Is Allsopp Hopeless?

There have been three things which have puzzled me and have forced me to do a little research in order to either substantiate or debunk what seems to have reached common knowledge status at this point. Today I present you with the first story. Here we go!

Danny Allsopp’s performance versus Indonesia for the Socceroos.

Upon the signing of Danny Allsopp, many DC United fans became discouraged due to his most recent performance for the Australian national team. Guided by the most notable source of Wikipedia, fans began to question Allsopp’s ability based on the quote written in his Wiki regarding his last national team performance. Coach Pim Verbeek described his performance as “absolutely hopeless.” Ugh. I can’t deny the fact that I was turned off by the statement as well, but further research has shown that there was much more involved in the situation. I do not have all the facts, but I believe I have unearthed a few which should make any supporter feel a little better about the situation.
First, we must look at the entire quote from Pim Verbeek, someone decribed as “frank” and seems to be out to bash the level of the A-League according to the rest of the article. "I am just being honest. They were absolutely hopeless” he said reagrding the forward pairing of Allsopp and Thompson. But, obviously, that was not all he said. "But in the last games (for Melbourne) I have seen they were very good, so maybe it was because of Indonesia or the trip." So he is already bringing to question a factor which could have affected play. Jakarta, where the game was played, is 3,235 miles away from Melbourne, the place of Allsopp’s previous match. This led to an approximate six and a half hour flight. Comparatively speaking, Los Angeles is approximately 1,000 miles closer with a flight that would be two hours shorter. I believe this is something United fans can appreciate given our teams struggles on the west coast in recent seasons and the amount of travelling done for international tournaments.
Some may point to the fixture congestion United has had in addition to these trips. It seems Danny was in the middle of a bit of fixture congestion himself, as well as eleven of the other players named to the Australian squad. Verbeek named twelve players to the squad who had played the season finale in Melbourne five days earlier. That may lead to some tired legs. If the previous matches were not enough, Melbourne’s strike pair of Thompson and Allsopp were gearing up for the A-League playoffs, which began for them ten days later.
I imagine that many United fans follow the US men’s national team. This would give us a distinct understanding of another factor, home field advantage. The match was played in Jakarta, a city of close to ten million people. Imagine that kind of hostile environment! San Salvador, Tegucigalpa, Guatemala City and Mexico City would most likely provide a similar environment. How would you feel if a group of MLS players played to a draw in Guatemala? I believe that most would come to an understanding that it was a fair result.
Lastly, looking at Allsopp’s highlight films, he tends to thrive from service. I can imagine he received very little given the Indonesian’s 63-37 advantage in time of possession. Perhaps Verbeek should have been criticizing the midfields inability to hold posession in order to provide better service for the forwards. Despite this, Allsopp got at least one good shot on goal. When looking at the highlights, you see Allsopp win a header and then rip a shot from outside the box which gives the keeper a little trouble at the forty five second mark.

None of this guarantees that Allsopp will be the second coming of Diaz-Arce, but it does seem to point to Verbeek’s description of his performance as a poor barometer of his ability. What are your thoughts?

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