Marc Connolly article on Eddie Robinson

it's probably just like the bat cave. i hear that ABMOD runs around dressed as robin and everything.

 

They call him "The Goy Wonder"

Sachin

 

Awesome article. Eddie sure sounds to have the right type of mindset to go very far in soccer. I guess we'll see soon enough if his physical and mental prowless will match his drive.

 

i never noticed him on the field...maybe because when watching an earthquakes game, landon's whining takes over the game.

 

All I gota say is: heartwarming.

 

"(Mulrooney) said how it's going to be intense, but awesome and a great experience overall," said Robinson, who also mentioned that he's going to place a call to teammate Jeff Agoos for advice on what Arena looks for in central defenders

Insert scoring own goals joke here.

 

here' s my ignorance hard at work:

i thought eddie robinson was black, really!

 

There is the black Eddie Robinson who used to coach at Grambling. There's the black Eddie Robinson who is in the NBA.

Then there's this guy.

 

Great stuff from Connolly. I wanted to post something on BigSoccer, asking "Who is Eddie Robison?". If you haven't followed the 'Quakes this year, Connolly answers the question.

What do quakes fans think of Eddie?

 

"It wasn't until his coach, Frank Yallop, called him in for an end-of-the-year meeting that he learned just how HIGH UP THE LADDER HE HAD CLIMBED with his strong play down the stretch."


A nod to the recently departed Jack Edwards?

 

Hopefully Marc is better than that.

 

Not to rain on Eddies parade, but I've thought he was heavy footed and mediocre in every regard.

Perhaps some of that could be chalked up to rookie nerves, but the comparison to Berhalter is one I've used.

Makes me sort of depressed about US defenders. I did not think the batch we had at the World Cup was very good, and if Califf, McCarty and Robinson represent the next generation, it's not going to be pretty out of the back for a while.

 

I, unfortunately, was thinking the same thing. I know Califf, McCarty and Robinson are young, but they are all about 22-24 (give or take), and while they can still all develop, I don't hold a great deal of hope that any of that group is going to be our next Eddie Pope or something close.

 

I had hope we'd come up with an Eddie Pope or two with ball skills.

 

Eddie will not be a savior in the back. He certainly wasn't one with the Quakes, he was just a decent defender who fit in well with a good team. I still believe there is time to develop though, but not much. I think that Wade Barrett is much more tenacious than Robinson, although they both seem to lack the foot skills necessary for the international level.

 

Disagree re the criticism of Eddie. He stood out for the Quakes when he was inserted into the lineup, save for the last few games when he was finally ground down (and made a few glaring errors). He has better than avergae foot skills for an (American) central defender, and is deadly winning balls in the air. He has lots of potential to continue improving.

My .02 anyway.

 

Suarez and Bocanegra are both very good defenders with bright futures.

 

I think I am not suprise by inclusion of Eddie.

First of all, he is very good in the air. Remember one game he won almost every single header from McBride.

Two, he is good in the corner to knock a goal into the net.

Three, he has very decent foot skill. His handling of ball is better than Boca, Califf, etc. Maybe same as Suarez.

Four, his passing is definately better than Eddie Pope.

He still makes mistake due to the experience and learning the game, but his upward potential is hugh.

 

Eddie Robinson definitely had a break-through year for the Quakes in '02. He's still a little un-polished, but I think the surprising speed of his development in MLS over the last 2 years (he was not a factor in 2001 - he was an above-average player on a winning team in 2002), as well as his height, competitiveness and lack of ego, are the strongest attributes he has.

On the subject of Wade Barrett, I believe he is a litle under-rated by some because he is so consistently flawless that he goes unnoticed. He needs a new challenge in order to continue to get better and playing on the International level is it.

 

The jury is still out on Robinson. He is tall and has tremendous athleticism, his vertical leap is amazing. He's raw though, he doesn't have the positioning savvy of Agoos and Dayak, from whom he should learn a lot. He's very young and has plenty of time to learn.

As for Barrett, I see a lot of people complaining about his ball skills lately, which really puzzles me. Barrett has great ball skills for a defender, and is equally skilled with either foot.

 

He sure didn't embarrass himself. He seems comfortable with the ball at his foot, didn't give away many balls. He's stong in the air. He scored at least one nice header from a corner kick on team that wasn't too productive with headers.

As someone mentioned earlier, you don't tend to spend a lot of time watching him when the Quakes play, though not because of LD's diving-- the Quakes are a possession team, and the ball's usually in the other half.

So it's hard to evaluate his progress to a great extent.

 

I agree with you that Bocanegra is very good, but Suarez will stuggle because he is a pretty boy that gets pulled out of position and takes too many touches on the ball.

Wade Barrett is the real deal at left back. Hopefully he is not learning anything from Agoos in San Jose.

 

Barrett would be stupid to not learn from Agoos.

I'm sick of the Agoos bashing. He was out of his level this summer, but he is still a very good defender.

 

IMO, Barrett did extremelly well for himself in yesterday's game.

I found myself really enjoying a natural left back who seemed really composed with the ball at his feet. He did have a few bad crosses but did very well defensively.

Not surprised that Eddie didn't get a look, but I'm sure he will figure in the exhibitions leading to WCQs...