YNT-Eligible MLS Players: 2018 In-Season Thread

MLS is worthless as a soccer league. Can we please stop focusing on MLS players? None of them should be considered for national team unless they move abroad.

 

I am willing to bet you actually don't know much about MLS... or "Europe" for that matter. Andrew Carleton, for example, has had a better coach and is in a better 18 than what 95% of European teams could offer. Tyler Adams is a pure bred MLS product and looks on par with McKennie and Pulisic at the moment. despite not getting the same Bundesliga or Champs League experience as them.

 

I can count on 1 hand the no. of min. Carleton got based on the games I watched this season. Adams and McKennie are outliers, not the norm. Armenia has Mkhitaryan but they're still a minnow.

 

It's not often I put someone on ignore, but when I do it's because they're batshit crazy.

 

Some BIG MLS coaching news: I'm told that Club Tijuana is set to hire Oscar Pareja as their new manager. Pareja will be leaving FC Dallas after five seasons as head coach. #MLS #DTID #Xolos https://t.co/BAxSKc52tT

— Ives Galarcep (@SoccerByIves) November 17, 2018

 

Yesssssss

 

Is that good?

 

If they hire a scrub MLS journey guy yes.

 

Is it good? Yes

Could they hire someone who could be as bad? Yes

 

If Luchi is Oscar's replacement, would think that could potentially be great news for their youngsters.

 

I like Pareja the person. He says all the right things about US players and play your kids but at times he's failed to follow through and his teams are not that fun to watch unless you catch them on the right night. I won't be sad to see him go but will also wish him well as I think he's done a lot to help FCD grow. He's also championed MLS when so many crap all over it.

This came out of the blue though. Wonder who's going to replace him. You would think FCD would be bound and determined to hire someone who is going to play their kids. Also wonder if this affects who they protect in expansion Hayes, instead of Ulloa, and who they don't bring back at all next season.

 

He was set to coach the USL team, now I wonder if they bring him on to coach MLS and hire someone else to coach USL.

 

I would not say it came out of the blue. However, Luchi would be a massive improvement if that is the case.

 

When you announce that you are taking staff with you and going to a place where Fabian Castillo is.....that is “NOT out of the Blue” or pure “coincidence”. I can also say, many knew this was coming but perhaps it did not filter down to the academy level.

 

Keep in mind that THE MOST OBVIOUS replacement for Pareja in the eyes of the local media is former FCD/Dallas burn legend Jason Kreis. 2nd choice? Caleb Porter. So I'll just warn all of those dancing on Pareja's grave...………...to be careful what they're wishing for. Both of those guys did squadoosh in terms of work with young players in previous jobs. [Internal candidates are Luchi Gonzalez and Marco Ferruzzi. Gonzalez is more likely to take over the USL team. Ferruzzi has been a long-time assistant of Pareja's that isn't moving to Tijuana.]

Keep in mind that Oscar Pareja has provided BY FAR the most minutes to homegrown players over the past 5 seasons. BY FAR. Not close. Whatever one might think about his handling of individual players recently (despite the fact that FCD finished 3rd in thread eligible minutes in 2018), overall he has been one of the biggest proponents of the initiative in MLS. And of course Pareja was the architect of the FCD academy that's been producing these players. He built it from nothing in 2007. Pareja's sphere of influence covers a TON of USMNT and USYNT players. [Also let's not forget his work with young players in Colorado before FCD poached him.]

I would also argue that without FCD under Pareja (and NYRB) lapping the field in terms of homegrown minutes to players a few years ago while also challenging for trophies...…………………….other clubs in the league wouldn't have followed. Totally crucial for the initiative league wide.

So now we see if FCD is able to hire a coach/GM combo (lest we forget, Fernando Clavijo has left his post as well) that can take their academy initiative to the "next level." Because it had lost momentum over the last two seasons. There's no debating that. To me the finger can be pointed to the Hunts on that one just as much as Clavijo/Pareja. It was the Hunts' decision not to start a USL team until 2019.

Its pure coincidence that Tijuana is where Fabian Castillo is

5 years is a good stretch at a club for an MLS coach. As an FCD fan I see 4 playoff appearances in 5 years, with three conference semifinals. Plus two trophies (SS, USOC), and deep run to the CCL semifinal (where they gave eventual champs Pachuca everything they could handle). This isn't one of the big money teams in MLS.

But...…………...turnover is good. All good things must come to an end.
And I think FCD fans new this was coming. Some thought it might come last off-season.

And this is also a nice step up in opportunity for Pareja.
In this US we don't just want to be promoting and developing players. We also want to be promoting and developing coaches. Lest we forget, Pareja isn't Tata Martino. He has been completely developed in the US as a coach, and has now gotten a really good, high profile job in Mexico. Nothing to sneeze at there. I think that Oscar Pareja is a US citizen now (his son certainly is), so this is an American coach getting a job overseas. If he was American-born, people would be making a big deal about this move.

 

I think this explains why OP didn't play as much youth as we thought he would. He was trying like crazy to get a title and knew he had one or two years to do it. The funny thing is he probably would have done better playing more kids.

 

I don't know if it would have been better...............just different.

What we can say is that FCD wasn't the same after Mauro Diaz tore his achilles in the penultimate game of 2016. Without that "magic unicorn" in the middle at the height of his powers, they were just kinda "blah." Nothing dynamic in attack. It didn't matter who was playing: Kids, vets. in-their-prime guys. Plan B without the great Mauro Diaz never materialized.

I'm basically on board with these comments by Parchman. I imagine there is no coach directly responsible for MORE Americans playing professionally right now than Oscar Pareja. I'd be happy to be proven wrong. There is no Weston McKennie without Oscar Pareja. So while he has his flaws and his drawbacks, I don't quite know why people are so happy to see him leave the league. The notion that the next regime in Dallas (both GM & coach) will have more of a youth development focus than Pareja/Clavijo is wishful thinking gone mad.

Your regular reminder DFW doesn’t possess a secretive wellspring granting children soccer powers. This can happen literally anywhere, in any city, with any club, right now.

— Will Parchman (@WillParchman) November 17, 2018

 

More coaching news:

Sources tell me that the Philadelphia Union and Jim Curtin have agreed to a new deal. Curtin will continue on as head coach.

Previously-scheduled press conference with Curtin, sporting director Ernst Tanner set to begin at 12 ET. https://t.co/YwoY0Nujes

— Sam Stejskal (@samstejskal) November 19, 2018

 

Well I guess we now know Earnie wasn't at least all (maybe not at all) to blame for Curtin.

 

What a crap lineup from Atlanta for our youths their for the game today. No Carleton and no Bello. Will definitely be rooting for NYRBs today.

 

Tyler Adams starts for NYRB.

Miles Robinson and Brandon Vazquez are on the bench for Atlanta.

 

Jeremy Ebobisse starts for Portland. Busio on the bench for SKC.

 

Thanks, Mike! ..... Appreciate you playing young Americans at RSL!!!! They can play!!! https://t.co/vnYtxyvsDQ

— Tab Ramos (@RamosTab) November 24, 2018

tab forgot to cc acosta

 

I wonder if he would live up that tweet if he takes over a team. My question is because I thought Hyndman and Porter as former college coaches used to working with young players didn't play many.