Bobby Wood is in ‘negative spiral’

October can’t end quickly enough for the United States. After one of the most disappointing months in team history, even more poor news broke on Tuesday when Hamburger SV coach Markus Gisdol said USMNT striker Bobby Wood is in a "negative spiral" and suggested we may not see much more playing time from the 24-year-old this season.

“We do everything to support him. More than we are currently doing is not possible,” Gisdol told reporters.

Gisdol attributes the reasoning behind the poor season from one of his top strikers as a slump of mental and physical issues. While every player is prone to a poor string of performances, Gisdol’s patience with Wood seems to be running thin. He hinted at a potential chance for the American to be dropped by saying, “[i]n the end, the performance principle also applies to him.”

Just a mere few months ago, Wood made some pretty heroic headlines for the USMNT. He scored the game-tying goal against Honduras in a September World Cup qualifier which kept the World Cup hopes and dreams for millions of Americans alive at the time.

Since that time however, his play has taken a turn for the worse.

It all culminated last Sunday when Wood was subbed off after 56 minutes of play and no shots on goal. The young Hawaiian has only produced two league goals in nine appearances this season, which is hardly the production needed from a player who signed a $3 million contract in the offseason.

“He has the potential to be a good striker,” Gisdol said. “Currently he is not in shape. He hangs completely clean, but it just does not work.”

Hamburg find themselves battling relegation for the second straight season. They currently lie 16th out of 18 Bundesliga clubs and hold seven points in ten league games. Additionally, the team has only scored three goals since winning the first two matches of the year.