managed to score today finally.

      • You’re so knowledgeable! Tell me again about how much you know about Jozy and his ability, specifically in regards to when he was at Stoke.

  12. The sad part is that altidore is overrated, Dempsey as well and Donovan is his last years and Howard can not do it all.

    Therefore kilnsi, will stay till 2018 and actually do something productive because he won’t have to deal with Donovan, Dempsey and some other veterans

    Reply
  13. Americans and Mexicans go through the same thing in England. They are undervalued and pissed all over for not being “tall enough or fast or even smart in soccer.”

    However Americans go to England due to the language and Mexicans go to Spain due to the language.

    I think Mexicans do very good in Spain and the next generation will go to Italy, just like to Spain but not to England or holland or Germany. Also mexico is producing taller and faster players that come from the big team academies in Mexico, it’s also a matter of time MLS recruits mexico top talent and sells them to Europe.

    As for USA, they go to England but they don’t get rest respect like the mexican players do. So why not Spain like the mexican players do it.

    Reply
  14. I have been saying it all along. HIs teammates don’t care for him and the coach doesn’t either.

    You all attacked me, called me names, said I didn’t know what I was talking about…Well, now you need to eat crow.

    Jozy needs to bail RIGHT NOW. I can’t believe how he has been treated. He has made many mistakes and needs to step it up but his team hasn’t done a thing for him.

    English football is no place for Yanks. Go to Germany Jozy. There, you will at least get service and support.

    I am shocked with this turn of events.

    Reply
      • No doubt. Yet they got to the finals with Jozy playing in all those league cup games. Why ostracize completely. At least they can’t blame Jozy for their loss.

    • People were upset with you because you were a total @ss about the whole situation when you started posting here. You were constantly insulting the guy and saying that he was terrible. Maybe Jozy is not as good as everyone had hoped but the fact that you were so relentless in your criticism was completely over the top. We couldn’t read through a single “running commentary” a few months ago without having to wade through a barrage of your negativity.

      Reply
      • One of you has reality… and the reality is he was dropped from the team.

        So either you are correct or they are correct in believing he’s not up to this level.

      • sure, we could just guess as to his “effort ad speed of thought”–i mean, one of us has to be right.

        or, we could take the time to watch the games and see that jozy has actually been playing tolerably well on a terrible team, where none of the players at his position are exactly lighting up the scoreboard.

      • If you actually bothered to watch Sunderland you would realize that his speed of thought is actually among the best on the team.

  15. Day 1 I said transferring from AZ to a far worse team in England was a terrible, terrible decision.

    I’m not sure if he made the decision himself or if he had people pushing him to do so but what a joke. I feel bad for him.

    Reply
  16. Jozy needs to either go back to the Netherlands or return to MLS at least on loan until the World Cup. His confidence is shot right now and nothing seems to be going right for him. The problem here is that if he is not getting steady playing time and not scoring it will not help the USMNT. Again going back to the Netherland like a PSV Eindhoven will still get him a chance at Champions League.

    Reply
    • i don’t think he can go on loan anywhere in Europe given the transfer window is shut. he’s stuck until the summer.

      Reply
    • Stop it. He signed a contract. He needs to stay there and fight his way back into the eleven. Play well so they can’t ignore you or the offers coming in for your services. He can help them secure promotion and become a fan favorite.

      Reply
  17. if this become a trend, there is no way Klinsmann can consider him a part of that spine. before, he has been playing regularly even if he hasn’t been playing well. so Klinsmann could still justify keeping him a part of that spine. but if this becomes the norm, yikes.

    i think i’ll be hoping for relegation one way or another. this move just doesn’t seem like it will work itself out.

    Reply
      • not a fair comparison at all.

        Dempsey went on loan and there was a managerial change that knew Dempsey was going home soon anyway. so he gets limited minutes. we all know he will start and play 90 with Seattle barring injury. until we see otherwise, you still include him in the spine.

        Jones played 18 games this season for Schalke before saying he wanted to leave. sure, he sat a few weeks out while trying to find a team, but not the same as Jozy being dropped from the 18. then, he picked up an injury for his first 2 (3?) games in Turkey. but he was back this week starting. unless he is back to the bench on a weekly basis for non-injury related reasons, he is still going to be part of the spine.

      • Funny how the USMNT plays better without some members of this “spine” — key example being Jones. Every coach seems to have his inexplicable favorites and Jones seems to be Klinsi’s.

  18. Jozy’s been playing bad on a bad Sunderland team. Wouldn’t be surprised if he switched teams and got back to his scoring ways. Thinking of such examples as Diego Forlan at Manchester United, etc, etc, etc….Adam Johnson was pulled at halftime last week as well….Sunderland was just a bad decision of a team to go to….Problem is he’s stuck there for the time being and needs to make something of it….

    Reply
    • Much agreed, would have loved to see Altidore and Iceman at AZ together.

      However I also believed he would be out the door last year, my bad, Sunderland is junk.

      Truth be told I really feel Jozy, and Deuce for that matter would have an impact on a top flight team given the chance.

      They are the kind of players that rise to the occasion

      and also excel with better talent around them and some half decent service.

      Come WC time, time to make an impact!.

      Reply
  19. Last fall i was feeling great about the US. Now not so much. Stock down: Jozy, dempsey, bradley (he was starting for Roma), JJ, Dolos , and Chandler (injury). Bodoya and the Iceman seem to be the two main who are up.

    Reply
    • Same here. It’s like we peaked too early. We killed in the WCQ and the gold cup in the summer. Fall comes around and we had two lousy results in friendlies vs Scotland and Austria and continued injuries/out of form players seem to be the norm now. Yes, I get every team has to deal with these things but it’s really hitting the USMNT hard at the moment. I don’t think the sky is falling at all. However, after last summer, I really thought we could turn some heads with our team in Brazil and surprise a lot of folks because of how well we played. Now, I am really, really hoping we can at least make it out of the group stage!

      Reply
    • Hang in there guys, moving back to MLS is not as bad a thing that it would be considered even four years ago. MLS is really improving with all of the recent signings. Our players are probably less likely to get injured in MLS than England or Italy (knock on wood).

      Reply
    • Most definitely. I was shocked he wasn’t even on the bench. At least they can’t blame him for their loss. Supposedly the fans had started to turn against him.

      Reply
  20. Dear Jozy,

    Come home.

    Sincerely,

    MLS Fans

    *I just hope that after hanging around Bradley and Dempsey at USMNT camp, Jozy can be talked in to joining MLS.

    Reply
    • well, it looks like all the games this weekend in the Ukraine league were cancelled. that does not bode well for jozy scoring a hat trick.

      Reply
      • The game is in Cyrpus. They may still cancel, but I haven’t heard that they will. Would be a shame for the US if they had to.

      • Uh yeah, they are sort of, at war, right now. The FIFA game will happen. FIFA loves to build up a match as a way to overcome political violence, oppression and division.

  21. So if, as the story above indicates, Jozy was simply dropped from the the squad, that Jozy was neither injured nor ill, then this is gut-wrenching after all Jozy did to help them get into the Cup final and then not to be able to enjoy the reward to play in Wembley. And after seeing Fletcher screw up the chance for a late equalizer gotta say that fricking Gus Poyet is looking pretty fricking stupid now. Jozy has experience in big games in big stadiums in high pressure situations and he would have been much more effective then Fletcher and he would have sweat blood for the cause. A total fricking shame.

    Reply
      • I don’t wanna exaggerate here, but it was a complete shock when I pulled up the roster and did not see Jozy’s name even on the bench. I truly thought it was a mistake and you really feel Jozy’s pain on not getting the chance to play in Wembley against Man City cause it has gotta hurt real f-ing bad.

      • biff,

        You shock easily. You also are not paying attention.

        Jozy had an indifferent game against Kidderminster in the FA Cup and Poyet said he was disappointed that Jozy did not take advantage of the weak opposition to score some goals and get himself going.

        Jozy had an indifferent game against Arsenal and Poyet expressed his disappointment again. Remember this is player whose main value to Sunderland is his drive and aggression in the opposition’s half. That was missing in the games mentioned.

        Poyet is a sharp guy. He dropped Jozy to send him a message to wake up and said that what was important was not that he was dropped but how he (Jozy) responds to this.

        The League Cup was nice but Poyet really needs Jozy for the remaining relegation battle games. They are light years more important. Poyet waited for the League Cup because he needed Jozy too much for the league games and Fletcher was hurt.

        Both JK and Verbeek did exactly the same thing to Jozy, drop him to get his attention, when they felt he was beginning to lose focus. Some guys you pat on the back and some you kick in the rear. Jozy periodically needs a kick in the rear.

        Both times, Jozy got the message and came back on fire.

        I expect Jozy will come back in the next game or two breathing fire. Otherwise, you can stick a fork in him.

  22. Too many people making excuses for Jozy but this guy has been a failure in England from day one. Unless we have an exceptional talent who can play for the big boys at the top, Americans should look elsewhere to play.

    Reply
    • I think Brian McBride actually scored more in England than in MLS, or at least they are close totals. Bocanegra had a good 4 or 5 years in Fulham, Kasey Keller played a number of good seasons, Claudio Reyna, Brad Friedel, and of, course Dempsey. Cameron has been one of Stoke’s best players and I don’t remember him being more than a very good player for Houston in MLS.

      Reply
    • I totally agree. I have always felt he’s as overrated as most think Freddy is. What team is going to stick with a lone forward that almost never scores? If people rated him on what he produces vs what they want him to be… he’d be gone by now. We’ll know for sure his status next time out.

      If I were him, I’d phone in for the Ukraine game. I can’t see any offense coming with the lack of a creative midfield and he cannot afford many more outings without any production… even if he doesnt see the ball it will come away as his fault.

      He has the whole “spine” thing going and he should call in injured and maintain his status.

      For the WONDO fans, get over it… he’s not going…ever

      Reply
  23. We’ll find out more in the next day. Heard rumblings of hamstring issue from Twitter. If he does not show up in Frankfurt then we can put aside the conspiracy theories.

    Reply
    • People keep repeating this. It doesn’t exist. Search “Jozy hamstring” or “Altidore hamstring” on Twitter and you get results from September. It was a rumor one guy on Sunday’s thread here on SBI started, and presented zero evidence to back up.

      Reply
  24. Sunderland will get relegated. Despite not scoring, the club is at its best when he plays. Fletcher sucks. He used to be good but not at all. Borini is better on the wing. Their new striker just isn’t ready for the PL.

    don’t get why Jozy wasnt at least on the bench. Come summer, expect him to score some goals in Brazil and get a move to Italy or Germany.

    It’s the money and and language that guides Yanks to England, but no more. They have pi%%ed down on our boys too long. They didn’t give Bradley a shot at AV. Dempsey got slaughtered by critics at Spurs despite scoring 12 goals last season. Howard is 1 of the best GK’s but still only at Everton. I say our boys need to venture into Italy/SPAIN and Germany of course

    Reply
    • + 1 they should have had the courtesy to just offload him in January so they can get regulated in peace. Every player has a nightmare season somewhere. He’ll go back to Holland, then Germany or Italy after that. A lot of the happy haters are feeling vindicated right now, but they seem to forget G. Rossi’s time at Newcastle. I can’t wait for for Jozy to get off that comedic relief of a team and go on with his career…

      Reply
      • yeah, I can’t help thinking that there is a major disconnect between Jozy and most of the rest of the team that has played out on the field. Have no idea what might have triggered it, possibly that Jozy was a Di Canio guy and the rest of the team apparently could not stand Di Canio and Jozy got frozen out or whatever. It seemed to me that things were improving in January, but that did not last long and then we see Borweenie last week ignoring a wide open Jozy and on and on and on. I will be happy when Jozy moves on and I still maintain that Jozy’s style could could fit into the BVB Dortmund style. But that probably won’t happen but would still love to see Jozy in the Bundesliga.

      • i didn’t say they were looking for him. I just said I’d love to see him there. And of course, lets have a little perspective, shall we? Dennis Bergkamp (do you know who he is?) only scored a few goals at his time with Internazionale– which was not a regulation team by any stretch– but was snapped up by Arsenal. Now, you can blissfully believe that playing badly because getting 2 half-assed passes a game on a crap team should be the death-knell of a strikers career. That’s good for you.

      • Dortmund was interested in Ji after he impressed with Augsburg. It also helps that he is 2 years younger than altidore

      • Someone is on one man mission to get Jozy to Dortmund. After that, can you see about Brek Shea moving to Real Madrid please? Equally realistic.

      • And Brian McBride was getting crapped on by critics until he was in his late twenties so what’s your point?

    • Well to be fair, in most of dempseys games, he played like absolute $h1t. Yeah he did come clutch several times, but all his other games would definitely frustrate any fan. And i dont mind Howard at everton. Its a good top half team. And besides all teams above Everton are pretty much set in that position with solid GKs

      Reply
      • Dempsey is a strange player. He can look like crap, when in fact, his grit and persistence has proven to pay off for every team he’s played for except the Sounders, whom I bet he comes through for.

        I watched most of the Spurs’ games. He was good, for the most part, but people want to see more than good – they want fast, attacking passes that result in threatening positions in front of the box. He didn’t always provide that, but it doesn’t mean he wasn’t good. Without him scoring some clutch goals, like the game winner vs ManU, they don’t get the most points in their clubs history. The only reason they weren’t top 4 and in Champions League was due to Chelsea pulling out their improbable Champions League title the year before.

    • Regarding Bradley, people forget that he had a falling out with his manager in Germany, was relegated to the bench, offloaded in January to Aston Villa, rarely saw the pitch and then got the transfer to Chievo. Before the move to Italy, some people might have thought his career washed up. Now some say that since he went to Toronto. Some of these same Debbie Downers were saying Dempsey lost his desire and couldn’t play anymore, then he goes out yesterday and has a good game. The way people leap to sweeping conclusions on limited information always astounds me. But then I was a social scientist and had a career doing analyses based on facts and data. I learned how an analysis that is based on incomplete data is necessarily flawed. You need to learn the difference between dependent and independent variables and cause and effect. There are many things that go into a player’s performance and you need to consider all of them when making a judgment. I have seen it happen many times in numerous sports where a player doesn’t do well in one place, moves to another team and shines. Does anyone think that Jozy who scored 31 times last season has lost the ability to score? About the only time you see a dramatic drop off in a player’s ability in a short time is due to serious injury.

      Reply
      • Dempsey had a good half. He hasn’t put together a solid 90 since he left Spurs. His effort on the pitch was always questioned until he actually put in the energy in training and on game day. He now seems to have reverted to that player but his body just isn’t the same as it was 3 years ago.

        Bradley isn’t talented (fast, strong, or skilled) enough to make a mark on the highest stage anymore, but he never lacks effort and knows where to be in the play. He’s where he belongs now and still has years of solid play in his future if he stays fit.

        Jozy’s problem is different. It’s part situational, part physical, and part psychological. His situation is less than ideal. Many predicted a struggle for him in England, not because he “can’t play the game” but because his team is not one that plays with controlled distribution. His role there limits his production just as the talent surrounding him does. Both of those factors contribute to his physical limitations and magnify his technical struggles.

        Jozy’s role in the squad is one reason why he has lost his swag. Being forced into the duty of a decoy/hold up man, together with his finishing gaffes, have obliterated his confidence in that structure.

        All of that said, I fully expect him to come into the MNT like a boss and assert himself. He might not score, but I think he will play well and with effort. I think he heats up in the pre-cup tour and nets a couple in Brazil as we crash out in 3 games.

      • “Bradley isn’t talented (fast, strong, or skilled) enough to make a mark on the highest stage anymore”

        What? He is 26… with not major injury…

        Did the airplane flight across the Ocean give him Gout or something?

      • He’s played more football than any other player in our pool since becoming a pro. 26 is young in most circles, but not for footballers. One asset he has us his fitness which, like I said, should keep him around for another 4 years. I do think he will be on the bubble for Russia.

      • When Bradley was first signed by the Metrostars, he was less than 5’10” tall and had been a forward for the US U-17 team. That year he basically missed due to injury, but when he returned he was 6’2″ and much stronger. At a tender age, he was a force for the Metros (even after that soccer genius Lalas fired his dad). A move to europe followed and he scored more goals in a major european league than any other American (since surpassed by others; his role on the various teams has changed rather than any change in his scoring potential).

        I used to fault him for not being very good in tight spaces, but that has improved enormously. His speed is good to average for a professional soccer player, his size and strength are above average.

        Every challenge he has had before him, he has met and exceeded expectations. At TFC, he is expected to be a leader who will take the team on his back and cary them to victory. I would not bet against him!

      • Yeah when I said “anymore” I was referring to his younger days capped off by his stellar season at Herenveen. In those days he had a bit of extra juice that gave me hope he could make it in a top Euro league. Those days are gone now, but plenty more solid ones are in his future.

      • “Dempsey’s effort on the pitch was always questioned”? By whom? This is the kind of ridiculous statement that sometimes drives me up a wall. It is called an ad hominim attack. Which means that something is true because you say it is. During his years at Fulham his experience shows the exact opposite of what you say. I was watching an interview once with Dempsey after an outstanding effort and Danny Murphy came up behind him to say he deserves all the accolades because of all the extra time he has put on the practice field. About 3 years of his 5 at Fulham he started the year on the bench and basically forced his way into the starting lineup because of outstanding effort and play.

      • Ad hominem means attacking the person instead of the point they are making. Dempsey’s effort was questioned many times during his Fulham stints, getting bad enough that he was pushed to the bench at least once per season. When he changed his ways, success followed. Tell me now if you see the same hunger. I don’t. He needs a manager that can get that out of him.

      • I am truly surprised to see Brett making a generally accurate and nice statement about Jozy…

      • Sunderland are a crap team. As some pointed out, Borini looks Jozy off when he makes runs. Quit ragging on Jozy. Rag on Sunderland, they suck. Rag on the coaching staff. They are not getting the best ou of their striker.

      • I don’t think anyone in that squad has faith in Jozy’s ability to collect a pass on a run an shoot or find an outlet. In right spaces in a physical league, first touch is huge.

      • Jozy has to take responsibility too. Yeah, the team and tactics suck, but Jozy has missed plenty of chances. Good strikers put the easy ones away and he has out one goal away. Its the same as his time at Hull.

      • Like Steven Fletcher’s chance today? How do you explain Jozy scoring so many in Holland last season?

  25. He’s done.

    As Gerard D. posted, Poyet was not subtle about his belief that Jozy did not belong on this particular team.

    Reply
    • even so. He cost them like 13 million. They need to play him to justify their money. It’s not as if they can loan him? why punish him if he’s trying his best and the team is playing bettter with him in the squad?

      Reply
      • Are they though? Poyet doesn’t think so. And that first half today against City was the best they’ve played all year.

        Also not surprising they lost to a much better squad.

      • They have looked very good in some of these cup matches and 1 or 2 league matches. Most of them with Jozy playing an important part. man u, chelsea were wins … Shrug.

      • Poyet chooses the squad and the starting XI, and he really has no incentive at all to play Jozy simply to justify the transfer fee — his fingerprints aren’t on that deal. He can simply throw it on the considerable pile labeled “mistakes of the previous regime” and as long as things continue on the path to safety, nobody will care.

        If Poyet really has made a decision to end the Jozy/Sunderland affair, he may have some incentive to give him some minutes as a means of keeping him in the shop window. But they’d still take a considerable loss and the value-maximizing strategy would almost certainly be to wait until after the World Cup and see what his performances in a different shirt can do to affect his market value, Hard to imagine it could get worse, but history has shown that even a couple of well-taken goals against high-profile opposition can buff those dings right out.

    • Two weeks ago Poyet was in full support of Jozy. Even last week he was saying it was the team and not all Jozy’s fault. What changed?

      Someone posted that there were some tweets about a hamstring issue, it this true?

      Reply
      • When and where? My bet is you’re taking something g out of context. His post match comments hinted he had a hard decision to make and probably regrets it.

    • There are plenty of examples of players coming back from situations like this. I honestly think Poyet values Jozy and sees his potential, and is trying to find ways to motivate him into form. There was never any talk of loaning him or transferring him during the window, so saying “He’s done” (so eloquently, I might add) doesn’t reflect the reality of his situation.

      Reply
      • Which is strange unless he was hurt or did something during the week that pissed Poyet off.

        Jozy should not have gone to Sunderland, but the money and the language were too good to pass up.

        Jozy has shown a good work rate and *some* improved quickness in the box. So regardless, he may still slot back into USNT seamlessly and score goals.

      • no he wasn’t. i disagree that this was the most important game of the season, as i’m pretty sure staying up is more important to sunderland than winning the league cup.

        if jozy stops playing in league games, then that’s something to be concerned about.

      • i can see that, but i wasn’t talking about the fans–more the club board, who would be more likely to care about the hit their bottom line would take if they were relegated at this point.

    • Little perspective here…

      Sunderlands last 5 matches:

      Newcastle: League game. Jozy starts. Goes 90. Has great game. Sunderland win.

      Hull City: League game. Jozy starts. Goes 90. Sunderland give up early RED and never recover.

      South Hampton: FA Cup. Sunderland puts out experimental lineup. Jozy not in 18.

      Arsenal: League game. Sunderland completely overmatched. Jozy goes 45.

      Man City: League Cup. Jozy not in 18.

      Point is, Jozy has not been setting the world on fire by any stretch, but this gloom and doom may be a little ridiculous. He’s started the last few league matches. If he had a hamstring injury as reported it’s perfectly reasonable to assume he’d be left out of the 18. Notice that Bridcut was also not in the 18. Anybody suggesting Bridcut is “not in the plans?”

      Truth is, regardless of how well he plays here on out, his whole life can change with a good showing at the WC.

      Let’s not judge his career on a game-to-game basis.

      Reply

Leave a Reply to bryan Cancel reply