Holy Moly.. Beasley - LB!!!!!???????

I was browsing ESPN for soccer articles {not much} and ran across 'Jen Chang'... chick? Full Chinese name .. WHAT?

In a post WCQ article this is truly out of 'Left Field'

Beasley experiment at left back worth considering

Has it ever WATCHED Beasley play?!!!

In JUST WHAT way is Beasley an improvement on Frankie? Given Beas' crosses would be better but he'd ALSO be more likely to miss assignment and not recover, and also lose the ball on the way up the sideline.

We need improvement at LB but Beas sure aint it. Wonder what the idea REALLY is.. finding a place where he can start?

 

Gor.. it sux to get old and have those brain farts!

.. look, let's get over this search for the great black homegrown world class hope.

It's time for us to get real and recognize the possibility of equation to juvenile math prodigy found driving cab..

Until both Beas AND Adu prove themselves..{ isnt that why they went over?}.. I'm gonna throw cold water on anyone who makes those dum proposals.

 

Beasley is faster, a greater scoring option, has better vision and is a better passer than Pearce. He's a better player, overall, than Hejduk or Pearce.

If Beasley could pick up some positioning instruction, I don't see why it's a stretch for him to play an overlapping wingback position - especially if two DMs are continually deployed by Bradley.

Non-sequitur, but after coming back from injury and playing regularly for Spam again, Spector should merit consideration at LB.

 

Jen Chang is a guy, for what it's worth.

As a left mid, Beasley is pretty effective at tracking back to defend, and I don't have any reason to believe he wouldn't be able to adjust mentally to a more defensive role. But, he's not a tremendously good tackler and as a left back would have to deal with players running at him more often rather than relying on his speed to chase players down, and I'm not sure his skills are suited to that. Maybe it'd be worth a try in a friendly or against one of the weaker teams in the Hex, but I'd be nervous to see him in that role at Azteca or in South Africa.

I also think Chang does DMB a disservice by saying he "doesn't really have the offensive potency or shooting ability that one would like to see at the international level" given that he's got more goals than anyone except Donovan currently playing for the USMNT (and is tied with Earnie Stewart for 6th all time and most all time by a midfielder). Further, the gap between him and Donovan wouldn't be nearly so large if Donovan didn't take all the penalties. No, Beasley isn't a tremendously awesome shooter like a Ronaldo or a Gerrard or a Xavi, but who on the USMNT is? Nobody, really. It's not as if Beasley would be replaced at LM by somebody with a whole boatload more skill if he were to be moved to LB.

 

Note I did NOT mention Edu, Altidore, Wynne.

I had doubts about Beasley while he was still with Fire and being scouted. I had doubts about Adu.. hoping he would beef up a little more and make his mark.

What I'm saying is that some peak early, some peak later. Until Beasley and Adu prove out, I hate wasting time talking about them... and YES there IS a 'racial aspect' to the topic. It's there and I consider it a stereotype.

 

Then you are going to love the hullabaloo surrounding Charles Renken in a couple of years.

Wow Fog, you made a guy from rural East Texas cringe with that one. That doesn't happen easily. So are we going to call Dempsey the next great Mexican hope? Or Hejduk the next great Cro-Magnon hope? Nah, I think we're all looking for as many great American hopes as possible, regardless of where you find them and what they look like.

 

I think Beasley's done fine. He was successful with PSV, would've been picked up by Citeh after his loan if the manager hadn't been sacked, and, when he's been healthy, has been pretty regular at Rangers, though he was hurt by them getting knocked out of the Champions League so early (they picked him up more to help there and in the SPL). He'll move to Schalke in the summer and I expect him to win the starting spot and be an effective player (not a super star, but Dempsey level).

 

No.. and your response is exactly what I'm talking about.

They are PLAYERS! PERIOD. 'Stereotype', when I was young, was a term related to assumptions made on appearance or a singular event... maybe it's different for you.

 

I'm far from the most educated soccer fan, but even I've been hearing the Beas to LB idea bantered around for at least the last 3 years. Come out of the Fog (and the 50s).

 

I could be totally wrong on Beas at LB... when I am proved so, I'll damned sure admit it.

But tell me... has he really shown he can hold his own defensively.. has he gained any weight or does he still have the kinetic mass of a road cone?

 

Fog, Beasley has proven himself on the USMNT. I dont understand how you could say he hasnt.

 

Okay, okay.. I subside. Put him at LB.

 

I don't like the idea. I think Pearce is the best we have right now and I think he just needs to be on a team where he can actually get in the game. Beas is fine where he's at in my opinion, plus his ability to track back from the midfield, yet still get forward into the attack is the main reason I say keep him where he's at. Just sayin...

 

What about Boca at LB if that's such a problem position. I've read that's where he's playing for Rennes. I'm assuming we have more CB's than than LBs.

 

I agree to a certain extent, but if better all-around players can be mixed in, then you gotta consider Boca at LB for the USMNT. He plays virtually every match at LB for Rennes, there's no reason he shouldn't be tried there as well with the Nats. But, what would be a better CB pairing than he and Gooch? Spector? Califf? Edu? Demerit? Marshall (eventually?)?

?

 

No offense to him, but Eddie Lewis was a stopgap, not a "top flight fullback".