I'm not sure I agree with you on it being easier. Playing under the microscope at Juve is a very different level of exposure and pressure. When he played at Schalke, nobody expected him to play a flawless game, or to ensure that the team was always a winner. His new position requires both a different approach as well as a different mentality. As you can see from Pirlo's postgame comments, he is expected to raise his game and to keep it at a high level consistently. I agree with you that he will be challenged many times going forward - we'll see if he is able to up his game and show the same tenacity and skill in more difficult matches. I am not betting against him though; I think he has been underrated quite a bit because of Schalke's dysfunction.
the upper echelons of European soccer are showing more faith in our boys than some of our own countrymen. YA PTSD is a helluva thing. This is a new generation of talent and we should enjoy it. This isn't MB at Roma or Jozy at Sunderland. These guys are actually good enough to keep ascending, not just get one contract.
U23 Euro Team of the Week: European U-23 Team of the Week by @FTalentScout!🇵🇱Bartłomiej Drągowski🇫🇷Adrien Truffert🇫🇷Mohamed Simakan🇳🇱Jan-Paul van Hecke🏴Tariq Lamptey🇺🇸Weston McKennie🇫🇷Adil Aouchiche🇺🇸Giovanni Reyna🇧🇪Jérémy Doku🏴Angel Gomes🏴Dominic Calvert-Lewin pic.twitter.com/PZAvTSf8Qz— Football Talent Scout - Jacek Kulig (@FTalentScout) September 21, 2020
His role is so much lessened at Juve. The ask was literally to just defend and pass the ball around. He was rarely pressured by the opponent, and the opponent rarely threatened. The talent around him was so much better -- he didn't have to play creator and defender. Sure, there's the pressure of Juve. But I think that's far easier than being on a team with far less talent than your opponent. None of this is to degrade McKennie's play. If anything, my point is that people underrated McKennie while he was at Schalke. Folks like Carl Anka called him shit because he couldn't drag a terrible team to look good, but that's delusional in a sport that is fundamentally a weak link sport. It's also why I find it ridiculous when people rate players entirely based on club. There's not an efficient market. Tons of guys could succeed at better clubs and tons of guys would suddenly look worse at worse clubs. Sure, if someone stands out massively at a top club you know (like say Pulisic has), but Weston McKennie isn't magically better now that he's at Juve. He might look better with better teammates and a more defined role. Pirlo might help him get better. But the reality is that he's really good at some elements of the game, needs improvement in others, and is good enough to play for Juve while simultaneously not good enough to carry a team with almost no talent. And that's normal.
The quotes by Pirlo after the game indicate that is not all he was expected to do. I think Pirlo wants him to do everything he did, plus do more to support the attack.
I wasn’t referring to you specifically. However, if you look at the difference between the way Wes is received vs. Pulisic or Adams...there’s a strange phenomenon happening.
Andy did well on his rookie debut, let's be fair to him. He'll be looking to Wes for some veteran guidance.
I think the problem is sometimes posters come across as Debbie Downers and/ or trying to be the guy that keeps everyone else's dreams in check. Focusing so hard on one player also skews the impression. OMG, bad pass!!!!! He has things to improve for sure. His coach said as much, implying he wasn't as active (or maybe quick) in attack as he wanted. Yet he realizes it's his first game with a new team in a new league. Italian fans not nearly as invested in him as us were pretty much universally impressed. La Gazzetta Dello Sport rated him equal in number to MOTM Ramsey. In the overall picture I think some posters were overly critical and rightly got some backlash here, but maybe more for their delivery than anything else.
While he does have room to improve I think his role is very specific: Tackle, tackle hard, strike fear into the other serie A midfielders. Do not worry about what happens behind you, go in and go in hard. After time you could see the Samp miss looking for where he was. Like in Stand By Me when they were running from Chomper and looking over their shoulder. Yes, he needs (and will) clean up his passes bit his job is to seek and destroy. Plus, first game starting for a giant alongside Ronaldo and one of the best CB Pairings I. Fútbol. Nerves happen
whats crazy is his general position in the first half was shaded to the left side of the cm. alex sandro wasnt used (fitness?) and ronaldo played centrally, when he will usually be used (at least starting position) on the left. so if thats where wes settles he didnt have either of his primary links. point being we havent learned anything yet, other than general "will he have jitters in his first match", "will he strip back/simplify just to start getting his feet wet", etc.
What kind of a$&hole are you??? FFS, now he will break his leg in practice. That is like telling someone playing above lvl 50 in Tetris that they are doing really well. Jeez
Really? You should re-read the Pulisic thread over time. People turned on him hard, several times. I may be critical when things are going well, but I also don't tend to overreact the other way. I have a pretty good idea of the player Weston McKennie is; so if he's benched for a bit or struggles, I'm not going to completely blast him either. People need to get over the idea that Christian Pulisic suddenly got bad when we struggled as a sophomore -- instead of realizing that his role increased and his teammates got worse (primarily through injury). That when we lost time in his last year at Chelsea, it was a combo of Favre wanting a defensive winger opposite Sancho (stupidly, IMO) and the fact that he was leaving, not that he was trash. And so on. Sure, there's changes in form, but holy cow, people don't suddenly lose skill sets. Young players sometimes add them, and sometimes players get hot or cold. I feel like I've become a broken record, but if you watch the guys and make your own evaluation of their skillsets ... you might be wrong, as I sure I am sometimes. But it also doesn't make my evaluation of the overall quality of the player at the whim of his fellow teammates, or transfer issues, or coaching changes.
I think we maybe don't always realize that "limited" players can still be great players and fit nicely into very good teams. Wes has a specific skill set and it is one that pretty much all teams need. Sure, he would be even better if he cleaned up some of his touches. But, I don't think anyone at Juve is going to expect him to be an offensive star. They have those. What they don't have without Wes is a guy who will throw himself around and disrupt anything the opponent tries to do down the middle of the field while busting his ass to do the work to support his teammates. And while he's not a savant with the ball, he is generally clean enough and makes mostly safe passes. I agree that making his passes a bit more precise and sometimes releasing the ball a touch sooner would serve him well. He improved as the game wore on but the biggest thing I'd say he needs to address first is just making sure not to stand on the ball in that deep midfield space. He had a couple tricky times when he did that. (Although in one case the way he just leveled two Sampdoria players after they knocked the ball from him was pretty great, actually) But, he doesn't have to turn into a particularly creative player to be a very valuable player even on a very high level team. Every player doesn't have to be able to do everything and even at the top of the game, most don't.
One post per year since 2001. This poster saves them for when they truly have something to add. Well done!
I've had enough of my arguments with random internet folk about Weston McKennie, so I'm not here to do that anymore. I've seen folks say he shouldn't be on the USMNT all the way to XYZ MLSer being better than him. The proof is in the pudding and, if you've been following him at all, you've seen it burgeoning from him for quite some time now. It would suck if even this is the best he can do, because I feel he's nowhere near tapping his potential. He has a lot of work to do to get there, but I am confident he will accomplish much, especially with the coaching he's about to get from Pirlo. Time will tell all. He routinely shuts up his critics with great play and a humble spirit. It's so fascinating to read some of these almost patronizing posts, which read as if they are trying to temper the positive energy around him. Everything from trying to simplify the role he plays in the squad to diminishing the quality of his play once he demonstrates it on the pitch. Then when/if he has a stinker, those same posters will bring their sanctimonious, vindicated, inane commentary to this same thread with airs of "I told you so." Bradley got a lot of flack because folks generally felt he benefited from nepotism, so what McKennie is getting is not quite that. Either way, methinks that's what gets folks upset more than anything. We call them haters and I think folks should just be mindful about not letting them get to 'em. They'll slink off into the nether eventually.
So, who is *Maria* Here? The original Tweet asked “what is an adjective for the debut in White-black for McKennie?” First tweet response to the question was ‘a tank’, followed by a heart emoji. Haha Un carro armato..❤️— *Mary* (@MariaC08220254) September 21, 2020 Not even an adjective, for cryin out loud!
Lots of folks likening his performance to that of Edgar Davids in year's past. Not a bad place to start.
Man, he’s got an Easy gig for sure. I could be out there with all that talent around me and look fantastic!
You can strike a balance between fear and red cards... kind of. Ramos, piqué, macherano late career, jermain, etc. There is something to be said for an enforcer.