Robbie Rogers Is Going To England, Assuming He Can Obtain A Work Permit

It looks like U.S. midfielder Robbie Rogers is headed to England to play for Leeds, a second-tier club that used to be in the English Premier League but was relegated.

The only hang up is that Rogers needs to get a British work permit (visa).

Rogers is not automatically eligible for a work permit in Britain because he has not played at least 75 percent of competitive matches for the U.S. in the last two years.
On the Leeds website, manager Simon Grayson said that "as soon as the work permit business is complete he will be an immediate part of our plans and have an opportunity with the first team.''
Grayson added that "we believe he will make an impact here.''

Rogers is 24-years-old and he was a free agent after completing the 2011 season with the Columbus Crew in MLS. He came onto the U.S. national team radar under new head coach Jurgen Klinsmann and he appears to have some promise.

My dream is that one day all U.S. men's national team players will play for European club teams rather than MLS. As long as they still rely on guys that compete in MLS full-time, they will never be able to take the next step and become one of the world's consistently top national teams.

Fingers crossed that the work permit comes through for Rogers, and since he's a pro athlete and not some random dude I think it will in short order, and he can play for Leeds right away.

UPDATE 1/19: Rogers' work visa was approved today.

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Thierry Henry Returns On Loan To Arsenal In Smashing Fashion With A Winning Goal

It's pretty rare in professional sports that we see moments that can only be described as magical. It takes a lot for a cynical person like myself to sit back and say wow but yesterday's FA Cup match between Arsenal and Leeds provided such a moment that I will honestly never forget.

Thierry Henry made his debut for Arsenal; the former Gunners icon is on a two-month loan in London from the New York Red Bulls (MLS). Would you believe that after coming on as a substitute, he provided the winning goal in a 1-0 game that propelled Arsenal to the fourth round of the FA Cup?

The game was at Arsenal's home stadium, the Emirates, so Henry gets the proper reception when he comes on, after he scores and at the final whistle. Granted, there probably won't be many more goals or moments like this for Henry in the next few months but how sweet was last night? It proved that he still has something left in the tank after a long and glorious career.

On first blush, the classic finish by Henry into the side netting appears to be very close to offside but notice that Leeds has a defender on the other side of the box. That guy kept Henry onside; props on the through ball from Alex Song. It was perfectly placed, right on his foot. All Henry had to do was take one touch to settle it before curling it around Leeds's goalkeeper.

Just from my studying abroad experience in the winter and spring of 2005 in London, I will always have fond memories of Henry. He was at the top of his game then and he will undoubtedly go down as one of the greatest goal-scorers of his generation. Furthermore, he's a good guy and he has done so much for the game of soccer both internationally (for France) and domestically (Arsenal, Barcelona).

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