I agree with @ussoccer97531 on most topics, including some where I take the other side. I'm a fan of seeing these conversations evolve and seeing other people weigh in on pertinent topics as the issue becomes more thought out. The Goslin one from the other day is an example of one where I agreed with him but still argued the other side. A lot of times, stuff that's mainstream (or at least as mainstream as youth discussions in MLS can get) starts here with lengthy discussions. The whole "is a bad USL team detrimental to development" discussion started in one of these threads, and now it's a frequent point used in posts about almost all of our USL guys. I enjoy this stuff, I enjoy people's discussions becoming more educated, and @ussoccer97531 is one of the most knowledgeable guys around.
No doubt. @ussoccer97531 is probably the top of my list of BS members, I’d most like to have a beer with it. I don’t always agree with his opinions, but I respect the fact he’s deeply invested in forming his opinion, which he does a tremendous job researching his points. More, I like the fact he’s cool enough to take a hard stance on something that’s not popular, and I have to respect him for that,
Are folks like Weah and Gabbi eligible for this honor? You have to respect what Weah has done so far this year in friendlies as the French Cup. Gabbi's goals/highlights have been very impressive even with questionable competition.
I would think both Weah and Sabbi are eligible. You meant Emmanuel Sabbi in Denmark, right? Sometimes I take pre-season appearances and performance with a grain of salt. Example: Julian Green used to always get a lot of playing time and do well in pre-season for Bayern Munich. Then when the season started, he disappeared. It was a great sign that Weah was used in the French Super Cup, though. Our definition of age, experience, etc. in order to be eligible for this honor changes and folks have different definitions. So suggest whomever you want We simply reserve the right to mock you mercilessly should we disagree!!!! I think many feel the runaway pre-season favorite for this honor in Europe is Josh Sargent.
He's 21 already........... The time is now. Curtin's big hangups with Jones are his lack of consistency each day (in training and games) and that he wants Jones to be much more assertive with his play (passing forward, taking players on). To Jones' credit he is finally doing this, and has turned a lot of heads for his play in the USL. Union fans are hoping Saturday was just the start of big things for him.
What I saw during his first run of games was a player who had poor recognition in tight quarters and had a weak first touch. He looked much improved in the Portland match. Jones and Busio. Hopefully, each gets minutes this week.
Sabbi, yes! My apologies! Sargent is easy to get excited over, but so is any promising attacking player who has an iota of potential because of how poor we've historically been (IMO).
I’m going to hope that Josh Sargent and Tim Weah are the breakout stars.... But, if I’m going to be an unknown: Let me go with, Luca De la Torre Tillman or Olosunde seem to have a lot of potential but both are unlikely to crack their lineups. Who knows? Maybe Richards. Personally, I’d just be content though if our budding stars just cemented their spots... speaking about Parks, Hyndman, Green, Robinson, Horvath, Moore, Carter-Vickers, Miazga, McKennie, Palmer-Brown, Sargent, etc And can we please have a goalkeeper step up?
This was a thing earlier: Minnesota United taking strong interest in Philadelphia homegrown MF Derrick Jones, a US youth intl who made first start of year at Portland last weekend. Unclear whether a trade or maybe even a loan is realistic. #mls— Steven Goff (@SoccerInsider) August 8, 2018 It's been shut down by other reporters, but still notable.
LAFC could really use Jones. For a euro-based player, I'd go with Jonathan Amon. His minutes are virtually guaranteed.
That wasn't going to happen. The Union FO is way too high on Jones to trade/sell him within MLS. My guess is that Minny wanted Jones and cash for Ramirez and Chris Albright laughed at them.
I was just in London, and asked my cousin who is a Fulham fan about him... not sure he will get a single minute in league play this season unless he goes out on loan.
If Jonathan Amon has another good year I can easily see a bigger club snarfing him up. In fact, there was some media discussion in Scandinavia about that already. Lots of tools............. For our U20s right now Brady Scott at Cologne would seem to be that player. Probably won't break out this year, though. Also, its unclear how available he'll be for the U20s. After him, the pool is pretty shallow of guys that are likely to "break out" in a big way on a big stage. A guy we've only seen a little of for USYNTs so don't know much about is CJ dos Santos at Benfica. Its mostly NCAA and MLS guys in that pool. Some have talent like Justin Garces, but aren't likely to break out.
To me, Robinson could be the one that quickly becomes a full-time starter. Starting against today for Wigan against Aston Villa. 📰 TEAM NEWS: Two changes for Latics as @Callum1connolly and @cm_macca come in for Darron Gibson and @Gavinmassey92 who miss out through injury.👉 https://t.co/1jewms8MqD#wafc 🔵⚪️💚 pic.twitter.com/qNE2LSqvLx— Wigan Athletic (@LaticsOfficial) August 11, 2018
Your boy just scored AGAIN in Denmark. An under-the-radar (for some) possibility for a USMNT callup. MÅÅÅÅÅL!!! Haarup kaster et indkast langt til Yaw, der snitter bolden videre til Sabbi, der sparker bolden i mål! #HOBOB 1-0 pic.twitter.com/qtPuRI0H2f— Hobro IK (@hikfodbold) August 11, 2018
Is this a broken record? Your boy just scored AGAIN for Hobro. Absolutely fire to start the season. 28' MÅÅÅÅL!!!! Sabbi driver gæk med OB-forsvaret! Han dribler forbi 3 OB-spillere, hvorefter han sparker bolden i mål! #HOBOB 2-0— Hobro IK (@hikfodbold) August 11, 2018
There's been a lot of debate about who are the best 02's in the system. There doesn't seem to be any clear consensus about who the best '02 is. Its a rather bunched up year at the top with a lack of top-end talent. There are a bunch of names thrown around, whether its Bello, Scally, Las, Reyna, Busio, but the player who has made the biggest name for himself in the last couple of months is Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez. He scored 7 goals in 227 minutes at the recent academy playoffs. He had the most impressive playoffs of any player at the U-17 or U-19 levels. He also scored the only goal in a US win over Mexico on Monday. Ocampo-Chavez is a menace to defenses. He has tremendous skill, pace and movement, along with tremendous finishing that makes him near impossible to defend. He routinely makes defenders look very bad. He's not the tallest striker (about 5'9 or 5'10), but he has a decent target game and works hard. Seattle has done a relatively good job with bringing through the players from their academy, so he should have a chance to pick up some MLS minutes maybe as soon as next season. He's already on a USL contract, and I assume if they want to keep him from signing with a top European side, they'll need to offer him a first team contract pretty soon.
I’ve seen him play a few times (less than the other players) and I am impressed. For now, I’m sticking with Bello as the best player from this group if he can stay healthy, but I’m definitely keeping an eye on Ocampo-Chavez. I’m still not sure how he wasn’t starting for Seattle in the DA playoffs, but he was an immediate difference maker when he came on.
A better replay of that 2nd Sabbi goal. Fire.…………. Here's that second goal from Sabbi. Probably the best angle on it. pic.twitter.com/m2QpNVHtXL— scuffed (@scuffedpod) August 11, 2018
Wide gulf in ability, IMO. I know Serrano's a "name", but I think he's one of the "names" that isn't all that good. I think Serrano's somewhere in the 40-50 range in the age group. Ocampo-Chavez is competing for the top 5 spots. Good case for #1. Among Seattle 02's, I think Atencio is also comfortably better than Serrano. I also prefer Robles to Serrano, but thats definitely closer.