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View Full Version : Any idea? Anyone? Cunny 99 Goals?



profit89
07-18-2008, 08:42 PM
I've been following MLS now for about a year. Cant say the quality of soccer is that great in this league, but it has definitely been improving.

Which brings me to my question. For those who have been following the league longer, how bad was this league if a guy like cunningham could score 99 goals or whatever?

It must have been so painful to watch MLS say 8 years ago, because this cunny guy is one of the worst, absolutely no talent, most unskilled players i have ever seen in the footballing world and yet 99 goals.

Just curious.

CanadaLFC
07-18-2008, 08:45 PM
I can tell you that the league has improved a lot in the last couple of years. Prior to TFC Cunningham was a feared striker in the MLS. He even got a couple of caps for the USMNT I think. I know I was very excited when we signed him, and he truthfully did not live up to any fan's expectation.

Chevy
07-18-2008, 08:47 PM
Signing Cunny back in the day generated nearly the excitement that signing Guevera did this year. !!

ExiledRed
07-18-2008, 08:48 PM
Do you think he'll start his next club with the number 99 on his shirt, or do you think the coach will tell him to get over himself?

dannyd
07-18-2008, 09:01 PM
I've been watching MLs since its inception, and let me tell you in the last 3-5 years the quality has improved exponentially. Guys like Cobi Jones, Lalas, Hejduk and later Cunny were superstars. Now they would be pine-riders at best (except maybe Hejduk). They had good skill, but the last few years the tactics of the coaches and the football-smarts of the players improved beyond anyone's expectations. Thats why the stupid players like Cunny are falling by the wayside...

deltox
07-18-2008, 09:04 PM
on the bus to columbus, we watched an MLS highlight video of best goals and stuff. it was pretty bad.

they had to keep on repeating the same goals over and over.


the league in its early yrs was pretty weak..... but then not many leagues have started in the last 30 yrs and are still around.

im glad that DC and LA went through all that bullshit at the beginning.


the league is better and stronger now than its ever been

shaggingscot
07-18-2008, 09:04 PM
I can tell you that the league has improved a lot in the last couple of years. Prior to TFC Cunningham was a feared striker in the MLS. He even got a couple of caps for the USMNT I think. I know I was very excited when we signed him, and he truthfully did not live up to any fan's expectation.

Feared?? No...I remember watching him live a few times when he was with Columbus, I have a pal down there. Even at that time the home support were moaning about his lack of finish and awful runs, he's scored 99 goals despite himself. If he had half a football mind to go along with his speed then maybe yes he be feared, but alas my 10 year old reads the game better than he does.

The one area that's really come along in the last few years has been the play of the keepers, it used to be there was one or two top quality keepers, now it seems like almost every team has a good one.

ensco
07-18-2008, 09:41 PM
I'm not sure it's THAT much better...in 1998, when I first became aware of the league, DC United was the class of the league (even though they didn't win the cup) and they had some really good players.... the guts of the USMNT World Cup team that year, John Harkes, Tony Sanneh, Roy Lassiter and Eddie Pope, plus Marco Etcheverry, and of course Jaime Moreno and Ben Olsen when they were younger. I suspect that team would do very well in MLS 2008.

Also don't forget, Cunny played most of his career beside McBride (I wonder if that's in the cards for him in Chicago later this year). If he hadn't been American, McBride would have been in the EPL all along.

The biggest difference is, MLS had the shootout in those days. There were no ties. It was a major part of the game.

Cashcleaner
07-18-2008, 09:55 PM
I think the problem a lot of us have is the fact that we've been watching the EPL (and to a lesser extent - La Liga, Serie A, Bundesligue, etc.) for years before paying attention to MLS. I know that's what my situation was, though things have definitely changed for me.

While MLS is nowhere near the quality of the top teams of England, Italy, or France; it's not all that bad either. People tend to compare it to the Coca-Cola Championship in terms of player quality and I think that is a fair assessment. It is getting better and I think the improving finances of the league are instrumental in raising the level of quality.

ManUtd4ever
07-18-2008, 10:06 PM
I think the problem a lot of us have is the fact that we've been watching the EPL (and to a lesser extent - La Liga, Serie A, Bundesligue, etc.) for years before paying attention to MLS. I know that's what my situation was, though things have definitely changed for me.

While MLS is nowhere near the quality of the top teams of England, Italy, or France; it's not all that bad either. People tend to compare it to the Coca-Cola Championship in terms of player quality and I think that is a fair assessment. It is getting better and I think the improving finances of the league are instrumental in raising the level of quality.

Agreed...

Damien
07-18-2008, 10:46 PM
Do you think he'll start his next club with the number 99 on his shirt, or do you think the coach will tell him to get over himself?

Depends how stupid the coach is... if he signs Cunny he's pretty stupid to begin with.

Damien
07-18-2008, 10:48 PM
By the way...

Beckham says MLS is better than people think (http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=556143&cc=5901)

Roogsy
07-18-2008, 10:58 PM
There is only one way to prove that.

There needs to be meaningful games between North American and European teams. Not just friendlies. Something worth money and prestige. The Club World Cup is fine and all, but it's played in Japan and there are questions about it's importance among the big teams. We need to find something that will attract the attention of say....UEFA Cup winners, who don't get to go there but may want to play a competitive game against say...New England.

I would pay to see that.

ExiledRed
07-18-2008, 11:51 PM
There is only one way to prove that.

There needs to be meaningful games between North American and European teams. Not just friendlies. Something worth money and prestige. The Club World Cup is fine and all, but it's played in Japan and there are questions about it's importance among the big teams. We need to find something that will attract the attention of say....UEFA Cup winners, who don't get to go there but may want to play a competitive game against say...New England.

I would pay to see that.

The Atlantic cup. UEFA winner v Superliga winner?

I'm actually just as interested inseeing TFC play, say....Sydney FC or Urawa Reds competetively too, and I do think the football world is moving towards this anyway.

BC101
07-19-2008, 12:05 AM
Urawa= too big to play TFC... and IF they did it'd be in some place like LA or somewhere with a huge pro Japanese crowd definitely not here in Toronto. I mean people here didn't even know who Independiente was.... Urawa would draw many more confused faces. I'd love if Urawa came here it'd give me a excuse to break out my old Osaka Gamba(Still have my season seat over there and all) flag and stick it to em.

nascarguy
07-19-2008, 12:41 AM
never he will stay at 99 goals

ExiledRed
07-19-2008, 08:32 AM
Urawa= too big to play TFC... and IF they did it'd be in some place like LA or somewhere with a huge pro Japanese crowd definitely not here in Toronto. I mean people here didn't even know who Independiente was.... Urawa would draw many more confused faces. I'd love if Urawa came here it'd give me a excuse to break out my old Osaka Gamba(Still have my season seat over there and all) flag and stick it to em.

Yes, but were not talking about friendlies here.

We're hypothesizing about the teams playing competetively in some kind of second tier world competition, that is to the club world cup what UEFA is to the CL.

ExiledRed
07-19-2008, 08:33 AM
Actually the threads about Cunny......whoops

Heathen
07-19-2008, 08:50 AM
Actually the threads about Cunny......whoops

its ok the threads gone way off topic the same way his shots do

Kooper
07-19-2008, 09:49 AM
His work ethic does not fill me with hope that he will score his 100th goal with Toronto. My guess is he will rot on the bench given the play of Ibby and Smith. Somehow I have a feeling that he will somehow score his 100th late in a game and celebrate by diving into the south end. He will get a yellow card and that night on the boards we will say "We knew it all along. Cunny is back and will score another 100 for Toronto. What a great player."

Pachuco
07-19-2008, 09:55 AM
His work ethic does not fill me with hope that he will score his 100th goal with Toronto. My guess is he will rot on the bench given the play of Ibby and Smith. Somehow I have a feeling that he will somehow score his 100th late in a game and celebrate by diving into the south end. He will get a yellow card and that night on the boards we will say "We knew it all along. Cunny is back and will score another 100 for Toronto. What a great player."

Actually Cunny is playing today. I saw an interview with Carver where that seemed to slip out. He'll also score his 100th goal once we woop San Jose. After the goal he can make his way to the bus stop and head straight for Montreal to sign there if he's lucky.

Nerepis
07-19-2008, 10:00 AM
its ok the threads gone way off topic the same way his shots do

You might say it's gone "offside":rolleyes:

Oldtimer
07-19-2008, 10:56 AM
In the past, Cunningham's main strength was his speed, not his finishing. He just got so many chances that even with a poor percentage of finished goals, a large number went in.

Two factors have hurt him recently:

(1) MLS defences, though still not great, are improving.
(2) Cunningham is slowing down. He just doesn't get as many chances any more.

CretanBull
07-19-2008, 11:37 AM
People keep making comparissons between the MLS and Championship, but honestly I don't see it. Leeds are in FL1 and having watched a bunch of their games last season there's no doubt in my mind that they would beat a typical MLS team. I think the top MLS teams would be competitive with top FL1 or bottom Championship teams, but league-wide I think we're closer to FL1 than the Championship.

rocker
07-19-2008, 11:54 AM
I don't really have a problem with cunny's work ethic. lately the guy's been running like a track athlete, sometimes coming back to defend actually.
the problem is 1) finishing 2) knowing how to run into space.

it's not like if he "worked harder" he'd be a better player.
and even if you think he has a bad work ethic, he's still getting a shitload of chances that he should be finishing.