Omar (R)

I worry about what he might do with the ball under pressure, at the international level. I have not been impressed with his ball skills in CCL.

That said, I think he has improved on the ball in MLS play. Also, he's probably the best defensive CB in MLS. Big threat in the air as well.

He deserves to be brought in. Definitely camp in Jan. I don't think he's ready for international play in Klinsy's system yet though. I don't want to imagine what he might do with the ball under pressure against France or Slovenia.

I'd like to see him go somewhere where he plays in a system, where his turnovers and longballs aren't allowed/tolerated.

 

This is not a good match to judge Omar's passing ability, since everyone's passes were very off, including David Beckham's. Lots of passes were very short and ended up getting picked off. He had some awkward clearances, but so did a couple other players who're normally solid, so I don't know how much of that to attribute to pitch conditions as well.

 

Today was just an ugly game, the entire Galaxy team played pretty lackluster. The team didn't play like their CCL life was on the line. That said, another shutout by the Galaxy. The defense anchored by Omar just doesn't break very often.
The tv guys said the grass was very tall causing issues with passing.

 

The OP basically discussed his observations of last night's game, which is fair. He did conclude,it seemed by deeming him not good enough which is probably a bit unfair.

No player should be judged on one club game which I believe is the intention of the thread. We have enough of those where fanboys will claim that defender X is the best and use that thread to hate on every bad pass or positioning of defender Y and Z.

 

Last time I started this thread in N&A it was deleted for no reason whatsoever. There is this thread in USA men already.

Llyod also failed to mention how terrible the pitch was last night and everyone's passing was terrible. The galaxy was playing pretty bad considering their champions league life was on the line and yet Omar helped them get a shut out. Omar was doing great defensively. Montague was only able to get longer distance shots and they have very few really good chances. I still stand by what I said months ago, I'd rather have a defender who is exceptional at defending than a great passer who is okay at defending.

 

I think it's fair to point out that Omar had a poor passing game last night. It also needs to be put into context - David Beckham is one of the better passers in the history of the game and he had a poor passing game last night.

And defensively Omar was a rock. But we already knew he was a rock.

Passing will always be the weakest part of Omar's game. The questions are whether or not it's good enough to get by at the international level and if the defensive assets he brings to the game are enough to negate the passing.

Personally, I think his passing is average enough to get by against most teams because of what he brings defensively and I think if he's paired with a back that is good on the ball, the issues won't be that big a deal.

Ultimately, a defender's first job is to defend and Omar does that very, very well and I want that given a chance to succeed.

 

I am not impressed by his passing and I think at the international level that may be more of a liability than in the MLS. I would like to see him make the grade in a foreign league before slotting him in as a CB for the US.

I get the feeling that JK feels that the MLS is just not tough enough to truly test players except for some obvious exceptions. However, that is just a guess. This may explain, in part, the absence of some players including Omar and John (for example). It may go to his view of getting players out of their "comfort" zone. I think he values Orozco more because he is playing and making the grade in the Mexican league. By the way, by making the grade I mean he is playing. Not claiming that Orozco is a star. At the end of the day, who know??

Aside from passport issues, it is interesting that the world market seems more focused on John than Omar. However, that is a conjecture on my part and may have more to do with passport issues.

g

 

So who is the better passer: Omar or Boca?

And who is the better defender: Omar or Boca?

Shouldn't that be the standard?

 

I honestly believe at this point in time, Omar is better than Bocanegra. I am not denying that Boca was once a great CB/LB, but it is pretty clear that age has taken it's toll on Bocanegra. I worry that Boca will be a liability in the coming years because I don't feel like he is challenging himself at all in the SPL anymore. As for passing, it's hard to say. Gonzalez rarely goes for long passes like Boca occasionally does so I can't definitively say who can pass better. Omar can do short passes to the midfield all day.

 

What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot, Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!

What, drawn, and talk of peace! I hate the word, As I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee: Have at thee, coward!

 

I take thee at thy word:
Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized;

 

Or even better: Who will be the better passer in 2 years?

Better defender in two years?

Omar coming!

 

My phone autocorrected the name and I didn't noticed. Glad to see one word can cause two user's attention spans to completely vanish.

Omar had a good game yesterday unlike a lot of other galaxy players.

 

Are you implying that Omar Cummings should get a run out on the backline?

 

Gonzalez is right footed. So the standard and the position he is going to take is the Right center back position. The real comparison is with Onyewu and Orozoc Fiscal.

 

Omar Little was a feared character in The Wire... whenever he walked down the streets of Baltimore, everyone would shout out "Omar coming!" to warn the drug dealers that he robbed.

 

I don't see "which foot is stronger?" as a major issue in the CB position. In fact, I am right footed and prefer to play as a LCB because the immediate dangers come from the middle and I can clear with my strong foot from there.

 

May Omar has improved, but Omar did not impress at all-star game.

 

Well in most of the top level teams, they line up according to their dominant foot. So I think many people see it as a major issue.

 

In that case you're making a basic mistake, because you want to be defending from the inside to the outside, and not vice-versa as you are doing. As a defender you always close down the line that's leading directly to your own goal and try to push your opponent to pass/move (or shoot) to a position that's further away from your own goal.

In terms of possession look at this previous post: "natural postioned" defenders.

 

Does he have a code? A man got to have a code.

 

You want to close down the center immediately. That is correct and this is much easier to do when your stronger foot is more centrally located. The only issue from this positioning comes if you are poor passing out of the back with your weaker foot.