Doesn't sound harsh. Sounds more like "welcome to the big leagues son. It's brutal up here. If you play badly you will be dropped. We still believe in your potential, so work hard and keep learning."
He's not playing poorly though. The coach has it out for JAB. Why isn't he saying the same things about the CB's that are actually playing poorly?
Maybe you've seen some of his better games. He's been inconsistent. His average kicker rating is 3.88, which isn't particularly good. Which ones? Langcamp and Lustenberger have had good seasons. Kobiashvili is retireing, and everyone already knows he's past it. Janker has barely played.
The inconsistency has been staying on the field. I've watched almost every game this season for JAB, and I thought he has looked pretty good. He played the last three of four, and those games were against Bayern, Gladbach and Hoffenheim. That's some pretty good competition, and I thought he's looked like their best CB in those games. He hasn't been spectacular, but I thought he was very solid in all three games. Lustenberger is out injured, so I'm not talking about him. Janker and Kobiasvili have been bad when they have played, but I'm mostly talking about Langkamp. From the games that I have seen, and those are only the games that JAB has played in, he's looked worse than JAB.
I think Langkamp has been more solid than Brooks, especially considering he often has to cover for him, because Brooks does have a tendency to drift infield and go down on tackles early leaving his defensive partner exposed. As to Kobiashvilli, like I said, that should be really worrying for Brooks, that his coach is preferring the 35 year old learned full back in his last season to him. Perhaps Brooks doesn't show well in training? The Morgenpost article seems to imply it...
Kobiashvilli won't be filling in for Brooks I believe instead Hosogai will who can play CB. Kobiash. days are pretty much over so I don't think Brooks should be concerned from that regard.
I agree with this.. Of course I'm a bit bias because I'm fascinated that we can have a 20/21 yr old Bundesliga CB get legit playing time very soon for the Nats, but Luhukay as @icebreaker noted tends to be a bit too harsh on Brooks for one reason or another. Perfect example is the Werder Bremen match when he publicly criticized Brooks telling him he needed to "grow up." However, Brooks was clearly still injured which was pretty obvious to anyone that was watching. In my opinion, that's not really needed from the HC given the circumstance. With that said, this is somewhat good for Brooks...the more competition the better. This is what seperates the big leagues from lesser leagues..if you don't play up to par (which I think Brooks has done lately so in this instance I disagree with Luhukay) then you get replaced. It's good that Hertha sees the talent in him. I think this year, while it was a bit of a rocky road, Brooks can still take away some positives in his matches vs the likes of Bayern Munich, Eintracht, etc. and also it was a year to really get his feet wet as a 20/21 yr old.
Most people would disagree with these sentiments. Langkamp has had a better season than Brooks. As far as his recent games, Brooks shat the bed against Hoffenheim, he played well against Bayern, below average at Gladbach, and really shat the bed against Bremen, although against Bremen he was coming off an injury. That's not good enough to earn a place in the squad this weekend.
Just my two cents but I'm a bit perplexed how he did so terrible vs. Hoffenheim. I do agree with you that Langkamp has been the better/more consistent CB. Brooks' tackle in the midfield is what directly lead to Hertha's one and only goal. On Polanski's goal, Ronny completely stopped tracking him and Brooks along with Langkamp had to account for men in the box. Brooks was right to go and challenge the shot (which he did) but I thought it was a bit harsh to fault him for Polanski's goal since 1) Brooks was a bit of ways away and accounting for his man and 2) It was Ronny's man. The best Hertha could have really hoped for is for Brooks to block that shot but defenders always don't get that lucky. With that said, he did have some shakey moments one being when Fabian Johnson (ironically) beat him when Hertha's LB was out of the picture (so Brooks was exposed) but JAB could've done a lot better. Luckily, Fabina's touch was too heavy towards the endline and a GK was awarded for Hertha. He also had that one moment where he got the yellow card which he could've played better and his distribution was not really what is usually was. Thus, I think JAB was sufficient overall...I think if I had to label his performance it would be "average" even though Kicker seems to disagree
True, then it could be Baumjohann who came in vs. Hoffenheim which gives them a different look tactically.
Hosogai has played CB this season and received good reviews. But why wouldn't they squeeze another game or two out of Kobi?
To me and other posters- and his coach crucially- he didn't. I guess we just have to disagree on that.
Agree with your post but Langkamp is 5 years older which is a pretty big difference. I agree though I think next season and beyond we'll see a much more consistent player and hopefully one that can stay healthy!
Gotcha homey. Here's my attempt. Hertha's Talented John Brooks Risks His World Cup Chances Hertha's talented defenseman has not been able to establish himself in the Bundesliga. He's had erratic productivity thus far, and could be playing away his chance to take part in the World Cup with the United States. It's been the same scene for weeks. John Brooks leaves the training field with his teammates and then the big, tall central defender stares at the ground or to the side as he walks past the journalists. His body language clearly indicates that he's not interested in talking. If he is spoken to, the 21 year old raises his hand and shakes his head. John Brooks does not want to chat. And yet, Hertha's defensive talent has much to tell. Specifically, he could tell us how relentless the Bundesliga is, a meritocracy that doesn't forgive mistakes. Even more so, he could tell us about how it feels to be so close to a big dream, playing at the the World Cup, yet day after day not be able to successfully take the next pivotal step forward. For instance, during the previous match against Hoffenheim. At the 61st minute, the fourth referee lifted his game board with Brooks' jersey number displayed. Brooks was being substituted, once again. Hosogai as an example for Brooks There are very few reasons why a trainer would make a change at this position during a match. It's usually done when someone's been sent off or there's an injury. In some cases, however, the trainer pulls a defender when he becomes the weak point on the field. John Brooks has had this occur four times during his first Bundesliga season. He's even been subbed out during the first half on the three other occasions. Jos Luhukay has never made the decision easily. He knows what type of effect substituting a young player in front of tens of thousands of spectators can have. It's the harshest price to pay. But the Dutchman has to look out for the team. The club can't afford to provide an internship (more appropriate than apprenticeship imho) in the starting eleven. During the Hoffenheim match, Luhukay replaced Brooks with Hajime Hosogai. The Japanese player is a defensive midfielder and is Luhukay's problem solver. "You can see the difference between Hosogai and Brooks. Hajime was visible and aggressive. John still has to learn how to be that. He has to get better about that. He has to learn how to constantly maintain his presence over 90 minutes," said the trainer. Lustenberger remains unused due to injury Luhukay knows he has an exceptional talent in John Brooks on his team. In twenty nine 2.Bundesliga matches, Brooks was never given a card due to a foul. Brooks recognizes precarious situations before they happen and seldom has to resort to a sliding tackle in order to alleviate the problem. It's this calmness and ability to read the game that causes Brooks to stand out. Only his apathetic temperament has stood in his way. "In the second league he was fantastic. Now he has to aim to show the same in the Bundesliga," said Luhukay. Brooks knew that the Bundesliga was something different. Perhaps, though, he could not imagine what type of assailants he would confront. Strikers, such as Bayern's Mario Mandzukic, who use all their tricks and fouls, that are barely legal, and play at a pace that simply can't be found in the second league. Perhaps his first Bundesliga match against Frankfurt, in which he quickly scored a goal, blinded him. The USMNT player knew that there would be setbacks - they were there in the second league too. But regardless Brooks has been unable to capitalize on the drawn out injury of Fabian Lustenberger. Brooks development bewilders Hertha internally "John has taken his chances and played. He's currently in a learning phase. Now he has to take the next steps in his development. We'll help him with that," assured Luhukay. He knows that the development of young players ebbs and flows like waves. Internally, however, folks are bewildered by Brooks season. US-Coach Jürgen Klinsmann is offering him a chance to take part in the World Cup in Brazil and he's not showing for it. Other players would do anything for the same opportunity. Lustenberger will also be missing in the central defense on Sunday for the away game at Leverkusen. Whether John Brooks will receive another chance from the trainer is not yet assured. The only thing that is clear is that the defender will remain quiet.
Did Brooks get hurt or is he just working his way deeper into the dog house? I noticed he was not even on the game day roster today.
It was punishment for perceived immaturity. Given the performances of Herthas CBs, he'll be back in the squad next week.
Source? Not doubting you just Brooks always seemed like a pretty quiet no nonsense sort of guy. But yeah I'd think he'd definitely have to be back next week. I thought he looked fine overall vs. Hoffenheim obviously before that he had the Bayern Munich match which he played very well in
When I said immaturity, I wasn't talking about partying or anything like that. I'm talking about inability to stay focused on the field for 90 minutes.
Wow, so Luhukay left JAB out of the 18...then, having fallen behind 1-2, he took off Kobi in the 57th for Baumjohann and Hosogai slid back to CB. Tough season for Brooks.