MLS flavors of the week: 2012 Edition [MLS R's]

Discussion in 'USA Men: News & Analysis' started by EXALIFTIN, Mar 4, 2012.

  1. #1 Feilhaber and Adu

    Aug 1, 2007
    Donovans assist to Magee was just.......wow. he did not even attack the space like the US vs Algeria goal he scored, instead he waited for defenders to close in on him, then drilled it to the trailer magee. Mapped it out before he even touched the ball.

    he needs to go to Everton already..........
     
  2. soccerusa517

    soccerusa517 Member+

    Jun 23, 2009
    Ohio
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    that was a very nice pass
     
  3. drgonzo

    drgonzo Member+

    Jun 1, 2011
    Club:
    San Diego Flash
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
  4. OWN(yewu)ED

    OWN(yewu)ED Member+

    Club: Venezia F.C.
    May 26, 2006
    chico, CA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    yeah ummm....wow. just dont have the words right now for that one.

    Joe is my starting keeper after this episode if im DC
     
  5. twoolley

    twoolley Member+

    Jan 3, 2008
    because he flipped after the red?
     
  6. morange92

    morange92 Member+

    Jan 30, 2012
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    i thought it deserved a red (if i understand the rule correctly) and it was a great bailout save by willis. Granted Hamid was having a good game prior to that, and i don't fault him for being pissed off about it.

    That being said, deleon with a clutch goal, i still like him a lot even though i don't know if he is NT material
     
  7. OWN(yewu)ED

    OWN(yewu)ED Member+

    Club: Venezia F.C.
    May 26, 2006
    chico, CA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    gotta disagree here, both were very highly regarded with the U-20s until the Youth world cup debacle with that squad, and both were the culprits. Most wrote it off as part of the developmental process hoping both would turn out with time and good coaching.

    a top 3 pick is expected to get on the field and contribute. immediately. The league is getting better, but Ike was regarded as an extremely well grading prospect by practically all scouts......granted on athleticism and again thinking he could be coached up from the U-20 shortcomings. there are a ton of first round picks that are playing on the field in MLS over the past few years. Even Ives recent central defenders draw up he names Ike. Dude had expectations, tons of people were pumped on him as a potential Eddie Pope-Oguchi Onyewu hybrid. Hes nosedived in the face of those expectations.

    Gale was much the same, he was another one that was looking to do a Charlie Davies (......pre car accident of course) with all that upside. The Traffic contract really boned him, but he didnt do himself any favors. Now hes in the NASL.

    Luckily the other two guys in that draft Morrow and Beitashour have flourished for the quakes, but it was Ike who was supposed to be the rock star.
     
  8. NatsTeamFan

    NatsTeamFan Member

    May 9, 2011
    Club:
    Fulham FC
    Tough position for Ike to come into. He has to do better. But as far as Gale goes, it is my understanding that he is in the NASL to ride out his Traffic contract and will sign with an MLS or European team soon after his contract ends. Could be wrong though.
     
  9. Skevin

    Skevin Member+

    Aug 9, 2009
    Colorado
    Club:
    Aston Villa FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Czechia
    Well he isn't a striker ;)
     
  10. OWN(yewu)ED

    OWN(yewu)ED Member+

    Club: Venezia F.C.
    May 26, 2006
    chico, CA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    no doubt, of course its not easy. but Omar Gonzalez was a number two over all pick, Ike was number three. He is really someone we should be talking in the same breath as Omar by now, but he hasnt justified it whatsoever. Even more people are talking about Meyer right now than Opara.
     
  11. youth=glory

    youth=glory Member

    Sep 2, 2010
    Agree, he has been overhyped for sometime. And anyone who continues to include him in potential squads really hasn't been paying attention. Outside of his athleticism he has nothing you look for in a good CB. 100% disappoint every time I see him and even more so in the tourny's he has been in.


    If Gale continues to play the way he is, he isn't gonna have many (if any) options when it expires.
     
  12. jakepc42

    jakepc42 Member+

    Mar 26, 2011
    Houston
    Club:
    Houston Dynamo
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Maybe if he takes 1/5th of the salary MLS originally offered him. What a mistake that was.
     
  13. jakepc42

    jakepc42 Member+

    Mar 26, 2011
    Houston
    Club:
    Houston Dynamo
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Anyone know if Ozzie Alonso and Jurgen have talked at all about petitioning FIFA. Ozzie is much better than Edu and Beckerman and i really like watching him play. Other than him, this game doesn't really intrigue me from a Nats fan perspective. We know what we're gonna get from Eddie and Gil is on the bench so I'm just kinda meh on this game.
     
  14. Real Corona

    Real Corona Member+

    Jan 19, 2008
    Colorado
    Club:
    FC Metalist Kharkiv
    Nat'l Team:
    United States

    The bust is on anybody projecting supersized expectations on the two players. Those are the failures, the busts of the subject.

    Opara and Gale also never played on the same U-20 squad.


    Previous #3 overall picks in the MLS draft:

    Omar Gonzalez
    Tony Beltran
    Michael Harrington
    Jason Garey
    Chad Barrett
     
  15. Real Corona

    Real Corona Member+

    Jan 19, 2008
    Colorado
    Club:
    FC Metalist Kharkiv
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Sam Cronin was the #2 overall pick ahead of Gonzalez in 2009.
     
  16. Pl@ymaker

    Pl@ymaker Member+

    Feb 8, 2010
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    2009 U20 World Cup
    http://www.fifa.com/tournaments/arc...ches/round=253217/match=300090220/report.html

     
  17. Real Corona

    Real Corona Member+

    Jan 19, 2008
    Colorado
    Club:
    FC Metalist Kharkiv
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Forgot he was on that squad.
     
  18. NatsTeamFan

    NatsTeamFan Member

    May 9, 2011
    Club:
    Fulham FC
    Couple observations worth discussing on the NY vs DC and LA vs SJ games. Wondo was pretty anonymous I thought. Connor Lade did a very nice job of shutting down Pontius, so much so that they switched Chris to the other side. It should also be mentioned that Lade was the man that kept Deleon onside for DC's goal. Deleon had a great match, scored a goal, and was just in general DC's most active attacker. Kitchen is also coming into his own in the midfield, I thought he overran Cahill and Tainio. Wouldn't be surprised to see any of these players get the call relatively soon. I think Lade is the furthest away, just because he's got to settle into playing along a back line. He offers a ton going forward, and is a very solid 1v1 defender.
     
  19. schrutebuck

    schrutebuck Member+

    Jul 26, 2007
    Indeed. It reminded me of his brilliant assist of Victor Anichebe 10 months ago.

     
    Totoro repped this.
  20. OWN(yewu)ED

    OWN(yewu)ED Member+

    Club: Venezia F.C.
    May 26, 2006
    chico, CA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    soo.....your saying the projections of professional college soccer scouts are bunk? there was a reason in 2010 MLS coaches were collectively palming their hands at that class. On paper.....guys like Tchani, Mwanga, Bunbury, Opara, Okugo, McInerney, Lloyd..... was the best class.....ever. For the longest time Opara was the best graded of that whole bunch by scouts. Mwanga jumped him with the premium on attacking players. Tchani jumped him with a combine of the gods. These guys were all graded as surefire pros that were going to be absolute beasts at this level. Not my opinion, but i listened to people who have a good idea what they were talking about, therefore i was excited. If teams picked a year to be bad.....this was it. It fooled much......much better judges of talent than me. Ives was splooging each mock draft that he made about the top 4 especially.


    Wenger, Mattocks, Rowe, Silva, Berry, Hedges, and DeLeon were all contributors this season and quite a few started. Except Wenger and Rowe, none played for the U-20s for any significant amount of time. This season was graded weaker than 2010 from a projection standpoint. yet all 5 were better contributors than the 2010 class. McInerney, Okugo, and Opara were consistent starters with the U-20s and it was that experience that added to their credentials. Projection and actual production are two seperate things. the 2010 class if looked at from a projection point of view was filled with athletic freaks that MLS scouts and coaches loved. this years class had more cerebral players.....and that won the day. Seems the lesson was learned here.

    Beltran, Gonzalez, and Harrington are plenty adequate pros. It sucks seeing harrington on the bench, thats a good player i liked in college who should be starting somewhere. Barrett and Garey, sure they busted, but neither was rated as high as Opara. Neither had the Youth national team forum busting their buttons. and also need to mention the number 3 picks after......Kitchen and Rowe are pretty darn good pros that contributed to their squads

    apologize for being incorrect about cronin-gonzalez order, my memory was fuzzy there i guess, but yes i remember opara and boss very vividly in that U-20 class and facepalming hard watching them bring us down, and then listened to everyone afterwards "they can be coached up.....theyre still awesome prospects"
     
  21. Real Corona

    Real Corona Member+

    Jan 19, 2008
    Colorado
    Club:
    FC Metalist Kharkiv
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    What? You said Opara was a spectacular bust. I'm saying that being a mediocre to below average mls player based on his draft position and youth isn't really that far off what many players end up in that position. A spectacular bust would be if mls had some how committed a large sum of money towards him, like say a 300,000$ cap hit salary and a DP spot after bringing him into the league
     
  22. OWN(yewu)ED

    OWN(yewu)ED Member+

    Club: Venezia F.C.
    May 26, 2006
    chico, CA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    very well, so spectacular bust is too strong a word then. I guess disappointment is more appropriate, i think we can both agree on that. If you dont agree there i guess we just agree to disagree. Having heightened and above average expectations for someone with a youth national team pedigree and a strong collegiate career is not lunacy though.
     
  23. minya

    minya Member

    Mar 27, 2008
    san diego, ca
    My understanding that he just sucks. Great athlete, stupid player, this guy's reincarnation.
    [​IMG]
     
  24. Real Corona

    Real Corona Member+

    Jan 19, 2008
    Colorado
    Club:
    FC Metalist Kharkiv
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I'm not trying to seem like a giant douche here but I just feel like we get so excited about these youth team players and then panic a bit when they don't work out. He certainly isn't playing well and yes his growth so far has been disappointing. Lets keep in mind though that this kid has never played a full MLS season. I think this year he hit a career high of 16 (!) games. He has a collective 35 appearances in his career. Omar Gonzalez by contrast has over 100 and has only been in the league a year longer. Now who knows, Opara may never became anything more than a mediocre MLS player that he is right now, but it's still fairly early.

    I'd argue that lunacy it is not, but historically it is a bit of asking for disappointment if you are looking for youth team success to be a consistent harbinger of future professional success. Sometimes you get a player like Landon Donovan who shoots straight through the youth ranks and becomes a stud, but there are plenty of other failures along the way. Often times you might only get one or no regular USMNT quality players out of a U-20 cycle.
     
    NatsTeamFan repped this.
  25. OWN(yewu)ED

    OWN(yewu)ED Member+

    Club: Venezia F.C.
    May 26, 2006
    chico, CA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    nah, i dont think youve been a douche about it, its been a pretty cordial discussion i thought, nothing wrong with having different perspective on things. So long as your not "my way is right rabble rabble rabble there is no other way", thats fine i respect that.

    I do concede i do get excited and have considerable expectations from youth national team players. But for every Landon Donovan there is a David Arvizu. Someone you think "YES.....that guy is going to be a STUD" at the next level, and then fizzles to nothing. That is a fun game I and i think quite a few other guys have played here over the years. Hell i think there is a sizable demographic on BS that is the sole reason they come here.

    Happens in all sports too. Thank goodness there is just as many chip on their shoulder players like Besler, Morrow, Pontius, Beitashour.....and exceptionally an awesome case like Clint Dempsey that come in unheralded to pick up the slack for those guys that crash. Now about capping most of those guys..... :p
     
    Real Corona repped this.

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