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View Full Version : Hargreaves to Vancouver (revised: NOT)



Azerban
07-11-2011, 07:27 PM
#WhitecapsFC (http://twitter.com/#%21/search?q=%23WhitecapsFC) will make a major player announcement tomorrow morning. Visit whitecapsfc.com tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. PT to find out more!

+

http://www.tsn.ca/soccer/story/?id=371546

=

lol

eustacchio
07-11-2011, 07:31 PM
I hope they take him. I really do.

TFC1154ever
07-11-2011, 07:36 PM
To bad we don't play them anymore. Have to wait till next year to give him a peace of my mind :D

Ossington Mental Youth
07-11-2011, 07:38 PM
27 appearances in four years

27 appearances in four years

27 appearances in four years

27 appearances in four years

27 appearances in four years

MartinUtd
07-11-2011, 07:41 PM
Now all of those Vancouver fans who get pissy over the notion of TFC being Canada's team think long and hard about this one. I guess Montreal can be Canada's team too..lol

eustacchio
07-11-2011, 07:41 PM
I really want them to take him.

zeelaw
07-11-2011, 07:45 PM
This is simply impossible! This can't happen or VFC will be my most hated team EVER...

FUCK EM if they do and I hope the southsiders snap

Pachuco
07-11-2011, 07:47 PM
Oh yes please take him. He'll spend the rest of the season injured on the bench.

sashavukelich
07-11-2011, 07:49 PM
just saw an article on sky that WestBrom were offering him a contract...do you think he'd come here?

zeelaw
07-11-2011, 07:50 PM
Some ppl are saying that he's confirmed to NOT be the signing

Cashcleaner
07-11-2011, 08:17 PM
Hilarious. Would love to see how the Vancouver fans spin this if it comes to fruition. Still seems most likely that West Brom will pick him up, though. At least that's what I've been hearing.

ArmenJBX
07-11-2011, 08:23 PM
Supposed to be an African striker, captain of his team, DP.

Azerban
07-11-2011, 08:41 PM
fucking negative nancies on this board, can't talk about anything positive

69Chevy396
07-11-2011, 08:44 PM
I tend to agree, but hard to stay positive supporting one of the worst pro soccer teams on the planet

Pigfynn
07-11-2011, 08:45 PM
He's being sarcastic. It's his medium

Azerban
07-11-2011, 08:52 PM
there's nothing sarcastic about my deep-seated want...nay...need, to see owen step on an mls pitch and have his knees explode during the anthems, hopefully blinding hassli with knee fragments in the process

Cashcleaner
07-11-2011, 08:53 PM
http://images.cheezburger.com/completestore/2010/1/29/129092862269687600.jpg

Pigfynn
07-11-2011, 08:54 PM
there's nothing sarcastic about my deep-seated want...nay...need, to see owen step on an mls pitch and have his knees explode during the anthems, hopefully blinding hassli with knee fragments in the process

that would be pretty cool.

:drum:

Shakes McQueen
07-11-2011, 09:13 PM
I wonder what the fan reactions will be if this is true. What questions will the press ask him?

- Scott

Shakes McQueen
07-11-2011, 09:15 PM
I love this reader comment at the bottom of the article:

"This would be a huge improvement tho the central mid in Vancouver as long as he is able to stay healthy. As a whitecap and Hargreaves fan I am extremely excited by the prospect of him playing in vancouver"

Well yes, dumbass, that's just the thing, isn't it. LOL.

- Scott

Oldtimer
07-11-2011, 09:18 PM
If its true, that is just amazing. Not good, just amazing. Could they really be this dumb?

Can you imagine Hargreaves having to play regularly on turf? :lol:

Nuvinho
07-11-2011, 09:22 PM
The Vancouver Whitecaps are ready to make a major player announcement on Tuesday morning, and while there is no clear evidence of who the player is, there are plenty of rumors swirling about where the player might be from.
There is a strong belief the player is of Africa descent after well-known Nigerian journalist Colin Udoh wrote on Twitter that a captain of an African national team was going to be announced as the first MLS Designated Player from Africa in a Tuesday press conference.
Marc Weber of The Province is reporting that the player is a forward (http://communities.canada.com/theprovince/blogs/backofthenet/archive/2011/07/11/african-dp-vancouver-bound.aspx), which would allow the Whitecaps to slide Camilo Sanvezzo to the wing.

ArmenJBX
07-11-2011, 09:23 PM
African DP guys!

rocker
07-11-2011, 09:24 PM
African eh?
somebody on Soccer By Ives commented that it must be the captain of the South Sudan team. :)

Stryker
07-11-2011, 09:24 PM
If it's Hargraves I'd just like to note how refreshing it is that someone other than TFC is doing something colossally stupid.

tfcleeds
07-11-2011, 09:26 PM
African eh?
somebody on Soccer By Ives commented that it must be the captain of the South Sudan team. :)

LOL...well, they would probably be recognized by FIFA before the UN.

Azerban
07-11-2011, 09:26 PM
Start your own thread about boring African captain fantasies, this thread is about traitorous permacrock signing for a team worse than even us fantasies.

TFCRegina
07-11-2011, 09:26 PM
Going to go check Ben Massey's twitter. I'm sure it's filled with all sorts of self-hatred right now.

TFCRegina
07-11-2011, 09:28 PM
SCGGrant Grant
I'd assume anyone who owns/operates an MLS team is smarter than me on several levels. How can they think OH to #WhitecapsFC is a good idea?

reply from Ben Massey


@SCGGrant: I'll give you a hint: the Whitecaps are dead fucking last.

LOL'd hard

Azerban
07-11-2011, 09:28 PM
Would it take all that much effort to find the dozen or so African national team captains worth playing in MLS, figure out which would make a move to MLS, and start a rumour about them? No. That's why it's Hargreaves.

eustacchio
07-11-2011, 09:33 PM
If its true, that is just amazing. Not good, just amazing. Could they really be this dumb?

Can you imagine Hargreaves having to play regularly on turf? :lol:

or playing regularly

BakaGaijin
07-11-2011, 10:37 PM
Owen Hargreaves once spent a few weeks in Africa............so the rumour about the signing being 'African' is probably correct............

Whoop
07-11-2011, 10:57 PM
I'm going to say Benjani Mwaruwari.

werewolf
07-11-2011, 11:26 PM
Maybe Houssine Kharja.


The joke is going to be on us if its Drogba...

Whoop
07-11-2011, 11:31 PM
http://www.gifbin.com/bin/052009/1241699338_drogba-pissed-its-a-disgrace.gif

Stryker
07-11-2011, 11:36 PM
The joke is going to be on us if its Drogba...
Don't even joke. I think I might cry if they got a striker of his quality.

Redcoe15
07-12-2011, 12:14 AM
The Shitecraps can have him, if it's true. Have fun on the plastic turf, douche. :devil:

Whoop
07-12-2011, 12:29 AM
Odds are it's not Hargreaves.

http://www.theprovince.com/sports/Struggling+Whitecaps+reveal+forward+Tuesday/5086469/story.html

Whoop
07-12-2011, 12:36 AM
Apparently from West Africa, captained his team at the U17 level and scored 20 goals in all competitions in Europe last season.

Not a well known name.

Jeff s
07-12-2011, 12:43 AM
African striker eh. I'm gonna predict Benni McCarthy. 33 years old, striker and no club....

Keyman
07-12-2011, 01:29 AM
top african scorers in europe last season:
http://www.thebesteleven.com/2011/05/top-african-goal-scorers-in-europe.html

werewolf
07-12-2011, 01:40 AM
I thought about Kanoute, but I don't know about U-17.

JuliquE
07-12-2011, 01:42 AM
Please, God, not Eto'o or Drogba. :(

Keyman
07-12-2011, 01:54 AM
Striker is also under 25 years of age, apparently.

Azerban
07-12-2011, 06:40 AM
Seems that the DP is most likely Mustapha Jarju from RAEC Mons in Belgium. He scored 19 goals in the Belgian Second Division last year, is from Gambia, and captained his u-17 team. As I feared, all of this excitement seems to be over a player from a second division (of Belgium, no less!). If this holds to be true in the next couple days, this is one horrible joke.

who?

ginkster88
07-12-2011, 06:57 AM
Captain of an african national team DP... http://assets.espn.go.com/photo/2009/1002/soc_g_drogba3_sw_576.jpg

TOBOR !
07-12-2011, 07:15 AM
This guy (http://mytimekiller.info/sports/vancouver-whitecaps-transfer-rumor-might-peter-utaka-be-mlss-first-ever-african-designated-player.html) thinks it's Peter Utaka (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Utaka).

This makes me think they could have just gone after Ali Gerba :



It’s very much speculation, but one player who seems to pretty closely fit Udoh’s criteria is Peter (http://adf.ly/503559/mytimekiller.info/tag/peter) Utaka (http://adf.ly/503559/mytimekiller.info/tag/utaka), a 27-year-old Nigerian forward who scored 20 goals while playing with Danish side OB in 2010-11. Utaka (http://adf.ly/503559/mytimekiller.info/tag/utaka) reportedly fell out of favor in Denmark (http://adf.ly/503559/www.sbnation.com/soccer/fifa/teams/denmark) after being accused of laziness.

TOBOR !
07-12-2011, 07:21 AM
top african scorers in europe last season:
http://www.thebesteleven.com/2011/05/top-african-goal-scorers-in-europe.html

Not sure how many goals he got for Hoffenheim in 2011 (it says 6), but Demba Ba scored 7 for West Ham United. Now he's at Newcastle (for you anorak wearers).

mdc 77
07-12-2011, 07:29 AM
Peter Utaka seems to be the guy. 27 year old Nigerian, played in Danish league, accused of being lazy. Should fit right in with Vancouver.

Ossington Mental Youth
07-12-2011, 07:38 AM
Not sure how many goals he got for Hoffenheim in 2011 (it says 6), but Demba Ba scored 7 for West Ham United. Now he's at Newcastle (for you anorak wearers).

He was a beast at Hoffenheim, think he had a way higher talley than 6 if i remember correctly

TotalFootball
07-12-2011, 08:31 AM
The last think the Whitecaps need is a Striker. They have Hassli and they have been scoring goals. They need a Center Back like TFC does.

menefreghista
07-12-2011, 08:39 AM
The last think the Whitecaps need is a Striker. They have Hassli and they have been scoring goals. They need a Center Back like TFC does.

Some teams actually play more than one striker at a time though.

Its a concept I wish TFC would consider.

TOBOR !
07-12-2011, 09:30 AM
there's some tweets going on between Colin Udoh and Bill Gairns that suggest Musatpha Jarju (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustapha_Jarju) is the guy.. I can't be arsed to link it.

Ossington Mental Youth
07-12-2011, 09:41 AM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustapha_Jarju

Gazza
07-12-2011, 09:44 AM
I'm going to say Benjani Mwaruwari.

I won't agree unless you can say it 5 times fast.

TOBOR !
07-12-2011, 10:09 AM
'Caps fans are gonna be soooo underwhelmed.

Roca
07-12-2011, 10:54 AM
I read just the other day that he was going to Leicester City. Oh well, who knows...

Whoop
07-12-2011, 11:19 AM
I remember thinking the same thing after they signed Eric Hassli but cards aside, he's been a good signing.

Azerban
07-12-2011, 11:31 AM
Whitecaps FC add striker Mustapha Jarju

ahahahahaha

ArmenJBX
07-12-2011, 11:32 AM
There it is! Mustapha Jarju, African DP :D

Ossington Mental Youth
07-12-2011, 11:32 AM
god i hope this dude is terrible.
Ive seen diff reports on what league hes in.
Belgian 2nd, i dont have that much hope for him.
Belgian 1st, dude could be dangerous

Azerban
07-12-2011, 11:35 AM
second division belgium, hardly has a wikipedia page

i'll take frings/koevermans thanks

Blizzard
07-12-2011, 11:36 AM
god i hope this dude is terrible.
Ive seen diff reports on what league hes in.
Belgian 2nd, i dont have that much hope for him.
Belgian 1st, dude could be dangerous

http://www.whitecapsfc.com/news/2011/07/whitecaps-fc-add-striker-mustapha-jarju

Vancouver Whitecaps FC announced today the signing of Gambian striker Mustapha Jarju as the club’s second Designated Player - pending his international transfer certificate. Per club policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.
“Mustapha is a proven goalscorer at the club level in Europe," said Whitecaps FC president Bob Lenarduzzi. "He has pace and the ability to find the back of the net with regularity, as he did during his successful spell in Belgium. Mustapha will be a great addition toour strike force."
Jarju joins Whitecaps FC after three successful seasons with Belgian club Royal Albert-Elisabeth Club (RAEC) de Mons. Last season, the native of Banjul, Gambia, helped RAEC Mons win promotion to Belgium's top-flight Jupiler Pro League after two seasons in the Belgian Second Division. During the 2010-11 season, the 24-year-old scored 25 goals and added 13 assists in all competitions, including 18 goals in 33 league matches, four goals in six playoff games, and three goals in two Belgian Cup matches. During his three years with RAEC Mons, the 6-foot, 160-pound striker scored 43 goals in 118 appearances.
"I am very happy to begin the next stage of my career with Vancouver Whitecaps FC and play in a one of the rising leagues in the world in MLS,” added Jarju. “I had many options throughout Europe and the Middle East but Whitecaps FC made me feel very welcome and the city is beautiful. Recently, I have watched several matches and believe the club is ready to push for the playoffs.”
Prior to his time with RAEC Mons, Jarju scored 26 goals in two seasons with Belgium's Lierse SK. This included ten goals during the 2006-07 Jupiler Pro League season. Before moving to Belgium, Jarju played with Gambian clubs Reggae Boys, Wallidan, Racing Star, and Steve Biko FC.
Internationally, Jarju, is alternate captain of the Gambian national team and has scored four goals in 25 senior appearances, primarily as midfielder, for the West African nation. Jarju also appeared for The Gambia at youth international level, where he was captain of his country's U-17 and U-20 national teams and was also a member of the U-23s.
Whitecaps FC host Real Salt Lake in Major League Soccer on Saturday, July 16, at 1 p.m. PT and English Premier League giants Manchester City FC, as part of the Herbalife World Football Challenge 2011, on the following Monday, July 18, at 7 p.m. PT. Tickets for both matches are available at all Ticketmaster Ticket Centres, online at ticketmaster.ca, or Charge-by-Phone at 1.855.6.GO-CAPS (1.866.646.2277).


Mustapha Jarju
Position: Striker
Height: 6-00
Weight: 160
Born: July 18, 1986, in Banjul, Gambia
Last Club: RAEC Mons (Belgian Second Division)

Whoop
07-12-2011, 11:37 AM
god i hope this dude is terrible.
Ive seen diff reports on what league hes in.
Belgian 2nd, i dont have that much hope for him.
Belgian 1st, dude could be dangerous

2nd division team that was promoted to 1st division for the 2011-12 season.

TFCwestcan
07-12-2011, 11:38 AM
The trade-off young instead of upper level, someone they can mold. Again Vancouver goes a different route.

Whoop
07-12-2011, 11:39 AM
Lierse, though, is a 1st division club.

rocker
07-12-2011, 11:41 AM
Not a major signing. Phew. But Whoregreaves woulda been hilarious. too bad!

At least with Hassli, they got a DP who is a veteran and has proven himself in a first division.
But this guy is still young (which has pros and cons) and hasn't played in a top division yet.
And the Belgium second division isn't anything like Major League Soccer so it'll be an adjustment. Who knows, it might work, but it's not a guarantee.

yellowfellow
07-12-2011, 11:57 AM
Poor guy, they don't even have a picture of him on their website.

TFCRegina
07-12-2011, 12:00 PM
Lierse was in the First Division last year. Not sure about this year coming up. (Tow)Radzinski played with them.

ag futbol
07-12-2011, 12:18 PM
Sounds a lot like what dallas is trying with Fabián Castillo ... actually the better comparison would probably be Portland and their designated player.

This is still a new experiment for MLS signing younger players with a strong pedigree as go-to guys.

TOBOR !
07-12-2011, 12:24 PM
Sounds a lot like what dallas is trying with Fabián Castillo ... actually the better comparison would probably be Portland and their designated player.

This is still a new experiment for MLS signing younger players with a strong pedigree as go-to guys.

...But as DP ? This guy has scored goals in second div. Belgium. Where's that on the pecking order ? If the MLS comparison to The English Championship is fair, then it looks like they've brought up a USL calibre striker. In itself that's not alarming - but as a DP ? That's plain nuts. That's something Mo would do.

TFCRegina
07-12-2011, 12:34 PM
...But as DP ? This guy has scored goals in second div. Belgium. Where's that on the pecking order ? If the MLS comparison to The English Championship is fair, then it looks like they've brought up a USL calibre striker. In itself that's not alarming - but as a DP ? That's plain nuts. That's something Mo would do.

He was there in 2006-2008.

In 2006-2007, Lierse was in the top division and lost in the relegation playoff.

In 2008-2009, he was with Mons. A team that was relegated from the 1st Division.

Mons will be playing in the Belgian Pro League again this year.

He's not that bad of a player at all. Good enough to play in the Pro League a couple times.

Ossington Mental Youth
07-12-2011, 12:36 PM
basically hes unknown, regardless of his background, a gamble like much in this league

Damien
07-12-2011, 12:40 PM
Mustapha?

http://images.wikia.com/austinpowers/images/f/ff/Mustafa.jpg

MartinUtd
07-12-2011, 12:45 PM
...But as DP ? This guy has scored goals in second div. Belgium. Where's that on the pecking order ? If the MLS comparison to The English Championship is fair, then it looks like they've brought up a USL calibre striker. In itself that's not alarming - but as a DP ? That's plain nuts. That's something Mo would do.


It's not fair, maybe the bottom 6, but that's about it.

On the topic, wasn't it Kljestan that said the Belgium Pro League is at a higher level than MLS after moving there? He could be pandering to the crowd, but I wouldn't be surprised if he's right.

TOBOR !
07-12-2011, 12:52 PM
I thought Mustapha's rep was being built on his tally with RAEC Mons, which was in the Belgian 2nd div. That's what I was looking for a comparable for. Do I have that wrong ?

TFCRegina
07-12-2011, 01:06 PM
I thought Mustapha's rep was being built on his tally with RAEC Mons, which was in the Belgian 2nd div. That's what I was looking for a comparable for. Do I have that wrong ?

He played in both the 1st and 2nd division with Mons.

TotalFootball
07-12-2011, 01:37 PM
It's not fair, maybe the bottom 6, but that's about it.

On the topic, wasn't it Kljestan that said the Belgium Pro League is at a higher level than MLS after moving there? He could be pandering to the crowd, but I wouldn't be surprised if he's right.


The top 4 teams in Belgium, Standard Liege, Anderlech, Genk and Brugge are at a much higher level than the MLS. The rest is more technical but maybe less physical.

ag futbol
07-12-2011, 02:54 PM
...But as DP ? This guy has scored goals in second div. Belgium. Where's that on the pecking order ? If the MLS comparison to The English Championship is fair, then it looks like they've brought up a USL calibre striker. In itself that's not alarming - but as a DP ? That's plain nuts. That's something Mo would do.
I dunno man, lot of unknowns in that equation. How good is the quality in the 2nd division over there? How dominant is he?

If there was a really dominant USL-1 player out there I wouldn't be opposed to putting him on a DP contract if the specifics were good enough (but they would have to be really really good). As it stands we never have to answer such questions because it's rare you see anything near a standout (let alone dominant) performance from a USL player.

Kandji turned in probably the only dominant USL performance I've ever really seen. That being said he's an asset in MLS but not DP quality.

Azerban
07-12-2011, 02:55 PM
I dunno man, lot of unknowns in that equation. How good is the quality in the 2nd division over there? How dominant is he?




So he scored 18 goals in the Belgian second division last year...the leading scorer in that league (with 25) is a 26-year-old Tunisian who's never been capped for his senior national team. That might tell you something.


welp

MartinUtd
07-12-2011, 03:02 PM
The top 4 teams in Belgium, Standard Liege, Anderlech, Genk and Brugge are at a much higher level than the MLS. The rest is more technical but maybe less physical.

Fair comment. Just saying LC is higher than MLS too.

Also regarding the Tunisian player who isn't capped by 26 years old... you could say the same about Chris Wondolowski two years ago.

ag futbol
07-12-2011, 03:02 PM
I'd be careful with that, without knowing exactly why he hasn't been called the information is interesting but it doesn't point one way or another.

At face value, looking at their roster, you'd think they'd be interested (they have a pretty cool crest btw).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunisia_national_football_team
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunisia_national_football_team)

Ossington Mental Youth
07-12-2011, 04:11 PM
Kandji turned in probably the only dominant USL performance I've ever really seen. That being said he's an asset in MLS but not DP quality.

Alonso was USL too

ag futbol
07-12-2011, 04:42 PM
^ Never saw him play. I've seen a few other guys who transitioned to MLS from USL, Paulo Jr. was probably the closest to Kanji, he's only 22 so there's still time for him to break out. I also remember Cristian Arrieta, he seemed like a no-brainer to do well in MLS but he didn't do that well in Phily. I'd still give him a shot though (he's back in USL i think).

CSN brought up a good point which was: what if they laddered his salary so that he gets a big year one and a much smaller years two, three, and four? Potentially he could be a DP for the rest of this year then not after that. Nice creative way to get around the cap and something they were rumored to have done with Chiumiento and Rochat.

glaze
07-12-2011, 07:22 PM
We may have signed the better DPs, but vancouver fans will get to see their team play Man City on Monday, a game their SSH holders get for free.

TFCRegina
07-12-2011, 07:39 PM
We may have signed the better DPs, but vancouver fans will get to see their team play Man City on Monday, a game their SSH holders get for free.

Who cares?

Plenty of Season ticket holders have complained about the pointlessness of friendlies when the team can't even make playoffs.

Not a season ticket holder myself, but I wonder why have these mid-season friendlies that only serve to congest an already congested schedule.

Azerban
07-12-2011, 08:14 PM
We may have signed the better DPs, but vancouver fans will get to see their team play Man City on Monday, a game their SSH holders get for free.

"if man city was playing outside my window i'd close the curtains", me, 2011

rocker
07-12-2011, 08:34 PM
On the Wikipedia Scouting Trip I just took, he must have had the least detailed Wikipedia page of any DP in MLS history. LOL.

Only today has it been filled out a bit. This was the page yesterday:

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mustapha_Jarju&oldid=431988118

Definitely an off-the-radar kind of move. We'll see if that's worthy of DP status.

Ossington Mental Youth
07-12-2011, 08:57 PM
Who cares?

Plenty of Season ticket holders have complained about the pointlessness of friendlies when the team can't even make playoffs.

Not a season ticket holder myself, but I wonder why have these mid-season friendlies that only serve to congest an already congested schedule.

I am and i couldnt care less about friendlies. If i wanted to see Man City, id go to Manchester (or somewhere else in England)

sashavukelich
07-13-2011, 06:56 AM
Mustapha?

http://images.wikia.com/austinpowers/images/f/ff/Mustafa.jpg


Only time will tell if he works out, certainly not worthy a shroud of mystery they gave it.

otherwise i'm thinking he'll be as hilarious as the image above.

jloome
07-13-2011, 11:21 AM
Six foot and 160 pounds? He better be friggin's great with the ball at his feet or have amazing positional sense, otherwise he's going to take a physical pounding.

Mind you, probably has bird bones at that weight, three foot vertical or something.

ManUtd4ever
07-13-2011, 11:50 AM
For Vancouver's sake, this acquisition better work out. I can only imagine how this forum would have reacted if TFC signed him as a DP.