I haven’t followed Haji’s career too closely but can someone provide me some assurance that he isn’t just another “strong and fast athlete” that we’re so accostumed to producing. Does he actually have superior skill or is he mainly relying on athleticism to score goals?
Wright is very athletic but there's a lot more to his game than that. He has bags of technical skill, and is comfortable dribbling and finishing with both feet. What Schalke seems to be waiting for is for him to wrap his head around the game and maximize his impact. Despite his clear physical advantages he never seems to dominate lesser opponents in the way you'd expect a tall, fast player would. He's got all the pieces but he hasn't put them together yet.
He has never been strong. He's very frail, guys five inches shorter than him routinely push him off the ball, its been that way for years. He shies away from contact, watch him play and thats very obvious. He's very fast, but I have always argued that he was never the early developing athlete who will struggle later on that people suggest. Instead, I have said he's a good soccer player who is athletic that could be a much better player eventually than he currently is. His biggest obstacle is that he's rather raw for someone with his talent. He absolutely has the same level of soccer talent as Pulisic, McKennie, Palmer-Brown, but he's farther away from his ceiling than all those guys. Those who watched him and McKennie on the same team last year said McKennie put in good, solid performances, but he wasn't dominant, just a very good player who always gave you a high level. They said that Wright had some unbelievable performances that the overwhelming majority of footballers are not capable of, yet he also had some performances where he didn't play his best. And thats not to say he was flat out bad when he wasn't his best. At the end of the season, you tally up the stats and performances, and he was very good because he's a good footballer, he just wasn't consistent in showing his best level. If he can iron out some of the problems with his game that one could classify in the mental department of the game (decision making with the ball, work rate, shying away from contact, trying to only score finesse goals instead of playing in a way where he'll score more of the dirty goals), he has the talent to be a world star. He probably has a higher ceiling than any other American player because his biggest problem is something that is the easiest to fix (usually comes with experience and maturity), meanwhile some others who we regard as similar or better level players have tough obstacles in their way from improving certain areas of their games. And maybe he doesn't get to his ceiling, not every player will, but he should be a very good player, regardless, and has already shown progress in this area.
From the small sample I've seen of him, he appears to be a guy that is waiting for the game to slow down for him. Pulisic has the game crawling in front of his eyes right now. If Haji ever gets to that point, his skills will be on full display.
Starts Mit folgender 1⃣1⃣ gehen wir heute gegen den @VfLBochum1848eV an den Start! #BOCSVS #SVS1916 pic.twitter.com/4NdWVoDhbr— SV Sandhausen 1916 e.V. (@SV_Sandhausen) October 14, 2017
Sandhausen had 0 shots in the first half, seeing none of the ball. This referee must also be a Bochum fan, he's contributing to the one-sidedness of this match.
And they lost 1-0. He was okay, did well with the target work and pressing today. Getting much better than that, but absolutely zero service once again. He got unlucky I thought where he won a header in the box directed towards the far corner and it skimmed the top of the head of a player going towards goal, the defender and keeper were helpless, probably scores if it doesn't take that slight deflection. And then his only other reasonable chance to score was on a breakaway, but Holer took way too long to pass, and by the time he made the pass it was behind Wright and the breakaway was gone. Holer's like a Wondo, does absolutely nothing but poach goals, so unhelpful to a team when he's not poaching goals. He did nearly have a nice assist cutting inside and finding a teammate, but that guy hit the post. He moved out to the wing when they were bringing in more attacking players late. Tough sledding in this team, but he's keeping up, and showing some improvements. If we count friendlies, I believe he has 2 goals in 10 games, which is okay enough for a young striker. Its not easy to influence games as a striker in a team with no creativity. Its a big help for his development though for him to be getting this game time.
Well he only has one goal this year but it's still a good sign that the coaching staff keep starting him as a loan player.
He has one in a friendly. The friendly was against a team in the Bundesliga though, so thats probably even better than scoring in the 2. Bundesliga.
He's starting as a loanee in a club not known for favoring loanees & the fans are ok with him. Can't ask for more at this point.
As I've mentioned, he's really getting absolutely no service. Schalke fans have started complaining about that in their reviews of how he's playing. I don't think he has a shot in like 4 or 5 games, just really nothing there. The first few games he got some service, and was unlucky to not have 2 or 3 goals. Since then, 0 service. Sandhausen has no creativity in their team. The only reason they aren't terrible is because they defend well, they have only allowed 8 goals so far this season. Its the smallest professional club in German football, they've only paid a transfer fee four times in their club's history.
He can play better with better teammates. I remember when he scored a hat-trick with Schalke 1st during the pre-season in 18 minutes of work.
Latest news says that "the best" Sandhausen striker (read: Lucas Holer) would not be participating in next St. Pauli match. https://www.rnz.de/sport/svsandhaus...emiere-ohne-besten-stuermer-_arid,310834.html Wish Wright would get more services and prove his value