Brian Carroll - Best XI?
… From the Ask and Ye Shall Receive department, Aaron asked last night on the Podcast where Jeff Bradley might have disappeared to. Turns out, his work is available on mlsnet.com this afternoon with an early look at the possible MLS Best XI. You can read Jeff’s thoughts here.
Not surprisingly, there are no United players among the 11. What might surprise a couple people who haven’t taken notice (or, like me, just haven’t seen Columbus much this year), is that none other than Brian Carroll appears on the list. Bradley notes that United might be “second-guessing themselves for leaving him exposed in the expansion draft last year.”
It’s an interesting thought. Early in the year, I and others (including regular Fighting talker commenter Bootsy) noted that Clyde Simms was going to be a very important part of how well United did this season. When the failings of this club are discussed, it usually centers around the goalkeeping of Zach Wells, the disorganized Keystone Cops nature of the defense, or the myriad of injuries. Rarely, if at all, this season, have I heard anyone say that Simms, who pretty much took over that spot from Carroll and made him expendable in the estimation of United’s front office, was having a bad year. Continue reading →