Starts: Die Aufstellungen für das Halbfinal-Rückspiel #S04FCB. #FCBU19 #packmas #JungeMeister2017 pic.twitter.com/3J0sFyzcdz— FC Bayern Campus (@fcbayerncampus) May 16, 2017
This is why having your defenders aimlessly clear the ball very time it comes to them is never a good strategy
Also made his penalty when it was 3-4 with one round remaining. Not an easy situation, could easily tune out, and miss it, not giving your keeper a chance to save the last one.
Taitigue was no 7 right? He had some great moves. All and all that was a very impressive youth game wow.
I think there might now be a chance that Haji gets a competitive game debut on Saturday with the first team. They have absolutely nothing to play for. A lot of teams in that position will give academy players a debut. The same might apply to Weston (but if he goes to the U-20 WC now it doesn't). I have no clue if they'll do that, but I think there might be a chance.
Blew a 4-1 aggregate advantage with a flurry back line breakdowns in the span of about 5 minutes. Haji set up the go ahead goal and then they blew it again and lost in penalties.
I thought McKennie dominated the first half and then spent the second half trying to make up for a back line that looked lost and disinterested. Still looked pretty good tho. He did inexplicably leave his man and went to guard the goal on the third Bayern goal and left 3 players unguarded in the box, but it was actually one of the guarded players who scored. The CBs almost seemed determined to NOT play defense today. I thought Taitague looked really good. He doesn't look like he has a natural sense of how to play the wing, but he's really good on the ball and plays with confidence and has a good work rate. Bayern did a good job of surrounding Haji with defenders. Schalke tried to clear almost every single ball from the back in the second half. It left Haji trying to play the ball into space around 3 defenders and worked about as well as you'd expect. He did have a couple really nice plays where he won the ball and/or drew fouls. He assisted on the second goal and it was a fantastic cross. His movement off the ball wasn't very good for the game but neither was anyone else on Schalke. He doesn't have the best sense of when to take the ball and attack or when to make a simple pass. But he did a decent job of pushing forward and pressuring the defense by himself. Overall, I think it was a good, not great, performance from all 3 of our guys.
I'm usually less critical of Haji than some on here, but one thing I think he really needs to work on is the ability to hold guys up. Seems like he's still getting used to his size and doesn't really know how to use it yet.
That's a great point, there was a moment late in the game when with his back to goal he tried to flip it over his head rather than just then using his size and strength to turn. It's really interesting to see considering how athletic he is, he almost pulls some of this stuff off.
I think he's getting a lot better at that actually. In the last two games, I saw him draw a number of fouls just from using his size. In terms of something he needs to work on with using his physical ability, he needs to be more willing to win headers.
I have had limited observations of this Schalke team, but Wright fascinates me in that his game is so asynchronous with his physical attributes. His technical ability is impressive, but at his height you would think he would better in the air more physically dominant. McKennie is head and shoulders above him in aerial ability. The good thing is that while you can teach positioning, timing, and aggression (to a certain extent) but all the coaching in the world won't make a player bigger or taller. Wright's technical skills and physical provide a solid foundation for him to develop the weaker aspects of his game. I can't help but be happy to watch the 3 Americans play together; they have very complimentary play styles, and that chemistry and rapport they're building will hopefully pay off for the MNT down the road.
I like Haji in what I've seen so far- hope he gets a chance to play at a higher level next year and show that he can hack it. He seems ready to move above this level.
I think he needs a bit more....he's learning at a good pace right now, I think a loan move would be great for him to continue his progression. He's not ready for Bundesliga ball yet, but he has the potential to be a big time player. Needs a loan spell to work on a few things first in my opinion
Officially a 1st teamer. #Weinzierl: "Luke #Hemmerich, @HajiWright and @WMckennie from the U19s will all be moved into the first team squad." #s04 pic.twitter.com/XteOk3XmG1— FC Schalke 04 (@s04_en) May 18, 2017
As someone who absolutely railed on Haji the last few years i am proud of him. Another proof point as to why our best players need to go to Europe. Well done Haji.
I think you evaluate that on a player-by-player and club-by-club basis, but I absolutely agree with you that going to a top academy in Europe was the perfect situation for a player like Haji. The level of competition, training and professionalism at a place like Schalke is exactly what he needed. He always had a high ceiling with great athleticism and technical skills but needed to improve tactically and be pushed to work a little harder on and off the field. From recent comments in the press, it seems like that's exactly what has happened. While he still needs to continue to grow in these areas, it looks like he's on the right track. Like you said, well done Haji!