Anyone who thinks that Jones has stunk lately decided he was going to stink before the Mexico match. He was great against Mexico, and outside of the first 20 minutes, he was as good as anyone else on the pitch against CR.
Don't think anyone is saying Jones is a bad player...we're talking about Mix in this thread. But since you brought it up I'll disagree. Jones had a very bad first half and was at fault for a turnover that led directly to a goal and he failed to mark his man on one of CR's headers. Second half it was better because once CR took the lead the bunkered and eased up on the on-ball pressure. Jones seems to perform well for the USMNT on him soil, but lately it seems like he struggles a bit abroad for us.
OFFICIAL | Ulsan Hyundai have confirmed a signing of American midfielder Mix Diskerud on loan from Manchester City. #kleague pic.twitter.com/4KcZVatayC— Korea Football News (@KORFootballNews) July 17, 2018
A blog interviewed him (very briefly) when the K-League rumor first came up: http://www.taegukwarriors.com/interviews-mix-diskerud-alex-baumjohann/ It's just two questions, but his comments are quite revealing of the way he views and understands the mechanisms of international politics and the balance of power between nation-states - specifically how he applies them to interpret the current Asian geopolitical circumstances He says absolutely nothing about soccer. Literally not one thing.
He was more interested in living in NYC than playing football. Plus, he's just not a good fit for MLS. Much like how Freddy Adu isn't really a fit in MLS.
It's not an allegation. It's my opinion, this is a message board afterall. I base my opinion on just how he approached games and played most of the time. It was quite obvious that both Kreis and Viera did not feel Mix fit their systems of play. It's kind of obvious NYCFC brought him in to market the team to the US Nat fans in the City. In the end it did not work. http://www.empireofsoccer.com/mix-diskerud-says-he-understands-nycfc-exclusions-53610/ He also turned down transfers/loans in order to stay in NY.
nyc had other "marquee" stars that didnt fit with mix.....pirlo, lampard and mix together wasnt god enough defensively in the eyes of his coaches....and the star players get more benefit of doubt....nyc couldnt trade or bench pirlo or lampard as easily as mix. so, since mix refused to accept a lower salary or trade away from nyc....they blackballed him from the team. he was a victim of circumstances and easily couldve been a useful player in mls under different circumstances/on a different team.
Assist to LD in Columbus. Also he posted here, in a popular YA thread. But you're right, the hair is/was a big plus.
I believe it had its own twitter that was really popular at one time, when he scored as a substitute they mentioned it. I could be wrong though. He was coming up at a time when the US had no creativity in the final third, and showed some flashes that he could unlock a defense with his passing. I think that was his biggest draw as a player, but he bounced around positionally and NYCFC situation certainly didn't help. K-League may let his attacking flare come out again, but I don't know if that will help much internationally, though you never know.
His first answer is a nice and nuanced take on the geopolitical position of South Korea, even if it's a little verbose... I mean, we all love players who put the sport above all else, but his ideology is cool. There aren't too many players who would consider the geopolitical climate of the country they are moving to as a 'bonus'. I think that praising Park Jong-woo's political protest on the field speaks volumes about what Mix wants to do with his career, and more power to him. Nothing wrong with using your sporting gift to travel the world and learn as much as possible while you're young. I look forward to reading his first op-ed in Foreign Affairs after he retires from the sport.
In his 16 games before Pirlo and Lampard made their debuts Mix had scored 2 goals with no assists. In his first 16 games this season Maxi had scored 6 goals and had 7 assists. That's the sort of return you expect from an attacking midfielder.
Since every other factor is unchanged, I dare say that you've managed to solve it! Well done, old chap. Well done, I say!