i'm curious about other's thoughts on dema playing the d-mid spot. i think by the end of the year he will be one of if not the best in the league....obviously he had problems on the first goal...but he seemed to steady the midfield after that....and is certainly a bull-dog presense out there. more than anything else though...i liked how he linked the defense to the attack. his occaisional attacks forward were dangerous and one can really see...once this team jells...how he should be able to cause havoc creating counters.
He marked Preki exceptionally well (after he lost his jock on the first goal.) His willingness to dribble out of the defensive third was particularly encouraging. I thought he was lucky not to get a yellow card when he completely scythed down Klein in the first half.
To be perfectly honest, I thought he did quite well last night.. But, once Ivanov gets back to health, Nelsen will move up into the d-mid spot and that will free Dema to move forward in tandem with Marco.. That will be fun to watch...
Agree with everything here. From the moment Preki scored, Kovalenko was his shadow for the rest of the game. Having an outlet man that can actually play (i.e. not Richie Williams) was a huge help, especially with Hudson having us trying to keep possession as much as possible. He showed a lot of promise, though he does have to cut back on the thug tackles.