This guy is turning into one of my favourite Quakes. Hope there's not already a thread but I searched and couldn't find one. he definately deserves a thread not only for his goal of the week but for his outstanding play in the lastt 3-4 games. Should be next player of the month for the Quakes.
Absolutely I agree. I am officially converted. This guy went from red card liability to pure joy to watch and fan favorite in a matter of a month. Makes you wonder: Does Dom have a midas touch in shaping these young players? Is Yves' secretly handing out livers in the locker room, whereby new blood is literally being injected into this team? Is Rico for Donovan the best off-season move yet? Will the real Rico Clark please stand up? We are lucky indeed, we have him and they don't. I think his initial pairing with Knuckles put him out of his comfort zone, and it showed as he would feel the heavy burden of controlling the attack, and his sense of positioning was generally off- Re-inserting him as a defensive mid really got his appetite for the ball worked up, not unlike a certain vampire looking at a plate of liver. I had noticed him in his rookie year getting well into the attack as a Metrhoid, and now he's finally doing it for us, the West Coast's Best. I hope he continues to impress and just leave everything on the field, week after week. I hereby take back all the nasty commentary and skepticism I may have ever held. He truly has proven himself to be a joy to watch.
It's exciting to see Rico start to show more offense. Adds another offensive weapon to DeRo, Cerritos, Moreno, Ching (when he's back), Chung, Mullan, Davis, Gray, and Barrett. That's a lot of weapons, nearly all of whom would be on the field at the same time. The scoring on this team should be very well distributed.
I consider him near Solisian. But he won't be equal to him until he single handedly leads his national team through qualifying to the World Cup.
Wow. This thread should have more posts (my bad too). Clark has really been coming on since regaining a strating job. His goal last week was beautiful. He seems to be getting more confident each game and is starting to remind me why everyone was talking about him being on the USMNT.
He brings great energy to the game, and is really starting to show a broader set of skills than I thought he had. I had him pegged as defensive mid, but he's started to show more passing and offensive skills lately and I wonder if he can evolve into someone who could play other positions as well. Tonight he was playing a sort of a-mid (much of the time, both he and Danny O seemed to both be playing more defensive, but overall Rico played up more) and did a decent job. I'm looking forward to seeing him continue to get better and better.
Ray Hudson called him a future national teamer and I have to agree. Doubt he'll break his way into the 2006 WC squad but if he keeps playing like he has been it wouldn't be out of the question.
Glad he's working out for you as I was dissapointed when he was traded from the MetroStars. The only thing that was a turnoff for me was he was not very receptive to Bradley's experiment of using him as a right fullback for a few games last season.
He played right back for a few games here this season and did a pretty decent job. I say it was a good trade, Rico for Lalas
I like his vision, the fact that he always looks forward, and his variety in attack (dribble, pass, long range shots all equally used). I don't think it is easy to defend against him when he decides to come up.
I've been very pleased with Rico latley, the past few games he is really flourishing! wow.. I sound like a dork
Watched the replay of yesterday's 2nd goal again, and man, Rico just blows by Marshall and stays well ahead of him while dribbling. He's got good speed once he gets those long strides going. I'd like to see him leverage it more and more. He makes good things happen when he attacks. Makes me start to think that, while Ching is out, the Quakes ought to consider going back to DannyO at d-mid, Rico at a-mid, and start DeRo at forward with Cerritos. DeRo's doing an excellent job at a-mid, but I think he'd be a definite upgrade to Moreno at forward, and Clark seems to be getting to the point where he can be an effective a-mid. Still a little concerned about his ability to hold the ball and make good passes in traffic. I think DeRo's pretty solid in that regard.
Funny, I was just thinking about this as well after watching the tape of the game and having also had a great view of Rico's run in Columbus. I was sitting on the sideline on the side of the field he made the run, and it was impressive how he blew past the defense. Much like the run he made at Spartan against Colorado when he put it off the crossbar. He's got really long strides and I think he catches the defense by surprise because he doesn't take off that often. Anyway, I really don't expect Dom to do this - he seems very happy and loyal to Moreno and Cerritos, and he's also said several times how well he thinks DeRosario is playing in the middle. While Dom has taken chances and moved some guys around (like putting DeRo in the middle in the first place, moving Clark to RB), he definitely does not tend to change what he feels is working, and he doesn't tend to change multiple pieces at once (unless forced to due to injury). I also still see a marked difference in the middle with Clark paired with DeRo than when Clark is paired with ORourke (Clark and DeRo seem to complement each other more....Clark and ORourke are staying more in the same space and periodically almost getting in each other's way).
the turn and shot on the goal of the week was something that i couldn't see anybody in MLS doing, except perhaps Guevara. that was a goal of rare quality, i'm really beginning to see why he was always heralded as one of the league's rising stars.....kid's a certified baller
As an american and avid MLS fan, I don't know wether to be offended or not. Nobody but one (foreign) player in the ENTIRE league is capable of pulling the shot off? Either you don't watch enough MLS, know much about american soccer or are in denial that we (americans) are improving? Nobody?!? C'mon.
I like Ricardo's improving offensive skills, but I really enjoy how he covers so much ground and wins so many balls in the air. I know a lot of us (including me) really liked Danny O in the defensive midfield early in the year, but I really think Rico is doing so much more than Danny ever did. Danny was great at winning the ball on tackles and stepping into passing lanes, but he seemed only average in the air, and he seemed like he had to resort to fouling far too often to stop an offensive surge. Both of them have a tough streak, but Rico seems to have learned a bit better about how and when to take the foul. If he keeps improving on the passing and offensive end, Clark could really become a dominating force on the field.
sorry, perhaps the way i stated my approval was unclear; i don't by any means consider Ricardo to be one of the top 2 players in the league. i have no doubt that most all attacking players in the league are CAPABLE of doing this, but it's the kind of thing oyu don't often see in MLS, a player scoring when not facing the goal initially, but turning and getting himself in favorable position. there are few goals that are of that nature, a greater number of goals that are of that difficulty.
Last game at Spartan he was about to short pass the ball when he he looked up, briefly, saw a hole then decided to sprint about 30 yards with ball, blasting at the net. Unfortunately, it rolled across the crossbar. It did, however, wiff the net hanging down that should have been pulled tighter (I thought it was a goal at first). I dissed him after his first couple of games, but, thankfully, am eating my words.
I was really glad we got him, and even happier to see him come into his own now. I haven't seen any Gold Cup matches, but I'd definitely like to see him and Davis connect on the Nats.