The whole thing relates to Cajuste. If he's not allowed to play for the USMNT, then Morales and Robinson should not be. But here is the thing. I think Morales and Robinson are allowed to play for the USMNT and I think Cajuste is as well. I am actually working on that rigth now. Theyre backgrounds are completely identical. Cajuste was told he was not eligible by US Soccer over a year ago. I believe that was wrong. Which would be a great news. And BTW. I never come into either of the USA Men's forums on Big Soccer because I try to avoid things that trigger my migraine headaches. I am making an exception here.
Thank you for that update. And the incompetence of the USSF on this is the real news. They even got it right before with Morales and others. Not even checking their own previous work on this issue when reviewing the Cajuste situation is extreme incompetence by the USSF.
Yes.. I am actually a lawyer. My fact reporting is accurate. He was told he was not eligible last year. I am taking a very, very hard look into whether it was right. I really have to make sure all the dates and locations of his background are correct. That's a separate story.
Nope. Four previous coaches have put him behind: - Jones - Bradley - Williams - Bedoya Even though all had shown the ability to play in top 5 leagues on a regular basis, it means that Morales is a problem player like Benny as insinuated by some even though unlike Benny, there has never been a whisper of it.
This isn't quite true, either. bshredder did not start the off topic discussion in the Morales YA thread. There was already some discussion of his NT status ongoing at the time but his post was the most convenient break-point for moving it here. Why move it here? Because YA threads are supposed to be about the club careers of the players and whenever national team discussions crop up they tend to take over, so we either move them here--where they belong--or delete them. Think of librarians moving books to the appropriate shelf. As I said at the time, there was nothing wrong with discussion; it was just in the wrong place. Had I known that by moving bshredder's thoughtful, analytical post about the complexities of national team eligibility I was setting him up for a bizarre session of "kill the messenger" I probably would have handled things differently. As long as I've been doing this mod thing, it actually surprised me that otherwise reasonable people might see this as an attack on Morales' eligibility rather than an opportunity to discuss how the complexity of lives lived sometimes (frequently?) runs afoul of a formalized, bureaucratic process. In any case... To @bshredder : I apologize for inadvertently inflicting this on you. I chose your post because it seemed like a genuinely interesting starting point for this thread. To those among the rest of you who need to hear this: please play the ball and not the man.
I watched Morales again last weekend. He's not bad at all. I still don't think he's a marked upgrade either, but there's no reason not to give him another look, but I'd say our future lies in younger players.
I do agree with the last sentence but not a marked upgrade over Bradley and Trapp? C’mon. Neither of those would get a whiff of time for Fortuna.
I think Bradley's out of gas, so sure, he'd be an upgrade, though, tbf, I don't think he'd be a "marked" upgrade. Truth is Fortuna's midfield was not very effective this past weekend. They play over the top quite a bit and Morales is a hard worker, good role-player and gets the job done, but I have not seen much to suggest he's a particularly exceptional holding or deep-lying middie. Again, nothing wrong with him and I would have no trouble having him on the line-up over either Bradley or Trapp, but I doubt you will see a significant difference in the team with that swap is my larger point. But that's no reason not to call him up either. Just a management of expectations.
I have seen several of Morales' games with Fortuna the last couple of years. I have yet to see him get smoked in embarrassing fashion like Trapp was against Mexico last year or like Bradley was against Mexico this year.
Well, then you certainly didn't see Eintracht last season... But in any event, your point is exactly the reason I don't think Morales will be a big upgrade. He may not get burned, but he's also not going to upgrade the possession game. I'd rather we spend our time looking for someone who does both. In any event, I doubt we'll prove this on a BS thread on way or the other. But it doesn't seem like we're getting much of a chance to see him for the USMNT either.
Possession will be all Darlington Nagbe... who I want called in. But, I really want too someone who can protect the backline.
Not so much against anything you've said, but I always wonder why fans argue "he won't be a huge upgrade!!!" Who cares? If he makes one defensive play more than MB/Trapp in a game, or has one less giveaway, or is slightly better, isn't that enough? Like because he might just be marginally better than the guy who captained our team to missing the first WC in 30 years, we're somehow stuck with that guy. Of course, we have guys who are way better, who get stuck out of position to accommodate the same guy. And I also agree we simply won't see him, cuz we're stuck with MB until he gets the caps record.
It just that he's 29 and I don't see much upside. I'd rather see a younger player with more upside if we are going to integrate new players. Again, I've watched a decent amount of Morales. I do believe he'd be a very willing stay at home CD, and that's not bad. But the ball will not circulate through him, for the most part. Morales would be a bit of a move to the days of Edu, Pablo and Clarke. And we have done ok with that kind of pure DM set-up. But I'd rather try to build that system around the McKinnie's, Adam's, Nagbe's, etc of the world at this point - guy who can defend but also hold. Just my personal taste, of course.
But you are not getting that choice with Coach Berhalter. Your choice is Bradley, Trapp, or (just maybe) Morales.
Perhaps, but just because someone is someone else, doesn't always make them a better someone else. I'm fine to give Morales another run-out. But I'm fairly confident the reality will not live up to the fantasy.
It is not fantasy. It is just that Trapp is not anwhere near even CONCACAF level. Bradley is not there anymore either, at least for 90 minutes. So the fact that Morales would at least be competent would be a huge upgrade.
Id rather build around the same guys you mentioned but still feel the need for some veteran presence. Vets that can still do it at the higher levels of the game. In our pool, Morales ticks all the right boxes. So far, I think GBs veteran options have been tone deaf. Gonzalez comes to mind. I also have injury and physicality concerns with Mckennie, Adams and Nagbe. Not the biggest lads. Plus there has been a few injuries already with Mckennie. It would be nice to have quality depth. If we were to make the world cup.....32 isnt that old. Whos to say he makes the final roster. The primary focus should be qualifying and I find it hard to believe that Morales cant help in that process. Its not as if hes completely foreign to the program. Morales has been good enough for half a decade or more. Its a shame to watch how its all played out with him.
I have watched and rooted for Morales for years. The only person responsible for him not being on the team is Morales himself. Morales has been given audition after audition and when the whistle blows he disappears. He has been completely anonymous with the national team...a Roldan-level player. Eventually the USSF will shake MLS loose in this cycle and guys like Roldan and Corey Baird will quit getting called in as well. I would like to see a more mature Morales given another shot, but he just hasn't been able to figure out international football. That's nobody's fault but his own.
So explain this to me - Morales was unimpressive 4 years ago. By most accounts, he has improved, and has laid claim to a starting 11 spot in a mid-table BL team, something maybe 3-5 of our current top players can do. That doesn't matter, because he was poor in international soccer 4 years ago. Bradley has been unimpressive for about 2-3 years now. By most accounts, he has regressed, and couldn't sniff a starting spot for a BL team. That doesn't matter, because he was good in international soccer 4 years ago. My questions are - why do we call guys up and play them based on their level 4 years ago? This is a constant theme, and has been for years now. Is your opinion that, even though a player can improve domestically (in Germany), he cannot improve in a national team? It's frustrating how everyone has so many reasons against Morales, starting in the Bundesliga, and then Bradley gets rolled out there again and it's just "welp, he's the best we got!" Again - if your thinking is "get rid of anyone over 28", I'm fine with that. I'd prefer a midfield of Adams, WM, and Pomykal, for example. But Egg has shown he wants some EXPERIENCE in the squad. Why are we calling in the EXPERIENCE that has failed worse than any other US team in the last half century? And when it's called, we shrug our shoulders and say "nobody better" while a 29 year old starts weekly in a top 3 league. I'll never understand US soccer media, all these weird podcasts like scuffed, and half the fans here. Seems so obvious, but clearly there is so kind of disconnect.
Well, I clearly advocated another Morales audition in my post. Morales needs to impact the game with the national team to warrant inclusion, which he simply has not done to this point. Making an equivalence with Bradley, who despite his reduced physical capacity, still manages to figure out ways to impact games, makes my point for me. Getting a start and running around in midfield for 75 minutes is not enough. Make something happen. Hit key passes, make key tackles...do SOMETHING. Take your spot. If you're no better than Christian Roldan, they're going to pick the MLS guy every time.