Punnage http://www.mlsnet.com/MLS/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20050714&content_id=36624&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp
"...they have already lost more matches at RFK Stadium in 2005 than they did all of last season." yikes.
Yeah, from what I heard from some drunk next to me at the stadium Saaturday, Freddy can't play at all. Could'nt even make the local youth league. Must be nice to a better coach from the stands than the guy on the bench with the tie. Of course, we all know that anyone with the Metros has a errr, distortion of vision problem. Mark
Clearly he can play forward, but it probably isn't his best position (notwithstanding this game), and I don't think he's a very good striker in MLS at the moment, meaning he's stuck behind Moreno when he's healthy. I don't think you can pull off playing them both unless you're going with 3 forwards. Neither one is a 'lives in the box and poaches goals' type player.
I think the key to fairly evaluating Adu as a player right now is not to think he's either a good player or a bad player (or "the future" so he must play!). Rather, he's an incredibly young and raw player who in some areas is probably the best that DCU has with that skill, and in other areas/skills is not among our top 15 players. So when you put him on the field, you're talking about a kid who is very raw, can do some things brilliantly and a lot of things terribly and b/c he's young will be on or off at different times (young players are like that). As a forward, okay--he's got great close control, second only to Moreno on the team. His instincts in front of goal and his finishing ability might be the best on the team. But his movement off the ball (which is how you get open for chances against pros)--we've probably got 5-6 players who are better (I'd say: Gomez, Eskandarian, Moreno, Quaranta, Kovalenko, maybe Olsen). He's not going to win any air balls. He's easily muscled off the ball (which is a problem in tight space). He doesn't read the game well (and takes dives when he shouldn't, complains when he doesn't have credibility and allows physical play to throw him off his game and distract him). His decision-making is still inconsistent (sometimes holds when he should run at someone, dishes when he should shoot, dribbles at a packed defense when he should give it up or hold). Now he's gotten better at all of these things, but he's still pretty weak at most of them. So as a forward, I think Adu has a lot he brings to the table but has some gaping holes in his game.
The rap on most American players is that they lack basic ball skills but compensate through fitness; situational awareness; positioning; and so on. Freddy is almost the direct opposite: he has mad ball skills, but is weak in reading the game and decision-making, as Joe W. correctly notes. The good news is that he can improve his weak areas through more time on the field and good coaching. In the past, even on US age-group teams, I suspect he could mask his weaknesses with his speed and ball skills, but in MLS they get exposed. Even though most of us agree that he plays better at A-mid than forward, I would contend that his weak areas are more of a problem in the midfield than up front, where skills and instincts are crucial.