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News Thread for 2013-14 Season

Aston Villa's Gabriel Agbonlahor injured One Direction singer Louis Tomlinson in a charity match played at Celtic Park. The match was a fundraiser for the Stilliyan Petrov foundation. Petrov is a former Villa player who retired after being diagnosed with leukemia. Besides singing, Tomlinson dabbles in soccer, playing on the Doncaster Rovers development squad.

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertai...njured-charity-soccer-match-article-1.1449865
 
I think we should all send 'Well Done' cards to Agbonlahor :smilewinkgrin:

Gabby's been getting Twitter death threats from all over the globe, and I actually got a few myself for sticking up for the guy. Boy band fans are just bonkers.
 
Gus Poyet is the new manager at Sunderland. He had been manager at Brighton & Hove Albion from November 2009 until June 2013 when he was fired one month after losing the Championship semi finals to Crystal Palace.

http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/1576557/sunderland-confirm-gus-poyet-new-boss?cc=5901

I was surprised that they let him go at Brighton, because he seemed to have done a really solid job there. Poyet should be a stabilizing factor in Sunderland after two pretty histrionic managers in DiCanio and O'Neil.
 
Oguchi Onyewu has signed for QPR on a free transfer. He left Sporting Lisbon over the summer and was not playng anywhere.

http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/1...rnational-oguchi-onyewu-free-transfer?cc=5901

Brek Shea is looking for a loan move away from Stoke now that he's recovered from the knee injury he sustained in a friendly against the Philadelphia Union. He's only dressed for a Capital One Cup match in August and was subbed out.

http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/1...k-shea-desperate-loan-move-away-stoke?cc=5901
 
Forget the loan. If I was Shea's agent I'd be looking for a permanent deal that would land him somewhere the kid can freaking play. He's missed so much time with injuries and that transfer last year that it seems like it's been forever since he got anything like a run of games. That's not good for any player, but especially not for a 23 year old.

Personally, I'd like to see him at one of the more development minded clubs in Belgium or Holland. I think a nice 2 year spell in a nurturing environment would do wonders for Shea.

And good for Gooch ... I guess. He's not been very good for awhile now, but maybe he can bring a little professionalism to that mess at QPR and make a place for himself in the Championship. At least he gets to spend the rest of the year in London. Could be worse.
 
Forget the loan. If I was Shea's agent I'd be looking for a permanent deal that would land him somewhere the kid can freaking play. He's missed so much time with injuries and that transfer last year that it seems like it's been forever since he got anything like a run of games. That's not good for any player, but especially not for a 23 year old.

Personally, I'd like to see him at one of the more development minded clubs in Belgium or Holland. I think a nice 2 year spell in a nurturing environment would do wonders for Shea.

And good for Gooch ... I guess. He's not been very good for awhile now, but maybe he can bring a little professionalism to that mess at QPR and make a place for himself in the Championship. At least he gets to spend the rest of the year in London. Could be worse.

Pulis brought Shea to Stoke and then he rotted on the bench even for him. Hughes has no ties to him at all. Maybe a move to AZ? Did wonders for Jozy and Aron Johansson seems to be acquiting himself there too. If the two of them can develop a relationship, it's good for the National team long term.

Not sure why QPR needed Gooch. They've only allowed 4 goals in 11 matches, fewest in the Championship, but they've only scored 14. It would appear that offense, rather than defense is the issue there.
 
QPR need Gooch because they lack character, IMO. Years of shopping in the bargain bins of bigger clubs have left a chancy bunch at best. Gooch ain't the greatest center back in the world, but he's an excellent, professional worker and a good man in the room.

And yeah ... Johannsson and Altidore are why I mention Holland as a good pace for Shea to land. Plus, that league has a lot of open, flowing offensive teams that use their wingers to penetrate. That's what Shea does best and he's a kid who badly needs to play somewhere that needs him on the pitch, but doesn't need him to be the face of the team like they did in Dallas. In the Dutch league, I'd think that both Twente and PSV could use a boost ... both are off to crappy starts and both are accustomed to European football. Someplace like Anderlecht, Genk or Brugge in Belgium would be bad either. He just needs to play in an offensive system and with good players who will challenge him ... without the pressure MLS puts on USMNT players.
 
Pulis may be boring, but he's a quality manager. I don't think the team at Palace really suits him but I know for sure that he'll get them playing cohesive defense in short order.
 
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