Can we trust "The Daily Mail"? I'd be surprised if CL was that candid about Cade. Those quotes sound like they could have been created by ChatGPT.
If you're trying to sell, you're gonna talk up the merchandise. So Leitch's comments are plausible. Not saying the Daily Mail story is entirely accurate (because what media report ever is?), but "fact-checking" is a known synonym for lying -- even more unreliable than "data". And who the f*ck is Mark Errington?
I'd feel better if I heard Leitch say those things or if they were reported by "The Epicenter Guys" and the few people who follow the team, because they'd tweet out those kinds of comments if they heard them. Did "TheDailyMail.com" get exclusive interviews with Leitchi and Cade? I suppose it's possible. There's nothing in there that seems completely out of line so I agree that it looks somewhat plausible. But it's also something that could be culled via ChatGPT as "realistic sounding quotes" based on other things they have said. "The Daily Mail" generally has a poor reputation, just above tabloid level. Wikipedia will not use them for source material, apparently. But it's also possible that "TheDailyMail.com" is a bit better than the print version.
The Mail has a poor reputation, but creating an extensive fake on-the-record interview with an American soccer player and GM isn't something it would likely do.
Probably true though with AI now it would be easy to create realistic sounding sort of composite quotes based on real quotes. I find it hard to believe Leitchi and Cade would give exclusive interviews with “TheDailyMail.com” but I suppose it’s possible.
"Hearing things" and purported 1 on 1 interviews are not the same thing. I "hear things" sometimes too. Usually, "voices" . Anyway, my concern right now with Cade is in seeing him have one good game for the Quakes this year. Haven't seen it yet. When he does that, I'll be more more in the mood to entertain puff pieces in sketchy English periodicals about his blockbuster European prospects .
I’m not optimistic about his development with the Quakes. I think the FO is hoping he can improve his sale price by a bump in performance, but right now I’m a hard sell on Cade. Take the money and run. Imo, He is far from ready for a Euro move, but if he flattens out this season in performance, the value they can get for him drops. Right now the buzz on him is still high, but I haven’t liked what I’ve seen on the field for the Quakes. I’m sure he’d be thrilled by the move and imo, it would be in the best interest of the club to move him “sooner rather than later”
It’s a long season. I predict by season’s end both Cade and Benji will have done enough good things that they’ll be back in our relative good graces. That’s a hopeful prediction but a prediction nonetheless. And looking forward to seeing Niko out there. He might help unlock these guys.
He had a nice turn and a great pass early in the game tonight but followed up with a ton of bad traps and lost possession in critical attacking positions. Jebo couldn't find the game either...really didn't help having two forwards...we got almost nothing by playing the extra forward.
I'd like to see Bouda get a go as we've both discussed a bit. I like the 2-forward system, but we have to have 2 guys who compliment each other. We need a 9 an 11 or Target man so Bouda, Cowell or Jebo can make runs off them and pull a defender.
I like 2 forwards also, but like you say, preferably with a savvy drop forward playing off the hold up of the other. It's too bad we can't clone Espinoza, because he would also be devastating under a good hold up forward...he could shoot or get behind the defense running the channels. Our forward mix is bugging right now...Jebo is streaking as hell, nice start to the season, followed by a couple turd games...Cade, more miss than hit...Benji completely out to lunch...if he is going play that disengaged Luchi has to park his butt firmly on the bench and give someone else a chance.
Cowell may very well be, just not that elite as many hope. Benji is playing like a USL player Jebo is playing like he did in Portland... inconsistent to non existant. Tsakiris is likely out for a while I also dont count the chickens with him "unlocking" anyone. Lets not float the boat and screw him with Thompson and Cowell level expectations only to come up short. He hasnt proven to be savior and we need to be cautiously optimistic. We need supplament for Ebobisse and it might be Bouda. But in any case, were 1 injury from disaster on offense.
Given how many opportunities the Quakes had around the box against Toronto, I tend to think they'll break through again before too long. Some of those misplays against defenders are going to go Cowell's way, and hopefully he can capitalize. One thing that's frustrating is the unwillingness to shoot from forwards. When Yueill puts the best shot on target in a game, you know your offense is lacking. I don't know what Luchi is telling these guys, but it doesn't seem to be "shoot the em effing ball", which is really needs to be, at this point. Cowell, especially moved into a forward position, should be shooting a lot. He's going to miss a lot, but he needs to get used to shooting as second nature. He's strong enough to create powerful shots with little lead in, and that needs to be exploited as often as possible. The rebound potential alone would be worth the effort even if he doesn't get that many goals himself.
Luchi is encouraging them to shoot, based on what he's said in press conferences. But you're right, they're not doing it enough. Too much looking for yet another pass into traffic in the box.
If he's telling them to shoot and they aren't doing it, then he's got to work on his communication skills. Or, perhaps he's using the public nature of an interview to kind of shame them a little. Ultimately, I haven't been all that impressed with Luchi's performances as a coach. Not saying he's terrible, but we're seeing serious regression so far in players that were on the verge of having really breakout seasons. They look timid offensively where they were more swashbuckly before. Maybe their efforts to solidify the defense has some play here? Hard to know, and I don't think that's necessarily the case given how much possession the Quakes had in attacking positions against Toronto. But they aren't going to get very far if they aren't willing to take chances. You'd think the fear of failure would have been beaten out of all these guys given how awful they were last year, but maybe that never leaves you.