Re: MLS flavors of the week: 2011 Edition born in manassass, parents from ghana. http://www.jmusports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=14400&ATCLID=205012522
Re: MLS flavors of the week: 2011 Edition Rogers had several slashing runs last night and looked very strong. He also earned several corner kicks and was clearly a spark. It looked like his speed is back following surgery last year.
Re: MLS flavors of the week: 2011 Edition Some guy named Charlie Davies looked pretty good last night
Re: MLS flavors of the week: 2011 Edition Loyd looked really good last night. Unfortunately, Benitez is pretty much the starter at left back (he was suspended last night for "spit-gate"). I have a feeling Loyd's gonna be a super-utility player for FCD this season. Last year he played right back, center back, left back, and in the midfield........filling in gaps on a weekly basis. He'll probably do the same this year. One thing's for sure. FCD's ritual dumping of Heath Pearce (and Anthony Wallace last season) indicates they're comfortable with Loyd. Shea has some really good tools to be a center back...........but he really needs work there. He was really exposed at times last night (and not just on the play leading to his red card). Will FCD be patient with him, and give him the playing time he needs there? Or will they go back to the combo of Ihemelu and John, that got them to MLS Cup last season? It's an interesting dilemma. You could say that they should move Ihemelu to right back......but Jackson played well there last night. He's much more of a danger going forward than Ugo. I might add, from the FCD side.............Kevin Hartman has been playing like Superman for a year and a half now. At what point do we call him up to the national team, as opposed to a guy like Marcus Hahnemann? Marcus is a soon-to-be 39 year old backup in England. Yelldell, who we also just called up, is in BundII. I'd put some kind of money on the fact that Hartman is playing better than both of them. From the Chicago side in that game...........i'm still intruiged by Jalil Anibaba. Sean Johnson did what was required of him last night. Nothing he could do on the goal. Other than that, I'm not sure there's much to be excited about from a USMNT perspective on the Fire. Maybe Corey Gibbs can re-inject himself into the USMNT discussion.........but I'm not so sure about that.
Re: MLS flavors of the week: 2011 Edition First time that I saw Johnson, and I thought he was a little shaky. Physically imposing, but it appeared he pretty seriously whiffed on a cross last night. Also got bailed out with a foul call on a goal that he went for but didn't secure.
Re: MLS flavors of the week: 2011 Edition Saw the NY-Sea game in person. I really like the way Agudelo comes back and finds the ball when he's not getting the service. It's very clear he's learning from Henry. I also like the way Ream is always looking for a pass, even when he's clearing his line. He's clearly learning from Marquez. Couldn't think of a better learning environment at this stage for these two players, and I wouldn't be surprised if they both started vs. Argentina.
Re: MLS flavors of the week: 2011 Edition I watched Chivas-SKC. Obviously Sapong impressed. He's got good speed and strength, but he also worked hard and knew how to combine with teammates. Couldn't do much better in a debut as a relatively lightly regarded rookie. Besler is a guy I've never thought about much, but he's got some technical ability at cb. However, the big concern for SKC in this game was their weakness on set plays, and Besler was part of that problem. For Chivas, the announcers kept praising Pearce, but I thought he was just okay. I thought Valentin looked a bit slow, but he does pass well. Braun didn't do much. Off the bench, Gavin looked solid. I hope he's close to fully healthy, because I like his game. I thought Bowen looked sub-par as a wide mid because he couldn't cross. He needs to keep working on the technical side of his game. [FONT="][/FONT]
Re: MLS flavors of the week: 2011 Edition I would be willing to bet my house that they both wont start against argentina. No way Ream starts against a team like argentina. Wondolowski destroyed ream last year in the palyoffs and I think Messi is a little better than wondo. As for Agudelo, the guy has a future but one goal in a mls match doesn't warrant an automatic starting spot for the national team. Plus you would be potentially advocating sitting Dempsey or Altidore for Agudelo.
Re: MLS flavors of the week: 2011 Edition None of those things. Do not bet your house. If you have a gambling problem, seek help. It's a stretch to say Wondo destroyed Ream last year. Ream had an off game, it happens. I'd love to see how he responds to the challenge next weekend. If he gets burned by Messi, that puts him firmly in the category of "every defender in the world." I did not advocate an automatic starting spot for Agudelo. You must have mistaken my post for another. I would not recommend sitting either Dempsey or Altidore for Agudelo.
Re: MLS flavors of the week: 2011 Edition we discussed this last year in closing the season and its picked right up this year. You can tell the league as a whole is getting much better. Everywhere from our foreign players brought in (SMART DPs like Hassli, to young with tons of upside like San Jose's Dawkins), to our draftees, the quality is getting better. Last year had a ton of bright up and comers through the draft, this year looks almost just as promising on initial look Looks to be another exciting year in MLS and a another with quantifiable growth in quality, and hopefully fans
Re: MLS flavors of the week: 2011 Edition RSL uhhh Rimando was great as always. Beltran was average and Beckerman had a nice goal.
Re: MLS flavors of the week: 2011 Edition Wondolowski had one goal which came when he got free for a header after drifting from right mid and floating into a deep second striker spot. Convey did more to defeat Ream than Wondo did (the 2nd Convey goal was a bad moment for Ream).
Re: MLS flavors of the week: 2011 Edition That save against Pappa was awesome. Kevin can still jump and may remain an option against a no-cross/Latin teams. If folks remember him a few years back against the real Real (with Zidan and Micheal Owen then), he made a bunch of fantastic saves when those guys had a slew of point blank chances. Of course, he can also let in an easy one.
Re: MLS flavors of the week: 2011 Edition I remember a guy that used to let in soft goals every once in awhile. His name was Brad Friedel. Then one day, he stopped letting in dumb goals. Hartman hasn't been letting in dumb goals for a while now. And I am all for capping him. I still think he deserves the #2 shirt behind Howard.
Re: MLS flavors of the week: 2011 Edition Hartman did indeed have a reputation in the past for being a really good keeper..........with the once-in-a-while absolute stinking howler. I can't remember him having many of those in an FCD shirt, however.
Re: MLS flavors of the week: 2011 Edition No, he didn't. Wondolowski was mostly playing away from central forward, sort of a lagging right-winger, IIRC. Convey burned Ream once on a turn, however. And it's the kind of turn that Argentines can make in their cribs.
Re: MLS flavors of the week: 2011 Edition http://sports.yahoo.com/mls/recap;_ylt=AhStC7yq2EnJTwHd8FMGVGykvrYF?gid=2011032525 Geoff Cameron is alive! What position is he playing this year? He got a bad break missing his one potential cap, but I like his size and athleticism. Edit: Cameron does have 1 86th minute cameo and does have a cap, I forgot somehow
Re: MLS flavors of the week: 2011 Edition As much as I don't like the Cameron kid, that outside of the boot cross to Ching was nice. He also had a couple of nice moments but he fell asleep a couple of times on defense.
Re: MLS flavors of the week: 2011 Edition Midfield. As I've mentioned earlier he'll probably be the next mid to make the jump to the National team.
Re: MLS flavors of the week: 2011 Edition Cameron has potential if he can cross like he did yesterday in every game he is going to be good for us in a big way Zakuani (can he still play for us?) he reminds me of MLS Clint Dempsey but with speed
Re: MLS flavors of the week: 2011 Edition He's a completely different player then Clint but they both play soccer so I suppose that's close enough.
Re: MLS flavors of the week: 2011 Edition Sheanon Williams for Philly played pretty well against Vancouver. He passed well, showed technical ability along with that long throw of his. On the other hand, his speed is only pretty good and he looked a little unsure one-on-one a couple of times.