Guest Ed Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 I prefer to look at Ali as an 'all-world' striker, keeping fit in the USL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teddym Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 So if Ali's training with l'Impact he might be back in their lineup in time to help put the screws to TFC on July 22 (Voyageurs Cup). But never mind that . . . TFC takes a back seat to anything involving "our boys"; if Ali can get in good form and score some goals for us in WCQ--less than six weeks away now, we're getting there!--then I'm all for it. The guy may have issues (that's just me speculating on the basis of "where there's smoke there's fire") but there is one vital thing he always could do and that's find the net. If he can continue to do that then he's pretty much OK in my books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reds YNWA Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 TFC might have his rights for the huckerby deal going to San Jone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luis_Rancagua Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 No doubt that Gerba is using the USL to keep fit for Canada's World Cup qualifying campaign. It appears that Gerba is seriously seeking to return back to Europe, rather than playing in MLS. Smart move for a player of his talent. With this being said, Gerba has his high expectation set on Europe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loyola Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 quote:Originally posted by Luis_Rancagua No doubt that Gerba is using the USL to keep fit for Canada's World Cup qualifying campaign. It appears that Gerba is seriously seeking to return back to Europe, rather than playing in MLS. Smart move for a player of his talent. With this being said, Gerba has his high expectation set on Europe. I'm not so sure about Europe, if he was looking to get back there he would be trialing somewhere in Europe at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ed Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 I think in fact he is putting his European trials on hold in order to give his full attention to our WCQ campaign. Sweet!! European trials to resume after the semi results are conclusive I would assume. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearcatSA Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 quote:Originally posted by Ed I think in fact he is putting his European trials on hold in order to give his full attention to our WCQ campaign. Sweet!! European trials to resume after the semi results are conclusive I would assume. I would like to see him playing regularly at club level, and the USL is fine at this point. I wonder if his Euro trials are on hold because he's just not getting the offers he's looking for? Regardless, if he gets significant playing time during the fall campaign and maintains his goal scoring rate then that would certainly enhance his stock in finding a Euro club. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maccaliam Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 quote:Originally posted by loyola I'm not so sure about Europe, if he was looking to get back there he would be trialing somewhere in Europe at the moment. I have to agree with loyola here. I think if he had any decent options in Europe, he would be over there training with a team, getting to know them and showing his worth during their training camps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grizzly Posted July 11, 2008 Author Share Posted July 11, 2008 quote:Originally posted by maccaliam I have to agree with loyola here. I think if he had any decent options in Europe, he would be over there training with a team, getting to know them and showing his worth during their training camps. That may be true but he might also be thinking that if he has a good WCQ campaign he might make himself attractive to better clubs than are interested in him now and may be able to sign a much more lucrative contract. Regardless, to emphasize club level and performance over performance on the national team is ridiculous in my eyes. The problem with the USL guys who played for us under Yallop wasn't that they played in the USL but was because they played poorly for the national team. Yes in the majority of cases the league level reflects upon the ability of the player but not in all cases. If Gerba keeps scoring for us then he should be on the team, if he doesn't keep scoring then someone else should get a chance. At the moment the second striker spot is his and he should only lose it if his performance declines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loyola Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 quote:Originally posted by Grizzly That may be true but he might also be thinking that if he has a good WCQ campaign he might make himself attractive to better clubs than are interested in him now and may be able to sign a much more lucrative contract. Regardless, to emphasize club level and performance over performance on the national team is ridiculous in my eyes. The problem with the USL guys who played for us under Yallop wasn't that they played in the USL but was because they played poorly for the national team. Yes in the majority of cases the league level reflects upon the ability of the player but not in all cases. If Gerba keeps scoring for us then he should be on the team, if he doesn't keep scoring then someone else should get a chance. At the moment the second striker spot is his and he should only lose it if his performance declines. While I agree that it's tough to take the second striker spot away from Gerba now, I still have some concerns about the fact that OO has never been given a chance to take that spot even if he's been scoring at an higher level than Ali club level wise. People love to point out the fact that OO has only 2 goals but the majority of his caps were in 2004-2005 when he was a newcomer at the MNT and club level. He has 4 caps since 2005, 3 as a sub... I'm also not really sure Ali can score consistenly against good opposition, if he doesn't do it at the club level I don't see how he can do it at the MNT level. I have more faith in Friend to do it even he hasn't do so in the past. At this point, I would be against the inclusion of a new striker, go with Rob or Ali as target man but I'm not sure the evaluation process was done properly and I have my doubt about Gerba. Those are my concerns and only time we'll tell us if I was right or wrong but I'll be happy to be proven wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 I think it's interesting that Gerba is seriously contemplating to play for the Impact, while Sandro Grande seems to be perpetually training with them but won't sign up to play, even on a short term basis. Different philosophies about their careers? Different advice from agents? Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearcatSA Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 quote:Originally posted by Grizzly If Gerba keeps scoring for us then he should be on the team, if he doesn't keep scoring then someone else should get a chance. At the moment the second striker spot is his and he should only lose it if his performance declines. And that's for everyone in the striker pool, not just a short leash for Gerba. If we drop points in the first two matches because Friend misses gilt-edged chances, how quickly are we going to start hearing rumblings on this board and elsewhere for Gerba to start in his place? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maccaliam Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 quote:Originally posted by BearcatSA And that's for everyone in the striker pool, not just a short leash for Gerba. If we drop points in the first two matches because Friend misses gilt-edged chances, how quickly are we going to start hearing rumblings on this board and elsewhere for Gerba to start in his place? Not from me. I think Gerba's strike rate is brilliant but i really don't think he will be able to keep it up against better competition. Believe me, I truly hope he can turn into our version of Northern Ireland's David Healy, but I jsut don't see it happening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.