The Spector Enigma

[FC Tallavana]

For the life of me I cannot understand why Spector is dismissed by so many people.

I look at line-up after line-up that has the likes of Hejduk playing in favor of Spector.

When I ask people why the most common reply is that he has looked a bit shaky while playing for the nats.

That was the excuse that was given even when he only had a couple caps. And it's not like he has that many caps now.

Meanwhile, anyone who says Bradley or Feilhaber is looking shaky gets neg-repped and told that they ought to be playing so they can work the kinks out now instead of 2010. The old "you have to gain experience sometime" is the mentality du jour for those two.

Spector, who is a much more accomplished professional (Dozens of Premierships starts, played in FA Cups, UEFA Cups and Champions League games), gets no such reprieve from his critics.

The guy has barely lined up for the nats at the same position for two games in a row yet people would rather dump him than see what he can offer with an extended run like Feilhaber & Bradley & Bornstein & pretty much everyone else has been given.

I have followed his club career as close as anyone and I've seen that the few times he has settled into a position (starting for more than a few weeks) he has looked better and better each week. Late last season he was lookng really good during a run at left back with Charlton only for Curbs to reward him for a Sky TOTW performance against Liverpool by sending him back to the bench.

When he became a starter again (this time at right back) a few weeks later when Luke Young went down with an injury he picked up right where he left off by being named to the Sky TOTW as a right back.

Shouldn't we give the guy an honest chance at winning a position?

If squad players at so-so Dutch teams and reserves at bad Bundesliga teams are afforded that chance then surely a 21-year-old defender who has worked his way into starting line-ups the past three seasons (despite being an afterthought at the beginning of each season) at ManUtd, Charlton and West Ham ought to be given a go.

[Sandon Mibut]

This thread title sounds like it could be a Spy Novel.

"On bookshelves now, the new espionage page-turner from New York Times best-selling spy author Robert Ludlum, the Spector Enigma..."

[FC Tallavana]

This thread title sounds like it could be a Spy Novel.

"On bookshelves now, the new espionage page-turner from New York Times best-selling spy author Robert Ludlum, the Spector Enigma..."


Yeah, I thought that as well.

[Sandon Mibut]

BTW, given the options at RB (Cherundolo, Simek, Hejduk, Albright and perhaps Wynne) I think Spector's best chance of regular PT with the Nats is at LB.

There's still some competition there (Bornstein, Pearce, Dunivant) but not nearly as much as on the right. While Spector can clearly play RB, his versaility benefits him greatly and makes LB his best chance to get on the field regulary for the US.

[tmeuz]

This thread title sounds like it could be a Spy Novel.

"On bookshelves now, the new espionage page-turner from New York Times best-selling spy author Robert Ludlum, the Spector Enigma..."

Follow up to the "Bornstein identity" ?

[FC Tallavana]

BTW, given the options at RB (Cherundolo, Simek, Hejduk, Albright and perhaps Wynne) I think Spector's best chance of regular PT with the Nats is at LB.

There's still some competition there (Bornstein, Pearce, Dunivant) but not nearly as much as on the right. While Spector can clearly play RB, his versaility benefits him greatly and makes LB his best chance to get on the field regulary for the US.



I personally think that his versatility is the reason he's not on the field more often - for club and country.

You only have to look at Jamie Carragher to see where versatility will land you with a national team. I believe Carragher is the best pure defender England have yet he is often left out of the line-up.

I think he could win a position in central defense for England but then they'd be stuck with someone far less versatile on the bench as a defensive sub.

Same thing is happening to Spector imo. Bradley likes the idea of having a jack of all trades on his bench so much that Spector is unlikely to ever be given the chance to win a starting job that others are and have been given.

[FC Tallavana]

Follow up to the "Bornstein identity" ?


Thought about that as well.:p

I then figured it would only be a matter of time before someone claims Spector isn't starting because of the "Bornstein Supremacy".

[soccerfan]

[QUOTE=FC Tallavana;11805528]For the life of me I cannot understand why Spector is dismissed by so many people.

I look at line-up after line-up that has the likes of Hejduk playing in favor of Spector.

QUOTE]

You won't get an answer. I been asking the same question and people would rather have Hejduk playing. The guy has no future with the nats, he has no business playing here. Just because the coach is insane we don't have to be too. Spector is the future and will get better for the US with each game he gets to play.
I must give BB credit for getting the youngsters out there against T&T, lets hope we wont have to see Hejduk again.

[Martin Fischer]

For the life of me I cannot understand why Spector is dismissed by so many people.
...When I ask people why the most common reply is that he has looked a bit shaky while playing for the nats.

That was the excuse that was given even when he only had a couple caps. And it's not like he has that many caps now....
....

How is this hard to understand? You actually answered the question yourself. Spector continues to play poor to medicore for the USMNT. His level of play this year is below that of everyone else at the outside back position, with the possible exception of Albright.

He is still young and will continue to get chances to prove himself. But at some point, he will actually have to perform well to keep getting considered.

His major problem, and this may also be true at the club level, is that he appears to lack a true position. He lacks the burning speed you like to see at outside back and he doesn't appear to really be super skilled at crossing. One might think that he is really a central defender, but there is probably a reason nobody plays him there anymore.

[FC Tallavana]

How is this hard to understand? You actually answered the question yourself. Spector continues to play poor to medicore for the USMNT. His level of play this year is below that of everyone else at the outside back position, with the possible exception of Albright.

He is still young and will continue to get chances to prove himself. But at some point, he will actually have to perform well to keep getting considered.

His major problem, and this may also be true at the club level, is that he appears to lack a true position. He lacks the burning speed you like to see at outside back and he doesn't appear to really be super skilled at crossing. One might think that he is really a central defender, but there is probably a reason nobody plays him there anymore.



How can you say the guy lacks a natural position when he has never, ever been given a chance to play a few games in a row at the same position for the nats.

Seeing how he has been good enough to play so many different positions with so many different teams it would be easier to assume that he's got multiple natural positions than to say he's got none.

[sabretarheel]

I like his skill set quite a bit, and at times he looks like a great defender. Unfortunately, he's rather inconsistent, and seems to get unraveled a little more easily than he should. But you know, much of that can probably be chalked up to him being both young, and seemingly constantly in a period of flux/adjustment with regards to position, team, etc. I don't think we know enough to say that he's not Nat material right now, and I don't think he's embarrassed himself with his appearance in the Gold Cup so far either. In short, I think he still deserves chances in the form of games. I'd really like to see him in the Copa America as well.

[Bluecat82]

<insert obligatory "move him back to forward, he can't do any worse than the stiffs we have up top now" line here> :rolleyes:

[ugaaccountant]

How is this hard to understand? You actually answered the question yourself. Spector continues to play poor to medicore for the USMNT. His level of play this year is below that of everyone else at the outside back position, with the possible exception of Albright.

He only looks "poor to mediocore" if you're looking at the offensive contributions compared to a more winger type like Bornstein. Spector will help us far more in games that actually are competitive since we've seen him play good defense on may of the premierships best players. I'm not saying a guy like Bornstein is useless, but I do note that we had to dump Lewis for Boca midway through the world cup b/c we realized we can't have two offensive guys at fullback against real competition. Play Simek and Spector the most while you have the chance b/c that's your defensive core. Bornstein can be developed in MLS only games and he and Dolo can be used to run the score up on minnows.

[alocksley]

I have watched Spector quite closely, both for West Ham and the US Nats, and I can't say I've been too impressed. He was a downright liability for West Ham for much of the season - very shaky defensively and showing almost nothing going forward.

The Nats like their outside backs to overlap and attack and this has allowed us to see more of JS getting forward, but I can't say he's done much with the opportunity. Simek has looked much more effective in that role.

I think we all had high hopes for Spector because of his ManU pedigree, but I, for one, have been very disappointed. I hope he improves and starts to show his quality soon.

[Geneva]

I'd like to see more of Spector too. Definitely in front of Hejduk. And we've seen enough of Bornstein already to get a good idea what he can give us & what his limitations are. I thought Spector did well against T&T (hey, we started 3 players from English leagues along the back line) and it would be good to see him with Beasley.

I don't know about the argument that he's too versatile & therefore gets left on the bench. You can put a versatile guy in the game & then move him around as needed (Donovan), as long as you've got a guy on the bench to back up the position where the versatile guy started.

[Raulduke]

The point is, Heydude should be retired fromt the nats. He won't be on the team in 2010 so he shouldn't be playing. I really don't think Specs has gottent enough time on the field to make any realistic evaluation of his play. But here's the thing, if he's good enough to start in the Premiership, I certainly think he's good enough to get more playing time than what he's been given this year, especially when some of that time is going to Heydude.

[dude8]

if this keeps up, perhaps it will come to the "spector ultimatum"....
then he can showcase his "spector supremacy"

[Martin Fischer]

He only looks "poor to mediocore" if you're looking at the offensive contributions compared to a more winger type like Bornstein. Spector will help us far more in games that actually are competitive since we've seen him play good defense on may of the premierships best players. I'm not saying a guy like Bornstein is useless, but I do note that we had to dump Lewis for Boca midway through the world cup b/c we realized we can't have two offensive guys at fullback against real competition. Play Simek and Spector the most while you have the chance b/c that's your defensive core. Bornstein can be developed in MLS only games and he and Dolo can be used to run the score up on minnows.

This is a fair opinion. It doesn't happen to be mine and I think it is actually a better argument -- along with his versatility -- for keeping Spector on the bench to fill in tactically when necessary.

You also lose when you say things like Simek and Spector are the "defensive core". Neither has proven that yet and I guess, unlike you, I don't care that these guys play in England, I want to see them show it in USMNT games. It is true that maybe their performances are devalued in these sort of games because the opponent just isn't good enough attacking to allow Spector to shine. Perphaps, but I need to see it on the field, not just on his resume.

As to the Eddie Lewis analogy, I am not sure that you can consider dropping Lewis for Boca to have been a triumph. In any event, Bornstein regularly plays left back for his club, something Lewis never has done.

Tallavana: I said that Spector maybe has no position from watching him play many times. Apparently he isn't strong enough to play centrally (this is hard to say since I have rarely been able to watch him play centrally) and I don't think he quite has the pace and right skill mix to be a top-level outside back. Time will tell.

[United20]

Agree with the original post. Spector is BY FAR a better defender than Hejduk. There is no reason to leave the kid out of the starting line-up. Maybe Bob is saving Johnathan for Copa America since Hejduk will go back to the MLS...dunno. But enough of these aging defenders who only know how to pass back - can not stand that Hejduk signature move of dribbling forward only to cheeky heel it behind his leg to pass back to the central back or goalie.

[flyerhawk]

I have watched Spector quite closely, both for West Ham and the US Nats, and I can't say I've been too impressed. He was a downright liability for West Ham for much of the season - very shaky defensively and showing almost nothing going forward.

The Nats like their outside backs to overlap and attack and this has allowed us to see more of JS getting forward, but I can't say he's done much with the opportunity. Simek has looked much more effective in that role.

I think we all had high hopes for Spector because of his ManU pedigree, but I, for one, have been very disappointed. I hope he improves and starts to show his quality soon.

I've watched a number of his games with both Charlton and West Ham and I certainly didn't come away with the impression you have.

He played extremely well in several games this year. The only game I can remember that I saw him play in where he was exposed was against Chelsea and the truth is that SWP made some brilliant plays on him. It happens.

I really don't get this whole Spector does nothing offensively thing. Did you guys watch the game on Saturday? Great weighted pass that led to our first goal and he was consistently working with Mapp to create numerous chances on the left.

The guy is 21 so he is not a finished product but he has great upside. Clearly Curbishley liked what he saw since he has stated that Spector is in their plans next season.