Spector: Charlton v. Pompey, 4/17 (R)

Discussion in 'Yanks Abroad' started by BuffloSoldier, Apr 17, 2006.

  1. flux82

    flux82 Member

    Aug 9, 2001
    Mississippi
    Gooch and Spector in central defense seems like an ideal situation in the future, if both continue progressing based on their potential.
     
  2. appoo

    appoo Member+

    Jul 30, 2001
    USA
    my guess is that Spector gets integrated into the 1st team if he shows well int he pre-season.

    This injury culd be a blessing in disguise for the kid. he wouldn't gave gotten much PT in the world cup, now he can rest up for the biggest pre-season of his young career.
     
  3. striker

    striker Member+

    Aug 4, 1999
    Given a choice, how many EPL teams would start a 20-year old central defender, especially one who is on loan?
     
  4. appoo

    appoo Member+

    Jul 30, 2001
    USA
    I believe Newcastle does (not on loan though) and I think Senderos of Arsenal is just 21.
     
  5. FirstStar

    FirstStar Hustlin' for the USA

    Fulham Football Club
    Feb 1, 2005
    Time's Arrow
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Marshall has a lot of potential in the middle. Gibbs is young yet. We don't know how much better Simek or Whitbread will become.

    To my eye, we don't have as many young D-mids with excellent ball skills on the radar, but I'm far from the expert there. As a general matter, though, the US seems better at producing backline players than midfield players, so it could be a benefit to push Jon into that role. Not going to happen, though, unless his club puts him there first.
     
  6. flux82

    flux82 Member

    Aug 9, 2001
    Mississippi
    Then send him to the Cola-ship. The point is, they need to decide and define a spot for him and send him to a place where he will be able to compete for that spot instead of doing all of this flip-flopping. I'm sure they love him as a utility player now, but if he is going to be something special, he needs a position on the field where he plays and grows and learns every time he steps on the field.
     
  7. Martin Fischer

    Martin Fischer Member+

    Feb 23, 1999
    Kampala. Uganda
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Really? Benny Fielhaber, Danny Szetela, Michael Bradley immediately spring to mind. Don't know if these guys are going to pan out, so maybe there will be room here for Spector. But a better bet might be somebody who actually plays in the midfield at the professional level.

    Though if you mean that Spector could be a Mastroeni type with more skill, maybe (though Mastroeni is a damm good dribbler).
     
  8. Mr. Bee

    Mr. Bee New Member

    Feb 2, 2005
    Buzzing Around
    Club:
    Wolverhampton Wanderers
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Yeah... dislocated shoulder, he shouldn't even miss any training, let alone match time.
     
  9. striker

    striker Member+

    Aug 4, 1999
    IIRC, Taylor/Ramage (?) of Newcastle and Senderos of Arsenal are NOT loaned players and they generally start only when the regular starters are not available.
     
  10. appoo

    appoo Member+

    Jul 30, 2001
    USA

    yea I agree. time for SAF to see if Spector can add value to his squad, and if not cut him loose
     
  11. FirstStar

    FirstStar Hustlin' for the USA

    Fulham Football Club
    Feb 1, 2005
    Time's Arrow
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Back to the match -- 1-1 now in stoppage time.

    Wait second . . . D. Bent with a strike in stoppage, Charlton up 2-1 now.
     
  12. Sandon Mibut

    Sandon Mibut Member+

    Feb 13, 2001
    FOr the next four years and two months, Spector's future with the US National Team is at left back.

    He may occassionally play somewhere else for the US, but left back represents his best chance at playing time and the position where there is the biggest need for a player of Spector's caliber.

    First of all, while there are plenty of examples of smalish centerbacks, keep in mind that Spector isn't that tall. Yeah, size ain't everything but it's damn nice to have in centerbacks, especially younger ones.

    As for playing centerack, we know Gooch is a lock for a good while. Gibbs will only be 30 during the 2010 WC, Bocanegra 31. Then you've got Marshall, Whitbread, and any number of other candidates.

    At right back, Cherundolo will only be 31 and Wynne will be right behind him on the depth chart with Frankie Simek likely competing for PT, too and maybe Timmy Ward, too.

    At left back, there will certainly be competition, but it's far more winnable for Spector. Pearce, Dunivant, Burciaga, Karbassiyoon if he can get healthy and play regularly, will all compete for minutes there, but Spector is likely better than all of them and could win a competition there.

    And, as Martin pointed out, with the likes of Szetela, Bradley, Clark and Feilhaber, we'll have plenty of skilled d-mids in the next cycle, too
     
  13. appoo

    appoo Member+

    Jul 30, 2001
    USA
    6'0" 180 pounds is small?
     
  14. vmax71

    vmax71 BigSoccer Supporter

    Apr 11, 2002
    high desert
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States

    whoa there chief ... please let's get our facts straight ... separated shoulder or dislocated shoulder?

    Separated shoulder - the ligament which hold the collarbone against the scapula is injured -not so bad - heals in 4 to 6 weeks - every player in the NHL has it on both of his shoulders

    Dislocated shoulder - the ball of the humerus comes out of the socket - VERY, VERY bad. For a professional athelete, requires surgery to repair the ligament. Examples of who had this: CHris webber, derek jeter, ken griffey; I know - all these guys need to throw the ball but still, a soccer player would also need surgery.
     
  15. Martin Fischer

    Martin Fischer Member+

    Feb 23, 1999
    Kampala. Uganda
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    By my count, 14 guys listed at US Soccer in the Men's Player Pool are capable of playing central defender. Of those, Nick Garcia and Pablo Mastroeni are shorter. Carlos Bocanegra is the same height. 10 guys are taller.

    So, yeah, for a central defender in the international game, 6' is small, though certainly not impossible.
     
  16. owendylan

    owendylan Member

    May 30, 2001
    Virginia
    Club:
    DC United
    whoa there chief, let's not jump the gun on cutting Mr. Spector up. There are lots of questions still left to answer. Was it a full dislocation or just a partial, anterior or posterior dislocation? Has he ever had that shoulder dislocated before? If this is his first dislocation, he may not require surgery unless he dislocates it again. Rest and rehab might be enough to allow him to continue playing. Most of the guys you listed as examples have had multiple dislocations of the same shoulder and they need to throw a ball much more frequently than a soccer player does. Also he could hold off on the surgery to play in the WC, assuming he makes the team, and have it during the season when the schedule allows a week or 2 break which occassionally occurs due to cup and international dates.
     
  17. sidefootsitter

    sidefootsitter Member+

    Oct 14, 2004
    Not at all.

    And Jonathan has perfect bite to his game to be a quality centerback ... or a defensive/2-way mid.

    BTW, Sky gave him a "7".
     
  18. bungadiri

    bungadiri Super Moderator
    Staff Member

    Jan 25, 2002
    Acnestia
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Speaking as the proud father of two shoulder separations (and let's all remember that there's a rat in separate, students), the most I had to sit out was 2 weeks. And that was without any PT or monetary and/or WC motivation to get back playing as soon as possible.

    My doc explained to me the difference between a separation and a dislocation and it's pretty big. While I'll happily defer to owendylan's apparent expertise regarding gradations of dislocations (sh-boom, sh-boom), it seems reasonable to say that a dislocation of any ilk will hurt Spector's chances more than a separation will, provided my belief that the race between him, Frankie, and Albright is close one that might be decided by a relatively minor factor is accurate.
     
  19. sidefootsitter

    sidefootsitter Member+

    Oct 14, 2004
    Two weeks off will still get him to camp in time... and when competing against someone with a brain separation, he'll be fine.
     
  20. appoo

    appoo Member+

    Jul 30, 2001
    USA

    I'm pretty sure Vidic is actually smaller and that dude's crazy.
     
  21. aznsensation24

    Feb 14, 2001
    Long Grove, IL
    I don't know if he has dislocated his shoulder in the past, but he did fracture his collarbone while playing for the u-17's. I remember it occurred a few months before the u-17 World Championship and just after he signed for Manchester United. I can't recall how long he was sidelined, but I think it was around six weeks.
     
  22. Wahoo

    Wahoo New Member

    Aug 15, 2001
    Seattle, USA
    Speaking as one who has twice dislocated his shoulder....

    I'm not so sure they'll operate on him.

    keep the arm in a sling for a couple weeks
    after a few days start doing physical therapy and 3 weeks from now he'll be fine
    If he doesn't play in the World Cup he'll heal just fine without any surgery though he will be slightly more prone to future dislocations.
     
  23. MJ-inBRITAIN

    MJ-inBRITAIN Member

    Feb 19, 2006
    Nottingham, UK
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I've noticed that he's played the last couple of games at right back. Was he there again today? I think that must make things very difficult. I also think it speaks volumes about the managers trust in him, to play him out of position - in several positions - and he isn't even one of his players. I'm guessing that they're in negotiations to buy him.
     
  24. FC Tallavana

    FC Tallavana Member+

    Jul 1, 2004
    La Quinta

    I have no trouble believing Spector doesn't walk on water. What I have a hard time of is understanding why people are so critical of Spector when he is blazing his own trail.

    We have never had a player do what he is doing and some people mistakenly confuse Spector's bad games with the bad games of MLS defenders.

    I love MLS and I watch just about every MLS game and very little European club games so I'm certainly not a Euro-snob when I say that a bad day at the office for Spector is still quite possibly better than a great day at the office for guys like Hejduk & Albright.
     
  25. FC Tallavana

    FC Tallavana Member+

    Jul 1, 2004
    La Quinta
    I have turds bigger than that.


















    Of course, I'm 6'7"/250
     

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