Read an article on ESPN today that he's complaining about playing time. He's wondering how he could get player of the week one week and then start out on the bench the next.

I know they have a lot of talent in DC, but if a player performs that well one week, it would seem to me that you would reward him by giving him the nod the next.

That said, I don't know what Adu is like in practice and haven't got to see many of his games. He didn't play up to the hype in the U-20's that I watched earlier this year.

I read that article too and I think Nick Rimando nailed it from the games I've seen anyone. He can play amazingly one game and then the next you forget he's even on the field. Nowak has always said that he doesn't give a damn about the hype surrounding the phenom and that he'll rotate players if he thinks it benefits the team (and he has a lot of talent in midfield). I can understand why Adu is pissed because he wants to play...and that's good. But unless he played every game and was the MLS MVP, there was really very little chance of him making this WC roster. I mean who did he think he was going to replace for the USMNT midfield? Lewis? Reyna? Donovan? Mastroeni? Convey? O'brien? Not likely...

Just because someone is a child phenom, does not necessaraly mean they turn out to be great. The amount of young England U18 players that were due to turn into the next greatest thing but then fade away or turn out to be just average is pretty high.
He might be amazing, no one really knows yet.

As for playing time. Robbie Keane for my Spurs (Tottenham Hotspur) is a forward, who at 25 years old has the record amount of goals scored by an Irish international player, yet starts often from the bench. Is he happy about this? Nope. Should he be a starter, yeah, but right now that is the way it is. Although he might actually be moving on from Spurs in Jan.

I have to agree with Ollie. We tend to put all of our eggs into one basket. Just think if Soccer was #1 here and every kid dreamed of becoming a striker for the National team. Lookout world. As it stands, we still have a decent team and our youth system is getting better and better. Just wait until we do get our first true International soccer superstar. Beasly is on the brink but one day the US will turn out a forward or midfielder who is out of this world.

I don't think the article, myself or Cade made any indication that would suggest we thought that Adu was destined for greatness. The topic of discussion was whether a player (in this case a 'phenom') who plays well one week, should or shouldn't start the next week.

It's funny you offer the Spurs example Ollie. If I'm not mistaken, Keane has been relegated to the bench because Mido has been playing pretty damn well (when he's not swinging elbows and getting red cards) and the team has a whole have been getting results. So what does Martin Jol do? He keeps trotting Mido out there in spite of the fact that he has a quality striker on the bench because his performance and the team's results have been good. If Martin Jol were coaching DC United, Adu probably would be seeing a bit more playing time after a good performance as opposed to starting the next game on the bench.

Here's the article in case anyone hasn't seen it yet.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=346310&cc=5901

Dre,
Mido has been playing well, but Keane when he plays always seems to do pretty well himself. Lots of people actually think he should start instead of Defoe, not Mido.