So here, courtesy of the inestimable fidlerre, is a clip of the USMNT goal that Cunny got the assist for. This clip is classic Jeffo. He dribbles into three guys, loses the ball, it bounces to Klein. Calling it an assist is an act of charity akin to Mother Theresa's finest hour. But then watch what he does: NOTHING. He doesn't have the rock anymore so he just quits running outside the box and is almost standing still when the ball goes past the keeper. A striker has to move without the ball, and get his can in there to knock back a rebound. You teach ten year olds that much. But very typical Cunningham. http://www.callistonet.com/goals/011803klein.mpg
after klein shoots the ball, I don't know why he didn't follow the ball. He could have gone well into the box with no danger of being offside. What I wanna know is, after he loses the ball, why didn't he go chase it back down again? and I think he had to take it into traffic only because he had nowhere else.
He had four choices. 1. Dribble into three defenders and hope for the best. 2. Soft pass behind the defender and let Klein try to chase the ball. 3. Hold the ball, turn away from the defenders and play it back. 4. Try a desperate shot at goal which probably would have been blocked.
I rest my case! I would like to review the tape and see how many of his "assists" last season will similar to the one Bill just described.
After reviewing the tape, one would suggest Cunningham's level of play high enough to DRAW 3 people to him, leaving Klein free to his left for a pass or deflected pass. Just MHO.
Yeah, that's it Andy, Yeah. JC sure polarizes fan opinion more than any player we've ever had in Crewville. If he were a woman he'd fit into the love goddess, but total bitch, category.
I was actually being serious. Cunningham is good enough on the dribble to draw 2 or 3 defenders to him. That frees up space for others in the box.
Well then tell me what the hell good it does to "free up space for others in the box" if you DON'T PASS THE FREAKING BALL I don't care if all 11 opponents plus the manager and a couple beer guys collapse on you in a tight 10 foot circle leaving the whole field open. If Jeffy's going to try and dribble through them, then it just doesn't matter who else is open. He doesn't draw all those guys because he's "so good on the dribble" and they were so bloody petrified of him. Rather, he drew them because when Cunny has the rock it's not NECESSARY to mark anybody else; barring something really freakish like what happened here, everybody knows he's about to cough it up.
Leave it to Bill Archer to say what i've been thinking for a long time without me having to type it out. Thank you, Bill.
Bill, Obviously, we all know that Cunningham has a down year last year in the passing department, having only 5 assists. The year before, he is second on the team with 13 assists. I don't think ALL of those were deflections off defenders while dribbling through the trees. What do you make of JC having 13 assists in 2001? I'm NOT saying that he is an excellent passer of the ball. He's not. He tends to put his head down and he thinks he can dribble through anything, which is a problem. I'm not saying that he's a complete ballhog/black hole, nor will I say he is a passing maestro. I'll say he is pretty much in the middle.
Yeah, but it needs to be rehashed every time he tries to dribble through half the defense and loses the ball while two guys are wide open.
Re: Re: Jeff Cunninham Thread # 438,912 I am still waiting for someone to explain how Cunningham collected 13 assists in 2001, yet is classified as a complete ballhog.
Re: Re: Jeff Cunninham Thread # 438,912 No, it doesn't, at least not when it pertains to a match approximately one month ago - especially since it was discussed then. Maybe when the season starts we can have thread #438,913 but until then I see no point in rehashing the same points over and over. Besides, why stop at Cunningham? Let's discuss every player's missed opportunity and go back and scrutinize every player's assists to make sure there were truly, 100% clean assists without aid of luck, fortunate bounce, opponent slip or rebounded shot.
we'll see what happens when Jeff put in twenty this year and his pale sidekick contributes a whopping three.
The only remarkable piece of news here is that Bill apparently still hasn't seen the tape himself. And yet he starts thread 438, 912. Things are slow. Speaking of slow... I can't believe I post on the Crew boards to DEFEND Jeff Cunningham. Tell you what - petition the front office. Get him traded! You keep McBride and Dante Washington, and the team who gets Cunningham will pin your shoulders down and fart in your face. Then they'll do that thing where you dangle a loogie over your victim and successfully suck it back up three out of four tries.
Re: Re: Re: Jeff Cunninham Thread # 438,912 I agree. Good example: Why are McCardme and Torres still with the club?
Re: Re: Re: Re: Jeff Cunninham Thread # 438,912 McCarty is still with the team to act as the team goon. (Yes, I know. He has talent. Great. He needs to cut down on the really bad goonery and the bad, inopportune yellow cards) And SOMEONE has to tug on shirts and kick the friggin ball out of bounds all the time, Toon I do find it EXTREMELY interesting that no one can explain how Cunny got 13 assists in 2001, yet can be classified as a black hole.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Jeff Cunninham Thread # 438,912 It can be explained the same way Jason Kreis has one 15/15 season. He decided to play soccer that year.