Take it for what it's worth. Its not my job to convince or not convince anyone. In the end, this is an opinion industry and there are no shortage of opinions. To be fair to the kid, there are some interested clubs. Just not the caliber of what our star kid in his age group should be. He is undoubtedly not as good as many here would lead you to believe, but he is good and he does have potential. He needs time and maturity, he will be a good pro.
Possibly but I need to see more from bello before I make that call. Not every player has the same projectory.
@bpet15 I disagree with your opinion of AC, but it sounds like you have a better perspective on his value and perception overseas. I am curious who, in your opinion, the top five U19 American prospects are in terms of value.
Please keep in mind that monetary value (or potential monetary value) doesn’t always equate to “being wanted” by a team, or actively going after a player. We don’t work on value, we work on potential and players that fit a specific need within a team. Some with big budgets and some with very small budgets. Your choice of words using “perception” is the key. What kids have to understand when actively being scouted is, it may take months to get on a list but only 45 minutes to get crossed off a list. You would be amazed at some of the things these teams look at. Performance on the pitch is only a part of it. As for players, I think Richards has a chance to be a starter at a Champions/Europa League club. Whether or not it’s in Munich at that level is up in the air. Bags of potential. Reyna and Bello have half the people that watch them drool. For me, Bello has the higher ceiling. Scally was the talk of the DA Showcase, but is far from a finished product. There are some lessor know players that have garnered some attention as well. Granitur in Orlando is thought of highly. The other one that always impresses, but hasn’t quite convinced yet is Malone in Seattle. I think mainly it is a size thing. Even with eyes on kids more than they have ever been, so much of this is a crap shoot. Right place, right time, right set of eyes and the right team have so much to do with it. A mid-table or relegation fighter scouts completely different than a top of the table team. Sorry if I didn’t completely answer you question, but I’m not in the business of ranking players. Most teams have a specific need, a list of potential players that could fit that need, and those are the the players we watch. There are some really highly “ranked” players that generate curiosity but it’s typcially just that. I will say that in Carleton’s case, he plays a position that very few clubs look to fill with North Americans, right or wrong.
I’m also one that believes he’s not the best player in our U18 talent pool. I think he’s in the top 5. I think Bello, Busio, Sargent are going to have better careers than Carleton based on what I’ve seen from all of them and the problems with Carleton’s attitude. It’s too early to tell though. Everyone thinks he’s been dynamite the times he’s gotten on the field for ATL, there’s been at least two games that he gave the ball away often due to poor passing / touch.
I know it’s what we do here in the US, but I don’t like the comparisons. Bello and Sargent are nothing like Carleton. Who has a better career has almost nothing to do with which one is the best player, and everything to do with who takes a chance on them and under what circumstances. Busio and Carleton are much more similar and probably have a similar trajectory. Busio has been lucky to be at SKC and already had some chances, Carleton hasn’t received the same chances. Not because Busio is better, but because SKC doesn’t have the attacking talent Atlanta does. When projecting players we should do it by position, not age.
Aha!! Yes, I was going to bring this up earlier, but wanted to hear you out a little more first. There have been several things working against AC moving to a big club : 1. Like you said, there is little confidence in him doing the things that he does at a higher level because he American. I think that is foolish and based on stereotypes that do not hold true with him. 2. You say it's not a big deal, but the fact that a team would have to go through negotiations to get him does add a layer that is not at all appetizing for a club. You mention a couple hundred thousand, but ATL's not going to take that shit. They will never be labeled frugal, and AC represents an amount of promise for the franchise that is almost unimaginable. What would the Union give to have Christian Pulisic in Philly? Why would Atlanta United get rid of Carleton for the type of money that even the most interested parties would realistically offer? [Side tangent: think of an MLS where teams led by Carleton/Bello/Goslin, Alvarez/Llanez/Mendez, Roberts/Richards/Pomykal/Servania/Ferreira, Reyna/Sands/Haak, Soto/Ledezma/Booth, etc. are running the scene. Obviously not happening, but would be fun -- especially considering that each of these teams would be able to load up on other good players due to the cap hit being low due to hg status. ] 3. MOST IMPORTANTLY: He didn't want to start his career in Europe. He has played around a bit in Europe, right? But, unless I am wrong, he always wanted to start his career in Atlanta. His hiring of a different agent is a change in posture, and maybe that means something. I am sure he is starting to get curious about what other opportunities are out there if Atlanta United continues to resist playing him... 4. Finally, what is his reputation right now? Many are turned off by his personality even before we start talking about the off the field issues, which have become alarming. Fortunately, him staying in ATL is not an issue at this point in his career. In fact, it's a great option (as long as there are not negative forces there that he needs to get away from). He's in a good team with good coaching and organization around him. He will be playing with the most talented team in the league and he will be allowed to play the style that he excels in and puts on a show with. I believe that he is an all star caliber player from the minute he steps on the field next year. I would rate him easily ahead of Adams but not by much. If he plays this way, which obviously is best case scenario, he will have a hot ticket to whatever league he wants to go to.
thats my point sort of but 'projectory' isn't really a word its trajectory and carletons is decidedly not as good as foden and jr.
Busio much riskier than Carleton!! Good player, but there is nothing special in him yet -- he is a unique player, but has major questions in just about every aspect of his game. Where there are a couple of potential pitfalls for AC, there might be a dozen for GB. This is the player who should be receiving questions about his physicality and end product, NOT AC.
This isn’t a knock on him. It’s not the fact that he’s American. Germans aren’t known for producing 10‘s, neither are African countries, or Asian countries. Here’s to hoping he can break the mold.
dude you are just off the deep end with this stuff now. busio is 16 lol he is allowed to have some physical issues when playing with guys 10 years older...carleton is apparently one of the elite prospects in the entire world and can't handle the usl...thats an issue.
I love it when this comes up the mythical worldwide conspiracy against americans. they won't sign american's because they don't want american's to be the 10 on their team lol. how about the one where keaton parks was signed but the club actually hates americans and thats why he isn't in the first team. they signed him so he can't get first team football anywhere lol.
Now that all the good people are done lecturing those who must be less moral than them, I think we have seen a lot of people patently disrespect Carleton on many fronts recently to an extent that doesn't happen to other American players. Its a free country and people are allowed to say any multitude of dumb things they want to. Professional athletes need to be able to handle armchair QB's trying to criticize them, but keep in mind that Carleton is a top level talent in our player pool. I don't think there's a good argument against him in that regard. There's a good chance that those who insisted on letting their emotions overtake reason in recent weeks are going to look really dumb. Lets see how all of this develops. The anti-Carleton camp has certainly grown larger of late. Will they stick to it or try to hide behind the mob mentality?
Very dramatic. It’s not anti Carleton to say doing dumb shit is bad for long term career success. Clearly he did something dumb. He has a lot of magic in those feet though so I hope he dials in consistent daily habits so he can get field time. Would be exciting to see him make it happen.
I'm pretty sure most of the people who know who Andrew Carleton is are pulling for him to be the best player he can be.
I am sold the mob mentality must end mls/us soccer must stand up for this player strip ATL of their title and their team immediately and kick the entire state out of mls forever and ban every member of the staff, fanbase, front office from mls/mls matches forever. strip josef of the mvp and give it to the real champion andrew over hype calreton