Not sold on him in the least, particularly as a CM. Far too slow, and not technical enough. Perhaps he's better higher up the field as an outright striker though.
J.R. Eskilson @JREskilson 18h Looks like @CalMensSoccer landed U20 MNT CB Trevor Haberkorn. Pretty nice replacement for Birnbaum-Dean (h/t @HatTrick_jose)
Paul Arriola talks about the challenges of his first professional season at Tijuana as well as the US U-20s Club Tijuana's Paul Arriola is making some big strides
That's only football and basketball IF the coach of the school a player is leaving gives the player what is called a release of his scholarship. No release and the player has to sit out a year. That very rarely happens in college soccer as coaches don't want to be seen as vindictive and what goes around comes around. I know when Mehdi Ballouchy left Creighton after his freshman year way back when, he didn't tell the coaches he was leaving till the summer so he had to sit out a year because Bob Warming (now at Penn State) didn't release him. But Santa Clara didn't want to burn a scholarship on a player who wasn't going to play so Ballouchy had to spend a season at community college, where he didn't play so he didn't burn a season of eligibility. That was over a decade ago. I'm sure it's happened since but the fact that the first instance that popped into my head was that long ago tells you how infrequently it's happened. Long story short, no way Furman's coach makes a YNT player sit out a year. It would hurt his rep in the soccer community way too much, not to mention likely have a negative impact on recruiting.
And clearly that has nothing to do with how old you are. And just to be even more of a wise ass, iirc, Ben Strong had to sit out for Louisville last fall because Virginia Tech doesn't want to admit that its awfulness is actively driving players away.
Brian's new article with Emerson Hyndman: http://americansoccernow.com/articles/emerson-hyndman-has-homecoming-at-dallas-cup
Jalen Markey has transferred from UNC to Oregon State. http://www.osubeavers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=30800&ATCLID=209471888 One must assume its because the CB position is locked down at UNC by Okwuono and Campbell, so Markey went looking for playing time.
At Oregon State they're willing to call him Biz but UNC wouldn't do that, which is why he transferred. True story.
Actually, if there are two things about Lynden Gooch, they are that he is fast and technically excellent. I've watched him play from age 10 on -- speed and skill were his hallmarks, and (based on several excellent points of comparison), he's definitely on par with the best in that group in terms of speed and skill. It is entirely possible that his *decision making at a new position is slow. Also, I have no evidence to believe that he has a great ability to read the game, and move well off the ball. I am not sure why Ramos has him playing the #6 or #8 position. If this (a longer-term / permanent transition to that position) is something he has discussed with the player and the player's club coach, it would make sense; otherwise, it is a serious head-scratcher. I am surprised that a National Team coach would do such a thing (as opposed to a club coach, e.g., the way Guardiola and Bielsa play midfielders in central defense).
Being marginally faster than kids while playing with CDA as a 15 year old does not mean he's fast. Skill and technique are not the same thing in my opinion.
This is the definition of trolling. You don't even seem to know which club he played with. I never said he was marginally faster (at 15 or 17 or whatever). I did not equate skill with technique, and I don't know why you are the authority on deciding what is technique. I was merely relating a viewpoint based on watching the kid over many years. I did say -- looking at both sides of argument -- that he may have been slow with his decision making at CM. And I have watched a fair number of players in this pool and similar ones, both in person and on TV/online, etc. You, on the other hand, seem to have watched him, at best, on the recent string of Dallas Cup games where he has played in an unusual position for him, and decided that you can tell the quality of his technique (whatever *you* mean by that) and his speed (again, whatever, you mean by that). I'm done discussing this. While we all know that everything you see on these forums is *subjective*, if you can't handle views that differ from your own, good luck to you. If you wish to resort to cheaply twisting someone's sentences and turning it into a sound bite like "being marginally faster than kids while playing with CDA as a 15 year old", feel welcome to indulge in doing so. I'm done.
Tab did this with Joya last cycle, who didn't play CM before with Santos Laguna or after so far with the Fire.
Yes, that is another example of Tab doing that. Btw, Joya was a CM (more of an #8 than a #10) while playing with De Anza in the Academy for 2-3 years (incl USSDA select game, etc.). In Gooch's case, I believe he played at #10 with Javier Perez last year (and playing there, I am told by a reliable source, that he was the team's best player in at least one tournament).
The thing about Gooch being forced into the Center-mid role is that it should only be a temporary issue. We have plenty of players who should be able to fill that role going forward, which will hopefully allow him to move into a position he's more comfortable in. There's Acosta, Canouse, Delgado, Hyndman as obvious choices, then wildcard players like Lipe, Lickert, Kauter, Bailey, Castro (most of these guys are younger and I've only seem BS reports of them playing CM), and some surely some others that I'm forgetting.
I've been wrong before, and I'll quite surely be wrong again. Time will tell, but I'll certainly be pleased if I am wrong regarding this player.
Brian's new article on Ben Spencer: http://americansoccernow.com/articles/six-foot-five-striker-ben-spencer-19-has-big-plans "I love working with Ben Spencer," Sommer added. "He comes early, and stays late. He wants to do extra finishing. He's asking a lot of questions. He's hungry. It is so refreshing to work with guys like that—they just can't get enough. Once training is over, you have other guys who can't wait to get out of there. He can't wait until training ends so he can work on his position-specific stuff. You know the guys got a bright future because he's willing to do all the extra stuff." Spencer sees the opportunity to play games against full-grown men rather than teenagers will help him develop crucial skills. During his time at Indy Eleven, Spencer will remain in contact with Molde and send the Norwegian club regular updates on his progress. Spencer makes it clear that he would “like to return back to Europe” once his loan is done but he definitely appreciates the opportunity in Indianapolis.
Fans of the new Indy team will be glad to learn they have a bunch of guys who can't wait to leave training, with a notable exception being a guy who isn't their club's property.
The kid definitely has a great work ethic, but shouldn't someone like him with a high ceiling (or at least what I've been told, I've barely seen him play, so I'm going off opinions from others) land somewhere better than Indy?
There are better players at worse places and worse players at better places. I'd just as soon just try to focus on how he's doing where he is, like he is apparently doing. (Also, he's already under contract to an ostensibly "better" place than Indy, who sent him to where he is now...)
To add to what Dave said, Spencer is still a beanpole who just turned 19. If he can make it in the NASL at this stage of his development, he's doing plenty well for himself.
I'm torn. If you really are a special player I tend to think you should be able to make the first team, especially at a low level like Molde. Maybe he'll be a late bloomer and turn into a decent senior level player.
Yup. The choice was probably between Indy and another season with Molde youth/reserve teams. Or I guess they could have tried to loan him to a lower-division Norwegian team. There is actually a player on Indy 11 that started (and won) a World Cup final..................for what its worth. And I'm sure a young player can learn about being a professional from a guy like Jurgen Sommer. He was on both our 1994 and 1998 World Cup squads. If Sommer hadn't had the misfortune of being born at the same time as Brad Friedel, Kasey Keller, and Tony Meola........................he'd have been a stalwart for the USMNT.