"I'm going to save my assessment until after the season's over," he said. "It may not be in the form of statements to you guys - it may be in the decisions that get made." He added: "He hasn't gotten enough chances. It's hard to say why. Whatever strikers we've played have gotten chances. Jon Wolyniec gets chances, Mike Magee gets chances, Mike Nugent gets some chances. It's hard to figure out why Clint hasn't." One has to wonder if that may be the last game in a Metro kit for Mathis, who'll be available on a free transfer after the season. Leaving the field yesterday, he even exchanged nasty words with fans. http://www.nypost.com/sports/4010.htm Not exactly a ringing endorsement when even Mike Nugent is mentioned. This is the closest Bradley's come to criticizing Mathis, who usually side-steps these questions.
"He added: "He hasn't gotten enough chances. It's hard to say why. Whatever strikers we've played have gotten chances. Jon Wolyniec gets chances, Mike Magee gets chances, Mike Nugent gets some chances. It's hard to figure out why Clint hasn't." That is bad news for Mathis. It should make Nugent feel good.
This is why we should re-sign him and trade him to the columbus crew for Edson Buddle who is from NY state. I heard some rumblings on how McBride and Buddle play too much of the same game and that the Crew would be lookin to break up that pair during the of-season.....anything!! i'm just so sick of Clint's BS he shows up when he wants, takes stupid fouls and never stands up to take the lead when the metros need him the most instead it turns out being 18 year old Magee and Wolyniec (who was'nt even in the MLS last year) to score the big goals
That should read.... "Nasty words were exchanged with 1 fat loudmouth who should be supporting his team instead of creating animosity especially when the team needs to pull together in this critical time......"
Through an english to NYR metro translator, he also said the following: "We'll have to take a butcher's at his performance during the close season. He's clearly lost the plot and as a gaffer that is something that clearly needs to be sorted, you know what I mean? We can't 'ave him noncing around and mucking about when we're trying to give the fixture list the old what for while challenging for top of the table. I'd hate to send him packing, but he's currently surplus to requirements, as was."
Re: Re: Bradley asked if Clint's a disapointment.....and here's his answer! http://www.nypost.com/sports/4010.htm after reading this.... he's as good as gone, unless he pulls a rabbit out of his ass in Boston next weekend. sorry.
Its a shame that a player, who can be considered as one of the best who has ever played on this club, is in a slump and the die hard Metro fans are rippin him apart instead of supporting him. Is there anyone here that actually thinks that Clint wants to stay...
To be fair, some of those same diehard supporters are the ones who have been standing behind him and defending him since he returned from the ACL injury coming up on 2 years ago. Some of them did a lot of Mathis-defending when all the controversies/pseudo-controversies between him and Arena blew up around the World Cup, or when he came back to the Metros and didn't immediately return to his 2001 form. That's not a defense of his conduct OR the guy who berated him on Saturday, just the facts as I see them.
and to be fair to clint, its not as if he's carelessly parading around the field. he's playing his @$$ off, he just has a mental block when it comes to taking shots. in a nutshell, watch him play on sunday, he will have chances to shoot, but he will take an extra touch to set himself up for a better shot instead of letting it rip. believe me when i tell you, when he finally finds his scoring touch again, we will all be bitchin at bob and sacko for letting him go.
Re: Re: Re: Bradley asked if Clint's a disapointment.....and here's his answer! Clints good as gone anyway. I don't think theres any reason for him to pull a rabbit out of his ass for this team anymore. If he does anything great in the playoffs hes doing it for himself. I can't really blame him.
He did play with more "urgency" the last few games. However, there has been a long stretch that he was in poor game form and did parade around the field a lot. There's no excuse for that, and Bradley (and fans) should feel disappointed.
Yes Bob, Magee does get chances -- like the one Clint gifted him. Right Bob? Hey Bob, what did Magee do with it? Bob, our midfield sucks-it simply sucks. Clint has to come back and play in it because it is incompetent to serve up chances to him or anyone else with any frequency. No transition, no ability to hold the ball, no ability to shut down opponents coming through, no ability to work for a shot -- just aimless kickball between the two penalty areas. Fixing that is your job Bobby Boy. So stop pointing fingers. So just shut up and fix it. Bob, if you think Clint was the problem with the team this year, I have probably overestimated you.
How about this after the USOC final loss: "You want your best players to play well," Bradley said. "In that respect, we probably didn't get enough good performances in this game. "We needed more from Clint tonight -- I think he would tell you that -- but that's the competition part of it. They were able to close him down and do a good job. I give credit to them for that. Obviously, they have good defenders." http://www.nj.com/sports/ledger/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/106628104031530.xml Whatever happened to the "It's a different atmosphere here this year. We're all playing for each other" crap that was being spouted out earlier when Mathis was scoring and the team was winning? If I'm the player whose team doesn't lose when I score that's what I'd be wondering right about now.
This is beyond tedious at this point. After every bad game Bob is asked about Mathis in the press conference. Bob, what's wrong with Clint? Bob, what do you think of Clint's performance? Bob, are you satisfied with Clint? Bob, Clint hasn't scored since September 6th, what is the deal? It's not like he goes in and makes prepared statements. You can only sugar coat things so long. If Kerry Collins went two months without throwing a touchdown pass, he'd be criticized. When Alfonso Soriano went into a slump in the World Series, he got benched for Enrique Wilson and Torre said, "I'm not sure how to get him untracked." Sorry, Clint, you are a goal scorer. At least compared to your sorry teammates, you are, anyway. You haven't scored a goal in two months and have rarely even had a dangerous shot. In the meantime, guys like Woly and Magee and Nugent hit posts and break their necks around the box. If the "service" is bad for Clint, it's equally bad for Woly, but somehow he runs his way onto one or two passes a game and causes the defense some discomfort. Clint...I just don't know what's wrong? So the coach is frustrated. Whupty dam doo.
No, the service for Woly is not equally bad to the service for Clint, because Woly has CLINT to provide service for him. And Clint doesn't.
Which would explain all of Clint's assists this year. Oh wait. He is gone at the end of the season, which could be 90 New England minutes away. Ripping him now is pointless. He had a bad year, enough said.
OK, before you flame me as a troll, know this: I am a native New Yorker. I am just not a MetroStars fan. BUT ... I am a huge Clint Mathis fan. Or was. Correct me if I am wrong about any of the following. I can take rejection -- it got me this far. Disclaimer: I am not a consistent viewer of MLS matches, nor the Metros. BUT ... I am a passionate supporter of the USMNT. My comments relate mostly to Mathis' post-injury performances. Or at least since that beautiful "that's why he's here" goal against South Korea. Are you bored yet? (1) Clint's attitude sucks. Again, correct me if I'm wrong, but on quick moves or counter-attacks, when Clint makes a useful off-the-ball move that does not result in his getting service, he sometimes pulls up and whines about not getting the ball. (2) Maybe he should concentrate on midfield. His vision is great, he has one of the best long-balls around, and he always shows up on the defensive end of the field when you least expect him. I say send him back to the minors and have them convert him to side midfielder, Beckham-style. There you have it.
Clint is most effective up top, not as an attacking midfielder, which is where he keeps playing. How often has he been used as a pure striker? If these are his last Metrominutes Sunday, I'll be bummed. There are many goals left in him, and I dearly hope they aren't at our expense. As for the attitude thing, Clint is a competitor. You think he is happy with the last two seasons of Metro soccer? It might well seem a long time ago that Clint was lifting his jersey to show an "I LOVE NY" t-shirt. NY ought to be saying it loves him, and wants him to stay, but instead NJ is telling him off. The real disgrace is the way Metro fans have been treating its star player in a time of struggle. Having some fat idiot hurl insults at you in front of 70,000 empty seats must be some sporting experience. Especially when you can compare the feeling with that of scoring a brilliant goal in the World Cup - just last year! Why would anyone want to play for this franchise? Best of luck, Clint! Not only will it be greener on the other side, it will even be real grass!
Woly assisted on Clint's last goal in KC, a beautiful ball I might add. Clint has assisted on none of Woly's goals. I'm not saying Woly is great, but you have to admit, the guy does hustle his way to a lot of scoring chances. Can't say the same for Clint, who runs a fair amount, but never seems to get the ball in a dangerous spot. Ahh, as Jamison said, it's all water under the bridge. Go Clint! Score a few this weekend and I wish you well wherever you go.
He's played in the midfield once recently, in the final home game of the regular season, I believe. He played in midfield for the pre-Amado game vs. Columbus. So Clint has been a striker, at least by name, almost the entire season. Under Zambrano, the boards were always alive with "Clint must play up front" rants. I think this adds to some of our frustration the second half of this season. He's been a forward, but he's not getting chances or goals. He is a home run hitter who hasn't gone deep. It happens in sports. It's not for lack of effort. Sure, it would help if Metro were a run and gun team that got gobs of chances. But they are not. It's been a tough second half for the man. We will probably look back at Clint's final MLS season and wonder how he'd have done with a healthy Moreno. There's really nothing else to say.
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more_sports/story/134042p-119486c.html Filip Bondy with a very fair article on Clint Mathis's season of relative discontent.
So Mathis still has bronchitis. Could you imagine running around for 90 minutes when you've got a case of bronchitis? It appears that Mathis has been doing this since at least the Open Cup final. Maybe the guy is getting a bum rap. The whole situation is sad. On a happier note, my daughter wore an old Metros jersey to school today. I am just bustin' with pride!