and there's that man again. As the pressure rises, so does Eskandarian's game. Right now, I'm wondering if we have a better forward than this kid at this point in time. I certainly can't name one
Re: MLS Cup and the USMNTr] and he does it again!!!! A bit of a hand ball...but what clinical finish from the top of the box. There is absolutly no stopping him. Can we still send him to camp? maybe he leaves directly after MLS Cup?
Re: MLS Cup and the USMNTr] You should feel exhilirated right now, but... there's a little matter of sore hamstrings. Don't worry, Esky will be back in soon enough, just not this Wed.
Re: MLS Cup and the USMNTr] I will not question Eskandarian's hustle, his goalscoring instincts, or his left foot. Every other part of his game, sure, but the the boy does have those 3 things going for him in spades. Overall, I was actually very dissapointed by this game. The KC team that showed up was the one that played SJ in SJ. Just totally overpowered in midfield, and frankly other than Burciaga's strike, awful. Zavagnin had a poor game, and Jewsbury and Stephenson could not keep DC honest on the outside. Defensive intensity was not there, they should have been fouling the crap out of DC.. They had 13 fouls this game, for them to have won that should have been more like double that. Novak had DC playing great soccer at the end of the year, and his name is escaping me but that late season aquisition made it all come together. Deserved champions.
Re: MLS Cup and the USMNTr] Christian Gomez. I think he's a 28 year old Argentinian. Not the most talented guy but he's seasoned and doesn't make too many mistakes and keeps calm.
I think that's my point about convey, does having played regular season matches result in him getting the piece of jewelry... the convey going and the gomez coming totally changed the dynamics of the team, giving them a possession guy to go with moreno, and these two springing eskandarian loose... santino quaranta surely gets a ring....so???
altough this has little to do with the USMNT, I have no problem giving Convey, Cerritos and even Garlon Cannon a ring for their contributions this season.
Convey was a play who voluntarily left the team to further his own personal goals, knowing full well he was an important cog in the team he was leaving behind. What part did he play in this champiosnhip? I mean do you give Nomar Garciaparra a ring for Boston winning the World Series?
What frightened me about this game is that at no point did I think that Josh Wolff was a threat to score a (non-PK) goal. Not once. Yet he is penciled in as a starter on the MNT.
Might have something to do with service, or lack of. With the Nats someone will try to get him the ball.
Usually, it's up to the players to vote on whether he gets a share of the cash. The ring is a decision left up to management, but while, historically, players in Convey's role have a decent shot at a percentage of the champtionship cash, they have very little chance of the ring. IMOhe gets neither, as the players will figure, he's no outearning all but one of them, and management will figure he didn't contribute to the championship game.
Well, he's a lot better -- like most of us -- when he's playing with good players. Matt Taylor is not a good player. At the same time, we must recognize that Josh Wolff is not a difference maker these days. More like, a complementary player, a high-quality role player. It surprised me to no end how many people disagreed with that assessment when I wrote it on the U.S. Boards a few weeks back (in making the argument that Eddie Johnson has moved past Josh Wolff on the U.S. depth chart). It seems pretty obvious to me.
was there a transfer fee for Convey? does he get rewarded with a ring by DC FO or MLS HQ for that monetary contribution in his name? edit to answer my first question: from http://www.readingfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Profiles/0,,10306~30462,00.html it reads, "American international who joined the Royals in July 2004 from DC United for an undisclosed fee widely reported to be in the region of $1.5million."
Tino absolutely deserves a ring. Although he was injured almost the entire regular season he made 2 appearances at the end of the regular season and then 2 more playoff appearances. He came on near the end of DC's win in the Meadowlands and played the 2nd OT against the Revs in the Eastern Conf Finals - and converted a PK. I think Bruce will absolutely give Esky a look in the very near future (wasn't he gonna be called in for the Jamaica camp if DC was eliminated?). Of the other Nat pool players both Wolff and Zavagnin were disappointing. Wolff got virtually no service from his midfield. Zavagnin (and Gutierrez) received very little support from their outside midfielders. Burciaga was the only KC player that really shone, but he's still a ways off from the USMNT A roster.
Towards the end of the first half, I leaned over to the person sitting next to me and asked "Is Josh Wolff playing?" I'd completely forgotten about him. He was a complete non-factor for most of the game.
Without any control of midfield, it's hard for any forward/striker to shine. DC won this game in midfield.
I agree wolff is a good fit for arenas forward who can stretch defenses, and work the transition game.... i'm still trying to figure what sort of role arena would expect of out eskandarian...of the mls forward worthy of a camp appearance, twellman and eskandarian don't fit into the current scheme arena uses... and arena won't change his system all that dramatically... to me esky would be a sub type to bring on when usa is behind, and the other guys prefer to get numbers back...esky working around the edge of the box, where he seems to be able to get his shot off when others can't should be useful... in a more open game, his lack of athleticism poses questions...questions that cannot be answered until he gets a shot.... ideally january camp....a new mls season and a gold cup would be my timeline for him....and then passing all the tests, the 2nd half of the hex should offer opportunities for play, given usa has clinched a berth..
What I don't understand is why people think Eskandarian and Twellman are slow. Are they Eddie Johnson and Landon Donovan fast? No, but they're not slow either. The problem is that for 8 years our main forward pairing has been essentially centered around Brian McBride, and that chapter appears to be coming to an end. Most of our emerging forwards right now our generalists, even Eddie Johnson (Ching and Casey are the exceptions). Yes Eddie could play the target role or the speed role, but I think limiting him to one or the other would limit his effectiveness. If Johnson is the one forward, you're fairly free to go with whatever you want as the other as you can attack in any number of a different ways. Differences between Eskandarian and Twellman: Eskandarian advantages: Probably a step quicker Younger and has more development time Cannon left foot with better finishing accuracy too A little less selfish (I'm not sure whether this is good or bad though) Free kicks Twellman advantages: Great leaper, a little taller and overall much better in the air Can score with either foot A little better positionally Not quite as temperamental but has his moments At the moment is probably a slightly better passer (though a less frequent one) Slightly more crafty (Twellman's the only one I saw make Chad Marshall look bad all year) Even: Both work their asses off. Neither are great on the dribble but can occassionally beat people with it. Both combine with others fairly well, but could do better. Both are very good on the turn but could be better. I like Twellman a little better right now because I think his advantages in the air might turn out to be very useful. I'd prefer both to Casey, Wolff and Ching at the moment.
I think the key element is the adaptability of arena.... given the presence of donovan and beasley on the pitch, and eddie johnson is one forward....I think eskandarian can be very complementary to these players... but once the target guy, whether it's casey/ching/mcbride are out there, if we throw twellman or esky out there, is there enough FIELD stretching capability.... being able to attack SPACE is very key to how arena succeeds....and some forward with that capabiliy needs to be out there.... if johnson or wolff are out there, then I think esky and twellman offers a certain set of skills to be successful.... but with the target guy approach, I personally don't like the absence of the get behind and stretc a defense...
I thought Conrad had a good game, though three goals against doesn't speak well of any defensive player. Although with the lack of possesion that KC had in the midfield and the way Bo was shaken by the crowd, losing 3-2 could be considered a small victory for the defense (I don't consider it one, but someone could). IIRC, Conrad didn't get beat for the goals, and he made the play(s) that got them the PK and Dema ouster. If the Nats lineup in Soccer America is anywhere near true (Califf, Suarez.....shudder), I'll be wishing Conrad was there Wednesday myself.
Conrad was the one who played the ball that Eskandarian deflected with his arm before he scored. Yes it was a handball, but Conrad is somewhat to blame for trying to play that ball in a dangerous situation. I agree though with your general point.