This is what I first noticed while watching him against Munich and it is what makes the kid special. I have only seen him called for a foul once in a dangerous area (The PK against Celtic) in the seven or so matches I've seen him in...yet he is constantly rated as the best defender on the pitch in his games. IOW, he has so much talent that he has been able to defend w/o getting called for stupid fouls. I just don't see how this can be a complaint on him. I think we saw some of this in the short time he played wednesday night. There was a sequence in the box that looked to be very dangerous for Jamaica but Spector walked right in and took the ball of the Jamaican's foot. Class.
You mean because he is going to lose a lot of high balls into the box to Michael Owen, Ronaldo or Raul? Or maybe to someone from Portugal wherever that team will end up actually fielding a centerforward? PS. If you have Koller or van Hooijdonk, you field Onyewu and Gibbs. 'Dolo is a wing-back and not a central defender. He'd line up outside of the penalty box and would attempt to stop Ricardo Fuller from using him as a turnstyle, not slug it out against the big boys.
well then id bet money those two wont beat out, reyna, job, pablo, KZ by 2006 to start in a box midfield behind LD and DMB, maybe one but not both.
Yeah he's great at getting the ball away from players and then doing something with it but so is Dempsey. Today I wouldn't play Spector behind Landon in a Diamond mid. In a box with Szetela or Clark or Dempsey or Mastro or KZ beside him sure. I see us using him like Ajax uses JOB against weak teams, and face it there are well over a hundred teams we should beat handily. Soccer is a man's game and fouling in midfield to stop a counter is part of the game, Gilberto earned a starting spot for Brazil in part to do this. Landon pressures the ball and positions himself well but he needs someone behind him to clean up. In the the run up to 2010 Spector will be our best right back option and he very well could be our best DM but I think that talent gap with Szetela, Dempsey, and Clark as not being as huge as the gap between him and whoever plays right back. Spector is Bruce's dream outside back and putting him in the backline doesn't waste his offensive talents. 2006 -----------Keller------------- Dolo---Pope---Boca---Spector -------Reyna-O'brien?-------- -------Landon--Beasley------ -----Johnson--Mcbride------- 2010 ----------Howard--------- ---Spector-Gooch-Boca--- ------Szetela--Dempsey--- --Gaven----Adu----Beasley -----Donovan--Johnson---- We're going to have an AM for the next decade or so but who do we have on the right side of defense, Drew Moor, CJ Klaas, Simek, I'd take Spector over them any day of the week. At dmid Szetela, Dempsey, Clark are a little more promising in the long run.