and yet it is also important for Atlanta to recognize as an organization where they fell short and attempt to ensure that the next time that isn’t even the tiniest part of the reason. Carleton likely wasn’t going to be a world beater without a better attitude and more discipline but maybe being in idk Germany with no friends around would have resulted in a better outcome.
Yeah, that's what I think Atlanta is trying to convey. A rather empty "we have blame, too." I don't think, in private, they put blame anywhere but on Carleton. However, I disagree with both you and Atlanta. The bulk of blame (and credit) always resides with the player, but Atlanta could have handled it all better.
Freddy Adu, I mean Andrew Carleton, woulda been a huge USMNT superstar if that stupid clueless coach didn't bench him!
I do think we have to realize that Atlanta was a brand new club with zero first team culture, much less a youth/player development culture. Carleton landed in their laps due to a youth affiliation, but they seemingly didn't have a clue what to do with him. THey hired a coach in Tata Martino that had no interest in being a baby sitter. He didn't want to be Oscar Pareja and staff working on the training field with youngsters every day. He didn't want to be out there teaching the basics to raw prospects. He wanted to win trophies and then move to a bigger opportunity. This is a man who was South America's Coach of the Year. You don't hire him to teach Chris Goslin how to pass the ball. You gotta have another structure in place to do that. People will say "oh, well he played Ezeqiel Barco!" Yes, but Ezeqiel Barco was a starter already on a Copa Sudamericana winner. He wasn't a raw prospect. He was a proven player that had already broken out................. If a club wants to have youth/player development as a primary platform for their first team "mission statement," then they have to hire coaches that want to do that. You don't hire Jose Mourinho for that if you're in England. Maybe you hire Mauricio Pochettino or a coach with a clear desire to do it. I always remember the issues that DCU had with young players in the early part of their franchise. They signed a lot of young players, but had no clue what to do with them. They didn't build a support network for the young players. They didn't know how to help them off the field. Bobby Convey ended up living in Bruce Arena's basement. Santino Quaranta went off the rails. When Atlanta started as a franchise they had a group of teens handed to them via a youth affiliation, but didn't have the structure in place to help them yet. On or off the field. I wasn't down there in Atlanta. I know we've heard stories X, Y, and Z about Carleton. I just don't know what to make of all that. What I do know is that when I saw Carleton on the field for Atlanta United............he did fine. He looked like he belonged. He didn't run on the field and prove himself to be unworthy of additional opportunities. Maybe I'm wrong, but I continue to contend that Carleton has talent. I see it with my own eyes. I keep hoping that he'll go elsewhere and get back on track. I just don't know if mentally he WANTS to do it. At some point you wonder about motivation. At some point you wonder whether a young prospect actually loves the game. There are prospects that "don't make it" in every soccer playing nation on Earth. Sometimes its not talent that holds them back.
At this point any comparison of Andrew Carlton to Freddy Adu is unfair..................to Freddy Adu. I could go on a long defense of that statement, but shouldn't have to. At the age Carleton is now, Freddy had already appeared for Benfica and Monaco. I could go on a long monologue about Freddy's accomplishments at the U20 and U23 levels. Carlton has been a no-show at those levels to this point. But anyway, its not worth the argument............. By the way, a record that I think may never be broken: Freddy Adu appeared in three consecutive U20 World Cups for the United States. Can anybody imagine another player doing that? I can't. By the way, record number 2 that's going to be hard to beat. Last I knew Freddy was the only player from any nation to score hat-tricks at both the U17 and U20 World Cups. And he didn't score hat-tricks against St. Lucia and Mongolia. They were against South Korea and Poland. Now, Freddy Adu's story is likely over. Andrew Carelton has been nearly a no-show for both club and country...................however his story isn't over. He can turn in all around, and we're all rooting for him to do so.
I would love for Carleton to be as accomplished a player as Adu. EDITED to add that I just saw Clint's post saying the same thing, but better.
Like most people, I don't know any specifics and can only draw opinions from a distance, but I can't see how he would have done better in Germany. I agree he needed to be away from his friends and that aspect would have been a plus, but what he needed/needs is a highly structured environment with support. I don't really see that happening in Germany...at least with a top team where top talent is much more common. I don't think there are a boatload of MLS academies that would have worked for him either. It would have to be some sort of residential program (IMO). The lack of support that players get abroad is probably the single biggest obstacle now. Pulisic mentioned how important it was for his father to be there. Some have been successful over the years but many have failed, Donovan is perhaps the most famous but he is not the only one.
If the problem were mostly ATL for argument's sake, why didn't any other teams in the largest 1st division in the world, come in and buy Carleton? MLS is begging for quality American attackers to market and yet no one wants the guy.
While probably true, its an assumption that no MLS clubs were interested in acquiring Carleton. We don't know.
after his u17 World Cup and very consistent performances during that entire cycle I think he would’ve went to a big European club if he didn’t sign with Atlanta. Right after he left residency he quickly slumped as a prospect
When very prominent players turn into total busts, there are usually multiple reasons. With Freddy, it's a zillion different things. Carleton pretty clearly has some professionalism issues, but he's also a guy who maxed out physically at a young age. (I'm telling you people: never fully trust a U17 with facial hair!!) I'm not saying it's over for Carleton, as he's still young enough to turn it around. But even if he gets on the right track, his path to significant success is narrower because he's too slow to be an effective winger.
Quite the conversation had in here. Also a lot of you hit the nail on the head. I feel like AUFC had no direction of what type of club they wanted to be. They did right by setting up the academy but choosing a coach that didn’t want to deal with youth development. I’m not mad at the fact that keep buying South American exports and that’s their prerogative but their academy sucks at producing talent. George Bello is still one to look out for if he can be healthy but that’s big ask at this point. They’ve had real good talents that haven’t panned out. But I’ll give AUFC the benefit of the doubt since they are a relatively new club. NYRB and FC Dallas have figured it out and now Philadelphia Union have as well so things could change Oh yeah by the way. Carleton had a really good match this past Saturday. Had an assist and probably could had two more. Highlights are up on twitter.
Interesting article that references a podcast Carleton was recently on. He said that the rumors about him forgetting his passport and partying the night before the MLS Cup are incorrect. However, he does reference that something happened before the MLS Cup. Overall it's good because he recognizes that he did some immature things and he said he has grown from it so it sounds like he is in a good place! https://www.dirtysouthsoccer.com/20...s-back-on-accounts-of-previous-transgressions
Something happened but he forgot what happened - how could that happen? I hope we can all agree that it's time to move forward and not get lost in the forest of 'what might have been.'
Easily. Plenty of shit will do it to you. And even if he does know what happened it's better not to discuss that.
The passport and MLS Cup were not the same incident. MLS Cup was in the ATL. I'm pretty sure the passport thing was literally the public story put out there, so I wonder how embarrassing the covered up story was if that's what he's saying.
Right, but he said both incidents were incorrect. I worded it poorly. I am just saying that both separate incidents did not go as we know it.
Well, considering how much we actually know about what has happened with Carleton (off the field), that is a pretty safe statement. The passport issue was pretty straight forward, as I remember it, it was reported that he forgot his passport. If it wasn't that...than I wonder what really was the issue? The oter stuff? mostly guesswork on the part of anyone and everyone that was saying anything as far as I can tell
Honestly, it doesn't give me confidence that he's denying that they weren't correct. He's either lying, or there was something worse than forgetting your passport that people felt the need to make up that lie? Strange.
Kinda like a defendant saying: "no, I did not beat the man senseless...." when in fact, he shot and killed the poor guy.
You're the manager of a first-division team that has an important game tomorrow, and for various made-up reasons you will need to build your offense around 90 minutes of Carleton or Mendez. The game starts in 90 seconds. Who do you pick?