This is a new low in absurdity Captain Marco Etcheverry was upset with trainer Rick Guter, of all people, because he felt Guter should have recommended that Pope be removed after hurting his knee in the 82nd minute. Here's the full link. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A60934-2002Aug25.html Nice to see the Post send our boy Goff on the road and, finally, give the team some ink.
That's definitely searching for something. But, Pope was very loosely marking Faria when Faria served the cross that Mathis plunked into the goal. That being said, I don't know if anybody on the bench would have been that much better.
By the way, that link didn't work for me because the Post made me stop to take some kind of survey, so I had to go in through the Post's home page and do the survey. It's still not as bad as the bitch-ass New York Times requiring a password. They just wanted my birthday and zip code.
Marco's right! They should have taken Pope off and put in the reserve defender..... ....wait, we have no reserve defenders.
Sure we do.....................Mario...............Brian.................Jeff...............Diego......... ............Douda...................Carlos...........................oh nevermind.
Yeah - Etch lashed out after the game. I don't know Rick so I will assume he is a good guy. But - does anyone else have a problem with the number of players that have been lost in the last few years? Maybe it is time to start wondering if maybe its not bad luck and start thinking about replacing the trainer. The Capitals suffered through the same thing a few years ago, replaced the trainer and went on a run to the Stanley Cup followed by some succesful seasons based mainly on a healthy team. It seems to me that little problems go on all year rather than being taken care of. Maybe the coach is pushing these guys to come back early and Gutter is letting them, maybe he is protesting and the player/coach demands, maybe he is misdiagnosing things -- I don't know. But I do know we have lost enough players to injury to field an All MLS team most years.
Glass house, stones, first throw, etc. At least score a goal every other game, then we'll talk. Wanker.
hey did moreno count as one of the players taken to an away game because he was there so did that limit are player avialbility, if it did what was RAY thinking. WHAT A COACH
Marco, your still my boy and all.....But put some points on the boards, then b***h about everyone else. Lead by example my man!!
Someone needs to motivate these guys in the offseason. If the trainer cannot do it, then he dang sure better piss em off trying. With an 18 man roster, Guter should be giving wake up calls at least once a week, and to Moreno and Etcheverry ... every dang day. Call em at 7:00AM and make sure they're coming to meet you at the gym. Call em at 11:45AM and remind em to eat healthy. Call em at 9:00PM and remind them no drinking as they need to meet you first thing in the morning tomorrow at the gym. I'm talking about a serious ball-buster, not just a weight-lifting coach who knows how to use a can of freeze-spray. Guter, if you're not presently that type of man, the time is NOW to become one. -Tron
With so many people who spend their offseason (at least a good chunk of it) in foreign countries, this is easier said than done.
Just as an FYI, Tron, the trainer genrally deals with injuries and rehab and taping ankles and things like that. Generally things like weight lifting and running and other conditioning is usually handled by a strength and conditioning coach. I presume United has one of those but I don't know who it is. So, the idea of expecting Guter to call these guys and put a foot up their asses to workout is somewhat misguided.
Guter is listed as: Athletic Trainer / Physiotherapist There is no strength training coach listed on the website. Professional athletes these days know that it behooves them to maintain a rigorous training regimen in the off season. Lots of pro teams make some off season training programs available to their players with the incentive of a bonus if they participate. While the league is young and probably can't afford that kind of program, I think it might be worth looking into some sort of penalty for players who don't maintain off season fitness. Injuries (among other things) have devastated this team over the past 3 years and some of the reponsibility has to fall to the players and their habits.
What I find disturbing, IIRC, is that United doesn't seem to have even an expectation of a training regimen, other than what goes on at practice. Things may have changed over time, but when Arena was here, I remember a youth coach asking him at an open practice what the team did to ensure that players stayed in shape during the season, and the answer was basically "We tell them to eat right and be sinsible; they're grown-ups, so they can take care of themselves." Evidence seems to be that a lot of them *can't* take care of themselves sensibly, especially during the off season. I'm all for letting Moreno go if he shows up for training camp next season out of shape. He seems to do so almsot every year, and I have to believe its a major factor in his inability to shake off injuries.
It amazes me that any "Proffesional" athelete would need to be pushed to stay in shape. If your livelyhood depends on it, shouldn't you push yourself?
Etch blaming the trainer now. Who's next? Talon, the ball girls, the beer man, or maybe the PA announcers. Just when you thought the season had sunk to a new low, it goes lower. Well at least Bennie is playing.