Always will remember his highlight video. You should never take much from these, but the kid has some crazy skill. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEUePC0cYGE"]gabriel highlight video - YouTube[/ame]
While I agree that he shouldnt be seriously considered for the US, its for a different reason. Basically Magee is a great fit for LA's system, where he just needs to complement the other players in a very defensive/counter oriented system. Its about 180 degrees from what Klinsman is trying to do, and is frankly the type of system that we are trying to move away from.
Were those highlights from amateur club ball? I think they were. He looked good - like good enough to be a pro. IMO he didn't look like a national team level player. Those vids were probably pretty old though, so perhaps he is now
65 minutes into Pumas vs FC Dallas, George John has been outstanding. I'd like to see him called into the October camp and given at least one start. Personally, I think he's far ahead of guys like Ream, Gonzalez, and Orozco. Brek Shea has been dangerous at times, but isn't having one of his better games. One thing the announcers have pointed out is that his first touch has let him down more than once. Oddly enough, Ugo Ihemelu is having a blinder of a game at right back.
Ream . Man, none of the young CB's are trying to take the spots away from the veterans. There all a couple of years off imo (if that).
Darlington Nagbe pounces on a long ball misplayed by the defender, dribbles to the end line, and cuts it back to Cooper in the box for the finish. The move of Nagbe to forward is paying immediate dividends. As I'm typing this, great run by Zizzo out wide, perfect cross to Nagbe, who is unlucky not to score in front of net. Clean contact, just a good save by Bush.
Collen Warner's technique, vision, positioning, and sense of timing and rhythm continue to impress. He just "gets it".
george john was dreadful against UNAM last night. i'm not one to judge based on a single performance, but he left his man unmarked twice, which resulted in two goals. he had a nice header on goal, however.
Tim Ream has a lot of potential but he needs some time away from the Nats to clear his head and concentrate on improving his club form which, right now and for a lot of this season, has been poor. There's no way to justify continually calling him up, ESPECIALLY if it comes at the expense of CBs having very strong years like Omar Gonzalez, George John and even Chad Marshall.
At most one of the goals was partially his fault. Jeremy Hall was getting skinned by their right winger and his center back mate kept losing his mark forcing him to double rotate for a stop. The left side of the back line was getting skewered by Wynalda. You can't expect John to do everything. He, for his part, was actually pretty solid. People tend to guilt MLS defenders by association when they have to face a barrage of attacks from Mexican teams who are bossing possession. You're going to get beat eventually as a defense if pressured perpetually. The midfield and forwards have to take blame for not forcing turnovers up field and keeping possession themselves. Yeah, for every contribution to the offense he causes a breakdown on defense. It seems like an average of once per game where he gets burned badly or misplays a ball which leads to a goal. He should be way down on the list of prospective CD's. The D does stand for defense.
Yup, people can talk all they want about the ability of a defender to "play out of the back." But if he can't defend, he can't be on the field. Seriously, RBNY should think about benching him. He's a liability right now. I don't know what's going on.........but he's really struggling. Now they've got Marquez throwing his teammates under the bus. Who do people think Marquez is talking about here: http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/th...-after-teammates-says-theyre-not-on-his-level ““I’m focusing on really performance at my highest level. That doesn’t mean that the whole backline can perform at that same level, so that’s a problem,” Marquez said through an interpreter after the 3-1 loss to Real Salt Lake, before adding, “"I think this is a team game and unfortunately there isn't an equal level between my teammates and I." I won't mind if Ream's called into the January camp, but we shouldn't see him until then. Of course, despite his problems, I still think he's better than Michael Orozco.
Ream followed a great game by a bad game. I still think he has the most upside. He needs a ton of seasoning, though. Just like the other s. NYRB can't bench him either...who else have they got. Marquez should shut his mouth he has been even worse than Ream on a bad day. I'm surprised he would say that.
This is Rafa Marquez of Mexico. Why are you surprised? He has been the same douche bag for nearly 10 years.
If you're surprised when athletes say dumb things, particularly when things are going poorly, you must be new to sports.
Interesting post on Marquez from a month ago I stumbled across on twitter. http://kickoffonline.com/?p=327