Is there anyone else think that Gaven has been pretty much useless to the Crew? As a forward he needs to be getting more shots, and the ones he gets need to be on frame. He shanked at least three last home game and blew a couple great chances today. I know he is young and has potential. But what we need right now is output in the means of goals. Comments?
Not at all. Last year I thought that but this year he has been a good midfielder. Sure he doesn't score or take many shots but he is only one person. We're improving, don't worry.
This might be a topic in other threads that I haven't gotten to yet, but I'll take the bait and respond here. Gaven needs a magic enema to get his ass in gear. It was frustrating watching him on Saturday, as he'd give up on plays so quickly and stop running. He get down into the corner or around the box and get the ball knocked away. Instead of keeping in the play as the defender took his touches to get control, he'd just watch the Wiz walk away with the ball. His shots are crap most of the time. He has zero confidence. Honestly, he needs to work out his funk in practice and on the reserve squad. Somebody else who's going to make a difference should be starting instead.
I'd be among the first to suggest that he has not performed entirely up to expectations, but "SLUG"?? That's going a bit overboard don't you think?
I don't know, have you seen the expression plastered on his face? Close enough in my book. Not that he's slimey or moves that slow... he just needs to round into form as a non-starter... that's my biggest gripe. Maybe he'll be more motivated and put it all out there if he only had to play 25 minutes. The big thing, was while watching him on Saturday, I was constantly reminded of Sigi's comment about kids just mailing it in so that they could head to Max and Erma's for lunch. Now, just the fact that his play reminded me of that says a lot, IMO.
I love how we can understand our players based on their facial expressions... Gaven is a slug. Schelotto isn't happy to be a memeber of the Crew. I didn't know we had so many experts in kinesics on BigSocer.
Well, I'm just saying he looks a little flat (expression wise) whenever I see a close up. I don't think slugs have too much expression either. Not saying he's clinically depressed and has a heroine problem all based on a facial expression, now am I?
I hope Eddie knows Spanish or is quickly learning it. If anyone can benefit from Guillermo's presence it is definitely Gaven.
Yeah, with Guille and Herron spanish speakers (and maybe Mango speaks Spanish as well as Portuguese -sp?)... That's several people directly around Gaven's zone on the field that are spanish speakers. If nothing else, he just needs to learn a few phrases to help with positioning on the field.
I take players at face value and on that basis Gaven is useless - a waste of cash and a roster space.
Slug? I'm not sure what anyone else is seeing, but the eyestalks and the aversion to salt seal it for me. Just find him a warm, moist spot on the field, add in a little decaying vegetation and watch him shine. Literally.
I don't think that I would go so far as to call him a slug or a waste of cash. The reason I say this is because of his performances last season when Seb would get to play. You could see Gaven's game pick up immediatly. He seems to be a player that needs really good players around him to flip his switch into the ON position. His interplay with Guille is what I am most interested in.
I hope you're right and that Guille and Gaven will be really dynamic together. However, at some point, a guy who is acclaimed like Gaven has to be able to perform w/o special players around them. Again, he's still young, and I'm not saying send him to the USL or anything, but that he shouldn't be starting when he is stuck in a funk and can't get his A-game to come through.
I really hope Gaven is socking money away, because there is no way he gets another contract like this one with these kinds of performances. Can you imagine turning out that kind of effort and collecting 10 times the money that some of your team-mates get? Absurd.
He's still having way too many concentration lapses for a player with his experience, but he is young so it should still be somewhat expected. Now that we have Schelotto and Herron coming back soon, I would like to see what Gaven can do off the bench, when he only has to play for 15 to 20 minutes, instead of trying to keep locked into the game for 90 minutes, which he has shown so far to be incapable of doing. He has improved technically and physically since he's been in the the League, but mentally he's still the 16 year old we saw running around for the Metrostars.
Fortunately for us, what Eddie Gaven makes SHOULD be the last thing on any of his teammates minds at this point. When you consider that our goal scoring leaders are Kamara, Grabavoy, and Ezra(all with 1), then I'm not sure who outside of Gonzo, Andy G., and Hejduk isn't overpaid. In the end Gaven isn't the only one not scoring goals for the Crew.
if by SLUG you mean lack of foot speed, well i certainly don't think any sane person will confuse the kid with carl lewis. but if by SLUG you mean slow to react in the attacking third then you hit the nail on the head. look, anyone can take the ball just before the halfway line, do a nice spin and dribble away from someone and retain possession. that's easy since most people at that part of the field are inclined to retreat and not get burned. however when you get near someon'e 18 yard box you bet your ass that as soon as you received the ball you are going to have 2 guys on you lickety split. the good ones can turn with the ball, retain possesion and not lose it. the great ones can quickly turn and beat a man or two. currently, mr. gaven can do neither, and he loses the ball and a nice counter ensues, where hopefully mr. o'rourke will earn his paycheck. and that's pretty much about it.
I haven't given up on Gaven. If we were to waive him, I'll bet 2/3 of the teams in MLS would make offers for him, even at $180k/yr. His potential upside is huge and, given his age, he is 100% certain to show at least some improvement. Let's not give away our blue chip stock.
Gaven just needs to work this out on the bench. I'm sorry, we're a major league franchise, not some high school soccer team. If he's having problems, let him get it figured out on the bench in reserve games. Let him get special attention at practice. He could work a lot better with trying out new tactics and approaches when he doesn't have the crowd riding him after every mistake. On a somewhat related note, what a terrible time for the MLS salaries list to come out! At least for Eddie. He's having a sub-par year, from what many expected, and then it's seen that he is the highest paid player not named Guillermo Barros Schellotto.
I couldn't disagree more. Gaven needs to be on the field, in game situations, with Schelotto. Period. If he needs to be with the reserves, then he needs to be somewhere else.
Well that's the catch, now ain't it? I mean, look at how long EJ was in a slump. Is it officially over? Well, until he scores on stronger teams than DC and TFC, then I'll reserve that call. But he's always played his funk out on the field, and what good has that done his club and country? Oh, and Gaven hasn't shown that kind of prolific scoring clip that EJ once showed, so take that into account. Yeah, I can agree with the [if he's got to play reserves, he shouldn't be here] thought, because the logic should say if you're being paid like that, the expectations are high. I don't suppose we could trade him to TFC for a major allocation, which we could then send to Dallas for Ruiz?