which is exactly why I wrote what I did, take away all the blah-blah about his stats and impact and playing ability, and Adu is probably the only US soccer player who can pull money out of the pockets from a section of America who dont care about football. I find MLS unwatchable at times. It is getting better, but it is not what you'd call a spectator's favorite.
Sir Alex Ferguson used to highly rate Jovan Kirovski - sometimes you just gotta let the past go. Freddy has good skills - but you can't throw your team out of balance while he attempts to make spectacular plays - dribble around 3 guys, etc. - with a fairly low success rate. And when he isn't making highlight plays - he's looking at his feet while dribbling into trouble, he's too slow, too soft in the tackle, too weak on the ball, poor in off the ball runs, positioning and tactical awareness - I think most of us would agree that without his impressive gifts on the ball, e.g., first touch, passing ability, creativity, he'd probably struggle mightily to be a professional soccer player (or I should say "struggle even more mightily"). Those obsessed with Adu's highlights - or one game against Spain - should read about Harold Baby Jordan Miner. Just because you can do the spectacular like a star (especially at the youth level), doesn't mean you are a star player. You know what makes a star player? Not the highlight plays, not the skill on the ball, not the occasional brilliant pass - what makes you a star is that you are hungrier, work harder, are a competitive SOB who is first on the field and last to leave - and when you come up with something spectacular, it isn't after 10 tries, it's picking the right time and place to rip apart a team - which requires a rhythm within the team and within the game. In other words, you do 10 little things to help your team followed by 1 spectacular play, as opposed to 9 attempts to do something spectacular which disrupts the flow/chemistry/teamwork, followed by something that might come off. (It also doesn't hurt to be above average in terms of size, speed, strength.) If you think Freddy is the answer, you should stop thinking of the National team as a play station game where you just plug in a player who will do something crazy. Freddy shouldn't be rewarded with a national team spot because of old highlights - he needs to be the best player on his club team and work his butt off all the time to get there. I have no idea whether Freddy hurts a team overall defensively - I don't think this stat proves he's good defensively or that it has much relevance on whether he's selected. Misunderstood genius or not - coaches just want to win. If Freddy is able to help teams do that, he will feature more. Freddy is an attacking midfielder, not a DM - what did he have, 1 assist last season in 24 games? That's not nearly good enough. I hate to say it, but I'm starting to think it will never happen again for Freddy, although I'm an eternal optimist so I can't bring myself to close the door. If Eddie Johnson can have a renaissance, so can Freddy. But at this point, none of this really needs to be said, and clearly it won't be heard by those who just want to hero worship Baby Pele.
Being that I am a much bigger BBALL fan than soccer fan, Adu's impact>>>>>Harold Miner. The perfect analogy for Adu would be O.J. Mayo. Harold Miner isn't good enough. Adu is. Adu is very talented and is one of the most skilled players in the world. Major difference. It's a fit and lack of position in this current age due to his tools which is the same issue O.J. had. O.J. thankfully signed with Dallas and took less and now his career is on the right path. Adu on the other hand hasn't. Adu can get his career on track with just a good club move. Minor couldn't play anywhere because he just isn't that talented. Charles Renken is an good example of a Harold Miner type. Great athlete at one time, fun to watch, had the measureables and some skill but injury, development, and work ethic seen Renken fall greatly from grace. Adu makes our defense better because of the attention defenses have to give to Adu on offense. It's an indirect impact that only Adu presents in the pool. No one in the USA pool can do that.
OJ Mayo has been a solid starter in the top league in the world since he came into the league. That doesn't resemble Freddy to me. Freddy is Adam Morrison - lots of hype and flash, questionable team and work ethic, shoots too much, disrupts chemistry and ultimately not good enough for the best leagues. It's without question that Freddy's career arc has been terrible. You can't really argue that. As much as you or anyone else may think he's the answer, it's not going to happen for him unless he starts producing for his club team. I personally think this discussion should be in a fanzone somewhere, not serious discussion about the National team because even if you fans are right and that he could help the team, it isn't going to happen.
Dark knight - I'm guessing you didn't watch him this year. He's gotten a lot better at picking and choosing when to do the step-overs and spectacular plays. And when he tries to do them its a way better rate than 9/10 - it's honestly probably 1/3. The thing w/ Freddy this year is people think he disappears, but the majority of the time he would just make the right play and keep possession, instead of going for the spectacular play. The problem is when you expect a a lot of spectacular plays per game, but you only get one where your striker misses a 1 v 1, and the rest of the game your just making the right play, it looks like your not doing your job, when you really are.
Fair enough - I didn't watch every game, but I did see a number of his games and none of it screamed out National team quality to me. I would agree he is less likely to dribble into nowhere, but he's also less able to influence a game at this level. Even if you blame the strikers for his lack of assists, shouldn't he be better than 196 in the league in Castrol Index?
Which is why one is at Barca and the other didn't get a single transfer offer this past window, huh? Hell, other MLS teams don't think he's worth his salary.
I'm convinced this thread is cross posted from Bizarro World Big Soccer. It has to be, because no one on our planet can possibly believe that Adu is one of the best players in the world. If Adu is really such a quality player, why does he go through clubs like a rock star goes through groupies?
People here have drank a little too much kool-aid, Adu is currently being shopped in Mexico and South Korea (!!!!). SK in particular is not where players go to flourish in their career. Im personally suprised he is not headed to China. Its a shame any team in Europe cannot see how much of an asset Adu could be to them.
Clearly because none of the 8 (?) teams he has played for since '04 has enough to talent to back him up.
I actually think Adu could be a quality player if he got his head out of his ass and started acting like a professional. From all indications, he's locker room poison, not much of a team player and pretty lazy overall. He could have a pretty successful career in MLS if he started taking things seriously. But I think he still buys his own (faded) hype.
I actually think this whole "if he started taking things seriously" thing is going from an insult to a cop-out. Its almost a compliment, equivalent to saying, "He had all the talent in the world, but wasted it." which simply isn't true and would certainly be used as a device by his more adamant supporters once he's retired, to remember what could have been if he had just cared about his career. From what I can see, he absolutely cares, and specifically in places like Greece was busting his ass on the field...it just wasn't quite good enough, and his supporters want to blind themselves from that fact.
If he If he truly cared, he would take a paycut to be put into the "right" situation. He as yet to do this. Simple.
Lots of valid points, imho. Some of them are really eloquently put in a manner that's both succinct and, imho, accurate. (My posts have a big problem w/ the succinct part. Maybe the accurate part too. ) I found myself nodding my head and saying to myself, "Yes, I couldn't put my finger on it or find the right words, but that's exactly it".) Here's my issue. (Nothing counts before the word "but", right? So I left that word out. ) I, personally, don't think the #1 bit of criteria for *anyone* should be "being the best player on your club" or "working your butt off". Those should certainly be factored into the equation in your favor. But, to me, it isn't about this or about being "rewarded" with or "given" or "earning" caps. The #1 bit of criteria should be the answer to one simple question: do you increase the odds of the USMNT winning games? Maybe Freddy does (there's a lot more than mere YouTube highlights to support this stance). Maybe he doesn't (plenty of bits of evidence to draw from here). That's not my point. I think a lot of folks get so wrapped up in metaphors (like "earn" vs. "give"), distal rather than proximal predictors (like club success instead of MNT success), and Calvinistic desires (doing things "the right way"), that each of these valuable and relevant factors overwhelms our ultimate goal and what might be the most important determinant of this goal: our goal is to win games, we should probably choose players on the basis of whether they can help us do this, and one of the best, if not the best, predictor of this is whether or not a guy has shown an ability to help us win games when he wears a U.S. shirt? Instead, we pick our favorite factor, lose sight of the ultimate goal, throw the baby out w/ the bath water, and continue to simply pick and choose whatever bits of evidence support our decision (confirmation bias 101). Ghosting and I disagree, for example, about whether Freddy may be able to help. I claim that he might not help, but he also might. Past performances in a U.S. shirt merit us taking a look, perhaps in games against Canada or what not, to see if he can replicated his GC performance. Ghosting disagrees. What I like about him is that he generally tries to analyze Freddy's performances in a U.S. shirt rather than ignore or simply wave these performances away w/ a casual sweep of the hand. At least the goal is who helps us win, and past U.S. performances are at least carefully analyzed. At least he's not taking his eye off the ball, i.e., he focuses on the ultimate goal and doesn't let indirect evidence overwhelm more direct evidence.
Really? Please let me know where it is flawed. Seems like common sense to me, but that seems to get lost on forums pretty easily. Aris offered to keep him at a 50% paycut, he balked at the offer, and SAT for five months. Hard to develop that way. Philly offered to let him stay if he took a pay cut. He could be with another MLS team going through pre-season right now had he wanted to take a cut. Where is he training right now? (ill give you a hint, he is not in Philly's camp)
Why are you saying what. He is one of the most skilled players in the world. Blessed with elite skill and field vision. He has a lot of flaws but his field vision and skill is class.
dark knight, create a Freddy Adu sub section in USA. We generate more traffic than some of your sub-fourms.
I disagree greatly with your Basketball perspective but I can't lie about the second paragraph, Adu has been underwhelming to say the least in Europe.
Do these threads actually generate more traffic? Or just more aggravation for mods and posters who hate these threads but just...can't...help themselves...from clicking on each and every one of them, and then offering their 2 cents? People do want to talk about him. W/o a team and w/ no JK callup likely in the near future, if ever, where does Freddy talk belong? In the Yanks Spurned Abroad forum, the Yanks Hoping to be Abroad forum? The USA Men Not Called Up forum? The MLS Limbo forum?
So - I don't totally disagree with you - but these decisions don't happen in a vacuum. I personally think it will be hard to create team chemistry if the selection process doesn't factor in things like club form. Truth be told, the guy could be like Stoichkov or Clint Mathis off the field (drink, smoke party) and if he played like them on the field we'd care a lot less. But Freddy just isn't producing like that any more. It doesn't seem to me to be an onerous requirement for any member of our National team that they be a solid professional on a club team and be one of the standout players. Even if fans are right about his ability to be a star, it's a fantasy to think that we can ignore his club form, which right now is mediocre to poor. If he's not a real game breaker with his club team, the rest of his game is not that great.
This. Based on his past performances for the USMNT he at least deserves a chance. If I asked most of the Freddy haters if guys like Josh Gatt, Graham Zuzi, Sasha Kleijstan, Mix Diskerud, Brek Shea, Joe Corona, Terrence Boyd, and Feilhaber deserve more chances they would probably say yes to most if not all of them. But Freddy has performed better than all of them in a USMNT shirt. So why wouldn't Freddy deserve a chance? Ghosting does analyze Freddy's performance in a US shirt rather than ignore these performances like a lot of other posters. But, Ghosting also has no comeback for when we throw out facts like Freddy has created 6 goals in ≈ 9 games and 6 goals in ≈ 6 meaningful games (GC, WCQ). And that of those ≈ 9 games, in 7 of them the other team didn't scored, in the 8th game the team scored twice, and in the 9th, Mexico scored 4 (mostly due to Bornstein). Those are FACTS. Not opinions: i.e. he doesn't train hard, he doesn't care, he doesn't hustle, etc.