James Rips Julian

[Guest Ed]

Well, PJ decided to add to the dissing of Jules regulariy shown in related articles and went full-out yesterday, putting down Julian as not "DP-worthy".

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/soccer/de-guzman-not-living-up-to-status-as-designated-player/article1682910/

[loyola]

Well, PJ decided to add to the dissing of Jules regulariy shown in related articles and went full-out yesterday, putting down Julian as not "DP-worthy".

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/soccer/de-guzman-not-living-up-to-status-as-designated-player/article1682910/

Sadly, I have to agree that JDG wasn't worthy of a DP. Of course, that doesn't mean I agree with PJ entire criticism of Julian.

[nolando]

^ What he said

[VPjr]

If Julian is not DP worthy, whose fault is that? His (maybe) or Mo Johnston (who chased him hither and yon to get his name on a contract).

The reality is that Euro clubs can more easily justify large wages for a holding mid far more than an MLS club can and we all knew that from the start.

[Guest Ed]

It's more than that. James is ripping Julian on his attitude. Come again? What attitude?. Julian has ALWAYS been one of Canada's hardest working players, on and off the field. I don't get it. It's personal with PJ (and with me).

[JoeSoccerFan]

It's more than that. James is ripping Julian on his attitude. Come again? What attitude?. Julian has ALWAYS been one of Canada's hardest working players, on and off the field. I don't get it. It's personal with PJ (and with me).

I have to agree with PJ in that JDG has not appeared to have the best attitude on the field. His body language often suggests that he is down on his teammates (or himself), and he seems to go through stretches where he is uninterested.

With regards to his actual play, I also am disappointed. I have found his passing to be inconsistent, as he regularly tries to squeeze through difficult passes leading to turnovers. His shooting has been terrible, as he regularly has opportunities from outside of 18 and rarely tests the keeper.

Defensively he has been good, although his height is a major disadvantage in MLS when trying to win headers.

Overall I would have to agree that he is not DP material based on his play. I think Mo overpaid for him, as he appears to have done for Mista.

[Keano]

Agreed he's not DP material, however he wouldn't have come there for 450K and he certainly is a very good MLS distributing mid. The role he plays on the pitch is by definition unspectacular also, which doesn't help when people want to criticize.

[youllneverwalkalone]

Every league in the world overpays some domestic stars. Anyone heard of the English Premier League? How much does Joe Cole make?

I agree that Julian hasn't played great and TFC could probably do better all things being equal, this is just another petty bun fight for PJ. There are so many bloggers on this board these days, they should sent a united message of f-uck off to Paul James. F-off Paul James Day!

[jonovision]

Does JDG make Toronto a better team? I think he does. All the money details shouldn't really matter for much. TFC could still sign another DP if they cared to, right?

[ag futbol]

Ok so Ali Gerba and Julian can be crossed of PJ's hit list. Who's next?

I can't be bothered to read his vitriol.

[Gian-Luca]

I think Paul James lost me on this when he said it was refreshing to see Joey Saputo rip Montreal's players, given that (a) that's par the course for Saputo and ( he went to the media first and not the players to discuss his feelings, so that some of the players only discovered that they had been publicly insulted by the fans coming to them to ask them what they thought of Saputo's insults.

The rest of the article gets worse from there. I have no idea what James is referring to with respect to Julian supposedly having a poor attitude, and he must be watching a different player than I have been. If its obvious from his "comments" that he's got a problem with the team, why not cite those comments. Don't refer them obliquely, use some bloody quotes! That's tabloid journalism which doesn't deserve to be taken seriously.

Sadly, this article tells us more about Paul James than it does about Julian De Guzman.

[Jeremy]

I think Paul James lost me on this when he said it was refreshing to see Joey Saputo rip Montreal's players, given that (a) that's par the course for Saputo and ( he went to the media first and not the players to discuss his feelings, so that some of the players only discovered that they had been publicly insulted by the fans coming to them to ask them what they thought of Saputo's insults.

I never thought someone would publicly back up what Saputo did (going straight to the media).

[gator]

PJ seems to be making a habit of ripping MNT members and pro soccer players in general! Although I sometimes agree with his points, he is getting a little predictable! I don't care about wages or transfer fees, I just know that as jonovision states "he makes TFC a better team"! He is playing in a position that is mostly unspectacular so he can go largely unoticed when he has a good game!

[Gian-Luca]

PJ seems to be making a habit of ripping MNT members and pro soccer players in general!

Don't forget to add Canadian soccer supporters to that list - we get another swipe at us in the first line of the article, which is now par for the course.

The comments section in that article features Paul James telling Jeremy Loome (who is critical of the article) that he has an agenda.......I think he's missed the irony in that contention. Bob Iarusci has made similar comments on the Fan590 after TFC games about De Guzman not justifying his status as a DP thus far, but because he restricted himself to commenting on Julian's performance and rather than questioning the guy's character and attitude (on the basis of providing no evidence whatsoever), I didn't have a problem with it. This has nothing to do with fans "coddling" players, its simply in our nature to come to the defense of any Canadian player that gets unjustly attacked liked this. Given how little support Canadian soccer has had over the recent years its somewhat incredulous that we keep be identified as the problem.

[closetboostie]

It's disappointing that the columnist with perhaps the biggest platform in Canada chooses to grind his axe at every turn instead of giving us a more balanced view on Canadian soccer. I want to like him and I read every article to hear what he says but it's hard when I feel he massages events to fit his agenda. If PJ was as quick to praise Julian when it's warranted as he is to criticize him maybe such criticism would carry more weight. His analysis on certain topics seems to be overwhelmed by personal feelings.

De Guzman is the dp and he gets the high expectations that come with it. His performance thus far does not justify his pay relative to the pay scale of the rest of the league. Isn't that the point of the dp though. It's not comparative to the rest of the league. The rest of the league is underpaid. Julian is an integral part of the team and when his presence on Saturday was so clearly missed it wasn't deemed worth a mention by Mr. James. Yet when Julian fails to take over the game and make beautiful music with such stalwarts as Usanov, Hiscanovics, Ibrahim, White, etc he goes to the guillotine. I wish Preki was held to such a high standard for the lineup yesterday. I have no problem with criticism of De Guzman, surely he has deserved it at times this year, but let it be for the right reasons.

[bettermirror]

Overall, have to agree with PJ. JDG hasn't been "DP" material. His play has generally been inconsistent, and for a "possession-based" player he concedes far too much of it. I've seen ONE stellar performance - from a small sample size (others can correct me at will!). Maybe I've seen him play 6 games (not watching the full 90).

The rest of what PJ wrote need be brushed aside!

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

I get the impression that Paul James makes himself unpopular on here by simply stating the obvious on issues that most other people would shy away from. Not convinced by all of his arguments on this one, however, particularly now that three DPs can easily be signed. JDG is an unusual choice for a DP signing but his absence in the NYRB game definitely made a big difference to TFC's overall level of performance. When Carl Robinson used to be replaced by someone like Hunter Freeman, who was making a fraction of his salary, that difference was not so obvious.

[BearcatSA]

I think if this central midfield had to function between the likes of Saric, Nane, and Sanyang for an extended period of time without JDG I could see the team struggling even more. That said, I enjoyed reading this recent article about the defending MLS champs:

http://usa10kit.com/2010/08/13/no-dps-no-problem-real-salt-lake-stays-tried-and-true/

[jpg75]

^ I think that says more about the other guys we have in that position...Julian sometimes shows flashes of greatness and then will crap the bed with lazy passes that lead to turnovers. That inconsistency speaks to his mindset.

[BearcatSA]

^That's my point.

[Guest Ed]

I get the impression that Paul James makes himself unpopular on here by simply stating the obvious on issues that most other people would shy away from. Not convinced by all of his arguments on this one, however, particularly now that three DPs can easily be signed. JDG is an unusual choice for a DP signing but his absence in the NYRB game definitely made a big difference to TFC's overall level of performance. When Carl Robinson used to be replaced by someone like Hunter Freeman, who was making a fraction of his salary, that difference was not so obvious.

Unadulterated Bull****. PJ has consistently shown disdain for many Cdn national team players, in particular, and not coincidentally, those same players who had the misfortune to be coached by PJ in 2000. Time and time again, people on this board are upset with his shots at the character of our national team players and us, the supporters. If anybody has an agenda, PJ certainly does.

[jloome]

Don't forget to add Canadian soccer supporters to that list - we get another swipe at us in the first line of the article, which is now par for the course.

The comments section in that article features Paul James telling Jeremy Loome (who is critical of the article) that he has an agenda.......I think he's missed the irony in that contention. Bob Iarusci has made similar comments on the Fan590 after TFC games about De Guzman not justifying his status as a DP thus far, but because he restricted himself to commenting on Julian's performance and rather than questioning the guy's character and attitude (on the basis of providing no evidence whatsoever), I didn't have a problem with it. This has nothing to do with fans "coddling" players, its simply in our nature to come to the defense of any Canadian player that gets unjustly attacked liked this. Given how little support Canadian soccer has had over the recent years its somewhat incredulous that we keep be identified as the problem.

Yeah, that one had me initially annoyed, because it was such a dishonest argument -- he characterized DeGuzman and Coaches one way, I disagreed, he then characterized ME. Didn't seem worthy of sputtering back at him. Boy, I wish I had a TFC agenda though; they must make enough bloody money to sink a small steamship.

[paul-collins]

"When you've got experience coaching, come talk to me. Until then, you don't know anything and can't comment on coaching."

He's gonna miss out on some exciting soccer development at York over the next few years...

[loyola]

Yeah, that one had me initially annoyed, because it was such a dishonest argument -- he characterized DeGuzman and Coaches one way, I disagreed, he then characterized ME. Didn't seem worthy of sputtering back at him. Boy, I wish I had a TFC agenda though; they must make enough bloody money to sink a small steamship.

While I don't agree with everything PJ said in his reply I have to agree with one thing he said when he talks about fans overprotecting players.

I love this forum but if I had one criticism to make is the excuses we too often are making for every player that is underperforming, either with the MNT or at the club level.

How to explain Rob Friend poor scoring record with Canada? Not being used properly by a poor coach and not receiving good service!

How to explain Ali Gerba failure with TFC? Not given a fair chance and not used properly!

The same was being said about Iain Hume so-so performance with Canada or JDG with TFC.

Our players are going for a night out at Club Opera after a crucial loss in a WCQ and a few hours before leaving for an even more crucial WCQ in Mexico . Not our business, it's the players private life.

It's seems that our players are rarely responsible for their poor performances unless they are named Pat Onstad.

Yes, PJ is being hard on JDG but I can't say he is entirely wrong in his assessment of the player.

[jpg75]

Our players are going for a night out at Club Opera after a crucial loss in a WCQ and a few hours before leaving for an even more crucial WCQ in Mexico . Not our business, it's the players private life.

Actually, i think there was a mix of reactions to this. I can understand it's their private life, but it shows their commitment to the cause. The Hondurans in contrast were up early the next morning doing strength training at their hotel before flying home to kick Jamaica's ass. If you want to make it to the WC you have to be 100% focused at all times.