http://rokerreport.sbnation.com/2014/5/13/5711646/sunderland-transfers-jozy-altidore-stay-usmnt Jozy Altidore is not thinking about bringing his Sunderland career to an end has vowed to come back to Wearside and 'hit the ground running' after the World Cup. The striker was prolific in the Eredivisie with AZ Alkmaar before moving back to the Premier League, but has endured a barren season in front of goal. It's a record he aims to put right next season. Altidore told ESPN: Absolutely [I'll return to Sunderland in the summer]. I'm looking forward to next season. For me it'll be a fun challenge. I'm looking forward to getting back there next season and hitting the ground running from the first game on. I believe in myself. You're going to go through tough times. It can't be that every season you have a blinder. The biggest thing is how you respond to that. In a really strange kind of a way, Altidore has become a bit of a cult hero at Sunderland. You'd be tempted to call it pity, but it isn't. I think there is a genuine appreciation that he has stuck at it and played his part. He has endeared himself - somehow - to the fans and they now genuinely root for him. It has been bizarre and almost Nosworthy-esque. Despite struggling to find the net, Altidore did contribute a little. Without him getting us back into the game against MK Dons or setting up the winner against Southampton, it is unlikely that there would have been a visit to Wembley this season. He also won the penalty for the winner at Chelsea, which was possibly the single most important moment of the whole season. I mean, you wouldn't say he's had a successful season by any stretch of the imagination, but he hasn't totally Lillian Laslanded either. What does Altidore put this season's remarkable survival down to, though? Well, 'soccer'. That and Gus Poyet actually liking joy. At Alkmaar we played a certain system. It's fair to say that here we didn't have anything here until Gus came in. I think if you look at those five or six games [at the end of the season] we created a lot of chances and scored a lot of goals and we were confident. We didn't just give the ball back to the other team, we made them defend. I know it sounds simple, but we played soccer. Can't really argue with that. Whether Sunderland are as keen on keeping Altidore as he apparently is on sticking around remains to be seen, but I hope Poyet and co persist with him. I still think there is a player in there and players coming from abroad often take a year to really find their feet. What happens this summer, however, looks just about impossible to predict right now. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Glad he wants to knuckle down tbh, think the majority of fans now just want him to actually do well haha As he says, hope he can hit the ground running next season!
As a bloke I want him to do well, but as Gus has said, he isn't a charity and I would rather see Connor start every game next year than altidore.
For than sentence alone, i bid him farewell. Plus the fact he's ****e, imo. Certainly not the way forward for the club.
Seems like a canny lad but he is not a Premiership striker. Conner has the shirt for next season and we need a new striker alongside him. I'd sooner keep Borini if it were possible and add a new striker, then move Fletcher, Scocco and Altidore along. All 3 have contributed bot all this season for me.
Agree apart from Scocco. I think he`s one for next season. Nads rates him very highly and he`s usually spot on.
Hit the ground running? I'd like to see him hit the ball running, hitting the ground instead has been his undoing. Nah, seriously, I like his attitude and hope he sticks around and starts banging them in next season.
Fletcher contributed one very important goal this season... Against you know who - although little else
You could sense the crowd willing Jozy to score last 2 games but it's just not going to happen often enough if at all. Soon as we get a replacement he's got to go I know it's been done to death but that Jordan Rhodes kid banged in another hatful this season, got to be worth a punt surely if we can pick him up for up to say 7 mill?
Absolutely - we all wanted him to score - he missed that sitter against West Brom though and I thought "Enough is enough" He will neve rmake it as a striker - if you put him at Centre half and convince him the goal he is "defending" needs to be scored in then your team should keep plenty of clean sheets!! If he comes good then great - I just can;t see it
I'm prepared to let him continue here to settle. It's easy to just write him off as useless but I reckon those kind of comments are just a short cut to not having to think. Giacc has been given time with no pressure and he's STILL NOT READY FOR 90 MINUTES OF PREMIER LEAGUE FOOTBALL. Jozy should have the same respect Giacc has been given and those who won't I think are very unreasonable people, probably the same people who think getting on a players back will yield results.
Give him until the January and see where we stand then, unless a good offer comes in pre season, as we also have Scocco who needs games as does Connor none of these players have really impressed, apart from Connors purple patch, which I believe kept us up, coming as it did just at the right time.
What a load of rubbish. He's nowhere near good enough and he's been given no end of games this season. Kevin Kyle was better than him and I never thought I'd say that about anybody. Less than sure about Giacc as well but he does look as if he's seen a football before.
Good, hope he's here next season All it will take is for him to score a couple goals and everyone will love him, fickle nature of football fans
