Don't so harshly rule Donovan out at his young age. It took many balding years for Zidane to develop the gobsmacking head-butt to that pitch of perfection we saw in the WC. By the time he's 30, after years of frustration with the Galaxy, Landon should be as shiny as a cue ball and as ready for a gloriously satisfying pate-to-chest crunch as any Thierry or Zinedine.
My cable doesn't do Setanta. It barely, grudingly, does Fox Soccer [bundled with a hundred useless but costly channels]
Mine doesn't either, and unless I, ninja-like, sneak across the street under cover of darkness to cut down three 40-50 foot tall trees, I can't get DirecTV or Dish Network.
anyways, congrats to Derby.. That Pearson is a big, tall, strong midfielder with a heck of an engine.. not so sure about his touch and control, but he had a few nice passes.. I really think he and Benny would make an nice partnership.. I'm not familiar with the injured Barnes, but it seems a few bigger clubs are after him.. so we'll see. They really need a replacement for Howard.. he is CCC level at best.. Earnshaw's a good player, why isn't he being used? Wasn't that impressed with Teale RM (though he had one moment of magic on the right side himself) or Oakley (the other CM).. They weren't bad, just didn't seem to create much. Maybe it was an off day, but Benny should be able to unseat either one..
First time I've seen Derby this year, and I think it will be hard for Benny to get in. Not for lack of skill, mind you - his "10 seconds of class" did stand out, and he looks more comfortable on the ball than anyone else I saw for Derby save McEveley - but because Pearson and Oakley both ran a hell of a lot, as did Teale, and harried the Newcastle midfield tremendously, won a lot of balls in the air as well (and the ball was, generally, in the air at all times that it was in play). I think Feilhaber could be solid in a withdrawn Dempsey/Elano role behind a striker up top, holding the ball after the target man wins it and bringing flank players into the play, but it seems that the preference is to go little-and-large. And, to be fair, while Benny looked good, I don't know that he can duplicate what Dempsey or Elano have done so far this year, yet! Perhaps he will begin to be worked in on the road, and as cover, or perhaps he will eventually offer more than Teale at RM; I just don't see him being given a central role with only Pearson as company unless they really gel well positionally in practice and Davies is satisfied that he will have the "presence" to knock better clubs off their game as needed. It is a good challenge for him, anyway, and I do think he'll get solid minutes over the course of the year.
OK, I've just got back in and here's my two penn'th. Eddie has the crossing still no doubt, but I can't understand those of you who doubt his fitness and stamina. Again he put in a great shift, never stopped running and fighting allied to his well known skills. Yeah, maybe he's a 75 minute man now, but we're living in an era where the bench is an important part of the team. Benny, in the twenty minutes or whatever he had he showed lots of energy and closing down, though he seemed a little light wait. Even in the short time he was on he learned about going in harder than when he first took the field, so that's a good sign. As for his ten seconds of class. I'm sure he didn't look before he played the backheel. If that's actually the case he needs to stop doing that in that area of the field, though it's OK further forward. I've heard posters on here say how he's prone to giving the ball away. The backheel is probably an indicator of why that happens. Someone asked about Jones. He's been injured, but he's fit again now. Is my typing hoarse?
Congrats to Benny on the big win.(Oh, and that Eddie guy too) But sorry Benny, nothing can top "The Backheel" as it is now known in Fulham lore. Seriously though, I'm so happy to see Derby pick up a win. It's disgusting to see all the 'experts' that counted them out before a ball was kicked and said they would break Sunderland's points record. I will be rooting for them to stay up, I don't know if they can do it but I think they have a chance.
Certainly true, and not very reassuring for the Derby fans given the coaches choice to do so. Does he have a better or even another choice instead of Lewis?
Apparently not, as he played Pearson there earlier in the season. That day, he also played a striker on the right (Fagan), who I thought was really pretty good from wide. At the time, I wondered if Davies actually saw Benny as more of a wide player, or at least as someone who would see a lot of time outside due to the options on hand, or as cover for any midfield spot. Talking of which, I saw that Sky gave Pearson a 9 today and called his contribution "Immense". And here's me thinking, "The same clown who played wide left against Citeh?" I guess he's a lot better when played centrally, or he just had a bad day against the Rollers. Either way, nice to hear that that day wasn't representative of his quality. ossieend: I wasn't able to see today's game, so I can't speak to the play to which you are referring, but usually Benny's giveaways have been of the over-ambitious variety (i.e. with attempts at the most difficult of back-breaking defense-splitting passes). He's also been prone to a few careless giveaways (if you can believe it of a 22 year old kid who's not gotten consistent time yet) on square passes and such which have turned into dangerous counter-attack situations. In the back, however, he's been very tidy in some really dicey situations. He hasn't yet learned to just clear the heck out of the ball when necessary, but he's usually very good under pressure. Of course, as soon as one of those slick little touches gets away from him and you give up a goal, then you can complain all you like.
Nah, he just didn't appear to look that's all. From memory and I only saw it the once, Benny was on the left about ten or twenty yards in the Newcastle half the pass itself was no more than five yards. Now, doing the same thing on the edge of the Newcastle 18 in a crowd may have been worth the risk to break the defence. Hey, maybe he looked, I was 100 yards away having a nervous breakdown.
YA recaps ... http://www.yanks-abroad.com/get.php?mode=content&id=3408 Benny Feilhaber finally made his Rams debut as Derby County won their first game of the season over Newcastle United. .... Feilhaber replaced the game's hero, Miller, in the 80th minute for his first English appearance after signing during the transfer window and seeing his debut delayed by visa issues. Fellow American Eddie Lewis started for the Rams and was replaced in the 87th minute by James McEveley. .... ********** No mention of Feilhaber's glorious ten seconds, which by all accounts here made Miller's goal seem insignificant in the grander scheme of things.
Settle down Beavis.. He just injected a bit of class on a volleyball game.. that's all.. It wasn't jaw-dropping, it was just nice to see our guy look clever.. The backheel wasn't dangerous.. I'm sure he caught a look from BD, but it wouldn't warrant a talking to.
Benny gave a good account of himself while he was on, getting stuck in and providing a little bit of flair. The backheel was definitely Dempsey-esque, but nothing dangerous. Later on in the sequence he provided a great ball over the top. All-in-all, not a bad debut by any means.
Thanks for injecting a bit of class into this thread. http://www.sportinglife.com/footbal...M=DERBY--COUNTY&RH=Derby--County&PREV_SEASON= DERBY v NEWCASTLE MIN-BY-MIN {A few YA 'highlights'} 48 mins: Lewis' corner is a good one and Howard gets on the end of it but glances his header just wide of goal. 63 mins: Lewis delivers an excellent ball into the box but no Derby player can react to it. 79 mins: The goalscorer Miller is replaced by Benny Feilhaber. 86 mins: Lewis makes way for Jay McEveley. 90 + 4 mins: It's all over and Derby have grabbed a deserved first victory of the season against Newcastle.
http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/d...tentPK=18420663&folderPk=78988&pNodeId=126358 .... Miller ran himself to a stand-still and chants of "there's only one Kenny Miller" rang out as he was substituted 10 minutes from time, Benny Feilhaber coming on for his debut. The American midfielder displayed energy, grit and composure - all good signs. ....
Ah, will it go down in lore with two of my big soccer favorites? There was "the pass" by Peter Philipakos while playing for Olympiakos. Here was a play nobody actually saw, but we all immediately called for him to start for the USMNT. There was the "the performance" by Kyle Martino against Cameroon in the Confederations Cup03. This was the game that solidified Kyle's place in the USMNT for the next 10 years. We all, of course, wrote him down as a lock for 06WC roster.