Week 5 was fun stuff. I have to throw out a disclaimer here: I didn't get to see the Rapids vs. KC. Oh, you mean you didn't, either? Pants. Anyway, the real disclaimer is that I was late for the SJ v DCU game, and was pretty distracted when watching the LA vs Revs game. So basically what I am saying is - this week's 11 I am going to employ the "Peter Gammons method." I'll throw a bunch of crap on the wall, and maybe some of it will stick... John Busch: Because the Crew have been pissed on enough already, and because he really did make some remarkable saves. That stop on Eddie Johnson's header was ridiculous, and the high-wire act on Jolley's header wasn't far behind. I suppose I could give this to Ring for shutting down the entire league, but nah. CJ Brown: Hey CJ, when you are not fighting for an OB ball on the sidelines with Chris Klein, or getting in tiffs with whoever it might be, or just basically losing your head in general, you can be a damn good defender. You should try it more often. Jimmy Conrad: Why? Because how many of you can seriously disagree with me? OK - look at it this way. None of us saw the game, except for 24k+ in KC who have never heard of BigSoccer. But what we do know is that KC has allowed a total of 47 Shots of which only 11 were on goal. Seriously, that's insane. Conrad has started every one of those games in central defense, so you know he's been a big part of the insanity. Phil Salyer: Congratulations on your second nomination in a row. You play smart, you support Ronnie perfectly, you position yourself well, you stay within your game, you pick the right times to go forward. In short, you are one of the best RBs in the league, and I think it would be a shame if Reyes got your spot right now. Diego Gutierrez: Again - who is going to disagree? I wasn't blown away by any LB's that I did watch, although Gbandi started to find his game towards the end, and Leonard for NE looked strong defensively against LA. I'm going by word of mouth on this, however. A good friend of mine lives in KC and occasionally goes to the Wizard's game. He played college ball and I know he knows his soccer, so I am going to take his word on this, and his word is that Gutierrez played a great all-around game, and his play that led to the Wolff goal was in his email, "something else." He asked me if I saw the game. I told him to F off. Kerry Zavagnin: I could go with Dempsey, who looked really good. I could go with Grabavoy, who can place dimes anywhere he wants to on the soccer field. But why not go with the guy I didn't see, but who is standing in front of and supporting the league's best defense, and who also kicked the crap out of a few Mexicans on Wednesday? Chris Armas: Armas not only helped Zavagnin knock some Mexicans around in Dallas, but he shut down what I think is probably the most skilled midfield in MLS history. Armas has Bradley's number, and that pass to Dipsy was classy stuff. Now whether that means you belong on the US team or not, I'll leave that for some other rooms in cyberspace. DaMarcus Beasley: Nice assist to Razov on a well placed and timed cross, and of course the kid just never stopped running. Oh yeah, he beat up some Mexicans, too. 15 bonus points for you, which meant you get the nod over Joey Franchino, who finished a nice goal, but gets docked 35 points for being an idiot. Ben Olsen: He sent Convey through with a perfectly weighted ball, only to watch Convey blow another finishing opportunity. He did a great job from the AMid again, and he worked very hard the entire time I watched the game. I'd like to see him take his new soccer brains to the right side of the field, and use them there. I'm just not sure he has the athleticism to do it anymore, and that's too bad. Taylor Twellman: Twellman was combining well with his teammates, and is really impressing me both as a target man and a player who can set up his teammates with a well-timed, well-placed pass. He's a smart player who times his runs well, and how about that frickin' back-heel that led to Franchino's goal? Good stuff, TNT. Your own goals will come. Eddie Johnson: I'll pose this question again - what American forward has been better than Eddie Johnson in MLS this year? Don't just give me stats, either. Johnson has been a terror, and he was simply robbed by Busch and the crossbar, and also probably the ref. The two biggest knocks on EJ coming into the season were his finishing and how he didn't seem to work hard enough for his teammates. Well, his finishing has improved, IMO, on a game by game basis. And he is busting his ass for his teammates, making great off the ball runs, and more importantly, making the right decisions when he has the ball. This kid is awesome - I hope he shows up on ESPN2 pretty soon so that more people can see the most dangerous American so far in the 2004 MLS season.
Good list. If there ever was a week for Troy Dayak to make it, this was it. And I might have gone with Henry Ring instead of Busch, but an argument can be made that Rimando and Brown were just as solid.
I look forward to this "column" every week now. It's got solid evaluations with quality commentary woven into it. Eric Wynalda's a better writer, but I like you more.
I still think there's a lot that remains to be seenw ith regards to Eddie though this is by fafr his most promising stretch as a pro. I'm not sure anyone ever doubted how much talent this kid has, it's pretty insane how much talent he has. It's just a matter of turning that into a productive player. I'd say there's added reason for optimism, but I'd still like to see him keep it up for a while longer. He still at times seems to be the last guy on the field to read the play, but I'm not really worried about that at his age, that will come. I'd say that basically the only two legitimate candidates for best American forward in MLS thus far are he and Twellman. Everyone else (save maybe Jovan who I thought was particularly poor last weekend after a decent start to the season) has either been poor, hurt, benched or stuck in the living hell that is the Columbus Crew. I'm not sure an in his prime Batistuta or Ronaldo could score a goal for the Crew right now. The Hunts have to pull the trigger soon on Andrulis, don't they? I'd like to throw a nomination in for Jim Curtin who has taken over for Bocanegra in the center of the Fire's defense and done admirably despite his limited footspeed. Has learned to make up for his lack of speed by reading the game as well as any player in the league not named Eddie Pope, and has even developed some fair foot skills. He had a fantastic year last year (until the final) and has continued that again this season. Deserves his due.
nutmeg i like you. gold stars ******** now, if we could only get buffalo soldier to make a yanks abroad XI of the week. then we could combine those two, make an american XI of the month, year, etc. ala world soccer magazine.
So finding two forwards for this week's AAXI? Not so tough. Defenders? Problem. What a kick-ass week of soccer. I had a blast watching it, even though I am screwed no matter which defender and/or goal keeper I go with: Adin Brown: I wonder what New England's GAA would be if they didn't have a frickin' wall in front of their goal? Nat and Pablo: So when you go up against two forwards seriously competing for time with the national team, and absolutely shut them down, is that good? Total shots by New England - 9. Total shots that had any chance of being dangerous? 0. OK, that's not true. Cannon had one nice save. Other than that, Nat and Pablo beat the snot out of anything New England had to offer. Chris Albright: So I was seriously thinking about opting for Matt Crawford. Really. He was good, and I hope we see more of him in the coming weeks. But Albright is developing himself into a player at this position. What a sweet cross to Kirovski, which is exactly what you need from a RB when they do move forward. Also, if you watch an LAG game, notice how often Albright's passes out of the back - even to Ruiz or Kirovski up top - hit their mark. The kid's found a niche. Good for him. Ned Grabavoy: Left back. Hmmm. Kelly Gray? Come on, man. You're killing UP's name. The truth hurts, but here it is: MLS doesn't have many good ones. I might just ditch the 442 in these threads because of the lack of options most of the time. This week I am going with a midfielder instead, in a weird 3-5-2 that also includes a right back. The extra midfielder has to be Grabavoy, who IMO is starting to make a ROY case for himself. Kerry Zavagnin: Two weeks in a row, Kerry. I'm sure next to nobody has noticed how well Zavagnin has played in KC. I'm sure the 3 KC fans who post on BS totally have my back. I'm sure the 6 people who read AAXI week after week (and I thank each and every one of you for the kind words) are going to call me out, but... This guy has been a rock on a team that is quietly putting together a very good season. This week, he went up against the guy who is his direct competitor for a DMid spot on the US team. It was like watching Mastroeni make Temoc his biatch all over again. Newsflash --- Kerry's good. Eddie Gaven: This was actually a tough call for me. Can you give a kid whose defense gave up 5 goals an AAXI nod? Says here that yes you can. But Eddie, in the very near future, apply some of your freakish talent on the defensive side of the ball. Your team needs you. But that pass to Glen for the last goal? Jesus. Justin Mapp: Holy crapola! A finish? This kid is the man when it comes to taking on defenders and scaring the crap out of the other team. The question on him has been - can he finish? He did. But he looked great whenever he had the ball, and was one of the few bright spots in a Fire midfield that seemed to be color-blind when it came to who they were trying to pass to. Ben Olsen: I have to admit, I am getting re-sold on Beninho. That cross to Dema gave me chills. The thing is, he's just turned into a rock-solid player, and I don't think he's getting the buzz he deserves. DCU has some problems to sort out (finishing), but Ben has quietly turned himself into a player I don't think this team could do without. Fundamentally, one of the most consistent midfielders in MLS this year. Landon Donovan: So the back-heel to Ching? Yeah, that was nice. How about the one-touch setup to Brown? Not so bad. How about juggling the ball on the edge of the box and finishing with your "other" foot? World class. Enjoy it this year, folks. This is one kid that has lived up to the hype in MLS. Jovan Kirovski: I've developed a theory. Not a good one. Probably not even a provable one. But here it is - Ruiz's total goals scored number will coincide directly with how good his front-running partner is. Jovan is a very good MLS player, and that is reflected not only in two goals of his own last week, but also in the big numbers the Fish is putting up this year. You just can't leave Kirovski unmarked, folks.
Fun list again, Nutmeg. People like this enough and are looking for it, that I think it should always be its own new thread. As for the YA weekly XI, I don't see why it can't be done, although I think that it would be much more repetitive than Nutmeg's list, and most of the time, few of us can see all that many of the games. The commentary and debate on this thread is majorly strengthened by the fact that we've seen the games.