The coaches see these players every day in training and practice/reserve games. Victor Pineda has been injured.
Yes, but that doesn't make them infallible, as we saw once McInerney finally got a chance to play regularly. And Okugo, Agudelo, Shea, etc.
No but McInerney got chances. So did Okugo, Agudelo, and Shea. If you're trying to make the point that there is some U-21 player right now that is not playing that should be I'd ask who?
Through the first 11 games of 2012, Okugo had 1 start and McInerney had 0. That's not much of a chance. Then Nowak got fired, and they promptly showed they were ready to be regular starters. As for Agudelo, he debuted in the 2010 playoffs after sitting out an entire season and was immediately one of the best players on the field. And Shea's play in limited opportunities in 2009 left people pulling their hair out as to why he wasn't on the field more. The point is more that there are dozens of U21s not getting a chance to play, and if you want to know what they can really do, you've got to give them more of a chance. Not long ago, injuries forced Canadian U21 Russell Teibert onto the field for Vancouver, and he turned a game on its head. Also, it was only due to injuries (and other absences) that Villarreal, McBean, Yedlin and Jean Baptiste got their chances earlier this year, too. It's a poor approach to development that holds unproven players back until enough veterans get hurt.
None of what you posted suggests some sort of MLS-wide conspiracy that U-21 players aren't getting a shot. A change of management and injuries always leads to opportunities for players. That is hardly new.
Where on earth are you getting an MLS-wide conspiracy from? I responded because you made a blanket statement that all the young players in MLS who are good enough are playing. Based on what we've seen recently, I think that's unlikely to be true.
The trend there is super super clear (even in Portuguese) in terms of number of World Cup players that play in their home country. Its dropping steadily. I'd say it'll have to level out soon though.
I agree with both of you to an extent. I will say that one factor which I think USVI is trying to allude to is that perhaps it isn't that these players aren't being given enough of an opportunity and large enough sample size to show how good they truly are, but that just like players of all ages and nationalities, certain players thrive under certain managers and systems. It could be that they aren't getting enough time under the current regime, or it could be that it takes a management change in the first place for them to show their potential as solid U-21 prospects. To how much of an extent this happens with our young guys is obviously hard to say, but I just wanted to throw that in since I'm not sure you guys really disagree with each other as much as your posts are suggesting, but I'm also not sure your full opinions are being laid out on the table. I also think that there are likely a couple U-21 American prospects on MLS rosters who would shine if given the opportunity, but that could also have to do with "seizing the moment" so to speak, and I doubt it is exclusive to the age of the player...we see guys do this all the time (26 year old Lamar Neagle in Seattle, most recently). Anyway, carry on.
It bears emphasis that only eight teams reach the group stage of this competition, so England's showing isn't exactly cause for alarm. In fact, there are only two teams in all of UEFA that reached the group stage in both 2011 and 2013: Spain and England. And in the previous edition of this competition (2009), England reached the final for the first time since 1984. If anything, their youth performances are looking up. At the end of the day, England doesn't need the Premier League to offer opportunities to young players. It has plenty of stable lower-division clubs where they can cut their teeth. That's obviously a bit different from the situation here in the US.
This is pretty accurate. I just don't see there being a large # of US U-21's not getting opportunities. MLS doesn't have very deep rosters and with all the shit that happens midseason (injuries, transfers, intl. callups, etc.) if your manager thinks you are good enough you likely get some time.
These numbers are fantastic, but the Rapids' number looks slightly off. I get about 67.5% of minutes through their 14th game going to US-eligible players. I believe the non-US players are: AHarris (St Kitts and Nevis), DBrown (Jamaica), HThomas (Honduras), DMwanga (DR Congo), DCalderon (Ecuador), MRivero (Argentina), KHarbottle (Chile), JSmith (Scotland), SCeus (Haiti), BGriffiths (Jamaica), GMera (Colombia). Also: JCastrillon (Colombia, out injured thus far this season) Mwanga supposedly expressed interest in the USMNT at one point, so maybe he is eligible. That would bring the number to 70.8%.
Even though Ceus represents Haiti, I believe that he was born and raised in the US, so I'd be inclined to count him, too. As for Mwanga, the less said, the better (he's just not very good).
The more secure a coach is, the more likely they are to bleed in youngsters. It's no coincidence Bruce Arena, Jason Kreis, and Sigi Schmidt give minutes to young players. Some coaches have a tougher policy. Dom Kinnear, for example, tends to take more time before he shows a lot of trust in a young player. But a lot of these guys know they're one bad stretch from a pink slip, and they're not betting the family house (literally) on young soccer players.
Not sure what I did there, but I just re-calculated and found the same result you did. I don't have access to my original work at the moment, but I'll check when I get the chance to see where I went wrong.
Sure some coaches are going to be more friendly to young players than others. But if you're good enough you will play. Kinnear played Bruin 25 times in his rookie season.... These guys are gonna play who they think can win the games. If the U-21 guy cant win games then no he's not gonna play. We need to have better U-21 players and more U-21 players. We're (thankfully) in the process of making that happen!
Not according to the BBC: For the second consecutive tournament, the England Under-21 team will be leaving the European Championship after the group stage. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/22840724
This is consistent with what I said. In 2011 and 2013, England reached the final eight. In 2009, they reached the championship game.
Nice bump. Article answered one of my earlier questions as well: Premier League has 32% English players, but the Championship has 55% English players. Developing a solid second tier below MLS will be critical to avoiding some of the gaps we see in England regarding playing time for the 18-22 year olds. And in interesting random tidbits, we were the 6th most represented country back in 2007-08 in the Premier League! My guess is this was the height of Fulhamerica + Friedel.
They should add in the number of Welsh players and calculate the % of "domestic" players. 2 of the teams are Welsh. Frankly it would make sense to include the #'s of everyone that has a UK passport.
But of course, we're many years away from having that. For now, we need more young Americans to get minutes in MLS. 2007/08, 12 players Everton: Howard Blackburn: Friedel West Ham: Spector Reading: Convey, Hahnemann Fulham: Keller, Boca, McBride, Dempsey, Johnson Derby: Lewis, Feilhaber 2013/14 so far, 4 players Everton: Howard Aston Villa: Guzan Stoke: Cameron Sunderland: Altidore
Now that the new season is in full swing, do you (or anyone else) know what the percentage currently sits at?
Are they not allowed to play in the Championship league? Shit English D2 is one of the top leagues in the world, so English players getting minutes there should not be too bad right?
Here it says there are 220 foreign players in the league (43,2%): http://www.transfermarkt.de/en/major-league-soccer/startseite/wettbewerb_MLS1.html Eligibility might be slightly different due to dual-nationals playing for someone else.