When the United States were awarded the luxury of hosting the World Cup it was agreed that they would start a professional football division. By 1995 – a year after the tournament – the MLS had been formed. Since then, helped by the arrivals of stars such as David Beckham and in more recent times Thierry Henry, football in the USA has been on the rise. With the National team getting better and better each year it seems that more clubs want to exploit the growing market that the US provides.
Stoke City in particular have made the most of what is available on the other side of the Atlantic. In the summer of 2012 the club decided to do a preseason tour where it came up against three American clubs in 11 days. A 2-1 loss against Columbus Crew kicked off the tour followed by a 1-0 win versus Orlando City. Finally Stoke faced Sporting Kansas City where a late penalty from Michael Tonge was soon cut out by an equaliser from Kyle Miller. Not a superb pre-season tour in terms of results but for getting Stoke’s name into the American public it was a success.
That summer also saw the signing of two American internationals. Geoff Cameron was acquired from Houston Dynamo before Maurice Edu’s signature was captured a month later. Cameron was an instant success; he made his debut in a 0-0 draw at home to Arsenal where he impressed everyone in midfield. He became an instant fan favourite and ended up playing right back for the majority of the season – a choice of Tony Pulis that was perhaps controversial. However considering Stoke’s excellent defensive performances throughout the 2012-13 campaign it was a decision that certainly paid off. Under Mark Hughes it is hoped that Cameron will remain a part of Stoke’s starting 11 though there are doubts as to whether he can challenge Steven N’Zonzi, Glenn Whelan, Marc Wilson and Charlie Adam for a spot in midfield but Potters fans are expecting to see the American ahead of Andy Wilkinson at right back. By contrast Edu didn’t manage to make quite the impact that his fellow countryman could. He only made one league appearance under Pulis – coming on as a substitute in a 0-0 draw at Anfield. He will of course be hoping to get more chances under the new management.
In January Stoke explored the American market even more. Brek Shea was bought in from FC Dallas following 98 league appearances for the club. He signed for £2.5m but failed to make a huge impact at Stoke in the final months of the campaign. Shea played twice in his first season but spent most of it on the sidelines with an injury. During the summer of 2013 he played for his country in the Gold Cup where he scored the winning goal in the final, following this he joined up with the Potters for their pre-season games, where he scored in a 2-0 win. Shea’s pre-season goal came during Stoke’s second tour of the USA. The club obviously enjoyed last years tour so much that they decided to go back. Once again the side would play three matches; the first of which was a 2-0 defeat to Houston Dynamo. Luckily the final two games ended in victory for the Potters; a 1-0 result against FC Dallas was followed five days later by a win versus Philadelphia Union.
This summer also saw the arrival of Stoke’s fourth American signing. Juan Agudelo will continue playing for New England Revolution until his contract expires in January. The striker has only been with his current club since May but has netted six times in seven matches so far. Stoke fans will be hoping he maintains that kind of form in the red and white stripes.
It is obvious that Peter Coates and his team on the Stoke Board are moving into the US market. As the popularity of soccer continues to grow it seems important to the club that they are seen as a club to follow for new American supporters. The additions of Cameron, Edu, Shea and Adudelo are clear indicators that the club wants to exploit the transfer market over there and the growing quality of players that the country is producing. As long as American additions are as successful as Cameron has seemed to be the Britannia Stadium crowd are sure to be happy with the obsession Stoke seem to have with our friends from across the pond.
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