SJEQ: What’s the biggest thing that you’ve learned from your time with New Zealand this time around? KC: “It’s more or less than the same concepts this time around compared to last time. In both of my call-ups so far, it’s been huge for my development as a player on and off the field. ...making up, perhaps, for the lack of "huge" help with his development while with the Quakes?
Looks like he finished the game on the field so not serious. If he can help keep the USMNT to a single goal, he can handle an outside back job for the Quakes. For the future's sake, more Colvey and less Francis/Stewart may be warranted.
I mentioned Kip to Dave today, among the young players that so rarely appear. Apparently they need more seasoning before they can be thrown to the wolves?
Because that's the approach taken by other teams all over the world, not to mention FC Dallas... well he got to play against some of the very best MLS players as well as a bunch of European and Liga MXers all in one game so at least New Zealand seasoned him a little for us. I don't know if I said as much already in this thread or a post-game thread, but it's not like he's a superstar. He made mistakes in the Quakes games he played in so far. But he also played well enough overall to show promise and he's young. I don't see improvement without more intense playing opportunities, though.
Kip played ok, but, nothing eye-catching. I am a little worried about his space, I am not sure he could beat Jordan Stewart in a foot race. He did not get down the wing as much as I would have expected for someone playing outside left in what was described as a 3-5-2 or 5-3-2.
Well he was going up against a pretty good usa right side in gooch who plays for Sunderland and yedlin who plays for Newcastle.
I would not expect him to be overlapping all that much, playing a better side and all that and likely thinking more defensively. As for his pace, it's been so long that I've seen him play, but I remember thinking that it was pretty good. He is fast enough to beat a guy to the end line and put in a cross. I would say he is definitely faster than Stewart. Francis, I don't know. In my mind's eye I can't picture Francis sprinting for some reason. I know he does, but it is just not something that has caught my eye. That probably means that his speed is neither noticeably fast or noticeably slow.
Earlier in the season I had been advocating that playing Francis was a better option than playing Colvey as Francis' positioning was generally better and he made fewer mistakes. Then Kinnear decided to play Stewart who looked like he was constantly laboring and made a number of positioning mistakes. He had some good games in there, too, but I didn't understand the switch. Then Francis came back in and struggled a bit, possibly just from sitting out so long, and didn't really impress (not to say he was perfect as he definitely wasn't, just that I thought he was the best option of the three). Now, with the season where it is, I'd have no problem with Colvey playing. As a rookie, I wasn't so worried about his getting playing time right now as others were, but when you can't make the playoffs, and the contract situations of the other two outside backs is unclear, playing the guy who will still be under contract for sure next year is a logical move if for no other reason than to get him acclimated. But the defensive positions are all up in the air after this year, I think. There are a lot of questions to be answered, so whether Colvey becomes a more regular player next year is still a big question for me. With some late games under his belt and an offseason to work with the team and become that much more familiar, I wouldn't be surprised to see him starting, but I also wouldn't be surprised to see more defenders signed as others are not re-signed.
To me it's not so much that I think Colvey is a world beater, but to me he is superior to either Stewart or Francis offensively. So if you're having trouble scoring goals, it seems to me that having better overlapping attacking width from your fullbacks can help unlock your offense. Worked in 2012 anyway although there is more than just that that worked in 2012.
i'm hoping, with Kaval giving Dom the vote of confidence, Dom is willing to play Colvey in preparation and trial for the future.
So Colvey goes 20 minutes against Mexico, no goals scored when he's in. 90 minutes played against the USA, only one goal scored on the opposite flank. The narrative that Kip is a defensive liability it proven false (just like it has been with Thompson).
He's an offensive threat because he happened to get an assist in one game and now he's a defensive stalwart because he wasn't scored on in a little more than a game. IMO he hasn't had the playing time to fully evaluate his ability.
Well here's the thing. He made the NZ national team last year, played a fair amount and the team gave up very few goals. With their team he has had playing time to evaluate his defensive prowess and he hasn't been the weak link. Would you expect that Stewart or Francis would play for NZ? Because Kinnear has obviously rated them higher than Colvey.
Prior to the Mexico, US games, NZ has played these powerhouses the past year. Myanmar- 153 on the FIFA Rankings Oman-110 (who beat NZ) Fiji-179 Vanuatu-173 Solomon Islands-186 New Caledonia-162t Papau New Guinea-162t If Gilligan had been shipwrecked on one of these places he probably could have made one of these teams. Definitely would make the team.
No the idea that he is helpful on offense comes from, I don't know, watching the guy play? Good example is the Portland game in Portland that Colvey started. Now I know everyone is going to dial up that play in the box where he lost the tackle and led to the Portland goal. But the 1st half of that game was the Quakes best half all year in terms of offense. They were all over Portland's goal. Just unlucky not to score a couple. The idea that he is OK on defense comes from, I don't know, watching him play? Yes, he's had a few misplays (and of course we know that Francis and Stewart never have misplays), but OTOH I have seen him make several good plays on defense, and teams really came after him.
Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, A tale of one fateful Kip, That started from the Super Draft -- A lucky small club pick. The coach was a mighty long ball man, The GM daft, for sure. The Quakes blindly picked that day, With hope they could endure, a prayer they might endure. The season started getting rough, The tiny club was bossed, If not for the antics of the peerless Q, Our heroes would be lost, our heroes would be lost. Young Kip debuted on Avaya’s pitch with style, With Innocent, Tommy Thompson, too, A supporters group filled with strife, The continent’s longest bar, Pillow Feet and Panamanians, In a place called Low-been-ya. A mythical place called LOBINA.