Alvarez [R?]

I was quite impressed as well.

He beat 3 or 4 players off the dribble on his first run, had a few other nice moves, and threaded a great ball through on the last shot of of overtime. He has very quick feet and plays with a lot of energy.

I wouldn't be surprised if Alvarez plays his way into the second forward slot alongside Donovan before long.

 

A comment by Frank post game kinda worries me. When asked if he would play Arturo cuz the fans are impressed with him, his response was "I have to win games."

Now, we're impressed with him cuz he's so darned good and we think we need him to win games. Does Franky see that? I hope so.


You can read more in this thread, with the link to the article.

 

That guys short.

Anyway back to the subject at hand, Arturo did look pretty damned good last night. I don't think he will fit up top with L-Do though. Ching seems to be our best forward option right now. Arturo is probably going to be our #1 sub for this season, coming on for Manny/Donovan/Mullan/Russell or a defender and changing up the formation to a 3-5-2 or 3-4-3 (When were losing).

Any news on the 'Quakes decision on DeRo? Some relief for his season-ender would be nice right about now.

 

On the team chemistry question, you can read what I said in that thread I linked.

I think Ian's response to me telling Arturo that he has made a great impression speaks volumes. His response was, "I'm telling you, this guy is GOOD!" I could tell Ian himself has been impressed with Arturo. And the look on Ian's face told me he meant it. The way he said it was almost like he'd been saying it and his comment was "wow, someone agrees with me" type statement. So he seems to be making a good impression with his teammates.

 

he looked awful sneaky out there - pretty impressive indeed - and wont team chemistry improve when he sets up a few goals? (wink wink)

 

Alvarez looked really good on the dribble. As long as we have both Donovan and Ching, he'll be coming in on the left flank for Lagos.

Let's not forget that Alvarez is pretty much an unknown in the league. He's going to hit a wall once the rest of the league figures out that the kid is really good.

 

That one liner by Agoos at the end of the article is awesome.

 

I know a friend who played against him. He said that he is sensational. On more then one occasion clowned him , he is extremely confident and can beat just about anyone. He has serious potential and should be on the NT in the not so distant future.

 

If that's the case then Yallop should pull Onstad, play without a goalie and start AA.

 

Count me in as an Alvarez fan; that dude is seriously impressive.

Maybe he needs to work on this defense, but he'll get plenty of chances with how think the Quakes are this year. Lagos had a great game last night but there's no way he can go 90 every game Arturo will get his chances.

 

Yeah, I agree with all of this. I thought Manny should have come out long before. On the close-ups he was really sucking wind and looked about 100 years old. I really like the idea of Donovan and Alvarez on the field together, with LD as forward and Alvarez in the midfield. It reminds me of another good combination on the Nats, Donovan and Beasley. Sure hope this gets to happen more and more.

 

i can't wait to see this kid play, and if y'all don't start calling him 12 STEP, i'll be disappointed in you lot.

 

He was great. Hopefully he's the first guy off the bench when Manny or Ching run aground.

But I worry that Frank's game plan might be summarized as "Landon and 10 robots."

 

That's a bit extreme. I'll take it as a jest.

 

One of the more obvious spots for Arturo would be on the left side of the midfield. Right in front of another young rookie. FY may hesitate to insert Arturo into that spot, as his insertion may make Dunivant more vulnerable.

My guess is that we won't see alot of minutes from Arturo until at least mid-season. By that time, FY will have a better sense of how well an Alvarez/Dunviant combination can defend.

 

I suspect you will see Lagos with Alvarez coming on in the 65th minute pretty frequently. And I dont think it should be considered a knock on either player, Lagos is probably going to need more rest than he has in the past, and Yallop may not want to see Alvarez try to go a full game with as inexperienced as he is. Our midfield should be strong either way.

Now two years down the road when Donovan may feel Europe calling we will really be glad to have Alvarez I think.

 

I agree with most of what's being said, the kid's got some serious potential. But I think we're getting ahead of ourselves. I haven't seen him make a decent cross yet. His dribbling and technical skills are unbelievable, but he can't serve the ball to save his life. He also missed an open netter in Champion's Cup at Spartan. He'll have his day in the sun, but for now I only see him in limited minutes off the bench. Don't forget we have Ronnie coming back soon.

 

AA seems like a great candidate to play in the "hole" behind the two forwards. Just on watching the KC game, his strengths seem to be passing vision and the ability to get behind the first defender with skill in tight spaces (rather than simple speed, though he seems quick). Two qualities that are vital to that role. Not sure if he can shoot, though.

Obviously too early to tell if he will pan out, but he does seem like a classic "number 10" style of player in the Kyle Martino type mold.

With the team as thin on the bench as this year's, I think AA will see plenty of time to slowly make his mark. Starting on the left side is a good idea (a less risky proposition that handing a 17 year old the reins of the team), but I think AA's future is pulling the strings from behind the front two.

 

Alvarez definitely is worth a shot for last 30 mins over the next few games. I feel Lagos/Coralles are too similar: leggy blokes who take an age to come to a gallop. When you factor in (the excellent) Eklund.....we only have Mullen in midfield with the pace or skill to beat players on a regular basis. I'd play Lagos, Mulrooney, Eklund, Mullen and bring on Alvarez in last 30 for Lagos.

 

Only in the extreme.


(P.S. You're familar w/ Pele's assessment of Rumenigge/Germany?)

 

You mean two months down the road, when Donovan is called to France and we have to take on the Galaxy in their new stadium. I'd be happy to see Arturo in the withdrawn forward slot.

Manny got some good goals for us in the CD Municipal game right? But overall I don't think he's looked very good or been very effective, this season or last.

I've always been a fan of Manny, but if you're starting position is being challenged by a kid, well them's just the facts.

Look at our run at the World Cup. Arena had the same attitude as Yallop about green players, right up until the tournament basically. Then he realized he had to stop looking at Beasely, Donovan, Mastroeni, etc as kids and start looking at them as soccer players, assessing them for their contribution on the field. If you look at Arturo's impact Saturday versus Lagos', there's just no question Arturo wins hands down.

 

Dude, your smoking CRACK!!!!! Arturo needs to start NOW!!!!!!! Ching sucks and so does coach Yallop!!!!! Ching's horrible on the ball and played terrible last Saturday! Unfortunately our beloved coach likes the British style of play and doesn't favor talented players that possess true ball skills. Arturo would team up beautifully with Donovan and just imagine the 1-2 play or give and go that the two would feed off of each other. They would put all of MLS's defenders on their heels.

Such a talented player as is Arturo Alvarez that has imagination and is very creative on the field doesn't fit Yallops system.

 

I totally agree! Alvarez needs to be up top with Donovan. Alvarez is the kind of player that needs to have the room to create chances or to do his own thing with the ball! His qualities are better used as a midfielder or center forward as oppose to being positioned out on the left flank.

I think Yallop is smoking crack for not starting ALVAREZ! He better put him in against the Galaxy on Saturday or else I'll be fumming after the Quakes lose!

 

Obviously you weren't at the game on Saturday and if you were you were probably at the concession stand. The boy only had 10 minutes to work with and within those 10 minutes made a big impact! He also almost got the game winner in OT. I remember seeing a couple of good crosses from him on Saturday. Who know what you were looking at?