Rowdies’ Wheeler finding goals, but close to suspension

Posted Jun 2, 2010 by Nick Murray

Updated Jun 2, 2010 at 03:04 PM

Aaron Wheeler has hit a rich vein of form in the past five games, one which might have him in contention for USSF Division II Player of the Month honors when the nominees are announced this week.

But while his four goals have been a big boost for the team, there has also been a flipside to his productivity: In three of the four games Wheeler has scored, he has also received a yellow card. One more booking and the 6-foot-4 striker will have to sit out a game through suspension.

While Wheeler said that’s going to be in the back of his mind when the Rowdies face the Vancouver Whitecaps this Sunday, it’s not going to change the way he approaches the game.

“I’m a big physical guy, that’s what gotten me here and that’s what’s going to keep me at this level,” Wheeler said. “I can’t be worried about getting cards and stuff like that. It’s obviously not beneficial to the team for me to get another card and stuff, but I’m not going to look to play soft or anything like that by any means.”

Rowdies coach Paul Dalglish agrees that Wheeler can’t change the way he plays.

“He needs to be aggressive being a target man,” Dalglish said. “I can’t tell him ‘don’t get booked’ for something he never did wrong. I think a lot of the bookings, he did nothing wrong.”

It could certainly be argued that Wheeler has been a little unlucky to have picked up as many yellow cards as he has. While Wheeler admits he deserved to be cautioned for kicking the ball away late in the game against Carolina, some of the other decisions could be viewed as more an instrument of his size rather than his actions.

“He’s a target because he’s 6-4, 6-5,” Dalglish said. “Because people can’t stop him he takes a lot of punishment and I think because he takes a lot of punishment he’s an easy target for referees to book. Especially the game against Minnesota where he got punched and he got booked for holding the ball up in the air, I didn’t understand that, and the one the other night (against Puerto Rico), I don’t understand some of the bookings he’s got.”

Dalglish is confident, though, that with Aaron King available to start should Wheeler be forced to sit, the side wouldn’t miss a beat if that circumstance arises.

“You can’t worry about things you can’t change, it is what it is,” Dalglish said. “He’s one booking away from a suspension and that’s why you’ve got a squad.  If he does get his extra booking, we’ll miss him for a game, but we’ve got people in this squad that can definitely fill in for him.”

As for the oddity that is his goals-to-cautions record, Wheeler said it never occurred to him before, but it is something to think about.

“I guess once I get that goal I get a little bit more eager and I need to calm it back down,” Wheeler said. “That could be a reason for some of it. I’ve just got to be smarter, that’s all it comes down to, be smarter in tackles and stuff like that.”