...well, not really. He was really talking about Taylor Twellman when he made this comment. "You look at Cunningham, Cunningham is a dribbler. But when in front of the net, he's still going to try and...pass it off the goal post if he can. He just doesn't really show that he wants to score goals." You can catch the full piece here. I know, I know. Not another Cunningham thread. But things are quiet around here and this seems to always stir the hornets nest.
Exactly the point I was struggling with in the finishing thread. McB and JC are somewhat similar in that they need a pure finisher (Buddle or Dante) to work with. Neither of them think shoot first.
While Wynalda may be right that he often thinks pass first, I by no means think that Cunningham is afraid to shoot.
... if he is in the penalty box. Also, this is bugging me. Other than last week, when is the last time that Jeffery thought "pass"?
Well, Donovan leads MLS with four assists while Cunningham has three. Cunningham led the playoffs last year with four (too bad all four came against San Jose!). Cunningham has fed a number of players this season - just as other players have - that didn't finish. I'd say Cunningham thinks pass a lot more than people think...but that's never really stopped anyone before, has it?
Ham-Ham I agree that statistically Cunningham knows how to pass, but when you sit down and watch a game, you tend to think: "Pass the friggin ball, Jeff. There's two guys wide open, and you've got three defenders on you."
Re: Ham-Ham you're right, it's so easy to make a clean pass when you're surrounded by three defenders. i can hear it now: but if he got rid of it sooner, he wouldn't have that problem. well... defenders collapse on him faster than anyone else on the Crew. sometimes you can't just lay it off. especially not if you're in the attacking third, where he tends to get the ball, being, you know, a forward and all. he passes more often than he gets credit for. his assist numbers are significant for a forward. AND he scores goals. honest to god, i don't understand sometimes, i really don't.
Re: Re: Ham-Ham hey hey, what don't you understand? Here's the scenario that usually happens: Jeff gets ball, dribbles, one defender is on him to contain him, than others flock towards. Sometimes he does have the oppurtunity to lay off to someone else, and he usually chooses not to. But that's ok, he's still our number one point leader. I wasn't bashing Jeff, I've just watched him too many times, while thinking what I wrote in my last post.
i know, i know... i think i was responding to the two guys who sit next to me at games more than anyone else. they say the word "frigging" a lot.
Re: Re: Ham-Ham AND, he's made significant progress on the passing part of his game this year. He doesn't dribble into dead ends as often and make many more quick passes. Watching RAW talent improving is sometimes frustrating.
At the Metros game last week, I counted at least 4 or 5 times where he'd get the ball, look for the past, and the rest of the midfield and strikers were standing still, expecting Jeff to get them the ball. Obviously, Jeff is marked, tries to create space to pass, and by the, 3 defenders have collapsed on him, making the pass difficult, and the rest of the offense is standing still.
Apology accepted... I didn't think the supplement for friggin was allowed, just went with whatever popped out of my mouth. I'll try not to use "friggin" again. Why not ask those guys to not say the word?