just a suggestion. don't flame me. my point is that they are both slow, but davis is faster, davis is younger, and davis has better attacking flair and sends in dangerous crosses. i know he's not a left back, but at some point during this tournament, bruce should at least try him there for a few minutes to see if he can fit in. a team like the following could be dangerous: --------------------keller-------------------------- dolo-----------gooch------conrad-------davis -------------------mastro--------------------- quaranta------------job---------------dmb ---------------ld------------casey-----------
The devil's advocate says: Don't give a guy his first shot at playing a new position in a tournament game. But other than that, it sounds like a nice idea.
Davis' weakness as a LM is his defense...I don't think he could play LB in MLS, let alone internationally. His future on the team is as the long-term replacement for Eddie Lewis.
the only thing thats not an upgrade from vanney is hejduk and hes on the roster too, but im interested to see what davis can do, although he may not have deserved the call up, im just not to worried about the result of the gold cup, i just wish it would be used to figure a few things out, instead of playing has beens and never will be's. best of luck to davis i hope he can show something
hejduk is an upgrade from vanney speedwise, and speed is the operant word when you are playing the outside back position. that's why arena uses him there as a stopgap - even when he has vanney available sometimes. it depends on the speed of the opposing team - and cuba has speed.
FWIW, after seeing the team practice for three days last week, Arena never played Davis @ left back. So I don't think this idea will come to pass. And to be comprehensive here, some folks a couple of weeks ago wondered if either Davis or Olsen might be tried @ left back and Olsen always played midfield as well, mainly centrally but a little on the wing.
Why does everyone keep saying they dont care much for this cup? do u guys not realize this could be the one and only piece of silverware we will be able to pick up in quite a while. I mean the next tournament is the worldcup do u really think we will be able to win it, i thought so. after that is what copa america were not going to that either I mean the only tournaments we participate in are worldcup and gold cup I at least want to be able to say weve won something in the past 10 years
Be assured: He most certainly deserves a call-up. As luvdagame said in the opening post, he "sends in dangerous crosses." As big an understatement as you'll find on BigSoccer.
Davis has poor defensive instincts... which doesnt mean technicly he cant handle it, hes very good in the tackle actually, its just that he doesnt read the game well on the defensive end. Hes a midfielder with an emphasis on the attacking side of the ball, pure and simple, and a pretty good one.
perhaps we could've called this thread something else: Moldy Cheese - an upgrade from Vanney An Inanimate Carbon Rod - and upgrade from Vanney why should we worry about an upgrade from Vanney ... it's not like he's our first choice for big games? yeah, it'd be nice to have better depth, but if he gets tossed out there for a game against Cuba ... so what?
IN honor of the former Galaxy defender who is so damn good his name escapes me : A lefty orange traffic cone is an upgrade over Vanney....
Davis has a good touch and crosses the ball well, he is not fast, he can't defend and he is soft as butter. Vanney is not great physically but he gets a lot done with his experience and is outstanding on the ball. Davis is limited midfielder and Vanney is a limited defender, the only comparison is that they are but limited but effective in certain situations.