Yesterday was the Wizards 15th game of the season. So far it hasn't gone very well after starting so brightly. After beating DC 4-0 and CO 1-0, the Wizards have only won 2 games in the 13 games since than. There have been a few bright spots for the Wizards overall though, particularly Jimmy Nielsen, Michael Harrington, and Roger Espinoza. Here are the midseason player grades.
Korede Aiyegbusi - INC - Aiyegbusi hasn't gotten a whole lot of time, only 130 minutes in all competitions this season, he's shown a tenacity and bite that Lance Watson showed.
Davy Arnaud - C- - The Wizards new captain has struggled this season, he's scored only scored 1 goal and 2 assists so far this season. He's also been red carded 3 times, a team record for a season.
Stephane Auvray - B+ - Part of this grade is for his good play on the field, the other part is from how obvious the hole was in the middle of the field when he was out with injury, he's been the second best signing this offseason.
Jamar Beasley - INC - Hasn't even made the bench yet.
Matt Besler - C- - He's had his turn to be the fall guy in the center of defense, but the entire central defense has been prone to mistakes this season.
Teal Bunbury - C - Has played well coming off the bench lately and has had himself some good games, but like the rest of the forwards, his lack of goal contribution keeps his grade lower.
Sunil Chhetri - INC - Only 45 minutes in a US Open Cup qualifier, that's either good enough for an incomplete, or a failing grade based on the press the signing got in India. I wasn't expecting as much as some people so I'll give him the INC.
Jimmy Conrad - C+ - Had been the Wizards most consistent central defender until 1) his two mistakes against New York, and 2) the trade for Shavar Thomas who hasn't been here long enough to make his standard mistakes.
Birahim Diop - INC - The only thing going for Diop right now is he's going to likely have the least minutes per appearance for the Wizards.
Pablo Escobar - F - He cost the Wizards more goals than any other defender and was waived after a poor start to his MLS career. Not exactly what MLS expected when they signed him to a contract.
Roger Espinoza - B+ - Has had what appears to be a break out season after his move to left back. He earned himself a place on the Honduran national team and appeared in two games in the World Cup.
Michael Harrington - B - Moved to the right side to accommodate Espinoza's move to the left back position and Harrington has settled in very well on the right.
Zoltan Hercegfalvi - INC - Tore his ACL against AC St. Louis and is out until at least September.
Santiago Hirsig - INC - Only has 45 minutes this season in a start at DC.
Aaron Hohlbein - INC - His performance against New York was almost enough to give him a failing grade, but his lack of total minutes gives him an INC instead.
Jack Jewsbury - C- - Jewsbury hasn't had a bad season, but he hasn't exactly impressed in any form either. He's our utility infielder, he doesn't have one position he's great at, but he's a good player.
Kei Kamara - B - The team's leading scorer by far, Kamara's had a strong season. But the Wizards could really use him to step up and start putting the ball in the net again.
Eric Kronberg - INC - Only 90 minutes in the Wizards Open Cup qualifier against Colorado.
Jonathan Leathers - INC - Less than 200 minutes in league play for Leathers right now. Not enough for a fair grade.
Chance Myers - D+ - Myers started the season as a forward, moved back to defense, and has recently been playing in midfield. He's not been able to lock down any of those positions unfortunately.
Jimmy Nielsen - A- - His game against New York was his one poor performance of the season and has kept the Wizards from losing games worse than they have. He's made Wizards fans not worry about the loss of Kevin Hartman.
Craig Rocastle - C- - "Red card" Rocastle had a poor start to his Wizards career, picking up a red card and having 2 other challenges that easily could have been red cards. Lately he's been consistent though in midfield and been a physical presence.
Ryan Smith - B- - Had a fantastic start to his MLS career, but since then, MLS teams have learned to stop Smith you just knock the crap out of him all game. How the tackles have not led to more yellows in surprising. His final grade will be dependent on how he continues to adjust to the play in MLS.
Shavar Thomas - INC - Only 3 games for Thomas for the Wizards, not enough for a full grade, but so far he's help to solidify the back line.
Josh Wolff - D - Wolff has had a poor season after setting a personal best for goals last year. He's been spending more time playing defensively as a forward, but he's only scored one goal this season.
Graham Zusi - B- Zusi's been impressive coming off the bench and appears that he's developing into a player that the Wizards could rely on in the future.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
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5 comments:
Fair grades overall, except for Davy.
He has to be graded in conjunction with his Captain designation. In that light he gets no more than a D. I love his heart and effort, but his lack of discipline has cost the team dearl this season. It was a poor move to make him captain in the first place, but admittedly, there is no real leader on this team right now. Jimmy has left the building and Davy can't stay on the field enough.
Leadership is a huge deficit on this team, starting at the top.
pretty good
only thing that sticks out to me is that I dont think Espinoza > Harrington makes sense. Game in and Game out Harrington has a arguement for top player on the team this year, top field player for certain imo. but it works for the indivdual situation so basically I am just looking for something to comment on :)
Overall, very representative. But I too agree that a C- for Arnaud is too high...especially for the armband! You can't lead the team with red cards, and lack of discipline and expect to be a captain of any team! Dissapointed in Vermes that he's not made a change here.
It's refreshing to see people being critical of key/core players like Arnaud, Wolff, etc. I'm not saying anyone is or should be cutting the players down necessarily. It's just nice to see people asking tough questions about players that usually seem to get a free pass. I think Mike (the blogger) and the comments are keeping the players honest.
This is not a argumentative point, rather a serious question. Doesn't it seem like Harrington has had one or two shaky games this year? I was surprised at such high marks. He hasn't been an Escobar by any means, but I guess I haven't been overly impressed. Am I off on this one?
I couldnt agree more on Roger and Mikey, I am happy to see both players work rate being noticed. I am not a Harrington fan but he has played well, almost better in the attacking side of the pitch. Mike what is your in put at putting Jews at right back where i think he plays his best and Mikey in the mid, he seems to be sending quality balls in the last few matches.
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