I see absolutely no reason Lima and Nerwinski both cant be in the pool. You want players for various formations and styles you want to play. Its not exactly like we are oozing right or left backs right now. Lima, Nerwinski, and Rosenberry are all guys that are worth looking at at these next friendlies and january camp. Assuming there is an age changeover, we are done with Lichaj, Chandler, and FJ. Yedlin is the only guy carrying over. We have spots available.
Picault has 2 goals and an assist in the first half vs. Orlando. He didn't get a look after returning to MLS, why again? Has had a great season and is faster than anyone in our pool save Yedlin and perhaps Morris. Sadly he'll be 31 come 2022 so unlikely he gets much of a look next cycle either.
Rhetorical question of the day...'why was X ignored and Zusi, Beasley, etc brought in again? ' The answer is in the minds of the genius' running the USSF and his hires.
CJ Sapong has to be gold guy exemption code 1 for the new class. all the dude does is score the goals. We need a CONCACAF Killer, and........he loks like he might be up for it.
Sapong is really on the borderline when it comes to age. He'll be 33 in '22. 31/32 during the hex. And he's not a great player who can lose a lot. On the flip-side, he has that lean, muscular body, and a physical game, that tends to age well. Too bad for everybody he wasn't integrated starting last Jan. camp, or at least at Gold Cup. There have been multiple points during his career where it seemed like it was the time but the manager just didn't call upon him. Initially he stagnated, but he's found new motivations it seems. Would be a shame if because of ignorance and timing he just didn't have any shot at an international career to speak of. Taylor was belaboring the point about the lack of striker depth in the pool, but that's just gahbage. Not only do you have Wood, Altidore, and Morris; who are proven commodities internationally. But then also floating around in the middle of the ocean are Dwyer (proven in MLS, looked good internationally), Sapong (looked good internationally), and Ramirez. Compare to the 2nd best team in CONCACAF, who are playing inferior players in MLS like Urena and Venegas, and they punked us personally. We're better individually at a good majority of positions than all teams in the hex but Mexico. Maybe we didn't create the leeway we should have, but talent isn't an excuse for not qualifying easily. Inferior management is the reason for that far and away. I didn't focus on the Seattle game, but got a few glimpses of Roldan winning balls and holding off a defender but barely missed a shot wide from outside the box. Whoscored rated him a strong 8. Finished the regular season as the top American in MLS in that metric at 6th place, and would have likely finished 4th ahead of Alessandrini and Piatti if not for playing through a broken arm. It looks like he's coping with it better now though. The #1 priority for immediate integration is Cristian Roldan. Another prime example of a gross failure in this department the last couple years. I think the amount of fans better dealing for him of '22 is shocking. He's a very reliable prospect to bet on for that, and has some upside with talent, versatility, and age. I'd pencil him into the starting lineup, personally. He'd be a superficially sexier selection if he played on the youth teams and was now in Europe. Should be in a couple years if our next manager doesn't suck in evaluating too.
31 is usually fine. Heck, 35 isn't necessarily too old. I just wouldn't want a whole team of players that age.
Sapong - sometimes you just have to know when to let go. Sargent will be 22 in 2022. So will Pulisic or 23 maybe. It's true that Tab had to dip down to a 17 yr old Sargent to bail him out at cf for U20's this year so there is that to consider. I'd definitely be interested to know if Danladi will be US eligible in 2022. Guy's got game. Hopefully Heath will dump Molino and use Danladi next year (he wont). As much as I like Ramirez, he'll be over 30 so not too old and not a good bet either. On the serendipity side, suppose Tim Weah suddenly makes a splash in Europe? It wouldn't surprise me. He had good soccer i.q./temperament. His dad is in the news http://www.informationng.com/2017/1...ad-liberia-presidential-run-off-election.html As for Roldan, the problem is his slow Seattle style transition in the middle third so you need somebody to balance that out. Delgado is the best bet. One alternative would be Carleton with 2 more defensive minded mids. I watched JGonzalez with Monterrey yday and they mucked up the lineup but, long story short, Jonathan is a central derfender/ball winner (his nickname is pacman). He's only 18 so we'll see how that changes. The big "if" will be McKennie. He has the platform; we'll see the performance in due course. The great thing about Roldan is that he plays well in the box in the attacking end. If the striker platoon is thin, it will be good to have mids who can score. In fact, that is why I make my lineups with 5 mids now, behind Pulisic + 1
There's no reason older guys like Sapong(28) and Picault(26) can't contribute next cycle even though they may age out by WC time. There will be plenty of games.
Forward pool: Wood, Ramirez, Silva, Dwyer, Morris, Manneh, Mullins, Sapong, Agudelo, Ebobissee, Sargent. A lot of unproven guys.
Any thoughts on some thread eligible players who could put themselves into the NT picture with a good playoffs? Of course we know which ones are already in the NT mix, but any players who could have a breakout playoffs? There are usually one or two every year.
I don't see how a couple playoff games would really improve on a season of work. I hope we see Rowe and perhaps all of Ramirez/Sapong/Dwyer November.
Altidore was if we're speaking about options during the hex. Still arguably should be part of the pool, but usage to that extent is dubious imo. Wood and Morris are proven. Sapong, Dwyer, and to a lesser degree Ramirez are on the managers. Sounders reported on Twitter that Roldan finished the season leading the MLS in tackles and duels won. Couldn't we have used someone like that? Still can.
With the US qualifying failure, I'm more intrigued by the managers than players in the MLS playoffs, especially since I fear Gulati will win another term as USSF President. Unless he falls in love with a big name international manager (hopefully not an imbecile like Klinsmann this time), I expect Gulati to recruit from the US soccer pyramid. -Vermes probably stands atop the pyramid of US managers, and he can cement that spot with a 2nd MLS Cup. -Tata Martino is the one true outsider, and he can win his 2nd league title outside of Paraguay. -Marsch can make a big statement by lifting MLS Cup, and Porter can make a bigger statement by lifting it a 2nd time -The other 8 managers are IMO either too unproven/early in their managerial careers, not good enough, or likely not interested (Vieira). I want either Atlanta or Toronto to lift the title. Atlanta and Martino lifting MLS Cup would be an immediate statement. As for Toronto, I don't view Vanney as a contender for the US job, and a Toronto victory will provide MLS a great villain since the team has Giovinco, Bradley, and Altidore.
If you lead the league in tackles as a 6 or 8, generally speaking you're doing your job better than anybody at those positions. Ball-winning is the #1 objective. We could have certainly used ball-winners throughout the hex when our midfield was regularly getting over-ran while we watched them. Seattle are the reigning champs, whose run last year pretty closely coincided with Roldan's emergence, this year they finished tied for most points in the west, and they were 2nd in the west in possession also. Not like they were unsuccessful and chasing the game to give Roldan more opportunities to win tackles. Duels I think are a 50/50 stat too, and he was league best in that too. All this reinforces the guy is just someone who reads the game well, can close, and succeed in the physical battles. Offensively, he's solid too. You aren't that high in overall rating as a midfielder for only your defensive work. Lacks a glaring weakness, with a few major strengths. Look at his WS breakdown for God's sake. He's listed as very strong in one area, strong in 7 areas (3 offensive, including passing), and weak in none. That's what my eye tells me too.
18 year old,Djordje Mihailovic. gets his first MLS playoff start at the 6 position with Dax McCarty tonight for the Chicago Fire.
I think he's probably playing as a #8. Might even overtake Juninho in the formation, could end up as the #10.
I think the NYRB flavors (Klestjan, Adams, and Davis) were sharp in the first half. Chicago's guys less so, but they were starting to come into the game there in the last 10-15 minutes. It's my first time watching Mihailovic, and I was surprised by how far forward he was venturing and his assertiveness at times (thinking in particular that one blocked shot from the top of the box). I was expecting him to be more of a solid 6, who played well enough, but hung back and deferred to veterans around him.
And Mihailovic might have just blown out his knee... On the plus side, Polster has been looking good getting forward from RB.
Now that this game is effectively over: --Klestjan and McCarty both were very influential for stretches, but both are probably too old to call up at this point. --Wasn't impressed much by Vincent, but Polster seems like he would at least be an upgrade on Zusi as the MLS backup to Yedlin. --Mihailovic looked pretty good. I hope his injury isn't bad enough to keep him out of January camp (if it happens). --Davis looked kinda good. He's probably a fringe January camp guy for me. --And saving the best for last, Adams might not be long for MLS. He seems to have grown by leaps and bounds since the beginning of the season. His motor is obviously great, but now he's making smarter decisions with the ball, doesn't get caught out of position often, and contributes at both ends.
Chicago Fire 2017 RIP Best soccer in MLS when Schweinie was playing. Takeaways for USMNT: Vincent isn't good enough. Best service we've got but cant defend. Memo to Pauvonic - you don't lose 3-0 with Polster in mid and Campbell in the box. Love me some Polster but he isn't a fullback. Adams can re-invent the outside back position for us. Suits and journos will wreck it for us by insisting that he should play midfield. Actually, the wb position in a 343 is actually as much mid as anything else. Pity. But the lessons to suits and journos will come dear, as we saw in Trinidad. Euros will continue saying Americans don't know soccer for the forseeable future. Looking forward to Vancouver v Quakes. I don't see Vancouver getting far with Tchani in mid. having said that , Quakes lineup is pretty timid.
I like Adams game more as a wing-back, also. If need be, he can always be thrown in there at CM, but he seems to play wing-back better.
Chicago always played the ball too slowly up the field and couldn't ball win. Also, Pauno's ethnic/backround biases were on full display between Juninho, Meira, and that Armenian dude. Paid dearly for it in the end. Schweinie or not, I expected them to lose this game against the younger legs, better 1-14 squad, and pressing game of RBNY. Adams really flies up that line, crosses well on the deck, times his runs, and sniffs out danger. He's growing into a pretty obvious future player for the senior nt, and fb or wb is precisely how I'd use him. Pointed out he did his best work when he ventured out there for the youth nt too. He's got a chance at cdm, but I question the physicality, play speed, and being able to see the field from there. Agree Vincent leaves plenty to be desired and think the reasons he gets bandied about are more so because he's left-footed and previous international inclusions. Lima is a much better player, even if it's a little out of position. Also concur Davis is kind of a borderline guy right now. Great motor but not particularly quick. Efficient passer but conservative. Plays fast but can't really take on players. Good shooter and crosser, but struggles to get those off. cm is a tough position for a US prospect to play now due to the comp. Too bad about Mihailovic. That looked like a blown knee ligament or two. He wasn't ready for senior nt duty yet, but nevertheless may have had a club and country future.