Hey, as I mentioned before I support Tranmere Rovers! I can't afford a superiority complex, especially at the moment...
I wouldn't be surprised if Adu scores 0 (zero) goals in the WC. Basically every other attacker is better than him.
seriously, this is rediculous to compare freddy with rooney when they play in two different leagues...we don't compare the columbus clipper players to yankee players now do we? if he made all these accomplishments in the EPL then compare away but if he didn't otherwise the arguement is baseless...i'm an american and i can clearly see why alot of english posters find it so easy to poke fun at anything american...because one person says anything bad about any american and a onslaught of american soccer nerds swoop into defend the honor of the noble victim of european snobbery.
Ok, my view of that video. It sucked. Im sorry but it did. There were about 5 nice things in there. the thing that people have to learn about freddy is that he is a different player then people thought he was gonna be. he is not an out and out striker. he has become a playmaker and a set up guy. I watch freddy every week and cant count how many times ive seen him do stuff better than things on that video. If you watch freddy play you will notice more than anything his passing ability, he makes some great passes. I am one who hopes that he makes the world cup roster because of the experience he will gain from it, but im also one who realizes that he still has a long way to go to becoming a great player. he doenst defend well enough and sometimes he holds the ball too long. but the kid is 16, and already has 2 years of pro soccer under his belt. there is a huge difference from where he was when he entered the league and where he is now. and in two years from now he will be 18 and i know he will be good enough for the epl. sadly he will not grow much more but he is becoming tougher. and small players still can make an impact in the epl, shawn wrights-phillips and cesc fabregas come to mind. so this video is not soemthing people who have never watch freddy play before should base his ability on. oh and ronaldo2006yes your a troll and an idiot.
Well to be honest Rooney was just a shade under 17 in that debut. In fact a 14 or 15 year old Adu even performing at the MLS level is pretty damn impressive by anyone's standards.
Did Wigan do all that much to improve the team (not sure myself). I recall reading an article recently that suggested that Wigan's tremendous performance thus far was a product of them sticking to what worked, instead of becoming a bunker squad that just hoped to squeak by with just enough draws and wins to avoid relegation. Sounds like they decided to play their own game, rather than simply cave in the inevitable superiority of the mid-level, and top of the table squads and it's worked pretty well for them. What's your thoughts on Wigan? As for Adu. I think the takes are fair, but I also don't think any of us have a clear idea of how good Adu will be. He was outrageously good in the 10-14 period, I don't know of any player that was more impressive supposedly in his age group from around '99-03, and hence the building hype. He then topped it off with a 3 goal performance in his Youth tournament debut at the U-17 World Championships in the summer of '03. He went onto score I believe 2 more goals in that tournament, including a late winner in the closing minute or two against I believe Sierra Leone. He also looked good in spot duty with the WYC tournament side that in my view beat Argentina in the quarterfinals (well, not officially, but anyone who watched the game knows that giving Argentina about 4:30 of injury time in the second half after there were no serious issues of any sort was suspicious, especially considering if Argentina won (as they did 2-1 AET) they'd match up with Brazil in the semifinals), and then he got stuck with probably a horrible fit when he ended up with discilplinarian Nowak, as his coach. Nowak strikes me as a great coach for guys 22-32, not so great for 14 year olds. They never have worked very well together, communicated well or anything else, and matters came to a head this past year. I think his development has been slowed by Nowak's inconsistent treatment and mixed messages (no seeming reasoning behind why he starts one week and not the next), and finally he couldn't have been coached by a worse guy than Sigi at the WYC's last summer. Sigi completely botched the selection of the team when it came to attacking players. It's hard to argue with winning the G.O.D. with that tournament, but the way that our team did (1-0, 0-0, 1-0, and 1-3 in the single elimination game with Italy) really underlined what was wrong. The chances to score were rare, despite having a wealth of attacking talent at his disposal, and at home wondering why they weren't selected. Nothing seemed to work with that team or for Freddy in the tournament and I thought Sigi's verbal wacking of Freddy after the defeat was illustrative of the kind of tool he is, very Norv Turner like. Throw the players under the bus after your tactics and selection provided all of 3 goals in 4 games in the tournament. No doubt the players bare plenty of blame, virtually all underperformed, but when players of that caliber prove so terribly inconsistent and even awful in the attack you have to wonder what was going on with the coaches. I think the verdict with Freddy will probably be known in the WYC's of '07, assuming the coach is decent. By then Freddy should be getting ready to move on to Europe, he probably will have had another camp or two with Arena (a guy whose a brilliant communicator, terrific motivator, and a good coach with trophies at every level (college titles, mls titles, confederation titles and more for the US), and he should be the turning the corner to greatness, if he's gonna be great. By that time he'll have just turned 18. Still, we shouldn't forget GAM, a player of great youth promise who faded rapidly after entering the MLS, only to reawaken in the WYC's of '03 and the '04 MLS season. It may take time, but I believe he'll be special, how special? Who knows, but definitely special. Time will tell, however, as it always does.
No doubt, but the rate of improvement has been slower and I tend to view it as inspite of Nowak. Just my opinion though.
well, if he's been improving, to say that it's in spite of nowak with no evidence to the contrary seems kind of like a grudge. I mean he's been capped by a top 10 national team and performed well in camp. I think he's definately at the same level proportionately compared to other 16 year olds as he was when he was 14.
By inspite of Nowak I mean that Nowak's methods have slowed the development curb. Adu's performances have been herky jerky, seeing spikes of productivity, followed by doldrums where he seems invisible. I don't think Nowak's habit of using him as a sub, as a sub, starting him, starting him again and he does well, then benching him has provided Adu with a working environment where he can see the results of productivity, and improvement. Adu's own quotes suggest that he doesn't understand why he starts when he starts and subs when he subs, in Adu's own mind there appeared little rhyme or reason to it, especially following the benching after that Goal of the week performance at Real Salt Lake. Adu looked confident, aggressive, predatory, and played with joy when I saw him at the U-17's and the WYC's in '03, he looked unsure of himself, inconsistent, and lacked the killer instinct on his face and in his play on and off with United. The new attitude and positivity, to me, is a product of working with Arena and his coaches, who've quite obviously done plenty with young players, and are notoriously skilled communicators. I imagine, for the first time since '03, Adu feels he's been coached by a guy who not only knows what he's doing, but makes it clearly understand every step of the way. Some of this is inference, clearly, some a product of what I've seen, maybe Nowak will have a great effect on him, who knows, up to now I don't believe he has and it's not because I don't think he's a very good coach (though I think the ridiculous spat with Adu in October was on him, not Adu, players the world over p!ss and moan about playing time, it's nothing new, and they don't get suspended for it. I thought the suspension was idiotic. Nowak should have been mature, not discussed it in the press, sat Adu down and talked to him. Instead he acted like a kid himself), it's because I just don't think he was ready to be a good coach, and a coach of a teenage phenom. I love Lombardi but can easily imagine Lombardi having the same troubles, stern disciplinarian like Lombardi make warriors out of the men who will listen, and get rid of the rest, I think the method worked well then, not as well now, but can still work now provided they're dealing with relatively mature adult athletes. Freddy's been 14-16 under Nowak, and I don't think Nowak's methods were the best match for him, but I admit I could be wrong about this.
That's a solid video.....I can't wait until this kid is unleashed on Europe after he turns 18. Will they cancel the sport when an American is king?
whats ********ing funny is how many stupid brittish guys come in here to the US forum to troll on the Adu things... when us Americans dont even give a ******** about the England Forums or Wayne Rooney for that matter...... but again ill be worried too if i was english and i knew that the US is gonna overtake us very soon.
<cringe> England has an enormous degree of depth in comparison to us , and in many ways a 110 year head start on soccer development over us. We've got a stronger population base to draw from, but it will still take a while to catch them, and it may never happen if the sport can't grow into a nationwide interest as Football did on a professional level in the sixties and seventies and as basketball did on a profession level in the eighties. Hopefully it will happen, but we can't be sure of anything as the relatively static ratings of MLS games show (in contradistinction to attendance #'s by and large).
Typical, insular American attitude. Just kidding guys, I know this boy isn't the sharpest tool in the box. Keep enjoying football, I'll be watching out for you in the World Cup.
if we can say "he's not as good as Wayne Rooney was at that age" in years to come without being laughed at for statements of the obvious, i will jump for joy. i'm of the opinion that Freddy would be better in many superior leagues than he is in MLS. the top league in the USA isn't one that caters to technical players. referees are very conservative in their protection of skillful dribblers, coaches don't allow for very much creative control by one player because of their preference toward solidity, and defensive players are keen to take advantage of referees' prudence. in addition to all this, defensive midfielder is one of the strongest positions in MLS, and these stalwarts are often assigned to mark one player almost exclusively. Freddy's dribble is better now than what Rooney currently has to offer, but I have to give the edge to Rooney in every other facet. that said, i don't think that it would be impossible for Adu to succeed in England right now if one is only considering his size (honestly i'd take him in a boxing match over Giofranco Zola). but England isn't necessarily a haven for technical players in and of itself. i'd say he's capable of helping a Dutch team (they play on the ground and it's not quite as good), a French team (they also play on the ground and it's not quite as good), or a Spanish team (they play on the ground better than anyone, and though i consider it better than the Premiership, i'd say it's tougher to compete in England as a dribbler than in La Liga). European teams have a more advanced reserve system, play in more competitions, have better coaches, trainers, and players, and are as such far more capable of developing talent than MLS. people say Freddy needs game in game out play in a first team. WHY? why didn't Ronaldo need to play every game in the first team for his club from 14 on? get him to a place where he doesn't need to be one of the best 11 players to improve. MLS really isn't that bad, but practicing against shabby opponents doesn't help a talent like Freddy's. i'm in 10th grade right now, and i'd love for Freddy to get to show Europe what a young black man "can't handle." doing what we can't handle is what has made our country as powerful as it is (for better or for worse).
Quote: Originally Posted by thepundit and i'd love for Freddy to get to show Europe what a young black man "can't handle." doing what we can't handle is what has made our country as powerful as it is (for better or for worse). What the hell does being black have to do with anything? sorry that was unfair stereotyping of racism in European soccer on my part.