McKennie is so good! BUT, his style of play seems un-integrated with the rest of his team a lot of the time. Especially in the middle third where he seems to do his own thing and pop up when and where it suits him, but to not join in a joint defensive effort unless it suits him. I wish he were a bit more methodical in his approach to his defensive effort and to the group attack from the center of field to the top of the PA. Inside the PA, he puts himself in good positions and on the first Schalke goal, he deserves a lot of credit for his run off the ball that sucked a defender with him, leaving space for the goal to occur.
I disagree with the sentiment he doesn't seem on the same page as his teammates. During the first half, he played a ton of wall passes with teammates, and spread the play really well with long passes, sometimes with his first touch. That's not typically the hallmark of a player who isn't in tune with his mates.
FWIW Kicker has him as the #7 best player in Schalke out of 12 guys who have played enough minutes this season, with a score of 3,33 --not too shabby for a Yank. https://www.kicker.de/1-bundesliga/fc-schalke-04-2/topspieler/2019-20/5
To me it looks like on defense he is in front of the backline but he is asked to play off of Burgstaller when they get the ball. And there lies a problem https://t.co/hTDx5PZekw— Brian Sciaretta (@BrianSciaretta) September 20, 2019
That's just how Wagner has deployed him. He's been playing that way the entire season. I think it's designed to help them keep possession, but even more so to help them generate more offense because it was so shambolic to start.
i am getting concerned about weston’s inability to have a performance without being charitably bad things adjacent. today a perfect example
Agree. I actually thought this was one of his best games in terms of pass quickness/accuracy - he's obviously been instructed/encouraged to one time the ball or make quick passes to open backs/middies for quick jail-breaks/counters. The thing lacking from Wes' game now is the confidence/skill? to turn the ball with a defender on his back and/or dribble into open space for the better pass. Not sure he'll ever be exceptional at that, but I think teams will start to recognize that he's rarely going to try to turn his man, so they body him up very tight/dive in a bit to cut off tackles. The other thing he just has is that ability to not lose the ball, even when tackled. He got the ball on a very good Schalke break in the late 1st half today. Dribbled open field - held the ball too long and was tackled, but somehow managed to get it back on his feet, tackled again, recovered... he just won't quit. But if he had the vision to get the pass of early, he wouldn't need that kind of battle in that spot. Guy just gets all over the field - one of the two pressing players, but then pops up in his box regularly. (needs to be a little more active/alert there for my money, but nobody's perfect.) He carried a lot of water today, all things considered.
Not his game. I'd like to see him hit the "break out" ball. If you saw him on the rush I noted above, he just didn't seem to have a plan, and was moving too fast for his brain to catch up with his feet. If can learn to hit that ball with some consistency, his physical gifts give him that moment a couple of times a game - he'd be good for a few assists if he can get that ball into space in front of one of the two breaking attackers.
Today's highlights. Not a lot of Wes play, but a lovely rom-com slo-mo moment that would make Hallmark proud...
Looks like they have sold the left sleeve to a sponsor. I noticed the same thing in the Premier League as well.
Starts @ Leipzig. Once again at that forwardish position. Let's get to it! ⚒️Here's our XI to face @RBLeipzig_EN 💪#SchalkeUS🇺🇸 | #RBLS04 pic.twitter.com/R59YeJih5z— Schalke 04 USA🇺🇸 (@s04_us) September 28, 2019
He's played well, but the team so far at least as a whole is what stands out...a lot of confidence on the ball from them all and good counter attacking
He's all over the place...almost just scored twice on two headers, one a great save, second attempt over the bar
Not to derail the thread but Wagner has this team playing the way a certain National Team should. Schalke is beating RBL with, dare I say, grit.
Weston was key to holding up the ball on the penalty. He dumped the RBL defender on his ass twice somehow without getting called for the foul. Then he found the open man in the box who was tripped up for the penalty. It was a classic Weston moment.