http://www.ussocceruk.com/news/?CatTypeId=2&ContentId=939 I didn't think anything about his game was remarkable, I was impressed enough with stepping on the field.
I though he looked 'okay'. Nothing remarkable really. Pretty tidy on the ball, but speed and work rate suspect. Good to see him on the field though.
He certainly didn't hurt the team. And for a first time out in a pretty intense/important/odds against us game ... that's a plus.
I got to listen to the last half hour of the game. The announcers just gushed about Powell. Something to the effect "The Rapids have been desperate for a player with his vision and ability to deliver the ball." They thought he was a revelation. These quotes were after the game. I thought it was kind of interesting that it took 20 minutes of game to go by before I even heard his name called. I hope what they said was true, although I'll believe it when I see it.
Hanki has to like him and say nice things about him to Bergin. He invested a lot of credibility in the guy and Powell has been a non factor all season. Powell didn't play bad last night and did his part, so now the coach has to hope Powell can increase his contribution to make the contract look like a good idea (ignoring the fact that Powell was already injured when signed.) As an aside, is Pablo's contract up this year? If so, the Powell signing takes on even more importance next year.
The most impressive thing about Powell was the accuracy of his long-distance, low-trajectory passing. He was able to hit a couple diagonal balls on a rope about two or three feet above the ground for thirty yards or so, straight to the recipient's foot. He wasn't gush-worthy, but I've certainly seen worse MLS debuts. Nat Borchers' performance, on the other hand, was gush-worthy. If he'd been some top dollar international that Hanki brought in to shore up the defense, the praise would've been through the roof. He's what your Galin Ivanovs or Mark Williamses should be.
Observations from row 3. First, this guy hasn't played in what, 6 months or maybe more. How much opportunity has he had working with the "first team". So we may not have seen the real Darryl Powell at all yet, but hey, I've got an Internet connection and an id so I'm an expert He seemed to stay withdrawn, comfortable to pass forward, but not necessarily carry it forward himself. He had an opportunity just outside the Fire 18 and choose instead to send a short square pass to Chung. Either that's his predisposition or just shows good sense, considering Chung's play of late, passing to him is never a bad option Despite his withdrawn positioning, I didn't notice him aggressively playing defense. I'm not sure what role he will play. Clearly he has ball skills and gobs of experience and I'm pretty certain he can be an asset to the team, where, is the question. Considering how ineffective Seth and Hendo have been and Crawford hasn't shown much, I gotta believe Powell can contribute. Is it to late to insert someone like Powell and maybe mess up the chemistry? I say no, we've seen various people sit out with red cards, Fraser with his fathers passing, Pablo with the Nats. Despite that the good play continues. I say give Darryl playing time with the regulars and go win it all.
Powell C'mon! the center mid was a disjointed mess last night until Powell came on. first thing he did was distribute the ball cleanly and effectively. It was night and day from the trembly/crawford stint.
I think he may be good if he gets consistant playing time in the next few games. Get him match fit and gelling with the rest of the guys and could be very valuable going into the playoffs and of course the Cup. My only concern is this. Is the MLS just an experiment to just see how it is until somethiong better in Europe comes up or does he plan to stick around for a few years? Hopefully the latter is true because unfortunatly, Pablo has already said he plans to hit Italy as soon as he can. Not sure how I feel about that but it's good to know Powell may be able to fill that void.
Also, keep in mind that not long after Powell came in, Fraser got canned. That changed Powell's role in the midfield tremendously. He had to take on more stabalization and possession instead of outright attack at that point. I thought he gave a great boost to the team just based on his experience. It was obvious that he was being very vocal about organizing the other guys. Maybe he didn't score but that can't be everybody's job. His distribution and leadership were both great and that's what sets up the points in the long run. Can't wait to see him and Spenny on the field together (assuming Spenny hasn't caught what he's had the past couple of months... way to go Powell, your hamstring injury was contagious!)
I admit I didn't see all the things being reported here. I thought he looked alright, a little lost at times. He played fairly simply and cleanly. It didn't seem like he worked a lot on defense, and didn't go forward a whole lot. None of which speaks badly of him. I liked what I saw for the most part. If he plays I think it's a matter of whom he'll team with. Thus far I think the best performances we've had have been with Trembley and Beckerman in the middle. In the next game I suspect we'll see a Beckerman-Powell midfield. It'll be interesting to see how well they can work together.
Thought he payed alright and showed some flashes of fine play. But everytime I saw him kick or make a run or try to play some D I figured he was about to pull his hamstring again and that that would be the last we EVER saw of him, so quite frankly, in the end, I was a bit distracted, and am probably not the best judge of his play. Here's hoping he can maintain his health.
That was my pretty much my take as well. His presence was FELT in the stands. He seemed to immediately take to organizing and settling a situation that could have consumed them...I saw poise, confidence, the vision-thing, and skill just radiating from the guy. ...I didn't know who the hell he was as I've not been following team politics that closely, so my reaction was completely unbiased. And someone else said above that if Borchers had been an international discovery that people would have gushed all over the place. He DID get MOTM which seems to me like he was at least noticed by someone...
I thought Powell had to, and did, play extremely smart against the fire. He knew that he had to find his match feet a little so, in my opinion, tactically he played a very predictable match. I liked his decisions to dribble the few times he did (drawing fouls coming out of the back third) and his decisions on where to spread his passes. I do think he has great vision. In particular I remember a play on the east side of the field right near midfield. He made a little check run torwards a thrown in. When the throw came in he found himself surrounded by fire players. He took a touch to control the ball and a second touch to play the ball back over his shoulder to a fairly unsuspecting, open, Seth Trembly. In a similar situation with the regular suspects in midfield, that ball would've been lost at the throw in or played backwards maybe all the way to Garlick. I think anyone who expected the man to step into the game and "feed the masses with just one loaf of bread" are a little shortsighted and impatient.
Powell is a defensive midfielder who by his own admission prefers to play behind the attack. It's not his nor Hankinson's intention that he be heavily involved in goalscoring. He's there to stop opposing attacks, win back possession and feed the wings or forwards. Whether in the course of 25 minutes or 100, this is not going to be a glamorous position and rarely will there be times when fans walk out of the park amazed by his contribution. A solid performance by a d-mid means that you don't remember any significant mistakes or significant errors in judgment. For example, compare the number of outstanding individual plays that you recall Mastroeni being involved in versus the number of idiotic cautions and ejections. Bottom line for me is that Powell entered the game and in 25 minutes Chicago failed to score and never really mounted serious pressure on the Rapids' goal. Considering that much of this time was spent following Fraser's ejection, I think Powell did just fine.
Most of what I saw has been said, but to sum up, I really liked seeing Pow-pow (remember that?) on the pitch. I agree with a couple of earlier comments-great vision and ability to put the ball on teammates feet (autogolazo) and you could see the skill in the guy (greenlightwilly?) I'll be anxious to see if that class carries through 75+ minutes. What I didn't see was someone who looked like he hasn't played a match in months, nor someone who had his head on a frantic swivel looking for what to do next. He seems very calm and composed, and is able to pass through small gaps others (I'll let you decide) wouldn't be able to. As it was said, he will not score a ton of goals, but hopefully we'll see some playmaking from the mid/back to further release Spenny and Chung on goal. WCGCapone, who called it? (dam, I should've gotten into the pool).
Pablo & Powell Would really like to see how Pablo & Powell work together in the central midfield during several of the remaining regular season games.
Re: Pablo & Powell I was getting real excited Thursday about the prospects of watching Powell and Masteroni in action at the same time until Greenie gave me a dose of reality about the ch21 telecasts that have been removed. I just assumed that the Rapids would hold true to their word and that the schedule they published months ago was true. "Every away game will be telecast" BS BS BS. Just when the season is coming to a climax, they pull the remaining 3 regular season telecasts. Now I have one game I can watch on the 10th (OK, also the 15th if you count Guatamala). I'm extremely angry at the Anchutz goons for pulling the games. It wasn't Kronke it was Anchutz. I would love to see Kronke buy the telecasts back for the final 2 away games. It would be better than watching the Home Shopping Network on ch21. Sorry about the soap box but I am still furious at the Rapids for this one.