How many rookie goalkeepers were given a chance to play through their whole debut season? I'd bet a fair amount less than rookie defenders/midfielders/strikers, I can't imagine there's a big enough sample size for the stat to mean anything.
There is no such thing in soccer. Dolo and lahm are hobbits for example but they are both excellent outside backs. Now if he can't make up for his height with other aspects of his game then it will be a problem, but to say after 1 start that he's too short and won't have a career? That's pretty dramatic don't you think?
I didn't think Lade played that bad and he's the least of our concerns. Yes he did basically have a own goal but it does happen and this is his first start as a pro. Lade will never make that mistake again. As for the other goal he wasn't in a good position as Palsson just did a back pass which caught him in a poor position. I think he'll be a decent player for us and he's the least of our concerns with that backline.. Also, what's the timetable for Tainio's return? We need him back desperately..
You really think he was at fault on that goal? That cross came in with pace and Meara pretty much knocked the ball right into Lade. IMO there really wasn't much he could do about it. http://www.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2012-04-22-dc-v-ny/highlights?videoID=183161 Pause at the 52/53 second mark. Pontius isn't close enough at that point to connect on a cross that Lade thinks Meara isn't going to get to. He turns to run after the ball as it goes flying across the goal mouth, but Meara DOES touch it right into Lade who is running far post. It hits his foot inadvertantly and Pontius has an easy tap in. Now maybe you could argue that he shouldn't have assumed Meara wouldn't get to it, but to me it was just a very very unlucky goal. Maybe Lade has a better understanding of what an awesome wingspan Meara has now. See I thought he was more at fault on this goal simply because his positioning was incorrect on the play. http://www.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2012-04-22-dc-v-ny/highlights?videoID=183177 3:33 mark Palson makes a hash of what should be a routine clearance and basically plays an incredbile defense splitting pass to DeRo. Lade is caught completely by surprise by Palson's gaf and is out of position (Gaf or not, he should have been tucked inside of DeRo). That is where the problem starts because as he tries to adjust to his positional error he can't quite get to the ball in time and DeRo pushes him as he is off balance and wins the ball. Solli is in lala land and doesn't step up to the late runner. Goal. Agree. Despite the scoreline I actually thought he played pretty decently given that it was his first cap and everyone else played like crap. We're still 2-4 weeks away based on the report from April 6th. Just assume 4 and save yourself the headache.
How many succesful MLS backs have there been since 1996 that weigh less than 125 lbs or are 5'4" or less? He got run thu like a baby at times yesterday.
I don't know, but I do know there are lots of small defenders the world over. Size doesn't matter if you've got other tricks in your bag. It was one game. After ONE game we're supposed to make sweeping generalizations like "this kid to too small to ever play"??? Come on. He had a decent game given the circumstances and had an excellent preseason. Let's have some patience. You want to blame him for that goal where he got pushed off the ball by DeRo? How about Palson making a fool of himself by failing to clear the ball and INSTEAD playing a DEFENSE SPLITTING PASS right to DeRo? Or how about NONE of the other defenders stepping up to challenge the late runner who actually scored? There were much MUCH bigger problems on the field last night than the height of Connor Lade. At least he was closing down space and pressuring guys on the ball. Only he, Dax, and Lindpere seemed interested in doing that.
I say we try rafa at CB for a game in place of Holgerrson and see how it goes. What else do we have to lose?
Why do people keep insisting that Palsson was intending to make a backpass on the third goal, when it is blatantly clear from the replay that he loses his footing on the slick field while attempting to clear it? The second part of your post is spot on if you want to criticize Palsson for something though, he had a lot of difficulty picking up the correct mark and did not close down on the ball fast enough in the area of the field he was supposed to be controlling. Even on that third goal, the throw in comes in and instead of stepping up to De Rosario, the attacking midfielder that he is supposed to be putting pressure on as our holding midfielder, he steps up to try and anticipate a pass back to Pontius. Maybe if he hadn't had made this mistake he would have had better footing for the clearance, but hey, if we're gonna give Lade a break for his share in the goals I don't see why our 20 year old 3rd string holding midfielder shouldn't get the same treatment.
Ummm...I didn't think he was trying to backpass it. I thought he was trying to clear it. Good God, if he was attempting a backpass there that's even worse! My point was that it's hard to single out Lade on that play when we had a complete defensive meltdown on the play. I think you'd agree with me on that. I hadn't taken into consideration the field conditions when Palsson attempted to clear, but that's a good point. Having said that...DC had to deal with the conditions as well. They did. Palsson didn't.
He wasn't the only one who didn't seem to bring the right boots, a few guys were constantly slipping all over the place. Just imagine if Agudelo tried to play on that field!
Exactly Conde was the only one who actually looked somewhat competent out there.. Holgerresen is a goofy statue with no agility what so ever, Palsson is a disaster out there with constant mental lapses and slow reaction time, you have players not picking up there man, etc. Lade is playing soccer not the starting defensive end for the Jets.. Soccer isn't really a game about size
Exactly why this youngsters have to play real games, because in practices they never will learn and understand the bag of trick the players have in hand when they play season games, because this trick aren't reinforced in practices games....
THIS we can agree on. There is a way for him to handle that though. Just because he's "small" doesn't mean he can't have an excellent career. Now if he simply isn't a good soccer player, then we have a problem.
I thought Lade played pretty well. He's just green. His size shouldn't be that big of a deal if he can gain some strength and continue to hone his positional awareness. It's also important to realize that his future may very well be as a winger. I was impressed with his distribution and he never looked rattled, the problem most often apparent in rookies. I think he has a bright future and it's nice to see him and Meara representing the local soccer establishment.
In that play, Lade doesn't slipping at all, he was trying to cover the Santos pass that was intended to go to the left of the left side post and in the way some body redirect the ball to the center of the net and he try to stop and do something when he was in his way to cover the far left side of the post. and that is why when he try to change his course look like he slip, but was the effect of inertia from his abrupt stop and change of direction that give this notion of slip.....
I wasn't referring to that play metz, I was talking about the third goal where Palsson slipped while trying to make a clearance. You are right about the Lade goal, he has been very unfairly blamed for that goal.
Sorry to intrude...but the post game stats were telling. NYRB only committed 3 fouls. That's a problem. You don't want your team committing 25 fouls a game. That indicates they don't know how to defend, they just hack players down. But 3 fouls tells you that they aren't aggressive enough.
He got pushed off the ball by one of the best all time players in MLS in a terrible spot that Palsson put him in...in his first ever start in MLS. Look, it MAY turn out that his size is a problem, but I think we should lay off of it until it becomes a reoccuring problem. All the reports coming into the season were that he didn't play as his size suggests. Heck, he even played CB in college. They absolutely weren't aggressive enough. One of the things that really stood our was how much space they gave DC to operate. Get beat on defense, fine, but step up to your man, close down space, and at least make it more difficult on them.