Beasley

[joehooligan0303]

Ok guys...
I have been one of the biggest anti-EJ guys on here, and I still feel the same way about him as I always have. He is worthless, but there is already a thread discussing him. I now want to change my focus to someone else...Beasley.

Why in the world is he still suiting up for the Nats? He has looked so rough for 2 or 3 years now. The game we just had against Cuba....Ouch. I really think Beasley has invented an new sport in his head, and that sport is: try to see how many wide open opportunities you can get and then shank the ball well wide of goal not forcing the goalie to even flinch. He is an all-star at that sport. I think he leads all US players in this new sport.

Yes I know he had an assist in the game last night against Trinadad, but other than that he was worthless. He had many many chances, and can't even get a shot on goal. They also showed a stat last night that really caught my attention. Beasley hasn't scored for the USMNT in his last 15 matches. Yes I know he is a midfielder, but with the type of formation (1 forward) that Bradley chooses to use our midfielders have to be able attack.

Beasley is so weak and small he just can't compete at this level any more. He has as much balance and strength as a Jenga tower. If a strong gust of wind comes by he is on the ground. He is constantly knocked now. Every team in the world knows how to play against him. Knock him on his butt a few times and you won't hear from him the rest of the match.

It is time to quit going back to these guys (EJ and Beasley mainly) that may have had some short term success with the USMNT at some point in the past. They are has-beens and are just worthless. I am actually surprised that Clint Mathis isn't still playing, and I was horrified when I saw Josh Wolfe suite a little while back.

MOVE ON...There are other younger players out there with much more promise. Altidore, Adu, Edu, Marvell Wyne (who was absolutely our best player on the field during the Olympics).

[drew_VT_6]

nope. when he's on Beasely still one of our biggest offensive threats. His ability and willingness to play 2 ways make him an ever bigger asset.

Move along. Nothing to see here folks.

[YankBastard]

If we had better depth at left wing then maybe he might find it hard to get called. But with JOB's career ending prematurely through injury, Bobby Convey still battling to get back to his previous form, along with not that many other viable options coming through the ranks, he's still our best option.

Who else to we have? Justin Mapp?

[JohnR]

Beasley is the most useful 140 pound player with the touch of a donkey, in the history of soccer.

I am in the camp of "keep him out there," because somehow bless him he manages to be a net positive despite being awful, and there doesn't seem to be anybody else in America who can play the role of harassing, nonstop running, two-way left midfielder.

[Sam Hamwich]

Beez, besides Donovan and Gooch is the only guy who could play end-to-end in a champions league game and look like he belonged, probably score or come close to scoring, and make it a long day for the right back trying to cover him.

Did you see the finish he had against Celtic two weeks ago? It was called back, but the guy one-hopped a ball into the near post. Excellent strike.

Beez is good. Mind, his career has never hit the staggering heights set by eddie lewis or justin mapp, but he's still pretty good.

[arkjayback]

Beasley has been battling injuries, so we can't expect him to be great, yet. Beasley has some of the best speed ever seen on a soccer field. That guy is playing with a very good club and is very talented. If he can keep from getting injured, he's going to be one of the top 3 or 4 players heading into South Africa.

Who else is ready? Convey is not good enough any more, Rogers just isn't ready for the big stage yet, Mapp is just too inconsistent, and, and, and, that's right, there's really no one else to pick from right now. Beasley and Lewis are splitting time between Beasley's athletic ability and Lewis's service.

[alocksley]

I think a lot of us were counting on Robbie Rogers to emerge and challenge DMB for that spot, but he had a poor Olympics and that talk has quieted.

[nobody]

Beasley is the most useful 140 pound player with the touch of a donkey, in the history of soccer.

This cracked me up. And, I am a Beasley fan.

He's looked poor coming off injury lately. But, when healthy he is simply one of our most effective attackers while giving us solid defense...despite his shortcomings.

[YankBastard]

I think a lot of us were counting on Robbie Rogers to emerge and challenge DMB for that spot, but he had a poor Olympics and that talk has quieted.

Hell I was wondering why people were hyping him up in the first place.

[hanoah]

Gets fouled to set up the free kick that Bradley finishes. Assists on Dempsey's goal. Sends in the free kick that Ching finishes after Gooch challenges the keeper. Runs for 90 minutes and works hard on the defensive end.

Yea I'd say putting him in the Eddie Johnson category is real fair.

I realize he's not playing as well as he once did. But when you have a hand in all three goals of a 3 - 0 win, you probably deserve a little slack for some bad touches.

[Alex_1]

Move on? Isn't he maybe 25 or 26 years old? His touch is poor, & I expected him to get much better with it than he is now. But having said that, he still has some time to get better with it. Eddie Lewis... though maybe an aberration, still suits up for the USA afterall.... :eek:

USA needs Beasley. As long as he's not being forced into the middle of the field he'll be useful. And he was (maybe still is?) a player that didn't mind taking players on. He's had some injury issues that affected his confidence much more than I thought it would. But even then he's turning into a much smarter player. It will be interesting to see how he does with one full year in Scotland.

A little funny how much less his transfer to Rangers was than Edu's. Despite Beasley's pretty solid resume.

[Maximum Optimal]

DMB isn't a 100% right now. He was too sick to play for Rangers the week before the callups.

Even at below 100%, he drew the foul that set up the first goal, had the assist on the second goal, and generally played good harassing defense. Generally when he is out there you see far fewer dangerous attacks generated by the other team on his side of the field.

Finally, as recently as the Argentina match this summer he was one of if not the best of our players on the field.

[alocksley]

Beasley can be frustrating because he gets himself into good positions, but often botches the chance. But just having a player who can get into the advantageous positions he does is a step up from the rest of the player pool, so waddaya gonna do?

[irust]

does anyone eventually see johann smith replacing beasley, I think he does have the talent and pace to eventually fit this role (I certaintly think he better than or equal too robbie rogers)

[Beazley17]

Love the thread. :rolleyes: Beasley is one of are top players, no question. Even last night, where he supposedly had a bad game from some of you, he still manages to get 2 assists, while being heavily involved in the attack. On top of this, he is are best 2 way player by far, and when he is in, the left side always looks stronger compared to when he's not, and has anyone noticed Pearce plays much better with him in, or is it me??? He is one of the few player who can actually play with world class talent, is becoming a very smart player, and his passing is solid. Also, when him and Donovan start, are record is very good, while both of them play better because of each other.

[Trav-Man]

Big Soccer is getting even more ridiculous (is that possible?). People just look for stuff to whine and complain about and it's just plain ignorance! If the guy that was involved in all 3 of our goals is a problem then I REALLY like the US going into 2010. The only thing that Beasley didn't do last night was score but I think I'll give him a pass because he was all over the field. Think about it, how many crosses or dangerous plays came from Beasley's side last night? Not very many...

Now his Cuba game was a different story, no arguements here. As others have pointed out though, he is trying to get rid of a lot rust and it takes time. And I agree with one of the other posters, to put EJ and DB in the same group is laughable. Beasley, out-of-form, is still levels above EJ.

[CHthirteen]

Big Soccer is getting even more ridiculous (is that possible?)....... to put EJ and DB in the same group is laughable. Beasley, out-of-form, is still levels above EJ.

yeah seriously. Beasley is a competent, hard-working left sided player. He may not be a creative genius or have the best skill in the world, but he's a very valuable player for the US. If he gets injured there's really no one to replace him.

He also had the assist on our only goal in WC 2006, if you remember.

[Karl K]

I was at the game last night and to me -- and I say this as a huge DMB fan and someone who still believes he is our best alternative on the left side of midfield -- it is dismaying to see his current run of form.

Part of this might be due to his health and that from this point it's all upside. That would be tremendous.

But he is clearly not as fast as he used to be. The foul he drew that lead to the goal was actually a stupid foul by Carlos Edwards -- it's not like the fouls suffered that we've come to love from from DMB -- namely guys clipping his heels as he is torching them for pace.

He cannot get behind defenses in his current physical condition.

So, we'll see. I am optimistic that his form will improve. But if this is as good as it gets...well, we'll have to live with it. And that's not all bad.

[Trav-Man]

I was at the game last night and to me -- and I say this as a huge DMB fan and someone who still believes he is our best alternative on the left side of midfield -- it is dismaying to see his current run of form.

Part of this might be due to his health and that from this point it's all upside. That would be tremendous.

But he is clearly not as fast as he used to be. The foul he drew that lead to the goal was actually a stupid foul by Carlos Edwards -- it's not like the fouls suffered that we've come to love from from DMB -- namely guys clipping his heels as he is torching them for pace.

He cannot get behind defenses in his current physical condition.

So, we'll see. I am optimistic that his form will improve. But if this is as good as it gets...well, we'll have to live with it. And that's not all bad.


Don't you see that as a good sign that he is not close to current form and that he was as effective as he was last night? I remembering beating his man on a few occasions last night and getting into dangerous positions.

[edwardgr]

So I read the first dozen or so posts and thought I would offer my opinion since I just had this talk with a co-worker. DMB is without a doubt one of the most exciting guys on the NT to watch when he is in form. However that being said the last three matches have been very painful to watch. My take is let him continue to recover from injury, bring him on as a sub if need be but let someone else get the experience while we are playing games we can almost sleep walk through.