"In my mind I’m nobody’s reserve..."

I heard about this article on 810WHB this morning.. who then also said that Meola was going to be on later to comment on it (preki playing) and also to comment on his going to MetroStars. Listening online now to hear his disparaging(spelling?) remarks.

I hope Preki does get to play. Even start a game so that we can see what he can do.

 

if only every player had his passion.

 

"I'm fully fit and ready to go"

Is that why he almost passed out after scoring that goal against Chicago, making is only spirited run of the game for a distance that wouldn't even make Nick Garcia take a breath? He even looks tired warming up jogging behind the goal. If he can't contribute defensively, can only pull out speed for brief moments when there is hope of goal-scoring glory and he's gassed after 30 minutes, why would we waste a sub when we can have someone like Jack out there that will hustle for 90 minutes AND create plays?

I just became a Wizards fan last year, so I don't have the Preki sentimentality that some do. To me, the objective analysis is that the old man is done. His role is a late sub because he only has those few minutes in him. No doubt he can still be magical, but if he can't get to where he needs to be, what good does it do?

Of course, I guess that is no worse than Josh, who can make the run and doesn't.

 

Well if he can run around with the reserve squad for 90 minutes, that's saying something.

It's not like Preki ever relied on his speed in the first place.

 

And I can count on one hand the number of times he has "helped out defensively".

I like Preki as a player (hated him back in the old days when he played for Tacoma), but maybe he should just take on the role of mentor for the younger guys and continue to be a "last 15-20 minute" sub like against Chicago.

 

i totlay agree

 

I have two questions for you, staubio.

First, how old are you?

And this is not about how phenomenal Preki is for his age. It's more at the time necessary to come back from the injury he suffered at his age. Wati until you are over 40 and you will find it isn't the first or second day after but the third. Yet Preki is getting up and doing it all again on all those days after. And after a 90 minute performance with two assists and one goal in a reserves match and I would say he may finally be at full fitness.

Second, how do you know he was gassed?

You keep saying he "looked" gassed to you after that run and score in Chicago. You've been a Wizards fan for only a year. So, it would seem to me you would know nothing of Preki's demeanor. Nor whether his "look" indicates being gassed or if he was recovered.

I do see an older player. And he hasn't quite the speed he has in the past. But speed was never really his game. And neither was defense. By all accounts, I have actually seen him play more defense since coming back from surgery 1 and surgery 2 than I did before.

 

With all respect...you MUST be a recent fan. Watch some tapes from 2000 and tell me how much we need Preki to play defensively. We DON'T. He's our playmaker - he's a genius in many ways - his skills on the ball are virtually unrivaled - and defenses have had 10 years to learn his moves and try to stop him...and they still can't!

If constant speed is all it takes to be a great player, Freddy Adu would be a great player...but we all know how this sentence ends.

 

I had a pretty good feeling I'd come under fire for my comments. I do hesitate quite often to post here because it does seem to be an old-timer's club. Just keep in mind that people like me are the future of the fanbase. We need growth and while I'm new to the scene, I am as passionate of a fan as anyone.

That said, I don't think it matters how old I am. This discussion isn't about how well he can perform relative to other guys that are old, it is a discussion about how he can perform as compared to other players on the roster and how he can contribute to help the team win. Yeah, he is one of the greatest players ever, but what can he do now? How is the fact that is takes longer to recover an argument FOR him?

I'll gladly eat my words if we see Preki start and keep pace for even 60 minutes. I don't see it happening. There is a reason Bob isn't starting him.

Oh, and I'd gladly take any tapes from 2000 to watch. I didn't live here at that time.

 

he was most certainly gassed. he didn't make another run the rest of the time he was in there.

 

In those days, Gansler used to always play 5 or even 6 in the midfield to make sure Preki could just float around. Maybe you could play him as a forward. Still, I prefer him as a substitute. I don't trust him to be consistently able to go 90 minutes in a first team match, and do you want to be the guy who subs him out?

 

He may not be the most fit player on the team but most of it is the way he runs. He has always appeared gassed even in his mid/early 20's when i watched him play for st. louis. he still has plenty left at least for the rest of this season with wolf/zags out for nats duty.

 

Exactly. And he has always made appearances deceiving.

 

Exactly. He lopes/jogs, but he's always where he needs to be. That's part of his experience; he knows where to be so he doesn't have to sprint to catch up. Hell, look at Valderrama. He never broke out of a walk for christ's sake, but he was always at the right place to make the right plays.

 

Zags isn't out for Nats duty for the Copa de Oro.

 

Preki plays well sometimes and is questionable at other times. I will say though, that I'm glad Bob put him in while we were in Chicago. Without Preki we wouldn't have tied and we reallly did need at least one point from there.

So there is a time when he shows that he still can make a goal.......every once in awhile.

 

just speaking about the season in general. this is actually best case scenario for preki.

 

But it is not an old timers club any fan is welcome here and in 114. No matter what age you are (6 months to 77) or how long you been around the WIzards. You might be shocked to see how old us oldtimers really are.
I agree with what your saying that he might not fit that starting role. The last 15-20 minutes, still down a goal should be his bread and butter. Last weekend there was no reason to bring his ass on. Bob did the right thing and save Grandpa's go-go juice as til next time.

 

Damn! It looks like I picked the wrong week to claim I'm a senior citizen.

 

he remembered how to do his cut-back, but i think he forgot how to shoot. that one sequence when he went right by at least 3 defenders, but never got a shot off was a wee bit frustrating. you could tell he knew it too. if nothing else, he sure does wear his heart on his sleeve.

 

I'm 25.

Not only are young people in their teens the future. So are those people that come to Kansas City from other places and have MLS available to them for the first time. Kansas City is a regional attraction for young, educated people, largely because it is an exciting place in the middle of a boring pile of states like Oklahoma, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Arkansas and rural Missouri. We stand to gain a lot from this demographic, particularly as Kansas City's urban core advances and attracts more of the demographic from the coasts. I think a major upside of KC and the Wizards is that we're changing demographically in ways that are favorable to ventures that require active people with disposable income.

Anyway, I must say that I was impressed with Preki last night. He looked pretty rusty, but he definately played with passion and looked like he could keep pace for the most part. Maybe some more time on the first-team pitch will bring back more of the magic.

 

Wait.. what are you trying to say here?

a) That most of OK, NE, KS, MO & IA *aren't* boring

or

b) Kansas City isn't exciting either