It got cleared out for a throw, which we then wasted. I had no issue with Mendoza today -- his sucking was equal to or less then the rest of the team.
I actually thought Mendoza was one of our more dangerous players tonight. Not that that is saying much, but when we were looking dangerous he was involved. I saw him hustling for balls when they were near him, and a couple nifty little touches. It could be better, but as previously stated, he certainly was no worse than anyone else. If the rest of the team could step it up a notch, especially in the midfield, he might stand a chance to do something decent. My biggest problem was that the rest of the team seemed to want to play long balls to his head, when he is definitely better with his feet. I couldn't believe how much we just wanted to kick it as far as we could and hope someone runs under it....
Oh come on guys. Reading way too much into the comment. It was made about the 80th minute of a game in which we had zero shots on goal at the time. I was frustrated to say the least. Fair to put it all on Mendoza? Certainly not because he wasn't getting much help. However, when you are the highest paid player on the team you become a lightning rod when things aren't going well. I would love to see Mendoza do well and propel our team to victory. I just don't think he is the guy.
I'm sure I'm not the first peruvian to say this--even within this thread--but, Mendoza was never the same player after his missed goal vs Ecuador in 2005. Now he just doesn't care. He has no ambitions, no passion, no focus, he's not even in shape! All he will do for Columbus is receive his paycheck, score *just enough* goals, and go home. I used to be his biggest fan. His dribbling and playmaking was nothing short of amazing--and he's young enough to have 2-3 years left in him. But I don't see any of that when he plays for columbus. The world is totally against him (and has been since 2005 when he missed that sure goal), and now he's just rebelling. Personally, I think Columbus Crew fans are witnessing the 1st stages of his nervous breakdown.
Yes, not counting the one golden chance he missed by a mile, and the three or four misdirected passes that turned into giveaways, and the lack of willingness to hustle and compete for balls, putting all of those things aside, you're right, he did absolutely nothing wrong. How could we expect him to score when nobody was willing to go into the box and get tripped so he could take the penalty? Let's just blame it all on the midfielders.
Evidently you didn't watch the game, you must have had an iso-Mendoza camera because our midfield was absolutely horrendous - but instead of actually watching and analyzing the game in depth which would actually show the deficiencies all around the field, lets just blame the dude we all hate for being a selfish, loathing prick that makes way too much money.
I can't believe I'm defending Mendoza, but you're forgetting the screamer he glanced of the crossbar in the first five minutes. Great run by Gardner (or was it Meram?), excellent little through ball and Mendoza almost put it in. That, the chance by Eddie a couple of minutes later and two or three far fetched but well taken balls by Epko were the extent of our threats.
Actually I did watch the game, and I agree that our midfield was lousy (surprisingly so after Wednesday's performance). I don't give *anybody* a pass on the blame after an outing like that. Gaven had possibly his worst game of the season, for no real reason that I could see. But I dislike people trying to defend Mendoza (or any player, for that matter) by saying he didn't stink any worse than the rest of the team. By no means was he solely responsible for the loss. But that's not to say that he shouldn't be held accountable for his part in it.
After a game like this, a player's amount of "stink" is directly correlated to the amount of $$ they make. Ergo, Balchan's Stink < Gaven's Stink and Mendoza's stink >anyone else's and several players combined.
Hell, I tried to make myself feel better by texting in an All Star vote for GBS, but got this reply: "MLS: Sorry we don't understand. Pls check the keyword and try again." Sigh. Crew Cat
If only I had the power to ban.... which reminds me, when KCbus gets kicked out of the moderatorship, let me know when you and fiddy are taking applications.
Why can't we do both? Seriously, I thought Mendoza had a bad game yesterday. But a lot of it wasn't his fault. We had no possession, especially in the second half. The forwards weren't seeing the ball. And he couldn't get on the same page with Eddie Gaven, who has not played well for a month. There's only so much you can do in a situation like that. That said... Without trying to make an excuse or let anyone off the hook (as there's no excuse for the turd laid on the field by the team yesterday), this looked like a team that wasn't thinking about soccer yesterday. This looked like a team whose minds where everywhere EXCEPT in the game. And that's the kind of crap that can happen when fiascos like the one from Wednesday cause distractions. They see a team coming in on short rest that's winless in eleven, think it's smooth sailing, and they allow themselves to be more concerned with the turmoil than the tactics. Am I reaching? Maybe I am. I get annoyed when people assume that "shitty performance" and "lack of effort" are automatically interchangeable. So maybe I'm trying to do a bit of the same here by saying "lack of focus". I don't know. But can anyone honestly say it WASN'T an issue? To be at home against a lousy team and be that unprepared to play? Now, I'm sure hang is going to come in and light me up now, but let's not forget that the players themselves said that in '08 the team loved each other, pulled for each other, and supported each other. Anybody getting that sense these days?
Damn it, damn it, damn it. I ********ing miss that camaraderie so much. It is that kind of love the team has within itself that helps endear fans to the team.
Viva Mendozaaaa, Viva Mendozaaaa Panther from Peru Scoring for The Crew Viva Mendozaaaa! [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_11KVAeWAg"]YouTube - VIVA RONALDO - United in Rome‏[/ame]
Just for the record, how many goals does Andres need to score this year for people to get off his back? 10? 12? 15? 20? It won't matter, people will always hate him. Now, he's not savvy media wise, and he doesn't give effort like Dirk Kuyt, but the ball does trickle into the net pretty often when he's presented with an opportunity. No way will he get to 20, but I think 12-15 is possible. He's already got 6 (5 MLS, 1 CCL) in what, 9 or 10 starts? If he stays relatively healthy, and we keep pairing him with Renteria or Heinemann, I think 15 is a reasonable target. As beleaguered and belittled as he is (and not without good reason sometimes), the list of guys with more MLS goals is pretty short, and they all have played more minutes except for Davies. MLS Goal leaders: 1. Donovan 8 (3 PK) T2. Davies 7 (4 PK) T2. Henry 7 (0 PK) T4. Wondolowski 6 (0 PK) T4. Hassli 6 (3 PK) T4. Shea 6 (0 PK) T7. Mendoza (2 PK)
Disagree. He scores 17 and I'm off his ass. Also, I do not think there is a question where starting Heinemann is the answer. I was one who was calling for him to start but now I feel his role is as supersub. I realize that we are thin upfront so if he starts, I won't freak out. The inevitbale return of Renteria is combination with a midfield that seems to have pulled its head out of its own ass (granted the changes in the lineup combined with the effectiveness of the midfield is glaring) lends itself to an improved second half. I will now knock on wood. Also, is there any general date for O'Rourke return or is that not going to happen this season?
For me personally, it has ZERO to do with his production. It's his attitude. I'll cheer when he scores, but I don't think I'll ever "like" him. I haven't seen the game last night, but I'm glad we won. Individual contributions are secondary to that (generally speaking).