He doesn't, he's over in England. Sorry, just a little attempt at humor. I know, I know, VERY little! He's down on the 'depth chart', if you will. Behind Friedel and Keller, there's Howard, Rimando, a few others. If Reading gets promoted, and he does well in the EPL that could change, though.
Welcome to Big Soccer. As American40 put it, Marcus is a bit down the pecking order for the national team--although a place in the Premiership next season may change that. He's in a tough spot--between the "old guard" of Keller and Friedel, and the younger keepers like Tim Howard, Nick Rimando, etc. that play domestically in MLS. Bruce Arena, the national team manager, has stated in the past he's keeping an eye on Marcus at Reading. Marcus will be 34 come Germany 2006, about the same ages of Keller and Friedel. At the very least, he faces a huge mountain to climb to get games for the national team.
If Cannon gets some decent playing time at Lens he could be in the picture also, but how likely is that to happen?
I don't think Hahnemann has ever even made the US national team. He was considered to be among the best keepers in MLS, our domestic league, 5 years ago when he went to England. That move seemed to hurt his national team opportunity especially when he was sitting on the bench for Fulham in your "1st" division. Keep in mind that goalkeeper is the one position that the US is very very strong at. Freidal and Keller are very good even by Premiership standards. Either one could start for England. And some of the younger players (Howard, Rimando and Hartman mentioned above as well as others) are not far behind. Tony Meola, a very good old vet with 3 World Cups on his resume, is still pretty good (though I think he was a failure in England 10 years ago when he was young and raw). As a point of comparison, we have a pretty decent national team, but not one of our strikers or defenders (besides Pope and even he might be a stretch) could even come close to playing for England. Good luck to Reading and Hahneman. We'd all like to see another Yank in the EPL.
I pretty much agree (FWIW), except re Rimando. He is not at the level of any of the other keepers mentioned, except maybe Hartman. Howard, Cannon, and even Aidin Brown are at least a step (if not more) above Hartman and Rimando.
He's got three caps from his Seattle Sounder days in late-94 early-95 time frame, when Fat Tony was on Broadway (or was it the Jets), Friedel was in Turkey, Sommer in England, and Keller in the Bora Doghouse.
Actually, Marcus played three games in late 94 going 1-1-1 in the early Sampsonian period. Lost to T&T 1-0 Shared a 3-0 shutout with Thornton vs. Jamaica Drew with Honduras 1-1 in Dec in Fullerton. Not called in since....
check that - Bora was still coach for Hahnemann's appearances - the glorious Sampsonian era did not begin until Aug '95.
Problem is also... I'll bet very few Americans have seen enough of Marcus to make an informed opinion as to his talent compared to other Yank keepers. Especially since he's been playing for Reading. I remember Marcus from the Seattle Sounders days. He had some good times in Colorado and then did the Fulham Flop which effective stalled his chances as a fill-in for the national team. By all reports he's been excellent with Reading. How to compare him to Meola, Cannon, Howard, Rimando? You cant. None of them has played the same competition as Marcus (this isn't saying MLS is better than Eng 1 or vice versa... just that they are different). I still root for Marcus but he's just a couple years behind Keller/Friedel that unless he can win a job with a Premiership team (like they do)he'll have a tough time getting meaningful time with Arena. And he'll be too old to take over after they retire from the national team. (But I root for him)
In comparison to their other positions on the field, yes. In comparison to other keepers, no. Friedel is good. Don't over-egg the flan. No they couldn't. Friedel more than probably. Keller only if every other English keeper died and he was first on the scene with a pair of gloves. But as per original Hahnemann issue, what I've seen of him is ok. The number of 'clean-sheets' he's got this season can be linked to having a more than capable team around him - but still promising considering his age. Especially if Reading can capitalise on their play-off position. I personally don't think they'll mamge it, but want them to because hooped shirts have been away from the top division for too long.
I remember Marcus from A-League matches on Fox SportsNet.He seemed capable enough,and even pulled off some spectacular saves,but I also remember some pretty bad errors that seemed to come from a lack of focus. From earlier comments from the Reading manager,I gather the same problem has occurred this season as well. BTW,If Marcus had beaten out Maik Taylor at Craven Cottage,he'd already have seen a lot of EPL time this season. Can we agree Keller could start for Scotland?
Well its hard to argue with someone who is "Sitting on the toilet" but if your telling me Friedal wouldn't play over Old Man Seaman and Calamity James your nuts.
You sure would've wanted Keller against Brazil. Let's recap... KK plays Brazil and Romario applauds him during the run of play Seaman, well... as for '06, assuming we qualify (knock on wood) will Keller still be playing for the Nats after 4 years of 2nd fiddle? I wouldn't be surprised to see Hahnemann on the roster, and Keller fishing in the Puget Sound.
It's worth noting that Dean Kiely of Charlton Athletic and Ireland just last week "retired" from the international scene at the ripe old age of 32. He has always been backup to Shay Given and I guess he finally had enough. Only earned 8 Irish Caps and 7 of those were friendlies. He is a very good goalkeeper but always played second fiddle to Given.
Read my post - go on do it. I'm sure you can't have done it first time round because if you notice I'm being disparaging about Keller not Friedel. And to be quite honest I'm not even having a go at Keller - just keeping people abreast of the fact that he's not the second best keeper in England behind Friedel. Can you see it now? No? Read it again.
Fact remains we seem to be produceing a lot of good keepers, and we just began. Each and every year you see a new star born, i wonder how many of the present MLS keepers will see their way into the other leagues come end of season. By the start of the next WC we could field 11 outstanding keepers something unheard off, lol. Hopefuly this will translate over to other field positions as well.
If you're going to base your argument around a game that took place five years ago, you'll have to excuse some of us for being a little sceptical, to put it mildly.
Well you did say Friedel would "probably" start which raised a mild red flag with us homers. Keller may not be the greatest in the world, but we've been reading for a long time how no way in hell can he beat out Sullivan, he can't beat out Lopetegui, etc. He's been proving a lot of people wrong. Just curious, can we have a list of all the English keepers that are a slam dunk to start over Keller?
Well, when I suggest he may be preferable for ONE GAME I don't think it is such a stretch. And well it was only 4 years before the game in question and it did prompt Romario to say it, "was the greatest performance I’ve ever seen by a goalkeeper. It was an honor to be on the field with him." Though I imagine it was said in Portuguese. But this argument you think pales in comparison to the well thought out and documented, Keller only if every other English keeper died and he was first on the scene with a pair of gloves. Tell me, is that for the EPL only? Or for how many divisions? Could we safely contend that Keller may at least get a look from the Irish national team?
I'm floored by your logic. One can tell which thread this is by the sheer lack of posters refuting your assinine and truly ludicrous mis-management of historical fact. So, Keller gets applauded after A SINGLE game against a Brazil side. Bloody hell, that simply must mean he's better. If an ex-Brazil player thought he had a good match against Brazil FIVE YEARS AGO then hell yes, You've got a point - I personally would have given my right testicle for Keller to represent England instead of Seaman. After reading your intricate and astounding proposals as to why we'd have been in a better position if we'd have had Keller in goal, I really am flumoxed as to why we thought Seaman would have been able to do the job anywhere close to the level that Keller would have. I mean all Seaman has achieved since that 'memorable' game Keller had that was loved so much by Romario is - winning 'the double' (both the Premiership title and FA cup) TWICE; won the Charity Shield twice; lengthy spells in European club competitions. That's just since the game that supposedly made Keller. Before that, obviously we'd need to mention Seaman's extra FA cup win (1993) and league title (1991) not to mention the win he helped Arsenal to in the Cup-Winners Cup (Euro competition) in 1994. Obviously we'd also have to mention his 75 appearances for England plus the milestone of 1000 professional appearances (only 2 other England players have ever done the same). Only a player the awfulness of Seaman would have been able to persuade several coaches to play him I would imagine - I mean, it's only 1000 games after all. And what do his employers know anyway? England national team managers and title winning managers of Arsenal - they know nothing. I'm sure if they'd have had your number before the WC, they'd have been asking your advice about ol' Dave, because you clearly know much more about the game as a whole and about Seaman's abilities in particular, than both Sven Goran Erickson (I won't embarass you by listing the crap teams he's coached) and Arsene Wenger. You lambast Seaman off that 1 mistake against Brazil. Ok, to cancel out that 1 mistake, I'll give you the suggestion to give the recent FA cup semi-final (Arsenal - Sheffield Utd) a viewing. It includes a fabulous save that kept Arsenal in the match and eventually helped them win. Just 1 point, to cancel out your single issue. With hindsight, would I put Keller or Seaman in goal? Hmmm. Not being fond of crack, I'll have to resort to reason and fundamental sound logic - I'd put Seaman in and simply tell him to watch out for the toothy Brazilian who'll miss kick his free-kick and get those who know little, all excited. It's the other saves that Seaman made in Japorea that made him an obvious automatic choice - not that one mistake - got it?? But of course Keller the wonder-dog, I mean boy, would have done everything Seaman didn't. That's why he's playing where he is and where he's always played - at the rank left for those who are ok, but not that great. He plays for Spurs for Christ's sake. But yes you do have a point. The fact that Keller got the nod from Romario in a game 5 years ago, clearly means that he'd have done a better job in Japorea.
Oh no, I knew I should have known better than to join a conversation regarding keepers with die-hard Americans. To clarify: Friedel is good, can be very good indeed. Not a bad word to say against him - he's even sounding like us, he'll be ours before you know it. Keller isn't - he's average. That's why he's second best to Freidel. Simple as. I was (initially) just responding to all those who thought (as the post I was replying to did) that Keller could easily start for England and the implications were (I admit from other occasions/treads and fora) that he was second best behind Friedel (in the EPL or compared with England). I was simply saying that neither suggestion is true IMO, and in a lot of others'. You fellows need to calm down a bit, criticism, or in this case mild fact indicating, shouldn't be something to get upset about. The US has one good keeper, the (current) second choice is a decent stand in. Why get all excited if someone says your second choice isn't quite as good as people are thinking? Your first choice should put worries to rest quite frankly. You could try seeing it from this side. We are losing our first choice keeper without a replacement of the same standard. For all the bullspit comments about Seaman being crap - does anyone with at least 5 minutes of footballing knowledge actually believe he is? Sure he's at the end of his career - I know it, the fans know it, he knows it everyone knows it - and he'll be gone in a few months time. However, despite his age, he is still a keeper most teams would still shell out serious money for. That aside, the point is that we do need to find as good a keeper. What I have come to the conclusion is that we should forget about being worried about his successor. We've got 2 or 3 to choose from, and that's what we've got. 'Play the hand you're dealt' is a maxim that must be followed. All are decent-to-good keepers in their own right, but not of the level we'd like. I think we choose 2 of our choices and go with it - if they're crap (what choices did we have?), if not then great. It often takes time for players to find their mark. Especially whilst trying to find their mark in a position that someone else had dominated for around a decade. One must also not forget that our clutch of keepers are quite young and keepers have a habit of lasting and improving with age - rather like a fine wine. It might work, it might not - if not then we'd better have our out-field sorted.
What I wrote down in a moment of jollity is 'well documented'? - cool. I must be important. Do you enjoy being utterly humourless? Or is everything 'face-value' in your life? What fun.