Troy Perkins commenced his professional career on a meteoric trajectory from undrafted rookie reservist to MLS Goalkeeper of the Year in less than 36 months, with a move to test himself on the European stage a year later and entrance into the U.S. national team goalkeepers’ pool another 12 months after that.
A fanatical worker on the field as well as in the film and weight rooms, it’s understandable that he would chafe at any stagnation in his game. But at the moment, that’s exactly what’s on his mind as he finds himself leading a last-place team in what was supposed to be a triumphant homecoming to the club where he made his name.
D.C. United own the most porous defense in Major League Soccer. Every single member of the back line has had a role in allowing at least one of the 11 goals conceded in four matches this year, but the burden of doubt inevitably falls on the ‘keeper in such situations – especially if that ‘keeper’s return to town cost his club a hefty compensation package in order to cut in line for the dispersal draft order.
“They brought me back for that reason and unfortunately, I haven’t lived up to it,” said Perkins on Saturday, when asked about the pressure of being seen as D.C.’s defensive savior on his return from Norway. “That’s something that I’ve got to be able to move on with and move past, and try not to do it to myself – put too much pressure on myself.
“But saying that,” he added with a slight shake of his head, “I’m almost 29 years old, played a hundred-and-some matches. I’ve got to be able just to play.”
Relatively few members of the Black-and-Red have distinguished themselves this season, while many others have been confined to the injured list, and collective confidence has dwindled to cripplingly low levels, with Perkins’ case a prime example.
Typically steady and statesmanlike in the nets, his previous United stint stood in contrast with the revolving-door sequence of ‘keepers that followed him and he was seen as a natural leader for a youngish 2010 squad.
The Ohioan has routinely been hung out to dry by his defense and is averaging four saves a game. But he’s also been caught making fundamental errors – most notably on Sébastian LeToux’s game-winning free-kick goal in Philadelphia two weeks ago – and hesitance has crept in at most inopportune moments, with jangling nerves hinting at a desperate determination to carry his team.
“When you look at the games we’ve played and we’ve lost, it’s tough to have confidence,” admitted Perkins, one of the last players to leave RFK Stadium after Saturday’s dispiriting 2-0 loss to the Fire. “But we’ve got to be able to find it. We’re playing well for a long period of time, [yet] we can’t get goals and we can’t stop conceding them."
Perkins is keenly aware that he’s not playing up to his potential and the coaching staff is actually urging him to relax and keep his own expectations in check, regardless of the team’s shortcomings as a whole.
Said D.C. goalkeepers coach Mark Simpson, “It’s just a matter of telling him to calm down and do the things that he’s capable of, and not try to set himself up to make spectacular saves and just taking care of the ones that he should save.
“There’s a lot of pressure with him coming in and a lot of talk of how much better we’re going to be with him,” Simpson continued. “He just needs to relax and just let his play take care of everything else that goes on on the field.”
