Privates :) und Spiel » it puts a tremendous amount of pressure

It was 1pm in Sunderland and 8am in Toronto on Friday when the two clubs came together to finally announce the deal that was broken earlier this week. At that stage, we knew that one signing depended on another yet still question marks remained about the details. Now we have our answer. On a day that Toronto FC became even more American, they were involved in a good old-fashioned North American-style trade. It wasnt quite All for One. This time it was One for One. That was the answer I looked for during the press conference at the Air Canada Centre on Friday to announce the signing of Jozy Altidore. Reports early this week suggested the club received a league record fee for Defoe, in the region of $11 million. On Friday, I asked Tim Bezbatchenko if that was true. We are not permitted to disclose the terms of the transfer. What I can say is this did involve an exchange of players and a valuation that was reciprocal, confirmed the general manager. In the end, things became much clearer in Sunderland. It was all about a swap and dependent on him going in the opposite direction, confirmed the clubs Sporting Director Lee Congerton. That allowed us to bring Jermain to Sunderland. In reality, it has been a complete swap deal, no money involved, which we are delighted with. So not quite $11 million then. No wonder he was delighted. He wasnt alone. A complete Twitter search for Lee Congerton shows just how happy Sunderland fans are with the move. Lee Congerton should become a hostage negotiator with talents like that wrote one. Others included The Merlin Award for magic this year goes to Lee Congerton, Jesus turned water into wine and Congerton turned Altidore into Defoe and I wonder if Congerton can swap Danny Graham for Alexis Sanchez. It is clear Sunderland fans are delighted with the move. Toronto FC were also all smiles Friday. Head Coach Greg Vanney went out of his way to speak about how important it is that the three DPs on the club can combine, work together and, above all else, be the three best players on the club. All excellent points. Vanney should be pleased. After all, he now has a fully committed player from day one who can make his team better. That was how low the bar was set last season with Defoe. And yet on the day he moves away from the club for good, his shadow still looms large. Social media reaction to the news the deal was a swap was mixed, with some believing it doesnt matter at all whether the club/league got money in return. No major organization or sports league will have people lining up to feel sorry for them if they lose money so they arent wrong in that area but there is a significant reason why no fee is a bigger story than people are making out. Jozy Altidores worth. And Jermain Defoes worth. And in Math terms – Jozy – Jermain = 0. The fact that no money was exchanged leaves people to only speculate what the two clubs believe the players are worth. We must remember that both players were sold to their previous clubs for around six million pounds (just over $9m US). Altidore in July 2013, Defoe in January 2014. For different reasons, both have seen their values drop since. Yet, as early as August, it was reported across the United Kingdom that QPR offered Toronto FC a similar amount in terms of a transfer fee than the one they paid Tottenham. Since then, the player and the club publicly and privately struggled to be on the same page and it was clear the world knew that Toronto FC wanted rid of Defoe. Despite holding onto a depreciating asset, they found many clubs in line who were interested. Leicester looked, QPR said he was too expensive and Hull City admitted they were interested. Alan Pardew, new manager of Crystal Palace, said he threw their hat in the ring to get Defoe this month but found out they were too late. Congerton confirmed negotiations between the two clubs were happening in December. Toronto FC opted against selling Defoe for a fee to a Premier League club and instead chose to just take Altidore in return. Why? The hope is they believe he can more than deliver on what he will be paid. However, no one can think that the two players are worth the same at this stage in their careers. Defoe, now 32, is coming off multiple injuries, but is a proven goalscorer in the richest league in the game, where teams like Sunderland are finding it very difficult to get goalscorers. Thats why they gave him three-and-a-half year contract. Altidore scored one goal in over 40 appearances at the same level. So, why does all this matter? Firstly, now that we know Defoe has been exchanged for Altidore, it puts a tremendous amount of pressure on the American international. The club has not only decided to pay wages to the player that are above market value but also given up an asset that the footballing world would all agree was worth much more. Those who believe an Americans premium talents should return to MLS can make a legitimate case for why they should be paid more than anywhere else in the world to play here but they cannot make a case as to why clubs should pay more money in a transfer fee than they are worth. Not only is it bad business practice but it also places a player into a financial threshold that isnt matched by their play on the pitch. It is also shows European leagues that Major League Soccer, a league that is telling its players in negotiations that it is losing money, is willing to pay above market value for American players. Perhaps that was the reason Bezbatchenko chose not to fully answer the question on whether he got a fee for Defoe but if he had said it was a straight swap we believe Jozy will be worth much more to us than Jermain in this league at least we would have an answer to his reasons. He will have made people spit out their drinks (again) on the streets of England but at least he will have been able to tell people that they got an excellent return on Defoe; something he may have said privately to MLSE board members. Thats what he is hopeful of now. By swapping the players, instead of selling Defoe to another Premier League club and then buying Altidore for less from Sunderland, he has been able to hide the large transfer fee lost on Defoe to Spurs. And that is why the Defoe sale still lingers. It could have been understandable for the club to wash their hands with the disgruntled Englishman and move him on for less and learn their lesson but by choosing this option, the comparisons will continue. For Toronto FC, that may turn out to be fine if Altidore delivers and scores goals for a playoff-bound team but from a large pool of players that are available across the world, it is interesting they chose one who just so happens to play for a team where they could stash Defoe away for good. Michael Strahan Jersey . Showing more spark after not taking enough challenging shots on goal in their 1-0 loss Friday night, the Bruins had 18 shots in the first period after managing just 25 in the entire opener. Luke Glendening cut Bostons lead to 2-1 at 13:20 of the second period before Milan Lucic scored late in the second and Zdeno Chara added a power-play goal early in the third. Carl Banks Jersey . After seven wins in a row, they have to do it one more time to get into the playoffs. http://www.authenticnygiantspro.com/Phil...-giants-jersey/. Sami Salo scored two goals as the Canucks overcame a hat-trick from Edmonton Oiler rookie sensation Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to win 4-3 in NHL action Saturday. Eli Manning Jersey . The All Blacks played their best rugby of recent years when they beat South Africa 38-27 in Johannesburg two weeks ago, clinching the Rugby Championships in a match which has been hailed as one of the best ever played. Harry Carson Jersey . The attacking midfielder arrives on a free transfer from Spains Malaga. The 28-year-old joins Scottish striker Kenny Miller and Argentine midfielder Matias Laba as designated players on the Whitecaps roster.Plymouth are set to enter the 2017 National League under new ownership after securing agreement with the land owners to continue speedway at the St Boniface Arena. Former rider and ex-Trelawny promoter Mark Phillips has joined forces with Laurence Rogers, most recently of Coventry Storm, to form the new promotion.They will attend an interview with the sports management committee prior to the forthcoming National League AGM, and subject to final acceptance by the leagues members, will then be permitted to join the meeting to agree the rules for the 2017 season. Phillips said: This is an early Christmas present for the Plymouth fans. We have gone about things quietly but on Monday everything fell into place and the Devils should hopefully be lining up at the start of the 2017 season in the National League.We have our plans in place and now the work really starts for us as we commence work to find a team sponsor and other backers and advertisers. We are also undertaking some work at the arena so things will start to get really busy from now on. Sky Sports Black Friday sale Upgrade to Sky Sports now and get 12 months half price! Rogers added: I have known Mark since he rode for me at Somerset back in 2000-01 and we have remained good friends.He approached me to see if I would become involved in this venture and here we are now, just needing the member teams of the National League to rubber-stamp our league spot at the AGM in December and I am very hopeful they will welcome the Devils back into the league.dddddddddddd.A lot of planning has already been put into this and we are determined to succeed. Wolves were crowned the 2016 Elite League Champions after beating Belle Vue Aces in the second leg of the Grand Final in Manchester. Upgrade to Sky Sports now and get 12 months half price. Hurry, offer ends December 4! 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