man, i've said the same about gerso and salloi. there's at least one instance every game where gerso gets tossed off the ball like a ragdoll from a simple shoulder challenge.
Disagree about Gerso. It may have taken him a game or two to get used to what's allowed here, but especially this game he consistently dribbles through traffic and contact. Even the best dribblers get bounced off the ball from time to time, so that's not really a good measurement. Blessing seems to get bounced off the ball any time anyone touches him, so that's what needs improvement. And I think he is working on it, so we should see more of him.
Wow, Blessing is 5'7" 140lbs - one of the few professional athletes who was my size when I was that age (20). Edit: Damn, Gerso is listed at 140lbs too. Respect.
Granted, but when he keeps his feet he ends up in interesting places and looks as if he wants to shake up the game.
and Messi, 5'7, 148. As the saying goes, it isn't the size of the dog in the fight. blessing can be successful without bulking up. It's attitude, but he seems to have that desire, so I remain hopeful. Salloi I am not so sure about.
I think I have been over-critical of Dom's reluctance to use his right foot. My thought was that he could have had many more goals had he just shot with it instead of trying to cross over to his left and losing the ball to a defender. I really didn't grasp the significance of the right footed shot and goal in the RSL game. This article in the Star cleared that up for me. http://www.kansascity.com/sports/mls/sporting-kc/article148072604.html
Yeah. I was not as exact in that as I could have been. I am less hopeful about Salloi. While that may be a whole lot premature, I am not hopeful in what I've seen in those 27 minutes. The timidity is quite possibly simply a kid taking the field with adults and being in awe. But being in awe is not a particularly positive sign for a young attacker, however. It can be overcome, and I've seen it work out with bells on in the past. (convey's first season with Reading it was difficult to see the monster he became in the second, before the WC injury which ruined him before the third). So, maybe Salloi is the deal. But we haven't seen any sign of that with SKC at this point. Blessing, meanwhile, has problems, but gives us great reason to hope. It may well be that Blessing cannot overcome his problems, while Salloi find a grove and wow us. But I'd prefer overconfidence to timidity in a young attacker.
There is a HUGE difference between 5'7" 140 lbs and 5'7" 150 lbs, though. Most soccer players are in the 160-180 range, and your ability to hang with the average player increases tremendously with just that ten pounds of weight. That's also when the frame goes from scrawny to filled out, so there is a big change in body type too. All that to state, I am pretty amazed that Gerso can play like he can at 140 lbs. It's just hard to get that strong and stay that light.