YNT-eligible MLS players: 2017/18 offseason thread

Discussion in 'Youth National Teams' started by Dave Marino-Nachison, Nov 2, 2017.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Clint Eastwood

    Clint Eastwood Member+

    Dec 23, 2003
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    Pre-season scrimmage yesterday between FCD and Portland. Crummy conditions............lots of thread eligible players. Portland won 1-0 on a goal by Jeremy Ebobisse. Eryk Williamson and Marco Farfan played in this one for the Timbers as well. For Dallas, Pomykal started as a #10 and Servania started as the #8 in a 4-2-3-1. In the second half Pomykal was pushed to the right wing. Servania moved to the #10.

     
    Pl@ymaker repped this.
  2. Sandon Mibut

    Sandon Mibut Member+

    Feb 13, 2001
    Interesting that both Pomykal and Servania got a shot as the 10.
     
  3. Clint Eastwood

    Clint Eastwood Member+

    Dec 23, 2003
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    FCD scrimmaged the University of Arizona yesterday (club team?) and demolished them 9-0. As they should. Nothing really noteworthy other than Pomykal continuing to get looks as a #10. [Also........................Pareja loves his Demon Deacons :)]

     
  4. Clint Eastwood

    Clint Eastwood Member+

    Dec 23, 2003
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    By the way........................we're REALLY close to needing an "in-season" thread. FCD's first game is this Wednesday. FCD has one last pre-season game today against Portland down in Arizona and then its on to Panama for the first leg in the CCL against Tauro.

     
    Tactical Hipster and Pl@ymaker repped this.
  5. Clint Eastwood

    Clint Eastwood Member+

    Dec 23, 2003
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    #455 Clint Eastwood, Feb 17, 2018
    Last edited: Feb 17, 2018
    Watching FCD versus Portland right now. Cannon started at right back for FCD, and Farfan started at left back for Portland. It looked to me like it was mostly starters versus starters, so good to see both getting the starts. Both had some dangerous runs on the attacking end. I thought Farfan struggled a little more defensively than Cannon. Marco was trying to deal with Barrios running at him the whole half, and he got burned multiple times. Good experience for Marco dealing with that today. Particularly the 2nd goal came from a buildup down his side.

    FCD is leading 2-0 at the half on a brace from Maxi Urruti.

    FCD is expected to make wholesale changes at the half. Portland expected to go with starters a little longer. Paxton starts in the 2nd half as a #10. Marco came off for Portland, so nothing of interest there right now.
     
    Pl@ymaker and TarHeels17 repped this.
  6. SUDano

    SUDano Member+

    Jan 18, 2003
    Rochester, NY
    I saw the game and agree. Paxton has such good control and reads the game well. I think he's a year away. He still needs to fill out physically and still defers to older players to make plays. I really like him and Servania as players. Servania is a better version of Ulloa.
     
  7. Bob Morocco

    Bob Morocco Member+

    Aug 11, 2003
    Billings, MT
    Pomykal got the ball in some good spots in transition moments/on breaks and his final throughballs were off. Needed better weight, shape and he could have had multiple assists. Could also have done better moving into spaces off the ball when Dallas won it in midfield to either provide an outlet or draw defenders and open up room for the guy now on the ball. Cannon looked pretty good.
     
  8. Clint Eastwood

    Clint Eastwood Member+

    Dec 23, 2003
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    Yup. Pomykal sees all of those runs, and he sees those throughballs. Needs a little more experience there. He's also having to work with Colman, who's never seen a scoring chance he couldn't blow. But overall I think folks can see the potential. If we can count on an MLS coach to help him develop his game, Pareja is probably it.

    Ferreira and Servania came into the game and did some nice work.

    We did see Kellyn Acosta come out of this game with what looked like an aggrevation of his groin injury. That moves Servania one peg up the pecking order for Wednesday. But I think the central midfield starters will be Ulloa and Grueso with Hayes on the bench. Jacori Hayes has really improved over the last two seasons. Nice seeing that former US U17 coming into his own.

    So the Clint Eastwood prediction for Wednesday night is Cannon starting and Pomykal on the bench.
     
    TCS35 and TarHeels17 repped this.
  9. SUDano

    SUDano Member+

    Jan 18, 2003
    Rochester, NY
    The two balls I saw were right on. One was perfect and I think Akindele got pushed off the ball. The other was to Colman was a little off but I saw Colman jogging and not sprinting and he looks woefully out of shape trying to run. An in shape Colman or anyone gets to that ball to round the GK. When through balls don't work they aren't always 'off' solely because of the passer.
     
  10. TarHeels17

    TarHeels17 Member+

    Jan 10, 2017
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Lots of relevant preseason games today:

    1:00 PM ET New England vs Sporting KC: Angking hasn't gotten a lot of minutes for New England, but hopefully Lindsey keeps his starting streak going. Busio has also gotten a lot of minutes lately.

    4:00 PM ET NY Red Bulls vs Portland: Adams, obviously. He also captained them in the last game, which is something awesome and only the Red Bulls would ever do. Also, not thread-eligible, but homegrown returnee Amando Moreno has gotten minutes off the bench. Mines is with NYRBII for now.

    For Portland, if Farfan starts, that's a very good sign. He started last game, and two's a pattern. Ebobisse has gotten miniscule minutes. Williamson didn't even play last game.

    5:00 PM ET D.C. United vs Jacksonville Armanda: Couple of injuries in midfield for DC, so hopefully Durkin gets some good time.

    7:30 PM ET Atlanta vs Minnesota | beIN Sports: Give the people what they want.

    7:30 PM ET Montreal vs Philadelphia: Trusty should start, but it will be interesting to see how Fontana and Real are used.
     
    Winoman, Pl@ymaker and Anderson11 repped this.
  11. ielag

    ielag Member+

    Jul 20, 2010
    The NYRB 1st team is in Costa Rica for a CCL match on Thursday.

    The match is closed door against Honduran side Olimpia. Will be televised on UDN.
     
    TarHeels17 repped this.
  12. ussoccer97531

    ussoccer97531 Member+

    Oct 12, 2012
    Club:
    --other--
    You forgot about Redding for NYRB, but he probably won't play. He seems to be the back up CB.
     
  13. Dave Marino-Nachison

    Jun 9, 1999
    This one's particularly interesting to me. He didn't look like a guy who would tear the league up as a rookie (and he didn't) but he does seem to have MLS ability and should've benefited from a year of seasoning. Maybe the coaching change doesn't help him -- but I'm also not clear on what the depth chart is there now. Any close Timbers watchers here?
     
  14. C-Rob

    C-Rob Member

    May 31, 2000
    Farfan started because Vytas was suspended for the first half because of his red card the previous game.

    Ebosisse is decidedly the #3 forward. Adi and Armenteros are head and shoulders above.

    I believe Williamson is training with T2.
     
    TarHeels17 repped this.
  15. Gorky

    Gorky Member+

    Jul 28, 2006
    NYC
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The NYRB team vs Portland will be NYRB II, which will include Redding at this point.
     
    Pl@ymaker repped this.
  16. ussoccer97531

    ussoccer97531 Member+

    Oct 12, 2012
    Club:
    --other--
    This is the same logic that has like 2 or 3 young Americans playing per season. "Generic Foreign Player" is a lot better, look at their resume!

    Maybe both are better, but Ebobisse has earned a consistent MLS role after his play last season. If a young player earns a role, you don't bring in players to take their minutes or you sell players on the team who would take their minutes. Nearly every player on the U-20 WC team will be playing a regular role in MLS (or a better league) this season. The fact that he won't get it speaks to the problem with this league. Even the GK's are starting to find their way into the first team. Klinsmann has played a first team match, Scott has sat on the bench, Marcinkowski might be the back up this season.

    The only players from that team who won't play a consistent role, besides goalies (whether its starter or regular back up) this season seem to Ebobisse, Williamson, Sargent (just turned 18), Kunga and De La Torre. Two players on the Timbers (a team that is notorious for not giving young Americans a chance), a player on Atlanta United (go figure) and a player playing in England (go figure again). Maybe include Zelalem here, but he's injured, and he'll play somewhere when he's not injured.

    And Ebobisse was one of the better players on that team. He did well in his first MLS season in the few minutes he got. Thats not the MLS way though. That wouldn't get mythical respect from Europe to give young Americans playing time. I think this is exactly the type of situation a player like Sargent is talking about in that recent interview. Would Pulisic or McKennie be playing if they were in MLS? Probably not, a 27 year old with a European resume would've been brought in, and they'd be sitting in the reserves.
     
  17. TarHeels17

    TarHeels17 Member+

    Jan 10, 2017
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    ckajMonet repped this.
  18. C-Rob

    C-Rob Member

    May 31, 2000
    Or, you know, it could be that Ebobisse is just not good enough. You argue against these "generic foreign players'" resumes, and yet you are doing the same thing with Ebobisse's youth resume. Neither matters. It's what happens on the training and playing fields right now that matters. There are thousands of high draft picks and hot-shot prospects out there who tore it up as youths, but who simply cannot transition to the professional game for whatever reason. Ebobisse may or may not be one of those players. Armenteros and Adi are above him because they are producing. They score goals, get assists, and just as importantly, open the field with their movement and hold-up play. They can also do enough with the ball at their feet to create a little space for themselves.

    Ebobisse had exactly one good game last season for Timbers or T2. One. In that game he had a decent goal and a really nice backheel assist. The rest of the year, his poor movement ("Ooh, my teammate has ball in space. I need to run at the goal. Otherwise, I'm good standing where those defenders can see me at all times.") stalled attacks and had his teammates glaring at him on the field. When he has the ball at his feet, he does nothing productive with it, whether because of a lack of skill or a lack of confidence in his skill. He does seem to be a quite good first-touch passer, and his hold-up play is pretty good, but that is all he brings. The job of any player on the field is to make his team better, and Ebobisse has not shown that for the Timbers.

    Farfan, on the other hand, has shown that he can make the team better. The main difference between Vytas and Farfan is that Farfan makes more mistakes, which is understandable given the age and experience disparity. As long as he learns from those mistakes and the tate of mistake-making continually decreases, he deserves to get more time. Last year, Vytas was clearly a better player, but this preseason, that gap has narrowed to the point that there is little to no difference. Farfan has earned minutes, and if he doesn't get them, the Timbers deserve all the venom they receive.

    It's like some of you have never coached soccer in your lives. Just giving minutes to some hyped player because of the hype gained as an amateur player isn't going to help that player, nor is it going to endear the rest of the players to that coach or player. To become a better player, you need to do what is necessary to fight and win minutes, and coaches need to reward those who improve the team with those minutes. This is the way it is done with every successful coach, at every level, and in every sport. Poor coaches give minutes to players who don't deserve it and don't give minutes to players that deserve it. Good coaches are in the middle.
     
    TCS35 repped this.
  19. Gorky

    Gorky Member+

    Jul 28, 2006
    NYC
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Redding, Mines, and Kyle Duncan start for RBNY (II) against Portland. Farfan starts for Portland, Ebobisse on the bench.
     
    Pl@ymaker repped this.
  20. UnitedBorn

    UnitedBorn Member+

    Dec 7, 2015
    301
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Durkin in the XI vs Jacksonville but no stream available
     
  21. Sandon Mibut

    Sandon Mibut Member+

    Feb 13, 2001
    ussoccer97531 and TarHeels17 repped this.
  22. Anderson11

    Anderson11 Member

    Nov 23, 2012
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Didn’t tune in in time to see Farfan play, how’d he do? Vytas scored a pretty bad own goal in the second half. It probably doesn’t matter, but hey, it’s preseason.
     
  23. C-Rob

    C-Rob Member

    May 31, 2000
    He was fine. Had a few bright moments and a few where he didn't look as good. He didn't do much to stake his claim on a starting spot, nor did he do anything to hurt it. Vytas, on the other hand, had that awful backpass, another terrible pass out wide, and was beaten on the cross that nearly resulted in RBNY's best goal-scoring chance in the 2nd.
     
  24. ussoccer97531

    ussoccer97531 Member+

    Oct 12, 2012
    Club:
    --other--
    None of the YNT players in the lineup for Atlanta.
     
    Pl@ymaker repped this.
  25. TarHeels17

    TarHeels17 Member+

    Jan 10, 2017
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Atlanta starts the usual lineup (minus an injured Villalba), which consists of Gressel at right wing and Nagbe and McCann in midfield.

    Personally, I think it's completely egregious that Carleton isn't even getting a chance. If you're gonna say "he's too young", I'm sorry, but he's three months older than Pulisic was when he started playing in the Bundesliga. And that's not even talking about how Goslin can't get a chance to play over CHRIS MCCANN.

    I don't understand how everyone in the world can see the on field difference except Tata. Doyle sees it. Parchman sees it. The U17 world cup saw it. Everyone on here sure as hell sees it. Carleton is a premier talent in his age group in the entire world, and Tata would rather give 89 minutes to Julian Gressel when the games matter even less than they do in the regular season.

    This is a coach that is scared to take a chance, and one that would pay off almost immediately.
     

Share This Page