Corey Gibbs This was my first look at Gibbs and he looked great. Yes he should have stepped up on the goal, but the scorer could have just cut inside on him, spun him around, and scored that way (of course Hejduk should have never let him get that far, but this thread isn't about him). He was put in a very difficult position. Overall though, he looks like a very good defender and I think the Burn might have the best signing in this offseason. Thoughts?
Re: Corey Gibbs young fast strong with good technique. A real good-loking national team player. Can play center or left.Love him.
3rddegree will confirm my ability to say this: those of us who pushed first and fastest for the Gibbs signing knew what we were talking about..... ...as IG & GE can confirm. -bs
How about an [R] in the title? Also, isn't it Cory, not Corey? i could be wrong on that... He and Bocanegra looked very comfortable against the Dutch. Even Berhalter looked pretty good. I was impressed by the D and Keller, especially when missing Pope. Other than Hejduk who stunk up the place there couldn't have been more than 50-60 caps in the starting back line. I don't know how many Berhalter has...
He really impressed me. The man has some wheels. In the post-match thread somebody wrote that he was slow to get over to assist Frankie, which just floored me. For one, I thought he showed incredible speed getting over. Secondly, he was man-marking van Nistelcheat so it wasn't really his primary responsibility until it became a crisis which is when he acted. Surely a fullback in a back four has to show some ability to at least slow down a winger on the ball. Once he closed down Robben I thought he could have done better but really any attempt on the ball would've resulted in a PK. Probably was better to take the inside and hope either Robben mis-kicks or Keller makes the save on a decent angle. His positioning and overall tactical game was excellent too. How many times did he catch Ruud offsides? Can't wait to see him in red & black.
Gibbs OK I was on one of the post game threads earlier and there was some discussion (naturally) about him. The general impression there was that he played really well, very solid. His only lapse could be his play on that goal. A little hesitation or a misread, however you want to talk about it. Otherwise I was impressed. The other thing I would look at is his proclivity to knock a ball long. I haven't seen much of him (only today's game), but it seems like he'd rather hit the long ball than go for a possession pass. We had no offense, so he may have been trying to fire things up a little. Anyone know a little more about him? Is this a regular thing or a situational thing?
A backline like this Gibbs---Boca---Pope---?(Gooch) would certainly give teams some fits. All of them would be over 6 feet and have size, speed, and toughness to match any opponent.
Yes mon! This should be our backline. I was pushing for Gibbs a while ago, and I am pushing for Gooch. A backline of those four would be impressive, and definitely up to WC standards. As for that goal, anyone blaming Gibbs just doesn't get it - Hedjuk was burned, all day.
Re: Gibbs OK Really? I would have said just the opposite. Yes, when he was running back on defence he would clear it wide, but thats an accepted play which allows players to get back. However, going forward, I saw him on at least three occasions pull up just before hitting a long ball and then slide it over to Bocanegra. It looked to me like he didn't have confidence in hitting the long ball. This is certainly no knock against him. He played a great game and effectively shut down Ruud. Also, his physical tools, size, speed, and strength were probably the best on the field for the US. With a little more seasoning, he should be an automatic starter for the US for the next 6 - 8 years.
Alot of our questions will be answered by his MLS play, but the glimpses we saw of him w/ St. Pauli suggest he ain't no left fullback. Maybe Boca can play out there and Gibbs move inside. That's a better deployment.
He did not look out of his depth. He looked pretty good - but the best thing is he can still get better. Dallas has a great defender right now and the US has a great one in the works.
Nice thing is, now that he plays in MLS, he'll be much more readilly available for WCQ games than when he was in Europe. We'll need him.
Gooch is not a RB, he is a classic CB. He played wide when younger, but has grown, I believe he is now 6'4" 200lb. Plus with Pope in his 30's I would see Gooch as his understudy, since it seems our best answer for the LB problem is to move Boca out there.
Has Gibbs played centrally or on the outside for his club team? What is he expected to play for the Burn? I thought he was an outside back, and was surprised to see in the center yesterday with Boca (who has noted his preference for central d) on the left. Not that I have a problem with Boca on the left as we are deeper in the middle and he does a good job out there.
Gibbs played CB & LB in Germany and even played in the midfield some. He is slotted to play CB with Dallas and will probably play there almost exclusively. I think Boca's better ball skills and crossing ability will probably make him Bruce's choice at LB over Gibbs.
When we could catch St. Pauli on FSW, they played with 2 (!) backs. Gibbs was a pure manmarker. That was the beginning and end of his responsibilities.
At Gooch's size - yes he is better suited for CB. Remember though there were many questions about Sanneh's ability to play RB also because of his size. He turned out to be a surprise. Before typecasting him as only a CB, lets give Gooch a deserving chance at RB to see what he can do at the senior level.
He has size, but how big is Van Hoojink? If Gibbs is 6'1, this guy has to be 6'5 and 30 pounds heavier. That, my friends, is a target forward.
There was some speculation on the Burn forum that Gibbs is actually 6'3". Error in the database ala Soriano's age.
Gibbs: Why come back to MLS? Obviously he has the defensive skill to shut down a lot of top class forwards....I think it was a mistake for him to come back although I'm glad he's playing for the Burn..
He came back to be a starter on the national team and then get a good deal in a top flight league in Europe. My impression is that he was getting lowballed on his contract offers and is now making as much as they were offering but in a better place to see time in qualifying.