In case anyone cares, this was a printed quote from Brek today: "Yeah, I think if I wasn't injured I might have been there," Shea said of the recent World Cup qualifiers. "Watching all these games and not being there, whether you're not called or injured, it's motivation to be called back." My guess is this forced rest due to turf toe is just what he needed, he'll come back and start to look like his old self come July and will be back with the NT in Aug. If he's motivated and ready to kick some ass that's good as well.
yeah hope so, turf toes been the downfall of form for multiple players in our pool over the years, its a pretty big deal and would explain his dip as well.
He's playing in reserve team games. He's also in the current U-20 pool for 2013 but hasn't been yet called into a camp
Chris Rolfe looked fantastic in ~25 minutes of action for the Fire on Sunday.....granted is was against the NYRB and their suspect defense, and NYRB were pushing up looking for an equalizer, but still...very dangerous runs, a couple dangerous shots and bagged a tap-in goal. Not bad at all for someone who hasn't been playing very much.
from philadelphia, i really liked adu and williams and mc inerney- usmnt stuff, no doubt, but philadelphia and dc united ,well, it seemed to me both teams lack tactical disposition- a liot in houston, cameron, bruin and davis were excellent- and , unlike the game in philadelphia, both teams were very well organized- very well indeed. in kc i liked myers a lot- they destoyed toronto, and skc showed an excellent organization. i just saw those 3 games, and i am not very well aware of the strenghts of all mls teams but , from portugal , it is impossible to see more games, but i really think that there are very good players around, the tactics improved and , at least in davis, bruin, mc inerney, myers exist players of great caliber to represent - and improve-our usmnt
Okugo impressed from the centerback position. Nice range, good in the tackle and possessing the ball, and excellent passing. Williams was impressive from the right back position. Adu should have at least 2 assists.
sounds like Union fans really vent their season of sucktitude on freddy. Hes been better than the hell hes received on their boards id say. they would REALLY be lousy without him.
I imagine they play on artificial turf at FCD? If so, not a good thing for turf toe. You can sometimes play with turf toe, but it won't heal and you won't be able to play near 100%.
I don't know that they'd be any worse because nobody ever finishes the chances he creates. colorful way of agreeing, in case you missed it
And they got forwards; pajoy, jack Mack, peralza, and hoffman are all reasonable forwards I hAve no idea how they cannot produce goals. Didn't jack score goals in the bunches at youth levels?
Freddy has always been divisive though, right? I'm a Union fan and would characterize myself as basically pro-Adu but he's been inconsistent with Philadelphia. The fact that he still gets pushed off the ball pretty easily (and MLS officiating certainly doesn't help him much in that regard) is a very visible and frustrating part of the Freddy package. Remember that his best performance in a Union shirt by far was also a game in which he was red carded (unfairly in my opinion) and Philadelphia went on to lose to the Red Bulls. The crappy state of the team certainly hasn't helped Freddy but he's also the highest paid player by a good margin...Adu makes twice as much as anyone on the team. Given this, the Union need him to play like an MVP candidate (or at the very least an all-star). Let's be honest, he hasn't done that yet (19 games, 3 goals, 2 assists). We all suspect he's capable of it though. If the Union get things turned around, Freddy will likely play a big role in it...
Let's be honest, if his teammates could finish his stats would be much much better. He's a good assist man with nobody around him to score goals. In that same Red Bulls game he woulda/coulda/shoulda had something like 4 assists, and that was just one half. It's way too critical to blame him for that stuff.
Of the two clear cut chances Philly had in the first half of their last game that Adu created at least one of them should have been finished. All that was required of was either a simple cross or a well placed shot on goal with time and space. Really, Adu has had some games where he has looked unfocused but he has never been the reason for the Unions horrid form.
Do you really think Adu's performance with Philadelphia has been worthy of Best XI or all-star recognition? I'm not sure someone without a serious pro-Freddy bias could make that argument. Obviously I'd love to see Freddy dominate MLS for the rest of the year. It would help the Union and be good for the USMNT. There are signs he's adjusting to the league again but he's been inconsistent, however many phantom assists you'd like to credit him with. Is it really hard to understand why Adu, as the highest paid player on the team, has gotten some of the blame for the Union's poor record? Large, DP-type contracts generally come with great expectations. By the way, Union midfielder Roger Torres has the same number of assists as Freddy does this year despite playing 548 less minutes (Torres also had a better assist rate last year). In other words, I'm not sure it's all about Adu's teammates but maybe I'm being "way too critical."
I already tried to explain how the stat "assists" includes a 2nd man competent enough to score...so now I'm going to try a show and tell: Starting at 1:16 and 3:16 Freddy creates two excellent chances. No matter how much money you pay him, he can't finish the chances for his teammates. So, yes you're being way too critical. Your team is terrible and it's not Freddy's fault. I didn't call him an All-Star. And I didn't say it was hard to understand why the highest paid player would have great expectations. Nice try though.
I saw the DC United game, just like I see every Union game. Adu played well in the loss. Of course no team converts 100% of the chances it creates, particularly in MLS. I'd be happy to post a video that includes the games where Freddy didn't create very much. However, falling over and not getting a call doesn't make the highlight videos (unless you want to count his second yellow card against NYRB). If you think you can repeat that exercise with the majority of games Freddy's played for the Union, you're mistaken. That is why I specifically mentioned that he needed to improve his consistency. It's something you generally can't find in a highlight video. I notice that you didn't respond to the fact that Torres has the same number of assists as Adu this year and a better assist rate last year...with the exact same teammates. The Castrol Index has Adu as the 233rd best player in MLS this year (10th on his own team). If he's not playing at an all-star level - and he would be a pretty shocking pick based on current performance as you admit - he's underperforming given his contract. That's all I'm really saying. I never said it was Freddy's fault that the Union are terrible, probably because I don't think it's remotely true. Nice try though. You seem to be a true believer so any criticism of Adu, however mild, is likely to be too much for you to handle.
He just recently resigned with MLS/the Fire....just taking a little time to get integrated into the team I suspect.