WheatsheafSK

57 minutes ago, Toje said:

I think the club plays in the Dutch 3rd tier, but I could be wrong.

You would be right.  They were 2d division last few years, but were relegated last year.  Team should have a good infrastructure for that level.

On 4/7/2018 at 10:05 AM, Unnamed Trialist said:

Yes but it is incredible dedication, the sacrifice is huge. I doubt any make enough to live properly, though they may have an apartment from the club or some small perk. In any case, you have to be very convinced to give it a shot, since even if you end up in 2nd tier in a few years, which would be a big step up, you are still at a very modest level.

There are plenty of young people who finish their BA, have debt and decide to go abroad to do internships in developing countries for next to no pay.  I would think of it as the same for footballers.  You need a sense of adventure, willingness to take a risk and an understanding that you are earning a meager living for the next year or more.  The payoff is that it gets you experience, and it might lead to something more sustainable.  If not - you took a chance, you are set back financially from if you stayed home, and you go back to living with your parents looking for that desk job that allows you to comb through Voyageurs forums on Monday mornings.  

4 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

I was reading that the option ends up being 5 million, I guess there are extras there, but it is still a potentially big payday for Atalanta if they choose to sell and can get more than 20.

So do you think that if he plays in EPL or La Liga he will fall off the Italy radar a bit, since his call-up for them was just to fill in last minute for injuries anyways? That he'd have to excel even more to be part of their NT mix?

It will depend on the next national team manager.  Conte was willing to call up Pelle when he was with Southampton.  If Cristante breaks into ManU's line-up, one would guess there are more call-ups in his future.

In terms of the rumoured purchase price of 30m, that only equates to about 8m in pre-2017 transfer window money.  Based on last summer, 30m would be the rate for an avg. midfielder in the EPL.  

19 hours ago, shamrock said:

Nice move up for him (forgetting about the Romanian stint). Could be the little brake he needs. 

No - he needs to lay off the brakes, step it up and get back to where he was.

15 minutes ago, BCM said:

Having had a little to do with foreign footballers in Asia, I am more than a little skeptical that he's earning SG$520,000 in S'pore - perhaps they only pay in season.

He's very keen to give up his Canadian citizenship - which Singapore requires, and it does not allow dual nationals - but Singapore has made it difficult to acquire citizenship in recent years after a flood of Chinese migrants threaten the Singapore way of life, or so the story goes.

Good luck to him.

I agree - I both know very little about footballers in Asia and am skeptical about the earnings reporting.  I wonder if that is an error in the article.  It seems strange to be asking players to take $2,500 a month, while Singapore internationals get between $4,000 and $10,000 a month, but foreigners get $10,000 a week. Wondering if that should have to been by month. 

Dane Domic is on trial at Sparta Rotterdam - who were just promoted to the Eredivisie.  

Sparta Rotterdam take duo on trial

Eredivisie newcomers Sparta Rotterdam will give Dane Domic and Tadej Apatič the chance to impress the club on trial.

Domic, a 19-year-old midfielder, and Apatič a 28-year-old left back will join up with the club during their first training session on Saturday and try to earn a deal.

Domic recently played for Canadian side Calgary Villains, while Apatič is a free agent after leaving Austrian amateur side Deutschlandsberger SC.

Don't know anything about this kid, but apparantly he was playing with the Calgary Villains recently.  A quick google search brought up this Calgary Sun article on the lad, so I am assuming that he is Canadian.

9 hours ago, Grizzly said:

Since we are following coaches now, Yallop has signed a 3 year contract to coach in USL. Pretty low to fall, I don't think he was MLS calibre but one would think he might have caught on in NASL

http://sbisoccer.com/2015/12/frank-yallop-named-arizona-united-head-coach

I have not watched Yallop's teams too much, but it seems harsh to say that he is not MLS caliber when he has won the MLS Cup x2, coach of the year x2, and supporter's shield. 

Agree that it is a steep step. However, considering his recent record he feel this is the time to  step back and reconsider his methods/playing style.