Whitbread praise

I don't know why it is, but as I've said elsewhere, there seems to be a light that switches on right around their 20th birthday, or not at all. Seems to be the case with Zak as well. A lot of performers from this fall's U20 team seem to have followed things up well with their clubs, too. I think Convey's been better at DCU than he's looked in the past (but I'd like to see him frickin' finish), Grabavoy has looked very good in limited minutes with LA, Eddie Johnson IMO has been the most dangerous American striker in MLS in 2004, and Chad Marshall has been a lone bright spot for the Crew.

I really hope that Mapp, Clark, Cochrane, and Quaranta can pick up some steam. A lot of it comes down to full health.

A lot of good prospects from this group.

 

You're not the only one. During the ManUnited tour last year Ferguson was interviewed in NYC. One topic that came up was youth players and he said one of the most revealing things I've heard in a while.

To paraphrase, between 16 and 19, players either take it to the next level or they don't and there's practically no telling who will do it. Some guys find girls, some never peak physically (i.e., they don't become fast or strong or tall), some never learn the game at another level, etc. In all his time, he's only seen one player at 16 who he knew would be big and that was Ryan Giggs.

Given that it came from a coach who's seen probably hundreds of great youth players up close and personal, many under his tutelage including Beckham, the Nevilles, Scholes, etc., and is heavily involved in the youth academy, that's an amzing thing to say. It not only puts, say, Kirovski into context but it does a number for one's view of Adu or the likes. Will he become a great senior player? No one really knows, actually. They like what they see now, but it's not guaranteed.

 

I have my doubts about Quaranta's Physical abilities. Skill was never the question. This is alone the lines of what SCBozeman said regarding Sir Alex and peaking physically

 

I'd lump Mapp in with Convey. He's having a pretty good year, except he has the worst shot ever.

 

I remember being blown away by Quaranta - at times - his rookie season in MLS. There were a few times where he was playing out wide right and just looked like he was going to be a monster. And then he got injured. And then he got injured again.

So I question if he really does have the physical abilities, but just either hasn't been healthy enough to use them, and/or hasn't had the coach to get him to work hard enough to take advantage of them.

I'm still holding out hope that he'll recover from this latest bout with his hernia and take off under Nowak. Nowak seemed to be impressed by Tino before Tino got hurt. I am guessing that Nowak doesn't get impressed by players who aren't physically able to cut it.

At least I hope that's the case.

 

Any chance Zak plays in Pool's last two games?

 

I'm pretty sure he has a first squad number but in a dogfight for fourth there is no way Zak will play with the champions league and Mike Owen on the line.

 

another fo those myths we seem to be talking about recently. He's just going through a bad stretch finishing. I guess everyone forgot about his 4 goals in the U23 tournament. Or his game winning goal against Costa Rica in the 3rd place match of the Gold Cup. Or his goal against Argentina. And if you watch a replay of the U20 match against Paraguay you'll see one of the most impressive goals ANY american has scored for a long time.

Its like Nutmeg said, he just needs to finish. He does't have a bad shot.

Does Zak play CD or LB for 'Pool? LB is Riise position right?

 

Centerback, or, as they say in Britain, "centre-half."

 

Whatever the case may be, it's off right now. He created at least four half opportunities last week by ritually abusing the Metrostars defense on the dribble (he is among the most dangerous American players off the dribble regardless of age) and hit all four shots from about 25 yards out and all four wound up in the upper deck.

Hopefully he's worked on it in training this week, because he's a viking when he runs at defenses.

He needs to round out his game some, improvethe tactical aspects of his game, and could use a bit more work rate, but even when he plays poorly, it's obvious he's very talented.

 

Don't hate on Sip's left foot, he did have a few skyrockets last week though.

 

It's unbeleivable how often a girl kills a player's game.

 

Don't you mean a playa's game.

 

he just needs to calm the hell down. Then he can pick and choose his moments to make his runs. Calming the hell down will also guarentee him better finishes.

 

SO let me get this straight..........





Calming the hell down....

guarentees better finishes.......BRILLIANT!!!!!!!

 

Chics have been doing a number on us since the days of Adam.

 

Calming the hell down will certainly create better posts.

Cap Zak now you freaking crater faced jit bag!!!!

I feel much better now. Thank you.

 

Well, how 'good' your shot is doesn't really matter unless you score goals with it.

Since Convey joined MLS, he hasn't been particularly good at scoring goals - shot percentages of 0.00, 0.05, 0.13, and 0.07 in his first three seasons - an average of .063, where midfielders in general average .090, and forwards .134. Comparing him to his two young USMNT comrades - Donovan is at .184, Beasley is at .130. Convey may be talented, but he's a pretty terrible finisher - hopefully he, like Donovan and Beasley, will eventually improve.

 

why does he get an extra shot percentage, or is the zero an injury thing? Seriously wondering if had a zero year when he actually played.

 

The zero was his first season in the league, and he played quite a bit.

I suspect that there's an upward trend since then, as he's gotten older, stronger, and more confident. Data like this are very noisy, but the last two years, he shot 7 for 66, which is good for an MLS midfielder, particularly one who plays centrally.

Incidentally, I think he's been a pretty good scorer at the U-20 and U-23 levels.

 

In his first year, 2000, Convey took 38 shots and scored 0 goals. Hence, 0/38= 0.00.