Tea Light in the Dark Universe: Bobby Wood at Hamburg

Our boy is on his way back to our Good Graces

 

He's never lost my good graces. Perhaps my fave current USMNT player. But I'm realistic: he's not that good.

 

have you seen his NT competition?

 

This goes to show that Kicker scores are not very useful. Bobby clearly played a better game this time. He looked like the low end of world class in this game. In that game he looked like a strong mid-table BL striker. I'd love to see Bobby play a season with a good team around him. Not saying he deserves better, but it would be fun to see what he could do with world-class service.

 

So far I care Kicker can go get stuffed, but the German BuLi fans care about it, so if Bobby gets good scores, some of them stop whining about him.

 

So, was he Man of the Match in that game? Any highlights available?

 

I think we should abandon our desperate need for German approval by living and dying with Kicker ratings.

 

Pretty true. Setanta replayed the game a few times during the break and I have to say I was impressed. More to the point, so was the colour commentator, former Stuttgart and Liverpool (for a cup of coffee) striker Sean Dundee. By his own admission, "not his greatest fan" Dundee was positively purring over Bobby's performance, talking about how he always made the right decisions and that the execution was almost always right.

With a hockey assist on the first goal and laying the penalty on a platter (after mugging Brooks) for the second, plus his overall game, I have to agree. Maybe he's the BL equivalent of Shane Long, another endlessly mobile forward who isn't a good striker at this level but opens up the game for others. Obviously, one game doesn't make a season and all that, let alone a basement-dweller six-pointer (and a derby on top of that), but Bobby looked a genuine class above.

 

Yeah kicker ratings are pretty arbitrary, except for 1s and ummm Bobby wood 6s, unfortunately, lol.

 

Wood starts today. Not sure I can watch. I leave it to others whether a gamed thread is warranted.

In einer Stunde ist Anpfiff bei der @borussia - und hier gibt's unsere #H96-Startelf! 😃💪 #BMGH96 #NiemalsAllein ⚫️⚪️💚 pic.twitter.com/vsJVZU6efw

— Hannover 96 (@Hannover96) November 25, 2018

 

Bobby scores within 20 seconds! He smartly occupied the space between the two defenders, latched on to the end of a flick on header from a long ball, made a strong run to keep the defender shielded and calmly slotted in. Great stuff.

 

WTF!! who was that guy!!??

 

No, it doesn't. Announcers named two ahead of him (and sounded like they were tied).

ETA: Volland 9.3 sec, Bellarabi 9.6 are the top two. There could be more in between them and bobby.

 

That is why, unless there's another Yank capable of that play, a healthy Bobby IS a Nats starter every way but Sonntag

 

Sure, I suffer through Hamburg and 96 games for 2 freaking years, and the one time I have to run a few errands...

Bobby Wood strikes quickly for #H96. #USMNT https://t.co/YCVTAgy2v5

— Stars and Stripes FC (@StarsStripesFC) November 25, 2018

 

Brian uploaded he goal

1066743759075987457 is not a valid tweet id

 

He doesn't score very often. I would suspect we will have multiple challengers to his Nats role emerge in the next few months.

 

Bobby is a good player. If he gets service he scores. He has 3 goals on a bottom team.

 

I dunno he seems to squander a lot of opportunities. He has the goal output of a #8. Good on him for scoring today tho.

 

We need names, occifer.

 

Party pooper

 

Let's save it for the miserable Nats board.

 

'cause I can only rep once.