Interesting that Rowe and Shea are both on the first team and that Kennedy is not in the first 2 teams.
Unlike last year, when I sometimes had to go into the hundreds to get two goalkeepers, there are a bunch of goalkeepers ranked near the top in this ranking. In addition to Cannon and Rimando, Pickens (22), Kennedy (24), Hall (25), and Willis (29) are ranked higher than Shea. Matt Reis (38) is in between Shea and Rowe.
Rimando looking pretty shaky against the quakes right now, SJ really should have two at this point edit: Rimando just gave up a soft goal. hes off today edit edit: it seems that Freddy Adu character just found net. didnt see it, my eyes are on the SJ RSL match. disappointed to not see Gil as of yet
After Michael Farfan broke some ankles down the right flank he crossed it to Adu where he back heeled a deflection close to goal. Sick play I wanna see both of these players get looks on the nats soon
Watched the Portland/Kansas City game in person. Though I do not like Kansas City's route 1 style, I am increasingly impressed with Zusi. He is quick and very active, and wins a lot of second balls - a sign of being mentally ahead of the players around him. Overall he leaves you with the impression he is everywhere, when in truth he seems to be a very smart player with a good engine.
He's got great energy and is absolutely devastating on set pieces, but is very much one speed with the ball and adds nothing to a team trying to build possession. His first touch in traffic is dodgy as hell as well. He works great with what Vermes has built, but I can't imagine him being an asset for the US.
Looks like Chris Pontius is back in form after breaking his leg last season, he has a brace 30 minutes into DC's match against the Red Bulls. He is playing as one of two forwards for DC, he was mostly a left winger last season
Pontius scores again and claims his hat trick. I've thought this guy was the real deal from the first couple games I saw him. Unfortunate leg break but he's back. I think he could be a real asset in our set-up. Could free up some of our key players to be able to contribute in other positions.
And Kitchen is simply excellent at d-mid. I still can't believe Porter played him in defense. Gotta think DC dodged a bullet with the Olympic team's failure, because I think both those guys would be in London otherwise.
He might need an injury or two ahead of him, but I think Pontius could sneak into the 23. He does have the advantage of actually receiving a callup before on a FIFA-date, so we know Klinsmann likes him. His versatility is another plus for the national team perspective.
So far, guys that have impressed me: Chris Wondolowski-F Sam Cronin-CDM Nick DeLeon-W Chris Pontius-W/F Kenny Cooper-CF CJ Sapong-CF Graham Zusi-AM Matt Besler-CB Seth Sinovic-LB Luis Gil-CAM Chance Myers-RB Kelyn Rowe-CAM Sebastian Velasquez-W Justin Morrow-CB/LB Ryan Meara-G Perry Kitchen-CDM Kirk Urso-CM Lee Nguyen-AM Bobby Convey-W Andrew Jean-Baptiste-CB Kyle Beckerman-CDM Tony Cascio-M David Estrada-F Zach Scott-RB Jalil Anibaba-CB Joe Willis-G Dan Kennedy-G Not as hot as i've been expecting: Geoff Cameron-CB George John-CB Zach Loyd-FB Brek Shea-W Andrew Wenger-? Ike Opara-CB Sal Zizzo-W Luis Silva-AM Amobi Okugo-CDM Tommy Meyer-CB Jack Jewsbury-CDM Brad Davis-CAM Sean Franklin-RB Will Bruin-F Blake Brettschneider-F Teal Bunbury-F Benny Feilhaber-CAM AJ De la Garza-CB whatever happened to Rich Balchan? verdict still out on Adu... worried about Agudelo
It's a good thing to have some younger attacking talent coming up. Right now I think we are set just to add maybe one or two guys to the attacking corps. Probably going to be one of the toughest decision JK has to make. I hope the MLS (Pontius, Adu, etc.) and some other guys (Corona, maybe Gatt) make it as tough as possible.
this season, i was hoping that he would begin to start to live up to the expectations that was placed on him...more specifically, i was hoping that he would at least be where Jozy was at age 19. i worry that this injury may have really set his development back.
DeLeon is a really impressive player. The first time I watched him, I thought well he's just having a really good game. Now I've seen him several more times and he seems to be a very complete player, something you rarely see out of the college ranks. He has no glaring weaknesses to his game and he's a workhorse on whatever side he plays on. He has been in my opinion by far the most impressive rookie this season. I wonder if anyone has asked him about his national team preference???
I'm impressed with Danny Cruz. There are more skillful players but he plays with heart, hustle and grit, things that are often needed in the grind of qualifying. He is, IMO, the closest thing to Frankie Hejduk in MLS in terms of balls-to-the-wall, all-out effort and energy that a team can feed off. I'm not suggesting he be the starting right mid for the US. But I think he can find a niche on the team off the bench in certain situations. As I've said elsewhere, I think a player like Cruz would have been a great asset for the 23s in Olympic qualifying.
He does not look like a rookie at all. He(and Cruz) is keeping Najar on the bench. In the small sample size of games I've seen him in, I've noticed: he is two footed to a degree, decent pace, solid dribbling ability, can cross, good workrate, ability to finish, has vision. I don't think T&T is an option for him but this vid is a little interesting: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qaTQJ2u1oY"]A chat at Practice with Nick De Leon - YouTube[/ame]
Not to take anything away from either of them...but I will anyway. The Red Bulls have one of the worst defenses I have ever seen in my entire life and this was one of their worst performances. Yes, I'm biased...but I'm pretty sure more than a handful of people would agree with me.
Not just basing it on this game. Pontius was great last season and De Leon has played well in every game he has played in this short season. Good player play well against bad competition. (Seriously, what the hell was Backe thinking throwing Lade and that new CB out there. Not to mention the Swedish statue continues to start.)