For me weekly PE column, I wanted to take a look at four of our local guys - and by "our" I mean guys who were either born in or have a connection with Riverside/San Bernardino counties. There are a handful of players from the area that I follow but I only had room for four.
Landon Donovan is a local guy, which is great because he is such a high-profile player. Chad Marshall, Maurice Edu and Ante Razov are three others from the area that I try and keep tabs on.
Anyway, the first three could play key roles for the US national team this year. Marshall probably has the biggest upside of the trio while Edu has the experience necessary to take the next step. Landon's only question will be: how many of the US games will he play in this year?
Showing posts with label Marshall. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marshall. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Marshall goes for glory
It's not often we get a local presence in MLS Cup, and by local I mean Inland Southern California. Of course, there's Landon Donovan who is from Redlands and won three MLS Cup titles. Ante Razov (Fontana High grad) has played in a few. Orlando Perez (AB Miller) is another one, but I'm not sure of any others.
Chad Marshall will add his name to the list. A product of Rubidoux High, Marshall has been tremendous this season and deservedly won Defender of the Year. His presence on the backline, his ability in the air and his growing leadership skills are all areas in which he made great strides.
It's a wonder he's not part of the US national team picture. Now, had Columbus not reached the final I'm almost certain Bob Bradley would have called him up for the Guatemala match. But Marshall still has barely played for the US despite a solid 2004 rookie campaign and good seasons in '05 and '06. Concussions set him back a year ago but he's been a pillar of strength from the start of this season and hasn't gotten a whiff.
The United States' loss is Columbus' gain. Here's my profile of Chad Marshall for The Press-Enterprise.
Chad Marshall will add his name to the list. A product of Rubidoux High, Marshall has been tremendous this season and deservedly won Defender of the Year. His presence on the backline, his ability in the air and his growing leadership skills are all areas in which he made great strides.
It's a wonder he's not part of the US national team picture. Now, had Columbus not reached the final I'm almost certain Bob Bradley would have called him up for the Guatemala match. But Marshall still has barely played for the US despite a solid 2004 rookie campaign and good seasons in '05 and '06. Concussions set him back a year ago but he's been a pillar of strength from the start of this season and hasn't gotten a whiff.
The United States' loss is Columbus' gain. Here's my profile of Chad Marshall for The Press-Enterprise.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Marshall law
Chad Marshall was named MLS' Defender of the Year, a deserving award for a player who was hands down the best defender in the league this season.
Marshall has always been a steady defender but really took a great step forward this season. After battling concussions this year, Marshall was his usual self from the start of the year. But Columbus was a good team this year as opposed to the three years he's been there and with a good offense that was able to maintain possession and score goals, the pressure wasn't on the Crew's back line for the majority of games.
I felt Marshall deserved Rookie of the Year in 2004 when Columbus also had the league's best record but Clint Dempsey won the award, who was quite deserving as well.
Now, boasting such talent may seem to lead to national team play but for some reason Marshall is in a small but talented group of MLS players who do not get call-ups to the national team. I know Oguchi Onyewu is a physical specimen and everything but I honestly don't think he is leaps and bounds above Marshall's level. I don't. Onyewu gives away some pretty bad fouls and he gets beat more often than he should. Marshall is smart about not giving up set pieces and rarely gets beaten, even by speedy players. Marshall positions himself very well and anticpates plays which helps against the speedy guys.
Hopefully Marshall will get that call sooner rather than later but for now the only thing he can do is to play up to his ability and good things will happen.
Marshall has always been a steady defender but really took a great step forward this season. After battling concussions this year, Marshall was his usual self from the start of the year. But Columbus was a good team this year as opposed to the three years he's been there and with a good offense that was able to maintain possession and score goals, the pressure wasn't on the Crew's back line for the majority of games.
I felt Marshall deserved Rookie of the Year in 2004 when Columbus also had the league's best record but Clint Dempsey won the award, who was quite deserving as well.
Now, boasting such talent may seem to lead to national team play but for some reason Marshall is in a small but talented group of MLS players who do not get call-ups to the national team. I know Oguchi Onyewu is a physical specimen and everything but I honestly don't think he is leaps and bounds above Marshall's level. I don't. Onyewu gives away some pretty bad fouls and he gets beat more often than he should. Marshall is smart about not giving up set pieces and rarely gets beaten, even by speedy players. Marshall positions himself very well and anticpates plays which helps against the speedy guys.
Hopefully Marshall will get that call sooner rather than later but for now the only thing he can do is to play up to his ability and good things will happen.
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