The clear goal of the camp was to expand the player pool instead of bringing the best players. If Leone had not recently accepted a Mexico call up I don't think he'd have been with the team. The major losers of this tournament were players on the bubble who had some hype behind them. The apparent standouts were apparently Dantouma Toure and Caleb Wiley from people I've talked to. Everyone else either performed as expected for flopped badly.
Well, I'm not sure why it would be a clear goal if a bunch of players that were asked to come were refused to be released by their MLS club.
Any feedback on how Jordan Jones did? I don’t feel like waiting until the summer to read the match report.
In over his head much like Sealy was in his first u17 camp. He has a lot of potential but is not one of the 2005's to look for in this cycle.
In normal cycles there are 1 or 2 younger players that get into the team come WC time. Which ones do you feel could fit that role in this cycle? I guess Nati Clark is the consensus choice, preferably at RB. Any more you think could move up that ladder during the qualifying process?
Maybe Marcelo Mazzola because the striker depth for this age group is brutal. Gage Akalu and Reed Baker-Whiting are also players who should be getting looks. Angel Martinez was very involved in the u15 cycle so I would expect him to get called due to lack of CB depth up but I don't see him as a long term CB because I like his game as a 6. For the 2004 age group the fullback, center back, and striker depth is bad so those are the spots that we should look for 2005's making the jump. The midfield and winger positions for this age group are very deep with guys who would have started for the last cycle. The concern is the 2004's do not have a Gio Reyna or Christian Pulisic level player but have a lot of players who have ceilings in the Weston McKennie/Paxton Pomykal tier. There are a lot of great players but none are truly exceptional on a global standard. Nati Clarke is someone who is in that tier.
The only thing I disagree about is the CB depth. I don’t think it’s bad. Leone is really good, and there are a number of players with potential that could be put next to him. It’ll be a lot better than the prior cycle.
Any thoughts on Jonathon Dadzie and whether or not he could fight for a spot in this cycle? I've been really impressed with him and think he could form a good partnership with Leone.
I like Leone and Craig (would rather have him as a RB or 6). But the rest I'm not confident in being able to perform at this level. It is better than the last cycle but that isn't saying much because the 2002's are by far the worst overall new millennium age group. Efrain Morales has potential. I had some hope for Thomas Williams but the u17 results when he started show that he isn't ready yet.
I definitely think he could. I had him ranked 4th among CB’s and 16th overall on the list I made in December. I thought the comparison you made of him to Che recently was spot on. I’ve used it before, as well, in describing his game. The way I see it, Leone is a potentially elite CB, and then there are 5-10 (Prince, Baker, Dadzie, Dawson, Cano, Morales, Williams, Jones, Stephens) good options, at this juncture, that are in the mix at CB. I have to think someone will emerge. It’s different from the ‘02 age group that completely lacked options.’04 lacks a clear hierarchy after Leone, but that’s not unusual. These kids are 15-16 years old and CB’s develop later. I don’t think it lacks quality. I think the fact that Leone has separated himself speaks more to his ability than a lack of ability from others.
I see Craig in midfield, but if we are including him at CB, that’s two of our better players playing CB. CB’s emerge later due to the nature of what the position asks of a player. Some of these guys (Prince, Williams, Morales, Dawson) are raw. The ‘02 age group was a different story. I watched those players and didn’t even see many players with talent at the CB position. This age group has talent at the position, but the hierarchy hasn’t yet settled itself out yet. I think there’s a lot of chaos with our YNT’s currently. Most of the teams don’t even have coaches. New cycles are starting. The player selection has been very spotty of late. I think we need to let everything settle down. I’m not that worried about results now. I’m not writing off this U-17 cycle because I think there are a number of good players in the age group. Although, I think we should also be alert to the fact that this age group has not gotten good results. It might continue. At this point, we are banking on potential, not anything tangible with what the 04’s have shown against other YNT’s. If this is a repeat of the last U-17 cycle, the ground for it was laid early.
Here's a compilation of GK Jeff Dewsnup from the game vs Denmark. Obviously the 6-1 scoreline wasn't great, but this seems to be the only footage from any of the games out there so maybe there's something to be learned from it.
Brandan Craig was not picked again, ever since the union switched him to CB he hasn’t been called into a camp. I guess US soccer still see him at RB, but he’s 6’1 and only getting bigger so RB is no longer an option. He and Quinn Sullivan both 04s have been pushed up to the union 19s
'04 RSL academy Kevin Mearse said on his Instagram that he was invited to this U17 camp, so that plus Sullivan indicates expanding the pool.
Here is my best 23 for the '04 age group. GK: Brady, Dewsnup, Slonina DF: Reynolds, Duenas, Leone, Prince, Morales, Cano, Cortez, Viviani MF: Craig, Baker, Hot, Pukstas, Barrera, Sullivan, Rotundo, Torres, Lima FW: Toure, Oliva, Schaefer Best XI: Brady Reynolds-Baker-Leone-Viviani Craig-Hot Rotundo Sullivan-Toure-Torres
Overall I agree but I’d move Sanogo in for Toure. Toure’s stock has been falling as fast as the actual stock market for me, I really don’t see anything in his game that I like. I would also move Craig back to CB (I also like him as a dmid but I think CB will be his long term position) and Pukstas in his place.
Adding Sanogo would definitely help, but a guy like that who doesn't seem to have a big connection to the US isn't a player I'd definitely put in the US fold yet. Thats the type of player I wouldn't expect to play for us until he's on one of these rosters. I like Craig at defensive midfield, although I know there's been an effort at club level to use him at CB.