1. I think the idea that Adu is being taught to be timid by Nowak is complete nonsense. Bollocks! Fetid, feckless, fatuousness festuned with foolishness! Nowak is one of the most aggressive coaches in MLS. His general approach to defending is to tell attacker to pressure the ball (on the GK and the backline) so they have to play it quickly. Nowak doesn't like timid players. Furthermore, he's more likely to reward players for effort. He's constantly praising players like Gros, Eskandarian and Carroll for "honest play" and aggressiveness. 2. Onionsack, in theory your arguments sound fine. In reality they mis-state what is going on with Freddy Adu here. --being played out of position? You think he should have been matched up against Chris Henderson? Mario Rodriguez? That's being played out of position. As a forward? He might get that chance b/c we're short forwards right now. The problem is that Adu has already said publicly his best position is at A-mid and he was originally given a trial at forward last year. So if you're saying his best position is forward, than you're saying his performance at that position doesn't matter, his coach is wrong and Adu is wrong when they say he's a far better fit for A-mid? --is being asked to be a "complete" player? You misunderstand here. Adu isn't expected to be a holding mid or D-mid, to be a great tackler, to be an excellent man-marker. Here is what is being expected of him: play for 90 minutes (rather than 10 minutes and then disappear for a stretch), move intelligently off of the ball, make smart decisions about when to push the ball forward or when to hold it and allow teammates to catch up, decide when to go at defenders to pass, not to dive (and pick up stupid cards), not to whine to the referee (and pick up stupid cards for dissent OR earn a rep as a whinner), track back when we lose the ball (so he's in a better position to show for the ball when we regain possession), play within the offensive scheme, and read the game and adjust to what the defense is doing. He's pretty bad at all of the things I just listed. Now he's incredible at some other things (touch, vision, individual dribbling skills). And the things I mentioned previously, he's gotten better at and sometimes does some of them in games. But mostly he's bad at them. And that's a real problem if you're an attacking player, especially a forward and especially an A-mid. --would be better with Metro and Bob Bradley. Let me start by saying I've always said that Bradley might be the best coach in MLS at growing young Americans. That said, who would Adu start ahead of: Guevara--the league MVP? I know--Gaven, uh maybe not. Djorkjaeff--the guy the Metros went to so much trouble to get and have publicized so much? Adu--with Metro--would play even less than he does with DCU. The press would be a bigger issue (and all of his coaches and any teammate who's been quoted on this has said that the amount of coverage is holding Adu back. Freddy has said the same thing. But you think putting even more media attention on him by placing him in New York/New Jersey would help this?) People need to cut Adu some slack. He's a wonderfully talented player with many immense holes in his game (and that's just in terms of being an attacker). He's improved tremendously from last year. But he's still not much of a team player (not b/c of selfishness, that just isn't a strong part of his game yet). I once heard Ivan Toplak (former National team coach of the former Yugoslavia) talk about a compatriot who he played with. He said this guy was so good on the ball, he could run from one end of the field to the other without the ball touching the ground. He said this guy performed at circuses he was so good with his touch. But he could never integrate his game within the team concept. Well right now that's Freddy's issue. Not b/c of a lack of trying. Not b/c he's a selfish S.O.B. He simply doesn't know how to play within a team concept at the professional level. He turned pro at 15. Give him a break. Will you and others like you stop putting unreasonable expections on him--expecting him to be starting regularly or tearing the league up while only 16 and going through teenage turmoil.
Way too many big words for us lay people. On Adu though, I think the main point here is, he's 16. He just came off a rather ************ Youth World Cup, and his confidence is not too great now (missing PK's does that to you), and that confidence needs to be built back up. Maybe even give him a day or two off to collect himself again.
Apart from Gaven, name one since he got to the Metros. Magee? Parke? All those TIs they've had? How've they worked out for them? I think it's already been proven - based on the fact that United's style of play is similar to the early Fire teams - that Nowak had more to do with the Fire's success than Bradley did. And Beasley was largely Stoitchkov's puppy when they played together.
Or you could actually sub Moreno,who seems to be a scared cow but did zero in the first half aside from duck from crosses,and push Freddy up front. I don't blame Freddy for being frustrated,the double standard on this team is palpable.
Since he's been to Metro? I can name Bradley, Magee, Ward, Ibrahim, Gaven as players that are seeing or have seen signifigant minutes as players 18 or under since Bradley arrived. He has the confidence to give these players time and seems to bring out the best in them. Magee got a Nats call up back just before the labor dispute (he is seeing a bad run of form right now), Gaven is budding into a star under Bradley..how many other coaches would have given Gaven that much time as a 16-17 year old? Ward is a baby too and when he has played (injured) he has looked quite good, Ibrahim is raw but Bradley played him and i bet you he will end up being another gem. Bradley Jr. (yeah i know its his son) has played every minute this season as a 17 year old in one of the most demanding positions on the field at d-mid. Bradley plays talent where that talent is best utilized and isn't afraid to throw the kids to the wolves because he does a great job in preparing them and developing them to a point where he has confiedence in giving them important roles on this club. I think the evidence is clearly stacked on my side here. Andrulis would be the anti-Bradley.
Freddy would definatly not be a midfielder under Bradley. He would likely play Youri's spot when Youri is out which is often and sub for him every game Youri starts. Youri isn't a full time 90 minute guy and shouldn't be if we want him in one pice come play-off time. What? I am not critical of Adu i am critical of they way he is being brought along. The writting is all over the wall in DC. The kid is unhappy, he doesn't seem to have a lot of confidence, he is shooting his mouth off again about his playing time and being subbed, his teamates on the surface seem like they really don't care for him much. He is being played in positions that do not suit his talents. I wouldn't be shocked at all if this thing blows sky high before too long.
OK. Question wrt the Freddy Adu sitiuation....I've been watching Manchester United on FSC lately and they have some young phenom-like players (C. Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney to be exact). No one seemed to expect them to play every game or the entirity of a game week in and week out. The announcers comment that until their bodies mature, that the strain is too much and the coach won't use them as much as a fully adult player. What's true for a 18/10 yo has got to be doubly (triply!) true for a 16 yo. Is it possible that Peter Novak is just trying to keep Freddy from being injured? Or overtired? You wonder if having the Santino Quaranta example (a player who came in at 16 and spent the next 3 years injured) right in front of him also affects that decision. And btw, they don't expect a teenage player to act like an adult simply because he's a soccer phenom and paid alot. They seem to expect them to say and do stupid teenager things as well as play soccer sometimes really well and sometimes badly.
An English friend, in discussing Adu's situation, says Moyes brought Rooney in off the bench his first season. From an ESPNSoccernet Rooney web bio..."Everton manager David Moyes continued to be protective of the star in 2003/04, although he did feature far more regularly in the side. Even so, a return of just nine Premiership goals hardly set the league alight." Lynn's right. It's been done before, is being done now, and will be done again.
OK PEOPLE.. here is my post again - REFORMATTED ok.. its my first post. but im not pulling any punches... First off anyone that thinks stokes had a good game....huh?!? all the man does is give the ball away, and that was a great cross he had right to walker. i suppose its better to have him giving the ball away in the attacking half than in our own box. but come on, he is so unsure on the ball it ridiculous. his feet just don't follow his brain. speaking of giving the ball away, let's move on to carroll. ok all he has done for the last 2 years is give the ball away, he is good at winning balls in the back but what good is it if he just gives it up two steps later with a horrible long ball played to no one. last year you could argue that their wasn't anyone to fill that role, but now we have simms. Someone please tell me why carroll, who will never even get a christmas card from arena much less a call up, is playing ahead of someone who already has more caps than anyone named carroll ever will have.. and not to mention simms is better on the ball, faster, smarter, bigger, and a smarter player. where to next... ahh novak. ok, he won a championship, but the team took their turn if a recall after a players only meeting led by nelson and stewart.. and those 2 were the leaders last year with jaime. this year without those players who were coahces on the field.. how are they playing.. i like novak, he gets the guys prepared and practicing well but he is stubborn. i understand he wants to reward players who practice well... but you know what.. some guys just play better in games and some guys cant replicate practice form when the pressure is on, case in point stokes, all we heard pre season is how well he was practicing.. then games and he is lucky to not be playing indoor IMO. like i said i like novak's preparation and view of the team but he has been making some very questionable decisions. like starting carroll game in and out with simms on the bench.. putting stokes in for freddy. are you kidding? how bout sticking with alecko for his 0 for 30 game streak. a break earlier in the season could have helped him out instead of keep throwing him and yanking him out at halftime.. and then there is freddy... one game and out freddy.. give the kid a freaking run.. a run where he plays 90 4 or 5 games in a row.. its the MLS for god's sake.. nothing matters til september.. give him a chance.. he'll throw alecko and carroll in week after week.. good game or not.. freddy plays excellent.. starts the next game.. has an iffy half.. on the bench for 4 its ridiculous..its like watching timmy roy @ man u.. they kept making mistakes cuz they were trying too hard.. one mistake and they knew they were sitting.. GIVE FREDDY A RUN.. what's the worst that could happen.. he shows he's not ready yet? big deal.. yanking him every game or throwing him in for 20 min at the end isnt a big boost either. on the bright side. wilson is a find, boswell has been great.. still waiting for the rookie slump. showing signs lately but i think he'll be good.. and please get better namoff... .soon!!! and for the love of god.. throw benny back wide when he comes back.. he played one game wide and looked great.. then back to the middle and he just looks a bit lost... and since i know im gonna get slammed on this.. note that i am a huge DC fan from day one, im just venting my frustration because i know we have the pieces to be on the top of the table, they are just not in the right places in the puzzle. i don't think novak should be gone either, yet, he just seems like he's trying to prove to people that he sticks to his guns. when he should just play the team that gives the best chance of winning.. regardless of practices, prior half of the last game, or what the weather may be like.. lets get the ball rolling boys.. GO UNITED!!!!!! anyone that reads this whole thing.. .you got my props now let me add a bit.. yes it is great to get a win on the road, especially someplace we haven't won this century, but that doesn't mean you can't complain a bit. This team is lost in the midfield. we strung 20 passes together near the end, but it was against tackling dummies. Its just hard after watching marco and harksey spraying balls around for so long to watch us give up possession in the midfield so often, and it's usually coming from carroll or benny in the middle benny needs to be out wide taking guys on down the wing, that's what he is good at, he doesn't have the moves or creativity to be in the center of the park, they only way he should be in the middle is as a ball winner, which i would not be against playing the def. mid spot.. anyway.. just thought id fix the post a bit
welcome, and not to bust your balls, but benny aint got the wheels to be out on the wing. He USED to, but not now. What he lacks in "moves or creativity" he makes up with "Ill stomp your guts out determination"
1. So you're saying that even though Nowak says his best position is A-mid, Schmid says he's not a forward, Arena said he's best at A-mid and Adu says he's best at A-mid, Bradley wouldn't play him at A-mid? Your argument for withdrawn forward sounds like it's only a convience deal b/c Jourkaeff can't play 90 minutes--that if Jourkaeff was an A-mid than suddenly you'd have him playing that role! 2. Exactly! People who put the kind of pressure on Adu--exactly like you--aren't cutting him some slack. Why is a 16 year-old expected to come in and start at forward (or A-mid) for a professional club? You really think that b/c you aren't criticizing Adu but are critical of his coach and his teammates and blame them for the reason he's not leading the team in scoring--that such standards make it easy for him? You're treating him like he's a 26 (or maybe a 22) year old veteran. You (and many others) aren't willing to admit that maybe the reason he's not starting consistently he's because he needs to grow and improve his game. And maybe b/c he's 16. 3. You're assuming that if Adu were playing, he'd be a lot better. That's just not true--it's based upon the assumption that improving younger players is all about playing time. Adu gets a lot of minutes and a lot of PT and he's grown a lot. The problem is he's not meeting YOUR (and others like you) standards--b/c he's not smacking in 10-12 goals a season and doing at least 1-2 highlight film moves per game than something must be wrong. You see, you're baffled by the argument that you (and others like you) are too hard on Freddy. But if he started at forward and produced...4 maybe 5 goals for a season, you'd probably blame his teammates (they're freezing him out), his coach (asking him to defend too much or make those stupid runs off the ball) or the scheme (too many balls in the air--don't they know he's so short that any cross is a waste?). And you talk about how he'd get more minutes under Bradley. Compare Gaven's minutes his rookie year to Adu's minutes his rookie year. Compare how many games each player starter. If Bradley is more comfortable playing teenagers, than why did Adu get more starts and play more minutes than Gaven (who was older and more versatile)? Of course Adu wants to start. Heck--Kenny Arena wants to start. Every pro wants to start and is happier starting and than sitting. The moodiness is about being 16 and about having dreams of being on the USMNT for the 2006 WC and instead having the U20 coach say you didn't show up mentally for games.
Well, since you reposted and took the time to reformat, you should have noted that technically speaking, it's now your THIRD post. Nah--don't mean to be busting your balls on this. Welcome to BigSoccer and the insanity that is the DC United internet fanatics support society.
The "bad run of form" is roughly a year and a half now. If you look back, you'll see that I said "Apart from Gaven," but Rongen gave every bit as much time to Convey and Quaranta when they were that age. If you would like to put your coach in an exclusive club with Rongen, more power to you. They have looked good, but they also have a combined total of only 14 games experience (with Ibrahim as a sub in 4 of his 8). That's hardly enough time to establish them as successes under Bradley. And judging by most of what I've read by lurking on your boards, he's been inconsistent at best. Granted, he's not getting a lot of help back there, so I'll cut him some slack. Given by the results, I'd say that plan isn't working too well for him, is it? You're right, Bradley will give important roles to young players, but then they have one good year and they don't make the next step. Let's look at all the players under 25 you've had in Bradley's tenure: Bradley Gaven Magee Clark Vaca Parke Stammler Regan Wells Arena Brenes Glen Taylor Forchetti Galvan LeBlanc Ward Ibrahim Mendes Take out Gaven and what do you have: Ricardo Clark? A perfect example of my above statement about one good year. Although he seems to be doing well in San Jose now that he's moved on. Vaca even came to you guys with a couple of decent seasons in Dallas under his belt, and he sucked out for you last year.
I don't disagree with all your post but I think you overstate the "one dimensionality" of top attacking players. Most of them do play defense and pressure the other team even if it's in the other team's end of the field. The Confederations Cup Final between Brazil and Argentina was an excellent example of this. Great attacking players like Adriano, Ronaldinho, and Kaka made it hell for Argentina for get the ball out of their own end and, by their collective efforts, helped Brazil create more chances.
I could not agree more. But yet we constantly ask ourselves why we never have any good creative forwards or playmakers.
Youri is a forward hybrid here, he's not really a midfielder at all. Youri would be our default A-mid since neither Guevara, Gaven, Bradley or Lisi have predominatly attacking roles. They are all 2-way midfielders..Amado and Gaven has a bit more offensive freedom but are not pure attacking mids. When did i ever say he should start every game? When did i ever say he should be leading the league in scoring? I am on the record all over these boards as being a realist when it comes to what is expected from Freddy production wise. Once again i never said anything about him starting every game. DUDE! where are you getting these conclusions from? You really need to go back and figure our what my discussion is about. HUH? My arguement had little to with Adu getting more time and EVERYTHING to do with playing in a role that he is better suited for. A role where we can exploit his creative skills without forcing the kid to be "complete player" and focus on making him a specialized player to bring out his god given talents. Impacience is a negative virtue of youth. Not much can be done about that.
It would be pointless to Argue Bradley's record with young players on a DC board...so whatever. I do find it interesting you listed players 25 and under as young players.
If he had a better record, it could be argued. But I feel I proved that he doesn't. And wasn't there an article (maybe by Galarcep (sp?)) that suggested that the reason behind getting Djorkaeff and Agoos Meola and Rawas precisely because the Metros' youth movement wasn't working? And couldn't that be extended to include Razov and Meola? Hell, at my age, everybody is young... That said, a player under 25, while maybe not young in your definition, most likely only has two or three years of professional experience, which could still qualify him as a "young" player.