Part of it could be that he just isn't quite healthy and that's affecting how he attacks the game. I remember watching a clip of some interviews of Tchani, Chinn and Garcia (back in the middle of training camp before Chinn and Garcia were signed). Chinn and Garcia looked happy and were raring to go. Tchani essentially said that he had an injury issue with one of his knees and it felt like it was only 50% ... and that he HOPED it would start feeling better, etc etc etc. I have a feeling that it's just not progressing as quickly as that it's affecting him a bit more than he is admitting. That's the only sensible reason that I can come up with for a guy who is a consensus beast one week, picks up a knock which goes mostly unreported, and then is consensus crap for 2 months.
I hope your right, but the list of combine heroes is long and undistinguished. In other words, Tchani looked great against disorganized kids, and the Ivesian echo-chamber led to that becoming a more significant accomplishment than it actually is.
Better yet. "My advice to Mr. Soler: Get Mike Petke in front of the cameras, interviewers, and journalists every chance you get. His enthusiasm is infectious and Lindperes isn't bad either."
too many mls guys dont make the cut. Considering the glut of midfielders, Thani is either going to work himself to the starting XI, or die out in USL
Yeah, I thing is to early to worry for this kids, they are in a step very difficult in his life, jumping from amateur to professionals soccer players and isn't anybody that could make that transition a la Ream, is only special people who can, just give him his time, eventually he will come around....
To be fair, he wasn't just a combine star. Without the combine, he was still a first-round pick based on his full college output. That said, players who tend to drift through college games are always going to be a risk. He easily has enough physical and technical talent to make it somewhere on the field - shot, passing mind, ability to hold the ball. Whether he has the full makeup to succeed may be a challenge to the coaching staff, but it's awfully early to be too concerned. But I don't think he can be taught to tackle or even fight in the air - that stuff is past, and they need to be creative about how to use him best.
are we seriously doing this after a reserve team match during the 2nd week of the season? i know we are all very excited about everything right now, and it's all coming along very quickly at the moment. however, can we have just a wee bit of patience please?
Yes they are serious. Things are going too well, it's 80 degrees outside(f@ck winter), the stadium is beautiful, the team is undefeated just breaking an almost 2 year long non-winning streak on the road, rumors of a practice facility finally being built, possible signing of Henry as a second DP, RedBull Cola actually tastes pretty good, etc. etc. etc.. Did i mention the team is undefeated? Tony Tchani supposedly, purportedly, maybe, who the f@ck knows, didn't have a great game in a scrimmage, holy sh@t the sky is falling. If he doesn't pan out who the f@ck cares. Ream has and Chinn as well as Da Luz just might. The Draft is a big crapshoot anyway. Shit happens if one doesn't turn out to be a star. Accept the ones that work out, move on and draft some more next year. That's how everyone else does it in American pro sports. Expecting people to draft with 100% certainty is ridiculous.
I guess patience is all that the coaching staff can have for Tchani, at the moment. It does seem odd, however, that reports are coming in to the effect that he's sucking it up against a college team and that he's been the least impressive of the 5 RBNY 2010 draftees. I'm hoping he winds up a major player for us, but to hear stuff like that about the #2 draftee gives me Steve Shak-like flashbacks. Listen, Ream alone would make our 2010 draft a success but I'm hoping for some good press on Tchani, and sometime soon.
understandable and i think all of us are in the same boat on this as far as what we hope to see from tchani in time. the worst thing that happens is that tim ream ends up being our best draft pick this year. oh well. if you guaranteed fans that either their team's #1 or #2 pick would be a good player every year but never both players, i think most knowledgeable fans and all general managers would sign up for that. let alone if da luz also pans out. also, danny mwanga didn't look good in philly's first game. is he a bust already too?
Nobody has called Tchani a bust. What has been pointed out is that a guy with a history of attitude issues and laziness has been called lazy and petulant by folks with the team (I can't say who) and has looked lazy and out of place so far in friendlies and reserve games. It's a totally legitimate discussion to have about anyone on the roster. Don't get your panties in a bunch about it.
It is my fervent wish that no one from RBNY accepts any advice from you on any subject. I also expect you to claim credit for things that they managed to do without you.
Well, that was pleasant. Nice of you to stop by, don't you think? What part of my saying nice things about Mike Petke don't you like?
my panties are fine (red ones on gameday of course ). i am in agreement with you for the most part. i'm not saying a player can't be discussed, far from it. can we wait longer than 2 weeks before we question wtf is wrong with a rookie. 2 months into the season - different story. you're right, nobody called him a bust. forgive me for not wanting to re-type 'steve shak like player'. let's get a little larger sample size of his play/effort/ability/desire/etc before we have a wtf thread, that's all i'm saying.
But this isn't just a rookie, is he? Irving Garcia is just a rookie, and pretty much an after-thought for us because we had so many picks this year. It is troubling that, as has been reported, Garcia (never mind Chinn and Da Luz) has been more impressive than Tchani, the #2 pick in the draft. I believe the phrase I used was that he "gives me Steve Shak-like flashbacks". I realize it's way to early to call him a bust but... I'd never seen him play in college, but the general concensus from several sources (not just Ives) was that this guy was the prize of the draft (after having a great combine, and dropping Ike Opara down a notch). As the prize of the draft, I certainly can expect him to, at the very least, look good against Rutgers. At the very f'ng least! When there are reports that he did not look good against Rutgers, that he has not looked good in pre-season, that he has been the least impressive out of the 5 draftees then it's time to call a WTF (2 games into the season even). Also, and I hate to admit this, but it makes me question if this club should have gone with the "known commodity" that was Duka instead of Tchani (again, 2 games into the season even). Like I said before, I'm hoping Tchani turns out to be a special player for us. I hope that one of our players, say Carl Robinson, can take him under his wing and turn it around for him. Even if he's a certified bust (a few years down the line), we got Ream, a player that someone purportedly "in the know" here called nothing special and, essentially, a waste of a pick. I'm hoping Tchani gets a chance to show us what he's made of in the upcoming US Open Cup game against Philadelphia.
Time will tell on that one, but as i recall nobody said Duka was guarenteed to be better...just that the risk was much lower due to the familerity of the team and staff with his mental approach and the releative reward was about the same for both players based on potential. (one displayed it in big time competitions the other at UVA) I suspect, Soler and Backe and Williams and even Des won't tolorate him long if he continues to make the same impressions he has on the peron(s) Matrim is referring to. They are not striking me as the type of people to do that, that is a good thing as far as i am concerned.
There may be something else at play here. It's what I call the "Jeff Agoos Rule." (Now...no matter what you think of Jeff's role now, and whether or not you thought he was the cat's meow as a player, the "Jeff Agoos Rule" worked brilliantly back in the day and the man earned five championship rings.) Here's how the rule works in MLS: If you have a choice between a BRILLIANT player and a SLIGHTLY LESS THAN BRILLIANT player, choose the SLIGHTLY LESS THAN BRILLIANT player. Why? Because whether or not we like to admit it, MLS is a feeder league for Europe. DC United (Bruce Arena & Kevin Payne) figured out that Jeff Agoos was the perfect player to build a defense around. Why Agoos? Because Agoos was not in danger of being sold to a European team. He was a damned good player, but not BRILLIANT enough to be grabbed by an EPL sqaud. Therefore, DC United built a defense around Agoos, they got a bonus when Eddie Pope decided to stay in MLS for his whole career, and then lucked into getting Carlos Llamosa. And that core defense stayed together for several years and won a bunch of championships. The San Jose Earthquakes/Houston Dynamo used the "Agoos" rule to build a dynasty. They took very strong American players -- but not regulars on the National Team -- and were able to keep that core together. Why does the "Agoos" rule apply to this current conversation? Because it is likely that Duka will go to Europe. Then the Red Bulls would have had nothing but some draftpicks or money. But with Tchani, he might be the type of player who will stay in MLS for a long, long time. That might have been the thinking.
Backe on Tchani: (from Stephan Bondy, Herald News, today) “A really big guy, an absolute physical animal on the pitch. His key for success is he has to give himself much more space on the pitch because he’s not that quick. So he must create space for himself and play more with one-two touches. When you go from MLS to college, you don’t get that time. You have to be much quicker in the passing game.” Tchani’s work ethic: “That’s no problem. He’s working very good every session. He played well in the reserve games too. He’s the type of player who needs time.”
Now that's good to hear, and from the Allenatore himself. Looks like they're going to be patient with Tchani and, hopefully, we'll be rewarded with a monster of a player in the future. Also, anyone doubt the advantages of starting a thread like this one? The results are that questions asked by the local RBNY beat reporters.
yup give Bondy credit for jumping on this, whether or not he saw the issue discussed here.... if Backe has no problem with Tchani's attitude, thats enough to ease my fears for now.
People jumping on fellow Red Bull fans who are actually voicing their "thoughts" or "opinions" on something here seems to be popular this year. Once the team finished undefeated in preseason and won their first regular season game, it was as if you couldn't say anything negative. In football, journalists are quick to write when a #1 pick in the NFL is dropping balls left and right in summer training camp. They don't say, "hmm, let's wait until a few weeks into the season to see how he does". I'm glad Bondy followed-up on it. I find this topic interesting and glad it was brought up.