I’ll start us off. Richards has been very good. I have very high hopes for him. It’s almost like Bayern knows what theyre doing. Durkin has been bad. Mostly that’s on him, but I put a bit of blame on Tab. He overemphasizes possession and underemphasizes attacking. IMO, that is causing some of Durkin’s stupid short passes into pressure. Konrad is a great dribbler. There’s nothing better to have as a lead skill for a wide mid. The rest of his game has a long way to go. Bad decisions. Tab needs to rotate the kids. Dest has been a huge disappointment. Incompetent defender at this level. I hope Mendez develops. With Pulisic and hopefully either Weah or Konrad going forward, in the 20s the US should be drawing a lot of dangerous free kicks. Pomykal has tremendous potential as an all-around CM. I doubt he will be in Dallas by fall 2020. If Tab had some flexibility tactically and in terms of squad selection this team would be a real threat. But he’s not.
I like Konrads attitude with the ball. We don’t have enough players willing to dribble at defenders so I hope he doesn’t lose that. He does need to improve his decision making and final ball but that can all come with time. Mendez has a sweet left foot but it seems to be his long term success will be more dependent on who he is playing with centrally. Pax looks to me like being on another level compared to most. Calm and collected on the ball and works well on both sides of the ball. Don’t see him has a #10.
Pax might end as McKennie's understudy in the current NT setup. Currently Roldan is the understudy. Of course Pax might end up with a bigger role or different role with the senior team, but that seems to be the most likely path. Imo he, Richards and Weah are the best prospects on the team. Of course, there are a couple guys in the same age group who have graduated to the senior team already. So the five from the 1999-2000 birthyears most likely to have an impact at the senior level are: Adams, Sargent, Pax, Richards and Weah. Doesn't mean the others are trash. But those are the Big 5 for me.
Some data driven analysis. Passmaps & xGplot for Ukraine U20 against USA U20. #passmap #xGplot #autotweet pic.twitter.com/vXQBW99LPK— 11tegen11 (@11tegen11) May 25, 2019 Passmaps & xGplot for USA U20 against Nigeria U20. #passmap #xGplot #autotweet pic.twitter.com/Wl7izWre00— 11tegen11 (@11tegen11) May 28, 2019 Two very interesting points. Defensively we screwed up in very particular moments agains the Ukraine but overall we were good. Dest is very important in getting the ball forward.
Oh! Also, Pomykal is much more influential as a metronome in the center than up top or on the wings. Pass map really says it all. The Nigeria game is our best formation and shame on Tab for overreacting to the Ukraine threat and messing things up.
Annoying part of that is that we all knew that. Every single fan wanted Pomykal in the middle, and the majority wanted a front three of Weah-Soto-Konrad. It's upsetting that we may have to play France in the round of 16 because Tab screwed up the first game. It could be the difference between getting tossed in the Round of 16 versus getting to the final. Whoever gets first in our group is most likely on the opposite side of the bracket of France and Portugal.
Everyone is going to have his opinion about the level these players will reach. The knock on Mendez is lack of athleticism/quickness, so maybe people feel that he won't gain enough through maturation, physical development, etc.to overcome this issue. On the other hand, no other player in the pool has his level of passing and shooting, so if he can surmount the quickness challenge his ceiling is very high. The other player with a very high ceiling is Richards. It takes a while to see what you have a CB, so I would give him at least another 3-4 years to see where he's at. He's still growing into his body, and is relatively new to higher level play when compared to many of the USYNT players who've been in the program for many years, so there's a lot of upside. I contrast him with CCV. CCV was touted by many as a future lockdown CB for the USMNT. I saw him as an early maturer who would plateau. I think Weah is a good player, but I'm not as sold on him having a real high ceiling. The biggest surprise to this point has been Gloster. Hardly anyone thought much of him even a year ago, but now I have to say, hmm, maybe we got something here. If he stays on this upward trajectory by next year he'll be in serious USMNT conversations. Pomykal is very good, nice work rate, etc., but he doesn't have any one quality that is exceptional. Hopefully he'll play a role with the USMNT, but I don't see him as a difference maker at the next level. That said, I am excited about the fact that this U20 group is demonstrating that we can produce very competent players who can hold their own, and Pomykal is part of that discussion.
Pomykal is probably not a #10 material. Simple, he can be David Silva type of player - a lot resemblance - very left footed, really good technique, excellent at finding pocket space , both small and light and not fast. He needs to improve a lot in his passing and assist ability
Yup. I think he could play as a #10 in MLS. Maybe. But if he's going to play at the "next level" then its going to be a #8. There have been folks more intimately familiar with Pax that have been saying this for quite some time. Some apparently were hoping he'd just slot right into the #10 position as the "next Mauro Diaz" at the club, but that's not his skill set. Sure, he could dominate Development Academy competition as a #10. Against adult professionals he's yet to show it. And by the way, at the very least Paxton Pomykal is going to have a 15 year Benny Feilhaber-style career. I really like Benny. He's been good in Scandinavia and MLS, but never "made it" to the biggest levels of Europe. He never really broke thru in the Bundesliga with Hamburg, and the Derby move (when they were in the Premier League) was a disaster. 44 caps for the senior USMNT, and some great moments................without ever really seemingly like a really important component of the team. I think Pax is going to get that opportunity to play at the next level (like Benny did), and we'll just have to see how he develops. At the very least I think we have a USMNT pool player there. Same as I think of others on this team. From every U20 team we really should expect a couple of future USMNT impact players, a group of USMNT pool players, and then a bunch with solid professional careers. In 2019 anyway. I think we ALWAYS have to remind ourselves that we already have Adams and Sargent from this age group that look like key USMNT contributors.
I am really not understanding why do it all guys like Pomykal and Busio are not getting much respect. Like McKennie, those guys will go far precisely because they can do it all. I'm not sure how we can put Feilharber as Pomykal's lower limit. Benny had to reinvent himself later in his career and learn some actual defending. This is not an issue with Pomykal. Of all players, he is in the mold of Claudio Reyna. Currently, he is trending a little higher than Claudio and is a little more dynamic but maybe can't hold on to the ball as well as Claudio. His lower limit is Earnie Stewart.
Paxton Pomykal to date has one career assist in club football. ONE. And we're talking about him like he's Claudio Reyna.................. I'm the biggest Paxton Pomykal there is. I just think we all need to take a deep breath. I don't see the #10 that others see, and haven't for a long time. Buzz Carrick, who's as much of an insider as there is without actually being an FCD employee, has repeatedly said the same. His skill set is suited very well to the "free 8" role that has him sitting a little further back as a deep-lying playmaker. He's really good in that role. Is he an elite international caliber player in that role? Not yet. We'll see...................... Pax will get an opportunity to move to Europe as other have had before him. We'll see how he develops. Benny Feilhaber moved to the Bundesliga as a ~20 year old. Paxton Pomykal will move to the Bundesliga (or equivalent league) as a ~20 year old. We'll just see how it goes. I'm not going to pre-script it.
I think what he has is amazing determination or willpower. Watching him against bigger, physical players during the Dallas Cup run I noticed he never quits. He has done the same with FC Dallas and the U20's. He's just rounding into shape so he should show it more as the tournament goes on (if they go on).
Paxton has a vintage Michael Bradley motor in him. I love it. He's a worker. Not giving up on Dest, because 10 months ago or whenever it was, he shut down Diego Lainez and has rave reviews in Holland. So patience people, he's skilled enough to deserve that. CB play sans McKenzie (understandable) has been good. Richards is real deal, I hope Keita gets more pro minutes in Richmond and the C'bus soon thereafter. Gloster has been good, I really like him, probably more than Kobe Hernandez Durkin has been a mixed bag. Mendez's left is wicked. Weah looks rusty. KdF is a baller. I really like his style of dribbling as it's unique for our player pool. I hope he continues to refine his skills and maybe goes on loan somewhere next year. Next year. Not the year after. Next year. Soto. Man, I don't know if he'll ever be a good pro. But the kid scores goals wherever he goes. RSL ---> Hannover youth. U20's. He scores goals and got the 1st team app with Hannover. Again, I don't know about his ceiling, but he gives his team a chance! Brady Scott has been ok. A couple times he scared me, but I lived through however many years of Cody Cropper, and that 2012 Olympics qualifying tourny of Johnson and Hamid. I was made for this. I wanna see the kid from RSL tho. Nah on Rennicks, would rather see Uly or Richie L. Servania is ok, but I prefer Cerrilo. It's been fun. A shame we lost to Ukraine, honestly.
I don't know what your memory of Reyna is but in higher levels he was more of an 8 and wasn't known for his goals or assists. Yet he was still so influential. Feilharber never got more than a few token games in Europe outside of that one season in Denmark. At 20 he was playing in the fourth tier for Hamburger's reserve team.
The thing about Dest is looking like the thing about Robinson. Going forward they can really be influential in attack but there are still issues with tracking back and defense. Alternatively, you could call it an issue with coverage and support from team mates. They both merit further looks.
Mendez is probably next on my list, but I wonder about the motor and ability to handle more physical play at the senior level. Thinking in terms of the senior depth chart: McKennie is the 8 and will be for some time. In the natural order of things Pax will supplant Roldan as a higher quality backup. Pulisic is the 10 and really doesn't have an understudy at the moment. Mendez could move into that role. On the wings there are obvious opportunities for Weah. We have to sort it out between him, Boyd and Arriola in the next couple years. It should be noted that the two best prospects from the 2001-2002 birthyears are Reyna and de la Fuente and one of them or both is likely to force his way into the picture by the end of this cycle. Adams will be a starter, with exact role yet to be determined. Sargent will be part of a rotation this summer at the Gold Cup with Zardes and Altidore and that is likely to be the situation throughout this cycle. Remains to be seen how the PT gets distributed between those 3. Richards will probably force his way into the center back mix before the end of this cycle. Gloster has a shot too because of positional scarcity. Left back is the most wide open spot on the senior team and I wouldn't take bets on how it sorts itself out.
Why would anyone insult Pomykal by talking about him like he is the next most overrated player in US history?
If we think about just Pulisic and Pomykal I see Pomykal as a better #10 for the #10 role than Pulisic, and have Pulisic on the left in a mid 3. Pulisic hasn’t developed elite passing skills like we all thought he would. Now if Aaronson or Mendez continues improving then we’re talking about a more clear cut #10, but I wonder if either of those 2 will have improved enough by 2022.
Thanks for these. Thoughts after looking at the passing/shape charts: That formation against Ukraine was whack on view and this is the evidence, though we still managed a 1/2 xG lead, which does jibe with how the game went. Ukraine made the most out of very, very little. Pomykal as a false #9? mmmK. His only connections are from Richards and backpasses to Servania. Bleeech. Weah completely uninfluential and forced to drop as some kind of defensive winger. Bleeecch. Contrarily, the picture from the Nigeria game is sublime symmetry. Could barely draw up a chalkboard before the game any prettier. And here we have the darkest line is Pomykal forward to Weah. That's what I'm talking about. Good to see Dest with the progressive passing in both games. Damn, he and KDLF definately tried hard against Ukraine. Dest has had a couple of horrendous defensive looks, and hasn't been able to beat anyone off the dribble, but maybe those higher profile failures have overshadowed a sneaky important role in attack. Despite the fact that Pomykal hasn't been that involved overall, and was merely a spectator on 2 of the 3 goals, he still led both games in xGChain. Indicates, get him the ball, and good things happen. I may have been too harsh on Durkin, possibly.
While I agree that it's tough to tell at what level Pomykal peaks, I have to say I really enjoy seeing the effect he has at both this tournament and in MLS as a free 8. It's crystal clear how much better FC Dallas is when he plays. I hope he gets a chance to prove it at higher levels. I think he's more athletic than people give him credit for. I expect by the fall he's openly challenging Roldan for his spot on the team. But even as we all focus on the high upside guys -- and for the USMNT to really make strides we need more Adams and Pulisics -- I think the one thing we are clearly seeing is the beginning of a pretty decent amount of depth. Depth isn't sexy, but injuries were a key driver of not qualifying in 2018 (we should have any way, but it would have been helpful to have a deep CB bench for when Brooks went down, for example). And not just injuries, but our lack of rotation in those three days breaks in qualifying played a role as well. And in prior World Cups, we put out some teams with some pretty decent high end talent ... but then through injury or just lack of talent would have Ricardo Clark and Edson Buddle playing real roles. Depth is important. And even if "all" Paxton accomplishes is being a strong MLS player who can step in and contribute when McKennie goes down ... that's actually super valuable. I hope there's more. But that's important, too.