Dane Richards Impressed Me Last Night...

I didn't get to watch the entire match and I missed the now infamous no-call in the box when Cannon pulled Richards down on a scoring opportunity. Despite all of that I've got to single out Richards for his play last night. LA is losing one speedy winger with Cobi's retirement and somehow a much younger twin of his showed up on the other team. Had LA used a slower left back last night he would have been left in the dust by Richards on multiple occasions and the game probably wouldn't have ended the way it did.

I think everyone is in agreement that Maurice Edu will be named the league rookie of the year, as he should be, but Richards could in the long term be the guy who makes a bigger mark in MLS. Edu is probably going to be here a few seasons and then go over to Europe, but Richards could literally be the next Cobi. I don't know if he'll garner the same hype that Edu certainly will. With another couple years experience, Richards will turn into a dangerous, speedy threat down the right wing for NY. Too bad they traded Wynne to Toronto because the two of them overlapping would terrorize defenders.

Another comparison that popped into my head last night was DMB. Richards seems posed to become Jitterbug II. Richards' small frame, blazing speed and willingness to try fake out moves to jitter around defenders down that right sideline make him look like a mirror image of Beasley on the left. No, he's not the finished article and he isn't to Beasley's quality, but he certainly looks like he has the ability and promise. With good coaching and hard work he'll last a long time, like the guy they honored in LA last night, Cobi.

Richards certainly needs to work on his ball control and ability to trick defenders. Last night Mike Randolph was able to block Richards and match his speed so the put the ball beyond him trick didn't always work. However, with a couple years' development Richards could be the best right winger in the league.