Yep, to throw my two cents into the convo. Wicks looked much more confident in preseason, so I say give him a go. Worst case is he performs below Cronin's standard, which isn't good anyways. Personally I think he'll do much better, but without a strong back line you could have Van der Sar back there and we'd still likely ship in goals. Maybe not as many, but when a goal is scored it isn't the fault of the keeper (save for when he makes a blunder or is caught out of position) but mostly the fault of the back line. Vanney was SHAMBOLIC yesterday and Franklin was quiet. It was just a bad defensive performance and should never have happened on our home soil. (or away from home for that matter.)
I think it is time to take a chance and put in Valentin to start, he just might be what the defense needs. It is a risk putting in a unproven rookie in there but it is an even greater risk having a proven waste of space like Greg Vanney is turning out to be this season. It is also time to give Wicks a go, he just might be better than Cronin but with him riding pine we will never know.
It's too soon to give up on Cronin, he was bound to struggle at times, that doesn't mean he won't be good for us. He hasn't so far distinguished himself in a good way, but he needs at least the next couple of home games. We've seen other good goalkeepers have bad times. Rimando is doing really well for RSL, but early last year he was having a nightmare. Did anyone see the last two goals Guzan let in to give away the Chivas game on Saturday? The 3rd goal was near post & he wasn't near to protecting it or even making any effort on it & just froze. The 4th & game loser went right through his glove & was a howler. Our young players need more experience, and there's only one way they're going to get it.
Your logic has no place here in Galaxyland! Let's bench our inexperienced keeper for a keeper with even less experience and then trade him away to another team for a decrepit CB who can get burned for 3 goals in a game. Then we can blame that on the keeper as well and ship him out until the Cuban takes over in goal and all things become beautiful.
I like to think I'm not reactionary (I'm sure everyone does) and I respect this opinion and Geneva's -- and more importantly the non-panic mindset in general. That said, I have to say that Cronin did not impress much at all in pre-season. And that's pretty much all I have to go with. I can't remember any match time for him in years past, which may be my memory or my not paying attention. But he's certainly not impressed in the first three matches either. Wicks did. I thought he was a bit overly-adventurous a few times, but he was able to back it up with skill and athleticism. And he just exuded confidence when he had no right to. That's a ludicrous intangible and I don't expect Gullit to be making decisions based his gut feelings and certainly not on mine. But while I'm coming up short on the human sacrifice argument, I'd be happy to see Wicks get the next start.
Well hold on here a second. Wasn't Wicks goalkeeper of the year in the USL last season? That seems to me to be far more professional experience (even if at a lower level) then Cronin can put on his resume at the moment.
"Ohhh I do not sniff the coke I only smoke sensamilla" Bro! Save some for tomorrow. What's an 1/8th cost these days anyway?
First thing first. Donovan blew two easy chances in front of goal. He should have scored the break away and he should have scored the tap in that he hit wide left. Technically he should have scored the one that was tipped over off his one touch shot. But, I will give him the benefit of the doubt. Second, how can we blame Cronin for the goals. The first goal, Vanney had a SICK assist for Dicchio. Vanney whiffed and in the process gifted the ball to Dicchio who just had to tap it in for the 1st. On the second, Cronin made the save off Robert's free kick (which was a cannon of a shot) and was hung out to dry by the D who was caught ball watching. Most notably Vanney (again). The third goal Vanney got smoked by Cunningham and Cronin was left one on one with him. Thirdly, we fail to capitalize on our chances and it's still the same story as the last three years. We will not shoot to save our lives outside of the 18 and we cannot finish. Its easy, we don't shoot, we don't score. Lastly, can somebody tell me why Pass Back Pete is still on the team? He looked totally lost on the field and his indecision allowed TFC to collect a ball that should have been ours and in turn play the ball to Cunningham who scored the game winner. Folks, before we have Cronin lynched we have to remember that the goal keeper is the last line of defense. If he gets beat that means that 10 others were beaten before him. Certainly it was not his fault that we lost this game.
I think most people (this ridiculous thread title not withstanding) have gone out of their way to state that Cronin can't be completely blamed for this loss or the loss in Colorado. Still, the fact remains that in 3 games he has yet to make much of a save and he exudes nervousness in all aspects of his play. He hasn't made this job his yet. I think its reasonable after a performance like yesterdays to look to other options.
You don't have to be "lynching" Cronin to suggest that he be benched. The loss was not his fault... but does that guy look like a keeper who is gonna bail out the defense once or twice a game? Because that's what a good keeper must do. Occasionally, you have to snuff out good opportunities for the other team and he hasn't done it yet. Teams are getting chances and teams are getting goals. Look at what the Toronto keeper did. He came up big 5 times. If LA scores on any of those - noone would have blamed Sutton - but he's making plays keepers have to make. Apart from one pretty good half in a pre-season game, Cronin has yet to do this during the pre-season or reg season. Certainly, Cronin is capable of having a big game. He was amazing in that US Open Cup game last year... but you need an "inspired performance" more than once a year. The Galaxy have two young relatively inexperienced keepers. Neither of them are going to be Schmeichel back there but you can hope that one of them can pull off a "Buona Time" kindof season. I think you need to give both a look early in the season to get a sense of who can rise to the challenge.
This is spot on. When they signed Wicks they said it was to push Cronin for the #1 spot. So lets put him in a game and see if he can do a little "pushing". I'm not sold on either of them really, but benching Cronin for a game or two to see how Wicks performs in a regular season match can't hurt any. If anything it may light a fire up under Cronin's backside.
Every keeper is going to get beat the majority of the time when his defense (f@#* you Vanney) is not between the ball and the goal. Vanney lost his man and left Cronin hanging. Even the one that Cronin spilled was an extremely well struck shot... then Vanney loses his man and gives him an open net. Face it Vanney had a hat trick of mistakes. I'm not saying Cronin is a phenomenal keeper, but he was left high and dry on all three yesterday.
Exactly. Confidence is a huge part of goalkeeping. "When I say 'keeper,' you get the f*** out of the way!" Can you picture Cronin shouting that at his defenders? Wicks did - and toward a World Cup veteran, at that. That's the attitude I want in a goalkeeper. Sure, I also saw him keep the ball at his feet long enough to have to dribble around an opposing forward, and he's occasionally going to give someone an open net to shoot at, but his aggressive goalkeeping style is a huge improvement over Cronin letting the ball bounce around in the box. Playing human pinball in your own box is always a losing proposition.
I was going to bring this same quote into this thread. From the Hawaii game. I remember there was no commentators on the feed we got, and so we could hear the players really well. Wicks was shockingly vocal the whole game. He really controlled the pitch, as well as had a few quotables like the above. He really needs to get a chance in the next game. He could be something special. Cronin had a chance, we have like 6 GKs on this team, we could try a few out.
Pecking order as of now: Josh Wicks Steve Cronin Charles Alamo Vito Higgins Jose Miranda (Since he's not yet officially part of the Galaxy yet, he's on the bottom - BUT, if he gets signed, he gets bumped since he has more experience than Higgins).
I think the thread title was great it grabbed the headlines and sparked debate, people were blaming Cronin for the defeat, i just didnt see it, Mark Schwarzer would have conceded 2 of the toronto goals for defo, they were just out of the keepers reach and i'am not sure he wouldnt have held on to the frogs shot at the first attempt. When Cronin spilled the Robert shot, if it had not resulted in a goal many pundits would have said ' he did well to keep that out' but because it resulted in a goal, 'burn him at the stake'. The same stupid reactions happen over here at least twice a season with every keeper in the premier league, football is emotional, but luckily the managers are rational. Get Wicks in, i am all for the best 11 on the pitch but anyone who blames Cronin for being the main reason we lost, needs to give there head a shake.
I am sure Cronin is not the reason we lost, lets see what the coaches do for the game against Houston, if Wicks plays lets hope he doesnt have a stinker cos i'am getting short on lighter fuel.
It's morning time, and Cronin still sucks. I never said he didn't have anything to do with the loss. I will stick by my guns....If we had Cannon we would be 3-0.
Cronin: a) looks indecisive and plays timidly b) doesn't take charge of his defense c) isn't very quick Wicks: a) is decisive and plays with confidence b) commands the box and his defense c) is very quick d) has a longer wingspan than Cronin These are the reasons Cronin should sit - not because of the 3 goals vs TFC. And the confidence and taking charge factors are especially important on this team, given the defenders in front of the GK. (Ideally Ruud would have alternated playing them throughout the preseason games - letting them know they were competing to be the starter on opening day. If he had, I think it would be pretty clear who was the best keeper at this point. But that's history... next play.)