Not saying Beasley had a great game, but he was not invisible. He made space for himself, beating defenders on a couple of occasions and had a great hussle play to break up a scoring chance when Laurent beat Thatcher on the edge of the penalty area. Right after the goal, Beasley was pretty clearly fouled after beating 2 of 3 defenders marking him. The critisism of Beasley on the winning goal is way off, you want Beasley drifting outside the box on that play to pick up a clearance and start a counter. It is not Beasley's fault the defense did not hold. In the last 2 games that I have seen all or pieces of for Citeh, I can saw that Beasley should have had a couple of assists if not for poor finishing by Vassel. In all, Beasley is not nearly as off his game as some would say.
I think I'm in love. I make this point all the time about MLS' structure; to be more accurate, about stupid criticisms of MLS' structure.
You know how the SkySports ratings go for a one-word description of a player? I was thinking that for DMB, the word would be "anonymous." But he's been a real spark for them recently. I'm not overly concerned about 1 poor match. EDIT: I just want to emphasize that last part. He wasn't good today, but let's not have the attention span of a 6 year old, m'kay?
While I am a Beasley supporter and think that DMB is playing pretty well, City were in a 3-5-2 and DMB, as the left mid, cannot be leaking out on a play coming from his side of the field. He took a calculated risk, but it was not a smart one. His defense has not been nearly as good as it used to be. He gets turned and beat more easily than he did in Chicago. While he's playing a higher level of competition, I think his defensive effort is generally not what it used to be. I hope he steps up his two-way game because if he does even that twat Stuart Pearce will play him.
He really is a stupid player, isn't he? I wouldn't want him on my team, no matter how many positives, just because I think there are a couple of weaknesses that spread like a virus and affect all 11 players, and having a central mid who is a stupid soccer player is one of them.
So you're saying he's not psychologically prepared for/able to adjust to European soccer? If that is indeed the case, then he should be playing in MLS - but not because he happens to find himself on a midtable club with nothing special to play for (although with a really good collapse - meaning maintaining current 07 form - Man City could get themselves a sniff if not a full on snort of a relegation battle.)
I don't think that's the case. While PSV are a better team than Citeh, the Premiership is a much better league, top-to-bottom, than the Eredivisie. It's more physical and much more competitive. That means that Beasley is facing more competition than he saw in Holland, and he's playing on a worse team. That makes his job even harder. Also, Beasley was playing a different kind of role with Citeh than with PSV. At PSV he often got long balls out of the back from Van Bommel and Cocu. He was also free to roam from left to right, as the competition was not any better than MLS. In the Premiership, every ball is contested, the pace is maddening, and he is supposed to stay out wide on the left with Citeh. Again, his job is much more difficult than ever before. If DMPee can stick it out and make himself a regular starter, I think he's accomplished a lot and will only be an asset to us through qualifying and WC 2010.
man, a lot of things are being said of me here. #1 - I never said Convey should come home. I said if he's not playing for Reading he should find a he club where he will play. A soccer player who's doesn't play soccer, isn't of much use to anyone. #2 - I'm not criticizing Beasley! I don't blame him for looking poor in this match. Anyone would have looked poor playing for City, because they suck. MLS is a logical move if he wanted to leave City, which is why I say it. It's not that I want him home, I just want him off crappy teams, and the same goes for Spector. I'm tired of watching our players play for ************ clubs. I don't think makes anyone a better player. Losing sucks something horrible and it effects your game. Spector was a better player when he played for Utd 2 years ago, and I think the reason he regressed was playing for poor teams in Charlton and now West Ham. Convey FAR outpaced Beasley as a player last year because he started for a very good team. His development rocketed because of that. He was able to play creatively, have the freedom to expand his game, and all that winning must have done wonders for his confidence. This isn't about showing some guts or whatever it is you people use to critcize Donovan with, this about developing yourself as a player. If the choice is between a crappy club and MLS, then I think the American should choose MLS - if MLS can give them a contract worthy of their talent
I agree with some parts, but not all. There's the very real possibility that if he returned to MLS, he'll be just as mediocre there. He's facing better players now and his role is different than it was with PSV, but to me Beasley is a good enough player to make a difference with Manchester City. I also don't agree with the notion that it's so cut in dry with regards to playing for a mediocre team in a very good league vs. being a winner in a mediocre league. Some of the very best players in the world that have Champions League medals, World Cup medals and other accolades weren't always playing for the #1-#10 team in their leagues. For example, Luis Saha was in a mid-table premiership team but still found a way to shine for Fulham - that's what many great talents can do. Anyways, from watching Beasley now, he gives up on runs, his head isn't alwyas in it, and quite frankly it looks like he's just burned out. I don't think Beasley really needs to be re-taught anything. I think he just needs a mental and physical break to sort out what he wants to do since he's been going almost non-stop for as long as I can remember.
I like Utd, but I'm not into the rivalry part of the sport there because I didn't grow up there. I like Utd because of Sir Alex, and when I first got into the game I thought they played beautifully and love the style of play SAF demands of his team, I also liked the colors. I have nothing against any of the Prem club except for Chelsea. I didn't say MLS Clubs were better than City, I just think that playing for a good club in a league like MLS (where hopefully Beas would end up with a good club - or at least turn an average club into a good club), is better than playing for a poor club in Europe.
Wrong ------Vassell-----Corradi------- --Beasley----------Barton----- -----------Dabo--------------- -Ball---------------------Sun-- ----Distan--Dunne-Richards---- -----------Issakson------------ Someone said that Beasley is giving up on runs, I wonder if his teammates' complete inability to find him when he's open plays into this? There where two instances where if played a decent pass he would have been 1v1 with the GK where he was unnoticed, by Barton again, and then ignored, the Corradi layoff to Ball.
So what you're really saying is he should come home and be on a GOOD mls side, because you know, even in single entity there are still loser and winners... it's not AYSO U6. You write about MLS like there is no 05 Chivas or Real Salt Lake - or no New York team whatsoever. DMB might be better off with Arena - a coach he knows. It certainly seems his PSV experience was not great once Guus left. He might do well back in Chicago due to familiarity, but the idea that any placement in MLS is better for him than City just because it's MLS seems very odd.
But it doesn't always work that way. Spector was maybe 17-20 when he was at Manchester United - and of course it's good to feature for the best teams in the world. But one of the biggest reasons he's still not there is because he wasn't good enough - at least by their standards. I have to believe that if he was, they would've done a bit more to keep him. Is West Ham the answer... who knows. That's a team in total dissaray, so I'd say it was a bad decision - of course we have the unfair gift of hindsight on that one though because last season, they looked like a team with aspirations to climb the ladder in the premiership. I don't understand why you'd compare Convey to Beasley as such though... last year, Beasley was featuring for Eindhoven. They were both on teams that won their respective divisions... for a moment, ignore the levels of competition - clearly there was something else going on with Beasley that would make his productivity drop. Convey played more and got better last year. Beasley was injured for large portions of the year, had some off the field issues. They seemed to go in opposite directions even though their respective clubs were going in the same direction - up. Yeah - they're not a good team right now, but that wasn't really the point. Focusing on Beasley, he doesn't look impressive at Manchester City, he wasn't very impressive (to me at least) last year and IMO he'd be just as un-impressive in MLS or another club if he moved now. Let's face it - Manchester City haven't been a consistent juggernaut in the premiership for as long as I can remember... but they still had a couple of players (Wright-Phillips, Anelka... even Robbie Fowler!) who drew attention from clubs that thought they could use them. MLS might take him, but what MLS would be getting could be anyone's guess. And then to boot... what happens if he goes to a losing MLS team.. I just think he may need a break. Get re-charged, re-evaluate what he wants to do. I know - time is a luxury. But doing so might be great for his career.
That was me - and I've seen him give up on runs - pure and simple. It's not always about receiving the perfect or 'decent' pass. It's about following through instead of seeing the defender coming and automatically conceding it. I mean, while some here want to slam his teammates, etc. he's also a part of that team and hardly looks impressive himself. In otherwords, it's not 'everybody else's fault but Beasley's'. When you try to lay off the ball to a teammate and he looks like he's giving half an effort, that kind of thing happens. Hey, maybe I'm wrong and he's simply not good enough - that's a very real possibility too. He was spoiled with Van Bommel in his first year at PSV and maybe since then, some of his weaknesses have been exposed.
Well even it was a "caluculated risk" that is a far cry from a "horrible positional mistake". Citeh had plenty of people in the box, and even if Beasley went straight there he would not have been marking the goal scorer. However, I do agree that going to Europe seems to have gone to his head and he does not work as hard on d as he used to.
Yes! Why do you think yanks aspire to play in Europe (besides money)? I think most would agree that better competition equals a better player. The A-League team wouldn't become world class, but they would get better than playing other A-League competition. Otherwise why wouldn't all Americans play in MLS and top European players like Shevchenko and African players just stay in their own country and play???
What if the players sat on the bench and never played? Would they get better? I am amused how you took the, besides money out of it. Funny. That's 95% of it. Plain and simple. Fact. Yup, Andy would stay in the good ole Ukriane and take 40 mill less over his career if the play quality was the same Right. Africans don't desperately want to play in Europe to have some sort of better life considering that most come from poverty situations. They want to improve first and foremost. Besides money, they just want to get better . There are more answers than the wants you want to be right out there. There are realities which you want to take out ($$$) to make an arguement that works for you. Hmm, those Mexes make ton of money yet the knock on them for the last 30 years is that they want to stay home where it's nice and easy instead of going to Europe to improve. Why, when they are worshipped, payed well and playing time is guaranteed. Your point has real merit of course but it isn't the final, be all solution for all, especially whne you take the "other than money out of it" which is downright laughable. Especially for the examples you posted.
Fame and fortune ... a guy like Shevchenko wasn't made better by joining a top league. In fact, his best performances came before he left his home country.
Last I read, Utd made a good offer to him, and that Spec had around 6 different offers. His tranfer was so low because he was out of contract, and that's what the tribunal said Utd deserved for putting in money and time on him as a youth. But Jonathon obviously valued first team soccer. good point, I guess I said should have said you can't be simply sitting on the bench. you should be playnig to. Convey played a lot more than Beasley did. But if you'll remember, when Beasers did play a lot for a good team, it's recognized as his best year ever. I said before that I'd hope he goes to a good MLS team. and you know what? I wouldn't even have to be an MLS side. Just get to a GOOD side. Even if it means your forced to fight even more for PT. Or going to someplace like Belgium. you might be right about this
I think this is a really important point. I always thought he'd fit in somewhere in Spain, but regardless the key thing here is to get him to a quality side where he can work hard in a winning atmosphere and get some confidence back. For argument's sake, let's say he went to a good side in a smaller league, like Belgium or Portugal, and gets his form back or even exceeds expectations. Is there time for one more big move in his career (say, back to England or wherever)? Or does the timing of this dip in form/confidence preclude stepping down in order to step back up again?
However crappy ManCity looked today, it'd be the best MLS team by far if it had featured on this side of the Atlantic. Pearce did go with the Mexican 5-3-2 to stop Portmouth from owning the middle and, naturally, it was a disaster but ... ManCity did put together some nice combinations and actually outpossessed Pompey 51-49%, creating some excellent chances along the way. They didn't always look smooth on the pitch but that was a very sloppy surface in an ancient English stadium (opened in 1898), which explains part of Psycho's strategy. I mean, people here are talking as if this club is a step below RSL ... which is purpotedly where Beasley was heading. That's amusing but wholly ridiculous.
Not so sure Man City would be the best in the MLS. They really don't play that well together. That is really what is separating the top from bottom teams. I think City really miss Reyna. I recall one of the few games he and Beas played together and Reyna got the ball to him a lot and got it to him early. Barton is never content with the real simple ball and you never know what Dabo is going to do. They need a player like Parker, Carrick, etc. very badly.