Gibbs (R)

[superdave]

I really liked the way Gibbs played today. For a US central defender (I'm setting an amazingly low bar here ;) ) he was good on the ball. And while we were all disappointed at that skyball shot from 15 yards out, the skill in getting the ball down quickly was very nice to see from a defender. His size and leaping ability will make him a tremendous threat on setpieces if he puts in the work on his runs and heading the ball on goal.

I don't think his ball skills are what we need at left fullback, tho, so that problem remains.

But one thing that was a bit disturbing was the large number of backpasses, esp. backpasses that were on frame. I don't know whether that was just something he did because he was nervous, or he didn't know where to look for his teammates. But if he's gonna play on those crap pitches in Jamaica and Guatemala, he can't be doing that. It's an own goal or own assist waiting to happen.

But overall, he looks to be, at LEAST, our 3rd choice at central defense. I'm tellin' ya, with Pope's injury history, one of the most important things for the US' 2006 chances will be whether or not Gibbs can get on with a club in a higher division.

PS...it's amazing to me how much his frame and gait remind me of Pope.

[JohnR]

Originally posted by superdave
I really liked the way Gibbs played today. For a US central defender (I'm setting an amazingly low bar here ;) ) he was good on the ball. And while we were all disappointed at that skyball shot from 15 yards out, the skill in getting the ball down quickly was very nice to see from a defender. His size and leaping ability will make him a tremendous threat on setpieces if he puts in the work on his runs and heading the ball on goal.

But overall, he looks to be, at LEAST, our 3rd choice at central defense. I'm tellin' ya, with Pope's injury history, one of the most important things for the US' 2006 chances will be whether or not Gibbs can get on with a club in a higher division.

PS...it's amazing to me how much his frame and gait remind me of Pope.

I agree. Pope, Boca, and Gibbs, in that order. Although I liked Gibbs better than Boca today.

You know what? We all owe a belated apology to that "put Cory Gibbs on the World Cup squad" guy. Can't remember who it was but surely you recall the posts, too ... we all mocked the guy for writing 100 times about how Cory Gibbs belonged on the team.

Dang. He was right. Gibbs would have been green, but still better than Goose.

[CbR]

Glad to see some fresh blood in the back with boca and gibbs. Dont forget tony sanneh, lets see if he can make a come back

[MLSNHTOWN]

That was JRI and we don't owe him crap. Just kidding. Bruce was going to bring Gibbs in for a look in some of the Euro friendlies, but if I recall correctly he got hurt right before the Italy game.

Regardless it was Gibbs' first year as a professional if I recall.

With regards to his actual performance to date, he has looked good defensively. I think there are some lapses but he is a young player and will just keep learning. Agreed regarding the back passes, and I am still not 100% confident with his ball skills when he is under serious pressure. That being said, I see no reason why he isn't #3 on the central back chart. Garcia is the only one you could make the argument for unseating him at #3. Unless of course, Berhalter regains his form. Sure hope Pope is healthy for all World Cup Qualifying.

[realmadrid1086]

Originally posted by superdave
I'm tellin' ya, with Pope's injury history, one of the most important things for the US' 2006 chances will be whether or not Gibbs can get on with a club in a higher division.


I remember reading on the Yanks Abroad board that one of the promoted Bundesliga teams was interested in signing him. I would not be surprised at all if Gibbs goes back to the Bundesliga this year.

[Ghost]

Actually, Superdave, I think yiou were right in the other thread 3-5-2 is the way to go, at some point.Pope-Boca-Gibbs along the back. DMB can play both ways. Just need a right wing that can do the same (Clark, eventually?)

kGibbs is a big, fast, Ivy Leaguer who is only going to get better with time. Did he get beat once today?

The play that stands out in my mind was in the New Zealand game. During a corner kick, the ball sprung out past the eightteen. NZ had a counter opportunity. Gibbs ran the guy down from behind, got a little in front of him, and gave a good professional foul. ended any counter opportunity. It was so darn athletic.

[nancyb]

Yes, there's one poster who's definitely been vindicated for his calls to give Gibbs a try. Maybe Arena really does read BS.

[Justin O]

Originally posted by nancyb
Yes, there's one poster who's definitely been vindicated for his calls to give Gibbs a try. Maybe Arena really does read BS.

Well, since you aren't naming names I'll just assume you are refering to ME and not to the other, far more maligned person, who also wanted Arena to invite Gibbs to camp back in those pre-WC 2002 threads. :) Luckily for me, my opinions on the matter flew under the radar as I didn't have a host of posters with personal agendas against me launching vicious, personal, moderated-ignored attacks. :) In any case, vindication already came if you recall, when Arena did in fact invite Gibbs to camp before the World Cup. He just got hurt at that time.

[jri]

Toot, toot (smile)

Yes, the argument those days was that Gibbs deserved a look at/call up in the pre-2002, since our options at the time were (1) Berthalter- who, before impressing in 1/2 game in Italy was pretty lame-o in a Nats uni over years (2) Sanneh- well, we all know how Jekyll/Hyde he's been over years and (3) Goose- who we love(d), warts and all....but his speed deficiency always seems to show up in important places..

Of course, for the most part, Bruce got by fine with those guys at WC 2002, because Sanneh raises his game (probably as good as stretch as a pro ever), and Berthalter also played above his head for that time. Goose had his famous faux-pas'zz (smile), but US digested them.

But who could've known that Berthalter/Sanneh would play at such a level? I guess one could say Bruce, but it really was a guess. Maybe there is something there about "not rocking boat" since those guys had been around team for a while...

But, to bury it once and for all (?), my point was that if you are going to take a chance on a streaky player, why not a young guy like Gibbs (who at the time was starting in BL1 and had consecutively shut-down some of the best strikers in Germany)....Berthalter, Sanneh, Gibbs...they were all streaky at the time....at least Gibbs will have a shot (also) to play for Nats in future years....and man, did I catch hell for suggesting that Gibbs should get one lil' ol' call-up......(which Bruce tried to give him anyway, eventually)

I hope Gibbs does hook on to a BL1 (or even BL2 club)...clearly he has the tools (almost as much as any US player....I'm talking youngsters) to play at top levels (remember, he's a defender, so he doesn't have to be Landon-skilled, and I am not saying that)...nice to have another promising candidate to a back-line that desperately needs some new blood....I thought he/Boca looked very good today- albeit not the best of tests....

[arnoldle21]

If Gibbs does not sign on with a B1 or B2 side for this upcoming season then any future appearances with the National Team will be in jeopardy....and rightly so.

[jlmatthews]

I was really impressed with him today. Backed down from nothing and was a physical presence. Very happy with the way he played and hope he does it consistantly....

[superdave]

Lest the revisionist history carry the day, said poster thought Gibbs should replace Regis at left fullback, NOT Agoos at central defender. Plus, said poster never actually saw Gibbs play. When St. Pauli was on FSW, said poster a) had something else to do and b) didn't tape it. Those of us who saw the game quickly saw that Gibbs wasn't any kind of option at left fullback. A fine prospect, but not a replacement for Regis.

Most of the people attacking this anonymous poster were attacking him because he was basing his argument on Kicker ratings, not having seen the person play.

Finally, said poster ALSO was arguing that the US bring, essentially, a U-23 squad, because we weren't going anywhere in K/J, so we should go ahead and prepare for '06. He wasn't just calling for Gibbs to replace Regis, but all kinds of youngsters to replace McBride and Reyna and so forth.

[Justin O]

Originally posted by superdave
Lest the revisionist history carry the day, said poster thought Gibbs should replace Regis at left fullback, NOT Agoos at central defender.

The original argument was bringing Gibbs into camp, nothing more. I've been one of Regis' biggest defenders on these boards and I would not have agreed with replacing Regis with Gibbs had that ever been the argument.

[jri]

Superdave- You are detemined not to let this go, so for you, moron, I will clarify:

The 25 and under argument (your first mistake) was started in February 2001 (may have been Jan)...we are talking a full 16 months before the World Cup....at the time, I was pounding home the fact that the US desperately needed to start different, younger players including Mathis, Wolff, Donovan, (yes Beasley), Mastroeni, etc...In fact, Bruce wound up including quite a few of the changes/additions I suggested. I was very uncomfortable with Sanneh and Agoos (and thought we could do better than Earnie).....in a previous post, I covered why that had worked out, but I still believe it was total roll of dice on Bruce's part (who could have known Sanneh would turn into all-stud at the Cup. Sanneh played well above his normal form both in the BL and for the Nats over previous 2-3 years. He essentially got "hot" at the right time).

Yes, I did not think with the line-up the US put out in big friendlies before the World Cup that they would get out of first round...but you know what? They didn't exactly blow the doors off their group either...it was more of a squeak by...and after the fast start against Portugal, they didn't exactly play glorious football from 2nd half Portugal thru end of Poland...they play 10 games against each of those teams, and I doubt they finish 2nd....but they did enough to get to 2nd round. And there is NO QUESTION that the long European season contributed to the star countries' teams playing a bit tired the entire tourney

No one knew in advance that Mexico would be their opponent. Once I knew, I even favored U.S. in that game. I do believe that was a fortunate draw.

I was pleasantly surprised with the U.S. against Germany. I didn't think they could play such a technically high level of soccer, and they certainly played the best game I can ever remember U.S. playing EVER. That was a surprise.

But as recent Confed Cup shows, US is still inconsistent at top levels of soccer, and still a good bit behind in certain areas. US played Brazil too in the 16 in 1994, but does mean the US was THAT good then too?

I was in favor of Bruce CALLING UP Gibbs.....not playing given in place of Regis (Your 2nd mistake). I had a number of if/ands/buts which included Gibbs needing to get a number of games under his belt to start in the WC. When that no longer was possible, I also said it didn't make sense to bring the kid. I proposed Bruce change formations (Your 3rd mistake) not a straight swap for Regis. I only commented on a swap with Regis when it proposed that Bruce would not switch formations, etc.

(Your 4th mistake) I did not get FSW at the time....and told all of you so.

It is irrelevant if I saw Gibbs playing highlites, or full games, or whathaveyou. I am smart enough to know that anyone who can start and practically shut down 4 of out the top 6 BL strikers over a 8-10 game series...given our defensive options at the time....deserved a look-see (a call-up) and a chance to prove himself...Apparently Bruce agreed with that too, for he tried to call up Gibbs pre-Cup..

Next time, please check your facts before you go maligning people....4 mistakes- it is really uncalled for...

[superdave]

In case anyone is wondering, the anonymous poster to whom I was referring was NOT Justin. ;)

[stopper4]

Though his game was similar to Greg Berhalters'.


Yes, he's physical. But yesterday at least he seemed to foul a lot, and in bad places. His clearances, as often as not, went right back up the middle.

But he does look like an excellent prospect.

[nobody]

I was glad to see a guy in the US defense with some serious bite to his game. He does need to make sure he eases up on the contact in and around the box, but a physically punishing defender is nice to have.

I'd also say that his ball control was quite good compared to most US defensive guys, although his passing was pretty mediocre. He also seemed pretty strong in the air.

Overall, I expect to see him get plenty of time back there and he looks a lot better option in the middle than a guy like Califf, for example.

[Melloblkmon]

I too remember Jri wanting to see Gibbs get a call up last year. After reading his posts I got online to look Gibbs up because I had not seen him play and I never flame on guys I haven't seen play. In fact I didn't flame on Jri because after reading as much as I could about Gibbs I felt he deserved a look as well.

That said I am glad he is now an option in the backline. A backline of Pope, Gibbs, Boca and Sanneh would be cool to see even though the first three guys are central defenders. I did notice as the first poster said he seemed to back pass to Keller quite a bit instead of dribbling out of trouble but I will attribute that to nerves. In the future that needs to change. I wonder if Gibbs could play on the outside as he seemed to go forward quite a bit.

[nobody]

Personally, especially considering that our guys aren't the most skilled in the back, I would prefer that we pass back rather than dribble out of trouble. If you're in trouble in the back, dribbling is not the first or best option. I can assure you that playing in germany you would learn that quite quickly. Safety first back there is key, taking guys on in the defensive third is generally just reckless and foolish.

Now, he may not be the best passer and I would agree that all our guys in back need work on recognizing outlets and making good, simple passes from the back. But, I will never complain that we don't dribble in our own end enough.

[jri]

What Gibbs does well:

- Does not let guys turn
- Anticipates ball pretty well (cuts off attackers) when given chance
- Wins most things in air (scary, but I think he could do even better....Boca maximizes better...)
- Is surprisingly fast for height....did you see one Paraguayan outrun him? I didn't. (but I saw one outrun Convey...)
- Positions well, does not "bite" or overplay
-Offensive option on set-pieces (in box) with head
- Good form on tackles


Needs work:

-Ball skills, outlet pass (although nothing in his form would make you think he can not improve here...good technique, even with outside of foot)
- Coordination with other teammates (comes, hopefully, with time)
- Reading game (comes, hopefully, with time)
- Not really offensive option (near goal) with ball at feet


Don't know about you guys, but the things he needs to work on....are often the case with 23 year old defenders....it doesn't, of course, mean that he will overcome them (a lot of hard work left, plus desire)...but I'd take those "weaknesses" anyday...most players get better in those categories...(if they have good technique)..I actually think Beasley has a harder road to go (to overcome his deficiencies)...

He looks like a very strong 1v1 defender to me (relative to other Nat options)..

Someone mentioned "well, he won't be able to get away with those backpasses in Jamaica"...well, we really can't make that argument yet....it wasn't Jamaica- the pitch was in very good/great shape, and the passes were the appropriate thing....He should adjust when the time comes..

I saw many more "oops" passes in midfield from Frankie (what an awful sky ball toward wrong goal in 1st half), Beasley, Earnie, etc....some really bad giveaways under very little/moderate pressure.....upper class teams will KILL US with those....and good habits are created in game like these...