By RYAN TOLMICH
Tottenham’s competition at fullback looks like it is about to get a bit more crowded, potentially forcing DeAndre Yedlin to seek playing time away from the club.
The U.S. Men’s National team fullback has been linked with a loan move to the recently-promoted Norwich City as Tottenham moves closer to finalizing a deal for 24-year-old Kieran Trippier from Burnley.
Yedlin, who made one appearances off the bench for Spurs last season, joined the team in January on the heels of a strong performance at last summer’s World Cup. The 21-year-old speedster’s lone appearance came in a loss to Aston Villa on April 11.
If he makes the move, Yedlin would be the second fullback to spend time on loan with Norwich while with Tottenham, as former Spurs and current Swansea fullback Kyle Naughton joined the Canaries in 2011-12 before establishing himself as a member of the Tottenham first team.
In Trippier, Tottenham would be getting a right back that has made 145 appearances since 2012, despite being just 24 years old. A product of the Manchester City academy, Trippier joined Burnley on loan in 2011 before signing permanently with the club one year later.
Once Trippier’s deal is finalized, he will join a Spurs fullback unit that features Yedlin, Kyle Walker, Danny Rose and Ben Davies.
__
What do you think of Yedlin’s potential move to Norwich? How would he fare with the Canaries?
Share your thoughts below.
I still doubt he will ever be a 90 minute player at the international level, so his club situation really isn’t on my radar right now. As long as he has pace and knows how to play a dangerous back pass from the end line, he will be made available as a sub and probably do very well in the wingback role.
For those of you who wonder why Yedlin went to the EPL and how it compares to MLS here is some insight:
http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/2015/06/18/anonymous-player-survey-reveals-some-of-mls-players-real-thoughts-on-the-league/?ocid=Yahoo&partner=ya5nbcs
Please no linking rival websites.
I’m shocked that Yedlin is not good enough for Tottenham. Isn’t this the same player who absolutely dominated the Netherlands? I just don’t see how a player who can make one of the best nations in the world look like absolute crap, is not good enough for Tottenham. I really don’t see Kyle Walker coming on our team and making that kind of difference.
Rob.
Shocked?
An EPL starter plays about 40 + league games.
Has DeAndre proven that he can play at his Netherland’s game level for 40 games?
How many games has DeAndre played at that level?
haha, after all the hype of him returning to play against the MLS All Stars…
This year’s All Star Game is a joke, and continues to unimpress.
How not surprising is this?
Yedlin is pretty fast. He’s got nothing else though
I don’t understand the consternation over this move at all. Spurs wanted a more established backup given Walker’s injury woes. They loan out their young players to help them develop and then bring them back into the team literally all the time. Walker, Townsend, Kane, etc. etc. Meanwhile Norwich is weak at right back and Yedlin will have every opportunity to play. This is a good move for him, and it says nothing negative about his future with Spurs.
Norwich will probably end up converting a center back to right back. That seems to be the only way for Americans to get on the field in England.
People here forget that defender Danny Rose was also loaned out and then came in last season and was a starter until he had injuries.
Since there are few Americans in England every move is magnified. There also seems to be a one size fits all mentality that most fans seem to apply in a situation like this. Also a lot of posters on this website have no clue how things work in Europe and the quality of players in the top leagues. I think this is great for Yedlin and is exactly what Klinsmann wants his players to do: fight for their spot in a top league.
This is so Spursy. They sign a back that consistently demonstrates his quality (at a minimum as a supr sub) against extremely high level opposition (Belgium, Portugal, Netherlands, Germany) and rather than give him a try to see if he can improve their terrible defense, they decide to loan him out. That makes sense.
Yedlin is just another example of how ridiculous the bias against Americans is in European football.
he’s 20….
name a player playing in Europe (or even just the EPL) that is under 21… ill wait…
ok just to help out : http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2236373-top-100-european-football-prospects-aged-under-21/page/16
now tell me how often those players are loaned out…
If i need to explain further i can.
I don’t totally agree with Clover but I do think Yedlin is at least good enough to be Spurs’ backup right back at this point and there are plenty of players under 21 (Yedlin will actually be 22 in a couple of weeks) in the PL.
ok so fine, lets group him in with the U25s around the world…
Victor Moses (24), Suso (21), Coates (24), Sterling (20), Coutinho (22), Luke Shaw (19), Lewis Holtby (24), Jack Rodwell (21), Fabio Borini (23), Welbeck (24), Ox-Chamberlain (21)
Now which ones are Yedlin better than on this list? Note: these players were just some of the honorable mentions from a list of top 25 under 23 (from 2013); http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1553183-premier-leagues-top-23-footballers-under-23-right-now/page/2
The point is, just about all of these players were loaned out at some point. and most of them are just now beginning to get real minutes (some aren’t even getting minutes). so, sure, Yedlin MAY be good enough to be a back up but that doesn’t mean you should criticize a club for loaning out “a backup”… that makes no sense. the purpose of loaning out young back up is to get them minutes at a “lower” club so that A) they can sell the player to that club after the season for a profit, or B) bring that player back with experience and perhaps insert them into the parent clubs lineup. When loans are a bad sign are when players are 27+ and get loaned out, that generally means, ‘we don’t see you as a long term fit and are trying to get some money out of you’… it’s not the same for young player loans.
again i’m not arguing that Yedlin should or shouldn’t start, i’m just saying it’s way to harsh (with an english accent ) to criticize a player/club for a loan at the age of 21 (22… -_____- ). Its also ridiculous to then claim ‘he should have stayed in MLS” etc like some others have purposed. silliness…
I’m afraid that a lot of posters here just don’t have a realistic view of US soccer players and the quality of various teams and leagues.
Never said he should have stayed in MLS or that going out on loan is a bad thing. I’m not relying on silly bleacher report article from 2 years ago either – what relevance does that have? I never said he’s one of the top 25 players under 25. He isn’t. Clearly.
My opinion is based solely on Yedlin’s abilities and performances and I think that based on this, he’s good enough to be the backup right back for Spurs. Maybe Trippier is better, I didn’t watch Burnley enough this year to form an opinion but if they had kept Yedlin and had him as the backup, I think he would’ve been fine in that role.
Going to Norwich is also fine, and maybe better, if he gets consistent playing time. He’ll still be playing PL opponents so whatever gets him on the field is the way to go at this point.
It’s not the fact that he’s being loaned out that’s the problem. It’s where he’s being loaned out that has people worried. This has a Julian Green situation written all over it. As soon as then team starts to struggle, they’ll resort to putting 10 center backs on the field to grind out points. Even a top half championship side would be a better situation
i think that’s a stretch. the Julian Green situation was so unique it was mind blowing. what kind of collapse would it take recently promoted Norwich to sack their manager after ONE game into his loan? moreover, what would it take for them to have 4 managers in a single season?
i think Green’s loan to Hamburg is in another universe and incomparable to just about any other loan move.
Jack,
So what do you suggest he do? Quit?
Lobby for a transfer? How much leverage do you think he has?
Come back to MLS ? And what would that do exactly?
If Tottenham really want to develop him, take less money and send him to a club like AZ (they have Europa league this year). Some where that’s not going to be under the pressure and drama of relegation a month into season.
meh, not the discussion man. He’ll do whatever he does. the discussion is not that, but what has happened and thoughts on what it means for him
You sure jump to conclusions. And just how do you know that Norwich will struggle to stay up? Maybe they will be the next Southhampton. A lot will depend on the player acquisitions they will make this summer and we have no idea what those will be. And as for how they play, it depends a lot on the coach. Look at Sunderland–even when playing at home against a team in the bottom half of the table, Poyet would play a defensive game with only 1 striker. When Advocaat came in, he played a more attacking style with two strikers and the team avoided relegation.
Shouldn’t it read “Tottenham nears signing of trippier fullback”
Yedlin is not trippy enough, despite the hair.
Not sure what there is to second guess this early in his career. He could have stayed at MLS and been successful or taken this route. He has European dreams…. and why not? We are talking a 21 year old promising prospect with Spurs- that’s an accomplishment! Probably naive to assume or expect he was going to jump right into starting for a top 5 EPL club as a FB that young. Would be a huge coup if he had. Instead, his path, the dues paid is mirroring that of many top level talent. To view a loan as a setback is pretty silly. It’s what he needs to develop.
+1
Standard response applies: as long as he plays. Practicing with a bottom tier EPL team is much worse than practicing with a top tier EPL team, but regularly starting for a bottom tier EPL is much better than both practicing for a top tier EPL team or regularly starting for an MLS team.
Stupid for spurs to loan him when jk has clearly shown he can be an extremely effective sub against even the highest possible competition.
I wouldn’t call it stupid, perhaps overly safe
Unless he is transitioning into playing at right wing, this is probably a terrible move. As soon as Norwich find them-self near the bottom, the first thing they will do is put in more of a pure defender to help grind out points. Then he probably ends up never seeing the field. He should just go to another league, Norwich would be a bad fit.
Honestly you have a better chance of playing in England if you’re a center back and transition to fullback, as Cameron and Ream have.
This reminded me of a Klinsmann article where he felt that American players don’t seem to get how they have to be the ones competing for a spot, and they have to push the “incumbent” out.
No, Herr Klinsmann. It is the Americans who get pushed out, time and again, regardless of ability.
are you saying that Yedlin, a 21 year old player that joined midseason, being loaned out is an example of an American getting pushed out? i hope not… it’s quite the contrary, Yedlin is being given the opportunity to compete.
random analogy: I’m i’m the head of some huge corporation (SONY, WB, Coke, whatever) and i find a recent college grad that i’d like to groom to be a future CEO or so of my company, then one option i have is to “buy his rights” (hire him) and then send him to head a lower division of my company and learn the tools needed to one day in a few years perhaps be my assistant and menthe etc. the point I’m making is grooming young talent by having them work elsewhere is not a tactic only used by soccer clubs, so why is it so hard to understand Yedlin being loaned out is not a bad idea. with that said…. I have no idea the type of team Norwich is etc so i don’t know if, specifically, it’s a good idea relative to the players on the team and style of play but overall, the idea of loaning a 20 year old investment out isn’t a red flag (especially since Norwich is in the EPL, thus Tottenham will be able to monitor him A) easily and B) against the same competition that Tottenham play against–apples to apples comparison more or less).
My fellow americans, relax please, lol
Agreed. It is quite dumb to freak out when he is getting a chance to get closer to reaching his potential while playing for a team in the EPL. There is no better way for him to learn and improve than the opportunity of playing time in the EPL. Great analogy by the way
and for the record, its not the LOAN that is the issue here. it’s the other signing. of course yedlin was always likely to get loaned. They just signed a young player at the exact same position with tons more experience, no work permit issues (particularly important if the FA increases homegrown requirements as is rumored), originated from Man City…
There is a conflict in styles. Cameron has played in the EPL for years but he’s almost useless to the National team because he’s played out of position there. Same thing with Ream at Bolton. How many fullbacks in the EPL are really as attack minded as Yedlin? Maybe he’d be better off converting to a Aaron Lennon type right mid.
They obviously feel he has the quality right now to play in the EPL. This would be a great move for him. Yeah, his team might struggle in most games, but he will be playing against the top players each week. We should not set the standard for Yedlin so high yet. A year ago he was playing in a World Cup that many people believed he should not have been playing in. He was playing out of his mind then. If he never was put in that Belgium game he would not be in Europe right now. We shouldn’t freak out because he only had one appearance last year and because of the rumblings of this potential loan. He is only 21 years old and still has a lot to learn. Spurs has a plan in place for him with the ultimate goal of him eventually becoming a regular in the first-team. Thinking that they don’t value him is ridiculous. If they don’t value him and never did, why did they try so hard to get him? Other teams were after him as well. It’s not worth it to jump to conclusions yet. His career has really just started.
i disagree this move means he should have stayed in MLS. he is going to go on loan to another EPL team…hopefully a place where he will get minutes to prove his worth. obviously nothing is guaranteed but i have faith this loan will give him a chance. if he can’t take it and gets benched, that’s on him. but i imagine Spurs want him going to a team that will give him the best opportunity at playing time.
now, if he can’t get a chance there and spends another year on the bench…then we can start saying he should have stayed in MLS.
+1 except i say give him 2 years, then we can look back and judge the move. The more US fans take this “him being loaned is a bad sign” stance, the more they just sound like the hypercritical English fan base… didn’t we leave that place to start our own country? lol
Should have stayed in MLS.
Is this guy even playing for his (inferior) national team? Looked it up u-21 level.
People who don’t support soccer here. THIS is what happens. Money is needed by superstar, he goes to Europe, Nat team suffers.
Repeat.
Absolutely disagree with your notion that this hurts the national team.
It is not like Yedlin was lighting it up with the Sounders or a superstar. If you ever watched the Sounders while he was there, he was as advertised – speed, could get into the attack, but defensively struggled. A player with promise that needs to grow.
The speed, which cannot be taught, is his value. And always was. Reason why he was at the World Cup. And the reason why Spurs signed him. Quite frankly, he is lucky to have the chance in the EPL and I would wager that JK had major influence. The exposure at the World Cup propelled him. But anyone that followed him knew that the hype was just that.
Going to the EPL is a learning period that he truly needed in order for him to become a very good or great player. I already noticed better defensive positioning from him since being at Spurs. Something that was a big weakness.
Norwich is a great option for him. He is still in the EPL and will still have to fight for his playing time.
So this situation is great for the national team. If he stayed in the MLS, he would have continued to be one of the marketing icons of the league and probably would not be held to a higher defensive standard. He probably would have continued doing his thing because that is what fans expected from him. This would have not benefited the USMNT.
In the EPL, he is more or less a no one. Which is a positive because he will continue to work hard and get better. Competition is very high day in and day out – whether it is training or game day. From what I know of him, he is a hard worker and seems to have a good head, so Yedlin will only benefit. If he fails and continues to go on the european loan/transfer train, then so be it.
I am a believer that each player scenario is different. Some players benefit being in the MLS for their career. A player like Michael Bradley will succeed and be on top of his game anywhere at this point in his career. The important thing is to play game in and game out. Yedlin, at this point, can afford to not start in exchange for a learning period.
If Yedlin is on the bench in the Championship in 2017, then it is a problem.
A side like Norwich might think they want to play with more attack minded fullbacks. However before the season is over they’ll resort to playing what’s really a center back in the position to grind out points and stay above relegation. Then Yedlin never touches the field. If he has to go on loan get out of England.
Typical MLS blowhard comment.
I’m not trying to attack anyone’s opinion; we’re all entitled. But what i will say is that everything has gone according to plan. When Yedlin first signed with Tott, he signed in the middle of a season, trained with the team, made an appearance and it was widely assumed that he would be loaned out the following season. That’s how EPL teams handle their youth. I just don’t understand US fans that A) assumed he would start right away or B) think that he’s “wasting his time” being there if they don’t start him. If the Norwich thing happens then we’ll still have a US youth playing in the EPL; growing and learning the game over the next few YEARS (key word). there should be an unspoken rule (if there isn’t already) don’t get mad about playing time for anyone under 23 playing overseas…….
Yedlin will be just fine…
+1
I think the problem is Americans have precious few prospects at clubs like Tottenham, so many of our fans tend to overreact at news like this. To me, if he can earn minutes in the EPL that’s a wins, regardless of what shirt he is wearing.
true, to add, perhaps many of these unhappy US fans feel they can just WILL our players to the EPL level. it will take time and many cycles for our players to be regulars in the top 4 leagues. its just so odd that other don’t realize this. seems that most people who understand the long-term goal also understand how loaning out a good young player is beneficial.
Yep. Pretty much this.
There way the work permit rules are, that’s just the way it’s always going to be.
Before he passed I remember Giorgio Chinaglia saying that if not for the the Work Permit rules in the UK there would have been a lot more Americans in the English leagues, including the EPL.
I, for one, knew he wasn’t going to start right away. The issue is, will Tottenham give him an actual chance. So far, it seems reaaaaally unlikely. What it seems like is that the Spurs decided they had a fullback shortage and so, as they always do, just signed a ton of athletic potential players and will jettison the ones they don’t want. If tottenham actually had a plan in how they build a team we, presumably, would have seen better results from them with all the player movement they have had in the last 5 years.
Willing to bet within 2 years Yedlin is playing for a different club.
quozzel,
Kyle Walker, the current starting RB for Spurs,was bought in 2009 and pretty much immediately loaned out to Sheffield United , then QPR, then Aston Villa before finally wining a regular spot with Spurs a couple of years later..
The new right back Spurs are bringing in, a 24 year old, is from Burnley and was a regular last season. Walker ‘s injuries make him questionable for the start of next season and Yedlin is not yet proven to them. Spurs have a lot of games next season and if Walker doesn’t recover then Yedlin could easily be re called from his Norwich loan assuming that happens and assuming he does well.
And if Walker does recover and Yedlin does well at Norwich then DeAndre will be well placed to audition for someone else.
Unlike you, I like the idea of Yedlin winning his place and forcing people to play him. It makes for a better player.
Spurs are not treating him any worse than they treated Walker.
+1
+1
If they have a PLAN for him that’s one thing. I do know smart clubs invest in assets over a longer term. But is that what’s going on here? Keep in mind Walker is also English, and EPL clubs do have to maintain a certain number of English players…so Walker had SOME immunity to the flak that a lot of foreigners (especially Americans) seem to face. And Tottenham changes managers and playing styles so often I really question whether there’s any kind of long-term plan beyond their annual – and usually futile – scramble to try to break into the top 4 anyhow.
I hope Norwich is a good stop for him. I hope it works out. But it seems these loan moves to relegation-threatened clubs seldom seem to work out. The closer to the line they get, the more they tend to go with tried-and-proven (if uninspiring) vets and the less patience they seem to have for young players and their gaffes. Especially if the young player in question is a loan player.
My hope would have been that Tottenham would have worked him in slowly, and played him in competitions like Carling Cup, the FA Cup. Loaning him away seems like he’s not in their immediate plans, in any regard. And what does Norwich have invested in him? Nada. Zip. If he doesn’t work out immediately, he’ll ride the bench there too like a lot of loanees seem to.
here are the longterm options: either Yedlin does amazing for Norwich in which case Norwich would want to buy him permanently which results in a profit for Tottenham (reminder: this is all about business) OR Yedlin does somewhere less than that, Norwich doesn’t choose to buy him and he returns to Tottenham where they will assess the situation. but this way Tott didn’t have to spend resources training him for a season but hopefully he either gets slightly better and works his way into Tott’s team or gets largely better and is sold for a profit. how is this so hard to understand, loans aren’t bad things, and it definitely doesn’t mean yedlin should have stayed in the MLS, such a weird idea.
quozzel,
So professional athletes in America are treated with much more reverence and respect than professional athletes in Europe? And here in America we treat them like family while over there they are just lunch meat? That’s interesting.
The other interesting thing is that you seem to think Yedlin is some mindless, naïve child being led astray by evil beings bent on exploiting him. Maybe JK fits that description for you but I doubt that guys like Sigi Schmid, ex- team mate Friedel and ex-Spurs and Sounders keeper Keller do. It is my understanding that Deandre has spoken to all of them.
I don’t know DeAndre and I’m not even that familiar with his story but from what I can tell he seems like a hardworking, likable, serious young man who is bent on taking advantage of his considerable gifts and making the best life for himself that he can. He does not strike me as some updated version of party animal Adu or flaky Brek.
Of course, I could be wrong.
And if you are comparing him to Jozy, Jozy was brought in to start and score right away while DeAndre was brought in as a development project. Very big difference.
I’m willing to bet that DeAndre is at least as knowledgeable on the topic of his career choices as anyone commenting here so, unlike you, I’m willing to give him some credit for having some brains about them..
And finally, DeAndre IS a commodity to Spurs. And if they are smart they will develop him either for their use or for sale to others down the road. And I would say their coaching staffs, Pochettino’s guys, know more about where Deandre is right now as a player, than anyone. You would think this loan strategy is what they see as the best thing for Yedlin. That is how they will recoup their investment in him and either get their money back or make more on him.
Why wouldn’t they want him to become the best player possible?
.
” But it seems these loan moves to relegation-threatened clubs seldom seem to work out.”
That is because most guys trying to be regulars on EPL teams fail.
It is not as easy as you make it out to be. What DeAndre is trying to do is very hard yet you act like he is entitled to something.
I get the impression you think Yedlin has already proven himself as an EPL level player because he had a couple of nice games at the World Cup and did well vs Germany and Netherlands.
That is. what, a 6 game sample size? An EPL regular plays about 40+ games per season and they are mostly against tough opposition. Has DeAndre proven he can maintain his best level over 40 games?
The EPL and the other top leagues in Europe have signed many players, of all nationalities by the way, who had a couple of nice games in the World Cup or the Euros or whatever and then turned out to be busts. Ever hear of Denilson or Thomas Brolin, neither of whom was an American?
National team play even in the World Cup is one thing.
League play in the EPL or La Liga, BL or Serie A is another animal all together.
Yedlin has proved nada on the EPL level. You are way too impatient with his progress.Besides, I didn’t notice his comparative inactivity hurting him that much in these last two games for the US.
If he fails, he fails. He’ll be the better for it one way or the other.
So well put.
American footballers get treated exactly like other footballers in Europe…….common knowledge
I don’t remember Clint ever being loaned out.
beachbum,
The thing about this business of American outfield players in the EPL being discriminated against on the basis of nationality is that the sample size is very small and the process is inherently unfair anyway, American or not.
So whining about unfairness in such matters is a little pointless and give Americans a bad name.
We’re not supposed to whine.
There are pre existing biases about each nationality, South Americans , Dutch, African, Eastern Europeans, etc, etc.
As I understand it the book on Americans has been that, while they may not have Brazilian skills, they are fit, strong, disciplined,hard working, very professional, very coachable , that sort of thing.
Not likely to be caught in a drunken orgy in a Thai hotel like the Leicester players were. Boy Scouts, in other words.
This is hardly a bad thing and is essentially what David Moyes said about Brian McBride.
I’m sure I missed someone but just off the top of my head these are the American outfield players who have tried their hand in the EPL in the last 10 years or so. I know Roger’s, Ream’s and Demerit’s teams got relegated but they started out in the EPL:
Frankie Simek, Jon Spector, Jay Demerit, Boca, McBride,Dempsey, EJ, Mikey, Lichaj, Holden, Jozy,Ream, Yedlin, Cameron, Roger Espinoza ( he’s an MLS product and an American citizen), LD’s loan, Brek Shea and Mo Edu.
That’s 18 guys.
Yedlin gets an incomplete
Simek never made it at Arsenal but had a long run with teams like Sheffield Wednesday and Carlisle and was capped by BB.
EJ was bust.
Mikey almost shouldn’t be counted as that AV loan started off with Houllier getting a heart attack and then everything going downhill from there. Mikey never had a chance.
Lichaj was on AV’s books for about 4 years had a bunch of loans and a handful of starts so he had his chances to impress but never really won a spot before they shipped him out.
Shea and Mo were signed by Pulis and then he left. Brek “failed” but Mo, who I think was injured, never really got off the shelf.
We all know about, Jozy.
That’s 1 incomplete and 7 “failures”. And since Simek and Lichaj went on to regular PT in lower divisions they can’t really be called failures.
That leaves 10 guys Spector, Demerit, Boca, McBride, Dempsey, Holden, Ream, Cameron, Espinoza and the LD loan as comparative successes ( though Espinoza was just okay), spectacularly so in Clint, the LD loan and, for 28 games, Stu’s case.
I suspect that Jozy was such a spectacular recent failure, that it has obscured the fact that American outfield players have done pretty good in the EPL/Championship over the last ten years or so.
I also suspect many on SBI don’t remember most of these players if they even knew who they were in the first place.
I am not sure why you are including Honduran Roger Espinoza… I guess because he played in MLS. Jay Demerit started with Watford in the championship not the EPL.
Anyway, of the players you listed, several of them had a much harder time breaking in than they should have based on their performances. On the success side, guys like Cameron, Ream and Spector would have been automatic starters much earlier in their careers if they weren’t American. If memory serves, early in Cameron’s career he was fantastic statistically (top end of the EPL charts in things like interceptions and tackles) but he struggled so badly to get time at CD or CM (hence his RB useage).
Lichaj too had trouble breaking into the side even though he wasnt performing as poorly as what was a really bad defense. Maybe guys like MB and Jozy would have gotten more consistent chances if they werent American (statistically speaking, for instance, AV wouldnt play Mikey but a year later he seemed to be as good a player as Strootman. Pretty crazy.
Sunderland was a significantly better team with Jozy than without him, but fans and management were looking to get rid of him from about month 2 on. Ream too didnt get any chance while Bolton was in the premier league but once they got demoted they gave him a chance and he was there best player two years running. Seems like he probably could have been a top 5 defender the year before, then.
If you take out Dempsey, McBride, Boca from the 9 on your list… how many of the non fulham premier league Americans got a real chance? LD, obviously. Fulham tried with EJ, I feel. Holden and maybe Ream. There’s no way Shea got a fair shake from that team. Simek I thought deserved a shot with Arsenal but injuries ruined him.
The work permit rule is certainly a hunderance, but you can’t possibly argue, no matter the sample size, that american players get a fair shake in the premier league. Other leagues seem far more willing to entertain them (though of course a lot of those are dual nats). Its why I cringe every time a young american goes to a premier league team.
eeek on a ton of typos, sorry, multi tasking 🙂
quozzel,
One thing I did forget and was pointed out elsewhere is that, unlike Kyle Walker, Americans have to pass the Work Permit rules which is one strike against an American player from the get go.
If anything this shows that they value him.
Not really. What this shows is Tottenham is as Tottenham does. Buy a bunch of player assets at the same position and then continue to spend money at that position until you get a quick fix. Its not that Yedlin could have had better opportunities in MLA per se, its that he could have gone somewhere else where he would have gotten a real chance. I am sure Spurs weren’t his only choice. Just onethat didnt make a lot of sense given their depth at the position and normal transfer practices on developing young players. He’ll be very lucky if he gets a loan to a premier league side even if it is a poor one.
The signing said they value him as player and asset. The loan actually says they don’t rate him as player yet and will use his asset value to get something from other teams, and re-assess whether he’s improving as a player later. It’s buying time and not a good sign. It is an opportunity but if they thought he was helpful much at all he’d be around for the first team.
Par for the course, but it does get tiresome. Buy a guy for a couple million, then shop him around and loan him out for a bottom-feeder club and hope they’ll take their lumps with the young guy. Then, of course, once relegation looms and they inevitably fire their manager, the next guy will as a first order of business sit all youngsters (especially Americans) on the bench – pointing to all the mistakes they made – and go with veterans, and he’ll have to do it all over again next year somewhere else.
It’s such a negative cycle. As much as anything, succeeding in England (and a lot of Euro leagues, honestly) is about taking the incessant abuse from fans and the press and still staying positive and be willing to take risks even though you know you’ll be skewered for them. You wonder why England develops so few decent domestic players anymore, well, there you go. Far easier to just overpay abroad and then toss those guys off the sacrificial altar because hey, you somehow couldn’t be competitive with Manchester City or Chelsea.
At some point in the not-so-distant past, I have noticed a lot of American players have just gotten tired of it and just returned to MLS, or even, as Zusi and Besler did, just simply refused to leave. When you notice the rare success story in England – like Southampton – it’s invariably because they invested in youth, developed them, and lived with their mistakes. You just do not see bigger teams “rebuild” so much as just cast aside large numbers of players every year and start over again with all the latest Trendy Names in a new test-to-extinction cycle.
So basically you think professional soccer players earning millions of dollars should be coddled, gotcha. Also if a player is so thin skinned that he can take fan criticism, he has no business being a professional athlete.
Coddled, no. But the way they treat players in England is insane. The press and public…wow.
And the mentality is always the same: “they make millions, therefore we have free license to be as vicious as we wanna be”…
The problem there is it creates a negative mentality and a very different players’ culture that currently exists in MLS or the USMNT (at least right now.) In England, if you go for it and make a mistake, it gets highlighted, put up in lights, and remembered (and mocked) mercilessly. You’ve gotta have a thick, thick, THICK skin to deal with that…Dempsey did, for instance – didn’t matter how much flak he took or how many times a new manager would come in and bench him, he just shrugged it off and got with it and somehow kept playing his game – which included him being able to create his own shot. Altidore, in comparison, wilted.
Dealing with those external pressures is at least as hard as dealing with the game itself, and it breaks a lot of players who aren’t used to it. Heck, we watched Falcao tank at Manchester United last year, and they just rode him out of town on a rail. Did Falcao – who a couple years back was regarded as being very close to Messi and Ronaldo – suddenly forget how to play? Obviously Jose Mourinho – who has a knack for reviving the careers of strikers – didn’t agree with that.
Just saying, England is not just a “harder league”. It’s also a completely different culture with a completely different set of external pressures, and dealing with it does not look like…fun.
^^
For Reference: Brad Guzan before and after EPL gaffe.
wish Dempsey could have just shrugged off the refs decisions the other day
That’s the beauty of pro/rel! Norwich doesn’t have the luxury of developing players, they need to grab let’s figure 39 points to survive. (36 will probably do it, 40 pretty much assures survival) figure ten wins, 8-9 draws. Why play someone else’s potential future star instead of a replacement level guy? You don’t take chances on a player like that, because if you don’t survive this year, there is no next year. This is one of the reasons England is so bad at developing players, there is no where for them to play, the stakes are too high to risk it.
The age group teams are for development. Senior team is for people ready. Problem is our people usually don’t go early like Hyndman because of the FIFA 18 y/o rule. They go late when English teams expect mostly polish.
But yeah, the whole reason for these loans is they can’t fix his issues and what they want on the roster is ready players. So they ship you someplace and see if a more finished and productive product returns. It’s a little fake because where is the loanee team’s time for development either. But the hope is maybe with more PT and an easier level you get your crap together. We’ll see.
But it’s not an easier level. In fact, the pressure for Norwich is much higher. Spurs have more matches to play (Europa) and no real fear of relegation. They have a team of players used to playing at this level, Norwich has a bunch of Championship players, and the constant fear of going back down. This loan makes no sense at all.
Exactly, a player like Matt Hedges or Besler would actually have a better chance of playing full back for Norwich then Yedlin does.
interesting. i would have assumed he’d be more likely get loaned to a championship side. and norwich actually has some decent players at right back, so it’s not like he’s a shoo-in for minutes there.
Maybe they’ll use him on the wing.
I actually think his better use is midfield or wing. Would like to know what others think?
Whittaker is not highly thought of. He’s basically all they have. Martin is a CB who covers at RB. Yedlin will have every opportunity to win the starting job. This is a good move for him.
He should have stayed in MLS instead of getting playing time next season for a team recently promoted to the Premier League? Huh?
We’ll see if he can get EPL minutes period. He’ll be joining a team that got promoted as a unit where he will have to prove his value. My concern with EPL in general is while speedy and dangerous he is also forgetful on defense and sloppy, and English league coaches aren’t going to be fans of sloppy. I thought it was a mismatch from the start just like Jozy there playing back to goal target striker. I think he’d have been better off someplace like Holland where defense is optional, scores high, and they’d cut him slack for some sloppiness if he was productive.
For that matter I think MLS, particularly Seattle, is roughly low EPL or Championship quality. Norwich versus Seattle is a sideways move to a league that has different player expectations and higher salaries.
I think he sees time for the US because Klinsi hasn’t found an airtight backline and seems willing to win 4-3, which attitude allows Yedlin to make his both positive and negative contributions. If we tried to make the unit airtight he would go the way of Edgar Castillo til he fixed his game.
I generally find Euro-snobbery to be annoying, but saying that MLS is on the level of low-EPL or even Championship is ridiculous. There may be 3-4 MLS teams that could compete in the Championship but that’s about it. Just look at the relative payrolls of the two and you’ll see that it’s not even close. The only teams that approach the level of Championship teams are those that are spending $16M a year on 3 players (like Toronto), which doesn’t do much for the overall quality of play.
http://www.tsmplug.com/football/premier-league-player-salaries-club-by-club/
Norwich spent 68 million pounds on player salaries during 2013-2014. The lowest any EPL team spent that year was 52 million.
The vast majority of starters in MLS are making in the range of ~$150k which is what bench warmers in Championship generally make.
I like MLS and expect it to improve dramatically over the next 10 years, but calling Seattle to Norwich a lateral move is absurd.
Gotta disagree with you Dan. While I agree that the money is radically different, I don’t think the quality of play is. I believe just about any MLS team could hang with any Championship team. Yes, depth is still different, and that would probably show over the course of a season, but starting eleven is not noticeably better in the Championship, at all.
I agree with others here that Tottenham was not a smart move for Yedlin. I think it comes down to him being American. I fully believe that the bias against Americans continues to keep them from earning the sort of playing time on top teams that they deserve. My easiest example comes back to Jozy. Man U just spent a ton of money on Mephis Depay, who may well turn out to be better than Jozy. But, notice that Jozy scored more goals, on a lesser quality team, in the same “Defense Doesn’t Matter” league, and never got a single sniff of interest from a top-tier team. I think that’s because of his passport.
Whether you look at Bradley’s experience, or Donovan’s in Germany, or, frankly, anyone who isn’t a goalkeeper, you’ll see a long line of Americans who didn’t get the chance to show their stuff. Is that the right environment for Yedlin to improve in? I doubt it highly.
Just look at what happens to MLS teams in the CCL. The league is getting better by leaps and bounds every year but I think you have a bit of a homer bias if you think it’s already on par with the championship. It’s not just depth of squad it’s starting 11’s that don’t compare because MLS teams can’t spend the money. Sure they have 5 maybe six quality players but not the full 11. Just look at Bradley Wright Phillips. He couldn’t hack it in the BPL, was mediocre in the championship, and is an absolute menace in MLS. Yes there are many reasons for that, but quality of the leagues is a big factor.
And the American bias thing while agree exists, comparing Jozy to Depay is ridiculous. You have to look at things other than simply goals scored. Depay is considered one of the bests young prospects in Europe. That’s why Man U want him. Maybe if Jozy were on a team that gave him better service he would had more success in the EPL, but he had two stints in the EPL and scored, I think a total of 2 goals, so you can’t really blame teams for not throwing cash at him.
He had one stint before he scored all those goals for AZ. For a crap team. When he was on a team that could give him service, he did what you expect a striker to do: finish. He finished repeatedly, in a variety of conditions, in a variety of ways. He did fantastic work off the ball to create space and opportunities for his team. He did all you could want a player like him to do.
What he did not do was play like someone he’s not. He’s not very good at dribbling past a bunch of people, so he doesn’t. He’s not very good at playing like a target forward, so he doesn’t. This makes someone like Suarez worth more, but please note they scored pretty much the same number of goals while in the Eredivese. Again, Liverpool came knocking for one, but not the other.
One of the things that thoroughly irritates me in the American soccer fan sphere is the blind devotion to “European managers are always right, and always make the right player decisions”. Depay is considered one of the top prospects in Europe because European coaches value him. My supposition is that European coaches undervalue American players, by a very large margin.
“Fit.” I think he’s simply more suited to the Eredivisie or perhaps MLS than England where they still to some extent want to make him a big back to goal striker like he looks like he should be but isn’t. He’s really better in space and where he can run at people or poach on a counter.
Barret I think your assessment of Jozy is pretty spot on, but you point out exactly why he’s not rated by BPL clubs. He’s not a dribbler nor a target striker. While yes he was able to score in the Everdies for whatever reason that did not translate to the Premier league. Don’t get me wrong, I love Jozy and really want him to succeed. But Depay is high rated because he’s younger, has incredible pace and quickness, and has skill on the ball, which Jozy does not equal.
^This
I think MLS generally is about on par with mid-level Championship teams. No one should pretend it’s EPL quality. Even Seattle would likely be relegated in the EPL.
This is a good move if Yedlin gets consistent first-team minutes. If he doesn’t, it’s kind of a waste. If he’s on the bench, it’s certainly fair to argue he’d be better off, development wise, starting in MLS every week. On the other hand, I assume he’s making a lot more than he would be in MLS and since this is his job, you can’t discount that.
I think you’re over-stating the quality of, say, a relegation candidate. The comparison is not to CFC or Arsenal or the like. It is to bottom 5 teams that live in fear of relegation.
In terms of payroll, English teams pursue Americans for being cheap relative to their own talent. To talk apples to apples you’d have to back out inflationary expense for domestic players. To say England pays more is really to say to some extent they overpay. To some extent they are hiring better talent. But to be blunt more of that occurs at the top than the bottom.
How we relate to CONCACAF or Liga MX is pretty irrelevant to English pyramid discussions, it doesn’t say where we fit in another area. But to be fair this year MLS had a finalist and a quarterfinalist. Year before that 3/8 of the quarterfinals. Year before that 2 semifinals and 1 quarterfinals. And this is on a budget. I think the actual performance is pretty good for the budget, we’re doing better than teams who do spend more in the region. Which undermines the “spending” arguments because we are pretty competitive not really spending and in this discussion performance is a better proxy for performance than budget is.
Yeah but I think the issue is less the quality of the team he plays for and more the quality of the teams he’s playing against. At least development wise. Even if you could argue Seattle is better than Norwich (not sure I agree but regardless) he’ll be playing better opponents week in week out in the EPL without question.
That’s assuming of course he plays regularly.
American’s have been groomed in England before. I cant think of one who wasn’t actually. Friedel, maybe? Your comments suggest the opposite. Learning curves are the norm for yanks coming from MLS because the competition/quality is higher in the Prem. Low EPL/Championship? Please. League One and low table Championship more like. If he keeps working hard his time will come. And he will be a better player for it. And hungrier.
That’s why he should have stayed in MLS. However, Klinsi likes this guy. He will get his National Team opportunities regardless of where he’s playing…
Consider what you are saying? Instead of lining up next year against some of the top forwards in the game, he could have stayed in MLS and seen the likes of Oduro, McInerney, Blaz Perez, Wondo, Keene,dempsey,… Yeah there are a few good ones in the MLS, but not like he will face week in and week out in the EPL. I agree with many posters here, that the EPL is not what it once was, but still better than MLS but a good margin. Just one man’s opinion.
He’s a wingback so his more likely opposition is some wing mid or wing defender and not a striker.
His issue is not Geoff Cameron as CB getting how to mark and perhaps being taught it better by tougher forwards. It is sloppiness on the ball and soccer IQ on not getting caught up. I don’t think upping the quality makes that easier or teaches the lesson.
And Norwich is now his teacher, not Spurs.
And practicing against Prem players every day isn’t going to help his technical skills and soccer IQ. Right…
I would strongly disagree that simply practicing over your head makes you better. That alone is a recipe for suckage. Personally I found getting lots of playing time and attention and mentoring is what you need. That bears little correlation to level. The coach either wants to work with you to help you handle the level or not.
Pro teams are not there to work on your skills as a general matter. They might fix an isolated glitch but players are expected to either show up skilled or fix that on their own time. Practice is for fitness, team drills, and addressing some team issue like shooting sharpness.
Defensive positioning might in fact be addressed in practice but issues to the point of naivete might simply be treated like a player being clumsily skilled. In other words, they might work on you being out of position a couple times. They are not going to sit there and babysit you on a tendency to get caught up.
And, again, he will now be taught this by some mid-30s coach with no EPL experience whose own career arc was SPL and Burnley. Not by Pocchetino, who has some chops.
Agree with your initial point concerning his matchups, but he will see plenty of the forwards making wide runs.
Secondly, there is absolutely no comparison in the quality of competition. If you dont think tjis makes a bid difference in players progress than you disagree with the majority of coaches in tne world. His sloppiness will be highlighted in the EPL as it is not the norm. I love the MLS and watch it weekly, but his mistakes just blend in with the Kyle Korbs(yes i know he moved centrally this year) of the league.
Fanboy
He is likely making life changing money at Tottenham. Even if he doesn’t get the type of PT we all had hoped for the kid is probably securing a lifetime of financial security for himself and his family.
MLS isn’t close to a top 5 European league, but it is important that he gets playing time. At this point, it’s not too important where he plays as long as he gets significant minutes in the EPL. If he gets that in Norwich, then this is a good thing and that’s the only thing that is important at this point.
Nevermind top 5 European leagues! MLS is below all South American leagues! I love how the narrative has sought to compare MLS to Europe whilst the leagues in Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Ecuador and Uruguay are stronger than MLS hands down.
MLS is probably more shoulder to shoulder with MX and S. American leagues than you would give credit too. If you have to crawl before you run then we (MLS) is already walking. Consider the fact that we consistently compete with MX teams in CONCACAF champs league and yes they do and did beat us but thats more of depth issue due to the salary cap.
Alex,
Historically the US “soccer” media has has always been Euro centered, most likely because of the language and because that is where the big money clubs, the best players and most of the world’s soccer media attention is focused , even in South America..