The long overdue and frank discussion about the US Midfield 2018-2022

It was so hard to be a fan when he was playing for Berhalter. It was impossible to figure out if he was bad or just put in impossible situations. He had Tchani playing in front of him for years. (See Chi Fire record this year. They are dead last in power rankings with Tchani taking over for the flying Dutchman DeLeeuw who is out for season with ACL.). Getting Artur in there has helped but it's still Berhalter.

My strategy is to go a) with the guys who are the right age and b) can pass the ball - initially. If it proves a no-go, we reconsider how to fix it.

 

And you have no concerns with Williams' passing skills or lack thereof (from the 6 position).

 

Trapp needs to face competition of a higher quality and higher tempo and show he can have a physical presence and anchor a midfield in that environment. I don't like Scotland for that and he won't get an English WP. My guess is he's pretty much stuck where he is, especially considering his age. And like Kitchen, I'd argue the development window has mostly passed.

Adams is ready for the next step. Needs to be in a more tactical environment where he's forced to play/think quicker on/off the ball and adapt to less time on the ball. Essentially, become more composed. I don't think the Bund is out of question. Also, Serie A. Given transfer fee requirements I'd hope for him to get bought and loaned to a lower table club in those leagues.

 

To get a WP in England you have to have played in 75% of your nation's competitive games over the last two years or win on appeal, usually due to being an exceptional talent.

A 25 yr old who's never played outside MLS and has 4 total caps isn't going to qualify. Miazga has the Polish passport which helped with the UK and also means he counts as a domestic in the Ered.

Every other league on the continent would be easier to qualify for.

 

You forgot Perry Kitchen.

 

Move to Toronto.

 

NO. Unfortunately, no.

 

Its been stated before that he was in the process of obtaining a Greek passport.

 

Trapp

 

I don't know if Trapp ever got his EU passport or not but he doesn't seem intent on going abroad as he signed an extension last yr thru 2020.

And he signed that well after this Greek passport thingy came about.

 

Trapp is 25 and an excellent but not dominant player in the league. I'm not sure he'd make significantly more than whatever his extension pays, which is likely more than the $350k he made in '17.

 

Our problem isn't defending so much as getting results out of forwards. The way to do that is to play Trapp and Delgado who can get the ball to forwards. If the defense fails us then we look at benching Trapp based on his inability to defend at higher level.

It would be mistake to get a defense first dmid who cannot distribute and congratulate ourselves on our Captain America dmid and the great job he did while chastising our forwards for not performing.

 

Among CMs and DMs, Sean Davis and Nagbe are, respectively, 3rd and 6th in the league in key passes* per appearance. Especially noteworthy is that neither is his team's primary freekick taker. Others in the top 20 are Hayes(13th), Bradley(15th), Feilhaber(16th), and Trapp(19th).

* source = whoscored

 

Weird Davis didn’t start last game. Hayes is impressive. I expect him to climb that list higher, he played the #10 in college and had pretty good stats.

 

I hope Benfica encourage Sarachan to call up Parks to Bolivia, Ireland, France friendlies in June. I see him as a sub for Delgado (most likely) or Adams or McKennie. The experience would expand his horizon and help his development, imo. His all around defense just isn't good enough to start in front of Delgado yet but if Delgado comes off, we need somebody who can pass thru midfield where Adams is pretty clueless and needs supplementary partner.

 

Well, you saw him come on and lift the team. Marsch is sorting thru his pool. Sean Davis has upped his game over the off season imo. I always liked his game since seeing him play in the Homegrown game at the all star break as a youth. The problem was he lacked athleticism which he has developed quite nicely imo. He just seems stronger and faster. Adding to athleticism happens more with college players. He always read the game well.

 

Davis is their best 6/8. Adams is most effective at wingback/rightback. NYRB's best central midfield is likely Davis + one of Muyl, Rzatkowski, and Bezecourt. Agree with Excellency that Marsch is just in the tinkering stage as he gauges the level and effectiveness of the new recruits.

Hayes is in 20th in dribbles, 10th in fouls suffered, and 7th in tackles. Maybe he ends up being for us what we had hoped Jonathan Gonzalez would be. On form Hayes, Davis, Bradley, Nagbe, Delgado, and Trapp have been strongest domestic CMs this year.

 

Bradley's on the ground passing has been bad. Nagbe is deeply flawed and will slow down our Nat team. Otherwise I can't disagree.

 

The explanation is in here somewhere, I'd guess.
Davis just signed a 3 yr extension with RBulls. He had interest from BL2, they say.
https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2018...-bulls-ink-midfielder-sean-davis-new-contract

The Holmdel, N.J. native was a four-year standout at Duke before signing his Homegrown deal with the Red Bulls and was the 2014 ACC Midfielder of the Year. Despite his Homegrown status, Davis already takes up a senior roster slot for the Red Bulls, so his new deal will add more salary against the Red Bulls’ cap.

Previously there was this write up on Sean Davis. It says he would have been free to sign a commitment this July with a foreign club, with his actual contract running thru end of this year at RBulls.
https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2018...d-bulls-working-re-sign-tim-parker-sean-davis

 

This is probably what we will see with Delgado and Hayes. These 22-24 year old breakouts will be very good MLS players but are not going to have the time to go to the 2.BL or Denmark and try and work their way to the top.

The players that break out younger, but don't leave until 22-24, if they leave, also probably won't have the time to make it to a top club either. K. Acosta would be an example of this.

If they wanted, they could maybe have a Geoff Cameron or Clint Dempsey type career that tops out on the bench for a Europa League team or starter for a good mid-table team in a Top 4 league. But they are probably too valuable to MLS in the current environment and will get paid to stay.