MLS week 14 kicks off with Houston at Toronto FC, and my Robbie Findley thoughts
by denz on Jul 1, 2010 4:23 PM MDT
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PrintOK, the MLS week kicks off tonight as Houston will travel to BMO field home of Toronto FC and this guy:
Anyhow this should be a big matchup as TFC are undefeated at home 4-0-2 and have allowed just two goals at BMO so far this season. Houston is 1-4-1 on the road where they have scored 6 but allowed 12. It will be interesting to see how one of my mid-season MVP candidates Dwayne De Rosario (8 goals and 3 assists) does against his old team.
Toronto hasn't lost a match since their May 1st visit to Rio Tinto Stadium, they are 3-0-3 since then and are coming off last weekends 0-0 home draw with the LA Galaxy. Houston will be looking to fix some things as they are 1-4-1 in their last 6 matches, but are coming off a 2-2 home draw against Colorado. I thought that Houston would struggle at some point as replacing Holden and Clark has proven to be a big task, the injury to Geoff Cameron was another huge blow as well. It will be interesting to see who steps up for these teams tonight, I think TFC keep their home steak going with a 2-1 win over the Dynamo.
So I have read a lot of trash talking about Robbie and his performance in South Africa, it is funny how people missed the point of why Robbie made the team in the first place. Yes every forward should be able to score goals (something no US striker has done in the last two World Cups) but Robbie was brought in to stretch defenses, and use his speed to help create chances and space for the US team. You can see it in how Bob used him in the matches and I would only suggest that those who want to be cynics or critics go back and watch the first 10 minutes of the England match before the US and Robbie had a chance to make any runs. Then watch the next 35 minutes of the first half and the second half of the match, when the English couldn't push their backline as far forward, one of the main reasons was the speed of Robbie Findley. Anyhow, I would have liked to see Robbie take more shots, and I don't believe any of the US forwards were overly impressive. Check out the Robbie Findley Castrol Index where he is ranked 79th of the 158 forwards at the World Cup and his overall world ranking is up 375 places.
At Friday's match they are asking fans to welcome Robbie back by holding up a welcome back sign in the 10th minute (yes that starts when the clock say 9:00). To get a copy of the sign to print, click here
OFF MY SOAPBOX
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While I may have some bias, I thought the negative print on Findley was uncalled for. He did not finish the one chance. I just watched the Netherlands and Brasil have better chances that his that were not put away. It happens to strikers. While he does not deserve to be free from criticism, I am shocked that none has been thrown Altidore’s way.
Robbie's impact
You know for me it comes down to this, with Robbie in the starting lineup with the main USMNT squad this spring/summer they are 2-1-2. It is that simple. I have really liking the Castrol Index numbers, they track just numbers from passing, to ground covered and on that scale Robbie performed better than half the forwards in the World Cup. He still has a long way to go and needs to work on his touch and finishing at that level.
The press gets down on Robbie because he plays in MLS, while Jozy rides the pine in England, but playing in England must make him a far superior player. I like Jozy, and if he can catch with a team that will play him, he can become a very, very good striker. He is young, has size and some speed. I just think it is typical bias against MLS.
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