Reading World website reports that our Marcus has had talks and is hopeful for a callup this summer. He's had a heck of a season, and it doesn't seem out of line, especially three summers out from the next cup. Arena has said he's following his progress... Any thoughts?
I think it is basically inconceivable that Hahnemann would play any significant role in qualifying or (fingers crossed) Germany '06 given Friedel, Keller and Howard. So it's nice for Hahnemann if he picks up a few more caps, but not really important from a USA perspective.
I wouldn't mind seeing Marcus play for the nats. I would have loved to see him and Joe Cannon get called in for the Wales game, and I bet we would have seen it had DC had a game this week. I agree that Marcus probably won't figure into the future plans but then again we've seen Billy Walsh and Imad Baba called into camps by Bruce.
You can never know for sure when a goalkeeper may have a run of amazing form or a run of bad form. It's too early in my opinion to count him out in the grand scheme. A year before the last WC I would venture 90% or USA fans expected Keller to be the number one USA goalkeeper.
Marcus has the bad luck of being good in an era when the US has some great keepers. Like most people, I think he will get a couple of call-ups but unless he does something unGodly, he won't get alot of chances in meaningful matches.
The competition Hahnemann faces week in and week out in the English First Division is of a higher quality than our MLS sides, and he even helped his club side Reading get to the promotion playoffs, so I think he more than deserves his shot ahead of guys like Rimando or Adin Brown. Howard is the real deal and I've got no problem with him being ahead of Hahnemann, but I definitely feel he should be looked at as our #4, behind Friedel, Keller and Howard. He at least deserves the chance to go into camp and show Arena firsthand what he can do.
Marcus has earned his look from Bruce Almighty by playing well for his club. After that, it depends on what he does when he's in camp and whatever games he plays in. Do I think he'll beat out Howard? No, but you never know and he's certainly earned the right to be considered and I damn sure want a bevy of people pusing Timmy, not to mention Friedel and Keller and the guys behind them, so I'm all for this. Hell, I think Marcus is more deserving of a callup than Joe Cannon - who I also like - is. I mean, we could go five deep - Friedel, Keller, Hahnemann, Cannon, Jonny Walker (who also deserves a look) - in GKs before we got to MLS keepers. While I think that Timmy is ahead of many of these, I'm not so sure about Rimando, Brown and Hartman. BTW - We are frikkin' DEEP at GK!!!
Those who think it's absolutely out of the question that Hahnemnn has a shot at 2006 are crazy. Injuries, people. They happen. There'd be nothing that unusual if one of Friedel, Keller or Howard were hurt in 2006. The US needs to figure out the depth chart at 'keeper beyond the 3rd choice.
Marcus deserved a call-up before '99, it's his turn... The guy can play lights out, he's better than Adin Brown by light years, and as good as Rimando is, Marcus owns him as well...
id say that not only is marcus much better than rimando, he is every bit as good as howard - MH definitely deserves a callup
My problem with Hahnemann is that he doesn't play top flight soccer. I have never seen him play so I can't say much about his style, but I would love to see him in the EPL to see what he has got.
neither does howard, rimando, cannon, etc. but they still get called up to the national team camps and squads...if marcus doesn't get called up this summer when he has time off i would be disappointed. he has shown his worth in the nationwide league and deserves at least a chance w/keller & brad not playing. come on bruce, give the man a call!
The point I was trying to make is that I can't imagine all three of those guys being hurt at the same time so at most he'd be a backup. I don't consider that a significant role for the USA. How much credit do you want to give Tony Meola for our trip to the quarterfinals last summer?
MLSers have an edge, all other things being equal, over foreign players. If you bring a Joey Franchino into camp, and even play him, he'll get hopefully get a hair better, a hair quicker in terms of speed of thought. And he'll carry that to MLS and make the league better. Neither Joey or Greg Vanney is gonna play in a meaningful game for us, but it's better to bring in Joey so that he'll be a better opponent for Chris Klein, who may very well play in a meaningful game for us. That'll make Klein a better player. This effect is probably less for keepers than field players, but it's still why Marcus is gonna have a hard time getting called up. Frankly, he may have a better chance of getting called up for the first rounders next spring, against Montserrat or whomever. I think the first of those matches will be in early spring, so the MLSers won't be in midseason form yet. Yeah, it's a thousand to one shot, but why take the chance of an upset? I'd play an in-form Hahneman, esp. if Reading's management is cool with it while Spurs and Rovers might not want to release Keller or Friedel.
He's In Fashion Marcus deserved a call-up before '99, it's his turn... The guy can play lights out, he's better than Adin Brown by light years, and as good as Rimando is, Marcus owns him as well He's In Fashion, Sorry to break it to ya but Hahnemann is no where near light years better than Brown. In fact Brown is light years better than Marcus. Seeing Marcus play numerus times, recently on Fox Sports World I dont even think he is in Brown's league. Have you seen Brown the last two years? Agreed Marcus does deserve a shot at camp over Rimando and Cannon but not over Brown. Adin Brown is 6'5 and is one of the most agile keepers and best shotstoppers in the world. He also is tremendous in the air and his distribution is vastly improving. Please try to get some tape on Adin so you can understand what i'm saying: As for top u.s keepers right now 1.Friedel 2.Keller 3.Howard 3.Brown 5.Hahnemann or Hartman
I think Hanneman has a grasp on the number three spot. If it is true that Tim Howard may be going to Man U, that may lead to a long stay on the bench of Man U. Which means Hanneman who is playing should pass him by, once Howard is transferred. If Joe Cannon becomes the starter at his club as well, he may pass Howard by.
Hahnemann is 31. By the time Keller or Friedel retired or faded away. Hahneman will be not far behind. He will not be their replacement(may be tempoary). I will prefer to have a younger keeper to be understudy to Friedel and Keller. Even if he is the third best keeper in the US, Arena should still look for the future.
Howard has a grasp on the three spot, not Hahnemann. When was the last time Hahnemann was even called up for a USMNT match?
Just to add another opinion. Marcus had an absoloutely fabulous season and i think he kept the most clean sheets out of any keeper in the first division. He is rated by many pundits and newspapers (eg Observer) as the best keeper ouside the EPL and us Reading fans would love to see him get a shot for the National side. PS - A lot of people have been going on about how big Adin Brown is, but MH is hardly small is he? I think about 6ft3 and tremendously agile.
About three years ago Zach Thornton was getting a lot of playing time and call-ups, and appeared to have a prominent role in the US's future; now few rank him in their top six maybe he doesn't make top ten on many keeper lists. Much can change in 3 years. Who knows what could happen?
Aiden Brown is apparently 6'5". There is nothing wrong with Hahnemann's size, it is just not as impressive as Brown's. To me, Brown appears more agile than Hahnemann as well, but I haven't seen MH in two years.
He's not old, he's my keeper A lot of keepers perform very well for nat teams into their late 30s, and beyond that, keepers don't mature and peak until their late 20s. To say that Brown and Howard push MH out because he's 31 is wrong. They may push him out because they're better, but he has two more WC cycles in him, and it would be a shame not to get him some games after the season he just finished.
Hahnemann's play this past season was outstanding, no question. When I first heard of his success this season I immediately rationalized and said oh, marcus must have a great defense and has had little to do. But then I caught a couple of games on FSN and realized he's worked his ass off to become a great 'keeper. I think he can only get better and he at least deserves a shot with the Nats sometime this summer.
Since it's now official and he's on the confed roster, how many games does he get, or do they all go to howard. I think he gets one, and he seems to think it might be brazil in the reading world interview.