Thanks for the support on keeping the team, it's nice to hear. On your other comments, maybe you'll just understand that I don't agree with your assessment of my posts. Particularly with respect to unquestioning acceptance of the coach and his decisions, or of blindly supporting the team when they are doing well and then complaining as soon as they lose. That is most definitely not the case. Back to the original subject, if you go back to my posts on Julian Nash you'll find my mention many, many times that he has improved significantly but that his skills and consistency are still in question. And you'll see a couple of other people who knew Julian from Creighton talk about how his work ethic and approach to playing 90 minutes were in question. But this thread just basically started with a premise that Julian has been lucky to find himself in a position where we were down to basically two forwards, and he got his chance. He has done well enough to continue to get some playing time, and only time will tell how he pans out. Some fans are calling for him to get more playing time, but I believe it's more because of the shorthandedness the Quakes have at forward right now. You believe you are objective, and perhaps you are, based on your old data on Julian and Bret. But you have not seen them play and practice at the professional level, most of us have. For whatever reason, maybe Julian finally gets it and knows what it takes to make it; while you might have felt he didn't compete all the time in college, it sounds like he still got playing time. That's not likely to be the case with San Jose. Come back and revisit the issue in a few months, we'll see how things pan out. I honestly won't be surprised one way or another, the jury is most definitely still out.
You are being foolish because you reduced 6 mos to 20 minutes with the first team of MLS game time and you know that's not a reasonable thing to do. You know as well as anyone that his current coaches have a lot more to go on than that and they're rating him worthy of a run out as a sub. And that 6 months aggregate impression is a lot more valid than a college career that's now in the past and where his sport was not his main job. Taking one's classes and graduating might not be job one in a few sports in the country, but soccer isn't one of them.
I think I might be one of those people CUgrad01 is saying that are calling for Nash to start, even though I havent gone that far... although I have been one to ask he be subbed in. That opinion however isnt because I think he is or is not the third best forward currently healthy and ready to go, but because I think he has been the best of our foward options at holding the ball up for midfielders to get into the attack. It adds a dimension I think we lack at times with Moreno and Cerritos. Maybe getting cut by Dallas was a wakeup call. Maybe Kinnear and the teams atmosphere has brought out the best in Nash. Regardless, if hes putting the work in practice and developing consistency, we should evaluate him on that, not on what he may have done in the past. He may revert, but he should be considered innocent until proven guilty.
Interesting to see the interpersonal dynamics play out on this thread, especially the inability of some posters to understand that the messages they send sometimes reveal more about them than about the subject per se... Having said that--I don't see that anyone has suggested that Julian lacks talent, only that he may not have (or have had) the mindset or maturity to contribute a solid 90 minutes to a game. If his shortcomings are developmental, seems as though he's found the right team--our coaches have a good track record for bringing along players whose attitude has not yet caught up with their ability. He's only 22 years old, and it's way too soon to pass judgment.
From what i've seen no one has passed any judgement, just said maybe he's worth another look. i would like to see him get afew more minutes than he has been, even if it's only so tha fans can see him play and get a feel fro what he can do. I only remember one game where he really needed to make a difference (Colorado, came in tied at 0-0), but maybe I've been napping during the games. Seems like the other times we've been hanging on for a point on the road or 3 at home. The one time I remember actually needing an attacking threat freom the bench to gain points was Colorado and in this game he came through with a nice assist on Dero's goal. I'd also like to take a look at Levesque, he's using up a roster spot at a time when the team is really really stretched for depth, if he's A-league material only then sell him off to Seattle and bring in someone who can contribute when we are stretched. However, I can only be a verry verry litle bit critical of Dom's decisions based on the results he's gotten.