Early Season Players to Watch

A few players have caught my eye, for reasons both good and bad, early in this MLS season.

(1) Dominic Oduro. When he entered late in the Houston-FC Dallas match, I remember thinking "man, this guy is great. Look at that speed. Houston's clearly got no answer for that. Wow... look at this run. Great run. Now all he's got to do is pass the ball to the left and the on-rushing attacker will definitely socre. Yeah. Great run. Now just pass the ball. Just. Pass. The. Ball. Ugh."

Oduro's selfishness almost certainly cost FCD three points there.

He sat on the bench next week against New York.

(2) Laurent Robert. You know, for being a guy who was "playing" in the Premiership months ago, I really haven't noticed him much in the two games I've watched. That is, until he creates a chance out of nothing, like he did with a strange-looking dipping service against DC United, or as he did a couple of times against the Galaxy. What's the story with him? I think it's funny that opinions diverge quite a bit. See this sample:
"Laurent Robert, one of Toronto FC's recent acquisitions, looks past it. Many of his crosses sailed harmlessly out of bounds (ala Landon Donovan at the 2006 World Cup). Even worse, he’s either not fit or not trying."
--Grahame Frasier, MLS Outsider
Link

"Lauren Robert's free kick finds the rookie Jarrod Smith's head."
"Jeff Cunningham, who has not been a fan favorite early, finds his way in alone—off another nice ball from Robert, it should be noted—and suddenly, unexpectedly, unbelievably the Reds are poised to win." Toronto fan and SBI correspondent Duane G. Rollins
Link

So who's right? I think they both probably are. Players who are "past it" in England aren't necessarily past it in slower-paced leagues, like MLS. This is entirely separate from the question of quality (which is something I'd like to bring up to Frasier). A slow guy with good vision and great passing ability will have a job in MLS long, even after the league's quality has improved, simply because playing in the heat means that everyone is playing more slowly.

So, nothing about Robert impresses me. But then... boom... he creates a goal.

3. Alvaro Pires. This guy is made of lead, from head to toe. Lead feet, lead body, lead brains, lead gut (he could probably stand to drop a few pounds of lead). It's good to see someone with bite on the Galaxy, but he becomes a bit of a blackhole for both friend and foe: he'll disrupt attacks, but for both teams, unfortunately. Plus, he seems to spend an awful lot of time on the ground jawing at officials. He might be a useful MLS player but is so not the player that the Galaxy needs.

During the Toronto game, you just kept on waiting for LA's midfield to show a little dynamism outside of the Big Two. But there was no one making late runs into the box to slot home loose balls. There really weren't enough players making runs in general. It may partly be because Gullit doesn't want his defense-challenged team to commit too many resources forward. As it was, it appeared to be the DonoBecks show against Toronto. Ely Allen, at least, appeared willing to contribute, but he's clearly still learning.