Holy s***! According to the radio announcers, Gooch just burst into a "30 to 40 yard" breakout up the right flank, "turned on a sixpence" and "sent in a lovely ball" for an assist to Leon Best. He and Wednesday lead Gooch's old team QPR, 2-0. (First goal was a PK + red card.)
I'm more impressed that he can even find a sixpence, given that they haven't been minted since a dozen years before he was born.
what I saw of spector and packwood doesn't bear discussing. Wednesday gave brum's defense a very rough afternoon, and neither looked comfortable - packwood's misery compounded by an own goal. comfortable, however, is a very apt discription of gooch as he plays alongside glen loovens in the Wednesday defense. to say he (gooch) is commanding in the air is an understatement. they are really composed back there, and Wednesday fans will be very much in favor in re-signing onyewu come the summer. the fact is, however, that much of it is down to loovens. he is absolute class, and you won't find better at the championship level. when replaced by Miguel Llera late v Birminghma City, Wednesday conceded quickly, and whilst certainly not a goal put primarily down to onyewu, he was out of position and a bit slow-footed in his reaction in ways that never looked likely whilst alongside the dutchman. it seems fairly apparent that gooch's pace - or lack thereof - is, if not in the championship, then certainly for international football, a concern. that may be slightly harsh conclusion from two fairly solid performances against Wigan and Brum; but there you have it. he can be got behind too easily against solid opposition, to my mind, and would be badly exposed at the world cup. and lack of time to settle and coordinate in preparation thereof would make him a very suspect addition - particularly as he wouldn't likely be starting. I'm a big onyewu fan, and I'm enjoying and appreciating how he's settling in and contributing at Sheffield Wednesday. and should Klinsmann include him, i'll be happy for him and hoping for the best. but there were moments ... scuffed clearances, just-a-hair-late reactions, etc ... in both games that, while gotten away with there, could well have been punished on the big stage. at least that's how it seemed to me. that said, i'll gladly defer to Jurgen and those more knowledgeable than myself ... and I'd be more than happy to be proven wrong.
my mate pete has just described a couple of gooch's runs out of the back v QPR tonight as 'beckenbaueresque'. of his centerhalf partner's play: "Loovens continues to look like he could sip a dry Martini whilst wearing carpet slippers and a nice cravat. Coooooooool."
It think the same can be said for any of the options for the big CB {Gucci, Goodson, Gonzalez, Brooks}. Other attributes may well be the deciding factor.
I have to disagree, Brooks' recovery speed is actually quite impressive. Re-watch the Ukraine friendly, it's on full display. If he didn't have that speed it would've been an even uglier afternoon for him than it was.
Hell Gooch could have demanded the pass back. He was open. But def a big Plus considering he was coming off injuries from the past few months.
Didn't gooch play forward when he was younger? Imagine if he had stayed in that position instead of moving to CB... he'd be a terror to mark in the box on corners and off crosses.
I always thought, going back years, that late in a game when his team needed a goal and was out of a sub that moving him up top would be a great option. I saw Milan do this with him during a preseason US tour in 2009 and it was effective. I posted in the US boards my observations after that game and people mentioned he was originally a forward, so the position isn't foreign to him.
Without empirical data it is hard to say. From what I have seen, if healthy, I would take Gucci in a straight line sprint of 20 m or more. Brooks has the clear advantage in lateral quickness but none of the 4 are particularly quick unlike say Cameron who at 6'3" is very quick.
From what I have seen and read in scout reports Brooks is known to be an especially fast cb for his height.
Thanks to @Scotty for another Gooch article, as told to Avi Creditor. Gooch discusses, inter alia, the QPR match. http://soccer.si.com/2014/03/20/ogu...an-green-klinsmann-usmnt-sheffield-wednesday/
Not with those knees! He still looks 'herky jerky' like it hurts to pivot and turn on those knees. I know how that is..... Bad defending too on the opponent--but good to see him assist. That will do wonders for his confidence.
I dont think that was bad defending on Gooch as much as it was just to much strength and good use of his body to fight off the defender. I hate it when people say bad defending when an attacker makes a decent run or puts the moves on somebody. I mean, technically every goal is "bad defending" but it doesnt automatically mean the attacker didnt earn the goal or assist ect.
To be fair to Gooch, he said I'm flourishing 'in' Sheffield implying that he's actually talking about the city of Sheffield rather than the club.