http://www.thecrew.com/news/2012/07/mls-reserve-league-crew-defeats-dc-united-4-1-sunday-morning Reserves follow in the footsteps of the first team and beat DC, 4-1. Finlay starts at right back. Lots of top academy guys getting time, including Klekota, Crognale, and Souders (now if only we had attacking players coming through...) Horton scores his first goal and Vuko tallies three assists. Crew Reserves Goals and Assists (as of 7/22) Goals: Renteria- 3 Meram- 2 Vargas- 2 Schoenfeld- 2 Finlay- 1 Grossman- 1 Perry- 1 Anor- 1 Arrieta- 1 Gehrig- 1 Horton- 1 Assists: Vukovic- 6 Speas- 2 Renteria- 2 Tchani- 1 Meram- 1 Anor- 1
You should have seen the Gladbach Birmingham pre-season game on Gol TV yesterday. They were in St Andrews and the scene was just like that.
I was coruious what Hortons minutes looked like in the reserve league; if anyone else is here they are. Montreal sub 46th Toronto DNP New York DNP Philly sub 46th New England sub 46th New England sub 46th New York sub 65th DC sub 58th goal Maybe he can actually start a game now? It's to bad the lone didn't work out he needs some minutes if he's ever going to get a chance to prove himself.
I don't understand why we still can't loan him out to Dayton or Pittsburgh, or someone else nearby that's awful. All our forwards are healthy now, and RW obviously doesn't want him anywhere near the 18.
Yeah it's not like they couldn't use the help. Oh and you want to know who is taking the bulk of the time in the last three games? Vargas First five games DNP New England Full Time New York 88 DC Full Time I’m sure Vargas is a nice guy but if he couldn’t beat out Renteria or Schoenfeld now with Arrieta on the roster he most likely has even less chance at playing. I’m not sure he’s a guy I want to be wasting a ton of reserve league time on. Give those minutes to Horton and Schoenfeld I honestly see more promise in Schoenfeld than I do Vargas at this point.
I can not make up my mind about Vargas. He has some skill and he seems to know where to be at the right time which is hard to teach. But he handles contact like a ragdoll (and often seems surprised by it), his touch is often bad when running to the ball, his does not put enough behind his passes. I think right now he needs to get used to a more physical game and toughen up. I think that is why he keeps on getting minutes. Sometimes I think that we called down to Saprissa and the conversation went like this "Hey we would like get that forward of yours?" (Shit were did I put that file on that guy?) "Which one?" "You know the one that played against the Americans, you know the one" (What happened to that file) "Olman?" "Yeah sure. What do you want for him?" (That sounds right, I think) "You can have him." "Send him on up." (Man I got him for free. Here is the file . . . Sh!t we wanted Arrieta. Oh well we will be getting a DP anyway . . .)
To me, Vargas looks like a target man used to playing in a league with little physical play. He's good with his head, but can't use that skill because he isn't good enough at fighting for position in the box and he's too slow to make the quick movements necessary to make up for it. We probably saw a hard-working, tall forward, Bobby got all excited because he HAS to have a tall forward on the field, and we pulled the trigger. Sound familiar? We only have three of them on the roster.
Crew battling the Union in the Reserve League today. Crew with a 2-1 lead courtesy of Renteria and Vargas. Speas playing well, apparently. Finlay at RB.
Well this can't be good coming from Aaron Horton's twitter: All within the last half hour. From the Crew's twitter feed, Horton came on in the 58th for Renteria.
Yeah, I don't think Bob would be fun to play for. College players get sold a story like "they might was well get paid for playing the game they love. Play with the best against the best. " Then they find themselves playing late minutes on Sunday mornings for a non-inspirational coach.
I am going to be a little cruel in responding the tone and implications of these current messages about life as a marginal player seeking glory in the reserve league. My initial reaction to the disappointment of the young Horton is duh? Who could possibly believe that a serious MLS manager would ever start or even often play a teenage striker over grown men in their 20s who have shown that can compete in a serious professional environment. My second reaction is to question why anyone listens to the Euro snobs who insist that young Americans must imitate the foreign system of starting professional careers soon after reaching puberty. This is a crazy and harmful practice in the US soccer world. Thank God we have the wisdom not to imitate Europe in most other affairs. Use your brains, go to college, and play there! If you are any good, you have a better chance of entering American professional soccer when you are in your early 20s. I think Freddy Adu’s meandering through soccer life would be a warning to many. There is nothing wrong with college soccer unless you think that its major purpose is to train professional athletes.
College soccer is poor preparation for professional soccer. If a player is so good a professional career is likely, he's usually better off spending a couple of years playing reserve soccer in MLS than for his college.
Horton was "well" down the list of players the Crew wanted to sign as a Homegrown. With the rest of the league locking up some of their younger players it took a flier on Aaron, I have a feeling the FO felt some pressure to sign "someone" to a Homegrown contract. I just got that sense when the deal was announced.. It was a flier for the FO that hasn't paid off - at all.
I normally come down hard on players being petulant. But Horton is hardly a lone case with this team making veiled comments on twitter or in the press regarding the team or head coach. You can call the former players making comments sour grapes all you want, but the fact of the matter is, something at the core is rotting. Not healthy. Horton's second statement is what concerns me the most.
This is a kid who has been so superior to everyone he has played with over the years (going way, way back) that when he finally hit a wall of talented seasoned professionals above him - he wants to quit? Wishes he was in college again? That tells me that he doesn't have the mental fortitude to make it as a professional...
I think it's not an easy adjustment to be "the guy" on your club team or HS team (or college team, if you leave early) and getting all the loving from recruiters/fans and then go to the pros where you are just another body--especially when young and especially in the current US youth system (too middle/upper class oriented). It's a big jump to being a pro--and in the pros they don't care if your GF breaks up with you or you are homesick or if the coach is hard on you (just to give some examples of live in the real world). You have to perform day in and day out. My guess is he'd be having this trouble even if Bob was the best pro coach in the world. Reminds me of my first English class in college back in the day. I was taking AP english in HS and getting A's. First paper in English 2 in college was a C+. The second was a C-. And I deserved those grades. College was a different ballgame. It woke me up. But I had a good teacher and I *learned* how to write. By the end of class I had a solid B+ on my final paper. I still use the stuff I learned from Prof. Smith.
At the reserve it was not RW, it was Iribarren that was riding him from minute 58' until the end. I feel sorry for the kid but he is acting like a child and will probably only end badly for him. I have to side with the coaching staff on this one. His play has not been good and I am guessing he is hearing that a lot. I mean of the forwards or midfielders on the team he is probably last on the list. At this point I hope he gets loaned next year.
I agree with you on this. Just like Duka a few years back made some petulant comments to the press. That said, there is something going on in this club where players are making twitter statements that make it clear to me that we're not solid in the locker room. Personally, if Horton leaves, fine. Could care less. Wish him the best. Knowing his history of his attitude now (thank you for the insight, Fid), that second remark doesn't concern me as much. Now its just a matter of the twitter culture that our players seem to have adopted.
Honestly, if he can't hack in MLS, he can take the money he earned and go get his degree from UL. He seems like he has some ability, but some people just don't have the work ethic for the pro game.
Losing Horton is no big deal but we've had public comments from Horton, Duka, Tchani, Birchall in the last couple months about the coaches. I wouldn't be surprised if now forgotten players like Vukovic or Vargas feel the same way. Throw in someone like Grossman or Speas who might also feel they deserve some sub minutes. That's the flip side to our roster creation style of lots of journeymen, no stars (maybe 1).
