Having read some of the threads the last couple days has gotten me to thinking, scarey, ain't it? We have gushed forth praise for Ryan and Earnie, and of course Alecko. I want to take a minute to applaud some of the other "lads" whom have busted hump this season to make United what they are, CHAMPIONS. Namoff: Really has matured nicely. Rises to the occaision, great work-rate, vastly improved. Gros: Josh, you rock, man. Brian Caroll: A workman like player, shone in the playoffs and final. Freddy: Took his lumps early in the year, but seems to have learned some about joining a "team" and has become a more solid all around player. Ben Olsen: The Madman, and my pick for the new Captain. Add to the list, yall!!! Mark
Not a player but certainly needs to be at the top of the list....Piotr Nowak The single biggest reason for the turnaround we saw this year. He brought dicipline, hard work and most importantly United Pride back to the franchise. He had vision early on and although it took awhile, the players bought into it. That coupled with Gomez working into the lineup allowing Jaime to be Jaime was what put us over the top. Mad Props to Coach Nowak.....
Petke - Had some tough spots early and in the middle of the season, but really came up big down the stretch.
Petke: For gave it all in that Jersey shithole for five years, then had the fans turn against him, only to come to their biggest rival and win over some very skeptical people and, a year later, not only score a game-winner against his old team, but be a major factor in why we won the championship, and to hopefully overlook run-on sentences. Carroll and Esky: Coincidence that our first goal was the product of the two guys who epitomize exactly where Hudson went wrong? Ara, Lawson, Kuffour, Thompson: We didn't see much of you, but you obviously did your jobs on the practice field to push the starting XI to be their best.
Gotta give it to Namoff. Nobody every wrote about him, but nobody ever really wrote about who he was marking either. Carroll - local boy made good. Can't wait until he thickens up a bit and can really knock heads when needed. Olsen - new nickname will be "Captain Crazy". He's like the kid who forgot to take his medication and I wouldn't have it any other way. Nellie - For no other play than that game where he took a full power shot to the face that knocked him off his feet and then sprung up to keep defending.
i think payne said it best Sunday night at the party in LA. the CLUB--team, staff, fans won the Cup. But on the team I thank all the guys--the guys who played a lot, the guys who worked their asses off in training to get the first team ready to play, the hurt guys who inspired the others with their effort and dedication. It takes the full roster, not just the first xi to win a championship.
Sorry to break it to you but for a long time we pretty much just sucked. Which makes this year's events all the more sweet.
Especially to the fans who became fans because they were victimized by a fan...ie...the spouses of all of us who commited the heinous act of spousal soccer addiction... I am proud of you for Sticking during the tough years Barbara
Since nobody has specifically mentioned it yet, and I still believe in the kid, I want to thank Santino Quaranta for keeping his chin up. If you think back to the few times we got a look at him, his attitude seemed to be good, and he seemed to smile a lot more on the sideline than you might expect from a player with so much promise that's been struck with injury trouble for so long. I think this is especially commendable for a younger guy, not having been through the typical ups and downs and stretches riding the bench that an older player could manage better. Anyway, here's hoping to his full recovery, hard work, continued (apparently) good attitude, and a fine 2006 campaign.