Just to be clear, I think he's doing amazingly well. I actually think he's playing a bit over his head (in part because I think Schalke in general are playing a bit over their head's this season. Not sure it will last, but I hope it does.) My comments were more specific to the difference between doing really fine and becoming closer to "special" fwiw.
Eh not everybody measures special the same. Some never liked Jermaine Junior, but he was special both for Schalke and the US.
I'm a Jones fan. If Wes matches the best of Jones in terms of vision and impact, he'll be pretty "special" in my book. Especially since he looks not likely to have some of JJ's less endearing personality traits.
Agreed, but I also think he sometimes makes up his mind about a pass when the circumstances surrounding the pass are changing rapidly and the likelihood of success dropping rapidly. He doesn't or can't see the changes and hits the pass into them resulting in an interception. It's often difficult to distinguish between this type of incident from that which you describe (bolded).
I disagree with that assessment. WM is one of the very few American players with the ability to track movement and position of players all over the field. He plays an extraordinary number of one-touch passes often out of his direct line of sight, even in tackling he will turn an interception into a one touch pass.
What we see NOW is 90% of what we get going forward. In other words, a young adult zebra can't dramatically change his stripes. He will round out some of his rough edges but his die is essentially cast. A normal ceiling is only 8 ft high. It isn't that difficult to recognize the texture.
Don't disagree, but I do think that final 5-10% is the difference between "really solid top pro player" and "impact player." And "game smarts/decision making" is one of the more learnable skills. "Vision" or "instinct" is a bit more ingrained, but every small bit of improvement will up his ceiling.
Starts as CB: Unsere Start-1⃣1⃣ für das Duell gegen @bayer04fussball!Glück auf, Männer! ⚒️🍀#S04 | 🔵⚪️ | #B04S04 pic.twitter.com/Eo4pALRDI6— FC Schalke 04 (@s04) December 7, 2019
This weekend, so far, almost all teams with a Yank in them are losing. Hull and Hobro the exceptions.
Does McKennie have a left foot? I watched most of the Leverkusen match hoping to see something out of Wes on the left but I don't think I saw him pass with his left foot a single time. I know a lot of folks were insistent Morris would never be top level because he didn't have a left foot and Morris went out and developed it. I wonder what's up with Wes.
Wes continues to quickly play himself into just a squad player. This time last year, I thought he’d turn into Schalke’s best. But... that doesn’t seem to be who he is. as I said earlier, for USMNT, give me Paxton over him. Wes will continue to be a vital member of the national team, but the ceiling has been lowered for him over the last several months.
Many don't like Wes, and truth is he has limitations --however, he's still clearly a Top 5 player in our current pool, behind Pulisic and Adams (IF Adams is still the same player...) and possibly behind Dest and Brooks. Although the former is still developing and the latter is a streaky player.
I’m concerned that the holes in weston’s game will limit his ceiling but Paxton’s got a long way to get to Weston’s current level. I hope he makes and surpasses it though.
TBF, shalke have really been playing over their heads. They are nowhere near as good as their table position suggested. They will lose a few more along the way.
No. They are solid with Serdar in mid and Kabak at cb. Raman has added the scoring threat they were sorely lacking and Harit is in form dribbling thru mid. Nubel beat out last year's Captain in goal. Caliguri is still there even as Wagner has diminished his role. Cuyutcu is an obvious young attacking talent with real teeth whom Wagner is bringing along slowly but surely. Ozpicka continues in good form at lb. I like the skills on the pitch and how Wagner is utilizing them. I think they will be tough to dislodge from European play level in the table.
We shall see. To my eye they are not a top 4 club. Tend to seem ragged and a bit frantic. Caliguri should be good but is somehow less effect than his skills. But I'd happily be wrong here. I hope Wagner and Wes end up top of table, but I think they are more a 5-6-7 club.
I'm largely agreeing with me. Whatever in my statement that they are "playing above their heads" in 4th Ex disagrees with, I'm inclined to disagree with (see if you can unravel that.) I don't really know what Ex believes as far as Schalke's natural level, but he appears to take exception with my statement that Shalke was playing over their head and won't end up in 4th. But that's what my eye test tells me - they've had some fortunate results and benefited from better teams not getting results and I doubt that lasts the season. Hope I'm wrong, but my guess would be I'm right.
I, for one, have no clue. I do not think he’s reached his ceiling. Good lord, he’s been an indispensable player for a mid-table BL team. All coaches have played him in a variety of positions and I take that to mean they want him on the field. They believe the team is better with him on the field. If he doesn’t use his left foot, who cares? I was told by an old Argentine pro that if you focus too much on both feet your strong foot will be half as good. Better to focus on your natural strong foot skills, just don’t let the weak foot be a liability. Not sure I agree with that, but food for thought. what other US players of previous generations were multi-year staple players for a good Euro league club or top MLS club when they were 18-20 years old? I really can’t think of any
I don't think of it as "negativity," but rather as reality setting in. He's played enough games now for his highs and lows to be visible as established characteristics of his game. My primary consideration is that he become established in one position long enough to own the position in the context of the rest of the team. This means playing with discipline, meaning better decision making for passing, positioning and inter-personal relations, aka, fouling. Right now, I see his decision making as his biggest limitation and feel that it is hindering his progression to becoming a truly dominant midfield force. If he can get by this hurdle, he could become as good in his position as CP is for Chelsea.