such as the picture accompanying Marc Connolly's article of Pope in a Metro's uniform http://www.mlsnet.com/content/03/oped0326connolly.html
It's ok, for at least 1/3 of the season he'll be wearing only the warm-ups while he's hurt on the bench.
The man looks right in two jerseys -- one has Stars-and-Stripes on the badge, the other has United's eagle. That shirt is just wrong.
Bradley wants leadership for his Metros Scums Clint from Clint Mathis, Jaime Moreno and Eddie Pope. This is my prediction of thier leadership, The team dogs it through a game under Jaime leadership, then stops by the trainers table to rehab all of thier injurys under Eddies leadership, before heading out for a night of drinking under Clints leadership. He should of included Richie Williams leadership of whining to the refs. The Far Side
So? What type of reply are Moreno and Pope going to get when they come back to D.C. in there new uni's??? I probably already know about Pope, but how about Moreno???? Cheers? Jeers? (I hope not) Just curious, that's all!
You see, Scum are hated, its only at breif moment when you can cheer for one of them, I will cheer for Pope, Moreno will get a smile and then I will go back to hating them.
Before the game or when the result is not in doubt, always cheer for returnees. Otherwise (to quote Dyson), they are punks. GM
I believe the article says that Bradley has asked Pope to become more vocal. And #23 has done so in some pre-season matches. Don't blame the guy for his previoius playing style, he was never asked or required to be a vocal leader when he was a younger player at United with Etcheverry, Harkes, Agoos and others here. And I see that as one problem United has had under Rongen and now Hudson; neither could get (or knew to ask) Pope to be a vocal leader. Perhaps he'll respond better to Bradley, I just don't know. Anyway you look at it, it certainly is weird to see a picture of Pope in a non-United, All-Star or USA kit. It will be even stranger when he returns to RFK and we get to see him live, and we must certainly cheer him.
Actually, he was asked to become more vocal and he said he is becoming more vocal. But frankly, he's been asked each of the last 3 years and he's said he was becoming more vocal each of the last 3 years ... and he's never made that step to become a vocal organizer. So, I'm doubting that he'll make that step this offseason. Pope is a great individual cog, but he's not the vocal hub of the back line machine. Bradley needs Jolley to take up that role IMHO. He has the makeup to do it, Bob just needs to refine his skills in reading the game and maintaining shape. But, yeah, Pope looks all wrong in the Metros uniform. The funny thing though, is I wonder how much of a drop off David Stokes really is? He looked even taller in person than I had remembered, and he has enough speed and quickness to blanket people in man marking. He's no Pope, but I can see Stokes possibly breaking into the starting lineup before the season is out. -Digital
A More Vocal Pope. I agree with DigitalTron, and we've heard Pope say he will be "more vocal" before. I do not expect to witness a transformation in Pope's on-field "vocal" leadership. And I love the progression in Pope's thinking. First he says, “In the preseason, I’ve been extremely vocal, trying to organize the guys in the back." Just like coach has asked him to do... Second step, he can't take all the credit: "Beside me is Steve Jolley, who is vocal, and Timmy (Howard) in the back. We have a lot of guys who will step up and be leaders on this team." Third step: "I don’t think it’s a thing where two or three guys need to step up, I think we all have to step up for this team to be successful." In other words, 'I am not the leader here, coach.'
Re: Re: Some things just don't look right... Yes, your point is well taken. But didn't Hudson say a lot of things last year? Let's just hope things work out better this year. I'd love to see Stokes step into the starting line-up at some point this season. I don't want to cheer for a team that relies too much on Petke.