Haji Wright has chance to find himself as starting striker

I appreciate the quote. It pertains to all aspect of life.

 

We do try to keep it interesting here. When life becomes boring, BigSoccer is my go to "high".

 

He was still playing him off the bench after those comments.

 

Could mean he responded well to the criticism. Probably a lot of young players at big clubs get a little full of themselves with everyone telling them how great they are and will be. A nice does of realism from a coach not at one of those teams was just the medicine he probably needed. Now it's up to him to put it all together.

 

Haji needs to score against El Salvador, otherwise doubts will linger. Put tbe ball in the net, son. 2 goals even better.

 

The allocation of opportunities this window for the two CFs, followed by that remark, make me wonder whether Gregg has someone else he wants to see along side Fereira at CF. I just hope it is Pepi or Sarge, and not you-know-who. The September camp roster will be interesting.

 

Statements in isolation seem a bit harsh towards Haji (based on field conditions) but aside from the Morocco game (which was pretty open when he came in) I was not overly impressed with how static Haji was when we had the ball. He had 2 good moments (one where he missed a shot, and one when he was able to use his speed to run down the sideline which resulted in a corner) but he just wasn't showing to the ball

 

He will have to wait until 2026, it’s as simple as that. Yes it’s possible a hot summer/fall gets him a September call up but I think there’s at best a 1 in 15 to 1 in 20 chance of that. September will be about “the group” as he used to say, not about extending try outs further.

 

Given how things went this window, not just his efforts but also the decisions made by the coaching staff, I think he should focus on his club and defer his hopes to the post Berhalter era. He didn’t do what the coaches were looking for him to do. I would be surprised if he gets a call in September, unless pretty much everybody else in the mix is injured.

 

After last night’s game, I’ll come out and say it. I am underwhelmed by Haji’s game. I don’t see him making an impact in a World Cup game, unfortunately.

For one thing, his play strikes me as way too casual…

 

I wonder if this thread would be much different in an alternative universe in which Wright started against Grenada and Ferreira against El Salvador.

Not that I rate either highly. But those two matches sure seem to have had an influence on how people see their relative merits.

The missed opportunity in the past four matches was the chance to play without Wright or Ferreira. Going with a front line of Aaronson, Pulisic and Weah. That is a much more worthwhile experiment than recycling additional mediocre strikers.

 

Possibly. I'll be honest though I'm not as down on Ferreira as most. I know as a striker his main job is to score but the attack looks much better with him in the middle and with his off ball movement. Now I'm fairness while he wasn't finishing either, I think Pepi does a lot of stuff with his movement as well that helps the attack.

I was just disappointed Haji looked disinterested much of the first half

 

Wright apparently only had 9 touches. Of course 1 was a shot on a smooth move that he should have scored on. 1 was the header layoff for Musah's shot. A third was the run along the sideline that won a corner or foul or something.

It wasn't a great half but I thought the hook was quick. But I was surprised he played at all. So ...

 

If Wright's uniform was as muddy as the other players' Berhalter wouldn't have made those comments. You can't hide on a mud field.

 

I think he's still in the mix with a 26 man roster. He passes Pefok for me, just because you'll never see Pefok make that play on the sideline where he dummies the defender and gets free for a look, and physically he's imposing so why Pefok then?
I thought he tried to press a little bit last night, but it looks like it's just not in his bag. That's a big problem on this team, as everyone has noted.
Still, if he's banging in goals this fall, he'll be there in September.

 

I thought that he showed better in this game with shot and nice run down the right side (although I was disappointed that his cross was blocked). Little surprised at the sub at half, but for multiple reasons, Ferreira and the team was better in the second half.

The only reason that is not out of the equations is that there are very few in the equation. Otherwise, he is been "meh" to me.

 

If Sarge knocks in some goals before Sept, I hope he gets a look in September. His ability to play 2 positions and to be comfortable playing fast is a plus.

 

Our spacing was much nicer in the second half. Things were more open. I credit Ferreira's movement. Ferreira isn't a great forward but he at least facilitates our attack instead of bogging it down.

I can't claim to know Berhalter's thoughts on the matter but I would call him in again on September unless another forward (ie Sargent or Dike) really makes a strong push at the beginning of the European club season. I mean, assuming that Ferreira and Pepi are both on the 23, who else if not Wright is in line to be our third center forward? (Surely with 26 men there would be one, right?) Pefok? Sargent? Dike? Morris as emergency cover? Reyna (already on the team if healthy)? How many other candidates could there be?

(I suppose someone might say Ebobisse, but I think he has to light the league on fire between now and September to get the call out of almost literally nowhere.)

 

“Disinterested”

That’s exactly what I said to myself. I want to see some intensity, some sense of focused effort.

I just don’t see it from him. Unless you are some world class talent that can get away with that (we don’t have one of those players, btw), I at least want to see some semblance of will.

 

I fully expect expect Haji to be outside the 26 for the 2022 WC.

 

If that is the case, I could have told you that you would never like him. He has always played this way. That is the "vibe" he has given off since playing with our u17s almost 10 years ago.

 

Good to know…

He’s just not talented enough to play that way.

 

Count me among the camp that didn’t like his demeanor on the field yesterday. Looked more concerned with keeping a clean jersey than accepting the game for what it was. The difference in effort between Haji and Musah / Puli / Aaronson / Weah / Adams was STARK.

He was shying away from duals all 1st half, but the one that stuck out was an effective press resulting in a sloppy touch from the keeper that could have easily led to a chance if Haji had more than a casual jog going.

Id like to see more of him eventually, but I’d have subbed him off at half as well. He clearly did not understand what kind of game was being played that night.