Well there were a lot of teams interested in him when he was looking for a loan, he just chose the one who's coach wasn't interested. Or chose the one whose owner said, oh we'll give you your own space on the webpage, marketing, American market etc.
Blame has to start somewhere. On both occasions things could have been prevented with a bit more patience. Adu's clearance was panicked at best (seeing as he was 30 yards from goal and his clearance went out for a corner) and his being dispossesed force fed the counter for the winning goal. Look, I'm apt to defend Adu just like any other good intentioned US soccer fan. But those plays were bad and he needs to be held accountable for them. Had those same exact plays happened against a team in WC qualifying and we lost that game and got eliminated from the World Cup, would you still feel that Adu wasn't to blame? Adu by himself doesn't deserve full blame for the loss, but he certainly didn't help the cause either.
Just so I'm clear, how far back does blame go on a goal? Mid field, a missed shot on the opponents goal, a turnover 85m away? Using a turnover 85m away is silly at best, how many possessions in a game? How many shots on goal? Every possession that didn't score had the "potential" to turn into a goal the other direction. This 7 degrees from from Bacon accountability is laughable and no one who is a serious observer of the game considerer turnovers 85m from goal a fault for a goal going the other direction. Please, please defend this stance.....it will make for good entertainment.
Uh, yes? A) Corners happen off of clearances all the time. Give the kid credit for putting in an effort on defense. He's an attacking player. I'd imagine the team was better off with him clearing than not clearing. That's just poor luck B) Attacking players get dispossessed in the attacking 3rd. If he stays patient, he'd get accused of being a wuss. Freddy is an attacking player, and when you're tied late in the game, you take chances. That's what you pay him to do.
Somewhere back in the thread, someone says that the coach doesn't change his team very much. And so Freddy doesn't play very much. Well guess what happens then? When the team has a bunch of injuries, and they need Freddy to play, he comes into the team and they act like they've never seen him before (because they haven't). Freddy dumps the the ball out of bounds, which at the time looked like a good move, because he doesn't know his teammates enough to do anything else. Not his fault that Monaco can't defend a corner though. And of course, when it would be nice to score a goal, the other offensive players don't have a single thought of using Freddy AT ALL. Maybe if he played a little more, they'd get in the habit. But the coach liked the team he had before, and maybe they'll be ok again when they get back from injury....
If anyone said that, they were mistaken. The manager has started 26 different players in league play - most everyone on the team but Adu.
I may be wrong but, as I remember it, Freddy cleared the ball because it looked like an onrushing player was about to run onto the ball and shoot on goal. Freddy claimed the ball deflected out off the attacking player - it went over the goal line near the corner flag so my guess was Adu was trying to clear it out for a throw.
Exactly. I don't think it's shocking that Adu would come in and look a little rusty/out of place after barely getting any game time for the past couple months or so. He needs to find a way to get regular minutes, as simple as that. If that means a move back to MLS, then so be it. Maybe it's time Freddy starts looking to someone like Dempsey as an example of how to be become a solid squad member for a decent side.
Yup, he's going to be "the greatest player in the world" by making those kinda SUPER SMART decisions. What a shame. That kid is hopeless. He needs to spend a few seasons in the 3rd/4th divisions to check back with reality.
and of course he is a horrible player because he cleared a ball for a corner that eventually led to a goal, and he gave the ball away near the opponents 18 yard box. Holy shi* some people are way too pessimistic. It is an Adu thread, I guess I was expecting this. Monaco was folding before Adu came in. They had just given up two goals, and Bordeux had the momentum. Maybe the blame should be placed on a team who can't hold a 3-0 lead, or a coach who hasn't integrated enough players into his system ( including Adu ) , or we can place the blame on a player who gave up a corner and lost the ball while trying to attack and make an impression.
http://www.lequipe.fr/Football/FootballFicheMatch17898_127881.html Freddy wasn't rated. The two strikers got "7" each. It seemed to me that Ricardo put him in there to keep the possession in order to prevent Bordeaux from attacking with every man. With Pino's return and Park's short term-injury, the forward rotation is surely beyond Freddy now. With Ricardo's Empty Bucket, he may get a chance to play on the wing occasionally but there's plenty of competition there when the team is healthy and eligible. smokarz may have been over the top earlier but I generally agree. Freddy has to get somewhere he can get PT and it won't be with Monaco. Moreover, that $8M buy-option is a forlorn hope. His agent has to work to get his client into the best situation for him. Regardless of the loan's stated terms, if both sides wish to rescind it entirely, he can begin anew in a different league with a different team and a different coach.
"That Kid Is Hopeless" You genreally agree with that? I don't disagree that his future opportunity at Monaco is limited at best but the idea that he was some how "responsible" for a goal resulting from a lost ball 18 from his opponents goal or because he cleared a ball out of bounds and thereby "worthless" is a complete load of bs. (even generally) Now that aside the two replacement forwards put up 3 goals which clearly makes him the number 5 attacking option at best. Time to go someplace, anyplace and find some playing time. That's where I "generally" agree. **bold added by me
I'm going to bookmark this thread for my all-time favorite in terms of hyperventillating overreaction and hyperbole.
And to think, he's all of, what? 19? Plenty more chances for "hyperventilation, overreaction & hyperbole." In all seriousness, it would be nice for him to find a place where he can actually play. Sitting around, not playing and losing his confidence isn't helping anybody (I imagine he might be at a new low after today in terms of confidence). If the French League is too good for him, or this coach doesn't like him, you'd think all concerned parties would figure out a way where he wasn't just rotting on the bench.
Jesus Christ, folks are ridiculous on here. Unbelievable. If his tuckus belongs on the bench for 15 minutes of lackluster play, what about the rest of Monaco who have straight up SUCKED all season long? What about the pitiful defense who can't defend a corner? If Adu must pay a heavy price for a clearance and getting knocked off the ball once 90 yards from Monaco's net, what price should the rest of the squad pay? By your reasoning, Freddy should have gotten a start a long, long time ago since the rest of Monaco has sucked so bad (without Freddy, mind you) all season. Huh. Sweet Baby Jesus, folks on here just have it out for the kid. He simply can't win with some people.
Anyone have highlights of the clearance leading to the corner and the dispossession leading to the counter which led to the goal? Without seeing it there's no way to judge for most of us whether it was a "poor" clearance that should have been better dealt with, and/or an ill-timed turnover leading to a counter the other way when a bit of possession may have been the smarter play.
Who would those concerned parties be? Seems like it's only Freddy and his buddy out there. It doesn't seem like Benfica has enough money invested in Freddy to take the slightest interest in how he's doing -- and since they're probably on their 8th coach or so by now, there's not any personal interest in Freddy either. Monaco doesn't seem to know or care about him either*, so long as the blog entries arrive regularly. There's no sign that Monaco even tries to put Freddy in positions that he'd do well at. Today, I'm not sure what he was supposed to be playing. The announcer said after 5-10 minutes that it was Freddy's 1st touch on the ball and how he'd have to do better than that to make an impact. * The buddy who is now playing for the Monaco reserves is a odd thing -- something out of sort that shows that there's a least some effort to give Freddy some stability.
I'm a relative soccer newbie, and this thread is a great example of what I've found of soccer fans in relation to other sports (and something typical of British and Euro journalism as well). Reaction to players is all or nothing...either someone is the greatest or they're shit. Ironic with soccer, with such little tangible results available to be earned during the game (goals, assists, etc.), that there seems to be no middle room to appropriately describe a performance or one's role in a game. And basically, people believe what they want to believe. Example: Fred comes in, tracks back on defense, sees the loose ball and an oncoming Bordeaux players comign hard for it, and gets there first and boots it out. One person could see that as a heady play, allowing for a reset on defense and stopping what was probably going to be a dangerous play in a close game. Another could say that he lacked composure, and should have had the skill to collect the ball and get around the oncoming player, or that by giving the corner, he was putting ASM in a more dangerous situation than previously existed. Both are right, really. There's no way to know. It's not like American football, where a receiver runs his route a yard before the first down marker and it's evident to everyone that he screwed up by doing so. These ambiguous plays happen in other sports too, but most often in soccer IMO. So if you come in thinkign Freddy is shit, and he's the last ASM player to touch the ball before two goals are scored against them, then you're probably going to blame him for the goals. It is what it is. I'm generalizing, obviously, but that's what I see a lot on these boards. As for his career...there are too many examples to mention of young wunderkinds who putter around at different clubs before they find the right situation to make an impact and grow into their natural talent. And Freddy presents the problem of beign a bit of a tweener...is he a withdrawn forward? Or a CAM or a winger? Well, depends on the situation and style. It's not like Jozy...he has one position, and Fred's versatility is a blessing and a curse, because there isn't a definitive place for him to fit in. He needs to get out of Monaco, I think that's a given. Benfica was a great situation for him...hell, he was playign just as much as Jozy is for Villarreal until Coach Pornstasche came in and forgot he existed in the second half. Otherwise it was a great situation...but it's not now, with the addition of Suazo and the lack of a reserve team, so no need to go back. Hopefully his agent can get him somewhere...by God, you can't tell me there isn't a lower table La Liga squad that couldn't use a scoring touch this time of year??? And if he's not good enough for the big time, find a team with a reserve. Fred just needs to be playing. Thing is, we're not all wrong. He is the kid that's dominated multiple U20 world cups, he is the kid who has shown lots of brightness on the USMNT against the world's best, and he is the kid that basically saved Benfica's ass multiple times last year, without the benefit of much playing time with his teammates. He's not trash that has fooled our own eyes for 7 or 8 years now, that the great Eurosnob managers and fans have some great intuition that trumps what we've seen. He's just a young player in a bad situation and he will require some patience and some luck. Thus is life for an American footballer.
Two quick points.. 1st. Terp, great post, really good. 2nd. Down 3-0 Bordeaux did bring on (2) attackers instead of a defender, what a progressive idea!
Honestly though, wasn't Freddy starring in a U20 WC at the age of 14? So saying that 6 years later, he's in almost the exact same position isn't really saying much, is it? I thought he'd be playing against Italy & Spain, prepping for the WC this summer.... this year maybe he really should take the summer off because it seems like he's done enough youth cups for one lifetime. I watched the last 15 minutes of the Monaco game again 'cause someone asked if the clearance that led to the corner than led to the goal was a good play. It didn't look like a particularly good play. One reason was that Freddy kicked the ball about 500 mph on that clearance -- really did look panicky. Probably that comes down to lack of playing time. David Bellion was playing for Bordeaux today. I think that was the player that played a little bit for Manchester United a few years ago? He was fast, but not particularly skilled iirc and didn't work out. Freddy may be skilled compared to the other players, but he doesn't run so he's not fast at all. My impression -- On the 85 yard run for the winning goal, Freddy is dispossessed and then tries to get the ball back. The ref indicates advantage, which means (I think) that Freddy mistimed his tackle and then gets knocked down for his troubles. Hard to be less effective than that -- though the Bordeaux player then went through the rest of the Monaco team on his way to score so you can't blame Freddy for that goal. The announcers thought that Bordeaux was playing horribly the 1st half and playing way below their capacity. If they'd played both halves like they did the 2nd, they'd have won 10-0.
I'm not even arguing Adu played well. just how stupid it would be to blame a change of possession 85 yards away for the subsequent goal. I doubt you will see that in any game summaries.