Exactly. We’ve all been following our players in Europe a long time, and anyone that hasn’t figured out yet how relegation battles play out is never going to figure it out. The stakes are too high for anything other than extreme short term thinking and extreme risk aversion.
I wouldn’t agree with that characterization. My take is that NietzcheIsDead is putting Gio - his attitude, his choices, his mindset - at the center of the equation. I’ve never read anything to think he doesn’t like Gio. He’s simply pointing out that for Gio to reach his potential, he’s going to need to put his head down and continue working.
"Don't like," is being kind. It's like Gio shot his dog, pissed on his roses, and set fire to his house before he drove away. It's as crazy as the McKennie hater's takes. Everyone, Gio Doubters, and Fan Boys or stans or whatever fully are aware that he's accomplished next to nothing beyond small sample size sub goal scoring gold late winter/spring of '23. He's done ---- all since August 2021 for club in any meaningful sense unless you like an outsized goal score rate in small minutes last year. It's been a total disaster. We also know he's damn good for country, and when he last got minutes on the regular for club ('20-'21) he was outstanding as a teen, but that's also 3+ years ago. We also know that haterade merchants like him, and supposed stans like us have less than no effect on Gio, his performance, or his bottom line with clubs. This is a message board. A haven for 40+ers and retirees that doesn't move any needle anywhere. Twitter might hurt feelings, but most players are smart enough to post and leave, and not engage the trolls, like the aforementioned poster. None of this has anything in the slightest to do with anything in his career. I just hope he takes his time and thinks intelligently about where he goes next instead of choosing a blatantly obvious disastrous move, the easily worst of all options, like he did last January.
I don't think Gio has been consistently good for his country. He's had some good performances. He was outstanding against Mexico in Vegas and awful in the first half in Trinidad. I don't think it's entirely his fault and his injuries have been untimely but there do seem to be some selective memories.
I was his biggest advocate here for some time until it became apparent that we have a Lonzo Ball situation rather than a Jason Kidd situation. Imagine Lonzo's dad releasing Kompromat on his coaches to get Lonzo minutes at the expense of better players. Dude would be released the next day. Gio will grow up. Hopefully he grows into a more conscientious player who helps accomplish team goals rather than to scuttle them. I have no interest in pretending that his track record is not poor of late and is not trending in a worse direction. If not for Berhalter, he'd be totally adrift. Berhalter is keeping his career afloat. In the recent showcases Berhalter has given him, he has played with a much better attitude. Hopefully we will see more of that. Maybe he can turn more into a Benny Feilhaber type who was a better national team player than he was a club player.
Benny was a hell of a national team player. Loved that dude when he put on the shirt. The Derby move was his club situation dagger. Cannot think of a worse fit than that. Bradley would have even made more sense for Derby than Benny. Like throwing Benny Feilhaber in for Graeme Souness's Blackburn.
Benny Feilhaber had 1,093 career Top 4 + CL/EL minutes with 0 career goal contributions*. Gio has 4,861 career Top 4 + CL/EL minutes with 26 non-PK goal contributions (.48 npG+A/90) all before turning 22. *Assist record keeping wasn’t as strong back then and Benny was playing more in CM.
So your position is that Gio Reyna is better than Benny Feilhaber? The Feilhaber shills ain't going to be happy about that! /s
I think Benny is under rated. He played with a flair and awareness that most American players lack. That he was largely banished from the team in his later years was a shame. To be clear, I think he’s a different player than Gio. I think we can all agree Gio has a higher ceiling as a more complete player.
There is one comparison between Benny and Gio. We used to have these endless arguments about Benny because for long, long stretches he was doing nothing in club soccer worthy of a callup. People used to demand his inclusion due to his skill-set and talent. So it was an earlier version of the performance versus talent argument that we have with Gio. Benny did very little in club soccer before the age of 30. He really had one good season in the Danish 2nd division. And its not like that was some sort of stunning revelation. 4 goals and 8 assists for Aarhus in the Danish 2nd division would barely get a mention on the Yanks Abroad thread these days. 2012 for New England. 1 goal and 2 assists in 29 league appearances. That was in his prime. Wow. Such "flair and awareness," though. New England decided not to pick up his option, and SKC traded for his rights. There have long been rumors that something happened in the locker room with Benny. He was persona non grata for a non-playing reason. He had that amazing 2015 season in MLS, when he was 30 years old. 12 goals and 11 assists across all competitions. But had zero caps in 2015 and 2016. Not even to January camp. Maybe someday a player will write a book and talk about it. So far it's been kept in the locker room.
Reyna on the bench for Forest's last game of the season. They're already up 2-0 in minute 20, so that's just about that.
Benny on his old podcast never hid that he and Jurgen butted heads quite often. As for Gio. I will say this, just reading the tea leaves and the little that has come out I think at the very least Claudio's involvement in getting Gio a loan was not helpful overall. Do I think Gio's parents are gonna ruin their son's career? No. They kind of nuked the relationship with USSF to have any sway, and I doubt Claudio has much sway in Europe so if nothing else it's just gonna be an easy thing for people to make fun of Gio for. End of the day, Gio has to stay healthy and become more consistent off the ball (broken record I know) especially with more teams liking pressing 10s.
But back to those numbers I posted. There is absolutely a meaningful difference between a player with a significant track record of success at the highest level who is not currently playing or performing AND someone who has no track record of success or a track record of less success at lower levels. When it comes to Benny I’ve heard he and Beckerman had a problem and fought in training.
Yes, you nailed the comparison. I didn't intend for it to be a global, wholistic comparison but there are a number of similarities. The one I intended to focus on was that Gio is better under Berhalter with the national team than he has been anywhere else even in spite of his massive personal collapse at the world cup. If he is one of those guy like Feilhaber, Bradley, Edu, etc (or Donovan who is a clear cut above them all with the Nats and not worth the comparison) who outperform their club play with the national team then I am happy with that. At least so long as he grows the F up and doesn't try to ruin it for everyone else (which will be a legitimate concern for the rest of his career).
He's going to have to force some professional separation between he and his parents lest he want to limit his opportunities. The embarrassing theme that began at the world cup has now continued into his club career. Dude needs to find professional mentors that are not connected to his parents. The reality is that he is a talented young player who has become a bad investment due to recent developments and poor personal management. Thats not a position with leverage. Guys like that are valuable in leagues like MLS who have to overspend on talent, particularly Americans with international experience and top-5 league experience. MLS is on the horizon, follks. The best comparison here may be Clint Mathis, but Mathis didn't come with this kind of drama.
As a Boomer I have no idea what shill means. I just see it used when people have run out of arguments.
The shill is the guy standing outside the tittie bar saying hey hot girls here and not mentioning the 20 dollar cover.
Not that we needed it, we have confirmation that our national nightmare is over. By the way, Gonzalo Montiel literally took the winning penalty kick for Argentina at the World Cup. He too was slumming it at Forest. Waste of time? USMNT star Gio Reyna sees Nottingham Forest departure confirmed after forgettable 230-minute loan spell in the Premier League | Goal.com US “The club can confirm that Gio Reyna, Divock Origi, Nuno Tavares, Gonzalo Montiel and Rodrigo Ribeiro have reached the end of their loan spells. Nottingham Forest would like to thank each player for their contribution during their time at The City Ground, and wishes them well for the future.”