photo by Robert Mayer/USA Today Sports
By FRANCO PANIZO
Jozy Altidore has carved out a good career for himself despite being just 25-years old. He has earned 80 caps for the U.S. Men’s National Team, scored 27 goals, played in two World Cups, and spent a number of years in leagues across Europe.
Altidore believes his best soccer is still to come, however.
Currently in his third cycle with the U.S., Altidore has already developed into one of the figureheads of the team. He is not only a leader on the field due to his abilities and wealth of experience, but also off of it for how he sets an example for the next generation of youngsters coming through the pipeline.
Altidore has spearheaded the Americans’ attack almost immediately from the moment he was introduced to the full U.S. side in 2008. He has found the back of the net in big games, like in the 2009 Confederations Cup upset over Spain, and honed his craft in Europe and MLS to become more than just a goal-scoring threat.
He’s matured a lot both as a person and a player since the start of his career, but the veteran striker still thinks there is plenty of more room to grow.
“I still feel like my best football is yet to come,” Altidore told FIFA.com. “I understand the game in a way that I didn’t before. I’m excited for the next five or six years. I’m getting better with every game and I want to see where that goes.”
Playing for Toronto FC these days after spending more than half a decade at various clubs in Europe, Altidore has gotten off to a strong start in his second stint in MLS. He has six goals in 12 league appearances (10 starts), helping the historically poor club to a third-place standing in the Eastern Conference midway through the 2015 season.
Altidore has had a similar scoring clip with the U.S. this year. He has netted twice in four appearances, while also showing better hold-up play and an improved understanding of the what the forward position requires.
The U.S. has also put up some good numbers in 2015, compiling a 4-2-1 record that includes recent road victories over the Netherlands and Germany.
For Altidore, that’s partially a result of the job Jurgen Klinsmann has done since taking over as U.S. head coach in July 2011.
“If you look at the work that Jurgen has done since he’s come in, he’s made us think differently,” said Altidore. “He’s challenged us in ways we haven’t been challenged before, and I think that’s important. If you want to grow or become better in any part of life, you have to step out of your comfort zone.
“He’s testing us in a lot of ways. For the most part, the team has responded.”
Altidore and the U.S. are currently aiming to defend its Gold Cup title, with the tournament set to begin on July 7 for the Americans. Should the U.S. win the Gold Cup again, it would secure qualification to the 2017 Confederations Cup, a tune-up ahead of the World Cup in Russia a year later.
Accomplishing that goal is on Altidore’s to-do list, but he also believes that, like with his own game, bigger and better things are on the horizon for the Americans.
“If you look at the trajectory of U.S. Soccer – where we’ve come over the last 12 or 15 years – it’s incredible,” said Altidore. “We’re constantly growing and getting better. Our football is improving all the time.
“The best is yet to come and we’ve got exciting times ahead in Russia. We will have another strong team and hopefully we can surprise a few more people.”
Damn, people really hate Jozy. I don’t get it, he’s scored lots of important goals for us. I think it’s valid that he believes his best form is still yet to come, and not saying he is going to turn into this player, but look at Drogba at Jozy’s age. Didier didn’t really hit his stride until 24-25 years old.
yea it’s like people look at Jozy and say “well if he’s not the best then he must be the worst” and then rant about how he’s the worst. lol. that logic makes no sense tho. the world lives in the gray… 🙂
Sounds good Jozy!
Got me thinking “Russia!”
The language used by those opposed to some part of Altidore’s game, attitude, etc. is often subsumed under the word “hate” or “hater.” This polarizing language skews the perspective that it’s entirely possible to concurrently support Altidore, while also holding a general grievance with his game. Semantics dictate dialogue and I really wish people thought for themselves about the language they used instead of glomming onto popular terminological fads that can be highly devisive.
business as usual, joe. back to the original “article”, what else is jozy supposed to say- “yeah, i’m over the hill”?
I concur. It works the other way as well. Someone trying to support jozy gets called an apologist or assumed to believe jozy is “the best ever” when that’s not our point. Debate is fun tho 🙂
Jozy will have to prove himself consistently to be a regular starter for USMNT; too many promising young strikers nipping at his heels. Put up or shut up. We’ll see how “mature” he has got in the past few years. I actually kinda like Jozy up top. Dude’s got some talent- just not consistency. He no longer will have the luxury of disappearing for games (months) at a time.
That is true of every player on the USMNT. Even Bradley who presently has no real challenger cannot afford to let himself slip.
Where did the concept that Jozy is ‘lazy’ originally stem from?
This is not meant to be a biting sarcastic question – it’s quite genuine in fact. I simply have never seen anything in his play to support this, and everything I’ve heard his coaches say about him (including Gus Poyet) are that he is a great guy, a great teammate, and a hard worker.
Granted, I didn’t really start to follow his career closely until late 2010/2011, so maybe it was an issue he had earlier in his career? Even if that were the case, he’s certainly outgrown that now.
I will say, however, that the one thing Jozy is definitely guilty of is displaying incredibly negative body language when his team is not combining well. This bugs me to no end, but it never seems to cause any strife with his teammates, so I think it’s just a bad habit of his more than an attitude issue.
he does complain a tad much but you’re right, he always (at least publicly) is quick, with the media, to support his teammates and team play in general.
as for where the “lazy” stigma came from? i’m not sure either. he’s not speedy but that doesn’t make him lazy as some say. he runs down the opposing CBs and GK pretty much all the time (thats more than a lot of strikers do) to provoke a potential mistake. I will say that he looks for over the top balls more than making slashing runs towards the winger. I could maybe see how some might think “he’s not making the right run” but it’s more his style to chest and volley (see: USMNT goals assisted by Bradley) than to try a footrace to a spot. in his early MLS days he was more of a LS/LW for NYRB and would take on defenders often (as many 16/17 year olds could/would do) but it was said at that time that he could benefit from going overseas and learning the finer details of the position (hold up play, linking with teammates, occupying CBs, etc). and though his years in europe weren’t always pretty he clearly has improved some in these areas (albeit, with more improvement still needed). He toughened up at Hull (again, albeit a bad overall season), learned tactics and spacing while briefly at Villareal, truly learned his team play at AZ where that was more of a team focus (and a league focus for that matter). so again, i’m not sure where the “lazy” comes from but my only guess is that he prefers over the top balls rather than ground-thru balls; and opinionated fans may construe that as “lazy”.
he’s scored more goals than all but 4 USMNT players of all time. so if he’s “lazy” then he can keep on being “lazy” and producing stats for our country. lol
for some random perspective, LD (the “greatest american player” to some) had 157 apps and 57 goals all by the age of 32. so far, jozy has played roughly 7 years with the senior team, thus if he performs similarly for the next 7 years he will have 160 apps and 54 goals by the age of 32… interesting… 🙂
Mr. Gum,
When Jozy was at Hull, Ian Dowie , a former player and commentator of sorts made the
observation that Jozy was unprofessional and did not know how to train.
That is the first time I heard of Jozy being called “lazy” which is a lazy pun on his name,
as is out the door, and anti goal. Unimaginative.
As a USMNT player Jozy is solid and reliable rather than great. He is a forward and during Jozy’s tenure he has had little if any competition worthy of the name.
While he is no great shakes, the USMNT has very much needed him all this time and for the most part he has come through.
Absent the lunatic fringe, who hates that he doesn’t sing the national anthem or that he half squats for the team photo, the more sane criticism of Jozy is mostly correct. However, until the USMNT can come up with someone better, and so far they haven’t, Jozy is ,overall the best the US has.
“Where did the concept that Jozy is ‘lazy’ originally stem from?”
easy answer: he’s black.
same as the comparisons to emile heskey, who he’s nothing like.
+1 I didn’t want to say it but ur right
Certainly. Same refrain as Reagan’s “Welfare Queens”. It is something that resonates with some peoples’ prejudices and they accept it without thinking.
English announcers may not be as full of vitriol as some fans in eastern Europe are, but they are hardly immune for hyperbole regarding racial stereotypes.
Settle down people, he never said his best is going to be great, only that it’s yet to come.
lol, fair enough. at least you’re making sense, unlike these other looneys.
It must be still coming.
which is exactly what he said; your point is?
The article almost made me puke. Sounded like it was written by Jozy’s mother or something. Lets just leave it at this. We have the gold cup starting very soon. Lets see if he actually does something against the better teams or just takes up space. No excuses… put up or shut up. I for one think Morris has more upside these days than Jozy but lets see if he does something or not. Games against Cuba or other semipro teams dont count
Jozy has scored a lot of goals for the US.
Now that there appear to be a lot of ready made replacements for him such as Morris, Wood, Rubin, Zardes, Green etc. Everyone is all moist and eager to discard him.
But AJ was supposed to push Jozy aside., So was Agudelo and so was Terrrance Boyd and so were EJ and Gomez.
But Jozy is still here and JK still appears to rate him.
Jozy has his flaws but you’ll pardon me if I wait until the Gold Cup is over before I throw any more dirt on on his grave.
.
+1, proof’s in the pudding, as they say…
Never, ever will I understand the Jozy Altidore hate.
Nobody is saying he’s Didier Drogba. When Drogba was in form for Chelsea, he rated as close to a “10” as a big striker gets. He could score with his head, with either foot, he could bully, he could juke you, he could drive past you, and he was strangely unselfish and often set up teammates.
I’d put Jozy at a “7” or an “8”. I wish he had better touch sometimes; especially when he’s drooping his foot tends to get heavy and stuff sorta ping-pongs off of him too much instead of sticking. He’s gotten much better but I wish he was better at playing with his back to goal. I wish he was a little more intuitive with his runs and I wish he poached better…he’s not really a natural finisher; he needs to set up and think about it too much. And his “drooping” is probably his worst attribute; he makes professional-sounding noises and presents well but when he doesn’t feel valued and is in a slump he needs a lot of hand-holding to get him over it, and he’s definitely a hot-and-cold player. And when he’s cold, he can be ice-cold…and maybe be deserving of the title “the worst striker in the EPL.” He’s not Clint Dempsey or even close in terms of mental toughness, for certain.
Still, he works much harder than people credit, he wins most of his physical battles, he has a rocket of an outside shot, and when he runs at a CB the guy the defender has a serious problem on his hands. And he combines pretty durn well.
Still, all in all, he’s steadily improved, and I can’t think of a single American striker aside from Dempsey I’d rate ahead of him…and Dempsey is what, 7 years older? And even Drogba didn’t really peak until he was 30 or so…the physical specimens tend to rely on their physical ability early and it takes them more time to develop the attendant craftiness. Personally I suspect Altidore does have at least one and probably two World Cups left in him and if he continues to improve along the same trajectory it’s not going to be easy for anyone to unseat him. I could see Rubio Rubin, Bobby Wood, Jordan Morris, even Juan Agudelo making a charge, sure…but those guys all have a long way to go, too. Morris hasn’t even earned his first pro paycheck yet.
Agreed. I can’t understand the Jozy hate.
What’s weird is that Jozy’s stats compare pretty favorably to the epitome of the perfect American striker, Brian McBride. Maybe 10 years after Jozy retires all these haters will epitomize Jozy and hate on the next generation of American strikers.
+1
well said, Quozzel, well said.
to add, I find humor in the fact that people are all clamoring to find the replacement for Jozy rather than find the replacement Dempsey. as this moment, it’s safe to say the 2 strikers that are most likely to play are Jozy and Clint, one of them is 32… so wouldn’t it make more sense to choose a striking partner for Jozy rather than his replacement, knowing that Clint only has a couple years left realistically? like i’d love to see Jozy AND Morris/Wood/Rubin/Agudelo etc. with clint and jozy you have a pairing of somewhat similar players, they both aren’t speed guys and rely more on team building to set up a goal rather than dribbling or speed. but when Clint leaves, is it not ideal to pair a speedy striker with Jozy? giving you a big strong forward that enjoys passing to set up goals with a speedy run-making forward (I still wish that car wreck never happened; CD and JA were a great duo).
Clint is a better and more reliable goal scorer than Jozy.
He may yet last until the 2018 WC. He’ll be the same age in 2018 as Miro Klose was in Brazil. As I recall Klose, a player JK knows very, very well, started for Germany in the final.
Maybe Clint won’t last until then, maybe he will.
But like most USMNT fans who are easily bored, you shouldn’t be so eager to discard such a good player before you need to. The USMNT isn’t that deep.
Perhaps I was misleading. I don’t want Clint to go away I’m just sayin it makes more sense to search for an eventual replacement for our 32 year ol striker rather than our 25 year old striker. I’m team Clint til I die lol
oops, apparently i type way too slowly.
while dempsey is still one of our best players, he’s been on a downward slope, and it’s hard to see a renaissance at his age, although–like klose–he could function as a poacher for a while yet.
i think DLOA’s point was simply that we would most likely need a replacement for dempsey before jozy–not that the replacement was imminent.
You make “poacher” sound like an insult.
As if reliably scoring goals at any level is something to be sniffed at” Oh he’s just a poacher”.
The way I see it Klose had to be special to start for the World Champions.
I don’t care how slow and awkward Clint is he reliably does the single hardest thing to do in the game, score goals.
I would think USMNT fans would value that more than they do.
It is pretty hard to win if you don’t score goals.
in no way do i intend “poacher” as an insult. that’s exactly what we’ll need if we’re trying to be the creative attacking team that klinsmann wants, and it’s what jozy isn’t.
but it’s also true that, when a player loses speed and stamina with age, a good goalscorer like can prolong their career by just moving up closer to goal–that’s what i envision for dempsey, and we’re seeing it already.
It’s going to be fun revisiting this thread after the Gold Cup.
haha +1
Jozy is where he should be to fulfill his expectations of himself.
Playing where it is easy to score goals, or where it is close to impossible isn’t going to develop him as a player. Playing where he has to lead the team, to a championship, in games that mean everything, will.
He has his chance and is doing alright with it.
he shud be able to improve on his relationships with the referees….maybe he can come up with another expression besides F-off
would you care to read a list of top players that also spoke crudely to a ref–once? lol
Scrolling through this thread….
Davis, Lennon, Observer & Associates?
More like:
Davis Lennon, Observer, & Altidore. Amirite???
(Just playin’, though, DLOA. I definitely agree that Jozy gets a bad rap at times.)
lol, yea I do tend to comment more on Jozy related hatred since i feel it’s blown way out of proportion. even funnier when people take my anti-hyperbole as me thinking Jozy is world class, he’s not. he’s a big strong forward with solid yet fleeting ball skills and a terrifically powerful shot and even better volley ability. he’s not going to win a foot race with other forwards but he also won’t come in last. he’s performed well for the USMNT; a top five scorer all-time at a young age of 25. he holds (held??) the record for goals in a season by an American in Europe– an oft forgotten record by his detractors).
now, personally, i don’t mind if someone doesn’t like Jozy or doesn’t want him playing, etc, but if they could at least have sound logic behind their opinion rather than hyperbolic nonsense then i wouldn’t feel the need to reply so often, lol
+1
DLOA fighting the good fight over here.
Jozy turned into Billy Big boots got cocky and figured out he was a very small fish in a big pond over in Europe. He got a tad more humble and figured out he actually had to be in shape for a full 90 and made some “better” efforts toward becoming a more complete player. He does not look as lazy as he did during games, likely because he’s doing more work during practice now, but it still doesn’t excuse his arrogant swag about him, the dude hasn’t accomplished ANYTHING in this career yet. I wish more players knew how to truly stay humble and put their head down and work hard, the cream always rises to the top eventually, its his perceived sense of brilliance that’s especially off-putting to me. He could take a few pages out of Harry Kane’s book, especially the part about how to finish in front of goal.
“its his perceived sense of brilliance that’s especially off-putting to me”
care to elaborate with examples? I’ve never seen an interview of Jozy that wasn’t classy and professional. Did you read some quotes of him saying something cocky? I’m really curious because of all the things i’ve seen people hate on him for, humility and professionalism aren’t any of them.
I can think of several, but do you think its professional to say while living in the same country that you are struggling to make a name for yourself in you call it the worst place you’ve ever lived in front of a national audience interview? I don’t think so, do you?
i recall that interview, i think it came out wrong stemming from the setup question but he quickly corrected himself in the same sentence. what are your other examples, since you have “several” but list a mild one.
we talking about… WEATHER??!?…
“Billy Big Boots” as in:
1. TFC – Montreal: Giovinco has the ball on the right Altidore is calling for a pass he see’s Bradley is in a better position and makes the pass that resulted in a goal…..Altidore turned his back and walked off instead of jogging to Bradley on the side line.
2. TFC – DC United: he is complaining all game long pointing were the ball needs to be instead of making the correct runs, walking instead of chasing the ball and causing pressure up top (like Giovinco), and he was on the bench upset as to why he got taken out of the game in the 70th min.
3. What he lacks in creativity and skill he can make up for in hustle, in urgency on the ball but its like he feels like he doesn’t need to….. no hustle in his game so far playing in MLS and complains all game.
Wow, the trolls are out for this one.
Really, at 25, his best soccer should be ahead of him. He has all the physical attributes, except for, perhaps, exceptionally quick feet. He has shown that he can score goals when he is in the right situation; he is not the only goal-scorer who has struggled when changing teams.
Despite all the moaning and wailing from fans, Jozy did not berate his Sunderland teammates, even though they surely shared some responsibility for his struggles there.
I think he still needs to be more active without the ball to provide a better target for his teammates, but that is a part of his game that has improved and is likely to get better yet.
+1
He is a great player. Not saying someone could never pass him for a spot on the Nat team, but he isn’t looking to stay level in ability either. Good for him.
Some of you people are idiots.
Jozy is no human highlight reel by any means, but he’s been a solid player for the U.S.
He has shown how solid a player he is with TFC. His time at Sunderland was bad, yes we know. But Sunderland is awful! He had some mental issues going on as well. When he steps on the field, he’s a difference maker, whether that’s for the USMNT or TFC….or one of his high scoring seasons with AZ.
“The best is yet to come and we’ve got exciting times ahead in Russia. We will have another strong team and hopefully we can surprise a few more people.”
-There’s certainly no guarantee he makes this team. I’d use the word “we” here very cautiously. He is a Juan Agudelo in form away from not making this team.
when speaking about a national team it’s common for players and fans(countrymen), alike, to use “we”. This is not a club team where if he’s off the team he’s no longer a part of the club. This is a country’s program that represents the entire country, not just the current players. Bocanegra, Twellman, Lalas, etc all say “we”–before, during and after there careers.
But, alas, just another Jozy-‘disliker’ reading wayyyyyyy to much into a quote.
carry on
Fact: Jozy is not a lock for the next WC.
Fact: No one is a lock for the next WC. God forbid injuries, death, changing citizenship to Germany, etc.
Joe- when did anyone say he was? I did not say that; Jozy did not say that– that which I’ve just explained in my initial response to you.
Fact: Roses are Red… cool
Barring injuries there are several locks to make the WC team and Jozy has not solidified his name as one of these individuals. However, mypoint is that I perceive that Jozy thinks he is one of these select few players. He is not a Michael Bradley type of player and is not an essential and a must-start player when healthy.
your point was clear in your initial comment; thus i clearly explained why you were reading too much into a quote. Jozy using “we” does not necessarily mean he considers himself “a lock”. but continue fitting it all into your narrative…
“Barring injuries there are several locks to make the WC team and Jozy has not solidified his name as one of these individuals”
as it happens, this is your opinion and the manager is the one who decides this. It could also be argued that JK DOES think of Jozy as a lock considering he named a 25 year old as part of his “spine” which he was the youngest player in said “spine”. one could clearly infer that this player could perhaps be a lock for the next cycle.
i could go on but the point is, you come off as just wanting to lay into a player based on your own prejudices rather than coherent, sound and rational commenting on a soccer blog.
good day, sir…
“mypoint is that I perceive that Jozy thinks he is one of these select few players. He is not a Michael Bradley type of player and is not an essential and a must-start player when healthy.”
That is your view?
Great, except, JK does not seem to agree with you, at least at this point.
Jozy is a veteran pro athlete and I’m sure he is very well aware that he his place is never secure. In fact in one of his interviews he was famously quoted as saying it was up to the player to adapt to what the manager wants and not the other way around.
You are making way to much of his “tone” in his comments.
+1
Juan has been “threatening” to be in USMNT form for a long time.
At some point that threat becomes empty and people move on.
Agreed GW. Funny how much of a pass Agudelo gets when Jozy has done 100x more…
see: Edson Buddle lol
“If you look at the work that Jurgen has done since he’s come in, he’s made us think differently,” said Altidore. “He’s challenged us in ways we haven’t been challenged before, and I think that’s important. If you want to grow or become better in any part of life, you have to step out of your comfort zone.”
….and nothing says challenge like coming back to MLS.
LOL. So true.
AMEN brother. Amazing how many don’t realize it.
I can’t tell if you realize that Sabdi was being facetious and doesn’t consider coming back to MLS as being a challenge; later in this thread you mention that Jozy is in the right spot in MLS. just curious, no ill will meant.
Too funny Sabdi. And good point.
“but also off of it for how he sets an example for the next generation of youngsters coming through the pipeline”
How so?
how to deal with negative press with class, for one, lol
He provides an example through his relentless work ethic…oh wait…
“If you look at the trajectory of U.S. Soccer – where we’ve come over the last 12 or 15 years – it’s incredible,” said Altidore.
Not really.
so you’re saying ’00-’15 USMNT isn’t better than ’85-’99 USMNT?…. I’d LOVE to have you elaborate…..
Would you call it an “incredible” improvement?
I’d LOVE to hear you explain it.
how about you list the highlight achievements from ’85-’99 and i’ll counter each and every one of them. lol
LOL
that’s a good try but “LOL” didn’t exist in the ’85-’99 time period we are discussing. please try to stay on topic here, student.
and i was really looking forward to hearing you struggle to come up with concrete evidence to support your silly claim… guess you sheepishly crawled back under your rock
I’d take our ’02 team over our current team.
We still haven’t produced anyone as good as 20 year old Landon Donovan, Friedel, Keller, Reyna, Ramos, O’Brien, or McBride. Howard, Dempsey, and Bradley come close, but even then the first two are from a previous generation. Considering that infinitely more people play the game now than back then, I’m slightly disappointed.
Your best is yet to come? We haven’t seen your better side yet…….lol
Same goes for you. Always trolling…
Hey Altidore don’t get mad at me just because you got subbed off for Robbie Findley in the 70th min (when the score was 0 – 0), because TFC needed something to happen up top. I have nothing to do with your lack of creativity.
Humble fan bizzy
5 goals in 10 starts this season (2nd to only Seba)
the game in which he subbed was his second game in 4 days–these two games were also AFTER only 2 games coming back from injury. how is this not clear to you? go look at the minute logs for other players coming back after a hamstring injury. It’s largely common to slowly increase their minutes game by game, ESPECIALLY when the player is playing 2 games in one week. he subbed 2 matches then went 70 in 2 matches (in one week), that shows that the team DOESNT care about him??????
your bias is embarrassing you…
“5 goals in 10 starts this season (2nd to only Seba)” he is a 6 million dollar striker who should it be????
“go look at the minute logs for other players coming back after a hamstring injury”…he was cleared by the TFC medical staff and was in the starting lineup, so what you might think is not really relevant as far as health and fitness (plus its Altidore….review Sunderland)
“your bias is embarrassing you…” right back at you buddy
BY TONY CUDDIHY….”Somehow, Sunderland boss Gus Poyet keeps playing Jozy Altidore despite the fact that he can’t buy a goal in the Premier League”.
By Jamie Sanderson for Metro.co.uk……”We’ve been convinced for a little while now that Sunderland striker Jozy Altidore is the worst forward in the league, and this probably proves it.
http://metro.co.uk/2014/12/13/sunderland-striker-jozy-altidore-pulls-of-hilariously-bad-miss-v-west-brom-4986033/
my comment had nothing to do with his time at Sunderland. you concluded that TFC subbed him off because they needed something to happen up top; this is false, he was subbed off because it was a double game week and they wanted to ease him back after an injury–which is very common. your babble about Sunderland is comedically irrelevant.
Also please don’t use second to Giovinco…..do you think a defender or midfielder show be? No, if you are being paid $6,000,000 + as a FW you better be, and also Giovinco has 8 goals and 7 assists, playing striker (Dempsey 7 goals 6 assists, Will Brun 7 goals 1 assist, Charlie Davies 7 goals 1 assist). Do you know how many assists Altidore has? 0…none (I mean you can’t really help others if you are selfish and you are struggling to help yourself so no surprise there), every player above him in the rankings has at least an assist (I mean Wondolowski has no assist either but he has 9 goals so he is forgiven lol).
Will bruin has 7 goals in 14 games, dempsey has 7 in 12, Davies has 7 in 18 games, Altidore as 7 in 12 (5 in 10 league games). That data is pretty inconclusive as to whom is performing better. the ratios are all close in proximity.
and as for the assists thing? for most of his first season at sunderland Jozy was leading the team in assists–as a forward………
you can’t be a leader in assist at Sunderland and be branded one of the worst strikers in the EPL….FYI
“you can’t be a leader in assist at Sunderland and be branded one of the worst strikers in the EPL….FYI”
being branded that is opinion; his being the assist leader for most of the season is 100% and undebatable. but i wouldn’t expect someone like you to understand that they are not mutually exclusive…
DLOA,
You are wasting your time with bizzy.
He is still waiting for JK to realize that the USMNT should be built around Freddy Adu creating chances for Will Bruin.
He’s still recovering from the hamstring issue.
True, but he wasn’t exactly tearing up before then
Before his injury he had a goal every 70 minutes, which was the highest rate in the league. (I’m a soccer nerd and I watch that stuff) He’s fallen off that pace a bit since he got injured, but to say he wasn’t tearing it up would be a bit of a stretch.
Also, he’s scored some pretty goals this season.
In the end though, this conversation doesn’t matter. He’s not Messi, but he’s a considerable distance ahead of Iceman, Juan, Morris, Wondo, or anyone else who could play up there.
I have to disagree; Altidore is not a considerable distance from any striker in our pool. He’s not much better than let’s say a Will Brun (7 goals 1 assist) who also has strength, good hold up play, can score if given the opening but no creativity or any special skill. Bobby Wood scored against Netherlands and Germany, Aron Johannsson and Morris looked really good also against both teams also……so to say Altidore is “a considerable distance” from any striker in our pool means our attacking corps sucks.
Bizzy, you keep bringing up Will Bruin yet they have the same number of goals and Jozy has done it in less games. do you understand how stats work??… your stats only help my point.
@bizzy – re: front line sucking
Look at this way. Jozy is our veteran. The front line is by no means a strength right now, but Jozy has proven himself over the last 6-7 years to be a quality international player. Virtually nobody else in the pool has proven that — certainly nobody younger. There are some promising options that are younger, but they have a long way to go to prove that they are better than Jozy.
@Davis, Lennon, Observer & Altidore……No Will Brun and Altidore do not have the same number of goals. Check their stats and get back with me
@don Lamb…..you got me there, he has has definitely been around for a while and maintained the longest. After the friendlies and all I guest the Gold Cup will put things in perspective for us
Jozy has 7 in all competition and 5 in MLS.
Will B has 7 in all competitions and 7 in MLS.
not to mention, Jozy has done it in less games thus his rate is higher. you’re a m0r0n
” We haven’t seen your better side yet……” wouldn’t your statement imply that his best IS, indeed, yet to come?…
“Good, better, Best”…..so no it really doesn’t
you’re missing my point, no offense but is english your first language? me knowing the answer might help in explaining this to you……
to put it differently:
“Your best is yet to come? We haven’t seen your better side yet”
one analogy could be “I love apples because I don’t like apples”
essentially your statement contradicts itself by default. i wasn’t even trying to argue the point i BELIEVE you were trying to make, just pointing out you’re looking silly with your statement as it stands.
carry on, i don’t mind you being ignorant
the most ignorant statement I’ve hear in a while hahahahahaha. With a statement like that means you are doing well and the best is yet to come (which is the whole argument about Altidore)….hahahahahaha apples, really? So yes your analogy is silly….
you literally make no sense.
all i was saying initially is that your statement was worded incorrectly. if you haven’t seen a players better side then that players best is still to come, which is congruent with Jozy’s statement– that his best is still to come. so by you saying “we haven’t seen your better side yet” only SUPPORTS Jozy’s claim.
learn the english language fully then come back and try to keep up
hahahahahaha…..comprehension is very important when it comes to the English language and communication. Understand what people are trying to say, instead of what you want it to mean. It’ll avoid making you look like an idiot
can’t wait for the comments on this one… lol
Antigoal has changed professions to that of a comedian.
so, his best laziness is still awaiting us?