Adu wasn't a powerful athlete, infact outside the U17 level he wasnt much of an athlete at all. Thompson looks quicker and faster to me then Adu ever did, and much, much more aggressive. What I love about Thompson is the way he will absolutely throw himself at much larger guys. One of the secret weapons of small players is they can actually get away with being far more physically aggressive then larger players, because refs will give them the benefit of the doubt. I think TT has been overlooked because he wasnt in the dev academy games and he wasnt in a major soccer recruiting area. He just got overlooked because he never appeared on the radar in the "right" places.
Yeah, I would say that his game is different than Donovan. Donovan is more about speed, soccer IQ / vision, and finishing. TT is more about exceptional ball control, as you say, and a willingness to take people on as well as soccer IQ. I see Donovan making a run, blowing by some guys, receiving a pass, and finishing. TT is more about taking guys on, drawing defenders, and then dropping it off at someone's feet. He's a playmaker first and scoring seem more of a secondary thing for him.
Adu always played against guys much older than himself in part because of his quickness and agility. I don't think TT is as quick or nearly as athletic. As far as being overlooked, we need to remember Tommy played in a soccer family with two older brothers and a father who was a former USMNT player and ran one of the bigger clubs in the central valley (Cal Blues). TT's team was nationally ranked and there is no way the regional ODP/PDP wasn't aware of him.
Tommy is quicker then Adu. Adu was tricky and could create space, but his career at higher levels fizzled out because better athletes didnt have to respect his quickness. He might get some space with a trick, but they could still recover. Even by the U20s he wasnt creating space with his quickness, when he beat players it was because he caught them with a tricky play or a clever change of direction. What you dont see from Adu at the U20s but you do see from TT in college is that explosive 1 to 3 step burst to create seperation against defenders who are just trying to stay in front of them.
I still remember adu's rookie season. He was so small he would bounce off of other players because he couldn't handle the physical side of the game yet. Easily bounced off the ball. Tommy will have to make that same adjustment but he seems tougher than Adu and more willing to fight for the ball.
Put me in the camp that is a little puzzled that TT didn't get any notice from U17, etc., late birth date notwithstanding. I mean, his family is very well connected soccer-wise, and the guy clearly rakes. I find it hard to believe that the USMNT youth program would be so rigid about finding some kind of prototype that they knowingly pass up a guy who shows this much talent. But, meh, only so much time, only so many roster spots. But it doesn't really matter. He's going to get some call-ups for the U.S. men's national team program at some point, I'm pretty certain of that. I'm tempted to make much bolder predictions than that, but I'm going to try to play it cool for now :--).
I'm talking about Adu as a 12 year old and why he got selected for the youth national team. Adu was 14.
Adu may have stood out for his age at the U17 level physically, and then got a pass because US youth internationals keep gettting pushed up the chain, sure. But 18 year old TT is a better athlete then 18 year old Adu was.
My point exactly. Adu was more athletic and physical at a younger age and that is the main reason why he was picked for the U.S., not simply because he had some ball skills. TT most likely didn't stick out physically at 12 (probably the contrary) and in the U.S. system he wasn't going to get consideration for having "just" ball skills and soccer IQ.
according to his bio he skipped the US dev academy due to injury: http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/tommy-thompson
Adu was a talented player anybody trying to diminish his ability because he didn't make it is fooling themselves. The pressure just got to him and broke him. Just look at the 2007 Youth World Cup for proof that he had the ability. Thompson looks good and for me is a starter on this team day one because of his potential. However let's not fool ourselves into making this kid into a Godly-talent before he has even played his first game. He has skills, he can be Messi-ultra lite or Messi-lite if things pan out. He's already had a serious knee injury at a young age so let's not pin our future on a guy who has shown glimpses of quality, but nothing concrete yet because of injury and college ball which we know is not a good measuring stick.
What is even more likely is that the pressure and money got to Adu. He had officially made it in life at 14 without really ever accomplishing much. Any person without grounding influences and a father will fall in this sport. Just look at Neymar and Messi and the roles their fathers have played. Extremely important. Now they manage their son's money.
The US Soccer Development Academy is a club based league, no direct relation to youth national ID. In any case, TT didn't play for the Earthquakes Academy but he did for the California Development Academy. Regional level ID begins at age 10 and starts to get serious by 13. Here are the current roster pools of local players. http://www.norcalpremier.com/docs/Region 2 Boys Online Roster.pdf http://www.calnorth.org/programs/odp/player_pool_information/
Yeah, Adu matured early in relation to his stated age and combined with excellent technique that got him to a certain level. Unfortunately he stopped developing (in more than one sense of the word) and has not been able to raise his game to the next stage. No, TT is not ready to be an MLS starter from day one. The pace is much faster than college soccer and he probably needs to raise his game one or two notches, which he certainly appears capable of doing. He might be ready for some sub minutes as the season progresses and he should definitely start in USOC games.
He more than held his own in reserve matches last year, which I'd assume are faster than college, but a little slower than MLS. Not quite the jump you'd think...
He's better than Cato and Atiba Harris. Until the Quakes sign someone else that is proven. Thompson is a day one starter.
That's why I said "one or two notches". Whoa there coach! Plenty of time left before that decision needs to be made. Even if we don't sign anybody with all that stinkin' money the FO is piling up, there is training camp and the preseason friendlies.
Yeah, I've yet to see him do anything other than really well, like best player on the field, including the reserve matches he played in. There were other "sometimes" starters in those matches, including players like Cato, Jahn, WalMart, Fucito, etc., so there is a bit of a benchmark there. I think he outplayed all of them, though WalMart looked pretty good in the Portland reserve match. So I'm not ready to say that he shouldn't start next year. But I would still probably work him into the games slowly, like start him out with some sub minutes and take it from there.
Is Tommy Thompson REALLY only 18 years old? As long as we've raised the question about Freddy Adu I think turnabout is fairplay. Are you going to tell me he's seriously 18?
Then have the Quakes sign a proven player for them to fill GAPING HOLE. Cato is Salinas from years ago and Harris is a proven turd.