I think he could become a realistic option for a Goodson-ish role. He's better with his feet than some of our other big center backs, and he did make mlssoccer's team of the week. In retrospect, it's pretty amazing that the Crew let Brunner and Adam Moffat go in the 2010 Expansion Draft. They chose to protect Andy Iro and Danny O'Rourke, instead.
Impressive finish from Chance Myers this week. You can really tell why he was drafted #1 as a forward... Jokes aside, some of the US guys on the KC team - Myers, Besler, Zusi, Sapong, Sinovic - have been putting in powerful performances for a year plus now. All those guys, with the possible exception of Zusi, are strong athletes with plenty of skill and soccer IQ. Whichever system Klinsmann plays, you need those attributes in modern soccer.
He was a left back coming out of college, he seems comfortable going to his left, but honestly I havent noticed a definitive footedness to him. Probably a lefty, but if not good enough with his left its not an issue. Better defender then attacker, his crossing needs work.
He is naturally left footed. And I'm going to disagree that his crossing needs work. Maybe he needs to work on finding the right player or decision making, but technically, he was whipping them in on Saturday. He was a mid at Notre Dame, I think.
Technique is fine, but he doesnt target them like Beitashour. What makes Beitashour so effective is that hes not spraying the ball around the box aimlessly, hes picking the areas he puts the ball in.
Interesting player. Does anyone know what position he played at San Diego State? I ask because he seems like a player who played forward or midfield in college and transitioned to defense as a professional. He got better as the year went on last year in defense, but he is a real threat overlapping in the attack.
Right back I think. Hes better defending off the ball rather then on, I think he tends to give too much space at times to attackers, but you really don't see him caught napping on the weak side.
http://goaztecs.cstv.com/sports/m-soccer/mtt/beitashour_steve00.html Mostly defender but played a bit of midfield in his early days . .
Sorry, wasn't clear with what I said. I totally agree that he's a great player, just wasn't sure if he should be included in the superior/great athlete category.
I hope Klinsmann gets some tape of this San Jose game, if you guys wanna see why im pumping up Morrow and Beitashour, watch this game. Opara also starting. MacMath has made some big saves thus far
Donovan rounds the keeper and then hits the post with a wide open net. Buddle is looking really good so far.
Morrow was spectacular. Beitashour has trouble closing opposing wingers down 1v1, but is also a very good prospect. Wondo had a lousy game, but still factored into the first goal.
CB Watch: George John put in a motm performance today...quitely he has strung 3 very good games after fighting to get his spot back and shedding rust from his trip to the north sea. Still some rust in his distribution but bet on his name to start popping back onto weekly best11 lists. While I have yet to see him under much pressure I have been impressed with Opara's distribution, he's picking out teammates down field with confidence and accuracy. I look forward to watching more games as if his positioning and 1v1 are on the same level I expect his name to frequent the best11 lists as well. Cameron hasnt played as advertised. From what Ive seen hes looked very shaky when under pressure and his passing has been horrendous. Not sure whats going on there... Ugo Ihemelu is a very good defender.
Landon looks healthy, aggressive and creative. Bodes really well for the Nats. Tonight he hit the post after rounding the keeper (should have scored and he knew it), beat Benitez on FCD so much he had to be moved, used his pace to run past defenders multiple times, and earned a PK on one of those occasions (which he strangely didn't take - Keane missed). Edson Buddle still doesn't look 100%, but he was MUCH BETTER tonight. Specifically his hold-up play was solid, but more than that, his passes are actually starting to connect and he's playing some one/two soccer. Finishing still eludes him (though he finished a great offsides goal). Meanwhile Brek Shea scored off a PK he didn't earn and still essentially looks "meh." He's just not looking good folks.
Hey, I see that Eddie Johnson guy scored for Seattle. I say we give him an extended run with the national team.
He needs to find that next gear. He wasnt terrible, he had some nice opportunities but he has to learn how to deal with midfielders tracking back to get the ball from him as well as moving with little space.
He actually looked pretty good yesterday all things considered. Hit the post with a header from a tough angle that could have given him another goal. I don't think he should be on Klinsy's radar just yet but a few more games like this could work in his favor.
Gonna go out on a limb here and point out that former future national team GK turned MLS bust Chris Seitz has looked pretty solid in his three starts subbing for the injured Kevin Hartman. He's allowed one goal in each of his starts but none of them were on him while he's made some very nice saves to keep Dallas in the games he's played. The biggest thing I notice is he looks relaxed and confident. As such, it's allowed him to make good decisions and he still is a very good shot-blocker with great size. I'm sure he'll be back to the bench once Hartman is healthy, but he's shown he can be a solid MLS starter again. And he's still just 25, very young for a GK. If he can become a full-time starter, he could be in the national team mix.
Along a similar vein, it's pretty impressive how well Zac McMath kept his confidence up after starting out the year with a series of costly errors. And then there's Sean Johnson, who looks like he needs another run on the bench in order to settle back down. Same thing happened to him early last year, too. For a lot of young keepers, this is all part of the process.
Well last night's goals were not really his fault. First one was a fluke deflection off of Friedrich while the second was just horrible defending on a set piece.