I would never have called up Lenny if I was the Nats coach. You'd be playing a man down due to him getting a red card for his antics. If his typical behavior happens in a WC qualifier in Guatemala and he sees red two minutes into the game. And I enjoyed watching him with the Quakes.
The USA couldn’t score one lousy goal against T&T. I’d always take goal scorer. Arena should have definitely used Wondo more than he did. He couldn’t have done worse than anyone else.
I agree they can serve a purpose. I also think Gordon was a better player than Lenhart and contributed to his teams post 2012 in a way that Lenhart did not. Gordon scored 18 goals in his time in San Jose, doing so in 8 fewer appearances and significantly fewer minutes played. Gordon's per minute contributions make Lenhart look pretty awful in comparison, actually. Gordon was just extremely limited in the minutes you could give him. If Gordon and Lenhart had been equal physically, then it would have been no question that Gordon would start over him.
I think what you are missing here is Lenny's ability to chase down and win long balls. Gordon was simply too slow to do that - the pass had to be right at his feet or forget it, while Lenny was both pretty quick for his size and strong, and chased down long passes and beat defenders time and time again. That was one of the keys to the Quakes dominance in 2012, and that is the reason that Lenny usually started over Gordon. Lenny also had better touch then Gordon did, and that also helped him function as a #9. What is the "physical limitation" relative to Lenny that would prevent Gordon from getting more minutes? He got tired?
Lot of revisionism. Lenhart was one of the greatest players in MLS history. He got into the heads of every team he played and dictated games even without getting on the score sheet. Evaluating him on goals per minute entirely misses the plot. Only legends are immortalized in chia pets. And for a brief shining moment, Lenhart was indeed a legend. Lenhart did not reach his full potential only because his career was cut short by injury. Kind of like Gale Sayers.
For a brief time and during when he was getting into the heads of opponents as well as referees and opposing team coaches , I can’t think of many American born forward across the league who did what Lenny did. Sigi was the coach who drafted him and he was the first one to complain about his antics. I can’t name one true forward in MLS today who had Lenharts work ethic and it was a shame his career ended the way it did.
I think a big reason that Wondo scored 27 goals that year was because defenders were so preoccupied with dealing with Lenny (and Gordon), that Wondo had an easier time losing his markers.
And, many of the last minute heroics of Gordon in the Goonies' years can be attributed to the defenders having to deal with Lenhart for 80 minutes. I loved their partnership and agree it was a shame to see Lenny's career cut short. When the two of them were at the top of their game, it was not only formidable, but a beautiful thing to see.
Age, mostly. There is a five year age difference between the two. Gordon was already 31 in 2012. He also was probably not as fast as Lenhart even at Lenhart's age, so you do get something different if you go with him. Lenhart started over Gordon for legitimate reasons in 2012, no question. Gordon was still the better player.
If Lenny started over Gordon "for legitimate reasons" in 2012 then he was almost by definition, the "better player" that year by the logic that you want to start "the better player". Gordon was always slow, that's why he had the ironic nickname "flash", even early in his career. And though far from everything speed is part of the deal when you evaluate the effectiveness of a player. Gordon was probably the better scorer but Lenny did a lot of things better than Gordon also.
Wait a minute, Gordon’s nickname of “Flash” was a joke? The guy had Mercury-like fleet-of-foot wings tattooed on his — is it his back or his ankles— i can’t recall. I can’t believe someone would do that as a self-deprecating joke that lasts the rest of his life. Maybe he was fast at one point in his career?
Gordo would do it as a self-deprecating joke. He has poked fun about is lack of speed many times. This article references the "flash" thing as a running kind of joke. http://grantland.com/the-triangle/the-designated-player-alan-gordon-really-ties-the-room-together/
Well then the Legend Continues! I heard Wondo say in an interview last year that Gordon and Lennie used to wrestle in the locker room.
Hah I totally believe that. They were like brothers. In fact now that I think about it I wonder how much the trading of Gordon affected Lenny mentally.
That's a very simplistic way to view roster construction. I'm surprised to hear it from you given your tirades about points per minute of other players like Vako.
In regard to Vako I was arguing that just because he's a DP, he doesn't "need" to be a full-time player. Maybe he doesn't start some games, maybe he doesn't normally play a full 90 when he starts, etc. It's fine. But an argument that of two players playing the same position, the one that starts is worse than the one who subs in at 80 minutes, that is much more of a reach. I mean you can't just say that Gordon was the better player, it's just that he was older and slower. I was talking about how good the players were in 2012. You don't get a pass for being older and slower, that all goes into the evaluation for the players at that point in time.
Yamil Asad wanted to stay in Atlanta at end of loan Yamil Asad is back in Argentina with Velez Sarsfield because Atlanta are pursuing Ezequiel Barco for tens of millions. He had 7 goals and 13 assists in 32 games last season in his first year. He's only 23 and wants to be in MLS. Asad's transfer fee would reportedly be a couple million so he would be a DP, but his production is in line with a DP designation.This is exactly the type of DP signing that a team like the Quakes should be pursuing.
Yeferson Quintana jugará un año a préstamo en el equipo de la MLS: San José Earthquakes, #Peñarol lo cede a cambio de una cifra de dinero y la opción es de 1.000.000 USD pic.twitter.com/haqiQbmIoa— Wilson Méndez (@WilsonMendez86) January 8, 2018 Translation: Yeferson Quintana played one year on loan in the MLS team: San José Earthquakes, #Peñarol granted it in Exchange for an amount of money and the option is 1.000.000 USD Hmmm 6ft4 21 year old centerback.
My Spanish is a little rusty but if I'm reading correctly, that is quite a lot of money for an option on a player. At least as far as the Quakes are concerned.... Yeferson Quintana -
Not sure how we’re going to manage all these international players given our current roster situation...