What's happened to Brian Carroll?

[FlashMan]

Just curious. I remember some of you guys speaking highly of him during pre-season but I've seen or heard nothing about him since the season started. Is he injured?

By the way: I've seen Stokes twice now as a sub for Virginia Beach on Fox Sports World, and particularly last Friday, he seems like a stud with A LOT of potential, who could help out DC now if necessary.

[GersMan]

I think he'll have a hard getting much playing time given some of the players at his position, but hopefully over time he'll get a few runouts. He's got a great attitude and I'm confident he'll benefit from the everyday training.

Will Ben Olsen likely be on the Gold Cup roster? That could have an effect on Brian's opportunities this season.

[DigitalTron]

Stokes likely will not see much playing time this season. In the event of disciplinary games missed by starters, or injury, it looks as though Namoff, Chino or even Olsen will fill out the back line, but not Stokes. I agree that he is a great prospect, and I think he can challenge for a starting spot next season, so that may make other defenders expendable.

Carroll isn't ready IMHO. He has the tools, but hasn't put it together yet. His defending is far too hit-and-miss to be anything more than a left attacking fullback in a 442. He might fill in as a winger in a 352, but more because of our hole there than his deserving playing time. His crossing ability is decent, so if we ever get a target forward, I'd guess he'd stand a better chance for playing time. I tend to be less enthused with Brian Carroll and Devin Barclay than most posters though, so take that into account as well. :) Both are nice guys with good speed and decent size as well as flashes of potential, but strike me more as athletes than players at this point.

-Digital

[Cweedchop]

I think this mostly has to do with three distinct problems...

1) The lack of United winning any matches early.. This of course prevents players like Carroll and Stokes from getting any time at all because for the most part we are either tied or behind late in matches and thus it affects our substitution patterns.. As someone alluded to above, the fact that Prideaux, Nelsen, Ivanov and Petke are playing so well in tandem, it's hard for a rookie, even a promising one like Stokes to get time on that talented backline.. His situation would be even more dire if Reyes was healthy as well.. As for Carroll, from all reports, he is the quickest and most fit player on the roster (even moreso than Reyes from what I hear) and his natural position is as a defensive midfielder and now would be a great time to throw him into the lineup seeing as Nelsen will miss at least 3 matches this month..

2) Which leads me to my second point in that Hudson never really likes to go with youth unless a gem is tossed his way (Quaranta and Convey).. I dare say that if Hudson was the coach in 2000, Bobby Convey would not be the player he is today.. Take that for what it's worth.. Hudson, to me, just doesn't trust the youngsters and would rather put in a far less talented veteran than play a promising pup...

3) And lastly, Hudson's job is on the line now... Had we gotten off to a better start, we might have seen a few of the rookies (in moderation of course - you can't throw them all out there at once) bleeded into the lineup.. As it happens, we need points and we need them now.. On "The Soccer Show" tonight, John Dyson said he spoke to Hudson and asked him if he is going to play some of the players who haven't seen any time yet (Stokes, Carroll and Barclay) because of the fact that we have 3 games in 8 days with long distances to travel between them and Hudson basically said no, that he was going to put out the top X1 and go from there.. To me, that is a big fat no to the youngsters...

Bottom line here is that unless a ridiculous spate of injuries or suspension hit United, don't count on the pups to play any league matches this season....

Exactly how many matches did Mapp get last season?

There ya go...........

[FlashMan]

thanx for the info, guys, i think you've answered the question.

:)

[Sandon Mibut]

Originally posted by DigitalTron
Carroll isn't ready IMHO. He has the tools, but hasn't put it together yet. His defending is far too hit-and-miss to be anything more than a left attacking fullback in a 442. I don't mean this to sound like I'm being caustic but what is this statement based on?

If you're going to training or talking to the coaches, than I appologize for doubting you.

But, otherwise, how can you gauge the progress of someone you haven't seen? I mean, if you are basing your conclusions on what you saw of Carroll in college and with the 20s, fine.

But, that totally takes away any gains he's made since being drafted. I mean, all the training has to benefit him, right? Afterall, that's why we're always clamoring for kids to get into pro environments as soon as possible, n'est pas?

I mean, would you have thought that, based on his career at UNC, that Logan Pause was ready to play in MLS? But, he's made great strides since turning pro and is having a solid rookie season for a team doing better than DC. And, he and Carroll are similar type players in termos of position, style, etc..

I'm not saying you're wrong - you could easily be right. I just don't see how you can conclude he's not ready. He hasn't played a minute for the club yet in league play nor did he play against the Kickers in Richmond nor against Tottenham. And, he hasn't been loaned out to any A-Leage teams.

Again, you may have seen some scrimmages the rest of us haven't or have inside dope others don't. But otherwise, I just don't see how you can conclude he isn't ready. I mean, he's been in camp for five months - surely he's made some progress over that time, right?

Personally, I'd like to see what kind of progress he's made. I'd like to see Ray give him a game. Because if he isn't ready, then I'd sure as hell like an explanation as to why Ray took Carroll over an MLS-ready player like Logan Pause.

[Diceson]

BC is the one rookie I'm dying to see get some action. The couple of college games I saw him play last year he didn't impress me. I groaned when DCUnited drafted him thinking it was a wasted pick. However, throughout the year in practices he has shown a huge improvement in skills and confidence - the most confident, but not gaudy, rookie I've talked to in the 4 years of hitting practices. I won't say he's a fast as Reyes only because Reyes was hurt before I ever saw them go head-to-head, but Carroll is easily one of the fastest player on the team at the moment. Using that speed, and an aggressive nature, he is able to cut down sidelines usually beating defenders down and around corners - sound familiar? More often than not he will send in a cross that accurate and not flying over the box or endline. The biggest criticism is his defensive skills. However again, he is now confident that he can take on the 'big boys'. He may not tackle the ball away, but using speed he will snipe away at an opponent until one of the true defenders can come to his assistance. I believe he is being groomed to replace Olsen. Due to the nagging injuries that Olsen is suffering, needing ice at every practice for his leg/ankle, time may come quickly for Carroll.

Stokes is another matter. He can clearly defend. He will stand up any attacking player in this league. However, once he gets the ball at his feet, he gets brained-locked and gives up possession eiter on the dribble or with an errant pass as often as not. Now that he is back with the team from his stint at VA Beach, it is clear that he's worked hard on this problem. In the short game scrimmage on Monday's practice he showed significant improvement in this area. Is he ready? In this case, going with the axiom, 'Offensive players create mistakes, and defenders never make them,' I would say no. Much like Tony Otero, I'd hate to see what would happen to Stokes mentally because he lost a game on a mistake.

Barclay is an enigma. He looks like a pro and plays like one in practices, but he's still very much a young player. He's had significant playing time in the past with Tampa Bay and San Jose - over 1600 minutes. I'm not sure why he hasn't seen any time on the field yet. Today in practice he clearly dominated during the Reserve side 5-side scrimmage. He has a wicked shot, makes good runs, and controls the ball well. I believe his is more of a case of being a 'tweener' (forward and midfield) and being so low on the depth chart, and he's now trying to fight his way back from the foot injury. If nothing else, I'd like to see what he can do instead of Q2.

Because the games have been fairly close this season, RH hasn't had the opportunity to experiement. I am critical that he didn't use the last 15 minutes of this past game to get one of the younger players some time - throw him out there and tell him, 'Don't stop chasing and pressuring the ball no matter where it is on the field. Force Chicago to take the ball anywhere but towards the goal.' RH & Co had a third substitute, but didn't use it. Who knows if resting Kovalenko for the last 15 minutes will make a difference in either the Colorado or Columbus games?

The one good thing going for DCUnited in the next couple of weeks is that Alegria, Namoff, and Q2 all have seen significant important minutes as starters and subs. For the most part, the teams that DCUnited will be facing in June hasn't had to draw from the well, and their bench hasn't been tested under pressure situations. Certainly they've thrown in players when they control the game, an ideal time to bleed in rookies, but I'd submit that isn't a true test to see if they will perform. Much like practice versus actual game situations, if they make a mistake it's a learning process not mentally crushing blow to their psyche'.

[jmsdoc]

This thread is an example of why this is by far the best board in the mls. I just want a post from TR to round it out.

John

[cherno]

I'm relatively new to these boards, but I can see that we are very lucky to have Diceson. Keep up the great work.

Cherno

[BudWiser]

Originally posted by Cweedchop
I dare say that if Hudson was the coach in 2000, Bobby Convey would not be the player he is today.. Take that for what it's worth.. Hudson, to me, just doesn't trust the youngsters and would rather put in a far less talented veteran than play a promising pup...

Well..........congrats on being daring enough to say that but I don't totally agree w/that.

Hudson IS playing Alegria, Convey, Curtis, Eskandarian, Kovalenko, Nelsen, Olsen, Quaranta, Quintanilla, Rimando, Petke, Prideaux. Not ONE of these guys was born before 1976. So just about all these guys are 25 or younger.

About Convey, I said a few years back that the kid was WAY overrated in 2000. Hudson has challenged Convey, benching him questioning his fortitude, and UNDER Hudson it's seeming like this MAY BE Convey's "breakout" year. I said MAY BE the kid's still got a ways to go-but at 20 it's looking good.

Last game veteran Stoitchkov didn't play.

[garretth]

Yes Hudson is playing players that are younger then 25 but other then Esky he hasn't played one player he drafted. I'm think this extends to his time at Miami. The only young players he uses are ones that already were somewhat established when he took over the team, Convey and Tino here and Pablo and Rimando in Miami. I don't think Ray thinks anything of players he drafts, the exception being Alecko.

[Theo]

i think that Hudson has challenged Convey significantly...but i think Bobby's close involvement this season with the US team, and consequently benefiting from training under Bruce Almighty, has helped him tremendously.

[owendylan]

Originally posted by BudWiser
Well..........congrats on being daring enough to say that but I don't totally agree w/that.

Hudson IS playing Alegria, Convey, Curtis, Eskandarian, Kovalenko, Nelsen, Olsen, Quaranta, Quintanilla, Rimando, Petke, Prideaux. Not ONE of these guys was born before 1976. So just about all these guys are 25 or younger.

About Convey, I said a few years back that the kid was WAY overrated in 2000. Hudson has challenged Convey, benching him questioning his fortitude, and UNDER Hudson it's seeming like this MAY BE Convey's "breakout" year. I said MAY BE the kid's still got a ways to go-but at 20 it's looking good.

Last game veteran Stoitchkov didn't play.

Yeah and all of them except Esky have several years under their belts as professionals. There is a difference between youth and experience. I said this in a different thread, it isn't the young part Ray seems to have a problem with it's the experience part. If you've got a few years as a seasoned, pro, Ray has no problems playing that type of player. It's the guys without any experience that he's reluctant to play, Esky so far being the exception.

[Cweedchop]

Originally posted by owendylan
Yeah and all of them except Esky have several years under their belts as professionals. There is a difference between youth and experience. I said this in a different thread, it isn't the young part Ray seems to have a problem with it's the experience part. If you've got a few years as a seasoned, pro, Ray has no problems playing that type of player. It's the guys without any experience that he's reluctant to play, Esky so far being the exception.

Thank you owendylan...

This was basically the point I was trying to make..