I am sure you know that players are not cattle, you just can't sell them to someplace they don't want to go. The sad fact is that Bayern is at the top of the food chain in the BuLi and most players want to play there for very obvious reasons. We lost Goretzka to Bayern despite offering Leon more money and a longer term deal. We lost Nubel despite making him our #1 before he had clearly earned it, our Captain, and a very lucrative long term deal. I don't believe there is anything else we could have done. This is just life in the BuLi
You're joking, but of course in the US, players often are treated like cattle. Don't want to move to Cleveland? Tough, we just traded you for a 19 year old in single A.
Yeah but when your agent tells you that you can eventually make millions and millions, who really cares if you suffer in Cleveland for 6 months. You can afford to fly wherever you want during breaks and live wherever you want in the off-season.
This is great news: https://soccer.nbcsports.com/2020/0...to-schalke-training-february-return-expected/ Looks like Weston is training with the team in Spain and it sounds like he is ahead of schedule. Particularly like this sentence: McKennie isn’t only participating in individual drills, but he is also involved in the majority of full training with the rest of his teammates with the exception of tackling. Seems like he will be back in Feb... and it looks more and more like it will be early in the month.
🏃♂️The joys of running. ⚒Playing Schalke football 🏝Diving accidents 👓 Working with David Wagner The world according to Weston McKennie: https://t.co/pH0Y5CQvJO— Raphael Honigstein💙 (@honigstein) January 15, 2020
Behind the paywall. Was their any update on a specific date of return? Last I heard he was in full training outside of tackling exercises. They initially said Feb... but I think he came back a bit early after tweaking his ankle while with the USMNT... oddly enough... you may recall that that injury also came on a header attempt. Literally itching for this weekend so that I can watch the US Intls in the Bundesliga and AJAX. If Weston has made a miraculous recovery then my wait is shortened by a day as Schalke play on Friday.
Similar title published by the Bundesliga: https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bunde...of-a-brotherhood-at-schalke-david-wagner-9287 Nice article... Is no information about his return actually a sign that he is ready? I find it odd to have an entire piece like this centered on a currently injured player but with no mention of said injury. <crossing-fingers>
Seems like a good guy to have on your team, both personality and skill wise. “Nobody wants to play out of position but I kind of had to,” he says. “The team had all centre-backs out injured, and I was the only guy who knew to play there. I couldn’t be selfish. Hopefully, the guys will come back in the second half of the season.” Does he sometimes fear this adaptability will count against him in the long run, or is the exposure to different roles ultimately beneficial for his development? “It’s both. You have your James Milners of the world who still play for top clubs and play many positions as well. He’s a workhorse, and that’s kind of how I am. I’m a workhorse. Teams look at you say, ‘OK, he can play many positions. He is a utility player.’ That’s good, of course. The downside is that you don’t want to be the guy who’s there to fill positions for others when there’s a need. I might be good at many positions but I want to be great at one. I want to be the guy who’s playing because I’m the best in my position.”
I hope so. Pretty sure they initially said out until February.... but end of January isn't that much of a stretch. Would be surprised if he played on Friday... but you never know.
Schalke and Wes really needs to make up their mind with Wes. This uncertainty is unforgivable and could even damage his career. They really need to be on the same page. Is he a work horse or a little tank?
That is how the season started, but injuries have made a huge impact on the squad. What do you expect them to do when all of their center backs are out? Wes is next up. It wasn't in the plans for him to play there, but shit happens.
Yeah... there was talk about this before the season even started and Wes was playing a more offensive-minded role right out of the gate... but when two CDs went down they just plugged in the guy they trusted the most to get them thru the tough times. I hope they have found a couple of guys that can play the position so that Wes can move back up front. Unfortunately, Wes plays hard and is sitting on 4 yellows... so he is going to get another 10+ day break shortly after he returns.
True. To the recent point, Schalke really do need to do some shopping this January in order for McKennie to be able to comfortably focus on a role in the center of the park. They are similarly light on the wings and up top, so hopefully they beef up the roster so that Wes can settle in to the midfield for good. The form he showed there at the beginning of the season was spectacular.
I just want to know what to call him. He says he's a work horse. They say he's a little tank. Who should we believe?
I have tried to find documentation on this before and have yet to find it. I know it resets after the season... but I don't think it does after the winter break.... but that is just my initial guess. We will certainly find out soon....
"Tank" and "work horse" can be complimentary terms (in two different senses). Both seem to imply a central player who can dominate games with physical presence. I think there is more to Wes' game than just physicality, but he certainly isn't a creative type, a slick passing type, a burner type, or a strictly defensive type. Even though he hasn't nailed down an exact role, it seems pretty clear that he belongs somewhere around the 8.
He's had a few super human recoveries in the past. Basically healed from that broken foot/lower leg thing in half the time, and I've seen photos of him training, just not sure if alone or with the team.
Based upon his response to these two questions I can tell he has a bright future in broadcasting and/or management if he wants.
Considering his time in Kaiserslautern was he ever interested in signing for 1FCK or them signing him? Was Schalke the only club chasing him?
I posted on the 6th that he was in full participation with the team outside of tackling exercises... so that was about 10 days ago. He is probably at the point where he could play but there is still an extra risk of aggravating it. Just an educated guess though. You an several others have noted correctly that he has returned quicker from injury than previously thought possible before. Playing tomorrow would be awesome, but again, it would surprise me.
News from David #Wagner in today's press conference ℹ️"@WMckennie is back in training, but he's not doing tackles yet - that should change in the next week. Our schedule has him back playing for one of the games against @HerthaBSC_EN"#SchalkeUS🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/BC8pORGfSn— Schalke 04 USA🇺🇸 (@s04_us) January 16, 2020