Blackburn according to goal.com has offered Stuart Holden a four year deal to play in the EPL.
The article on the website says the information comes from the Sun newspaper in England.
Blackburn is currently in 13th place and is managed by Sam Allardyce, the squad includes former DC United defender Ryan Nelsen and name players like El Hadj Diouf, Benni McCarthy and Paul Robinson.
Holden’s agent is European based.
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The money is probably to good to turn down and with a possible lockout looming on the horizon, he’ll likely take the money and run. Good luck to him.
True the opportunity to play in Europe is one that he probably doesn’t want to turn down, but right now he is close to earning a ticket to South Africa. If he wants to make the flight then he is going to need solid minutes to impress Mr. Bradley. Riding the pine in Europe won’t get it done (this is no knock to Stu’s talent, but the probability is high).
I know its EPL, but Blackburn??? ugh!!! ride the bench, get passed over, start against bigger teams, potential for getting hurt. look at Altidore and the playing he has gotten.
Holden needs to stay with Dynamo for 3 years, get more playing time and have better chance for US WC squad. He keeps building up that local celebrity status and fan base with great causes for charity and local marketing.
I didn’t realize Holden’s agent is European based. Unfortunately, he is out of here if he can get a deal done.
The Dynamo will have plenty of money to make some moves.
Lets be realistic here. Do we really expect Holden to step into the midfield of a top tier Premier League team?
That is the question Matthew….is he going to a team where he is being assured to get regular playing time…..not sure that guarantee can be laid out there but the money is what this is all going to come down to I believe as Marco said.
I had heard whispers of Blackburn 5 weeks ago but it was just rumor then that has come to fruition.
Money rules and frankly I don’t blame Holden if Blackburn have offered him a multi million 4 year deal.
By the way, why has Holden been left of the USA Camp if he is sticking around in the MLS??? The guy is headed overseas and I wish him “Clint Dempsey” luck!!!
Glenn,
We all love Stu but this would be a massive mistake for him at this juncture in his career imho.
Two words…Eddie Johnson.
As much as I/we love Holden in this town, he’s not QUITE ready for the Premier League…JUST YET. Let’s be honest, he’s just undergone his first full year marshaling the Dynamo. We might call his season a success by MLS standards, but there are still elements in Stu’s game that need some polish before moving to Europe and one more MLS season might be all he needs. A move now, right before the World Cup would not only torpedo the Dynamo and possibly Stu’s World Cup dreams, it might well suspend the legit interest from better clubs after the World Cup.
Don’t make the same mistake Landon, Freddy, and Eddie made Stu. Stay another year w/the Dynamo, refine your craft, lock down your star status and league profile, land your WC spot, up your international cache’ and move on. Then go and fulfill your real international potential.
Wren Eddie Johnson had a horrible work ethic and he was dominating MLS so there wasn’t much left for him after already doing well in MLS and in the Nats, plus you have to remember there’s a business aspect to this, I’m sure the Dynamo can’t even come close to what Blackburn are offering.
Landon didn’t make the mistake of leaving a bit early, he did the mistake of acting like a brat and not putting forth the effort needed to play, he wanted to start and remember the guy was a star in the MLS at 18, he went for the sure easy way to play, if he had stay and learned his trade I think he would of gotten to the level he is already at a long time ago
Freddy should of gone to Europe to train with their Academies instead of wasting his time in MLS where Nowak didn’t even do a good job developing him and wouldn’t even start the kid despite the fact that he destroyed teams at 14 and 15
And Adu is still 20 that’s 4 years younger than Stu, Eddie is around the same age but he’s in Europe worst case scenario he comes back to MLS and ends up regainning his form, I think the fact that Dallas didn’t let him go when PSV asked for him really hurt, if he had gone to Holland and trained there he might of developed better
Edwin- Love the way you and others blame everyone but Adu for his failure\’s . Nowak didn\’t harm Adu\’s career, the kid didn\’t step up it up at the pro level.
Playing and dominating at the youth soccer doesn\’t guarentee pro sucess.See Devin Barklay,Steve Shak, Chris Carrieri,Nick Besagno, etc.
Remember all the talk when Adu went to Europe, how he would now thrive and blossum, when out from under MLS. Didn\’t happen, did it ??
William, I’m not saying Adu’s not at fault, I have read that he’s had issues of discipline and not trainning hard etc, but the guys that he had at DC were not above him even at 15
I saw that kid turn the veterans in MLS around when he was a rookie the few times he got to play.
I feel Nowak didn’t like him and didn’t play him much, I recall him benching Adu after he pretty much tore up in the 1st leg of the Conference final in 04 I think.
What I’m saying is this a much different situation and Adu is still 20 like I said, he can easily turn around his career in 3 years and would be ahead of Stuart!
More important is I think Stu isn’t going somewhere that he wouldn’t have a shot at starting, I think the fact that Bob didn’t include him on the roster means that he will sign with Blackburn or is waiting to see if he resigns
I think the strike has some to do with this!
Does Bradley have to even see Stuart again to be convinced of what he brings to the table in the future for the national team.
This roster rewards many that Bradley knows are not the caliber of the national team yet it is a reward.
Please don’t compare Eddie Johnson and in any shape or form to Stuart who from a maturity standpoint is miles ahead.
Hey that was Wren Glenn, another Chelsea fan displaying his knowledge.
Glenn how about Brad Davis getting a call?
Really not happy to see some guys who have proven bring nothing to the table
Heath Pearce really? We’re back to that? At this point if Castillo doesn’t make it it should be Bocanegra or Bornstein unfortunetly but Pearce has proven he can’t handle the Zelaya’s and Quintanilla’s of Concacaf let alone the guys from Slovania and Algeria or Theo Walcott or David Beckham or Shaun Wright-Phillips
Clarence Goodson is in the same group as Pearce that proved he has no upside at the Gold Cup, this isn’t for the 2nd teams of Concacaf this if for a strong African team, a European playoff winner that left Guss Hiddink’s Russia out of the World Cup and England.
Eddie Gaven & Brad Evans I can’t see but I guess they are MLS hopefuls, I thought McDonald was a defender/midfielder?
Justin Braun? This one really troubles me?
Glenn do you think we should buy into whether maybe Stu’s already decided to go to Europe?
There is one tried and true saying. ‘Don’t count your chickens before they hatch”. Now a lot of people hope that he does not make the move overseas for Dynamo/National team related reasons, others for money reasons, and a slew of others. The best we can do is hope and maybe plead a little bit to his strong support and reliance on the loyal fans. No matter his choice it is a BIG decision.
As for me- I think that if he stays in MLS he will have a nifty little clause in his contract that will state he can departe MLS at the end of any season if he so chooses. I see this as a detrimental aspect to wether he stays or goes, along with a gratuitos increase in pay which he has earned.
Either way, the basket of eggs(possibilites) has thined out, now all we can do is wait to see which one hatches.
P.S.
G.D. the coffe has been good next door lol.
Edwin, you’re far too kind to the pre-Leverkusen Landon, the MLS Adu, and the near-talentless Eddie Johnson which only solidifies my argument for Stu. Regardless of how good they were, or how good YOU THINK THEY WERE in MLS, clearly these three were not ready for Europe in the capacity they were expected to perform at the time. As a “Chelsea fan displaying his knowledge”, it’s nice to see you bringing up the rear and hammering home my point albeit through distorted facts and opinions.
All of your woulda-coulda-shoulda arguments are nothing more than symptoms and excuses surrounding the real issue and that is that they weren’t good enough. Period.
To Glenn’s point, Stuart Holden is a far more mature player (and man) on and off the pitch. Surely, there is the financial reward and allure of Europe but right now it would be in Stu’s best interest as a (Dynamo) player and leader, as a USMNT player, and as a future European prospect to get one more solid MLS season under his belt. For a player of his caliber, interest will be there this year and next.
Wren, tell me I’m wrong about the fact that Landon Donovan was tearing up MLS at 19 and 20?
Tell me Eddie Johnson didn’t score at will in MLS and had something stupid like 8 goals in 7 games for the nats? I recall Adu taking on the Galaxy, the Fire and Revolution when he was 14 or 15 and just literary breaking ankles, 2 years ago vs Spain and Argentina he played great.
I still blame a lot on him and I’m not saying he was ready to go to Europe and start, but he should of gone to Europe to develop under the youth academies there or the reserve squad for a big club, the offers where there. In actuality if you talk to other followers of the USMNT ask around, he stayed in the states basically for the money and endorsements MLS offered because he needed it for his family his mom came to the US on a Visa Lottery.
Donovan wasn’t ready to start but he should of stayed there and worked hard to become the player he is now, the proof of it is that at the age of 19 or 18 in South Korea/Japan he tore up teams like Portugal, Poland, Mexico and he was all over Germany
EJ is most likely the least talented of them all, but I still think if he had gone to PSV early on he could of developed earlier, the biggest case is Adu, and I remind you he is still 20, if he took 4 full years to develop he would be ahead of Holden by having years of experience in Europe.
Holden should go if he truly believes that he can start. I don’t think he can start right now unless Bob moves Dempsey up top with Jozy or if he goes with a 4-5-1 with Dempsey playing a central role the way he loves to do at Fulham or even on the left like plays most of the time and put Donovan at the CAM or withdrawn forward spot behind Jozy.
I hope he stays in MLS, but honestly I think it would work out for him at Blackburn, tney don’t sound like they have players that would straight out outplay him and they don’t seem like they’ll get relegated