To be fair (and a bit less sarcastic), the pass itself, while well-weighted, wasn't much of anything; what I liked as an observer was that he played the ball short while the LB went on the run, and immediately demanded it back, quickly, to play the pass over the top. Derby generally didn't do anything quickly (except clear the ball), and Feilhaber looked slightly hesitant coming in, so I was glad to see this play as a sign that his confidence is high and he feels he can make plays at this level. I'm sure it will take a hit when he does have the odd bad giveaway, but it's good to see that sort of self-confidence nonetheless.
That's cheap a comment. I didn't see all the game but have just watched the highlights on the dcfc official site - we had a good bit of pace breaking forward. Nice 'bit of play' (shown on the highlights) but nothing too exciting - good start though Benny.
http://www.yanks-abroad.com/get.php?mode=content&id=3411 Benny Feilhaber, who finally made his debut for the Derby County Monday night, was happy with the ten* minute stint and is looking forward to a more distinct role with the team. "[Head coach Billy Davies] told me I needed to mark their defensive mid," Feilhaber told YA. "So I was doing my best to bother him." "Offensively I just tried to do what I do best, holding the ball for my team and creating chances off the break. I felt good and I think I made a good first impression." After spending the majority of his professional career with the third flight Hamburg Regionalliga team, Feilhaber's notices the stark differences in the game. "The style of play in England is much different than that of Germany," the Gold Cup hero said. "It's much more high speed and intense." "It focuses more on shots and goals as it is a much more direct style of soccer." .... {More BF quotes follow.} ********** * 14-15 minutes if you count stoppage time, but who's counting?
Thanks, I'll take a look when I have a 'free' moment. Player ratings on the Rams' board, with some very favorable comments on Feilhaber's brief debut. http://forums.therams.co.uk/showfla...90&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1&vc=1 {The overall ratings seem a bit high, but there's nothing wrong with fans doing a bit of boosting - its their board.}
ok. that was a fantastic sequence and BF's last pass was class. too bad the player on the receiving end couldn't finish. now, i wonder what the fans will say when BH does his disappearing trick every other game.
It was. While not too flashy, it's a very dangerous (in the good way) move, and the type of thing that is a usual contribution from Feilhaber. It was a good example of how you can quickly move from your third to the final third with smart passing. If used properly, he'll create good chances pretty consistently by springing frontrunners. Thanks for the clip. Repped.
Ah, the go-to criticism for US fans. I'd say it puts him in pretty good company considering how often Beasley, Donovan, and Dempsey "disappear" now and how often Reyna did when he was still around.
Don't you just love how scrubs get all up in arms and ornery to make some rep? How C U T E!!! For the record, I've always been a Reyna defender on these boards and I see a certain parallelism that may rear its ugly head in the near future around BF and Derby. In other words, your sarcasm detector needs some tweaking.
I really love how Benny finds space on the field that occurs to the rest of us (including his fellow players)...oh....about 3 seconds later. That lil' dink thing to space which just totally opens up the play (often Benny is going backwards, but he finds so much space that he can fully rotate on ball, look up field, and play it.......so even a better option than being further upfield but being pressured. A really sophisticated skill). Its a unique gift. I've seen him pull that Houdini thing several times, and he looks like freakin' Beckenbauer when he does it as well. The ball forward was nice and the guy coulda had a high % shot on goal w/better execution. The backheel thing- fine as long as you execute. The first time you blow it, the coach will have you running laps down to Brighton and back.. Here's hoping for more. He could become a cult-ish figure there if things work out...simply 'cause he is soooo different in how he plays (style) Gotta tell ya', I think Feilhaber can be successful in England for one big reason: English players 'bite'. They bite all the time. They go balls to the wall for it, and one of Benny's strengths is sticking some of the ball out there, and then flicking w/outside of right boot, etc. Benny is not a speedster, but he is good at taking advantage of players overdoing it and telegraphing their intentions. I think you are going to see a lot of 'whoops there goes the defender' with Benny this year. Hopefully, he doesn't get too too cute with it, and get burned bad. Certainly fun to watch
What a piece of crap that forum is. They allow everyone to have huge avatars, pictures in their signatures and they wonder why it's down 50% of the time.
uh, have you been to the BigSoccer forums?? What with that stupid red background on top, and that world of soccer bar on the side, the pages take......F...O....R.....E....V...E...R.... to load. Not to mention, while a page is loading, it freezes up the whole computer. It doesn't matter if I'm using my Athlon 64 on a T3 line, or a computer in the University computer lab.....this site is slower than ESPN.com. That's truly saying something. Not only that, the fact that while loading a page, it basically stops your whole web browser is so annoying (unable to use other windows/tabs). Seriously, BigSoccer was 100% better before this redesign. So please, don't rag on other website forums that actually run very smoothly comparatively. Ya, forums.therams might go down occasionally, but when its up, it actually works quite well.
Let's get back on topic, shall we? .... "I feel like I've already gotten used to it {i.e. EPL style of play} somewhat but with more time, it'll get better," Feilhaber allowed. "I've still not been able to find a permanent place to live and a car to drive, which makes it a bit tougher on me. But on the soccer field everything has gone well." .... ********** Calling all Rams' fans. This transfer took place over a month ago, and Feilhaber still needs a decent place to crash and a reliable set of wheels. He needs help, pronto! Get moving, Van!
I thought Mom missed the Brazil game 'cause she was over there apartment shopping. How hard can it be? Fridge big enough for a couple of sixes, wall big enough for your very own wallbanger. Enough floor space for a 52 inch screen. What more does a 20something footie player need?