He is not in no mans land. Both coaches have talked about bringing him along. https://www.espn.com/soccer/werder-...s-striker-josh-sargent-realistic-bremen-coach https://www.washingtonpost.com/spor...st-call/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.63042740b9af So maybe a 19 year old who just made 12 appearances scoring 2 goals is just not at the level yet of some vetrens. That is ok. He just has to keep progressing.
I really think the issue here is people expected way way way too much too quickly. I recall reading bonkers comments in Summer/Fall about how Sargent should be the starter or will be the starter by the end of the season. I mean he's only 19, that's not really realistic in the slightest. I get the excitement but people need to tone it down. It's not a short term project.
The problem is they didn't put him somewhere where he can play. Not making the USMNT. Not on U20's; he is 19. Not on the U23's. Way to look out for a top prospect. He's not a porcelain doll. He needs to play. If his club has a plan for him that is not being put out to the media, I take all this back. But if the decision to not put him on any team this summer was just arrived at last week, we are in big trouble on a management level.
He has no options, he's Americans with no other possible nationality, so he has to take it, it's us or nobody.
I only disagree that he is not in no mans land, like right now this instant. IMO he is no mans land. He is not playing in anything this summer (no U20, no USMNT, no olympic U23) and mostly rode the bench in 2019 at Werder. He played 160 minutes in 17 league games (played in 7 of 17 games, sat on bench for 7 games and didn't make the bench for 3). No goals, no assists, no nothing in those 160 minutes. So, he didn't make a good case in 2019 on the game field (Werder also had cup games he wasn't involved in). Too good for Werder U23, too good for US U20. Not playing meaningful minutes with the big boys. That is being in no mans land. I would argue this sucks for his development. I just can't get my head around a positive spin of him having not participated in any US team tourney this summer. Yes, he did play against Jamaica, but then got cut back into no mans land. Do I think he should be on the full USMNT? Absolutely. I think it is boneheaded to not give him a fair shot now and only consider him for the future.
Personally I haven't over rated Sarge but I see his quality and it exceeds that of Zardes by a good margin. And knowing the GC means little to nothing once WC qualifying starts, he should be on the roster getting used to Berhalter's moronic system because he will be there once the GC is over and Zardes is a waste of a roster spot (as are several others). The egg's plan to win now is looking rather idiotic given the lack of talent and effort I've seen lately.
Yeah his message that he intended to send that he wanted to sacrifice youth to win now looks pretty freaking stupid since he cant and isnt winning now..My god just take your L's and play the youth to get them ready for WC quals but Greg doesnt seem to be that forward thinking at all. He clearly has no plan in mind while telling the nation and its fans that he does have a plan.
Just to end the speculation and off base posts regarding why he's not on any of the squads. The reason Sargent is absent has nothing to do with his play on the field. What I'm hearing is that it has to do with an off the field team rule that was broken. Nobody actually thinks Zardes is a better striker, not even Berhalter.
SOunds like BS. If that is case just say it then. Sounds stupid to keep having the speculation and constant media scrutiny.
Ahoy mateys. We've drifted off course and are now in the National Team shipping lanes, with big, ugly-ass freighters bearing down us. To correct this situation, please steer your comments back towards Sargent's club career. I will help by taking any cargo containing national team stuff that I find on deck from this point forward and tossing it overboard.
I was guarding my palm tree. Or playing with some ball bearings. One of the two. Anyway, I just tossed a couple of suspicious boxes overboard.
Best case scenario for a 19 year old hopeful trying to break into the first team is without a doubt getting a full preseason in. Arriving to preseason late because of international duty and starting behind the 8 ball is not where you want to be.
Werder fans happy with Josh getting some rest and not having any chance to show on the big stage so that he "wird nicht ganz so schnell attraktiv für andere Vereine" (won't become attractive to other teams). https://www.werder.de/forum/threads/19-josh-sargent.53270/page-31
What do they know? He's not playing enough...blah blah. I'll take the opinion of fans that watched him in person for the few minutes he got and who believe what their manager is saying about his future. Berhalter's a clown.
looks like Kohfeldt is very keen on getting Gregoritsch to join. Looks like Bremen want another 3ish players which given the Gregoritsch interest implies another attacking player. Gregoritsch can play all attacking positions.
I'd really love for someone to run a few thousand stats to test that "not in the national team at 19 sitting on the bench in the summer hurts development" claim... I mean, sure, maybe... but really? Missing the mad genius of Gregg Beerholder for a month or two will impact his footie trajectory in some material way? When he spent last season on a B1 team and is returning to it? I think sometimes this "must play every minute" concept is not based on reality.
https://www.footyheadlines.com/2019/05/werder-bremen-19-20-home-kit.html helping model the new kits. his tattoo game is definitely the level of a guy who gets minutes
So playing for a new coaches system and learning how to play under that system is unimportant to you? So you think that him joining the team on a call up would be better served when we are attempting to start WC qualifiers? I for one would want him having already played under the system prior to WC qualifying status. This is Gregs team. For the time being at least and for him to learn what Greg wants him to do, he should have been in camp at the very least. I get what you are saying with regards to his football not suffering as a whole, but possibly with getting integrated to what GB wants, he is suffering.
So my biggest worry is that, as evidenced by the diminishing amount of playing time he got after early winter opportunity and the fact that GB did not keep him for the Gold Cup, Sargent has been deemed to be on the wrong trajectory and will never be successful for the USMNT or his current club.
That is a different issue, and that I will agree. And my comment is not simply directed at you - it's a kind of gospel among a lot of folks that not playing competitive games for X number of weeks/months leads to potentially permanent loss of form - and I really don't know. It seems like it's a trade off of ideal "miles on the treads" vs. "time in the rain getting rusty." I'm sure it varies for every player and I wonder what it is.