Judging by Bob's recent comments regarding Mathis, and Mathis' lack of success (100+ minutes against the team with the worst record in MLS, including a PK, with no result) the question is: Does Bob have the balls to sit him for the cup game? I'm not referring to effort, just results, since that's what counts at this point of the season.
That would be stupid. He is still one of the better players on the team. I would like to see him change his game a little. Stop one touching the ball every time he touches the ball. He should 2 touch as well at times. Pass and move instead of passing and stopping. As a matter of fact I don't want to see him wait in one spot for any reason unless he is totally open already. That would be enough for him to be a lot more effective then he is right now. Even if he is only walking. It is a lot better then just stopping. This way he isn't clogging up the middle when he can't beat a defender into space instead of just standing around. Then he will be pulling that defender out of that space. Then someone else can beat his man into that space and be dangerous. Richie
The question is does Mathis have the balls? He's not taking on defenders, he's at open net and not shooting. Where's the arrogant striker that Mathis used to be? There were a few times during the Dallas game that he had the shot decided to one touch it to somone else. Some times that somone else was wearing a Dallas kit. If Mathis can't find his pair, then Bradley's gotta sit him.
I think the bigest change Bob should make is replace Williams with Clark at defensive mid from now on. That would take balls to do it just before the playoffs. That is Clarks best position, and it would keep him at least in the area of the middle of the field. He would be a good outlet for a first pass from our backs to start the teams attack. We would get a lot out of him on defense, and even in the attack from the middle of the field. We get little from Williams when we have the ball now. Williams should come off the bench if and when he is needed. This small move would make us a better team now. richie
No. Bradley would rather lose the match with Clint than lose without him and be second guessed. That's why I admire what Arena did in the WC.
Having to sit the bench and come on as a 2nd half sub might actually light a fire under him - nothing else seems to have so far. Who knows - maybe it would work.
This is the worst thread I have seen in awhile, its making me wish for another pointless NYR Metros post or a triplicate Gio17 rambling......... Bradley will play our best players. Clint is one of our best players. Clint may not be putting up numbers, but that doesn't mean he's not playing. Everyone else should shut up and let Bob do what he does best, and so far his best is better then we could have anticipated. We are in a Cup final, we never have been before. I can't believe people are questioning this man.
Do you actually think Bob is paying any attention to our ranting? I wish he was, the team might improve a little bit if he did. 1500 heads are better then one. Richie
In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king. We all are Ray Charles here. Bob is a professional and a damn good one, we don't interact with the team every day. He does.
it's a two line post, the only opinion I do give is that Bob has the brains! My Question was if he is unhappy with Clints play, does he pull the ballsy move of not starting him on Wednesday. I thought it was a valid soccer question.
He leads the team in points, and is the leading goalscorer. He has played fewer games than just about any regular in the lineup. I think you can make a pretty good argument that he is still one of the team's better players, if not the best.
Let's see, you're assuming I don't watch the games because ... my opinion is different from yours? Whatever. Clint's a frustrating guy. Maybe he's not the player he was, or maybe he's not the player we all thought he was. I guess the question of whether the Metros are better without him starting is a fair one, but I'd still answer that question no.
You cant argue that Mathis is not one of the best players on the team.... he may not be performing like everyone would like but that doesn't make him worse then Woly, Magee, Lisi..etc. There are times when the most skilled players dont gel with the team or playing style doesn't fit in with everyone else on the team... that doesn't mean the player isn't one of the best on the team at soccer. Can anyone argue that Mathis isn't the best shooter on the team?? Who is the most dangerous player on the field most of the time?? Does anyone else on the field get double teamed when he touches the ball other then Guevara?? Somebody might say Woly is more dangerous but if u watch the games Woly gets alot more space then Mathis could ever dream to get.... how many of the missed chances by Woly(and yes there were tons of them) would of been in the back of the net if Mathis was there instead?? Its simple... Mathis is one of the best players on the team that isn't playing well... dont get me wrong- i'm not defending Clint on any account, i dont mind seeing him go next year, but to say that he isn't one of our better players is just wrong IMO..
No not at all but when you base you initial arguement that I have to question that logic. Based on that, almost every forward is the best player on thier team cuz they rack up bigger numbers. I doubt that's what you meant and I'm not out to bash Mathis at all. I still think he's can be a terrific player when he wants to be. My concern is that his head often doesn't seem in the game and as mentioned here earlier he seems reluctant to pull the trigger on shots.
Well, guess what you just did. You defended him! That's what you did! It's right there! See? It's right there! Look, look! If Mathis is not playing well, then he CAN'T be one of the best players on the team. How far will you people go to defend this guy? No player on this team is this important. Mathis does not do it for me. I know Bradley's got more insight than I do, but I trust my eyes, and I see a player who is washed up, and we're in the playoffs now. If I had anything to say about it, I wouldn't wait for Mathis to get his second wind.
Mathis is still one of the best players on the team. However, he is not nearly as good as he was before the ACL. He can't take on and beat people one on one anymore. If he could he would be doing it left and right so he knows he can't. Which also means he can not create his own scoring chance anymore. ----------------------------- He can still help bring the ball up the field with his passing. He is one touch crazy. Not necessary to do it as much as he does it. One touch to make a through pass yes that's fine and nice to watch. One touch just passing to hold possession no that is stupid. That just leads either to another pass by someone elso or loss of possession. ----------------- Can he finish a chance created by someone elses pass? Yes, if he moves without the ball, and beats his defender into space. It does not seem to happen that much for him. One reason could be other players up field are standing and waiting for a pass, instead of clearing space with their off ball runs. However, when he is up he also waits for the ball as well. I am at a loss to figure out why Bradley does not notice this and change it. You have to move out of space when you don't ge the ball and your marked. you can turn on a defender and shoot sometimes if your a quick player, but you should not do any one thing all the time. ------------- Now let's say you want to compare players recovery from ACL. Like Armas and Mathis? You can't compare the two because Armas never had the skills that Mathis had. So it is a lot easier for Armas to get back his old game then Mathis getting back his old game. But Mathis could be doing little things to make his game better in other areas over all. He doesn't bother he does not have a will to always be up when the ball is up that should be obvious to us all. That is part of being a good scorer. If he is up and is in a support position he can still get a ball and score. That doesn't happen. Worse thing for me is when he passes he watches the pass and does not continue his attack in the flow of play. I hate not seeing that. He would get a lot more good shots off if he did that. Attacking in the flow of play after the pass does not mean moving far away from the ball during that attack. More distance the harder it is to get a return pass.
I think Bradley's noticed: "...You’re going to have games where you play a team, who packs away a lot of players behind the ball and it’s the players job to find openings, and play passes that can open things up. The players need to move in ways that can eventually get your goals, so when we weren’t able to do that, it’s frustrating.” It all comes down to execution and some games, like against New England and Dallas, the Metro just don't execute very well during the run of play especially in the final third. Mathis is part of this problem but I don't see how sitting him is going to solve it and I don't see his possible replacements bringing the same skills he has to the game in other areas besides scoring.