Much was expected of him 5-6 years ago, and now we're seeing that his ceiling may be no more than an MLS journeyman, at best. We've repeated this process time and time again, i.e., we hype young prospects and then when they don't meet our original expectations we act all surprised. The flavor of the moment seems to be Carleton. Maybe, just maybe, Tata Martino knows what he's doing in not giving Carleton minutes. Look, I would like nothing more than to see Carleton blossom into a really good player, but right now he's a young prospect, and that's all. He could go in many directions. Maybe he'll become a mainstay of the USMNT, or maybe he'll be Gil 2.0. We shall see...
Gil also is example 9879870987345 of why USYNT performance really means nothing with regards to future success at the adult pro level. He was arguably our best player at the 2013 U20 World Cup, scoring a cracker against Spain. Still only 23.......................so I'd also caution on writing him off just yet. It seems to me that clubs still can't find a position for him. Perhaps he's not good enough as a #10 for MLS clubs to build around. Was he going to start in Orlando over frickin' Kaka. And we can go around the league and find it hard to locate a starting spot. So is he a two-way central midfielder? Not really. RSL tried that with only moderate success.
A lot of players who come up as attacking mids need to reinvent themselves when they're not quite good enough to play that at pro level. Daniel Hernandez and Kyle Beckerman are great examples of guys who learned to play tougher and move back a few feet and became very good defensive mids. Gil likely needs to this to to prolong his career.
Outside of the sketchiness of LAGs claim at the very least this gives clubs an incentive to actually have an academy. Sooner or later McK, Wright and others will return to MLS. This gives clubs some hope for all the work put into these guys.
I'm starting to track Arena callups by YOB. Here's the latest (before August callups): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17xb1g8Jd2bWrXU4g3fXX1aC4A3EQcKYir1ZtHXXGoT8/edit?usp=sharing If you're telling time by U20 cohorts, 89/90 is in the lead. The 87 year has the most players called in, followed by 90 and 93. Obviously this is not the only way to measure the pool.
Updated to reflect latest callups (which didn't add any new players, so the birth year numbers are the same). There are gaps at the old and young ends of the list -- no '80, '96 or '97 players under Arena.
Here's a story on why Chase Gasper ('96) transferred from UCLA to Maryland for his last season: In shuffling from one powerhouse to another, Gasper did not lose program status. And in returning to the area, he gained proximity to his father, a former backup quarterback at Ohio State who is stricken with small fiber neuropathy (SFN), a condition that causes severe pain attacks. “It takes a huge weight off my shoulders,” Chase said. “It feels so much better to be close to home.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-back-to-maryland-now-hell-reunite-with-ucla/
I'd say its a big year for Junior, but I've said that the last three years. Local, Junior Flores Returned To Play For BVB II As They Beat The @rodajckerkrade U23's 3-1 Today!#RepDMV pic.twitter.com/mR42LUJDPu— DMV Soccer (@DMVSoccer96) September 1, 2017
Gil was pretty good when he was like 19 playing for RSL. I think fitness and mentality are underrated qualities. Underrated simply because we can't see it behind the scenes. I remember reading a story Cristiano doing an extra hour of free kick practice just on his own after all the players went home. And I know from my own terrible soccer career how many super talented guys I saw get hurt and half ass rehab and just never recover to as good as they were not because they couldn't recover but they just didn't put the work in. Not accusing Luis Gil of anything specific but based on what I saw at 18-19 there's no way he should be a MLS backup. Pelosi at least you can blame a lot of on his leg injury.
Looking over the 95/96 U20 class, a number of those guys are still in college. Some, like Polley, Gasper and Reeves, have transferred. One who finished school and isn't a pro is Trevor Haberkorn, who was in the PDL this summer.
I haven't given up on this player. Seems to be getting his career somewhat back on track.................. It seems as though Novakovich makes the team of the week.....every week https://t.co/7Sq0LqVnD6— Joey (@USAprospects) September 19, 2017
Bradford Jamieson has scored in two straight games for the Galaxy. Feels like he's been around forever, but he's still just 20. He's only about 3 months older than Sebastian Saucedo. May turn into a good MLS player after all.
Good article from Brian on how bad the 1990 to 1994 birth years were for US soccer, with 1993 and 1994 being atrocious. http://americansoccernow.com/articles/the-missing-years-u-s-soccer-s-development-gap
I wonder if Nagbe really counts since his dad was a Liberian pro and he didn't settle in the US until 11.
I don't think he ever got US citizenship, but I felt like sharing this because I just stumbled across him: Cristhian Hernandez is now with Tepic in the Mexican third tier.
When I think of him I think of JImmy McLaughlin as well. I saw Jimmy twice this season for Cincinnati and he looks like a kid capable of making the jump back to MLS.
I can't believe I used to like Dallas. I really can't. Lineup looking familiar for #SEAvFCD. Full lineup notes: https://t.co/EnTPNEulpu pic.twitter.com/TRTmowu88C— FC Dallas (@FCDallas) October 15, 2017