someone mentioned knowing where to go as a player helping players develop.. If i was a young Us phenom.. my choices would be Dortmund if good enough because they love to profit off of young players and sell them off showcasing them regularly. Hoffenheim oddly enough is a great choice. They play a great style and develop well. RBLeipzig Frankfurt
You might need to be at the Bellingham-Reyna (and Dembele, Pulisic, Sancho) level to actually benefit from Dortmund though.
He played 15 games for them: 10 losses, 2 draws, 3 wins. Since he left they have played 6 games: 2 losses, 1 draw, 3 wins. So I'd say they're doing better.
Two factors 1) Outside of the top teams, Eredivisie teams aren't big spenders 2) There is always the issue of the whole non-EU minimum salary - which is very high. It helps when guys like LDLT and Booth have EU passports, but most American players do not. It's simply not going to be an option for many American players under the current rules.
They've gotten decent results but they're still a chore to watch. Though I think after getting pasted the first game of the season the new coach basically said we're gonna grind out wins. It's an interesting conversation to have. I think someone whose in a perfect spot now is Mark McKenzie. Genk is usually always competing for the league and for European football and they actually have a pretty good history when it comes to selling to top 5 leagues. Ironically before that Mark's former teammate Brendan Aaronson made a great move to Salzburg. Gronigen for never being a true contender does have a history of developing young players. Which for so.ekne like Pepi who was likely on low confidence needed.
Ricardo Pepi's 9 shots yesterday, 5 on target, 1 goal.pic.twitter.com/h19MmU7e8i— scuffed (@scuffedpod) October 20, 2022
Wow - he had about 5 real scoring opportunities. Great that he was able to create those chances, and hope the finishing comes with time + confidence. I know it was a second division Dutch team, but that highlight had more clear cut chances than he’d get in half a season at Augsburg.
It's more chances Groningen's created for him in all league games combined. He and they have had the opposite M.O. in the Eredivisie. So if he gets those chances going forward he'll have to capitalize better.
FWIW from the plays in that video, I count 5 or 6 good scoring chances here, depending on how tough you wanna be. I'll go tough just for the heck of it. 1 -- tough angle with two defenders in the play, not much of a chance 2 -- might've been a tough cross to redirect, but he puts it off the crossbar, so I guess it wasn't too tough. +1 3 -- play doesn't come to him, no chance 4 -- back to goal from the 18 with the defense back, not much of a chance 5 -- header he should've put on frame. +2 6 -- open shot from distance, looks like he forces a save. Not an easy score, but call it +3 (or don't, your choice) 7 -- 1v1 with GK, forces a save, scorable chance. +4 8 -- forces a save, looked scorable from the angle shown, but hard to tell. +5 9 -- tap-in goal, basically unmissable. +6
The way Pepi's teammates actually pass and id respond to Pepi's movement is strikingly better than Augsburg. What hell is going on with that team?( but they've somehow been getting results since Pepi left..)
Up and down. Just after he left, they dropped into the relegation playoff place, then rose to 10th. They're now in 12th spot with a 5-point cushion. They're doing better since he left, but I really doubt there's any connection.
at least Groningen didn't give up a late goal to Dordreck. Groningen, still hovering in the bad place, have a tough match this weekend, v. a PSV that were obviously outclassed by Arsenal today, but also showed they can hang with anyone. Maybe we'll see a little Ledesma due to the midweek game - or, as PSV has been known to do, they'll lose focus and it will be a game. Luckily Groningen have Emmen the next week Emmen play Vitesse this weekend so no matter how things fall, unless Groningen gets a result against PSV they will stay pretty low in the table. But none of this really affects Pepi who just needs to keep happily banging them in AronJo/Joxy style and get another shot at the next level, a bit older and wiser.
On average, pretty well. Ajax, PSV and AZ apart (Feyenoord in a good year) apart, there's no team in the Eredivisie that any MLS side would actually fear and most of their bottom third would be soundly beaten every weekend - MLS is a physical league that's becoming more technical by the season and a longer season with waay more travel will wear down the purely technical sides.
Starts vs PSV. Game is on ESPN+ 𝗕𝗼𝗲𝗿en die geven nooit op! 🎶😉#gropsv | #trotsvanhetnoorden pic.twitter.com/qdJvBwqGR9— FC Groningen (@fcgroningen) October 23, 2022
Pepi scores! Groningen 1-0 PSV 39' Chooo chooooo!!!!! El Tren is niet te stoppen!!! (1-0)#gropsv pic.twitter.com/Xh7o6feqRn— FC Groningen (@fcgroningen) October 23, 2022
Final score is Groningen 4-2 PSV. Pepi played well today. He scored a goal, created a few goal scoring chances and was involved in the build up to Groningen's 4th goal.
I was sure Groningen were headed for another late game collapse. So glad they held on (with a bit of help from the crossbar.) Groningen looked like a different team and PSV's schedule is getting to them - with a long 3 weeks to the WC break. Hopefully the Tractor Boys inch back up to midtable and can keep playing decent soccer. A bit of hurlyburly so far this season.