Parks and recreation in Lisbon: Keaton at NYCFC (on loan from Benfica)

Some of those players he's not really competing with. Aaronson is primarily an a-wing, and Dotson is a lb/6. Those are weak spots for the cycle, unlike 8/10, which is what Parks is. He'll be competing w/ Pomykal, Mihailovic, maybe Ferreira and Servania.

And hard to say he's accomplished much more than any # of guys considering in the grand scheme of things since he's still produced a small sample internationally and for clubs in respectable leagues, although I'm fairly optimistic off what I've seen.

Who is claiming he shouldn't be on the Olympic Qualifying team? Don't think there's dispute in that regard. He wasn't in that roster because NYCFC does view him as important right now and they don't play ball w/ the fed. I'd pencil him to start even, but there's serious question if he'll be available in March too.

 

I think if Benfica move him in January he won't be there, but if he's riding pine as first team depth (entirely possible given Benfica's injury issues at midfield right now), they'll probably let him go.

 

Okay, that's fair. But I'm not sure how he's accomplished "much more" than the others per the poster I quoted.

 

Parks has been around a producing for years, too. More career minutes and goals at a decent level and first team minutes for Benfica.

I’m not saying Mendez, Dotson, and Aaronson are bad players per se (I haven’t seen as much of Dotson as the others) but if they get selected over an available Parks it will be a joke. I still see soccer writers talking about possible rosters and leaving Parks off.

 

He got token minutes with Benfica, and by his second year with Benfica B, he was losing minutes.

I like what Keaton has done at NYCFC, but he's like a lot of Americans in MLS -- he's playing well but hardly tearing it up. I don't think his time at Benfica elevates him over some of the other options by "much more."

I think Keaton should probably get a look -- it's hard to argue he's much different than Jackson Yueill.

But I also don't think the fact that he played a little at Benfica B -- and not well enough for them to really keep him there -- makes him better than guys he's performing at an equal level to right now.

 

1 goal and 1 assist in 1,252 MLS minutes as a CM is nothing notable, truth be told, but he's helped enough in the build-up. Very doubtful it's going to get Benfica's attention though. At this point it'd be good for him if Benfica gets to an agreement with MLS and he's transferred.

 

That’s not even remotely true though. His overall numbers were down that half season in Benfica B but he was being asked to do totally different things. No one was beating him out. He was competing for a spot on the Benfica bench and got beat by future superstars in Gedson and Florentino.

Also his game has some clear differences from Yueill. I like them both and they could easily be part of a 3 man midfield together.

 

Don't get me wrong, I like the kid. I just think his defensive deficiencies are his Achilles heel that will prevent him to get to the next level. Sure he scored today after he made a beautiful pass but let's not forget it was his man that came from behind to make the cross for San Jose to get the opening score. I actually expected more from him when he was loaned to NYCFC.

 

He didn't track that runner for the cross. But I have see times where he has. If Egg is serious about his play style for the USMNT he is going to need guys like Parks and Mendez.

 

Keaton was named MotM in stadium. He won the ball back far more than I’ve ever seen him even attempt.

All in all, I think it was his best performance of the season. Several times, he opened up SJ with a pass or a nice dip of the shoulder and surge forward. He’s a really fun player to watch. I think his quality comes through more in person than on tv.

As for the US, I completely agree that he should be getting looks if GB is going to continue to insist on this style.

 

When I watched the NYC/RBNY game a couple weeks ago, I was actually pleasantly surprised by Parks' defensive game (but I was coming in with very low expectations). He certainly isn't a crunching tackler, and his languid style doesn't lend itself to really pressing and harrying guys, but he seems like one of those guys who reads the game well and has long legs, so he gets a foot in to poke balls off a guy's foot or gets a foot out to break up a pass more than you'd expect.

 

https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2019...iet-teammates-trash-talk-after-first-mls-goal

 

Parks is a different beast than the typical American "cookie-cutter" player. He has verve when most young Yanks don't even have swerve. He has presence when most young Yanks struggle to rise above their teammates heads.

 

Keaton Parks vs. SJ Earthquakes: pic.twitter.com/N1yhuyN9mC

— Coach Sky (@CoachSkyPurdy) September 16, 2019

 

He's a smart player, which is, let's be honest, a rarity in our pool, even among our Yanks Abroad.

 

Crunching tackles are like 25-yard golazzos: they make the highlights and they give us something to marvel at, but they're not much/any more effective than poking the ball off Messi's foot or a knee-poke in the box that's deflected in off the CB's backside. When Cryuff was coaching he never expected that his midfielders had to be good tacklers, just that they chose the right opponent for the 1v1, closed off his options and denied him space and time to find a good alternative. The turnovers would follow soon after that.

 

Couple things I can say after watching that video. The kid must feel that he died and went to heaven with all that greenspace to play with in the middle of the park. Either San Jose is truly awful, they have no central mid who is worth a nickel or MLS is just bang terrible, because KP could have stopped and stood on the ball for about 3-4 seconds before anyone could have challenged him in many instances in those highlights.

The kid is physically gifted, he should be doing more with what he has. I don't think Portugal is ever going to be the place for him. It will never force him to realize his physical characteristics. If he ever added a physical game in addition to his technique and vision, watch out. He could be one of the best.

 

San Jose plays a high risk, high reward defensive system that man marks across the field except one free safety, so to speak. Players immediately counter press upon losing the ball. It can really frustrate teams and create tons of offensive chances for San Jose -- just look at their shot counts in a lot of games this year.

But if San Jose gets tired, or if someone gets lost, or if the other team is just much more talented (LAFC, for example), it's something that can be ripped apart. The game against NYCFC was a little bit of each.

 

He is still a young man and growing into his large frame. He has some hardening up ahead of him. Let's see if he can add that Texas tough to his repertoire.

 

Hmm...I saw him take on and beat his man a lot, which he had obviously been instructed to do. NYCFC is very adept at spreading the field, so he often had plenty of room to run after getting by one guy, due to SJ (as others pointed out) using a high-pressure, man-marking system.

I was at the match, and he was definitely not being left alone. He is great at making himself available for a pass, and he's really freaking good on the dribble. Once he has control of the ball, it's hard to take it off him without fouling (which you can't really do if it's within 30 yards because Mitrita's freekicks are missiles).

 

Lol, Keaton and Ibeagha were at Hot 97 this morning for Ebro in the morning... it's not a good interview, but lets savor the sight of Parks occupying the same seat as many a rapper:



Again, interesting that a loanee is doing press for NYCFC.

 

Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems to me NYC’s fortunes did a 180 starting around the time Keaton started playing.

 

I thought the unbeaten streak started before he was a regular but continued with him.

 

They've been good all year, though early on they were just tying everyone. I think Heber is really the player who has transformed that team.

Keaton has played well from the few games I've seen, but there's quite a few players more crucial than him to that team. Plus, I think Dome's system took a while to shift over to but began to click.

 

Thanks for setting me straight guys.