the most/ or just performing badly all season? For all the criticism people like Mathis and Etcheverry get, it think Cobi Jones has done very poorly this season...I am not mentioning anything about the Dallas Burn, because i think their playing field had some part to do with how their best players performed
although Mathis still scores goals, I think he is underperforming the most. A few years ago he looked like the best striker the U.S. has ever produced scoring a boatload of goals to start the 2001 season, 5 goals in a game in 2000, goals against Brazil, Germany and his World Cup goal, his sleek passing in the WCQ against Mexico in Columbus, his world class free kick against Honduras in WCQ, the fact that US was in first place WCQ with Mathis and then fell to 4th after he got injured, he was on the cover of Sports Illustrated, shared the cover ESPN the Magazine, was on the Daily show with Jon Stewart, was interviewed in the NY Post, was featured in several magazines, drew major interest from Bayern Munich and was linked to Leeds United..... Then he discovered the buffet at Pizza Hut and is now just another good MLS striker.
Dare I say......Brian McBride? OK, then I'll say it--Brian McBride. There's no way a guy who's proven himself in the Premiership should come back and be lost on the field, especially in recent games as his team scratches and claws for the playoffs. I don't care formations, supporting cast, Andrulis, nothing---it's "give me the damn ball" time for McBride if he ever wants the MLS side of his career to even faintly resemble that of the national team.
McBride, to me, has never been the type of forward who can carry the team the way Mathis in his prime did or the way Donovan can when he's spraying the ball around AND scoring himself. McHead needs some serious service to his noggin' to either be able to score on headers or flick on to a running forward or midfielder. It just doesn't seem to be happening in Columbus right now, for whatever reason. Why Andrulis panicked and traded Dunseth, who was settled in just fine at Columbus, to pick up a Mark Williams, who seems washed up and over the hill, if he was ever under the hill, I'll never now. Cunningham's injury has killed them too, despite his obvious shortcomings in terms of passing and staying off side. And Martino just hasn't cut it, not since he got back from the Confed Cup anyway. But I digress: I'll go along with Cobi, who's one-trick pony act turned into a no-trick donkey routine this year. And Meola's another one. He's given up a number of real clunkers this year.
One last comment re McBride. To say he's "proven it in the Premiership", to me, is a tad misleading. He had a fine three months in the EPL, but by the end was the 4th forward, seeing limited action, hadn't scored in a while, and who knows where it was all headed. As far as the EPL goes, he had his 10 - maybe 30 - minutes of fame, and proved he could play with the big boys for a limited period, but I'm still not convinced how long it would last given a full transfer or something akin. And I'm a big fan of McHead's. Always will be.
And just to add one more post to my triad: I don't know if Simon Elliott is considered a "star", but as recently as 2001, if I'm not mistaken, he was being considered as the MVP of the Galaxy. At this point, I'm not sure he's good enough for the A-League, and I'm dead serious.
Ahh...but still good enough, according to Sigi, to be a lock game in and game out for the Galaxy, despite his lack of form all season.
Bo, the South Korean dud. Never fit in, totally screwed team chemistry, never understood the defensive alignments, and gets put in a bowl and get smoked every frickin' weekend.
Earnie Stewart. How many goals did he score? Josh Wolff. How many goals did he score? Jeff Cunningham. How many goals did he score?
I would say the whole Galaxy Team. When I've seen LA play (only twice mind you) Bo looked very good when playing in the back but a little lost in the midfield. I can kind of understand this, as someone who doesn't really speak English (or Spanish, MLS #2 Language) it must be hard for him. As for the rest of the team there is no excuse. Just list the stars they have on their team and you can see that there is no reason why they are in 4th place in their confrence. US Internationals - Jones, Califf, Victorine, Suarez Other Internationals - Bo, Ruiz, Elliot, Marshall Former Internationals - Lalas, Cienfuegos Top MLS Players - Vaganas, Hartman It's pretty bad given their roster.
Ah, yes, but the Galaxy have 6 or 7 of the top 10 most overrated players in MLS history right now on their roster.
I know this is not the 'news and analysis' forum, but the reason i put "established stars" on the thread title was because i wanted to know who people thought was not doing well in MLS while at some point having been stars in this league....So if Bo "never fit in", he was not really an established star, at least not to this league, although i'm certain he did great in other teams abroad
Ernie is only on his first yr Woff has been hurt most of the time (no chance to really either perform well or badly) Jeff. C...Agree...I think he has struggled all season long ....Buddle has looked far better and could easily take his spot next season...It might help him to move on to a different team
Buddle already has taken Cunningham's spot. Cunningham starts the games on the bench. I think Buddle has started something like 10 in a row (could be wrong).
Cunningham has been injured for last 7 or 8 games. He may have sat on bench v. DC (I'm not sure), but he's still not 100%.
*sigh* McBride is a TARGET forward. He is not a CREATIVE forward. As someone said before me, McBride is the kind of player who needs service to be effective. That is why he was so good in the Premiership. Players consistently got him the ball inside the box. If he played for a team like New England with Steve Ralston, I'd dare say he were the leading scorer right now. The truth is, you could give the ball to McBride at half-field, and 9 out of 10 times, he'd lose it within 10 yards of running. Same truth is told that if you gave him decent service inside the 18 yard box, he would put the ball on target as consistenly as he'd lose it at half-field.
Sorry about that. I stand corrected. It looks as though Cunningham made the roster against DC this past weekend for the first time in a while. My bad.