Frankly, I don't see how anyone can defend Kasey on this, given that this article had several quotes, none of which were, "I was excited to see the US make the quarterfinals."
blech, you really shouldn't make that much sense. Gets you ignored a lot. Just because the article didn't include a Keller quote along those lines doesn't mean he didn't make one. Not saying that he did, but only Keller and the article's author can say that he didn't.
It would be very strange for Tottenham to put out an article that underquotes Kasey and thus makes him look bad.
Was there a story that Friedel was going to pack his bags and leave if Keller started during the World Cup? I may be wrong but I seem to remember this.
I hate idiots. I really do. 1. The British Press has a little history of twisting, extrapolating, and even making up words for a story. An open and bitter rivalry between Keller and Friedel, the only two American Keepers worth writing about, is great stuff. 2. Keller has done more for US Soccer than any of you ever will. Eat Shit. 3. Keller owes nobody any explanation. His performances, including those that helped get us to Korea, are a big reason Brad even had a chance to shine. 4. I happen to know, very well, Keller's happiness for US Soccer. I know this primarily from private communications to mutual friends, and you can choose to believe that or not. I don't happen to give a fucking rats ass. If you choose not to, go look at tapes of the games for yourselves. On a couple of them, you will see Keller, one of the most reserved people I have ever met, celebrating happily with his teammates. Or you can go back and watch the Nike Cup, and see Keller getting off the bench and tearing into a Jamaican for a hideous tackle. Kasey IS about the team. I am an admitted Kasey fan, but if any posts were still around from BS BC, I would be happy to point you to multiple posts where I thought Brad would be the right choice. Kasey picked his poison when he signed with Spurs. But to hear people call him any number of stupid names is hilarious. Or perhaps just sad. Three words are tantamount in developing an opinion. CONSIDER THE SOURCE. Idiots.
Nice rant. Fact remains that the US gets to the q'finals and during the WC, he comes out and complains about his individual little problem. Sorry, I'm not really going to sympathize with that. Look, we had people on here before the WC saying that if Arena started Keller, Arena would be nothing but a liar since he said that you need to have a regular first team spot in order to start. And now he's a liar for not starting Keller? And what evidence do we have? Oh yeah, the guy with an axe to grind. Oh well, maybe I would be more sympathetic to him had he chosen a to play at a club other than Tottenham. Too many things going against you, Kasey. Sorry.
You know, if the shoe was on the other foot (Brad), I'm sure he would whine as well. Both of them are whiners. Don't even get me started with Meola.
Yeah. His rampant whining in the WC nearly tore the team apart. Its incredible that the team spirit was not shaken by Meola's daily rants about him not starting.
Th story wasn't from "the British Press" but from Spurs website, including direct quotes from Keller. Unless Spurs are deliberately making stuff up about one of their goalkeepers, your rant seems to be a little off the mark.
That doesn't sound negative to me at all. I'd expect a keeper at Kasey's level to think that he wouldn't make the mistakes that Friedel did.
The article's intended audience was not US fans but Spurs fans. The quotes they chose fit the point of the story--that Keller was going to use disappointment at not playing in the WC to motivate himself in the competition for Spurs starting keeper. Even if he did make statements of support for the US run--and I am not saying that he did--the author may not have included them because they did not fit that theme. As for whether or not Keller was lied to--BA said in interviews before US-Portugal that he likely would play both keepers and that he expected them both to play well. He also said during and after the WC that he had planned on alternating between the two. (I don't know what he told or implied to either keeper in private or team discussions.) In that context, I can understand how Keller might feel he was lied to. I also can understand how a coach who finds his team doing better than he'd anticipated, with a keeper playing so well, has to decide not to risk a change.
Your second sentence is absolutely true. The first one is a little iffy. I'm a Keller fan too, and actually was moved to start posting on BS (after much lurking) in part because I wanted to refute what I saw as Keller bashing. However, I'm disappointed by the fact that virtually every quote from Keller since the WC has had a self-centered ring to it. Now maybe that's partly because reporters aren't asking him about anything but his lack of playing time and he's answering. And maybe he doesn't owe anyone an explanation. But I think that he does owe the guys he played with some kind of public respect for the acheivements the team managed, first and foremost, before he moves into his personal issues, whether he's expressed those sentiments privately or not.
"Your honor...." "I'm way ahead of you counselor. Sir, need I remind you of the penalty for perjury? Objection sustained."
There was such a story run by the press. It was also refuted as nonsense by both Brad and Arena, who were the 2 people supposedly involved.
That's why I wrote something like, I find this article disturbing, instead of really ripping Kasey. I still say it's weird that a Spurs flack would leave that out. I would think even a Londoner would want to hear a word or two from Kasey about how he's happy for the US. REMEMBER PEOPLE...Kasey also thought Hoddle lied to him. So any Spurs fan would be aware that Kasey has a history of outbursts that might stem from selfishness or a rampant ego. Nutmeg, speaking of hating idiots...which seems more likely? 1. Kasey was screwed by Hoddle AND by Arena (despite the fact that one of the things most Nats say about Bruce is that he is honest with the players), OR... 2. Kasey hears what he wants to hear, and likes to be a victim, and is doing the same thing to Bruce he did to Hoddle. When people here were slamming Kasey last year for his remarks about not getting a fair chance to compete with Sully (people were saying that Kasey should have known he was the backup), I defended Kasey, saying that none of us know what Hoddle said to Kasey before he signed. And I'll say the same thing now. Nobody knows what goes on behind closed doors. Still, it seems more likely that Kasey is to blame than BOTH Hoddle AND Bruce are to blame. But I can't say for sure.
Because before the Portugal match Arena was saying much the same things. He had been planning on rotating keepers with Friedel starting against Portugal and Keller starting against South Korea. With the win over Portugal, apparently, everything changed, and then when Friedel had the game of his life against South Korea, Keller's chances were pretty much done. Friedel did not have a good game against Mexico (funny as it was the only shutout), but he otherwise played very (though the German goal was not an unstoppable chance). All the evdience suggests that Arena was planning on rotating keppers and seeing who had the best form. He apparently abandoned this with the win over Portugal.
Whine not...maybe that's part of the reason. However--we really don't know what else he said that wasn't reported in the club piece. So what was printed may indicate whining, but what might not have been might have put what was written in better context.
Not exactly. Bruce was saying this before Keller got hurt. I don't think Bruce said anything about this after the injury. If WC rules were like MLS rules, where the GK is a free sub, some of this complaining would make more sense. They aren't and it doesn't.
Where there's smoke, there's fire... If this was the first time Keller *might* have been quoted as saying something that was all about KK and not about the Nats, I'd blow it off. In fact, I did blow it off the first three or four times. But after awhile you have to think that he's really got an axe to grind and that he said what he's quoted as saying. I'm sure he's upset that he didn't get to play and probably was told at some point that he'd get a game in J/K. But he saw the Korea game just like the rest of us and knows (in his heart) that had the situation been reversed there was never going to be a switch. His comments are out of line imho, and I say that as someone who thought Keller should start v Portugal and that he probably still should have started v Germany after Brad's poor(ish) match v Mexico.
In as much as this makes sense to soccer fans, why couldn't Arena come out after the Portugal game and say some nice things about Keller to the press and explain he had to go with the guy who was hot? He also could have shown some sympathy for Keller getting hurt at a bad time. He made no attempt to let the guy down easy. Given Keller's contributions in the qualifiers, I believe a few kind words by the coach were in order. I also recall that he was overlooked in '94 when the press considered him our top keeper. That would have added to his perceptions of being poorly treated.
What if Kasey had taken the opposite tack and said something along the lines of, "Brad really was the hot keeper on the team. I totally agree with Coach Arena's decision to start him. It's really my own fault, signing with a club where I didn't get enough playing time to keep my form." I can only imagine the reaction on these boards. Wuss! No competitive fire! He doesn't sound even the least bit angry! There has to be a happy medium somewhere. Remember: the report says that Kasey said these things. It may or may not be "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth". Maybe Kasey overstepped the line, or maybe not. If it takes a little bit of self-delusion to light a fire under him, then so be it, and here's to fierce competition for the starting spot in '06! HWM
Sure Kasey is glad its over, not the US run, but the heartache he felt watching Friedel play when he knew he could do better. Ever ball that Brad did not challenge in the box, Keller was probably thinking,,,,"I would have gone after that one!", The Poland game when Brad called off the defender only to have the ball drill passed him, Keller was probably thinking, Give me a break!" Keller has every right to say that he was disappointed and thought he should have played. He never said Brad sucked(which he did at times), he never said anything bad about the team. All he said was that he was promised to play and did not get a chance. That has got to kill a competitor like Keller. Would Brad have flipped after beating Portugal and then benched? More than likely no, but probably would have said he was upset in one way or another. SHould Brad have been benched after a poor showing against Poland? Probably and I am sure that hurt Keller too when he found out Brad got that start against Mexico. So many of you are making such a big deal of this when its not. Leave the guy alone, most of you are being bigger jerks than you think he is turning out to be. The guy is pissed off that he did not play, there is nothing wrong with that,,,,,Ask him if he wishes he was home instead of in Korea and I am sure he would "say no freakin way". He earned the right to be pissed by giving his heart, body and soul to the Nats going 9-4-4 for the nats in 2002 while brad went 5-4 before the cup. If you were Keller, who do you think was the number 1 Keeper?