Collins John signs with Chicago Fire - Soccer - SI.com
So, for some time, Jeremy and I have had a running list of players who have had modest success in the Prem but not been able to really break through as first team regulars that we think would be great players in Major League Soccer here in the States. We're of the opinion that MLS should be focused more on younger players who have some upside but may never be superstars rather than the fading stars losing their powers (like Becks or Henry or Raul or any of the others frequently linked to an MLS pre-retirement tour).
One of the first guys on our list when we created it a number of years ago was Collins John. He showed flashes of talent at Fulham when he was there but he couldn't sustain it and was destined to be a reserve at best if he tried to stick around the Prem. Others who have made it into this conversation are Alidiere, Jeffers, Laurent Robert (who did eventually make it to decidedly mixed reviews but he was too old at that point to really qualify for this category), Marcus Bent, Ebanks-Blake, James McFadden, and the like. I guess you should think about this list about the same way you think about the "wow, this guy isn't Prem quality but he'd be awesome at Celtic/Rangers list" but with taking into consideration that there is less money to spend.
Anyway, the reason I'm telling you this is that we get to test our intuition by finding out what one of our original nominees for this designation does now that he's done the right thing and come to MLS (again, assuming they have a season and all).
Now back to your regularly scheduled blog...
Cheers - Neal
So, for some time, Jeremy and I have had a running list of players who have had modest success in the Prem but not been able to really break through as first team regulars that we think would be great players in Major League Soccer here in the States. We're of the opinion that MLS should be focused more on younger players who have some upside but may never be superstars rather than the fading stars losing their powers (like Becks or Henry or Raul or any of the others frequently linked to an MLS pre-retirement tour).
One of the first guys on our list when we created it a number of years ago was Collins John. He showed flashes of talent at Fulham when he was there but he couldn't sustain it and was destined to be a reserve at best if he tried to stick around the Prem. Others who have made it into this conversation are Alidiere, Jeffers, Laurent Robert (who did eventually make it to decidedly mixed reviews but he was too old at that point to really qualify for this category), Marcus Bent, Ebanks-Blake, James McFadden, and the like. I guess you should think about this list about the same way you think about the "wow, this guy isn't Prem quality but he'd be awesome at Celtic/Rangers list" but with taking into consideration that there is less money to spend.
Anyway, the reason I'm telling you this is that we get to test our intuition by finding out what one of our original nominees for this designation does now that he's done the right thing and come to MLS (again, assuming they have a season and all).
Now back to your regularly scheduled blog...
Cheers - Neal
Huckerby was a great example of "too good for the Championship, not good enough for the Premier League" becoming a top player (injury permitting) in MLS.
ReplyDeleteIf Collins John (still one of Neal's favorite fantasy players) can make apply himself regulary then he'll be a big success stateside. Maybe not JPA successful, but the Fire should have a better team than what New York has ever been able to put around Angel.
I am really afraid Collins John is one in the category: eternal talent, what a waste. He should have stayed at Twente until he was in his 20s, capable of living on his own and having already had some bad times to bounce back from. Instead he went to Fulham to quickly and after one reasonable season got caught up in the let's-loan-this-guy-so we-can-still-get-some-money-out-of-him circus. He completely wasted any talent left in Championship sides. His latest adventure at Roeselare in Belgium was a fiasco as was his stop in Nijmegen at NEC. Both times he did not show up fit and was less then motivated. I really think there is a great player in there, but Collins John doesn't seem to want to find him.
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