YNT-Eligible MLS Players: 2018 In-Season Thread

Discussion in 'Youth National Teams' started by Dave Marino-Nachison, Feb 20, 2018.

  1. Lookingforleftbacks

    Galaxy
    United States
    Dec 17, 2016
    Los Angeles
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Breaking records for playing time means very little if youre only playing a small percentage of the players you could be. There’s no doubt that they have played a lot of home growns, but they also have by far the largest pipeline of talent coming through. No one else is even close. So “breaking records” really doesn’t mean much when you look at the big picture. Your point is like Duke basketball bragging that they played 2 5* players in the same starting lineup when they were redshirting 3 more and had 2 on the bench.
     
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  2. Balerion

    Balerion Member+

    Aug 5, 2006
    Roslindale, MA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    People on this board hold FCD to a higher standard than many other clubs in the league because they have higher expectations for FCD than they do for many other clubs. FCD's academy produces a lot of raw talent. The expectation is that they fully capitalize on their talent, but they haven't, in large part because of the maddening refusal to start a USL team until next year.

    I think a lot of the FCD criticism will go away when their USL team starts serving as a proving ground and intermediate step for their teenage talent. Right now they are giving a lot of minutes to HG products, but other than Cannon, very few of their younger players are doing anything. They're stuck, it's annoying, and there's no reason to pretend it's not annoying because they could very easily be in a much better situation playing 2000 minutes for FC Dallas II this year.

    LAG's academy production has been an utter joke, but is that really the benchmark you want to compare yourself to? I don't think so.
     
  3. jond

    jond Member+

    Sep 28, 2010
    Club:
    Levski Sofia
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The only way we'll see real change with the way MLS does business, which is anti-the American player, is if enough talent leaks overseas that the owners finally realize the wrongs of their system.

    Or they fold up their academies. And if that were to happen it's simply a result of the anti-development system they created in the first place.
     
  4. ussoccer97531

    ussoccer97531 Member+

    Oct 12, 2012
    Club:
    --other--
    Cannon also was handed a spot. He produced. Wasn’t under threat to be yanked from the 18 the next game, didn’t rotate weeks when he’d appear in the 18. This year he was given a spot and has done very well. Last season, he was treated like Pomykal has been this season. Pomykal in his two year career hasn’t even played the equivalent of five full games. How about he gets a chance to play regularly and then we state whether or not he can produce? He’s made some nice plays in his cameos. It’s not yet showing on the stat-sheet. And most of the uneven performances have come after he was out of the squad for awhile. Tough to perform in that situation. Will Aranguiz get that? Does Mosquera get that?
     
  5. TxEx

    TxEx Member+

    Tottenham Hotspur, Crystal Palace, FC Dallas
    Aug 19, 2016
    DFW
    Club:
    Tottenham Hotspur FC
    I'm not going to shower FCD with praise but I will say the one thing Pareja seems to have gotten right this season is rotation. They've played a ton of guys, with a wide variety of lineups every week. So yeah Pax may not be the #1 10 but he'll get more minutes just like others who are rotating in the team. If he hadn't been injured early in the season he'd have more minutes now.

    Everyone bashes on FCD because of Pax but that's because no one cares that Hayes, Reeves, Twumasi, Cano, and Ferreira are getting minutes in MLS and USL. Dallas plays a ton of younger players, most of whom are American but since they're not the "right" player we'll continue to hold FCD to a double standard that only three teams in the league actually meet. (RSL, NYRB, Philly)
     
  6. ussoccer97531

    ussoccer97531 Member+

    Oct 12, 2012
    Club:
    --other--
    I think playing in USL should be a minimum requirement for a player on a first team contract. Why are you signed if you can’t even play for the reserves? Ferreira has one first team appearance. Only played a couple of minutes.
     
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  7. Baysider

    Baysider Member+

    Jul 16, 2004
    Santa Monica
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy

    I completely understand if they decide to try overseas, but it's hard to blame the Galaxy for this. They had an explicit plan to play academy players with the first team but the players weren't good enough. They set up the very first MLS USL team and players like Llanez, Mendez and Alvarez are getting plenty of playing time there. The one challenge is that the Galaxy have some very good players and so there is a high standard for first team playing time. But if they can't earn first team minutes, they can't really complain about playing in the USL.
     
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  8. Kombucha

    Kombucha Member+

    Jul 1, 2016
    Club:
    --other--
    If you don’t then the prospects could bail at age 18 and leave you holding the bag with nothing in return. So you end up signing the players at a younger and younger age before some could be ready for USL.

    RSL lose too many in a row and they are going to question the value of giving these guys scholarships and room and board at their academy and ferrying the players around the world for games.

    Unlike Dallas and LA, they both have a USL team and play young players.

    At some point it isn’t worth the investment to sign Aaron Herrera types. You got to also sign the Booths, Ledezma and Soto’s of the country.
     
  9. TarHeels17

    TarHeels17 Member+

    Jan 10, 2017
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    That's because from a USMNT perspective, those guys have either a small chance or pretty much no chance of becoming a key player at any level.

    There's only two guys in that list that I personally pay attention to. The first is Ferreira. He has ~200 USL minutes, which is good for a team without a second team, but, like, Khai Brisco has 400. Ferreira's playtime isn't a good thing, it's probably average for an 00 of his level and extremely subpar for a team that aims to be the best youth development team in the US. However, he's so young I don't really think it matters yet.

    The other is Hayes. He's 23. He's a guy who can become a January camp mainstay, but I don't have much hope for him beyond that. I'd be surprised if he ever goes to Europe. I don't get particularly excited over Cristian Roldan or Marky Delgado for the same reasons.

    Pax's development matters, and right now. The best attacking player of his birth year in MLS, and top three overall, should easily get over 500 minutes at 18. Carleton is 6 months younger, but I rag on Atlanta for the same thing, and they have by far the most effective front line in MLS.

    The fact he has no USL to play in makes it a lot worse, but realistically Paxton should be fully integrated with the first team by now.
     
  10. Lookingforleftbacks

    Galaxy
    United States
    Dec 17, 2016
    Los Angeles
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I couldn’t agree with this more.
     
  11. TxEx

    TxEx Member+

    Tottenham Hotspur, Crystal Palace, FC Dallas
    Aug 19, 2016
    DFW
    Club:
    Tottenham Hotspur FC
    Part of the problem with Pax is injuries and YNT callups. He'd be playing against Houston this weekend if he was actually here. That's happened to him more than once and he's missed months this season and last season because of injuries.

    I want him to play more but a lot of this is not in any way FCD's fault and yet they get vilified and blamed for his lack of minutes.
     
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  12. ussoccer97531

    ussoccer97531 Member+

    Oct 12, 2012
    Club:
    --other--
    We aren't talking about a particularly high level. These YNT types should be able to play in USL at 15, 16, 17, etc.
     
  13. FC Dallas 1

    FC Dallas 1 Member

    Jun 18, 2016
    Club:
    FC Dallas
     
  14. FC Dallas 1

    FC Dallas 1 Member

    Jun 18, 2016
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    Paxton played last year open cup about a month after surgery at SMU stadium. I was there. He played very well. After that game FCD might not have played him another minute. He wasn’t hurt and that game was before the homegrown game he played in.

    This year he was hurt in Dallas Cup. Missed about 6 weeks before playing open Cup in San Antonio.

    He’s played some since. Saying he’s injured doesn’t make sense. All payers miss minutes every season that’s part of the game. This is just an excuse.

    I’m for FCD signing a new 10 hopefully to let Paxton learn and grow from. But if you don’t give him minutes when you rest the better player then your screwing him.

    I agree with the poster above on Reggie given a position. But also Reggiie has done great after the first few games.

    I see a bigger isssue. Based on twitter, Dallas will announce a new 10 Tomorrow. Their last 2 signings are 21-22 years old and bragging each one has 100 plus games. That means someone gave them an extended chance to prove thenedlves.
    They are not giving Jesus, Brandon, paxton, and Brian the chance they are bragging about getting from South America. Good thing these players were not in dallas or they would we 21 with limited games.
     
  15. Pegasus

    Pegasus Member+

    Apr 20, 1999
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    This is an interesting question that I have wondered about across the world. Are players getting time as teenagers in some countries and MLS is not treating their own young players right? On Wiki the new FCD player Pablo Aranguiz shows to be 21 and started at his former and only club when he was 18. He had 51 appearances over those three years and scored 11 goals. Now at FCD Pomykal just turned 18 so if he averages 17 appearances the next three years and scores four goals per year he will equal what this new acquisition has done. Not sure that's out of reach at all.

    2015–2018 Unión Española 51 (11)
     
  16. Clint Eastwood

    Clint Eastwood Member+

    Dec 23, 2003
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    #1491 Clint Eastwood, Jul 21, 2018
    Last edited: Jul 21, 2018
    The thing is that posters on this board believe MLS is crap, MLS Cup isn't worth winning anyway, clubs should just give playing time to 17-18 year olds even if it isn't earned, and should be sold the second they show they're any good.

    So basically we have an MLS thread for people who don't actually care about MLS. MLS clubs have two motivations. Win trophies and be profitable businesses. FC Dallas has an open DP spot, open international spot, and a ton of cap space after the sales of Diaz and Nedyalkov. It would be sheer negligence by Clavijo and Pareja if they didn't use all of those resources available to them to invest in the squad and push for an MLS Cup. And based on recent games, which position does the team need help in? Even a cursory watching of FCD games indicates they need playmakers and goalscorers. The central midfield and defense have been good. Will the Chilean be that guy? I don't know. But I did watch the San Antonio and Minnesota games...……………….I do have eyeballs. Paxton Pomykal right now in 2018 is not a starting #10 on an MLS Cup or SS contender. People can counter that by saying they don't think FCD is an MLS Cup or SS contender anyway. Fine. But its the FCD front office's job to make signings that'll push them into that category. They didn't do so last year. They hit the midway point in first place and the front office/coaching staff did nothing to fix the cracks which were showing.

    And yes, signing guys who fill holes in the FCD first team may make playing time for homegrowns like Pomykal, Reynolds, and Ferreira tougher to come by. But none of them is a starter on an MLS Cup or SS champ in 2018. Maybe down the line, but certainly not now. Will the new Brazilian fullback or Chilean #10 be those guys? I don't know yet. But I know those youngsters aren't ready to assume that mantle. If Pomykal had gone out against San Antonio and Minnesota and really performed great...……...then I'd think differently. But against a USL team and a non-MLS playoff team, he didn't play great. That's right now in 2018. We saw it with our own eyes. Is that harsh? Yes, its tough. But this isn't supposed to be all orange slices and hugs. That's what would happen in Spain, Argentina, or Germany as well.

    By the way, did people watch Pax at the Dallas Cup? He was outperformed by Thomas Roberts, who's only a year younger than him. So not only does he have serious competition in the first team, he's got trouble behind as well. Cuz Thomas Roberts was training with the first team this week in a first team jersey (in Pax's absence). What position was he playing? He was playing as a #10.

    Practice report from Buzz:
    https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/soccer/soccer/2018/07/18/fc-dallas-practice-observations-july-18
    Roberts looks fantastic today, not out of place at all. He's so smooth on the ball, nifty on the dribble, has clean touch and wonderful passing vision with a dash of trickery. He's clearly confident, not shying away from the action and willing to take on anyone. Although asking him to defend is like asking a fish to pole vault. The thing he will most need to develop is ruthlessness, how to control a game and stop down the opposition. Hopefully, that will come with time.
     
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  17. ielag

    ielag Member+

    Jul 20, 2010
    Alphonso Davies looks like he's about to go to Bayern for $12 million
     
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  18. bballshawn

    bballshawn Member+

    Feb 5, 2014
    Delaware
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Bargain, shouldve been 20 mil.... wouldve been if he was brazilian
     
  19. bballshawn

    bballshawn Member+

    Feb 5, 2014
    Delaware
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    This game better start soon I'm tryna see 45 mins of carleton b4 work
     
  20. jond

    jond Member+

    Sep 28, 2010
    Club:
    Levski Sofia
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    That's because Brazilians have a far superior track record of transitioning to higher levels.

    When MLS transfers start transitioning to top levels more frequently, the price tags will increase.

    It's economics. It's confidence in a market.
     
  21. Sup Bro

    Sup Bro Member+

    Oct 26, 2012
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Assist for Carleton before being taken off in the 65th. Didn’t see him play other than the assist (which I think was slightly deflected), but producing points can only be good.
     
  22. mattjo

    mattjo Member+

    Feb 3, 2001
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Brandon Vazquez was subbed on to replace Carleton, so there is another young player who made an appearance.
     
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  23. ielag

    ielag Member+

    Jul 20, 2010
    Durkin picked up a yellow fouling Vazquez. Other than that, Durkin was probably the best player today for DC.
     
  24. ielag

    ielag Member+

    Jul 20, 2010
    McKenzie/Trusty get to up against Zlatan.
     
  25. Clint Eastwood

    Clint Eastwood Member+

    Dec 23, 2003
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    I'm convinced they held on to Ben Olsen until the move to the new stadium. A reward for sticking with them in their crap stadium while not investing in the squad. Now, though? He's going to be on a pretty hot seat soon.

    Not much to be excited about on that DCU squad. Its too bad they don't have more homegrowns to give opportunities to after their season tanks. Just keep throwing Rooney out there to sell jerseys.....…………………..
     
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