Does Adu ever NOT play on the road?

[Jambon]

I ask because I couldn't believe the drop off in play from DC when he came into the game yesterday. Before he came in, you had two mediocre teams in a game that could have easily gone either way with a balanced amount of scoring opportunities for both sides. After he came in, DC instantly went into a defensive bunker and was no threat to do anything other than protect the tie for the rest of the game. It almost felt like a give up by DC at the time.

But of course all these people had come to see Adu, so he "had" to play, right? My question is how much do you think that Adu's playing time is justified by tactical needs versus being justified as a pure dog and pony show for the Adu crowds? And is it any different at RFK where presumably the Adu crowd has had a chance to see him a few times so the marketing pressures might not be so heavy?

[Sandon Mibut]

So far, no. He's played in every game, road and home.

It is what it is. MLS is a business and Freddy is good for it. Sometimes that means marketing gets put before the product on the field but that's the reality of the situation.

[Jambon]

I sure hope someone is gathering material for the book on the behind-the-scenes story of Adu's first year in the league. The one which chronicles the real stories of how the Adu hype machine affected the coaches, players, and team, as opposed to all the "Freddy is a special player" canned quotes we get in the media. Of course, Freddy himself is not to blame. He's just as much a victim of the hype monster as anyone else, probably more.

Still with all the anecdotes on this board of "So and so won't pass to Freddy," "So and so yells at Freddy all game," "the team doesn't try to involve him in the game," etc, there's bound to be some very interesting stories told by people in the organization. Someone has got a best seller on their hands if they are doing their homework.

And I think Nowak deserves tons of credit for holding it all together so far. In my opinion, you guys really got a winnner in Nowak as coach.

[falcon6]

It makes me laugh to hear people bitch on here about adu. There would have been like 5k at the game yesterday if it wasnt for him. As Sandon said it is what it is, just be happy he's in our league and watch him progress as a player and don't get your panties in a bunch over him coming in as sub. By next year this wont even be a factor because I'm sure he'll start every game.

[Jambon]

I'm sure not getting my panties in a bunch over him entering the game as a sub. That was the point at which DC lost all possibility of taking the full three points from us. If that's the way United plays every time he comes in, I'm sure every other team in the league would love to see him start every game.

My curiosity is over what the DC PLAYERS think about freddy's impact on the team, ie what do they really think, not what do they say to the press. Oh to be a fly on the wall.

[Greddy]

Not that Adu has been totally horrible on the field (he hasn't), but it doesn't really bother me that he plays every game. Like someone mentioned before, MLS is a business and Freddy is good for that business. He's not hurting DC terribly by being on the field. United will make the playoffs(i believe) whether Freddy plays or not. Freddy being on the field makes the crowd in every city (including DC) happy, and a happy crowd is more apt to return. The buzz and attendance generated by freddy might just be enough to push a stadium plan, and if that's the case, it seems like a pretty good trade for 30 minutes of defensive soccer a game.

Plus, the kid's got more goals than Taylor Twellman, and is much more fun to watch.

[Peretz48]

Have to agree with Sandon. It is what it is. From a purely soccer perspective, Freddy may not be ready, but what 15 year old would be? In yesterday's game the subbing actually made sense, as Jaime wasn't doing that much and his legs were heavy. And then Esky got knocked around and needed to come off. Also, I'm not so certain that Freddy took the wind out of the attack. I also believe Nowak wanted them to kill off the game, get a point and go home.

However, Freddy still has a ways to go. The physical part is obvious, as it will just take more time for him to match up against grown men. And tactically, he still seems a little unsure of movement and spacing. He seems to be going through a bit of a rough patch, and I hope he puts this in perspective by keeping an open mind, soaking in everything he sees, and realizing that it will just take some time for him to be a consistent contributor. This is not a time for him to get down or whine about playing time. None of us will know when he will finally grow into his body and begin to assert himself as a young man rather than as a teenager, but I'm hoping it happens by the middle of next year. Stay tuned...

[msfurnas]

Has anybody been reading the quotes from Adu saying he isn't getting enough playing time to help the team.

Here are some quotes I have read if anybody missed them:

"Obviously, I didn't get as much playing time as I'd like," Adu said. "I can't do anything to help the team if I don't get playing time on the field. ... Every time I come into the game, the game has already taken shape and it's like, 'What am I going to do now?' All I had to do out there today was go out and play defense the whole time."

"I'm not going to lie," he said. "I'm frustrated. I just want to play."

"Every time I come in, the game has already taken shape," he said. "All I had to do is go play defense. I'm on the bench for 75 freaking minutes, then when I come in, everyone on both teams is trying to protect the tie, so what am I supposed to do?"

"I'm at a point now where this is starting to hit me," Adu said. "I've been playing well. ... I just want to play more."

I know Adu can't be blamed entirely but to me he hasn't proved to be worthy of a starting spot and I would base almost all of his playing time on non-tactical decisions.

While I respect the fact that MLS is a business and I understand why he has played in every game. I think the media has had to big of an impact on him and he has an inflated opinion of himself that he isn't reaching.

Nowak needs to sit down with him and explain his role on the team.

[Cweedchop]

Has anybody been reading the quotes from Adu saying he isn't getting enough playing time to help the team.

Here are some quotes I have read if anybody missed them:

"Obviously, I didn't get as much playing time as I'd like," Adu said. "I can't do anything to help the team if I don't get playing time on the field. ... Every time I come into the game, the game has already taken shape and it's like, 'What am I going to do now?' All I had to do out there today was go out and play defense the whole time."

"I'm not going to lie," he said. "I'm frustrated. I just want to play."

"Every time I come in, the game has already taken shape," he said. "All I had to do is go play defense. I'm on the bench for 75 freaking minutes, then when I come in, everyone on both teams is trying to protect the tie, so what am I supposed to do?"

"I'm at a point now where this is starting to hit me," Adu said. "I've been playing well. ... I just want to play more."

I know Adu can't be blamed entirely but to me he hasn't proved to be worthy of a starting spot and I would base almost all of his playing time on non-tactical decisions.

While I respect the fact that MLS is a business and I understand why he has played in every game. I think the media has had to big of an impact on him and he has an inflated opinion of himself that he isn't reaching.

Nowak needs to sit down with him and explain his role on the team.

It's amazing that he says all of this.. Wasn't this the same kid who said in the pre-season "I'm just going to do my job and keep my mouth shut"..

Well, so much for that......

[DutchFootballRulez]

Those comments are worthy of a full-match benching. Any other player mouths off, Nowak would challenge them to show it in training next week. Which I expect will happen w/ Adu.

However, Adu does need to be rested. Have we visited every other MLS team once? Adu is the main draw, but I'm do want to see him miss a whole game so we can take 3 points. This was just a bad week.

[onefineesq]

Personally, I'm loving the quotes. Not because it's right for him to say it, but because of the fact that because it's HIM saying it, it will get some airtime. I'm waiting for Sportscenter to get wind of his bitching and moaning, and air the comments, or similar ones in the near future. If Richard Mulrooney were to say it, noone outside of the soccer geeks here (myself included) would care. If he starts to say it, eventually we'll have it in the media, and it might drive a few more opposing fans to the stadium to boo him when he comes. Yippeeeeee, I say!

Getting down to the post of the thread starter, attributing the defensive play of United with Adu is a major stretch. The guy he replaced, Moreno, was doing absolutely nothing. Dare I say that he was having a terrible game, with numerous turnovers that resulted in dangerous counters. By the time he was subbed out, he had a pained expression on his face, and was hunched over on his knees almost constantly at stops in play. With the tie secured, United, like most other ROAD teams staring a point in the face, went into a more defensive posture. Again, not excusing Adu's comments, because he really shouldn't have said them .......... but the facts of the comment about his role are correct. When he comes in with 15 minutes left in a tie game, do you think that Nowak tells him "go in there and sell out for a winning goal Freddy" or do you think that he says "go in there, be careful with the ball and help us with a little possession so that we can get out here with at least a point"? I know that i'm not on the bench, but i would be willing to say that there is no way Nowak says the first statement and a high likelihood that he says the second. you may not think that there is a big difference, but there is. And that is type of situation that Adu is bemoaning.

[Roblar]

:confused:

link for the quotes?

[McGinty]

I thought Moreno was gassed and wasn't really doing too much anyway. I was wondering around the 70th minute when Adu would be brought on for Moreno. I think in this situation, it made soccer sense to bring in Freddy for Moreno.

[zroberto]

Peter is bad for Freddy`s development.I talked to Freddy after the game and my understanding is that Peter instructed him specifically to not go out there to play to score but then to just play to help them end the game.How on earth can a coach tell a striker that.Know the facts.Review the tape and you can tell that Freddy`s body language and play speaks more about him not being happy at DC united.

[Mountainia]

I would've brought in Cerritos.

..oh wait...

Never mind.

[pokemoncards]

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/soccer/stories/062704dnspoadu.b8660.html

[msfurnas]

Peter is bad for Freddy`s development.I talked to Freddy after the game and my understanding is that Peter instructed him specifically to not go out there to play to score but then to just play to help them end the game.How on earth can a coach tell a striker that.Know the facts.Review the tape and you can tell that Freddy`s body language and play speaks more about him not being happy at DC united.
Nowak's teaching him. If Freddy or any inexperienced forward is sent into a game their first judgement is going to be to push forward and try and get a goal. That is not what Nowak though the team should be doing. It was a tactical decision.

Freddy needs to realize he can't do what he could do with the U-17s. He should be disappointed that he isn't playing well enough to have a starting spot. That is all he should be complaining about.

He might not be happy about his current situation or not be happy at DC United at all. Whatever is the case, he needs to figure it out because there aren't a lot of other options open to him.

[pokemoncards]

slightly off topic but, i'd like to see freddy break to his right a bit more on 1v1s

[peledre]

The scary thing to me is not that he's getting a lot of playing time, which he was guaranteed to get before this thing even got going. The scary thing is his lack of any notable progress this season.

[peledre]

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/soccer/stories/062704dnspoadu.b8660.html
That article makes Adu sound like a brat.