Apparently, many people are against me when I say that Leitch is terrible. If you watch the first 3 games, he turned the ball over more times than he completed a pass. How can anybody make it in this league without being able to keep possesion? I say they start Joey Digimarino, mainly because BB wants the outside backs to join the attack and Digi is much better offensively than Leitch is. Digi is also said to be a defensive liability, but last year to me he looked fine and made up for his lack of defensive skills with speed and strength. I know I would not want to have to play against someone as strong and fast as him. To me, Leitch is overrated and I truly do not understand what any of you people see in him. People have argued for him, but have failed to provide me evidence. He made some good runs in the NE game, but failed to even produce a legitimate scoring chance. You can't keep him in the game just because he looks better offensively. In any matter, prove me wrong if you can. I want to have something to look for in Leitch when I watch the next game, but then again, hopefully I won't get to watch him because he will be on the bench thanks to Digi.
once again im absolutely on your side! it's time to get Joey on the field. and Lietch belongs on the bench between Regan and Arena....as hard as i tryed to look, i dont see neither expirience, professionalism or talent and promising future growth in him at all
I'm sorry for asking you guys to repeat this, but which one of you is his wife, and which one is the agent? Sorry, I get confused. Chris Leitch is good. He's not Roberto Carlos, but if Digi is so class, why isn't he playing? Has Bob shown a tendency to play favorites over better players? I don't think so. If Leitch is playing, it's because he's better.
Across the board, MLS outside backs are horrible. Leitch is less horrible than most and deserves props for playing on the left, even though he is a right-sided player. Digi was flat-out bad last year. He plays like his hair is on fire, which does not make me very confident.
I think Leitch overall is better than Ziadie - they're both naturally better fits on the right, but Leitch can cope with the left better than Ziadie. I think DiGi's pretty good for a backup left back / left midfielder in this league, and we will probably start him when Ziadie misses games for qualifiers. But he turns the ball over more than Leitch does, in my opinion. DiGi may be slightly more dangerous going forward, but with our midfield, I don't think we're going to need to rely on Leitch sneaking up the left to score.
Leitch and Ziadie are in actuality very decent MLS outside defenders. Although, as Vistula points out, that ain't saying much. Digi is on the outs with this team because our system calls for backs that are more stay-at-home. He's simply not as good a defender as either Ziadie or Leitch, although his ability to play the left side and his offensive tendencies make him more of an option on the left if we ever go to a 3-5-2. Then again, with the 5 stellar midfielders we have, it'd be hard for him to crack the starting lineup even then. One of these days I'd like to see what Rico can do at right back. OT, but I loved the formtion the USMNT came out with last night... Convey and Hejduk at the outside backs, 2 d-mids, Landon and Beasley going crazy all over the midfield. Metro doesn't have the speedy personnel for such a lineup, but it was beautiful to watch.
So who would you guys start instead of Leitch? Digi? Imagine having to go out every week with Joey Franchino and Jay Heaps as your left and rightbacks. We are lucky we have who we are. Also, Leitch has been good. If you want to see bad, go to our fullback play from last season, where we couldn't control a ball. This year, the play of our fullbacks has been fantastic in comparison to last year.
From what I've seen, Leitch has improved a bit from last year. He is getting into the attack a bit more, overlapping on the left. He's had a decent first 3 games in which he has made some nice plays. I would like to see Digi get a chance though, eventually. It seems as if he has been in the doghouse from about halfway through last season. Digi started out ok, and went downhill from there. He was injured, and never really got back into it. I do believe Digi is the better offensive option up the left, and is a bit of a liability in the back. It's nice to have a left footed player on the left though....I'd like to see what he can do... What really caught my attention last game was Zaidie and him crossing the ball from the right, about 20 yards away from the flag. He did it a few times and it was pretty ineffective. I woulda liked to see him try to get deeper towards the flag, maybe by dribbling, which he is pretty good at, or a wall pass or something....but those crosses from the right flank, behind the forwards, were pretty horrible....
Lietch rarely makes mistakes. Havent focused solely on him enough to count turnovers or anything, but I dont believe Ive noticed him making any turnovers in dangerous areas (unlike Ziadie and Vaca). He hardly ever gets caught out of position. Hes just solid. I dont worry about plays coming down his side like I often do with Ziaide, and like I did with Digi/Bart last year. Digi just seems out of control. Some of his tackles were ridiculous. And Bart seemed more like a wing than a fullback. As for Lietchs offense, well he may not get fwd as much as those others, but thats not a bad thing when it means hes always in a good position defensively. And he seems to be getting better at moving fwd anyway, as was seen against the Revs. With our mids/fwds, do we really need our backs to get fwd anyway, especially at the expense of their d positioning?
Like that cross onto the head of Galvan Rey that resulted in a header that only one keeper in this league could have saved?
it really looked like Zaidie was trying to hook up his National team buddy Taylor with the ball which is nothing bad but if considiring that we'r not playing in the park, it could do some harm cutting off half of the team up front which would result in counter attacks against us
In answer to the question. I'd say certainly yes. I was really sorry to see Adu pop the old cherry more or less at his expense, but I hold Boseu as much (if not more) resposible for that. Leitch has shown vast improvement and with regular playing time I expect this to continue. He obviously stepped it up in pre-season so you've really gotta give him credit. I am to be counted among those who don't think there are many Great outside backs in the league though...
http://www.metrofanatic.com/mf/photos/jp/jp4.jpg i think this picture says enough about Lietch's physical abilities on professional level....well not on every cross you have giant Jeff Parke behind your back
We'll dig through the archive for incriminating DiGi pictures. Won't be hard to find, hypocrite. I'll bet you don't even have a hot ass.
yeah, now speaking of that... Is this in your own judgment Alex? 'cause that mirror lies kid... Besides, as ABC so eloquently stated: "Vanity kills..."
You can't find any Digi pictures because he has not played yet. Once he gets in a game, which he should at least get a chance, he will show that his offensively ability far surpasses that of Leitchs. Digi is faster than Leitch as well, something that I think our defense lacks since we have strong physical backs in Parke, Pope, and Bonseu in the middle. Digi would be the fastest defender on the field if he was out there. I just hope he gets his chance sometime soon and then maybe this argument will come to a close.
Leitch isn't that great, but he's not so bad either. I definitely prefer him over Digi, who seems to have a tendency to run all over without ever doing anything. Agree as far as outside backs in MLS go. Leitch is probably actually one of the better ones, not that that means much.
Are you kidding me? He's managed to effectively tie up Noonan's left arm and push down on his left leg, thus effectively neutralizing Noonan's effectiveness. Actually, is it just me or does Lietch look like Mo Johnston in that picture?
Are you related to Digi? Did you even watch him play last year? I don't care if you are the fastest human being on earth...if you get beaten on every play like he was last year, you don't deserve to be on the field. Leitch is a good defender. He seems to have developed somewhat of a leadership position on the team, and Bradley trusts him (putting him in the center in the Manga cup...)
Yea, any of the other centerbacks we have. You guys are making it look like he's a huge hole in the lineup when he isn't. Seriously, Digi was the worst player on the Metros last year, with only Arena playing worse then him. The fact that Bradley had confidence to shift him in the center, even in a pre-season tourney, should show you something. Maybe for you it means little or nothing, but I read a lot in it.
I like Leitch. I don't know what else to say. I don't think he's exactly the best defender in MLS, but he busts his ass, he is improving, and he's faster than you realize. He is way better than Digi, though I will give Digi his props for knocking himself unconscious in a game last year making a tackle. As for Ziadie, he's a hit and miss player. He can hit some nice crosses, and he can make some stupid errors- as he did on the Olsen goal looking back to see him 3 times and still not marking him. I think Taylor being here is a good thing for him, gives he someone who works hard to model himself after. I think he is 90 minutes of concentration from being a good player.
I do not remember which games they were, but I remember two plays that Digi made last year that sum up the way he plays. First, he made a strong run up the left side with the ball and after beating 2 defenders with pure speed, the third defender was forced to take him down and he earned a PK for us. I know this game was at home because I remember seeing it live and being amazed. Next, he ran all the way across the field to the right side of the box and made a very aggresive slidetackle and completely took away an open shot after coming from nowhere. Yea, maybe he does run around aimlessely sometimes, but the enegry is a great asset to bring to the field. Of course he made more than just those 2 plays all season, but that is just a brief example of what he is capable of and the things he can provide for our team, both offensively and defensively.