Gibson has evidently found it tough to break into the squad. Mainz is close to promotion, aren't they?
Duahney rated 4, Gibson was not on the roster due to a flu. http://www.kicker.de/content/spielp...2/03&spieltag=21&spielpaarung=572647&turnier=
It was his first game from the start and the second in total. But remember that Coach Klopp was not satisfied with him at the beginning and always told that he got to learn a lot. Afterwards you could sometimes hear that he played good friendlies and Klopp praised him for the things he learned. I can't really judge on it as I never really saw him play, neither before nor now, but I wouldn't wonder too much if he's a whole lot of better than the last time you saw him.
Tough to imagine much upside for Duhaney... I wouldn't call him "lousy" (maybe even above-average in MLS), but he's not skillful and is prone to rash challenges. In short, there's plenty of defenders in MLS who could take his place on the crew. I was surprised when he went to Germany, though, and really it's hard to imagine him improving too mcuh with the tools he has.
I was at the game Sunday. After having read some, ahem, somewhat, mixed reviews of Duhaney's play for the Crew, I was not expecting much. Wow, he didn't disappoint either. On literally his second touch...he held the ball (at about his own 18) in a fit of god know's only what idiocy and indecision, was duly dispossesed and was luckily bailed out by an outstanding save by goalkeeper Dimo Wache. This prompted some accusatory raised eyebrows in my (being an ami, myself---and somehow guilty by association) direction. I could only shrug and say, "hey, the Crew cut him..." An inauspicious start, which drew a sympathetic, "He is most likely just very nervous, this being his first start..." from my friends---beware the sympathy of usually hyper-critical German fans (not, German fans in general---my friends, specifically---this comment, I believe, shows how embarrased they were for me as an American, and tried to cheer me up! As if Mike n' me were bro's back in the states...) However, young Michael wasn't through. Over the course of the 90 minutes, he: was flagged for a bad throw-in, saw virtually EVERY pass connect with the other team, and by virtue of perhaps the worst clearing header I have ever seen (which went directly to Rot-Weiss player)...had a hand in the only goal for Oberhausen on the afternoon. Now, surely, you say, he wasn't THAT bad, right? Well, even during the post-game celebration he screwed up! ...he appeared to be yelled at by Juergen Klopp---for trying to leave the field before acknowleging the terrace fans as is customary after the game. Not the kinda game you wanna have if you wanna break in the team...
His weaknesses were game instinct and skill, not athleticism, and coaches who think they're great like to get their hands on that type of player...
todd, you were at the match and we weren't, but if Duhaney was that bad, why didn't he get a 6? Or even a 4.5? D'ya think you might have exaggerated for the humorous effect (which we all appreciate)?
I can not imagine how you can say this. He was cut by MLS and not one team picked him up, even for free, even just as a bench player. So the objective fact is that he was not considered of MLS quality.
Most players can learn the instinct part over time--most young guys. Duhaney's due to turn 29 this year according to mlsnet.com!
superdave, perhaps I exagerated a wee bit ;-) (I do recall him winning one challenge) but man, he had a nightmare. He was floundering. Everytime (and I mean everytime) he played the ball forward he gave it away. Several times he was caught in possesion at or inside his own 18--- either through indecision or a horrific touch (perhaps both?). He allowed the attacking players sooo much space and time. In the second half, he closed a little quicker, but was still REALLY shaky back there. If he gets another chance---reports are the Marco Rose has an awful case of influenza---so he might... wow, he better step it up. As for ratings, generally Kicker doesn't ever give a 6 or a 1, and they don't usually give lower than a 4.5 if the player was on the team that won. (am I right Olaf?---this has just been my observation---I have seen 5's---Tony Sanneh this means you--- but not usually on the winning team)
1 or 6 is hard to get, but 5 happens also on winning teams. I just checked last week's winners and found that Cottbus' Löw, Dortmund's Ewerthon and Bayern's Elber were rated 4.5; in D2 there was one player rated 4.5 and one rated 5 on the winning sides. Certainly that's much less than in a losing team, but it happens everytime. I can't argue with you on Duhaney as I didn't see the game, but some of Mainz' fanpages rated him pretty solid.
Anyone know what is going on with Gibson (besides the flu)? Does he ever have a chance of breaking into the first team at Mainz?
he got in a game back at the beginning of oct.---came in at around the 80th min., he was coming back off of injury---didn't show well ...but obviously didn't have much time to make an impact. there was a late game collapse which allowed Karlsruhe to tie---and he was part of the midfield that allowed it to happen. perhaps this is why he hasn't seen the field since. or maybe because the young morrocan, mimou azaouagh, has shown some real flashes of attacking flair, and the rest of the midfield is pretty well set. what with the promotion battle coming to a head...he'll need some luck (maybe Klopp will want to keep everyone fresh), or some injuries to see the starting lineup. the general consensus is he hasn't really stepped up his game from the regionaliga yet. Disclaimer--(I can't say what happened during preseason and such, since I didn't move here till sept...and I couldn't find any info for those games on the two sites I check most often)