When he gets braver on high balls in the box he'll be much closer to the greatness expected of him. That's the one aspect that he has an obvious "weakness" in. I'm sure he will. Especially with someone like Keane getting on him.
I havent read the article but Im not surprised at all, Howard is outstanding, I was a little skeptical since I thought there was a lot of hype but he is really good.
Timmy strikes me as the kind of person who will work his ass off to improve his game. I remember people were worried that he was giving up a lot of rebounds early on, but I don't hear that complaint anymore. He is a player that I am looking forward to watching for years to come.
yeah but it suprises the english United fans, we had never heard of him never mind not seen him play. The thing that has suprised me is the fact he already seems part of the team, he hasnt needed to settle in and he looks like he has been playing for United for a couple of years. Most players especially from foreign backgrounds need time to settle in
I hated to to see Timmy go, as he kept the Metros in many a game. I hated even more to see him go to MU, but he will always be the king of East Rutherford. He was much beloved here, and I hope you people up there give him time to show you why.
That's what's surprising to me too... Here's this kid -- 24 years old? -- thrust into the most intense team in the most intense league in the world. He's hanging out in the locker room with Ruud, having to yell at MU's veteran defenders, and turning away shots from Thierry Henry. He just seems so unphased by it all. I'm still nervous as hell whenever the ball goes down his way. Like I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. I'm dreading the first time he muffs a game, which is just a matter of time for any keeper. I'm just glad it hasn't happened early on... --Mark
So far he's only been there a couple of months. If he does continue to produce at ManU, how big an effect will it have on the impression of US Soccer players and MLS? How long till he can overtake Keller as the #2? Or is that more of a function of how Keller holds up as he ages than it is a function of how much Howard improves?
I hate to say it, but Keller's star seems to be fading at present -- through not much fault of his own. Tottenham needs to get their act together. He's still playing well, I think, but it'll be hard to overcome the perception that comes from playing for a losing team. Thankfully we still have Friedel as an easy first choice... (Sorry for off-topic Team USA discussion...)
Hey, a little more balance guys. He's done what he has to do and he's done it well. But the defence in front of him has performed superbly - 2 goals conceded so far in 7 competitive games and they've reduced a team like Arsenal to virtually zero attempts on goal over 90 minutes. Let's wait until we see him really deal with attacking pressure before we cannonise him
"But the defence in front of him has performed superbly - 2 goals conceded so far in 7 competitive games and they've reduced a team like Arsenal to virtually zero attempts on goal over 90 minutes." I am pleasantly surprised at the defensive play this year. I didn't expect such a solid effort seeing as how we didn't sign any defenders. But O'Shea and Ferdinand have been spectacular and Silvestre has been solid...and Howard has made some good saves when the back four break down.
First a save is against a shot on goal. That could be misleading as the keeper can be very busy and active handling crosses, and leaving the line to get to ball before they actually become shots on goal. ------------ BUT, Manchesters team defense and I am not just talking about their backs now, is excellent. The team is full of hard working defenders when that team loses the ball. They must get a lot of credit for that keeping the shots against them low. I never thought Manchester with that team defense needed a great keeper. They just need a good keeper, and Howard has proved to be a good keeper over time. He had weaknesses with the Metrostars especially with his distributions. Too many clearances, punts and long goal kicks in my view. He throws more now, rolls the ball more now, and passes to team mates with his feet more now so he has improved in that area of his game. Plus the manchester players really fight to get to the longer 40/60 distributions much more the the metrostars did. I don't call a long distribution when players a just waiting for the ball a 50/50 ball because the opponent is facing the ball. I said this before and I am sure Howard just before he goes to bed thinks "I most have died and went to Soccer heaven" Playing for that team.
Utd have the best defense - by far - in the Prem, with their #2 CB out (though, I admit, I prefer O'Shea or Silvestre to Brown... but SAF doesn't). All the criticism that suggested they had to sign an elite defender was ridiculous. The defense played poorly against Real Madrid. Gasp! Over the course of the year, they were the best in England. And they're young and getting better. Defenders don't really peak until about 30 for the most part. This rear guard, along with Howard, is going to dominate for a long time.
"I prefer O'Shea or Silvestre to Brown" O'Shea has made some unbelievable plays this year in defense. Good golly he is just going to get better too. Silvestre is solid but a little careless with his backpasses at times. And Rio is finally showing people that he was worth the money. So calm and cool and gets the job done.
dont rule out Wes Brown, i have no doubt if that Wes had stayed clear of injuries he would be the best of the lot. I just hope that when he returns this time he can stay clear of injuries and show us what hes got
You gotta wonder -- Man U paid 2.3M pounds for Howard, but what's his market value now that he's played with the team? It must be at least four times that now.
Not quite yet. His price may have doubled by now in market value, and United might have a higher than market value price tag on him if somebody actually wanted to come in for him. But it's still early days for him and he hasn't been called on to really make a ton of saves yet since he's playing behind such a great defence. The times he's been called into action, he's been superb, but he hasn't really been tested all that much either.
fixed your post. (from what I hear, Tim's a pretty devout dude... Let's not piss off the Lord on his behalf!)