My comment has nothing to do with his height. He can't get separation which means he lacks initial quickness..... he just doesn't have it.
He’s shown well in his MLS and international showings. The talent and potential is there, the trust and playing time isn’t. Our team would find a way to screw up even the best players in the league.
He certainly isn’t a protagonist. By now with all of his chances and hype, he should be a full fledged starter. I don’t know how much longer he would want to sit on a bench. A lot of guys coming out of college turn into starters at that age so he should get his chance soon. If he stays around as a sub for another year, either he or the coach will give up. I’d like to see him go abroad to sharpen his skills. That could help him gain confidence.
I disagree, i think TT would be too old to get playing time abroad unless he goes to a low 2nd div or a 3rd div. and if he did that, he may as well go USL.
A lot of guys coming out of college would be TT’s current age and don’t usually start right off the bat. So he’s ahead of the curve in that aspect
Not quite. TT would be 24 next fall when European leagues start (born in 1995). I just finished reading Sebastian Abbot’s “The Away Game”, and all the Aspire African kids who were born in 1994-1995 were pretty much out of the European game by 2016 except one. My point was that I don’t think going to Europe at 24 would do anything for TT’s confidence, it would probably just help him realize he better go back to school.
USL isn't as good as most 2nd and 3rd divisions in Europe. If MLS is considered to be the same level as a 3rd or average 2nd tier level, the USL will probably be a 4th or even 5th tier. By some the games I saw, it could even be a lower level than that by comparison. There are exceptions but as a rule, 23/24, isn't young. Steve Birnbaum was a 23 year old rookie in 2014 after finishing his 5th year at Cal Berkeley. He was the second player taken in the draft that year and became captain of DC United and relinquished it to Wayne Rooney this year. His teammate at Cal who was given a GA contract coming out early and was drafter 3rd, right after Birnbaum. He is now 25 years old and in his 4th year as a pro and doesn't even have 17 full MLS games (with two clubs) to his name. The 4th player in that draft was Steve Neumann retired 2 years ago and our own JJ Koval picked 9th overall was out of the game at age 24.
Seriously, how much more time does Tommy need to grow? He is a 5th year pro and if he does in fact need more time and game day experience , in this losing crap season, shouldn’t he start now?
So Tommy needs a coach and other, better players around him to get better? That sounds like the Quakes same song and dance since 2008....
Before the Dallas game I saw TT on the concourse pregame in street clothes talking to someone I presumed was a fan.
What happens when our own @Lili_Thompson1 takes on @tomthom11 of the @SJEarthquakes in a game of HORSE? 🏀⚽️ pic.twitter.com/g8ad6iTGNt— Harlem Globetrotters (@Globies) January 11, 2019
i do too, he seems to be becoming a professional celebrity. But this video is actually pretty remarkable - not just by Tommy but by his competitor too. I had no idea TT was a basketball player, but he seems to have a pretty high level of skill! If Quakes don't pan out, maybe he could become the soccer player on the Globetrotters
That was pretty fun. Is this finally his year? You know maybe one blessing in disguise, if he really does have it and has to end up somewhere besides San Jose to show it... he doesn't have a lot of mileage on him and could end up with a pretty long career.
TT will do good things for us if we give him minutes. If we don't want to give him minutes then I hope he gets traded to a team that's smart enough to give him minutes.