the pendulum that is big soccer is a silly, silly thing. makes you wonder about players getting the shaft though in europe. i mean prior to february 6th he wasnt good enough for derby, now he's an essential cog to the USMNT machine and the ideal compliment for bradley/edu/clark. time to dust off the ole benny feilhaber rules t-shirt
never left for me. I can't fathom why he isn't getting time for Derby. To me, it's never been he wasn't good enough for us but why in the heck did Derby think he wasn't good enough for them.
He's not back yet. If he is allowed to participate in the Olympic qualifiers and performs admirably, then he's on track. One game ain't enough.
Yeah, one game aint enough so how did he fall from grace so quickly? He was amazing this summer and then by december he sucked? If played in the middle he is a very solid player for the US. At least for Benny's sake it is now Mike Bradley who sucks....until he has a good game next time out.
Yeah, look what 30 minutes of solid play (not great play) can do for you when the alternatives looked mediocre for 60-70 minutes. On BS, that's par for the course.
great, so now that everyones up to date on cool US soccer players the winter fashion lineup is as follows; Oguchi Onyewu is cool again Benny Feilhaber is cool again Michael Bradley is uncool but will be cool again by this summer Jozy Altidore is ultra super hella rad cool Ricardo Clark is still kinda cool but not as cool as he used to be think that sums it up??
Do I need my "Rational" certification card to join this thread??? It's scary out in BS land. I'd hate to see what would happen if someone yelled fire in a theater crowed with some of the people on this board.
lol at some of the responses...fun stuff. i thought he was always cool after his cheeky chip against china. anyways. he's not back yet. he still needs regular playing time, and that's why i thought he didn't merit a callup. i think he proved a lot of us wrong though. the CM spots are still up for grabs, and i don't see why he doesn't have a shot at it. but like i said, i still think he needs to be playing regularly.
Its a shame, but I believe that both Benny and Derby poorly judged each other. He is definitely not a route 1 football player and I think that's a perfect description of their style of play. A good baller in dire need of a better (more skillful) team.
i have always thought he was quality and i'm not sure what drop off everyone is talking about, he brings a lot of creativity to the game. if he cant figure out his club situation its really gonna hurt, even though i think he should play over almost every midfeilder derby has.
I never thought he was bad. People acted like since he wasn't playing for Derby, he couldn't play for us. I never quite understood that.
I'd never equate Derby as a gauge of a players talent. If anything I'm glad he hasn't played for them... god knows it could only hurt him.
NorCal terminology has no business in this thread. And it's like I said in another thread, throughout 30 minutes my anger went from being focused at Bob Bradley for bringing him in to Derby for not playing him. He didn't play like Fabregas if that's what everyone is looking for, but he brought a calming ability to the game, which was something the US needed at that time. I guess Bob has learned to not put him out on the right. (Or not)
the great thing about Benny is he is officially THE prime example not getting PT doesnt mean an awful lot when you put out for the national team. The guy is talented, he a need player given the position he plays.
The thing to keep in mind is that there are plenty of players on the USWNT who perform just fine for country and do not play for a club.