YNT-Eligible MLS Players: 2018 In-Season Thread

There's a key difference. Reggie is a defender. Pomykal is not.

MLS is set up so most of the money goes towards mids/attackers. That leads to American defenders often getting more chances as that's not where most investment is.

 

I’ve watched these kids for years abd you are correct. There seems to be no plan and that’s sad for a club that says homegrown are the lifeline.

I agree paxton should run as far and fast as he can. But no one knows what he wants, maybe he wants to stay in dallas?

I think attacking potential honegrown players in dallas should pay attention to this. The staff won’t give you a chance unless your 25 or you are South American.

Arranguiz looks like he fully deserves his chance. But every other attacking player this year has been crap including last night. The coach in his interview said they were good. That tells you all you need to know, he’s convincing himself that what he watched was quality.

I have no clue if he can access a EU passport but A passport doesn’t matter once your 18 unless you want to go to England.

I hope he packs up and demands a move as I’ve watched him for years and he deserves better and has earned better than this.

Jesus, reynolds, thomas, servania don’t belong in the back line, which means they will have the same problems.

 

People were saying the same thing last season as FCD played Grana every week instead of Cannon.

Keep in mind that when the season started nobody thought Paxton was going to be a regular starter for this team. We can go look at our predictions early in this thread. I thought he'd be a routine substitute with sporadic starts in the USOC, etc. I was hoping for 500 minutes. I said all along that he was a backup #10. When Diaz left, folks seemed to assume that meant pax should no longer be viewed as a backup #10, but as some sort of starting-caliber player. I don't know why they assumed that.

It is true that FCD has less success in attacking positions when compared to the defense, midfield, and goalkeeping. One can also argue that's the case for the EVERY MLS team. I don't know why people bash FCD consistently about this. The standard for #10s in the league is REALLY high. That's where clubs invest their DP, international slots, etc. So the standard is Almiron, Valeri, Lodeiro, Piatti, Kaku, Moralez, and the list goes on. It seems every club has that type of international-caliber starter at #10. Its that important of a position. So yes, its difficult for young American #10s to break thru. Or Americans of any age for that matter. Fontana started one game there for Philly this year, but we've not seen much of him since Philly brought in the Czech international Dockal.

Let's be clear here. Oscar Pareja was an international caliber #10, playing in that role for Colombia in tournaments such as the Copa America. He's forgotten more about playing that position than all posters on BigSoccer combined times 17. So I imagine that his standards are really high compared to other positions.

 

I've said this before, but I think it holds true: FCD has more talent in their academy than almost anywhere else. With FCD's level of teenage talent comes more scrutiny and expectations.

It's fairly clear right now that FCD either doesn't have a real plan for teenage players or simply doesn't have a very good one. Perhaps that will change with the advent of a USL team. I know you always point to Reggie Cannon, but having one teenage player getting any real minutes at all really isn't all that impressive when you have FCD's academy talent. Paxton Pomykal is pretty clearly lower than second on the depth chart at #10, btw. Mosquera, Urruti will play ahead of him if Aranguiz is not available.

Here's an example: my team, the Revs, have given zero minutes to teenagers. But New England also is relatively barren in terms of soccer talent and Friedel only has one domestic teen to work with (who was out for most of the year with an unspecific sickness and also isn't considered one of the best players from his birth year like Pomykal). Friedel also isn't responsible for the quality coming out of the Revs' academy at this point.

One problem that I think exists in most places around the league, which includes but is certainly not exclusive to Dallas, is that young players seem to be held to wildly different standard than veteran players. Young attackers especially have to be epic in every little sub appearance or else they get benched. Veteran players have to have sustained periods of suckitude in order for young attackers to even get a chance in the first place. For example, Jonathan Lewis has 1g/3a in about two full games' worth of minutes, but he goes a few more sub appearances (19', 30', 15' — less than a full game) without a counting stat and now he's out of the 18. Meanwhile, Rodney Wallace has one assist in 660 minutes this season.


It's true that we're not in training and don't see what happens there. It's also true that MLS clubs haven't exactly earned the benefit of the doubt. And it's also seemingly very true that top prospects around the league are observing, talking, and voting with their feet.

 

The main problems is as others have indicated, the HG attacking players are not held to the same standard as the current players or the ones OSCAR and Clavijo find in South America. We can see how it plays out but I anticipate there will be some growing pains with Arrainguez as well. I would be willing to bet he is given a significantly higher number of chances and minutes than Pax simply because he is from South America. Anyone that has seen Pax play knows he is one of the best attacking players in age group in the US and dazzles each time he is called to the National Team, yet OSCAR won't give him a real look in a third tier league.

FCD has ridden the reputation that it produces youth players but does it really? In terms of Senior National team members they produced Jessie Gonzalez, Acosta (who may not get many more calls) and maybe Brek Shea, although he was not a FCD HG. The local non-mls DA club Dallas Texans has produced more influential players for the US National team in Dempsey and Omar Gonzalez and a better player than any FCD HG in Lee Ngyen. Solar produce Blaine Ferri a starter on the US U17 World Cup team last cycle.

With the resources and pull FCD gets in the DFW area and the entire county, they are underperforming on producing players. Possibly because they don't trust them in the Senior team.

 

What does it matter how much we thought he'd play? You seem to be taking what people think will happen to indicate what opinions should be. Did you think Carleton would play a lot for Atlanta this season? Now you are saying that he should play more. He wasn't going to play much, and he should be playing more. Both can be true, as is the case with Pomykal. I also believe you said 1000 minutes, not 500 minutes.

 

Wasn’t the “plan” for Cannon essentially just “don’t play him...don’t play him...don’t play him...Ok Grana is gone and we need a cheap RB, Reggie is the starting RB now”.

 

I agree that RSL has done the best for HGs this year.

Acosta was playing extremely well but then suddenly had a bad run of 2-3 games before Herrera replaced him. I agree Acosta has better potential but that’s not just going to get him time over Herrera.

Saucedo has been mediocre for awhile now. He’s had 2 great, and 1 amazing game all year; that’s it though.

 

Late in stoppage time, Bofo got the ball on the left wing with a lot of guys in the box.

Problem is, literally every single person in the stadium knew he was going to take a few touches toward the endline, cut back on his right foot, and shoot about chest-high towards the near post. His effort was comfortably saved.

He has the highest shot rate on the team, which makes it even more remarkable that he only has 2 goals in his entire RSL career.

 

When was this bad run of 2-3 games? Doesn't seem like anyone can pinpoint it?

I don't know why you are trying to find logic in something thats not logical. Acosta is a much better player than Herrera. Combine the fact that Herrera is a right footer at LB, and I don't see how someone could seriously try to say Herrera is a better option right now. This comes down to whatever problem Petke is having with Acosta. With Acosta in the lineup the last two seasons, RSL statistically plays like the best team in the league. Without him, they statistically play like a bottom five team in the league.

 

I agree that Acosta is a much better player than Herrera, but before he was benched he was not playing as well as he was earlier in the season.

He was giving the ball away more frequently, and more of his tackles were mistimed.

His last few games he appeared only marginally better than Herrera has been playing, but I’m sure the benching is also because of his relationship with Petke.

 

Of course not...............................

And lest we forget, FCD had a ton of cap space and international slots to work with. Still do. The club CHOSE not to bring in another RB this off-season and into this transfer window. Whether the plan was communicated effectively to the player is something I don't know............................

Big difference between the two.

Carleton's performance level in the opportunities he's been given this year determine that he SHOULD be playing more. Even when Andrew comes on for a 5 minute cameo, he does SOMETHING to earn more playing time.

In Pax's last two starts for FCD, he did nothing. In his last start as a #10 he didn't play a single attacking ball forward into the box from central midfield. And that was against one of the worst teams in MLS (Minnesota pre-Darwin Quintero impact).

Now that doesn't mean I've given up on him or that FCD has given up on him. I have no idea what Pareja and the staff think. All I know is that a team gunning for trophies this season was not going to continue with that level of performance from a #10.

This isn't unusual or anything. Paxton Pomykal is only slightly older than Ben Mines. Both 18. Where has Ben Mines been? Where has Anthony Fontana been? I can provide a whole bunch of examples.

And I know Pax deserves more chances, but...............

 

Just to correct one thing, his performance a couple of games ago was very good. Should've had an assist. He's also had a bunch of good matches this season. I remember you complimenting one or two of them. Lets not move the goalposts here, and make it seem like he's struggling. We are also only talking about a couple hundred minutes. The South American attacking mids at Dallas could go that amount of time without doing anything with no ability to have their spot under threat by Pomykal.

 

Darwin Quintero played 90 minutes in the game that Pax started in MN. They were also packing the middle of the field with lots of numbers (and basically just hoping to spring Quintero on the counter), so there wasn't any space to play in there. Pax had a decent game even though he wasn't very effective -- there just wasn't much of an impact he could have made given how MNUFC were playing. Wouldn't have been any different if Mauro had been in there. He was active showing for the ball and did a good job of spraying the ball to people in space when he did get on it. Had two possessions around an extremely crowded 18 where he didn't do anything spectacular, but did well to keep possession in zone 14. His performance in MN was nothing spectacular, but far from bad. Disconcerting that he's not playing more, but without a magic ball that looks into next season, it's not impossible that FCD do have major plans for him. Just hard to imagine that given how they've handled this season...

 

Thought this was poignant:

2018 MLS:
• Luis Solignac has 702 minutes
• Carleton, Akinola, Pomykal, Ferreira, Toye, Vazquez, Williamson, Ebobisse & Lewis have combined for 758 minutes

— Matthew Doyle (@MattDoyle76) August 12, 2018

 

I think we are vastly overrating our young American attacking talent - and I think Pomykal and Carleton are good young players.

I want the kids to play as much as anyone, but haven't seen anything to tell me they should be taking the spot of current players. Their Managers must not be seeing it in training either, or they would get more chances.

 

If you look at stats for fcd attacking players, jesus and paxton should be playing. Everyone of our starters have had some seriously bad stretches of games with no accountability. Watching was actually worse than the stats which says alot. Maybe jesus and paxton would not do better, but watch the game and not the results.

That’s the problem, the coaches watch results and they should. You play like crap and win then you don’t change. You play like crap and don’t win, then you don’t change like last year.

You can’t tell me victor in the middle is better than Kellyn, but we were winning and staff didn’t change. Watch how that works out for us.

Hopefully the older veterans turn it around and the young kids can fill in when they can because if it’s tight, they won’t play

 

Is Ulloa (and Hayes) better than Servania? Thats another one I'm not sure about, but most of the discussion about Dallas is taken up by Pomykal and then Ferreira.

 

This is what's wrong with an MLS mouthpiece who learned the game thru video games.

Some of those players are not like the others.

Some there's a real argument for more playing time. Others are flat out mediocre.

Jesus, Pomykal and Carleton should be getting regular mins. I care not about the others.

Ebobisse, I have no idea how he became so overrated, but he did.

 

Ebobisse has produced everywhere he's played.

 

This is a pretty gross, baseless attack on a hard working dedicated journalist. Doyle watches seemingly every MLS game, and even knew of 01 USL player, Ethan Bryant, before most here. To suggest that he is a sham for a tweet, that to me has a base, is silly. Although he has had some wildly incorrect takes, for the podium he stands on as far as MLS publicity he says much less incorrect things than any of us would say.

 

Doyle is the only one who critics anything MLS. That's why they put Warsaw instead of him. Definitely not a mouthpiece.

 

Victor "the Crab" Ulloa is a pure #6. So named because all he does is run from side to side and bite people! Very different player to Servania, who is a "connector."

I think Servania is competing with Hayes for a spot in the 18 right now.
From everything we've heard, Brandon is "close." But who knows...................

I don't think Victor has been playing all that well in this recent stretch of games. I would start Grueso and Hayes this weekend with Servania on the bench. But that's just me........................

 

I think the problem is we rate our youth players highly without it being based on performance. Pax played well in a couple of performances this year. He came on twice in the 2nd half against clubs that were down to 10 men. On neither occassion was he playing as a #10. Once it was as a right winger and once it was as a #8.

Nobody could have watched Pomykal against San Antonio and Minnesota as a #10 and thought he played up to the standard needed from an FCD starting first team player. Nobody. Now, he was coming back from injury and wasn't match fit. We all know that. He deserves more chances to win a role, and he'll get those chances.

You either trust the coaching staff to make these judgments about which young players are ready to step up....................or you don't.

 

I disagree in that Pax is rated highly based upon his performance in the US National teams, his performance in pre-season scrimmages at FCD and his overall body of work. Don't disagree that he wasn't great in the two games you mentioned but that is not enough of a sample size to make a determination. He has the pedigree to warrant more time on the pro field. Same with Carleton, his play at the U17 WC and the times he has gotten in to MLS games warrants more play.

The problem with Oscar is he has favorites and its clear. Jessie Gonzalez had a howler of a game against San Jose ( a 10 year old would have saved the second goal) and really has not been playing well the last 4 or 5 games and yet Oscar did not bench him. Oscar benched Maurer for much less, yet Jessie is still the starter. At FCD, some players get a much longer rope than others.

Time will tell, but I anticipate Arrainguiz will struggle some getting used to MLS but he will get a much longer rope than PAX. That is why I tend to NOT trust who Oscar runs out and if it will be of any benefit to the HG players ( mainly the attacking ones)