Well this has certainly been true of his past clubs, but in my estimation LV Lights have been a club that treats him like a normal player. He had played in 10 of the Lights 22 matches, just over 500 minutes, on merit and nothing more. By the end of this season he will have played more for LVL than any of his other clubs besides DC United and Salt Lake. And they use him commercially the same or often less than other players. He hasn’t been available to the media, he makes little community service appearances on rotation with the other players. But Chelis and Lashbrook have really nursed him back to normalcy, much the opposite of the stereotypical way he normally is used. I just post it here most every time he appears. They use Alvarez, Huiqui, Ferrino more for publicity.
Freddy played the last 28 minutes in a 3-1 loss to Orange County. He came on when his team was up a man and down a goal. Perfect. Then Orange County scores right after he comes on and the Lights never registered a shot on goal the rest of the way. Rafael Garcia, formerly of LA Galaxy, is the newest Light. So that’s...Omar Salgado, Raul Mendiola, Eric Avila, Carlos Alvarez, Daigo Kobayashi. Matt Thomas doesn’t suck. Sammy Ochoa is still fat, but he’s ex-MLS too. Carter Manley now from Minnesota United is here on loan. All attacking players. I’m afraid Freddy is slowly slipping down the depth chart for a team that achieves below its newly-found talent level due to insane player turnover as an expansion team with zero patience and a coach with weird tactics who screams ALL GAME. Chelis yells a lot Freddy on the left wing under head coach Isidro Sanchez (while Chelis, who is “technical director” was suspended, once for 4 games reduced to 2 for putting hands on a ref, once for 8 games for putting his hands on a fan who called him P*to) fit into a team playing more simply and was put into in a spot to succeed. Sanchez set it up nice and easy. Freddy gets ball on the left, Freddy whips in cross. Effective, confident and visceral. Freddy on Wednesday was a confused metronome in the middle of midfield: hesitant to go forward, unhappy to keep possession, reluctant to move for the ball, unsure when to press. Average touch. It’s a garbled mess, spearheaded by a guy audibly yelling all game in sentences that inevitably end in “¡Cabron!” I spent a half hour trying unsuccessfully to find the announced attendance for the game to illustrate how clearly you could hear Chelis yelling. It couldn’t have been over a thousand. Ugh. Phoenix Saturday. I’ll be there.
And to be clear: the @lvlightsfc announced they were parting ways with Alatorre and Marco Cesar Jaime Jr. today.— Ben Gotz (@BenSGotz) August 18, 2018 Your daily reminder that Freddy’s team literally cuts dudes all the time. Everyone talks about his playing time or production, but if he makes it through a healthy season with 15-17 appearances it will be a serious accomplishment. This whole season has been a try-out for everyone in the franchise.
Freddy was in the 18 but did not play Saturday night against Phoenix. Rising won 2-0 ending the Lights 4-game home winning streak. Las Vegas is now 14th in the 17-Team USL West. Schedule lightens up a little bit 5 of the next 7 at home, all in the state of Nevada.
Freddy was the Lights’ first sub to come on in a 2-2 draw with 10-man Fresno, and played on the left wing as I had hoped for the entirety of his 30 minutes. Unfortunately, he barely got on the ball. I mean I think he touched it 4 times. He had a really nice ball to switch the field to Mendiola, flubbed a corner kick, argued his way into taking a 25-yard free kick which he hit pretty well but off the wall for a corner. Sigh. He tracked back diligently and did his best to defend the lead once they got it. Fresno leveled in the 94th minute, tragically. The Lights looked good though. Diligent MLS watchers should recognize most of these names. They have Avila playing right back now for God’s sake. It’s as good a time to plug the club as any. Each player gives out their shirts after every match, win, lose or draw. PRO TIP: It pays to stay late. Shirts off backs presented by @BostonDentalGrp! pic.twitter.com/M57gPsia2a— Las Vegas Lights FC (@lvlightsfc) August 26, 2018 The atmosphere is always decent. And the front office does an amazing job of promoting the club in every kind of kitschy Vegasy way they can think of. Like, for instance, September 8 against Los Dos when this will happen: Las Vegas Lights FC will let fans fight over $5,000 dropped from a helicopterhttps://t.co/75CR8QbM79— SI Soccer (@si_soccer) August 26, 2018 Mendiola is quality, Salgado is coming along, Rafael Garcia is a proper 6 and makes a huge, huge difference. Huiqui, Alvarez and Kobayashi have a little class about them. Chelis is a weird shit-show, but in Vegas his act plays. Can we get Chelis some indica please? It'll help him calm down. @NuwuCannabis— Las Vegas Locally 🌴 (@LasVegasLocally) May 5, 2018 Freddy is like the 17th most interesting thing about the club at the moment, and certainly not good enough to be in the first 11 consistently.
Freddy made the 18 on Wednesday in Reno, but did not see the field in a 2-1 loss. Nice weekend off for the Lights, back in action next Saturday against Los Dos, when a helicopter will drop $5000 onto 200 select Lights fans.
I can't believe there is a USL team with so many names I recognize... and the team is terrible. Looking forward to the inaugural "Neon Sign Derby" next season vs Memphis...
Les comparto una foto, con mi ídolo de la infancia. 😜 pic.twitter.com/LrZN7ehXVP— Daniel Guzmán Jr. (@danielguzmanJR) September 6, 2018
He's smiling and getting along with a teammate on social media! According to the YA forum that means Adu is much, much better than Bradley, Altidore and company and will lead a new generation to greatness.
Freddy did not start this evening, but at halftime... MAKE. IT. RAIN. #VivaCashDrop pic.twitter.com/iuTZ2hIqIe— Las Vegas Lights FC (@lvlightsfc) September 9, 2018
Dang, at first I thought it was Freddy making the announcement for the drop. I was thinking that a blend of playing and host/promoting (could never remember which was his thing) would be the perfect Freddy job. Needed a couple of babes on the arm.
Freddy did actually get into the match on Saturday in the 76th minute as the last sub. So with 6 minutes of stoppage time he played about 20 minutes in a 2-1 loss to LA Galaxy II. He looked sharp and played well. The Lights were down chasing a goal, all the goals came in the first half early. Efrain Alvarez is such a problem, man. He had a nice little finish for LA II. Freddy came in for Rafael Garcia who is the dedicated 6, and with LA sitting back defending he played as a deep-lying midfielder right in the middle. His touches were clean and was on the ball a lot, switched the field, moved it well, played quick, never lost it. Couple of really nice crosses, struck the ball with good pace and shape. He had a full-on volley off of a clearance from about 24 yards that he hit really clean, it looked goal-bound but hit a defender. I don’t know how realistic it is for him to play in that spot all the time, but I would be interested to see him next to Garcia. Normally that’s the role Kobayashi plays more of the time. Of course it was helicopter night, where $5k was dropped on the field over 200 fans at halftime. Lol, good times. If anyone in Vegas is interested, Freddy will be at the Galleria Mall on Sunday 9/23.
Come on, this has got to be closest to the longest running show on BS. Even the brilliance of Mamma Mia lost a touch of its pizzaz around 5715th curtain....