Predicting the future is hard to do. Watching what is happening right now is a little bit easier. After watching a good deal of soccer this past couple of weeks, I am putting a list of players together who have started to play their way into camps in the near future. Again, this list is based on current play, not potential, not what could be in a couple of years, but what these players are doing RIGHT NOW to get on the MNT. Go ahead and add others that I have missed. Cite your disagreements and explain why. Much like my earlier US Player Watch threads, I will try to keep these updated on a regular basis. It keeps me in tune with the MNT, and it is kind of fun. Here we go, I'll start with Goal Keepers for now: Players to watch for 2006: Goalkeepers: Kasey Keller – Tottenham Keeper who has raised his level of play so highly that he is now the starter over popular Neil Sullivan, who himself had earned various Tottenham Player of the Year awards just two years prior. Keller has responded to his starting role with what has been described as an “unworldly” performance against Manchester United in what might rival his show against Brazil in the 97 Gold Cup as the game of his life. Last weekend he suffered a bit as the Spurs were ransacked by Middlesborough, but the 3-0 loss would have and probably should have been worse if not for some more great saves by Keller. After losing his starting spot to Friedel in the 2002 World Cup, reports have it that Kasey is chasing down the starting GK spot for the US in Germany. If this is indicative of Keller’s play over the next 4 years, the spot is his. Brad Friedel – Blackburn Rovers keeper hasn’t exactly backed down from Keller’s challenge. Regarded as one of the best keepers in the Premiership, Friedel notched yet another clean sheet for the Rovers against WBA this past weekend. Although his load was light, the shots that came his way, particularly from WBA striker Jason Roberts, were all turned away from the American Keeper. Some rumors have it that Brad will retire from International Football and focus on club play, but until that happens, I’ll keep Brad, and the American GK controversy, as keeper 1a for the US National Team. Adin Brown – New England Revolution Keeper has been on fire since late August. Although he lost his first game in a while against Chicago in the 2nd leg of the NE-Chic playoff series, Brown has been a huge part in the Revs turnaround. With all the physical tools and great reflexes, Brown could emerge as the #3 keeper for the MNT in the next 4 years. All apologies to Howard and Cannon fans. The US is simply too blessed at GK for everyone to get a shot, and some very good goal keepers who would start for any other team in CONCACAF will never play International Football because of their American citizenship. I’ll continue my list later…
this could be a very interesting list. It's gonna be quite long also. Are you sure you wanna do this?
Hey its better a long list than a short list!!! I glad we're starting to develop some depth. I'm eager to see who and how many players Arena will experiment with when qualifying starts.
As far as National Team play, there is not one thing I am looking forward to more than seeing Taylor Twellman play for the US.
I want to see if Kyle Martino can get in the mix, and be a regular contributor by 2004. So I'll be watching him throughout the rest of the MLS playoffs and next year.
New players to go along with the core of Donovan, Beasley, O'Brien, Mastro, Mathis: Buddle Twellman Howard Martino Suarez Bocanegra Gibbs Vaney Among others
I am in no way an apologist for Adin Brown but for the first time in his pro career, he has been A) healthy, and B) is playing for a decent side right now.. New England on the whole have been a crap team but turned it around at the best possible moment and Brown had a lot to do with that.. Take an honest look at him.. Big - 6'5" Agile Comes off his line well Decent with the ball at his feet Very good outlet Let's not forget his form when playing with the Olympic Team during qualifying.. He was simply brilliant and would have been the starter in Australia if not for an injury.. Brown has been cursed by playing on two of the most dreadful sides in MLS history (Colorado and last seasons 14 point achieving and now defunct Tampa Bay Mutiny) and sitting behind Jurgen Summer for half of this season (the bad half - though he did have a few clunkers but most of that was because of a putrid defense in front of him).. I'm not as willing as Nutmeg to shoot him right to #3 just yet, I'd like to see a little more consistensy from him first.. But, the physical tools are there....
Vanney is too old at this point to be a factor with the National Team.. Players I'd like to put on that list as well are: Convey Quaranta Ed Johnson Chris Gbandi Oguchi Onyewu
I must admit that the player I might be most interested about is Eddie Pope. Will he still have the ability to mark and be the leader in central defense. After all, our defenders were our oldest area and all the "young up and coming" players appear to be offensive in nature (at least the ones that really are getting attention). I wonder if at 32 he would still make it (I think he can as he would be younger than either Sanneh or Agoos and the center doesn't require as much speed, but how much will his history of injuries affect him)
Sure, but I put Adin Brown into the Timmy Howard bucket. Show me you can be one of the most consistant keepers in your league for a year or two, then we'll talk. He doesn't have to be the #1, just up in the top 4-5.
Uuuh, this is an achievement? Look, Keller has long since proven himself a decent goalkeeper and I'm certainly not taking the mick out of him, but your comment rather achieves the opposite to the effect you intended. Talk about damning the guy with faint praise. If being better than Neil Sullivan is the summit of Keller's achievement in recent months (most Spurs fans I know had worked that one out long before Keller displaced him in the team) then he hasn't achieved very much at all. Most bigsoccer posters are probably better goalkeepers than Sullivan.
Re: Re: Players you are watching for 2006 It's too bad BigSoccer crashed, otherwise I would post for you links to about one million posts saying that no way in hell is Keller good enough to displace Sully. I also read with some frequency various Spurs message boards, and most of them (some even this year) did not want to bench Sully even through his struggles. Keller was often considered third choice by many fans.
Well, I think you just did hear my opinion. I think that given time - and he has roughly 4 years of it in front of him - Adin Brown will surpass Howard and any other contender for the 3rd US Keeper spot. I could be wrong. As I said in the initial posts, feel free to cite your disagreements, which you have. Thanks.
Re: Re: Players you are watching for 2006 I believe it is. Keller has established himself as the top keeper when just one year ago he couldn't get off the bench. In the opinion of Hoddle and as DK pointed out, MANY others, Keller was not 1st choice. Those opinions have been changed by Keller's play on the field. To change his coach's mind and emerge as one of the better keepers in a "decent" league IS an achievement. How much of an achievement it is I guess is up for discussion. That it is an achievement at all seems factual. He isn't, IMO, a "decent" keeper. He is a great one.
Re: Re: Re: Players you are watching for 2006 You got that right. When Keller went over, people wrote, "Oh, what a shame he sold out for the money and lifestyle. He'll never beat out Neil Sullivan." In fact, I remember a guy mocking me by saying that Keller couldn't beat out Neil Sullivan to save his life, and Sullivan was a third stringer on Ireland, and goalkeeper was supposed to be the best part of USA's game ... so obviously USA was just an awful squad and would be 32nd in World Cup again. Lots of strong viewpoints on these boards, lots of very short memories.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Players you are watching for 2006 I was very upset about his choice to go to Tottenham. Ultimately, it cost him the World Cup. Of course, I'd much rather live and London and seeing how he's now got the #1 job it probably was a good choice for him personally. But don't think that the people who criticized his choice didn't fully appreciate Keller's greatness.
Re: Re: Players you are watching for 2006 Keller is flat out a great keeper. I'm sure you think we're saying this because he's American, but you'll rarely hear such things about Friedel. We've seen the miracles he's performed for the USA. Mind-boggling stuff.
Richard Mulrooney is my choice. My reasoning is that he's just a hard working type who will go in and get the job done. No attitude, just production. Any team that has Richard Mulrooney on it is doing something right. My opinion.
Keller is an awesome keeper, and I used to be a huge Keller fan all the way up until the WC this year. But now I'm torn between him and Friedel. Brad played so well during the cup that it's his job to lose IMHO.
These palyers I believe could make an impact and be in contention for 2006: Oguchi Onyewu, Carlos Bocanegra, Cory Gibbs,Edson Buddle,Taylor Twellman, and there are many others. But I'm gonna go out on a limb and say I really like McKinnley Tennyson, I think he'll make move permanent move to MLS where he'll really start to blossom. He had a great year winning the A-League scroing title and think he could do the same in MLS in a year or two.
I have liked what I have seen from Kyle Beckerman so far. Not trying to be a homer, but in my opinion he has done well. He hasn't had much playing time, and after the retirement of a few older guys he will get more time and he should shine in 2006. Also have liked Ed Johnson too. Convey seemed to be quiet, but could be due to a lack of following DC United and that the team didn't do well this season. But he does have the right skills for 2006. As for Adin Brown, we thought awhile back he would be superman. I think he may have gotten some good coaching. I haven't seen many Rev's matches either, but if most say he is doing well then great. His problem awhile back, when he was with Colorado, was that he would leave his line at the wrong times. I have thought that Nick Rimando was a better keeper than Adin, but don't care who is in goal as long as the USA wins.
Goalkeeping is not really a big issue for the Nats, we know we stack up better than most with our quality keepers. That's the one major advantage we do have.