Why does everyone talk as if McKennie isn't the team's savior? Nobody is saying that. He's played in almost every BL game so far, either starting or on the bench. He needs to be called in. Pretty sure nobody wants Beaz, Jones, or Zusi in the team, so also have no idea where that is coming from. McKennie needs to be in camp and allowed to fight for a spot in the starting 11. MB needs to earn it, rather than being gifted 90 because he's "captain", he has "experience", and there is "no one better available", since we are currently selecting him without question over guys playing/starting in the PL and BL. Howard and Guzan need to earn it, rather than being gifted 90 because they have "experience", and this "not time to introduce new players". By all accounts Horvath is a better player and in better form currently. But all I hear is "he needs to be in camp as the 3rd GK". No, he needs to be starting. This isn't really that hard. Call the top players in camp for 1-2 weeks, let them battle it out. Stop giving out starting spots to old guys who have proven they no longer have it. No more excuses of experience, not a good time, young guys need to stay with clubs. Of course, I am fully aware BA isn't going to do any of this. Be prepared for the same selections as we've already seen. Even dropping Beaz/Zusi off the squad would be impressive, but I expect them to be there, too. Miazga as a starter or top backup at CB? Nope, not happening. Horvath? Unlikely. All nice thoughts, however.
I watched the Schalke game today and thought McKennie was OK. He could have done more to prevent the 1st Hoffenheim goal and had some careless giveaways. He had a tendency to run himself out of position at times. He also didn't really seem to create much out of the ordinary going forward. On the plus side, he did make plenty of stops on the defense and on many occasions retained possession under pressure in the midfield with quick, accurate passes. He didn't embarrass himself, there's definitely raw talent there to build upon, but I wouldn't say that he made a case to be a "must start" player for Schalke or a "must call up" player for the USMNT. I don't think a call up is totally unjustified, but I'm not sure that he offers more than some of the guys already more integrated into the pool.
McKennie's performance seems to align with the strengths and weaknesses we saw in person a couple weeks ago. In terms of strengths, he can apply a lot of pressure defensively and win challenges when he gets in. He also has great vision, holds possession, and can complete passes even when under pressure. In terms of weaknesses, he must improve his defensive discipline and midfield tracking. He also needs to turn his composure on the ball into more incisive passing. So why is Schalke so high on McKennie? Because his strengths are about special talent, physical gifts, and a great attitude. His weaknesses are about reps.
I actually think calling him to sit on the bench would make a lot of sense. If you think he is going to be an important part of this team soon (and I do), then there's something to be said for getting into training, letting him get to know the guys and vice versa. I also very much doubt that being away from Schalke during an international break will do any harm to his standing there. He's already broken into their rotation.
If I had to put in a nutshell how I feel about the ga-ga reaction to another kid playing in BL it would be this:: We are already more or less R16 caliber with our pool as it is, with competent management of our resources. When somebody gets starts in the BL my default position is that he is more r16 material, ready to replace the last r16 guy but I'm not going to say anything better about the guy unless he happens to excel in the BL. Williams, Johnson, Chandler - do they really make any of the regular quarterfinalist teams in the WC like Uruguay, France, Germany, Spain, Italy,Brazil, Argentina? Would they even make Holland, Nigeria, Mexico? They don't even figure in USA lineups much anymore. We are never getting anywhere until we ditch the entitlement system we have and start calling up players who are actually playing well and have qualities we lack in the extant USMNT. I would call Jonathan Gonzalez over McKennie until McKennie shows us something because Gonzalez already has a 9 game unbeaten streak starting with Monterrey in a more aggressive system and has a passing game and is harder to get around than McKennie. At some point we have to start playing guys who win games over athletes with flash and lots of faults and no idea how to win a football game.
Once he gets his 'reps', perhaps he'll be ready to contribute to the NT. The only 2 week NT camps are the ones in January and before Summer tournaments. McKennie obviously won't be available for the January camp. It'd be more prudent to call in an attacker like Siebatcheu if one were to take a flier on a player.
I wouldn't have that much of a problem in a vacuum w/ him simply being three, but how big does the provisional roster need to be then? 35? There is a better case to do it w/ J. Gonzalez because there is impetus to keep him away from El Tri, his place is more secure at Monterrey, and he's actually started + performed well for quite a while. In the case of emergency, one could feel a little more comfortable w/ him actually being on the active roster. McKennie on the active roster would just take the place of a guy who we could more realistically rely upon or provide a spark to the attack off the bench which we were in dire need of last camp. If he's training, he'd eat away at the practice time of one of those players. He has promise, but who is to say for sure he's even a significant part of the future like Kirovski and Casey weren't back in the day. How much does having him around the team even accomplish as opposed to maybe getting a trial in the friendly in November from actually having our full focus on October like it should have been. Just seems like a waste of a plane ticket and any sort of roster spot, not much different than putting Wondo on there. Useless in polar opposite ways.
There is almost zero downside to calling in McKennie to camp. CAMP. Get his feet wet. If he is just out of his element then fine don't put him on the final roster. I totally fail to see how this isn't a win win.
That's all fair, but bringing in one young guy for a look isn't going to do any harm. If it's Gonzalez over McKennie, that's fine. Just pick one so that we can start the process of getting younger.
The one attribute that Weston has that is missing from the players that Arena has called is the ability to win ( tackle/interception/recovery) the ball in the center of the park and quickly dribble drive the ball forward under extreme pressure while maintaining possession and often delivering a killer ball while dribbling. He had another example today with the sequence that sent Harit on alone on goal just slightly offside. He also has the ability with his athleticism to quickly put pressure on the ball, is tough in the tackle, aggressive with the ball, and is fearless on the pitch. Those attributes have been sorely missed with JJ's absence. I personally thought before the season started he was at least a year away but he has adjusted to the speed and athleticism of the BuLi without missing a beat
Too early to gauge his prospects with France. But if he has a great season a few looks with the US should be in the offing.
Those are qualities that don't impress me at all. I was very impressed with McKennie's game against B.Leverkusen today. His passing out of the central dmid position was crisp and astute - already better than Bradley. In fact, his choice of pass led to the free kick that scored Schalke's lone goal in the 1-1 draw with Leverkusen. This quality is what we have been lacking with Acosta, Bradley and Nagbe. He continues to excel at 50/50 balls. It is still too easy to drive by McKennie on the counter. He ressembles Acosta and Adams in that respect. His partner Goretzka compensates. Also, they played 3 cb's behind him. His game lost psychosomatic focus in the 2nd half as the game wore on. Takeaway: Play McKennie, Zardes, Delgado and J.Gonzalez in midfield and we would not have any worries about connecting the defense to the offense.
Weston McKennie in #S04B04: 90', 50 touches, 31/41 (75.6%) passes, 1 key pass, 1 shot, 2 clearances, 1 int, 1 tackle, 2/9 duels. From a tweet.
Jonathan Gonzalez(DM): [Monterrey 2:0 Pachuca] Sofascore(7.4), 17/19 passing, 4 drawn fouls, 6 tackles, 3 ints, 3 clea
Yedlin is having a fantastic game first 20 minutes in for Newcastle, created a dangerous chance which lead to a corner that Newcastle scored soon after on a rebound.
Newcastle in general has come alive under Rafa. Their patience is paying off. Imagine him with a warchest of getting the players he wants. Id love a few other USMNT eligable players there but i have no idea who would qualify for a WP now after our WCQ disaster. Brooks would be great. So would Wood.
Siebatcheu is up for Ligue 2 Player of the Month and deserves to win it. I doubt he accepts a USMNT November callup as he'd likely want to stick with France U21s until his eligibility for them runs out, but he obviously is deserving of an attempted callup. ⭐️ Joueur du Mois @UNFP✅@YoWissa ✅@FloMartin10 ✅@Theosonsmith Qui pour ce 2ème 🏆? Votez avant dimanche soir➡️ https://t.co/o76QirXLOr pic.twitter.com/MwD048NRWx— Ligue 2 BKT (@Ligue2BKT) October 14, 2017