The Indispensible Troy Perkins
By: Max J. | June 20th, 2007I guess we forget, being annoyed with his early gaffes or distracted by Jaime’s absence and the roster shuffling upfield. You’d think the worth of a reigning GK of the Year would be pretty obvious and immediate. But let’s take a needed second to remember, with the Copa America call-ups on the way, just how much we rely on Troy Perkins. It seems to be fait accompli that Boswell and Olsen are off to Venezuela, and replacing them will be annoying but hardly disastrous; The drop-off in talent from a Boz to a McTavish or a Ben to a Moose/DeRoux(/Dyachenko?) is noticeable, but most of those replacements have fairly solid credentials with United and enjoy mostly confidence from the fans. The same is true, just less urgently, in the event Namoff goes.
But if Troy is on the Copa roster (a mercifully unlikely thing), we are well and truly screwed. If the Boswell-to-McTavish drop is a foot, the fall from Troy to Jay Nolly or Shawn Crowe is a mile. Even if the talent gap is less than we think, the perception is pretty well entrenched, and I think the players feel it as much as the fans. Troy in goal is confidence-inspiring, routine; Nolly in goal automatically invites suspicion and ratchets up the pressure on what’s sure to be a short-handed defense. With the July schedule the way it is, United is going to need all the confidence and normalcy it can get. So if you do the prayer thing, send out some good anti-call-up thoughts for Troy.
Category: DC United Team News
Tags: DC United Team News, DC United Team News, goalkeepers, gold cup, MLS, Roster, soccer, Troy PerkinsSubscribe
|
Print
|
Share
      |
Comments are closed
Home 
