First, there is this huge media hype over signing this 14 year old "prodigy." Then he barely plays, and Garber names him on the All-Star team, which was a fluke. Now this? Does he even deserve to be on the nomination ballot? I could think of a couple other players who deserve to be on the ballot more than him... Freddy did not have an exceptional year.
Re: Freddy Adu nominated for Rookie of the Year? Jeff Parke, Josh Gros but he does have a decent # of goals
Re: Freddy Adu nominated for Rookie of the Year? Jeff Parke of the worst defense in the league? that guy has to be the most overrated rookie in the league this year.
Re: Freddy Adu nominated for Rookie of the Year? Definitely Wingert, forget him. Adu wouldn't deserve a starting spot on the Metrostars. Parke easily does. To be ROTY, you really first ought to be a starter.
Re: Freddy Adu nominated for Rookie of the Year? You may want to check out past ROY winners. Prior to the Ralph & Noonan rookie explosions, Freddy has comparable numbers to previous ROY's who were threats on offense. ---------------G-----A-------P Adu-----------5------3-------13 Ralston--------7------2-------16 Olsen----------4------8-------16 Faria-----------8-----2-------18 Martino--------2------5-------9 I do not think Adu should win ROY, but his nomination is not undeserved. Having comparable point totals to previous ROY's justifies at least a nomination.
I think Parke had a better season, but Freddy was this year's 4th best rookie. I think they might need to put him there for marketing purposes. But if he wins it, I'll be disgusted!
It's only a nomination. He won't win. Breathe. Preferably out of your noses instead on your usual mouth-breathing. Good grief people.
This is a two man race between Dempsey and Marshall. I do find it odd that he's in the top 3 as he isn't the 3rd best player. Wingert and Parke both had better "seasons" than Adu.
Well, you can't say it wasn't going to happen. He is the face of MLS. And it's not as if his selection is completely unwarranted. He has played well the past two months and has been one of the better performers for DC United. His insertion into the DC-Metro game sparked his squad and he drew the free kick and assisted on the other goal. He doesn't deserve to win it, (Chad marshall does) but it's not the end of the world.
I back his inclusion actually, but right now if a coach had to put a player in an important game, he'd be no better than 5th. Nowak put Gros in earlier last game. And to be honest, if I'd seen more of Grabavoy, he might get the nod above Adu. All the players listed earlier have more minutes played than Adu IIRC and so does Cochrane too. I'd probably rather have Dorman in the game from what I've seen. Not that I'm not high on Adu, I'm just not sure his defensive capabilities are quite there yet.
Last game i think he was recovering from that shoulder sprain still. That was a pretty bad fall he had. But Gros has definitely had a better season than he has had for sure.
First of all,if you've been tracking the awards,Freddy has steadily risen up the ROY charts all year and his last game of the regular season definitly pushed him above Jeff Parke. Jeff Parke-better rookie-no way. And if you didnt notice in game 2, mr parke gave the ball away which led Gros to Adu and a sweet pass to Moreno. He's better, no doubt. He doesnt deserve to win, and he won't win,so dont start whining and moaning like he will.
but who had the bigger impact? timing of substitutions doesn't count for much. productivity does. you can certainly argue that Gros is more productive, but basing your argument on the timing of a substitution in a game in which Adu clearly outplayed Gros is dubious at best. Freddy did not have the best rookie year. It's between Marshall and Dempsey, and I would pick Marshall. However, people are getting in way too big of a huff right now about this. He's not going to win, and as has been stated, by the numbers, you almost had to include him in the running.
he played in all 30 games for United, one of only two players to do so, I believe. you can argue his merits on talent ... but to say he barely played isn't right. it'll be marshall or dempsey, as it should be. and really what's all the fuss about who was nominated? who wins is what matters? do you remember who was nominated last year? the year before that? that's right ... you don't. why? because it doesn't matter.
He does deserve a nomination. You also have to look at how much pressue was put on him to be the face of the league. He might not be a starter right now in the playoffs but you have to admit that if and when he gets put into the game the other team will have to change their gameplan. Could you say that about any other of the rookie candidates? He's the type of player where he only needs one chance to capitalize. Fans are excited to see him get put into the game not because he's this 15 year old kid anymore but because they know he has the potential to make something exciting happen.
The Rookie of the Year award is given to a player that has shown a tremndous amount of work in his first year, and it is NOT about "potential to make something happen." If that's how you describe the ROTY, then every single player in the NCAA is a ROTY. Freddy Adu does not deserve to be on this ballot. Jeff Parke was def. robbed of a nomination, and MLS is trying desperately to show the American sports public that Freddy is doing well, even though they spent so much money to hype him, and as the season progressed, it became evident that he has done little for DCU. Honestly, I'm just upset that Freddy not only was chosen as a Commisioner's Pick for the All-Star game, which was undeserving, but that he was also nominated for this. I am starting to lose a little respect for the League front office, as it seems they are trying to portray an image that isn't really there (that Freddy did well this year). I do admit that Freddy wasn't horrible this year.... but he was rarely a starter, and there were far more players in this league that deserve to be nominated for this award.
You still haven't named them...these "far more" amount of players. I understand Wingert, Parke, and Gros are debatable. However, when a player gets 5 goals and 3 assists and is the 4th highest scorer on a very good team it is not ridiculous for him to be nominated.
While Adu wasn't the best rookie, he had a good year, with a respectable number of points for a rookie. Also, I think he's been a significant part of DC's recent good run. About him barely playing, He played in every regular season game this year ( some as a sub, some as a starter)
5 goals,3 assists as a 15 year old professional soccer player playing for arguably the best team in the league right now. 30 appearances, and I believe around 14 starts as a 5'7 140 lb rookie. I'm sorry, but coming into the league as the youngest player in professional sports in over 115 years, with all the pressure he had, and performing admirably deserves a nomination. Granted he didn't play good defense, but would you expect that from a growing child. Gros was a solid player this year, but you have to look at it like this. Gros is 22 years old(1 goal,4 assists,6pts), Adu-15 years old playing with more pressure than any one soccer player in the history of United States soccer had(5 goals,3 assists,13 pts).Parke had his moments, but played with the worst defense in the league,one that included the best US defender ever, so in terms of productivity, did Parke give more to his team than Adu did? Nooooooo.
Uh, that 'best US defender ever' just had the worst season of his career, he wasn't even the best defender on the MetroStars, Jeff Parke was. Jeff was the guy that stepped it up every single time Eddie was either called up on national team duty or got himself injured during warmups, which happened on a few occasions. The fact that he's up for Defender of the Year is just as laugable as Freddy beating Clint or Chad out for Rookie of the year.