Want to learn more about Paxten Aaronson? We tried a new “quick fire questions” segment, and here’s how it went🤣⬇️ pic.twitter.com/jMstWIdZG5— ChumChat (@ChumChat1) October 10, 2022 ▬▬▬.◙.▬▬▬═▂▄▄▓▄▄▂ ◢◤ █▀▀████▄▄▄▄◢◤ █▄ █ █▄ ███▀▀▀▀▀▀▀╬ ◥█████◤══╩══╩═╬═╬╬═╬╬═╬╬═╬ ╬═╬Trying to defend these passes╬═╬ ╬═╬ ╬═╬😡/ ╬═╬/▌ ╬═╬/ \ pic.twitter.com/OM1LCZxo6D— Philadelphia Union Academy (@phlunionacademy) October 10, 2022
Who has the better academy: Dallas or Philly?🧐 Paxten Aaronson knows which side he's on😅 pic.twitter.com/WjyePbeqKe— ChumChat (@ChumChat1) October 11, 2022
No player applied more successful pressures in MLS this season than Leon Flach (1,983) 🏃♂️💨| @PhilaUnion | pic.twitter.com/CYSQ3NRUvr— PFF FC (@PFF_FC) October 12, 2022
I've said this before - but I realized that Leon Flach is 1) a flawed player and 2) a player I still like. Curtin has used him well and he is important to the team's success. I think he'll move back to Germany after this year. He is not going to be a good fit for everyone and he has to be careful in his choice of clubs. He could ride the bench if he makes a poor choice (or he goes to a club where the manager is on the hot seat). If the U.S. U-23 team hires a coach that is similar to Mikey Varas, Flach is the starting No. 6.
Does this mean he goes to the Bundesliga or the 2. BL? He barely played in the 2. BL, albeit when he was fairly young. But that could be a perceptional stain & force him to work his way up the ladder. Maybe a serious promotional contender in the 2 BL.
It's a good question and maybe I should add he goes to Europe somewhere, not just Germany. He's better off staying in Philadelphia than going to a large chunk of the 2.BL.
If he's heading home to head home, I understand it. But is there a league out there that pays as well / is as good as MLS that is also going to be as forgiving of his passing ability? That's the debate. If he was American and passed like that, I don't think there would be much of a discussion.
Hamburg or bust. But like you said, situation is very important. I don't know if they can hide his offensive inabilities at a top club w/in a league, although Philly manages to do it. If he stays at Philly, he may get a few boosts to his value still. He can work his way into the periphery of the senior nat'l team in January camps. He's Olympic eligible. And Philly would be a contender to make the Club World Cup. So it should be a good situation for him to move. He shouldn't rush it. But I get the sense he's very much a believer in his abilities, beyond reality, ala LDLT. Highlights his own strengths & ignores the weaknesses. IIRC, he thought Gregg should call him up very early on in his Philly tenure, ala Ochoa thru 8 games at RSL.
I've been a critic of him on the ball, but hadn't watched him this season, and didn't even realize if anything he's regressed thru Philly's success. He's literally bottom 1% at his position in a # of categories. Compare this to Aidan Morris, who gets Flach for his passing, but he's top 1/3 to 1/4 in the league in a # of categories. He's not bottom half in anything other than final 3rd contribution. And that's not a prerequisite for a D-mid. And in the ball-winning stats, Morris is elite, and Flach is just very good. I think Morris is simply a better USNT & European prospect than Flach.
I personally don't take defensive stats that seriously anymore (at least without more context/analysis) after watching Virgil van Dijk revolutionize the Liverpool defense with like 1st percentile in tackle stats.
Eye test is superior to some of these stats. I don't think the metrics quoted accurately reflect his quality and what he does well. Philly doesn't need him to be Paxton Pomykal. They have others for that.
He's always been criticized for his lack of on ball prowess by people like me, based on watching him (before this year, but it's clearly still a problem, when his stats are so clearly inferior). He's got poor vision & his technique is mediocre. He's not that talented. He can belong or even be an asset on some teams from effort, defensive reads, off ball offense, and technical adequacy at least. And the defensive stats are kind to him. They're just not as kind as Aidan Morris, who has always been a terrier. So I don't know what this refutes. He's just not best of the best as a defender (like he may have to be, and it's still not going to be good enough on many teams). He can take some overly aggressive angles to get caught out of position & make rash challenges. Metrics are a check of bias/people pushing agendas like they are p.r. agents for USS or whatever it may be. To wit metrics are more reliable. Eye test has more potential for validity. But in most cases, that potential is not realized, because of the aforementioned reasons. The vast majority of clubs use them as a tool now, and if they don't they're going the way of the dodo.
News that probably impacts home grown minutes in the playoffs: Jim Curtin on Ale Bedoya: "Unfortunately he doesn't feel right." Bedoya hasn't trained this week. Team is working to get back on the training field.— Joe Tansey (@JTansey90) October 13, 2022 This is pretty much why I have always been a "we need more rotation" guy. At 35 and playing 90 minutes every game, more coulda been done to avoid this. I understand injuries are never deterministic, but you shoulda been smarter. This is why it was a joke to leave Bedoya in for so long in those blowouts. Save his muscles, and also give players like McGlynn, Sullivan, Aaronson more minutes. If you would have done that, maybe Bedoya would be fine. Or even if not, then you have the HGs with more experience so that maybe they would be more prepared to step in for the play offs.
All of the home growns played in the playoffs last season. They have experience. For all we know Bedoya could have aggravated his hip flexor playing with his kids. He looked fine in his brief cameo against Toronto. They don't play for another week.
Right, I totally agree with much of what you're saying. But I think defense has fundamentally different properties than (much of) offense. Some of it is stopping passes from being made -- if you're positioning yourself well so the pass doesn't go to the dangerous #10 and instead goes to DeAndre Yedlin on the flank, that's a good play that doesn't (yet) get counted everywhere. Some defensive plays aren't, properly, individual plays. A successful offside line is a feat of choreography, not genius. And so on. There are some similar critiques about offensive statistics, but they strike me as a less-big deal. Stats are, I think, reasonably good about figuring out who's increasing the chances of a goal being scored if they're on the ball. What I think they're less good at is discovering the value of a guy like Pedro to peak Guardiola Barca. But if your stats are good at describing "why Messi is awesome" and less good at "why Pedro is a helpful player," they've got a solid sense of the world. Because of that, I'm inclined to think there's something going on with Flach that the stats aren't able to pick up on yet. It's a bit of a tautology, redolent of some crusty columnist declaring so-and-so is a winner and then knocking off for cheap beer at 2:30, but Flach keeps on playing for a really strong team. There might well be something going on we don't readily understand.
New episode out now! Jack McGlynn (@JackMcGlynn7) discusses breaking into the Philadelphia Union first team, USMNT U20 stories, NYC vs Philly, & more!Tune in now!🎙️ https://t.co/hKXMxLnfnI pic.twitter.com/SH4KgYst3m— ChumChat (@ChumChat1) October 17, 2022
PHILLY VS EVERYBODY⚡️📝👉 https://t.co/ACK0BFgsTE#StartingXI | #PHIvCIN | #DOOP | @MLS pic.twitter.com/1MBqiJScM0— Philadelphia Union (@PhilaUnion) October 20, 2022 McGlynn and Flach get the start. Freese, Harriel, Real, Craig, Sullivan, Aaronson, and Donovan all on the bench.
He's not putting up highlight reel plays as much, but McGlynn going like 85 in a super tight playoff game says a lot more about his ability and where he is than anything else can. Especially for a coach like Curtin. (you can say the same thing in the negative sense about Aaronson and Sullivan not seeing any minutes too) McGlynn was quiet in the first half but combined better in the second half and was part of the team play that lead to the goal.
Thought some of McGlynn's defensive limitations showed this match, but they weren't so bad he was unplayable. On the ball, he did get a bunch of passes into the final third and got a couple shots off, so overall a creditable performance in a pressure situation.
Leon Flach with the left! 🔥One touch opens the scoring and #DOOP strikes.#PHIvCIN // Audi #MLSCupPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/NmQLcRDdcy— Major League Soccer (@MLS) October 21, 2022
Check out the ball from teenager Jack McGlynn to find Carranza - who the sends it to Gazdag. He can drop dimes with his left foot. Impressive pic.twitter.com/NaVMlJYtKw— Brian Sciaretta (@BrianSciaretta) October 31, 2022
McGlynn was slow to rotate over in the NYCFC goal, but you can also see his quality on the highlight above. He needs time and space to operate, which is harder to find the further up the ladder you climb. Interesting off-season ahead for the Union. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but Bedoya’s injury/late season fatigue makes it clear that more minutes should be available for the youngins. I suspect a MLS Cup would make it easier for Curtain to move on from his locked in 11.
It is possible that Union sell one of their attacking core (Uhre, Gazdag, Carranza) but they are all under contract for 2023 and you haven't heard any real speculation around it. I would assume that the front office and Curtin would want to keep the band together. Burke also has a club option for 2023. Wagner getting sold seems like it has high odds and now some rumors with Flach. McGlynn got over a 1,000 minutes and is is already embedded as a core player. Hard to not see him topping that mark next year. Seems pretty murky for Aaronson and Sullivan. Burke got over a 1,000 minutes so if they don't bring him back that would open up a slot as the back-up striker in a two striker formation. This seems like the most logical move to clear time. I doubt Curtin is going to change is philosophy a ton in regards to subs, so team is going to have to free up spots in the rotation to make room for the younger players, but the core plays at such a high level and are under contract for 2023.