Earlier this season, many on this board expressed some harsh criticism of AG. I feel good with AG in goal. It will be interesting to see if Hesmer comes in as soon as he is healthy. A few more clean sheets from AG might make that difficult. Either way, I think AG has a good future with the Crew. Your thoughts, criticisms, venomous bile?
I think we have a great situation here. AG is young and inexperienced but has a strong defense in front of him so that he's not bombarded with goal scoring opportunities. But it's not just the defense that is making him look great. Every once and a while a good shot gets through and more often than not, he's been there to make the save. I think it's the perfect setting for a young keeper to develope and he's doing it well. I raise my glass of Kool-Aid and cheers to Sigi!
I don't think Sigi can just drop AG for Hesmer unless AG does something very poorly to warrant Hesmer getting a crack. It would seem that it's currently AG's to lose. HEBREW HAMMER TIME!
This reminds me...and I dont mean to put pressure on the poor guy but... Sirk's Notebook has the possibility of being truly epic this week.
I agree 100%. The guy has played really well. He's made a few mistakes but seems to have learned from them and has taken the coaching he's received and applied it to his game. What more could a coach ask for in a young player at any position? He's the #1 until he does something out on the field that would indicate he's not progressing or listening. We had a few people clapping along in 107 Saturday night to our very, very poor rendition of Hava nagila. Hebrew Hammer theme song?
after seeing that run on Saturday I can totally see him in the opponent's box screaming "KEEEP!!" while taking a shot.
So, how long until he gets a real contract? Seems like a bargain starting keeper at DEV minimum........... He'd probably progress faster if he didn't have to work at the GAP to make ends meet.
Thought you guys might find this interesting-- Andy's mom used to cruise these Boards (as a proud parent) but quit some time ago because of the flack he was taking. She has stayed in contact with some from Des Moines area, and will probably make it out to a Menace game this year. Very cool lady.... hope we see Andy again this season at a game. He is always welcome here.
Well, he's not going to get a "real" contract until we have fewer than 2 keepers already on the Senior roster. If things go well for Andy, I'd assume he pushes Gaudette off the squad at some point. As for the proud parent, well, wish somebody had told her that this isn't Disneyland and is in fact a brutal place and should be avoided if you don't want to see your son taken to task once in a while (or often, depending on who your son is).
I think he's a better keeper now than he was just a few weeks ago. Looks like he has a good coach and the potential to develop. He also has some competition for his spot.
As has been said before, he also has one of the better defenses in the league (to this point at least) in front of him which is allowing him to gain some confidence which is helping him make those big saves when a shot does break through on us. If he keeps this up though, there won't be any reason why he shouldn't get a nice big pay raise and full roster slot by next season at the absolute latest.
Agreed, I thought his positioning on free kicks was better and he has the guts and size to draw respect on interlopers into the box. His mistakes are aggressive/positive mistakes rather than pure shot blocker - my style keeper.
Having a good defense in front of you makes every keeper better. However, there are a couple times in every game where the good ones make the saves where they need to. Reviewing the game, the biggest moment of test for AG was the free kick DC had just outside the box in the 67th minute. Gomez put in a wicked bended that demanded a good save and Andy got it, damn near punching the ball into first row of 103. The fact he has his entire MLS career in front of him is very comforting to me. As a former keeper, I like seeing a strong guy in the last line of defense. Remember, the DC game was only Andy's sixth start of his MLS career (including two from last season). This is basically his rookie year. Sigi said during the preseason that fans would have to see who was in net at season's outset and that he was very satisfied with the players he had set for goal (injuries notwithstanding). I guess he knew what he was talking about. I'd love to see Andy continue to grow. Having him in net for the next five or six years could be very rewarding. And remember, goaltender lifespans tend to run longer than field players (witness the number of keepers that are effective, if not world class, well past 35.) Oh, and about that developmental contract? Dont worry about it. If Andy continues to put up the kind of numbers he has so far over the course of a full season, either Wild Bill or Hesmer will be gone quicker than you can say Dos-a-Cero! I have a feeling thats exactly what may happen.
Well, as an early critic of Andy I must say I've been delighted so far. He did go "walkabout" again last game, on a ball wide 35 yards from goal on the sideline, so there still room for improvement there. But he' definately improving. I'll take him over Hislop right now (and others, like Dida).
His last wanderlust moment wasn't as scary and he actually did what he was supposed to do with it when he got there. So, at least he learned that if he's going to go out there, not to jack it up....
That didn't bother me as much as his indecision earlier in the game when Emilio was in a race with Ezra. He went back, then went back out and Ezra cleared for a throw-in.
For all of you who were upset that we didn't draft Seitz: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/soccer/mls/2007-04-30-rapids-saltlake_N.htm Andy would never have picked up that ball... he would have dribbled around both opposing forwards before playing a through ball to Joe.