EJ & Adu: AEK vs Aris (Superleague) 2/21 16:45 Greek/ 9:45 ET

Discussion in 'Yanks Abroad Gameday' started by nick_3f, Feb 19, 2010.

  1. smokarz

    smokarz Member+

    Aug 9, 2006
    Hartford, CT
    Translation: Adu was subbed due to fitness, not performance.
     
  2. nick_3f

    nick_3f Moderator
    Staff Member

    Jan 10, 2010
    Thessaloniki
    Club:
    Aris Saloniki
    Nat'l Team:
    Greece
    Thanks smokarz ;) thats a better way to explain it.
     
  3. nick_3f

    nick_3f Moderator
    Staff Member

    Jan 10, 2010
    Thessaloniki
    Club:
    Aris Saloniki
    Nat'l Team:
    Greece
    Here is the video of Adu and EJ against AEK.
    Still processing, it will be up in a couple of hours. Enjoy and cya later :)

    [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkpZkQphyc4"]YouTube- Freddy Adu & Eddie Johnson AEK ARIS 1 0[/ame]
     
  4. uniteo

    uniteo Member+

    Sep 2, 2000
    Rockville, MD
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I think it's safe to infer that Adu was taken out with one of Cuper's 3 subs because fitness affected performance.

    Though I don't see fitness becoming an issue or a poor game as much of a problem. I'm sure Cuper is well experienced in dealing with young players.
     
  5. sidefootsitter

    sidefootsitter Member+

    Oct 14, 2004
    Off these highlights, Adu looked awful and Johnson way too tentative.

    It has nothing to do with fitness and all with decision making.
     
  6. Kalamaria

    Kalamaria New Member

    Jan 1, 2010
    Thessaloniki
    Club:
    Aris Saloniki
    Nat'l Team:
    Greece
    Good morning guys.

    Here's my thoughts about the game.

    First of all, Adu didn't have a good game. He was ok defensively, but couldn't help our attack. That was his worst game so far. It's ok, he's allowed to have a bad game, I'm sure he'll be better next time. About his sub, I think that Cuper was desperate to put Meriem in the game, and since Meriem can play every position in the midfield he took out the worst player from the midfield. Although, I know you guys will say that we didn't play enough from the left. That's true, but in the few times we did that, Adu didn't really do any damage to AEK's defence.

    Now about EJ. He had a better game than Adu. He held the ball well, dribbled well, drawn many fouls, but nothing special. You see, if I had to compare EJ with Campora, for me Campora would win. And that's because EJ lacks one thing. He's not dangerous, not dangerous enough at least. He's tall, strong, fast, dribbles well, but he can't finish, and he's rarely in a position to finish. He was our main striker in this game and his highlight was an assist (a nice one I must admit, the whole movement was nice). But I'm sure that he'll learn that (being dangerous) in the next months. Or I hope so at least.

    Larisa is coming to Kleanthis Vikelidis this week, anything less than 3 points is unacceptable. Hope your yanks do well in that game.
     
  7. Rainer24

    Rainer24 Member

    Jan 6, 2008
    Nashville, TN
    Club:
    VfB Stuttgart
    Nat'l Team:
    United States

    Johnson's finishing is streaky, or at least has been in the past. He won't put away any of his chances for a while, and then he'll have a few games where he puts away everything and scores several goals over a short span of time. At least that was the case before he left MLS.

    Adu looked terrible in that video. The only positive thing he did was track back to clear out a dangerous cross into the Aris penalty area, and even that move started for AEK because of Adu's bad free kick.

    Hope they both have better games for you guys in the next one.
     
  8. smokarz

    smokarz Member+

    Aug 9, 2006
    Hartford, CT
    great job Nick! thanks
     
  9. Bolivianfuego

    Bolivianfuego Your favorite Bolivian

    Apr 12, 2004
    Fairfax, Va
    Club:
    Bolivar La Paz
    Nat'l Team:
    Bolivia
    Yes! I agree, he really does lack that 'killer instinct' that every great goal scorer has. I hope he finds it, because his importance is purely goals, which freddy already has more then him.

    He needs to find more runs and work better with the midfield.

    He seems to be going back too much trying to recieve balls himself, he just needs to stay with the last defenders and wait for through balls, or air through balls, or good plays with teh midfield.
     
  10. dark knight

    dark knight Super Moderator
    Staff Member

    Dec 15, 1999
    Club:
    Leicester City FC
    This is a good summary of his contributions that I saw - he's really improved his work rate - and he did well to maintain possession for his team and make simple passes, mostly of the backwards variety. He ran all over the place.

    The problem is that he's missing that extra dimension where he'll sometimes try to attack - if you simply back pass every time, you're not going to do much to unsettle the defense. He also seems out of position a fair amount of the time.
     
  11. gmonn

    gmonn Member+

    Dec 8, 2005
    Hey, glad that you're even closer to it all than the Aris supporters. Awesome.
    Because from the outside, I'd say it's even possible Cuper asked Freddy if he was ready to go for another half, and Freddy replied negatory. Especially with the hour ice bath comment after he only played 45.

    Eddie is still surprising me with little bits of skill, so I'm always looking forward to his showing more of what he can do.
     
  12. Blustar

    Blustar Member

    May 30, 2006
    Club:
    Miami FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I don't want to scare off my Greek friends from EJ's bandwagon but EJ, in my opinion has all the physical tools but something is missing upstairs. I think his development came to late so he lacks something most footballers take for granted.

    With EJ it's all about confidence, unlike Adu who has confidence in spades but lacks experience and patience. Adu is always looking for the big play and when he doesn't see it, he hesitates or appears not to know what to do. Adu doesn't think safe first, he thinks how am I going to beat this guy or make this pass, but when it's not there he freezes a little. With experience ( I hope) he will recognize these situations earlier and get rid of the ball in a safe and appropriate matter. Adu is just young and full of ambition and wants to attack, attack, attack, etc...In my opinion Adu looks like he's thinking too much, it's not coming natural, probably age/inexperience and a new system and a long layoff but I'm still very hopeful, even if it's not in time for this WC , Aris will make Adu a better player and I'm very confident about that.:)

    EJ on the other hand is the complete opposite, always looking to retain possession and drop off the ball and only attacks when he feels he has no other possibility. It's really maddening at times and very frustrating, but I hope EJ learns to go for the throat and throw caution to the wind. He has all the physical tools and is really just a good psychiatrist away from a golden career.:)
     
  13. jclampit

    jclampit Member

    Apr 12, 2002
    What's worried me since Meriem signed is the overwhelming norm for managers to play steady veterans who are on the same page as them over talented youngsters. And all it takes is one bad showing for many coaches to brand you as a risk.

    It's early still, and we may tend to dramatize both good and bad showings from Freddy. Who the heck knows what Cuper thinks. There's a pretty darn good chance that it really was simply fitness related, and we're all (well, some of us, anyway) freaking out over nothing.

    W/ Freddy's recent track record regarding playing time, though, it's only natural to be a little gun-shy about believing he's finally got a spot locked down for good.

    Ironically, for all the talk in the past about Freddy's defense, I think he's been doing ok here for a while now. In his last game at Belem he looked bigger, faster, stronger, and better defensively than I ever remembered up to that point. On offense, though, he seemed to have a little trouble. And he especially seemed to have trouble playing on the left. Yes, he's schooled defenders before going to his right, e.g. beating those three Juventus players. But when I think of his "magic play / unsuccessful play" ratio, off the top of my head, it does seem to be slanted.

    I do wonder if he'd be better in the center or on the right. (Though perhaps that's irrelevant, if there's simply no chance to play there. Also, if he is better going to the left - not saying this is for sure - he can go left and then cross the ball instead of trying to beat two or three guys to the inside before scoring a golazo; so maybe he is trying to do too much at times.)

    For me, he's young and he just needs to play in order to improve. He's obviously got magical skills if he can put it all together. And I still think he can, if only given a chance to consistently play. Managers, though, have their own opinions, and more important things to worry about than Freddy's development.
     
  14. smokarz

    smokarz Member+

    Aug 9, 2006
    Hartford, CT
    This is how 99.9% of coaches in the world behave. Everyone loves an experienced, veteran, consistent player (even though he's just an average performer). This is especially true if a club is fighting for points and relegation.

    It's just the norm. When you're a young gun, you just gotta prove your worth.
     
  15. EJfan

    EJfan New Member

    Jun 21, 2008
    EJ is such a stud glad he's back on his A game not that he ever wasn't though. Looks like he's head to South Africa his summer folks!
     

Share This Page