I like the Jeff Cunningham Watch Shawn's been doing in his Crew Review, so I thought I'd continue that here. From Shawn: "Jeff Cunningham watch Goals: 132 MLS record: 133 Saturday: Did not play. The Crew averages less than a half-goal a game from the run of play, yet the 2009 MLS scoring king has played in only four games and hasn't started since the loss at D.C." Not much more I can add to that. I'm just perplexed as to how Jeff has seen so little of the field. Maybe it's just circumstantial: RW prefers a 4-5-1 + JC is not really cut out for that role + Mendoza is on the books for a quite a penny so they feel the same pressure to play him. Whatever. Clearly, we can't score and we're lacking any type of creative presence and yet ... we have the almost MLS leading scorer, who only two years ago was the Golden Boot winner, sitting on the bench. My mind is boggled. How is there not more of a fan revolt over this? Maybe he's over it, but, really, can't be much worse off than Mendoza, yea? The Free Jeff Campaign begins here.
Yup...common sense says to try something/someone different. Then again, we're dealing with RW here. It's almost comical how often RW talks of how we're getting chances, but we need someone who can finish. That someone sits on the bench about twenty feet away from him every game. Pathetic. Free/Play Jeff Cunningham!
RW should go back in time and take a look around Crew Stadium's banners... It's kind of hard to FEAR JEFF CUNNINGHAM when you don't play him.
Free Jeff Cunningham, He hates laughs at Toronto as much as we do. Free Jeff Cunningham, Him and Renteria up top watch out. Free Jeff Cunningham, He is not Useless like our current DP.
Jeff is sitting the bench... reminds me of another Crew coach... maybe RW will end up like that guy. (good luck George Mason!) Though, seriously, play Jeff now.
I would not like him here or there. I would not like him anywhere. I do not play Jeff Cunningham. I do not play him, Sam-I-am.
him and rents showed they can play together against Dallas, so why not start both of them against the timbers?
I am beginning to see more and more similarities between RW and the coach of whom you make reference. It's making me more than a little nervous.
Because Bob's so cautious he wears suspenders and a belt. We should be happy he's willing to play one forward. Two would be insanely reckless.
See this is what I am not getting about this season at all. Up until this year RW was a very aggressive and offensive minded coach. This year it is literally like watching Italian football instead of RW's self-described total football approach. It is all about get a goal and hang on or hang on like crazy defensively and hope for a counter or PK. I'm just not getting it and it's frustrating.
I tried to find that classic photo of Jeff and GA - where GA is "directing" Jeff and Jeff has that look of "whatever idiot." If I remember correctly, there was an old thread "caption contest." Fact of the matter - I ran across that image weeks ago and now when I try to find it... no where. Figures.
When they hired him and announced the staff that was coming in to work with him, I said it would end up the same. All of these guys were groomed under Andrulis, as players and coaches, and it's been the same thing ever since. I've never really understood why people thought that about Warzycha. He wasn't really an offensive minded player (at least with the Crew), yet everyone seemed to think that he was going to push us further forward than teams did under Sigi. Yet last year we scored 40 goals, the year before that 41, and the championship under Sigi we scored 50. Now I know it can be argued that guys got older each year and what not, but I think a lot has to do with the way we played. I don't know if Warzycha claimed he would be more offensive, but he hasn't been and that's a fact. The final point I wanted to make was that changes need to occur beyond Cunningham. I think that he is someone who could help us (or at least should be given the opportunity to) offensively. I do know that he has never been a cold weather guy and always has taken forever to get into those games. Maybe the coaching staff has realized this and hasn't used him off the bench because of this. I think, though, that many other changes need to be made. We continue to put up a lineup that isn't working week after week. The only change that was made this year, not by force, was Duka for Ekpo. I'm not going to go into who all I think needs to be switched, since that's not the point of this thread, but other things to go along with Cunningham would make sense in my mind.
Stadium policy is: Banners are encouraged provided they are not commercial, offensive, or in poor taste.
The question then becomes at what point do you hold it up? When the team walks on the field? Announcing the starting line up? When Mendoza comes on? Anytime Coach Warzycha looks across the field?
I think it would be awesome to plaster the whole section in some Cunningham two sticks, or even bigger displays. Some more fancy ones that I am sure folks like Thoma could go up. Some even with simpler- Name, number, "Free Jeff Cunningham", etc... Get them all up at once. Start chanting: No Jeffro, no peace! No Jeffro, no peace! No Jeffro, no peace! (Cunny would also work, Cunningham might be too many syllables)