Did you see the end of the first half of the Crew/Rev first playoff game? If not check out the highlights on mlsnet.com. I don't know alot about Buddle but everytime I see him he seems to be doing something that makes me scratch my head and ask why. His swing at the ball (I do not believe he was swinging at the goalie, at least I hope not) was totally unnecessary. One constant about Arena's player choices seems to be that he does not select players who react blindly/stupidly, all of his old and new players are level headed. If Buddle repeated this reaction during a WCQ game, the US would be playing a player down and in these tough games that leads to losses.
I confess that I havent seen much of Buddle this year. However, assuming this actually is a trend, there is no doubt it is a relevant one for Bruce (see: Clint Mathis). Arena seems to hold even the most talented of players to certain overall standards regarding attitude/commitment/etc.
Buddle's actions were 100% justified. Matt Reis had no right to hold onto the ball after the call had been whistled, Buddle clearly was trying to pull the ball from his arms and start a quick play, and Reis was the one who swung at Buddle.
Agreed that Buddle did nothing unusual. We've seen some strange red cards, but never for trying to get the ball for a re-start. If people want to talk about Buddle's workrate, that might be worth discussing (perhaps he's still not 100%). But do we really need a US News & Analysis thread to discuss an MLS broadcaster's active imagination?
Buddle's actions were 100% justified. Matt Reis had no right to hold onto the ball after the call had been whistled, Buddle clearly was trying to pull the ball from his arms and start a quick play, and Reis was the one who swung at Buddle. Justified or not, Buddle was already skating on a yellow card, wasn't he?? I'd hate to chance that in a WCQ or WC game. That very easily could have gone down as both a yellow for Reis & Buddle, with Buddle being sent off.
Exactly. This is the difference between being a professional and being a great talent. Being a great talent isn't enough. if there's no advantage of getting into a whatever it was, why risk it. I don't care if a player is in the right, they know when something will look bad, and esp on a yellow, they've got to get themselves out of tricky situations.
Correct, if there's no advantage. In this case, Columbus had been awarded an indirect free kick just inside New England's box. Buddle wanted to set up a kick while Reis was out of his net. If he had succeeded, it would've been a big advantage.
I saw the play and the idiot rev announcers where saying buddle was taking a swing at reis??? nothing could be further from the truth...buddle was trying to get the ball from him..... if you're gonna keep buddle out of the mix for that play, then take a good look at the aggressive play of dempsey or casey... their wildness is more than likely to cause carding situations... gonna ignore them because of the possibility... and amado guevara instigates more in 5 minutes than buddle did in 90... perhaps it was buddle's complaining which drew attention to the indirect, unlike the clear offside goal stewart got in the metro match...
Which is a solid point. I wasn't referring to this play, in particular, but to the notion that there is a pattern. As we know, a play that looks like you could have been taking a swing is often enough to get a player tossed in central america. Not saying the play diminishes buddle as a player. But the more experienced player finds a way to make it look as if he's been hit, and falls like a turkey from a helicopter, clutching his face.
Buddle got injured at a bad time, IIRC. He'd just been called in a few times and got hurt. He'll be back.
I'm really sorry but there is no way his reaction is justified by any means. It is the responsibility of the ref to hold Reis accountable for his delaying the game, NOT Buddle's or any other player. What I can understand is Reis thinking Buddle's huge swing was meant for him and responding in kind. Yes, injuries have hurt Buddle in regardings to Nat opportunities, but I was just putting out the hypothosis that maturity might be another.
When the whistle blows, and the ref signals a foul, the ball is yours. Buddle went after the ball, and not even too agressively. He didn't throw any punches or anything like the announcers said. He wanted a quick restart in stoppage time with the keeper out. He did the right thing, and was not punished by the referee because he did NOTHING WRONG.The Ref is responsible for punishing Reis, but Buddle is responsible for playing the game, trying to score a goal in stoppage time of a playoff game when you're down a goal. How can you blame a guy for making every fair effort to win?
Because soccer needs a great big, giant kick in the ass on this point. Refs need to start issuing yellow cards every time a player touches the ball when it's the other team's to play. No more throwing it 20 feet in the air to give it back, no more dribbling it ten feet and then letting it run, no more holding it when you're the keeper. Put it down and leave it alone or get a card. Simple. It would speed up the game and punish teams whistled for an infraction. Players would whine and raise hell for about a week and then it would never be an issue again.
Wow. Someone watching a Revs game that isn't a fan of their opponents is questioning whether an opposing forward is fit to be a candidate for the Nats. Huh.
Buddle was out of line. He looked like my 5-year-old nephew trying to wrest a toy away from another kid (and Reis was never going to give him the ball with an open net). I agree with the original poster's sentiment that there seems to be a maturity issue with Buddle. He's a good player, so in the long run, hope I'm wrong.
We have different opinions. BOTH sides were wrong and I feel the resulting scrum is evident that there was plenty of blame to go around.
I totally agree and would add shirt grabbing as well. I am so sick of seeing the better players grabbed when they get by someone. No warnings, just a YELLOW for all shirt grabs.
Please enlighten us a little bit here; everytime you watch him he does something that makes you scratch your head? Can you name a few of these "other times" he's done something? I'd love to hear about them. Really? I would love to hear people who claim such "maturity issues" to elaborate a little bit and give us a few other examples which shows this is the problem a few posters here claim it to be.
People around here really hate it when you ask for actual examples. Vague generalities are so much easier to deal with.
Like I said I have not seen Buddle a whole bunch but I can recall 2 other instances, and no I can not give you exact dates and times. 1) After scoring a goal, that was more the product of the assist than Buddle's talent, Buddle proceeded to stiff arm the assist man, who ended up on the ground rubbing his chest, it seemed that his teammate just wanted to celebrate but Buddle wanted to run around like an idiot by himself. A couple of teammates came over to help the poor guy off the ground, they all looked at Buddle like he was an ass and shook their heads as to say "What an idiot." 2) Martino is chasing defenders, trying for a turnover, and prompts a long cross field pass between defenders. Martino breaks for the goal because he sees Buddle standing there and thinks Buddle can easily step in front of the defender and intercept the pass. Buddle does not move. The defender can't handle the pass and it squirts away toward Buddle. Buddle does not move. The defender gets a handle on the ball and proceeds go around a stationary Buddle and attack up field. I could tell Martino yelled something at Buddle, and Buddle, not even looking at Martino, waved back at him as if to say "I could care less what you think." I could be full of ********, that is one of the reasons there is a question mark at the end of the thread title.
I've never heard about any of this crap regarding Buddle's character. The only thing I've ever noticed is his low workrate. People are really reaching these days. I just saw a lineup someone posted for the Jamaica game that had Simek, Karb, and Whitbred all starting in defense.