Jones Visits Premier League Team
Before leaving for England on Saturday to talk to at least one Premier League soccer team, free agent Cobi Jones said he preferred not to identify the club in question.
“All I’m going to say is that it’s a top-10 team,” Jones said. “I’d like to leave it to the team to announce something if it wants to.”
On Monday, it turned out that Jones is negotiating with Ipswich Town, a 123-year-old club that ranks sixth in England’s top flight.
“Cobi is coming on trial,” Ipswich Town Manager George Burley told TEAMtalk.com. “He has been sent by his agent and no transfer fee would be involved if we decide to offer him a contract.”
Jones, who spent the last five seasons with the Galaxy, might play in a reserve team game against Southampton on Wednesday. The club also is evaluating Manchester United midfielder Stephen Cosgrove, and Cosgrove is expected to play in that game.
The U.S. national team winger said before leaving, however, that he did not expect to have an actual game tryout.
“Over there, a lot of the teams have players over just to see how they fit with the team,” he said.
“They’ve seen me play with the national team, they’ve seen me play with the Galaxy, they know who I am, they know me by reputation. We’ve agreed to certain basic economic [contract parameters].”
Of more importance was a face-to-face meeting with Burley, who has been Ipswich’s manager since the end of 1994.
“Everything that I’ve heard about him is that he’s a great person to play for and to deal with,” Jones said. “He’s someone I’m looking forward to meeting.”
Ipswich has bounced back and forth between the Premier League and the first division. Its honors include a league championship in 1962, an English F.A. Cup in 1978 and the UEFA Cup in 1981.
Its former managers include Alf Ramsey, who coached England to its 1966 World Cup triumph after eight years at Ipswich Town, and Bobby Robson, who led England to the 1990 World Cup semifinals in Italy after 13 years with the Blues.
