Yeah, point taken, he should be in there, especially considering his xG related bits from qualifying (I think the best on the team).
I like Jedi but he’s not the best left back in the EPL. And it’s not really an argument. He’s having a very good season though and he’s probably the best left back we’ve ever had.
can you clarify the bolded? cause surely youre not saying dest is as effective an attacker as puli is... so this is one of those times numbers arent going to count, huh?
Depends if you go by reputation or performance. A lot of the guys with better/bigger reputations than Robinson have either missed a lot of time due to injury or have had subpar years (by their standards). Almost all of the rankings I've seen have him in the top several left backs in the premier league based on actual performance. When you see lists of actual performance level it's not the big names............but Robinson, Estupian, Ait-Nouri, Udogie, etc. at the top in some order. It doesn't mean he's as good as Andy Robertson in terms of talent. But Andy Robertson missed a lot of time with injury.
What I don't get about the Dest worship on BS is why there isn't an instant demand to have him play right forward winger? I re-watched some of Mexico game yday (NL) and Mexico's best chance came when their attacker got by Dest and almost put one in at the post. The commentary was something to effect of "that was the best chance so-and-so has had all night". Otoh, he was clowning Mexicans left and right in the attacking end. The commentary on Weah's sub performance in Coppa Italia semifinal v. Lazio yday at rwb after the assist he had was "had a nice block in Juve's box to save the win at the end' or something like that.
I don't know what I was thinking, I think, trying to imagine where I was at yesterday when I wrote that, what I meant was that they both present attacking threats that would be unique on the right side and irreplaceable with the team. Obviously, in terms of end product, not really close when both are healthy, as Puli has shown this year with club, and career with country. I think I was just thinking about the ability to break down defenders and provide openings for teammates through their particular skills. Nobody in the pool is close to either of them on the wings at what they do (similarly, while Weah is a more limited player, by a lot, he also provides that vertical piece, and that howitzer shot, that's lacking in other Right Wing Forwards in the pool as well). Puli and Dest are simply unique players that we don't have another guy we can bring in and replace for what they offer, in the attacking piece in particular. At Striker, as much as I prefer Pepi to the other options, the drop off to Balo for me, or Sargent or Wright simply isn't as steep even though all four are distinctly different types, I'd be fine w/starting 3 of the 4 and expecting somewhat similar results. Dropping from Dest to what's next at RB is like going from 2023 to 2017 or 1989 or 1996, it's that steep a drop in talent and skill even if his defending is just meh.
Weah was fairly disappointing until that assist. If I remember the block in question it was a 1v1 wide in the box and he stood up his mark and defended the cross. The stats sites aren’t crediting him with a blocked shot.
A little side update related to Olympics: As expected, the Uzbeks and Vietnam clinched advancement from the last group, so we've got both sides of the bracket settle for the 2 olympic spots plus a playoff squad. On one side you have Japan vs Qatar and Iraq vs Vietnam: whomever emerges in the final from those pair of quarterfinals gets the autotickets. On the other side you have South Korea vs Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia vs Uzbekistan: whichever side makes the final gets the auto ticket, and again, whomever wins the third place game from the two losing semifinalists, will then play Guinea for the last Olympic ticket. My prediction for now is South Korea, and Japan, followed by Iraq advancing to play Guinea, but who knows....
I didn't see anything after the assist because my stream jumped to the 700 club (I was behind the live stream and Paramount will do that to you.)
USA roster prediction: Who will play at Paris 2024 Olympics? | MLSSoccer.com Doyle's projected Oly roster: (He points out that Malik, Balogun and Lund are cap tied abroad for youth level. i wonder how that works. Olympics isn't FIFA.) GK: Slonina, Schulte LB: Tolkin, Wiley CB: Zimmerman, McKenzie, Dietz RB: Reynolds DM: Maloney, Tessmann, Morris CM: Busio, McGlynn W: Luna, Gutiérrez, Paredes FW: Pepi, McGuire Personally, I'd bring Yow and make room by dumping a left back and using Paredes as back up there, case need. Yow is a determined guy. Is Gutierrez better than Paxten? Dunno. Scally ? He'd be super flexible as rb + back up cb, lb. Do we want Reynolds marking Mbappe? Owise looks ok to me
Latest update from the Olympics: WE HAVE AN UPSET. South Korea, perennial AFC rep, crashes out on penalties to Indonesia in the QF's. They are donezo. Saudi Arabia, along with Iraq, probably the most consistent middle east entrant crashes out to Uzbekistan. Iraq beats Vietnam. Winners of Semifinals get the 2 auto tickets, 3rd place winner battles Guinea for the last ticket. Matchups: Japan vs Iraq Uzbekistan vs Indonesia I have Japan and Uzbekistan grabbing auto tickets, Iraq winning the match up with Guinea. Oooh boy, if it plays out that way, Iraq will be a favorite to beat Guinea and be our opponent in Group A along with France, and New Zealand.
I don’t follow things closely enough to know what’s likely or been decided about allocating players between these two competitions. But personally, I’d like to see Richards, Robinson, CCV, and Trusty at the Copa. Reem probably deserves to be there on current merit, but he is very unlikely to be a part of the next World Cup, and the benefits of integrating younger players outweigh other factors for me.
Uzbekistan has qualified for the Olympics, beating shock semifinalist Indonesia 2-0. Next we'll have Japan duel Iraq for the other direct ticket. The loser will play Indonesia for the right to play Guinea for the final ticket (winner of that joins our group).
Looking like I nailed it, Japan is up 2-0 in the 87th minute. It's looking like Iraq will duel Indonesia for the playoff round matchup with Guinea. Based on prior results, I would imagine that Iraq would take this, and advance to the playoffs. For now anyway, its clear the final team in our group will be either Iraq, Indonesia, or Guinea.
Isn't it the loser of the Iraq-Indonesia game that goes to the playoff with Guinea, not the winner. The winner goes to the Olympics. The Iraq-Indonesia game is on Thursday. The final between Japan and Uzbekistan is on Friday.
You are correct sir. Not sure what tidbit I saw that lead me astray, but you're right. The loser of this game battles for Guinea for the ticket, not the winner, so I guess we are most likely to get Indonesia or Guinea (or Iraq if they play crappy on Thursday) in Group A w/us.
I suppose it doesn't really make a lot of difference. Either way, the Asian-African team we end up playing in the Olympics group stage isn't going to be one of those continents' elite. But they'll probably be a test anyway.
Yeah, and its a hard one to predict anyway. Our U23s just beat the Guinea U23s comfortably in a friendly. ..............but then what happens when Guinea adds Guirassy of Stuttgart, Diakhaby of Valencia, and Diawara of Anderlecht as their overage players????? All of a sudden, you add them to Moriba of Leipzig and the natural U23s.............................and you start thinking it looks like a strong team.