Since it's no longer "early days", I figured we could have this discussion. Which YA has had the best season thus far? At this point I'd go with Hahnemann with Berhalter second. What does everyone else think?
Marcus has looked shaky at times, and I haven't seen enough of Gregg to know what to think of him this year. BMB's having a pretty good year for a player his age, but I'd have to say that the guy at the top so far is Big Brad Friedel. He's still the best American keeper playing today, and his form has been so good and so consistent that he gets overlooked.
Howard, Friedel, Berhalter, Hahneman (who I think has been average), McBride, and Bocanegra in that order. Reyna and Convey have been injured for a long stretch.
Same here. Isn't Berhalter playing in the Bundesliga 2? I'm curious what he has done to get mentioned so highly? Who's actually seen him play?
I'll raise my hand as one who, though never posting it, saw Jay play a couple games on TV last year and thought he wasn't Premeirship material. Even with the BS crowd claiming he was Franz B all over again. Then again, maybe last year he wasn't there. This year he has exceeded expectations. The manager has clearly cited him as a team leader. The biggest negative I see is the cheap penalty claim he gave up last week and the same he did today against City in the dying minutes. He's holding his own but needs to clear this up. I'm surprised he did it two weeks in a row.
Howard and Friedel... Demerit is up there also, but overall this has been a disappointing season for YAs with the exception of Benny, Bradely, and i guess Ngyuen
Kasey's been hurt and his team has a better backline than Brad's. Watch BBurn play and they sometimes just seem really lazy about defense-- like they know they don't have to try. 'Gladbach's much better in the back. I also think Howard is having an excellent year, but he's not been as consistent as Brad (and he's got more firepower on the field to keep opposing teams honest).
I think Howard has shown he can be a solid EPL starter,something nobody was too sure about leading into this season. In a case like this ,we know what Brad can bring,and he's delivered.Tim's next stop was a second-tier league if this gig didn't pan out.
I'm told by my "German contact" (my buddy stationed in K-Town), that Greg has been Munich's best player and a fan favourite, not to mention captain in his first year at the club. Perhaps he'll lead a team to promotion again this year? Regardless, I just though I'd give him some love I must apologize for overlooking Timmy H. though, he has impressed
I'll go with Howard. He's giving up slightly less than a goal per match and has helped his team into position for an UEFA spot. In the few games I've gotten to watch him this year, I thought he looked solid if unspectacular.
i would think its howard by a long ways, he has been actually spectacular.... he has returnend to his first season in the EPL form.. which i think he was goalie of the year or something like that...
On what channel are you watching German 2nd division games? What have you seen that helped you form this oppinion?
I disagree that it's been a disappointing year. Friedel, Hahnemann, Howard, Keller, Spector, Demerit, Cherundolo, Reyna, and McBride have all been regular starters in top flight leagues. Last year, Howard and Spector were on the bench a lot, Hahnemann and Demerit were playing in a lower division, and Reyna was injured for much of the year. Now, we have Feilhaber and Bradley getting quality minutes, despite not being regular fixtures in the starting 11. The only disappointments have been Beasley (injured), Convey (injured, but still leads his team in assists), Gibbs (injured), Nguyen (hasn't gotten a sniff of first-team PT) and some might be disappointed that Onyewu is still in Belgium. While Leeds isn't having a great year, Lewis has been steady Eddie. Simek is still a fixture in his first 11, and for a club that could push for a playoff spot, instead of fighting relegation. Johann Smith came out of nowhere to get some first team minutes, and Jemal Johnson has done fairly well in his first season of full-time first-team football. I guess Casey could be a disappointment, but it looks like he'll be moving on soon. There's been some injuries this year, but other than that, hard to see how this could be called a disappointing season for YA's. Plus, Heath Pearce might be in a top-flight league a month or two from now, as might Dempsey. I'm not disappointed, in any sense.
Here's a link to a refresher of what happened last year, at least in England. https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=346620