Assumptions. Big man I really dont care to expose who I know just for a purpose of argument. Its really that simple. I could name drop all day. You probably wouldnt believe anyway. Its not that serious to me. I simply know guys who have a different opinion from you on this subject matter.
And it is opinion and a pretty hard one to judge. So many different rules between the different leagues, amount of games and travel and conditions. I agree the best is to call the most promising and compare them to each other.
The reason that there is so much excitement over Holmes is that he continued to display desirable attributes at the higher speed-of-play against Jamaica and Venezuela that we saw in his league play. That is always the question for "lower" level players as they move up. Can they successfully bring their strengths to the higher level while minimizing their weaknesses. Holmes' ability to receive, possess, dribble, and accurately distribute the ball in tight spaces is unmatched by anyone not named Pulisic. His quickness to the ball and movements without were a cut above the other ACMs. He was able to match the athleticism and grit of those two opponents. That is what separates Holmes from the Lletgets, Roldans, Trapps, Mihailovics, ... on our roster.
If he has that sort of potential (and I truly hope you’re correct), he should be on the move to a higher level as we are hearing about Long and potentially Pomykal.
His size will be a detriment to him as long as he’s in England. Teams have had reservations because of it but he seems to play much bigger than his size. He’s 24 and just now coming into his own. I’m not sure he will ever be EPL unless he gains promotion but that shouldn’t rule him out of US. Pomykal and Long are just rumors till they happen. Chelsea want 20 for Miazga is a rumor. Until it happens that’s just pie in the sky. Pomykal hopefully will leave soon and cause his age he will have suitors. Long has the athleticism for the next level but cause his age the buying team wants finished product. A lot will depend on how much Red Bull ask for. Will be interesting to see. I hope they all leave and challenge themselves at the highest level they can (and make it).
Maybe but there are other leagues better than the Championship/MLS/B2 where size isn’t a truly limiting factor.
Had Derby achieved promotion he could have been a Premier player right now. Pomykal has a higher upside but Holmes is more battle tested right now. I feel like people are ignoring his whole career up to date. Hes been around for a while and has battled at different divisions. He probably will never be an elite player but he could be a serviceable depth player. Pomykal and Long are not guaranteed playing time just because they have interest from top flight clubs. Media will not be stroking them over there for sure. respect should be shown for what players like Holmes have done now. Hes got over 100 games and many of those at Championship dating back to 2013. I dont think we need an over simplistic analyzing process. Holmes could help us now.
Arnold, I don’t see anyone arguing that he shouldn’t be given every opportunity to impress but the question is whether he’s meaningfully above our other MLS/B2 options.
Being meaningfully above is murky waters for me. I just want a clear concise way to judge the players talent in equal ( as possible) environments. I dont want to see a player get waste time minutes with an experiment team as the only data points. Just looks fixed. The league is the least of my concerns. Its the prepping for another perma starter at the expense of in form players that concerns me.
The whole Gold Cup roster selection (23 and 40) and lead up was so horribly mismanaged by Egg, that we did not learn much, other than that some players were selected who should be nowhere near a 23-man USMNT roster.
Moving to the B1 and doing well made Adams much better in the eyes of many, even though he had clearly been outplaying everyone during the '18 friendlies. Holmes clearly looked better than all the central mids, except for Adams.
Among those whose heights were listed, Holmes would've been the 4th shortest player in the 2017/2018 Premier League. https://www.worldfootball.net/players_list/eng-premier-league-2017-2018/nach-groesse/12/
Does playing against better faster players make him better? Probably a bit but the real thing it shows if it he can handle playing against better faster players. We don’t know if that’s the case with MLS/B2/championship players.
It was a huge opportunity missed. Especially, now that we know the qualification is an afternoon stroll in the park.
No doubt but remember he’s also part English. Generally speaking they don’t tend to leave their leagues much (until more recently). I think he’d thrive in Spain. It will be interesting to see how he does next year. New coach but he won’t be competing with Mount or Wilson.
Argument can made that his game may have improved from being in an environment with more quality. With promotion he could see that. You can say he may have improved just from the experience of a promotion battle. I can only guess what may happen in each scenario. Judging from his career, its likely he will improve after each scenario. Going up or staying down. A positive person will be motivated from getting close to promotion and push to improve. Or at least id like to think they would try to reach those heights again.
Weah and Dest are close to breaking through. Steffen too. So, assuming that happens, these should be the automatics: Pulisic McKennie Adams Brooks Yedlin Weah Dest Steffen Then there would be 3 spots left.
-----------------steffen or horvath --thompson---miazga----long----hollingshead --------------------------adams ----------------pomykal--------pulisic -------morris------------jozy-----------arriola Boyd may be as good as Morris.
Sounds like that poster is just going off the clubs/leagues they're playing in -- with some slightly hopeful assumptions about Dest and Weah. I actually tend not to disagree too much in general, however simplistic that sounds. Historically, almost anyone starting a solid majority of games for a (non-relegation fodder) club in a top league or getting sufficient playing time at a quality Champions League club has started for the US, if there's room for them in the lineup. The only big exception over the years that comes to mind is Timothy Chandler. However, I'd concede that's way too crude a formula not to allow for some more exceptions, and Yedlin certainly seems like he might be one, given recent performances.
Well, that is pretty much the primary criteria used by successful national teams around the globe. And the thread title is "Right Now." So, right now, Yedlin is the right back playing in the best club situation in the USMNT pool, and he is in his prime age-wise for WCQ and WC2022. So, yes, automatic, right now. As an added bonus, he is one of the fastest players in world soccer. And that can make all the difference. With regard to being "simplistic," it really is not that complicated. No need to enter into Egg's world of overthinking everything.
If Dest continues to emerge, and because Robinson has similar strengths and weaknesses, then Egg needs to change his system to fit the pool. Dest/Robinson and Yedlin/Cannon as overlapping fullbacks with Adams at DM. Build the team and your system around that, not Bradley at DM and Ream at LB (2 guys who will be 35 at WC2022).
Except that he simply has not played well. Club pedigree means very little on the pitch. Yedlin is eminently replaceable. The right back position should absolutely be considered up for grabs.