Sean Johnson is really frigging good. He's had some howlers, but so has Hamid. I'd have to look it up, but I wouldnt be surprised if he led the league in gaa last season. Edit: No, not number one, top ten (Melia first). He was fourth in save percentage behind Melia, Hamid, and Blake. Also, Bendik led MLS in saves!
Hamid at his best was tops in the league. Unfortunately, Bill was injured a lot and played inconsistently.
The thing with GAA is that a mediocre keeper can benefit from a very well organized defense and with good positioning can keep the ball out of the net. We've not had the good, well organized defense for a long time so Hamid had to stand on his head to keep us in matches. GAA doesn't tell you everything but Saves/ShotsOnTarget is probably a better metric. james
Aren't there training ground drills or some crap that the team could do to practice passing into space? Wait, let me check YouTube . . .
Exactly. Tim Melia won GOTY last season and Robles the year before that IIRC. Neither is in the top third of the league IMO. The only thing that tells you is that Orlando's defense was terrible.
Well then let's use that. In 2017, the guy was tied for 12th in GAA among all keepers that played in double digit games (the metric you don't like), but he was also only tied for 10th among that same group in save % (the metric you prefer). Ousted is nowhere near a top 5 keeper in the league in 2018. I personally think it is delusional to believe that Ousted is going to be a difference maker for this team, this season.
Until July 15th the world of international soccer is going to be divided into Them that got and Them that ain't. Bolivia, Jamaica and the USA are among them that ain't and where they are relative each other non contestant is moot. Beauty is on July 16th it starts all over again and everyone gets a shot
There is no doubt in my mind that Ousted is well ahead of Bendik and Johnson. I'd put Ousted roughly on par with Luis Robles and Andre Blake. Although Blake is not done developing and could surpass Ousted soon. As for Steffen, I need to see another season out of him before I rate him. He really only emerged towards the end of last season. Most people would probably argue that Brad Guzan is the best keeper in the East, but he needs a a little more time before he washes that Aston Villa stench off of him. Mind you these are my current ratings. I wouldn't be surprised if by the end of the year Ousted will be down to 5th or 6th best keeper in the East. DC has a knack for taking good players and gradually drawing them down into mediocrity or worse ...
To further illustrate the Ousted point, in 2016 Ousted was tied for 18th in GAA and tied for 16th in save percentage, of all keepers who played in double digit MLS games. Ousted by the numbers, is an absolutely middling starting keeper, AT BEST, over the last 2 years. But we are seriously debating whether he is one of the best keepers in the league in 2018? We have been so beaten down by mediocrity that we can no longer recognize the difference between average and good play. I'll let it go now before I have an aneurysm.
You're living in the past, brother. Johnson is entering his prime at 28 and was better than Ousted statistically as recently as last season, without arguably the best center back tandem in front of him (who's better than Parker and Waston? I'll say maybe Marshall/Torres, but certainly no one from NYC qualifies) Since there's no doubt in your mind, this is a pointless exercise, but I can't help myself. The stench of that Olympic qualifying debacle still haunts Johnson, it's unfair and myopic. He's very good at shot stopping, top five statistically.
I thought Johnson had his first above average season in a long time last year. For me it doesn't erase some of the struggles he had towards the end in Chicago. I want to see one more good season from him before I put him in that top tier of goalkeepers. The thing I don't like about Johnson is that he's a very passive goalkeeper. Doesn't command his box well. Doesn't lead the defense. But again, last year was a big step forward for him. His command of the box was still lacking, but he really cleaned up the little details his game. When you don't make mistakes, you earn the respect of your team mates. And you end up leading from behind by example even if you're not necessarily vocal and aggressive. Johnson is getting to that age where goalkeepers start to hit their prime. He's one of the keepers that I think could make a case for stepping ahead of Ousted by the end of the season if he continues his positive trajectory. But it's still a bit premature for me.
As a Villa fan I can tell you Guzan is a below average/poor keeper. I watched him for many years. He was above average at shot stopping in his prime. But he was extremely poor at distribution, poor at commanding his box, and poor at positioning. His shot stopping ability 'covered up' his other deficiencies. He is now past his prime and can no longer stop shots acrobatically like he used to- which makes his other flaws much more noticeable. Guzan played during poor ownership (former Cleveland Browns Randy Lerner) and Lerner put a 'stench' on everything. RL did a couple good things in the beginning with renovations and the academy. RL is gone now and Villa has spent the past 2-3 years washing away the dirt from his failed ownership. Guzan was a good person and teammate, unfortunately not a good enough keeper for the EPL at Villa.
Stieber has been called up by Hungary for a couple of friendlies and will also miss the Columbus game.
Was there really a tough decision? Acosta's preseason form and his short cameo last week give me hope that he can give us a boost/
I was mostly kidding, although it is true I think that the US (at least player pool wise is well ahead of Bolivia and Jamaica). https://www.socceramerica.com/publi...k-us-men-will-open-three-game-series-aga.html But I guess we'll find out. When Bolivia plays at sea level, they aren't that great. At altitude they can beat anyone.
Not sure. I think Stieber is good, but he hasn't done much so far. Nor have Arriola or Asad really. I think it'll take some time for these guys to figure each other out, but I think they can be a good attack. If only we had a really good striker to keep teams honest.
Stieber doesn't really fit the 4-1-4-1. Stieber wants a more expansive game where he gets more space, more time on the ball and he has runners making runs for his accurate long range passing. This formation Olsen is working with is more ideal for Acosta. I think Asad and Arriola also blend into the 4-1-4-1 pretty well. In this formation ideally you'd want the left winger to be the guy making aggressive runs behind the fullback. You want him to be the outlet, not the distributor. We'd be better off with more speed and strength than what Stieber possesses. The only solution to this is if we can get Stieber and Acosta together playing the central attacking midfield positions. You might sacrifice a little on defense, but you may unlock the attacking chemistry we've been lacking. The two players offer a nice contrast ... one is a dribbler and the other is a passer/shooter. Then you have Asad and Arriola on the wings. I think they both have the aggression and physical ability to get behind the defense.