Which numbers are those that point out a need to develop? Maybe the number of injuries he's had, but I don't see it in the stats I clipped. On the other hand, the stats do point out that when he plays, he is a better producer than anyone else in MLS. If he is nearly as good as the numbers and observations indicate, there's no way he's spending 3 more seasons in the MLS.
Simply that he's not playing many minutes, when compared to the top strikers in MLS. He has to prove he can stand up to a full season before he's going to be seen as worth a spot in a top league.
What do you want? The guy suffered a major hip-flexor injury early in the season. In the midseason game @ KC last season Buddle scored a goal and lost half a front tooth in the process, and later in the game took a forearm shiver to the neck and still managed to dish the ball to Cunningham for an assist. He's a tough, tough player, who had suffered a major freak injury. It happens. His minutes were limited last season because the coaching staff thought Cunningham was better. This year it's injury that caused him to miss so many games. I mean, you wouldn't hold Kreis', Twellman's, or O'Brien's injuries against them, would you?
You obviously do not know very much about Buddle. He is our hottest young striker prospect. If given the chance, he will flourish in any league for any team in the world. We do not have many players that you can call the total package, but he is an exception.
I like what I've seen of Buddle, but I've never seen him take a shot from outside of the 18 yard box. Does he? Can he?
I'm not sure. Have not seen him try too many. He is still very young so if this is a weakness, he will improve on it. No one seemed to think Taylor Twellman could shoot from outside the box till he hit some beauties for goals outside the area.
He took about 3 shots from outsdie the 18 on Saturday. None of them were particularly dangerous, but I liked his "ambition".
Buddle & Overseas Can we have a U.S. player lead the league in something before we start saying that they are too good for MLS? Whether it's Diallo or Ruiz or Nowak or now Spencer, the history of MLS is old foreigners coming in and kicking butt. If our young players are such studs, they should have no problem matching or outdoing old-guy foreigners. Since in the past they haven't been able to do that, the only fair conclusion is, they ain't really too good for the league. Rather, they're just a promising young player that is being overhyped by American fans eager for a hero.
Re: Buddle & Overseas Ouch. You bring up a good point. But you could always counter with the fact that McBride never topped the foreigners in scoring in MLS but found the back of the net in the EPL, although only for a short stint. I don't think that Buddle is too good for MLS, but he has extreme, true potential. I believe that his playing/finishing will be better honed outside of MLS. Maybe not now, but soon.
Re: Re: Buddle & Overseas A fair response. I agree with all that you write. I would only add, I would like to see him record one productive, (relatively) injury-free season before making the jump. That doesn't seem too much to ask.
Considering my name, I consider myself to be the ultimate authority on this subject Seriously though, he should definitely be playing in Europe in the next few seasons, either in England or Germany. He's great in the air, and an outstanding finisher. Hopefully he can be the next Brian McBride for the national team!
IMO, this is the kind of hype that we should avoid, be it in reference to Buddle, Donovan, Beasley, Adu, .......
Re: Buddle & Overseas Overhyped like Tim Howard? You mean we should pay attention to and get excited about GREAT players like Twellman and Kries instead ( MLS super studs).
I'm not trying to overhype him, but he has all the tools to do it. Talent, drive, and a good head on his shoulders. Sure there would not be space for him at clubs like Milan, Real Madrid, and Chelsea, but a club like Man U could certainly use a talented young target man like Buddle to nurture along slowly.
Re: Buddle & Overseas That's why I put the stats together in a prior post - he is by far the leader in goal frequency - when he plays, he scores far more frequently than anyone else in the league, except Twellman, who Buddle also leads by about 10%. That said, yes, he needs to play more frequently, but as Foosinho pointed out, this was a freak injury. He's also the leader in shooting accuracy. When he shoots, he's more likely to score than anyone else in the league, with Twellman and Donovan trailing behind him. Also, as far as US players go, Twellman has done quite well for the past 2 years, and he's a US-based player. And again, the numbers point out that this may or may not be true. He's about in the middle of the pack in terms of shooting frequency - he's certainly no Damani Ralph, who shoots all the time, albeit often right at the goalkeeper, or with easy to save shots.
Re: Re: Buddle & Overseas The Crew - who have suffered a lot of injuries this season - are undefeated when McBride and Buddle both start. The only games Buddle played in without McBride were a few just before the current undefeated streak - and he still managed to score in virtually every game. Look, I hope to Christ that Buddle stays in Columbus his entire career - that means the Crew will be awesome. But I think it's only a matter of time before he moves on. It may not be until after 2006. By then he will have been a keystone during qualifying, and probably made a splash in Germany. He'll still be young - someone will be certain to take a chance on him then. BTW, I'll back up Toon's assertion, with a small caveat - he's not afraid to shoot when a good opportunity arises. If he's got a good look at goal, and a half-step, he'll let rip. He's got a very quick release. But, if it's not there, he'll play the patient ball back, or try to open space for someone else.
Even if what you say here is true (which I don't have any reason to believe yet), it is still quite different from "if given the chance, he will flourish in any league for any team in the world". If this is not overhype, I don't know what is!
Huh? We are talking about talent here. Do you think Manchester Utd. picked Tim Howard up because of his achievements? They could give 2 shits about his achievements across the Atlantic. All they care about is his potential. Big European clubs will see that same type of talent in Buddle. Big guys with his ability don't exactly grow on trees. There is no hype involved. The bottom line is that Edson has skills.