PBP: 2022 CONCACAF U-20 Championships, Quarterfinals: USA vs. Costa Rica, 6/28 @ 7 PM EDT

I think you got it right. His game hasn't changed much. What is getting attention now is his drop in scoring, specially those difficult shots he used to make.

 

You have to define what "production" means to you.
Let's take Cowell as an example, he made a tons of bad moves/passes. Yet, he scored when we needed one. Just because the defender allowed him to cut inside and shoot doesn't mean he had a good game.

 

I get that statistically. And from a "hot streak" aspect, there's no doubt that some of his hot start was finishing and being in the right places seemingly all the time. That latter is more of a skill, but can be luck. The former is high variance.

But that said, the skillset is there. He does strike the ball well. He controls the ball well. He has good vision and can make quality passes. He'll still flash them, but he also seems to have lost something that is a weird combination of aggressive, smart decision making.

Maybe he was just lucky everything was coming off. But it feels like he's taking chances at all the wrong times -- almost like he's not evaluating the situation and deciding but rather almost randomly being aggressive or not.

I think he's a MUCH less valuable player further back. He's inherent a risky player. I also don't think he's fundamental a wide or vertical player, which means he can play winger, but not like we sometimes need.

The result, I think, is that he fits pretty well forward and central and he fits pretty well as a CM in a Red Bull system that allows for a fairly democratic, aggressive offensive approach. But he's not going to look great shuttling or wide.

And in his defense on this team -- we look pretty terrible wide, period. I think the false 9 is working a bit against us at times there.

 

Well, I can only speak to my own opinion in terms of praise and criticism.

Sullivan has been great, agree.

I think Aaronson has been better than the rest; I get the production here (although there are some pens in there), but he's been by far a more consistent contributor and positive force. In terms of prospect projection, I also think he has a clearer, more commonly applicable skillset and role than Clark and he's a much more well-rounded player than Luna.

I'm not even really criticizing Clark; I was never as much on the Clark bandwagon as some, and I'm not saying he's been atrocious. I just think he should be more impactful, and I'm wondering why he isn't given the skillset. It's more I'm simply trying to figure out a why and how you use him better.

Cowell's underperforming to my mind in large part because he's playing like a winger when we have a false 9. A part of Sullivan's effectiveness versus Cowell is that Quinn is playing like an inside forward with a false 9. Of course, Sullivan has a broader, more consistent skillset, so he's more capable of that. And I think he's well ahead of his age tactically.

I love watching Luna, but there's nothing about this tournament that has been a surprise to me. All the questions remain. People calling for him to make the senior team over Roldan because he played well against Cuba is silly. But there's not a lot of point criticizing Luna for me -- we know the concern, and it's not likely to be rectified right now.

Clark is just more of a mystery to me. The pieces add up mentally to better play that isn't happening. Whereas with Luna, yep, there's some physical challenges. Got it.

 

My concern is more how often Clark is losing the ball, making poor choices on the dribble, mis-passing.

I get finishing variance. I just think he's better than he's playing. But fully admit this is subjective evaluation and memory.

 

Yeah much of the team was just a mess controlling and passing the ball. whether it was Pukstas, Clark, the CBs, large swathes of the team just had zippo idea (aside from the first goal) how to progress the ball upfield. I agree with Susaeta's take (which I'm extending) that they should've just reverted to USA 1.0 once up 2-0, since they really didn't have it on the possession side.

 

I think Clark has the ability to make decisive split second decisions…but a tendency to always make risky decisions.

Can be a game changer when he’s playing a tricky 1-2 in the box, one-timing a volley from the top of the 18, or sending a header back across goal. Less impressive when he’s isolated out wide getting outmuscled and turning it over. Don’t trust him if he’s on the ball for too long.

I like him closer to goal, and can still see his value is a system like RB Salzburg where they are gung-ho about pressing and instantly creating chances out of nothing.

 

For production I'm talking about goal impact. Thats what wins you games. Scoring goals and producing assists. Clark has proven pretty well in that area over the course of his career. Cowell also has.

The turnovers and the bad decisions are part of the game. If a player produces in the most important areas, you live with the potential negative byproducts when they aren't at their best. Neymar has games where he's the best player on the pitch and the worst.

Look at the turnover numbers for the best players in the NBA or NHL. The leader in turnovers is almost never a replacement level player. Look at the strikeout numbers for the best hitters in the MLB. You'll take 150 strikeouts if a guy hits 35 HR's for you.

If you want players to be impact players, you have to be realistic. If Cowell had that size, speed, power, and he also had great decision-making, he's not playing for us at this tournament. It's possible to provide the goal impact and also make great decisions with few turnovers, but there aren't that many around who do that. There's usually some tradeoff expected with goal-impact, and the turnovers or bad decisions that come with some of the stuff they try that you wouldn't advise everyone to try.

 

I will leave the statistical analysis to those proficient in it. This is my first time watching Clark, and what I notice immediately is that he completely lacks the "la pausa" and the ability to manipulate his opponent to create space for himself. It is said of the great players that time to seems to slow down for them. For Clark, it speeds up as he seems to lack the awareness to respond to opportunities presented by his opponent, and so his passes are intercepted and his dribbles fool no one.

 

Wow. Costa Rica sucks. #8 deserves an assault charge it looked like.

 

I think that up to this point Aaronson and not Sullivan is the team MVP. Covers area from penalty box to penalty box, plays out of his prefered position based on the team need, creates more and finishes much better than Sullivan.

 

I like McGlynn better than Clark, better technically, plays faster, much higher soccer IQ & has a lethal left foot. His ability to play the ball out of the back instead of a 50/50 ball to a player making a run downfield & the ability to switch the field of play was something missing from the attack last night.

 

Don't say Cade Cowell hasn't evolved. He went from 1980's movie bad guy, to 2020's movie bad guy.

 

Or Argentina's violent meltdown against Germany after getting knocked out of the 2006 WC.

It seems to be a mentality more prevalent among Latin American sides; if you eliminate them from a tournament you're not allowed to celebrate it.