YNT-eligible MLS players: 2019 In-season Thread

The full highlights offer a longer view of his goal -- he collects an errant SJ throw-in and starts the play with a few dribbles where he aggressively attacks open space before beating the defender you see in the clip.



With that said, his play on the SJ goal that opened the game wasn't exactly great.

 

Mark McKenzie with a BIG game for Philly

EDIT to insert Curtin’s quote

"That's the Mark that we all know... his ceiling is incredibly high, he and Jack have a great combination right now."
Curtin on McKenzie's strong performance tonight

— Philadelphia Soccer Now (@phlsoccernow) September 15, 2019

 

And very poor plays on the other two goals.

 

Brenden Aaronson: 25 games (1529 minutes); 3 goals; 1 assist
Pomykal: 23 games (1668 minutes); 2 goals; 2 assists

Whoscored ratings (if you believe in these sorts of things) are really close.

 

Pomykal's WS ratings are 7.33 as a cam and 6.93 as an 8. So that's still a very good season overall by their metrics. His assist:key pass rate is anomalously low. 2 total assists w/ 1.5 key passes per match. He has the lowest assist total of just about anybody around his key pass average. Watching the games, FCD botches an extraordinary amount of peaches from him, including yesterday. The front line are poor finishers, outside of when Ferreira is up there, and he's a poor target. Pax has also had a lot of near misses. His goal and assist total would really lead to underrating his creativity.

Aaronson's WS ratings are far inferior. We're talking 6.43, 6.56, and 6.9 (least games) at his 3 major positions. He hasn't been on his level as a creator, though he's surged lately. He's played closer to net on average as an a-wing/cam. Still averaging 1/2 a key pass less per match. Przybylko is an excellent finisher, so the assist opportunities are there. The finishing from Aaronson has left a lot to be desired. Bashful and not a powerful shooter. He has a lot of room for improvement because his technique is actually sound and he can get into good spots from his dribbling ability + defensive tenacity, like Pomykal possesses. I think it comes with physical growth and experience. He's a little younger, less experienced, and much more physically immature. But seems like he has a good head on his shoulders like Paxton. Both similar, promising prospects, maybe a hair below elite for the U.S.

 

Ebobisse and WILLIAMSON are in the starting xi for Portland. Farfan is on the bench.

As for DCU, it's only Pines on the bench.

Game starts at 2:30 Central on ESPN.

 

Williamson will need to be a “glue” player who plays further from the goal. I don’t think he will ever be a star, but he can have a useful career as a squad player - particularly on a squad like Portland who are not supported by a strong academy.

Leaving DC United may have been the best thing that ever happened to him. Time will tell, but I think he is in a good place for him.

 

He's not a creative dynamo, but doesn't need to be as an 8. He actually has plus ability in that department. And he has the range, anticipation, plus strength to win balls. He's pretty good at spraying them around. Makes some random mistakes, but you can live with them.

I think you're underrating the potential he's showing for how inexperienced he is, his physical tools, form, and game. He rightfully got a round of applause from the home crowd after he exited. Looks like a solid MLS starter to me as an over-under, has the attributes to realistically translate his abilities to the senior team, and he's now firmly in the conversation w/ the likes of Servania, Cappis, Dotson, Parks, etc. to be part of the cm in Olympic qualifying.

 

You are looking at him in the most optimistic possible circumstances and I am trying to anticipate the normal obstacles like the league getting more money for better players with the upcoming collective bargaining agreement, academies producing better and better players, normal injuries, etc. Neither one of us are wrong - he could be either. There is just no way to tell.

It would always be nice if he hits the high end of his potential, but I do remember having these kinds of discussions about Cameron Carter-Vickers a few years ago. I saw his ceiling as high Championship/low premier league, but others saw him as no more than a year from being an important player for Spurs. The game keeps evolving and players need to be able to continue to evolve just to keep pace - it isn’t enough to stay the same. Can Williamson evolve so fast that he will pass others while hanging on to his position against all challengers? Time will tell, but one thing in his favor is the lack of a strong academy in Portland.

 

Under the hypothetical MLS becomes Ligue 1 level like they claimed they would around this point, years ago, then being a rotational player in MLS would mean something different, though progress is likely much more gradual than that.

You're talking to the wrong person about CCV. Never bought in to that hype. He had a fairly predictable ceiling due to lack of physical tools, which is not the case for Williamson, while Eryk also possesses sufficient skill and awareness as a foundation. Improves in the latter areas w/ experience as many players do, then he's a national teamer in some capacity.

If players generally have to evolve because quality of play in the sport is constantly improving, then that's true of anybody, and he's in better position than most to do it as an inexperienced u-23.

 

One more -- here's a highlight reel from that game. I wasn't there (and, anyway, I'm hardly anyone's expert on Keaton Parks) but the kind of play shown in these clips illustrates what to me looks like a guy with the talents to be a key U23 contributor and a guy who can get into the MNT mix. Shows a lot of different looks here.

https://9to5mac.com/2019/08/20/apple-arcade-hands-on-early-access-mac-video-walkthrough/

 

hmm...I don't know...but parks always seems to me to be a thoughtful, skillful, but agonizingly just below international level player,

 

I think his level, certainly when displaying the range of abilities displayed in the SJ video, is well within the range that would make him an option for CONCACAF U23 qualifying.

Obviously there's another level (or levels) beyond that. I said "can get into" the MNT mix, not "should currently be in the middle of" it.

 

The Agony and the NYCFC: starring Keaton Parks - the Michelangelo of MLS!

 

He's still a soft player, but his defensive reads look a lot better. Parks is better than a player like Yueill, IMO. I'd like to see him getting some NT call ups soon.

 

I'm surprised it wasn't mentioned, but Busio had an assist yesterday. I know he's not a big favorite among most fans (I'm not a big fan either), but he's had a productive season. In all competitions, he's totaled 744 minutes, and has 3 goals and 2 assists. For a player whose been 16/17 this season, thats a very productive season, IMO.

https://streamable.com/h229x

 

Missed a sitter too which was a bummer. But overall looked fairly lively.

 

He looks much bigger.

 

Perhaps this has been posted, but I think there has still been some confusion over Ferreira. From the USMNT press release on the U23 camp:

INTERNATIONAL STATUS:
FC Dallas forward Jesus Ferreira and Kilmarnock FC defender Niko Hamalainen are not yet eligible to play for the U-23 MNT. While Ferreira has obtained his U.S. citizenship, the process continues to finalize his eligibility. Dual-national and Miami native Hamalainen also remains ineligible to play as he has previously played for Finland and would need to apply for a change of federation.
“Regardless if they’re eligible to play in games, you always want to see those players up close and how they interact with your group” Kreis said. “So it’s been really nice to have them here this week.”

 

Big game with massive implications tonight................

This is a surprisingly honest statement from Reggie about tonight’s tilt in SEA:

“But this game is going to decide it, so it’s going to give us the momentum to push or it’s going to flatten us out.” https://t.co/fsvtcmIb9l

— 3rd Degree (@3rdDegreeNet) September 18, 2019

 

You gotta think if Dallas lose then Reggie will want to move on. 2 seasons as a starter, now an all star, on a team with no chance of winning a championship?

He needs to leave in this summer for Europe. His stock isn't going to raise much further in this league. And at this point, he should be able to go to a mid-table or lower-table Bundesliga side and get minutes. He likely has 2 years left on his contract (signed before the 2017 season) so Dallas should get a healthy fee (I'm thinking ~$4m) and start to integrate Reynolds. It's the perfect time.

 

Agree but would change the first part by eliminating the "if" part of the statement. I think that Reggie is or at least should be seriously considering moving on regardless of whether or not FCD make the playoffs.

As far as the fee....I can't agree or disagree but it sounds reasonable enough to me. (although if Long was worth $5M as I believe was reported, I think Reggie should be worth at least that much given his younger age).

 

His MNT stock might also not get much higher, meaning mainly that he's had a good chance to show what he can do at that level this year and might have more trouble doing so in 2020. The question of Yedlin's health; the chance of a breakout for Robinson or Gloster or, I dunno, Bello; a possible shift of Dest to RB if LB actually looks solid; an uncertain plan for Adams... Maybe the #1 or #2 spot is Cannon's to lose, but it seems like he's been kind of fortunate this year, even if he has taken advantage of the opportunity.

 

Kyle Duncan scored last night:

1174515481530785793 is not a valid tweet id

Game of his career https://t.co/ak002GBXAB

— Brian Sciaretta (@BrianSciaretta) September 19, 2019