Marcus named in the ACTIM Team of the week - keeping this title in American hands as last week it was Brad Friedel as top rated keeper by ACTIM And my typical disclaimer: I know these things are skewed towards teams that do well that week but still it's good to see. Americans that show up in their ratings of top 100 players include: Marcus Hahnemann : #19 overall and #4 among keepers Tim Howard : #49 overall keepers Brad Friedel : #52 overall Brian McBride : #53 overall For the other Americans - Jon Spector has also appeared in the ACTIM team of the week, as have Howard and Friedel.
Interesting. Actim is a really interesting way to try to compare players and it has spit out a VERY interesting result for us here on the YA board: Brad Friedel and Brian McBride have (virtually) identical value to their respective teams. I'm not sure what I think about that. What do you?
If Reading finishes Top 6, I have a feeling we might add our 3rd EPL Keeper of the Year to our ranks... Either way, good to see Marcus transitioning nicely to the EPL. Where does 53 place McBride amongst strikers overall?
Wouldn't hold my breath. I think Marcus is adequate there, but not EPL keeper of the year. It's Reading's offense that has put them in 6th place...only three teams have scored more goals, while 10 teams have allowed fewer goals. Reina, Van Der Sar, Cech, Tim Howard, and David James are all having better seasons, at least in terms of goals allowed.
Reading probably will earn some post season recognition, unless they collapse (even if they do, they're almost certainly already safe ), because everybody wants to reward the plucky underdog. But Marcus isn't the Reading member folks are talking about. Probably Coppell, or Doyle (if he comes back strong) or Lita (10 goals in last 10 games, 13 on season). Maybe Sidwell. Heck, maybe Hunt.
I like Marcus but he's been pretty shaky at times. Maybe no worse than Timmy, however. Fans love him there though.
Resolved, Bigsoccer will no longer rely on last year and the year before in their blanket evluations of Tim Howard this year.
Tim's been better this year and the experience is good for him, agreed. However, the guy looks like Nick Rimando on crosses at times - tentative, and sometimes even completely lost. He's very athletic and has a lot of talent, and he's still young - Kasey's best years didn't come til his 30s - so this isn't a knock on him so much as an observation. The comment on Nick Rimando WAS a knock, however, since he looks ridiculous on basically every corner and cross. Of course, this isn't an MLS or Rimando thread. Sorry.
If you substitute out Keller's name and put in Friedel (who was a disaster at age 27), I'd agree, but just for the record, Keller's best seasons were almost certainly 97-98 and 98-99, when he was only slightly older than Howard is now. In 97-98, Keller's Leicester team allowed only 41 goals, which was the third best total in the Premiership behind only Arsenal and ManU. And even though the US national team struggled in 1998, that year Keller led it to a 1-0 win over Brazil in a game Romario called the best goalkeeping performance he'd ever seen. In 98-99, Leicester allowed 44 goals and finished in fifth in the league. That was its highest placement in decades, and probably for decades to come. Since that stretch, though, Keller hasn't registered a single winning season. The year after replacing him, both Rayo Vallecano's and Tottenham's defenses improved dramatically.
You make a good point. Did Keller have more experience at a reasonably high level at that point than does Howard, though? Tim's only been out of MLS for three years, but if I remember Kasey was at Millwall for several years prior to Leicester, and he was at Leicester for awhile too. I don't know...just wondering. It just seems like Tim is much younger than he is, I guess. Perhaps a better question is when Scoop Stanisic hit his goalkeeping stride.
Some might say that Howard has more experience -- he went pro much younger and reached the Premiership much younger. On the other hand, soon after joining Millwall, Keller became a regular starter; by contrast, Howard's starting roles have been sandwiched between stretches of benchwarming behind Meola, Ammann, Carroll, and van der Sar. None of those keepers was easy to beat out. So maybe Keller is a good illustration of why it's so valuable for young players to get regular minutes. Then again, maybe he was just an early bloomer (though not as early as Nick Rimando ).
Marcus again named in the ACTIM Team of the Week. This is his 2nd in a row and 4th of the year. And my typical disclaimer: I know these things are skewed towards teams that do well that week but still it's good to see. Americans that show up in their ratings of top 100 players include: Marcus Hahnemann : #12 overall and #1 among goalkeepers (yes you read that right - apparently one can move up or down significantly in a week) Tim Howard : #42 overall (up 7 spots) #6 among keepers Brad Friedel : #53 overall Brian McBride : #56 overall Yes you read that right above... Marcus Hahnemann is now the highest ranking goalkeeper in the ACTIM index and should appear in their Team of the Season - based solely on rating (though it doesn't appear to have been updated yet)
And yes they updated the link --- Marcus is now currently in the Team of the Season on ACTIM. Someone in the ratings there likes him. Here's what they have written on him. Marcus Hahnemann (Reading) Few players have been as important in Reading's improbable challenge for European qualification as keeper Hahnemann, and the USA international has made a string of fine saves in recent weeks to break into the Actim Index Team of the Week two weeks running, leading to qualification for the Team of the Season. No I don't think Marcus is the best keeper in the EPL or even the most important keeper to his team --- but its nice to see his work acknowledged in a fashion.
It may not mean he's the best inteh prem, but, as always, it's nice to be noticed. And, while their system may be flawed, at least in one system of ranking performance, he's having a great year.