gmb

James you are clearly cursed. Do you mind if I buy you a Seattle Seahawks Richard Sherman jersey? Your curse will certainly aide my 49ers in years to come with him gone from the Seahawks.
 
Because I know everyone is on pins and needles about my decision, I DID end up getting a jersey from Everton Direct. Had the blank one in my cart, ready to pull the trigger. Then a voice, eerily similar to the one in Field of Dreams, said "Go with the Seamus". F*ck it, it's my jersey, done.
 
A blank jersey does stand test of time regardless of the players on the squad, but I think as an American it's engrained into my head to get a name/number on the back. To me, it just looks better. And it's friggin' Seamus!
 
To quote Paddock - "Jobs a good -un" (I had to look up what this meant btw).

Yedlin is dynamite. I feel like a hipster because I'm always thinking "I liked him before he got popular," ha. Curious to see how Green develops, haven't seen enough of him.

I don't see us going for another center forward. Lukaku, Kone will hopefully be back, Henen is an option, plus Naismith and Mirallas could play up there if need be. I think winger is a priority. And as little as it's talked about, I think we need another center half. Alcaraz is a joke, and Syl is one wrong step away from a broken hip.

Yedlin is dynamite. I feel like a hipster because I'm always thinking "I liked him before he got popular," ha. Curious to see how Green develops, haven't seen enough of him.

Yedlin is dynamite. I feel like a hipster because I'm always thinking "I liked him before he got popular," ha. Curious to see how Green develops, haven't seen enough of him.

Yedlin is dynamite. I feel like a hipster because I'm always thinking "I liked him before he got popular," ha. Curious to see how Green develops, haven't seen enough of him.

I'm having trouble believing he'll end up at Wolfsburg, but what do I know?

I'm a fan of it [emoji106]

Media only available in the UK.... Covering an American sports hero....
 
Well played BBC, sounds like you and our board deal in the same manner...

Superb.
 
"I tried to buy this in Waterstones but it was raining outside and I slipped. Whilst I was recovering Demba Ba nipped in and got the last copy.
 
I hear it's a good read though and the ending is great."

Don't think people in Europe realize how big of a problem this is here in the US. In England, if you're 14 years old and good at soccer you get picked up by a professional team and learn from pros. Here, your club team is run by someone's dad and you play for your school team coached by the history teacher. This is something that is started to change. Red Bull New York, for instances, were one of the first teams to implement an academy for U18, U16, etc. Just recently, I believe, they've added U14 and U13. Obviously, the benefits of improved programs for 15 and 16 year olds is not going to be seen for 5-7 years., and even then it's still not perfect. Another thing RBNY want to do is build a physical academy. Players would live there and get schooling there. This is something that I think is common in Europe (correct me if I'm wrong, guys) but is unheard of in the U.S.
 
And then there's the whole problem of the NCAA and its eligibility rules, which is a whole different issue for Klinsmann and US Soccer to tackle. I don't think the US are lacking motivation to become a soccer powerhouse. There are simply many major inherent problems with how our society is structured that put us at a disadvantage compared to other nations. US Soccer is still trying to figure out how to go about fixing that, but I think you're already starting to see massive improvement.

I don't agree with this at all, though it may appear that way from the outside looking in.
 
Our main problem isn't our sports outside of soccer; it has more to do with the youth coaching setup.

I'm glad to see you've become an expert on America now too.

I really don't get the whining about this. Yes, we need a striker - we all know that, and the club will deal with it without paying over the odds - but we also need squad depth, and that's what this move is all about - as well as planning for the future. This guy not only plays for his national team, but he was voted their best player at the World Cup. To get him for the quoted price is a steal.