Fair enough. I'd agree we don't have many good young fullbacks in the league. I kind of just pulled his name out since I felt he was the best of the American bunch.
Traditionally MLS fullbacks have been rather pathetic, but that seems to be changing, and in general the better quality young fullbacks that have emerged this season is one of MLS's more pleasant surprises. I don't consider Beitashour, Morrow, Lade, Myers to be in the running for starting roles with the USMNT, but I do consider them B-team candidates (less Lade at this point in time than the other three), and from thenceforth, who knows?
Parkhurst once again made "Team of the Week" in Denmark: https://www.bigsoccer.com/community/...cussion-thread-r.864686/page-21#post-26749196
Saw the first half against Juventus. Parkhurst was pretty skillful in taking care of the ball and making smart, attacking passes.
Am I the only one who thinks Parky is the clear replacement to Dolo? The way he is playing he could take the job now if something happened.
Parky is very good and I like him a lot. It is good for there to be competition at full-back like at other positions!
I definitely agree with that right now. If Chandler ever commits we'll have two promising players competing for the role which is definitely a good thing.
Parkhurst is now looking at getting loads of playing time in the Bundesliga due to a serious injury to Augsburg's regular right back: https://www.bigsoccer.com/community/...hts-relegation-r.1981175/page-2#post-27221597
Parkhurst turned in a solid 90 minutes in the 6-0 rout of Guatemala. He didn't get forward very much, although he did whip in one very dangerous cross. Defensively he was quite steady. It will be interesting to see what this Gold Cup does for his U.S. standing. With Chandler being injured (and considering his last national team performance was a total disaster) and Brad Evans never playing the position at club level, Parkhurst could really use this tournament to climb to the top of the pile. Getting regular playing time in Germany next year will be crucial in him holding on to it, however.
Doubt he'd ever make it to the top of the pile with Cherundolo still around. He was average against a pretty weak Guatemala team last night. I won't hold it against him, but I wouldn't say this helped him in particular. It did help him in that he got 90 minutes to get used to his teammates and it was a vote of confidence that he (and the whole rest of the D I think) didn't get subbed out.
I think it was pretty hard to tell. He had some nice moments, but nothing great. He just wasn't tested much. I think there is a reason Evans has moved ahead of Parkhurst on JK's depth chart and few of us have watched enough of his play since he left for Europe to understand what that might be. I think he needs a really stellar performance in the Gold Cup to get back into the conversation - because at this point I think you could argue he's fourth or fifth on the right back depth chart (Dolo, Chandler, Evans and perhaps Cameron).
Maybe my post wasn't clear. I also think it was hard to tell. He didn't do anything impressive to me, and against competition that poor, you'd think he'd get forward a little more. Still, I wouldn't fault him for the game, but also wouldn't praise him for it. I think he stands exactly where he stood a week ago in terms of the full national team and the right back spot.
Parkhurst looked average last night. He didn't do anything wrong, but he didn't do anything special. I doubt he's a starter at Augsburg, but crossing my fingers. He's good for depth.
Isn't that sort of true all over the world though?? Generally speaking (obviously there are exceptions) the best players in the game aren't fullbacks. The best players/athletes aren't going to play fullback as kids (whether it's an organized youth league or pickup ball), so by the time they get to their late teens coaches usually end up shoehorning in a guy who's spent most of his career up to that point playing either CB or on the wing.
Isn't that sort of true all over the world though?? Generally speaking (obviously there are exceptions) the best players in the game aren't fullbacks. The best players/athletes aren't going to play fullback as kids (whether it's an organized youth league or pickup ball), so by the time they get to their late teens coaches usually end up shoehorning in a guy who's spent most of his career up to that point playing either CB or on the wing.
The exception is more common than you think. The best defenders in the world used to be forwards or mids.
Yeah, but that's kinda my point....fullbacks at the professional level generally don't have as much experience playing their position as strikers, midfielders, and CBs do, and they generally got moved to fullback from either CB or outside mid at some point in their mid-late teens or even their 20s because they weren't good enough to nail down a starting job with their team at their previous position.
The reason Evans played ahead of Parkhurst in the qualifiers imo was because Parkhurst still wasn't match fit. I don't see anyway Evans remains ahead of Parkhurst (if he is at all) if Michael is getting playing time at RB in the Bundesliga this season. All that remains to be seen but even if it isn't Parkhurst I would rather see Beltran or someone else given a shot, I just don't rate Evans. I think he is a major liability as a 1 v 1 defender, he gets beaten for pace for too often. For a natural midfielder he is below average going forward at RB. Klinsmann rates him but personally I'd feel much more comfortable with a real RB out there and there are several guys in MLS that I would call up to play RB before I would Evans: Farrell, Beltran, Yedlin, Sarkodie, S Williams, J Williams, Loyd and Franklin are all guys I would be more comfortable with at RB than Evans.
I think he was better than average, he looked very good defensively (he saved Gooch's hide in the 1st half by cleaning up when Gooch froze in the box and almost conceded a goal) and average going forward, which is about what I expected as he's a defense first FB at the international level. Parkhurst handles speed better than Evans does and probably better than 'Dolo does at this point. I think 'Dolo is better going forward but Evans and he are about the same. Parkhurst is a much better 1 v 1 defender than Evans though.
I think from a physical point of view you are correct, there is better players out there. I think JK values a lot the maturity aspect of the game which I think JK feels Evans posses.
Has to be considered a very solid Gold Cup performance for Parkhurst overall. Looks like his season in Germany is just about to get underway. Hopefully he'll see regular action but it's hard to tell at this point: https://www.bigsoccer.com/community/...hts-relegation-r.1981175/page-5#post-28363585