I'll take a different stance. I think Weah is a player who transitions to higher levels better and doesn't necessarily run the show if he goes down a level. It's like how the NBA drafts guys from college who weren't necessarily that good but had great athleticism, and that helps them translate. I actually think he's playing pretty well for himself, it's just that he's not a transcendent talent at this level, but that doesn't hurt his level with the full national team.
Weah has scored this year against St. Mirren and St. Johnstone, two SPL teams that are below MLS level.
shhhhh its important to avoid negative facts it hurts peoples feelings. Weah thinks he is going to get minutes at PSG next season lol. I mean celtic just won their third domestic treble in a row...the league is't competitive and isn't talented. Can't tell you how unimpressed I am by a couple goals from the by far best team in that league. He needs a new club and it might not be a top 5 league team but he needs to get minutes and play well. the idea that he should get a pass to the full national team based on a random friendly is crazy. He hasn't shown much this season.
It isnt clear SPL or those teams are below MLS. You and others knock the league, but MLS players dont have a great track record in that league recently.
This is why I want our top players playing with their age group. We need more difference makers. I would rather they have the chance to carry the team than being a role player with the full team. If Weah cant figure out how to dominate at this level, it unlikely he will figure out how to do it at a higher level where his physical advantages will not be as large.
Which ones out of curiosity? Players who who were in MLS prior to arriving in the SPL are listed below. Polster has only just arrived, so I am guessing you are insinuating Kitchen. 1. Run DMB 2. Carlos Bocanegra 3. Maurice Edu 4. Perry Kitchen 5. Matt Polster
I think you are confusing the cause with the effect. a kid playing with his age group isn't going to make him magically figure out how to dominate if he doesn't have it. the difference makers need to be with the senior team they can't afford to save kids for some later date.
I am not confusing anything. This tournament is a wake up call for Weah. It could have been an opportunity for Adams to captain the side and Sargent to better his output from 2017. These tournaments provide room for a lot of development. Instead we will get smoked by France, Adams will play right back in the GC, and Sargent will be met with mental challenge of sitting behind Zardes. Our players our too good for this tournament yet Adams is the only one who would have a chance starting for France?
I said recently so obviously talking about Kitchen and Polster. Edu was the only other on this list that went straight to the SPL. The first three were national team players. Kitchen and Polster are MLS starter that some wanted us to believe were really talented. How much time does Polster need to get his bearings? If the league is so poor, it should take less than half a season.
You do know Polster wasn't a starter last year? I mean I know you have said in multiple threads you don't follow MLS so I am not sure how you actually know about the quality of the league or its players. He was largely out with a serious knee injury. He has had a history of knee injuries over the past three years and consequently, he was a middling starter who had played subsequently fewer matches every season in the league. Kitchen was a middle of the road MLS starter who went to captaining an SPL team until they hired a new manager halfway through 16-17 who benched him. Afterward, they only won 5 of their next 22 matches. The manager was subsequently sacked after the team tanked.,
this is below adams at this point; he literally would start for the senior team right now if they had a match. He isn't a u20 player. sargent is 50/50 but having already played in it its not a huge deal and 'bettering his output from 2017' in a youth tournament isn't a thing people need to do. these tournaments do provide a chance to improve but if you go threw most of the teams there are very few players getting anywhere near the kind of minutes adams is in germany he doesn't need this tournament to get better he needs better competition.
Well, yeah. Seeing as they're France (multi-time World Cup winners) and we're the United States, they have better players and a better team than we do. Adams has no shot at starting for France. The players that can't get into the French team currently have a better resume for inclusion than Adams. You starting Adams over N'Golo Kante or Paul Pogba or Matuidi of Juventus and the list goes on. They have their own cadre of young central midfielders about to break thru as well like Tanguy Ndombele of Lyon. Weah has improved A LOT over the last 3 years. When he was first playing for USYNTs we thought he was only there because his last name got him thru the door. There were even some that thought that when he was named to our 2017 U17 World Cup squad. Then he played on a big stage, started doing well, and attitudes have changed. He's still only 19 and not the finished article. He needs to improve a lot in order to be an important player at a big club like PSG. He knows it. We know it. Everybody knows it. Maybe its more likely that he becomes a starting caliber player at a mid-league club like Nantes or Rennes. Or a Celtic for that matter. Right now, that type of player is still a USMNT-caliber player. Tim Weah already has 8 full USMNT caps. Same number of caps as players like Eddie Gaven and Justin Mapp had. He was actually the first player born in the 2000s to get a full USMNT cap. I know people have crowned Josh Sargent, but he's scored two first team goals. One of them was 6 inches out. And he lost his place in the first team over the second half of the season. He's yet to really accomplish anything either. Let's not go crazy here...................
If anyone I'd going crazy, it is you. I am talking about the u20 tournament a developing players that can compete at the highest level. I am not anointing anyone and suggesting if a player cant dominate at this level it is unlikely they will dominate at the senior level. The only reason I mentioned Adam's is because while I know they are extremely talented, I dont know what the France u20 team has for dmids. I do know they have enough attacking talent that Sargent wouldnt start for that team and likely wouldnt make the team. I am not saying that Weah wont be useful for the usmnt. It is that he likely wont be a top level player for us. Being on par with Gaven and Mapp arent something to be that excited about. They are part of a long list of American players that were no where near their hype and didnt come close to reaching their potential. You wanted France and we got them without 3 of our most talented age eligible players. Based on how we have played this tournament, it wont be pretty. The only thing we will learn is something everyone should already know... we have a very long way to go to compete regularly with the big boys.
I dont follow it closely. I watch enough of it. Garber and the leagues employees really turned me off from it. I could get more interested if they really became a selling league and started developing young American players in numbers. For now, I am much happier watching a 4 minute all touch video of Pomykal than having to sit through 90 mins of a poorly played game. MLS fans are the ones intent on trying to compare leagues. I think it is a waste of time and even worse, a way to exaggerate the quality of MLS. If regular MLS starters struggle in other leagues, I find it hard to claim MLS is on the same level or even better. Are you saying that Polster didnt play at Rangers because of his injury? He was very much a starter in MLS. He started over 70 games in the previous 3 seasons. Here is what Marketing League Soccer's website has to say about him... Polster's transition to right back from center midfield emerged as an integral part of the Chicago Fire's 2017 run. But even in this more defensive role, his midfield instincts served him well as he tallied a career high 7 assists. He will be an important piece for Chicago in 2018.
France is France. Portugal is Portugal. Argentina is Argentina. They're better than us. Always have been. When you get to this stage of a tournament you're going to face a good team. We came up against France in the 2013 U20 World Cup. A loaded France team with 10 players that have gone on to play for the senior France team. Quite a number are now World Cup winners. Was the final score 12-0? Even 3-0? No, the final score was 1-1. Our goal was scored by Daniel Cuevas, who was last seen playing for the Sacramento Gold of the NPSL. So we aren't afraid of them. We go at them and do our best. If we lose, then we lose. And we do learn a lot by losing. The players learn a lot by failing. That's true in any walk of life. You learn nothing by sitting at home afraid to play the big boys because it might be ugly.
I listened to the Scuffed podcast yesterd and BShredder discussed how this bunch is very offensive oriented and have trouble trying to play a defensive game. I hope Tab puts out an offensive lineup and they are allowed to play. If we lose then then I'm OK with it. If we lose because we're trying to bunker or something I won't be a happy camper.
Do you feel the same way about the senior team as well or just because this is a developmental tournament?
I stated specifically he was a middling starter who had injury problems (knee injuries) who had barely played in 2018. We will see how it shakes out for him at Rangers. He only made one appearance but frankly that doesn't surprise me given the injury history and adjustment time typically needed for a first time Yank Abroad. As far as why he is not playing much at Rangers, well this is what their manager stated: "It is a big, big change for him so we had to get him used to the dressing room, get him used to Rangers and the pressure of Rangers. "He has settled down really well, has performed really well in the reserve team and the idea was always to get him in before the end of the season and then get a strong pre-season into him to get him ready for next year. "He is a good player - I think he might surprise a few.” Frankly, your personal opinion on the MLS front office seems to make you incapable of conducting unbiased analysis on anybody in that league. Even just using a term like Marketing League Soccer, shows you can't do it. You obviously don't watch many MLS matches by your own admission. It makes it difficult for posters who follow MLS and other leagues closely to value your input on MLS.
I think(and this isn't just an american't thing) but there is this strange trend at every position to basically look at what a player gives on the offensive side. I mean it started with neuer and its trickled to every other position. It wasn't about his ability to stop shots but his ability to distribute, get up the pitch, sweeper keeper etc. People even do it with a guy like de ligt they list how many goals he's scored which is fun but teams need cb to...defend. Oh this u20 team you see guys gloster and dest way up the pitch which is fun but there is little rotation behind them and they leave the team very vulnerable. When these two have been forced to defend consistently they've struggled. When these twitter scouts talk about them they use phrases like 'love him going forward'....he is a fullback can he defend? The issue with dest right now is that he can't defend...thats a problem. my point is that this is a really offensive team because of guys like that 'who are great getting forward'. the other issue is that this team needs guys like paxton and mendes on the ball as much as possible not dest wondering looking for a highlight. oh and yes I am saying the goal with gloster is a bad thing because he wasn't great defensively during the match but because of that one run he gets a high grade despite not playing well with the skill thats supposed to be his top priority, defense.
Who is afraid and avoiding anyone. I'd like us to take our best players, win our group, and have an easier path to the semis where we would play the tougher teams. In your scenario, we likely only get 4 games and one tough team. In mine, we have a better chance of getting 7 games and two tough teams.
he starts for a champions league club they literally were desperate to get him fit to play in the pokal final. he is above the u20 tournament is he is a starter for the senior team. He is a better right back then yedlin, he's likely to get a shot at the 6 in the next two years he isn't a u20 player. naive would be replying to almost every post and start one of those with 'if anyone is going crazy, its you'; you are down to name calling its pretty crazy. there are now 24 posts just on this page...you are 7 of them that is a lot I mean you are literally disagreeing with three different people. new info...you literally posted again while I was typing this making it 8 out of 25.