which is why I ignore those posts that say he isnt good enough to be our RB because he is short. Just like I ignore mindless "Convey Sucks!" Posts
That's a bit damning with faint praise, though, no? I mean the competition for best American RB in MLS comes down to probably Bryan Namoff, Frankie Hejduk and Evan Whitfield. This is not exactly the talent mine that we have at say Left Mid or Goalkeeper. I agree with both points on this thread. Cherundolo's the best right back we have, and also that he has shown a marked weakness defending high balls. I'm willing to ignore the latter for now because our other choices' weaknesses are far more of a concern IMO. But Cherundolo _is_ suspect on the high ball, and teams (Brazil in the CC for example) have tried to attack us in that fashion while he's playing. And Tony Sanneh has left this discussion, more or less, permanently. Equation: 32 years old + career-threatening back injury + over close to a year of inactivity = international retirement.
I know it is sacriligeous to say this but despite Tony's wonderful play at the WC, he was mediocre for the vast majority of the games he played for the USA. He gets my everlasting admiration for his play at WC 2002, but let's not make him Cafu or Thuram either.
Re: Re: 9/20 Cherundolo - Hannover vs M'gladbach [R] Hell, I'll agree with you and Tony is one of my favorite players from his time with United. I was worried about how he would perform in the Cup. I think I was less surprised at the US making the quarterfinals, than I was surprised with the way Sanneh played on the right.
gotta agree with you on that one martin. i have no idea why we would put dolo in the midfield... its not that he cannot play there, we simply have depth on the right side and he would be left out. definately a rb.
we're not talking about talent/skill... we're talking about strength. and that is normally the consensus. physically i would rank it #1 with england and italy following.
Plus, thats probably the league where lack of aerial ability would be most abused. If he does allright there...
Not much, but Ralston, Stewart, Reyna and Convey all have much more skill than Dolo and have played that position for the Nats.
I disagree with Ralston and Stewart having more skill than Cherundolo. For proof I submit the USA - Brazil game during the ConFed Cup. He is also a natural right sided player. Something that Convey is not.
landon, reyna, stewart, mulrooney, klein, ralston, sanneh (injured), and even dmb (left-footed player) are ahead of him in my opinion. i know that we do not posses a truly gifted right-sided player (save landon and reyna who plays more centrally for the nats), but moving an offensively-minded defender up is not the answer. if we are gonna do that then we might as well be talking about how great frankie hejduk could play on the wings.
Fair enough. I repeat that my opinion is that Dolo has nowhere near the offensive skill that either Stewart and Ralston have. Those two players have much more ability to beat players off the dribble, work intricate clever short passing and put the ball in the goal. Just my opinion.
I think a lot of this depends on what we mean by a midfield position.The only way I see 'dolo in a midfield spot is as a "wingback" in a 5-man midfield.And I would rather see him there than in a 3-man backline.Since I consider the 3-5-2 a useful formation for the Nats ,I wouldn't be surprised if he winds up there at some point. When we go the standard 4-4--2,he is clearly a RB.
This, I think, is the most likely scenario. Cherundolo can clearly play an outside right position in a 5-3-2, 3-5-2, etc. etc. In other words, any of many formations that require him to play close to the touch, toss in some crosses, but have more defensive responsibilites, rather than attacking. Dolo to me is a good choice for 5th defender, as he can play RB and RM - god knows he's a better middie than Heydude, for instance. And I've never seen Ralston at RB, but I'd figure Dolo better there.
Not saying that SC is amazing offensivly (IMHO he is very skilled, but its just that, an opinion) but I think he easily more skilled than anyone on that list other than Donovan, Reyna, and WC Version of Sanneh. But then I'm a huge fan of Steve's skill level (he really impressed me vs NZ, the CC, and he is reportedly looking good in Germany this season going forward) and therfore I'm biased towards him.
I could see Cherundolo as a wing back, but comparing him to true right sided midfielders (whether you think he's more or less talented) is a bit unfair. Has anyone seen him try to play that position? You can't look at him play defense and extrapolate talent in midfield as the roles have different responsibilities. For now he's doing fine for his club. Which is in 6th place in one of the better leagues in the world.
He has played RB before, for Hannover. Not often, and not this season if I recall correctly, but he's played there. Olaf will know better I'm sure.
to be fair, i haven't seen steve play much this year so i suppose i am at a disadvantage in this conversation. however, i am aware that he possesses some skill, and i agree that he could probably play wingback effectively on the international stage... but i still don't think that he is the answer on the right side of the midfield. we'll see in a few months though, as hopefully stevie will be on the field some in wcq.
from friesland: "He has played RB before, for Hannover. Not often, and not this season if I recall correctly, but he's played there." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- what? he plays rb just about all the time for hannover. i don't remember the last time he DIDN'T! i think we are seriously underestimating steve as a r-mid. he is better defensively, delivers as good crosses, and is much quicker and faster than ralston. if ralston had steve's speed and defensive ability, he'd be first choice at that position every time.
Well if you are interested in an opinion of someone who has actually seen him play in Germany this year, Dolo is skilled for a right back, moderately skilled for a wingback in a 3-5-2 and underskilled for a midfielder in a 4-4-2. Though, informed by actual observations as it is, I conceed it is still just an opinion. As far as I know, Dolo has played right back (which he almost always does for Hanover), right wingback and dmid. To my knowledge, he has not played an attacking position at any level above high school.
Well he might not be a good option, but he think he would be a better option than aging and innefective Stewart, skill-defeicient Chris Klein, and two south paws. I think my original arguement was that he'd make a better right mid then those you named other than Donovan and Reyna. Basically this whole conversation once again highlites our rather large hole at Right Midfielder
I have already addressed why I think this is mistaken. It's only that way if you think of the right mid as someone who has got to get down the sidelines to the endline and cross.
Among other things yes. I also want him to be able to cut across the middle and combine with the forwards. Perhaps I'm wrong though and Convey would be better then Cherundolo at this.