Texans are an enormous club, so I wouldn't be surprised if their 2 DA programs are fully funded. They did finish behind FC Dallas and SKC in the regular season standings. One thing is for sure, the Dynamo need to step their game up in development.
There can always be players like Sargent who just have no interest in playing for an academy for one reason or another. That LAG team collectively was unbelievably bad at passing. They made the wrong decision almost every time, too. Not just today, Friday, too. It seemed like almost every player would rather dribble 60 yards himself than pass the ball 5 yards to an open teammate. When they did pass the ball, half the time it was nowhere near its intended target. I'm exaggerating a bit but it wasn't pretty. The Texans were very good and consistent in their press, too.
I think it's good to see a bizarrely moribund area like Houston show some signs of life, developmentally.
By the way, its unclear to me if there's any affiliation these days between the Dallas and Houston versions of the Texans. They seem to be separate entities. The Dallas Texans are an enormous club. Historically, one of the most important youth clubs in the country with many USMNT pool players at the moment (Dempsey, Garza, Lee Nguyen, Omar Gonzalez, etc.). The Houston Texans aren't quite as big, but their alumni include Brek Shea, Stuart Holden, Tyler Deric and others. [Like FCD getting some of their DA players like Paxton Pomykol from the Dallas Texans, the Dynamo have gotten some of their like Deric from the Houston Texans.] I think I mentioned in this thread that in multiple games this season, the FCD U18s failed to beat the Houston Texans. So while their victory is a surprise, its not thaaaaaaaaaaaaaat much of a surprise. Since the start of March, I believe the Houston Texans have lost one game. That was 2-1 at Lonestar in Austin. They beat SKC on the road. They beat FCD on the road. They just beat LA in LA. Technically they beat the Dynamo on the road. The list goes on. FCD was by far the best U18 team in the division. But once the playoffs started, I wouldn't have been surprised if SKC, Lonestar, or the Texans had gone far. I'm surprised the Texans won the whole thing, but not shocked. They've beaten plenty of good teams this year. I know folks probably are wondering what my thoughts are on the FCD U16s loss are. Truth is I haven't had a chance to watch the game, so don't have anything intelligent to say. All I know is its incredible what Atlanta has accomplished in such a short period of time. They really have been able to start out incredibly quickly and I have high hopes for their future. I suspect the conveyor belt of talent is going to continue churning out prospects and this incredible Carleton generation won't be an aberration. That's what FCD has done amazingly well. They just re-load year after year after year after year. When the season starts and we say "who are the favorites this year?"......................we normally have the same answer: FCD, LAG, RSL, NYRB. I think that over the next few years Atlanta's going to fit in that category. And based on their investment, I think Seattle will join that crew shortly. Great advance for them this year making the final playoff week at both the U18 and U16 levels. There are the typical disappointments from an MLS perspective. At some point its not a disappointment. Its just reality. If at the start of the season I'd have asked folks to name 2 MLS clubs that wouldn't make the U18DA playoffs........................I think Houston and Portland would have been the popular answers. DCU and San Jose failed to make the playoffs in either age group, which is a big-time failure based on their talent pools. And yet I'm hearing that San Jose named Chris Leitch as their head coach due to his great success building their academy? What success?
I think it's great that a lot more clubs are taking this seriously. It will just make the whole league better and the national teams better.
Okay but if these kids are that good, how come the Houston Dynamo haven't poached them? The Dynamo have turned things around, first the new stadium, now a decent coach and some talented players, their development academy should be next.
Honestly I haven't seen any super talented kids there. Solid kids, really well coached team. LAG was poor, shouldn't have survived Seattle which didn't have any superstars either.
Dynamo should try to get all the quality players under their developmental banner, but an academy is about the quality at the top of the pipeline more than having lots of really good players. Galaxy lost but probably wouldn't trade the entire Houstan Texans Academy roster for Llanez much less Alvarez.
I thought Richards was fantastic, and he was going up against a kid (Zubak) that was 2 years older and in his 2nd season as a pro. It's my first time ever seeing Richards play, but first glimpse is he should be in the discussion for U17 YNT CB's. Although I know it's highly unlikely Hackworth calls in someone completely new this late in the cycle. From what it looks like, Richards lived in Alabama and moved to Texans this season.
There are a number of CB's that aren't really part of the team right now that I think should be. Richards, Brisco, Crain, do any of these kids have any U-17 call ups? And then there's players like Arteaga and Shaver who were among our best CB's early in the cycle who haven't gotten many U-17 caps of late for some strange reason. You could even consider some of the 01's like Sepulveda, Araujo, Rangel, Toledo. Our U-17's aren't so good that they can just be carrying players who clearly don't belong. It'll take our best players at every position to even compete for the title. If we are carrying around Vasquez as a starting CB and even Sands who is good but more of a #6, we are in trouble. There are a lot of options. If Hackworth has those two as our starting CB's at the U-17 WC, this is yet another U-17 failure where improvements and regressions don't matter, it only matters if you were in good with the staff when you started out. If anyone remembers, Weston McKennie didn't make the U-17 WC team, 1.5 years later he's playing for Schalke's first team. Meanwhile, Eric Calvillo was the starting #6 for the U-17's.
The defense as a whole is the weak link for that u17 team. I don't know how you look at the WCQs and think that those CBs are good enough to win a World Cup. Even Sands had some times where he struggled. Maybe he'd be better with a better partner, but there's definitely room for improvement there. I don't see why you wouldn't at least bring Richards in for a look.
The goalkeeper passes the ball better than any of his defenders, thats probably our main attribute problem with the defensive unit. You know what you are going to get with Gloster and Lindsey, really good defensively and very athletic going forward, limited technically. They gotta play, they are good players, even if they are limited technically, but you gotta build some better technical ability around them. To put it nicely, Vasquez is not the best in a number of areas, and Sands is stout defensively and physical, but slow and an average passer. Durkin is very similar, basically just an upgraded Sands. They are both #6's anyway. Neither belongs in central defense. They should be battling for the #6 spot. If I was picking the team, Vasquez goes, Sands moves to CM, becomes Durkin's back up. Start with Arteaga-Shaver as the starting CB pairing. I don't know why they stopped getting call ups, they were our two best CB's. Shaver is very mobile and a very good passer, Arteaga gives you a little of everything. Then I'd try out the others (Brisco, Richards, Crain, Sepulveda, Araujo, Rangel, Toledo) for one spot. Durkin, Sands and Lindsey can back up at CB if we need a fourth during the tournament. And then we have tons of options for the back up full-back (Watts, Nuphaus, Asensio, Hilton, etc.) There should be no excuse for not picking the best team.
Texans Houston has a sponsor in Houston Methodist and the sponsorship covers travel costs for DA players. There also is this...Houston Football Club and Texans Soccer Club in Houston – a club that has a strong history of developing future college and professional athletes – revealed a partnership ahead of the 2017 Premier Development League regular season.
I'm sure most coaches (and fans) would prefer a speedier attacker, but you're right that that's not the end all be all. Carleton is very similar to De Bruyne and Draxler with the two rootedness, great shooting ability and attacking flair, neither of those guys are ever going to be mistaken for a burner.
Tata on bringing up players from the U16 team - no, what if the U12s win I'd have to bring them up!— Dirty South Soccer (@DirtySouthSoc) July 18, 2017
Tata: Kenwyne is recovering and Jacob Peterson is close- maybe ready next week— Dirty South Soccer (@DirtySouthSoc) July 18, 2017 Also this. Ugh, just shoot me now. Don't think ATL UTD academy players are going to get much of a chance while Tata is there.
He has made a number of arrogant comments when asked about his academy, as if those players are beneath him. When pressed on why young American players weren't getting more of a chance, he put forth a very deceiving argument that he gave a few younger players a debut, as if "a debut" suffices as getting a chance. I just don't want to hear that this guy is a good option for the next NT coach. Compare his words to Pareja, the mindset's they present to the public are completely different.
You know @andrewcarleton7, now meet the other Carleton sporting the red, black & goldBehind the Stripes: https://t.co/zZCr5JEX6w pic.twitter.com/LGFVCD9BTf— Atlanta United FC (@ATLUTD) July 19, 2017 This from the director of Atlanta's academy. Future star! @andrewcarleton7 @thecarleton7 @ussoccer_acad https://t.co/wluk4ewYpK— Tony Annan (@TonyAnnan1) July 19, 2017 Hard to know how good this kid is. He's going to get more press than other kids his age simply due to who his brother is, but he does seem to be a relevant player thus far. He was the second youngest regular on Atlanta's U-12's, and had 15 goals in 24 games. He supposedly is a #10. He's an '05 though, so even if he's really good, its probably another two years before he's notable towards YNT's, at all. Here's a video of him from two years ago. Its too early to know how good he'll be, and a video like this means little, but you can tell from this video that he plays a lot like his brother.
Maybe this should be a stand alone thread, or maybe not. This is a U12 tournament in Dec., 2017. http://www.prospectscup.com https://www.lagalaxy.com/post/2017/07/20/la-galaxy-academy-compete-inaugural-prospects-cup Academy teams from Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs FC Dallas, LA Galaxy and Orlando City Soccer; U.S. Youth Soccer teams Pachuca Tuzos Acad- emy (Phoenix) and Real Jersey FC (Medford, NJ); U.S. Development Academy’s Weston Soccer Club (Miami); Sockers FC (Chicago) and Global Premier Soccer (Boston).
I don't think its necessarily arrogant. Its the mindset of a coach that's worked at the biggest clubs in the world like Barcelona. They don't view the first team as a developmental tool. IThese are the kinds of comments you'd expect from a Mourinho, Conte,or a manager of that ilk. At the end of last Premier League season Mourinho was almost sneering while playing young players in the league, as if to say "See what you made me do?!!! We don't have enough elite first team players so I'm forced to play these young guys!" Conte gave zero minutes to teenagers last season even though Chelsea has tons of talent in their academy program. We all know that the best MLS coaches are those that view themselves as teachers as well as coaches. And that's because MLS rosters are made up of a broad range of skill sets. Whether players are drafted or signed as homegrowns, some level of teaching and development needs to happen with the first team. And teaching without first team playing time doesn't really amount to much in the long run. Saying that.........................you can win trophies in MLS with this attitude. The American version of this attitude is Porter, who seems completely uninterested in the development of domestic talent. He's trying to win at all costs. Which is fine..........................but its not as sustainable as if you have a steady stream of young talent being introduced to the first team. It means you're constantly scouting Argentina, etc. and you have to "hit" with those signings. It means that in a salary capped league you have a top heavy roster, and one or two injuries to key players and you're done. Meanwhile a club like NYRB can let Dax McCarty go as they've worked on developing Davis and Adams. They keep the pipeline moving. It doesn't mean NYRB are going to win trophies this year, but it means they can invest that McCarty money elsewhere (in theory). And they have essentially the same number of points as Atlanta this season. Why does FC Dallas work so well in this regard? Its because the ownership, front office, and coaching staff are all on board with the project together. It seems that in Atlanta they don't have the coach on board. Winning DA titles is meaningless if you don't develop those kids into first team players. Or sell them on to make money. As of this second that's what I'm hoping is the outcome for Carleton. That he makes a huge splash at the U17 World Cup, which will lead to a transfer overseas when he's 18. Cuz this has the makings of an EPB type of situation. Unfortunately, that's a full calendar year away........................ And I should be clear. Not all young players are equal. Its just that when you have the elite of the elite youth prospects in your squad (the EPB, Carleton types), you have to find opportunities for them. You can't tell me Fiorentina can find playing time for Josh Perez, but Atlanta can't find time for Andrew Carleton.
Absolutely, he's not a bad coach, he's just not good for young Americans, and given how many talented ones there are at Atlanta (they just added Garces), its worrying.
You mention all players and situations are not equal then compare Perez and Carleton as if they are equal. Perez only has 1 15 minute minute showing for Fiorentina and Carleton has 1 5 minute showing for AU but Perez is 2.5 yrs or 30 months older. So you can't tell me that is so outrageous in terms of development.
Check out @socceramerica's Tweet: Brian Kleiban, @LAGalaxyAcademy coach, has the American Messi's back. https://t.co/rTFjZuBWc1 @MikeWoitalla— SoccerAmerica (@socceramerica) July 21, 2017