Great idea. Also, I believe having a U16, vs. U16/17 split would be better. Gives the boys another year to physically mature before playing with the big boys in U17/18. From their they can go USL or college. Elect this guy to the USSDA board!
On the discussion of teams cutting their U-19 team, there are so many examples of players who didn't emerge until U-19 level. This is not going to lead to better player development, so I hope Lagerway is wrong. Some U-17 players are ready for the jump to pros, but a lot of players who turn into good professionals are not.
I'm going to update this. I've heard some conflicting things since what I initially posted on Friday. I don't know for sure, so take all of this with a grain of salt, but as of now I believe he was only demoted to the U-17's again.
Does he have some off the field issues like Danilo Acosta or is FCD just being jerks? So hard to know without hearing both sides of situations like these and that never happens.
Don’t take this as gospel, but I’ve always heard he is a fantastic kid that is very polite and well liked by his team mates. Situations like this are going to become more common when clubs can’t get kids to agree to terms.
I don't know the guy, so I can't comment on the first question, but what Dallas is expecting of this kid is ridiculous. It seems like they aren't taking well to Gomez likely being the first big player since McKennie to sign abroad. I hope he's able to stay with them until he turns 18. Even if he isn't playing first team games or USL games, it's better to keep sharp until he's eligible to play in Europe than doing what KHF is doing or what Llanez and Mendez did.
Hopefully an Indy USL club like San Antonio, Orange County etc can step up and sign this kid till his 18th bday. He’s a September birthday, so he wouldn’t be able to move to Europe until winter window 2022....looong ways away.
Who is to say that TJ is going to give him a player friendly contract and have a plan to truly develop him?
Looks like Johnathan did not go on the FCD trip to Mexico this week based on 3rd degree. Which you can hardly blame a kid and parents if they get tired of a kid missing school so much. Between the Florida deal and this week, did the FCD kids even go to school 6 days this month? Kinda hard to be in AP classes and be in school 30 percent of the month. I haven't heard FCD back up the brinks truck for JOGO yet so would not be surprised to see him leave without ever signing with FCD at some point. How it goes down is more than likely up to FCD. If they know he doesn't want to take a 30K a year USL offer ( which frankly is insulting) then keep him in the academy, let him train with the pros and help him get to Europe at 18. There is still training compensation to be had if he signs abroad. Too many egos at FCD to let this happen I fear but we will see.
As an update on this I did hear Beni Rezick is in Spain right now and would not be surprised if he doesn't play for FCD anymore. Heard more kids are in serious discussions about this with FCD too. More may be leaving soon.
How FCD handles these situations will have a huge effect on the future. I think many of the younger players will be watching very intently how this plays out and learning about options along the way. $80k-$125k deals aren’t not going to be enough for players in their Academy that are a top 10 prospect in the country at their age level.
Yep, you can't offer a kid who is a starter on the US Youth National team, has a four year offer at a top 10 school, and has options in Europe, a 25K contract to stay in Frisco and play for USL. Doesn't appear to be working out very well.
If you could find a way to make me sixteen again, I'd take that deal in a heartbeat, but I wouldn't recommend it for anyone who is actually a promising young player.
That is the problem, they are offering these deals to players who have options to play at real clubs in Europe, go to the Clemson's and North Carolina's of the world for soccer and are youth National team regulars. The kinds of players taking these deals are the lower rung of players and FCD will have to make due with that caliber or player and really work to make them better. The top tier player should not be playing USL at FCD.
I think these situations will actually help in accelerating the business side of US Academies and MLS. They will have no choice but to start competing financially with Europe from a wage standpoint for these top prospects. As for FCD, I hope this slows down their arms race to lead the world in HG signings. They need to come to the realization that it is quality they should be after and not quantity.
He is a very valuable asset that can be acquired for free and sold for predetermined price. Arguably our #1 prospect among the kids playing in North America, approaching "can't miss" level.
Tijuana. One can live in San Diego and play there. That's what Arriola did as well as plenty of other kids.
Isn't it better for these kids to sign a contract with MLS, earn a spot in the team and later transfer to Europe if you are good? Not everyone who goes to Europe at 18 will have a success story as we have seen.
. If it was only that easy. There are many fantastic academy players that don't get evaluated correctly by MLS clubs or just don't fit in with their current roster needs. There are more players that have European pro potential than MLS homegrown spots (USL is not a proven pathway anywhere right now). So if an excellent MLS DA player with national team experience wants to play in Europe, waiting around for their MLS club to offer them something to start their career may be a critical misstep.
In a perfect world, yes. However, once they sign with the MLS club, they are now restricted by the terms of their contract. In essence, they leverage moves from the player to the club. To date, MLS clubs have not shown they are willing to move players on when that is the players wish...outside a couple of instances. Once MLS clubs begin to better understand transfer market business and come up with mechanisms in which both the club and the player benefit, we should see more transfers (pre negotiated deals prior to 18) of 17-19 year olds. All that said, this is a two way street, but the players and clubs seem to be on opposite corners at the moment. A player will need to determine if passing on decent wages is worth being able to move freely at 18 and the clubs will need to determine what kind of profit is acceptable to move players that might otherwise not sign. I am not sure what that number is at the moment, and I am not sure the clubs do either.