I have to say Corey Ashe is a close second to Freddy Adu in talent and skill on the U-17's. I think this guy is a definate future star for the US nats. He reminded me of a cross between John O'Brien meets Demarcus Beasley.
He's got the potential to be a better Cobi. But in terms of pure skill, I'd say he's behind Memo, Gaven, Spector and perhaps DiRaimondo. Supposedly he's going to go to college, which drops him down a couple of notches in my mind from a soccer development standpoint. His speed would get him by in MLS next season IMHO, and he's thicker than Beas....
i was very, very impressed with him in the game against mexico. as i've stated in another thread, he stood out, and was robbed of goals on two separate shots by a great save by the keeper and by a crossbar at 8 feet, instead of 8 feet and 3 inches. both shots were struck very well, following runs that displayed his speed, vision, and ball control. i don't know how you judge "pure skill", but he outplayed all of those other guys in this particular game. as for his size, he looked very solid. but he seemed small, and i remembered thinking that he just didn't like he was going to have some huge growth spurt. i hope that reaction is wrong, as i thought the size thing really might be the only thing to get in way. good luck Corey.
Pure skill to me--consistent ball skills and tactical awareness. People complain about Memo trying to dribble through players and losing the ball, Ashe was just as bad at Dallas Cup, and it wasn't because he got knocked off the ball. Ashe is not very tactical at all and has trouble reading the game. But it is possible for him to learn those skills. The guy's thicker than Beas, I could care less if he has a growth spurt. The kid's explosive, and I do think he could jet by professional defenders.
When I went to the match 2 Sundays ago in Lancaster, I stood right next to him and was a good 4 inches or so taller than him...and he was wearing his cleats still...I'm only 5'8" maybe 5'1" is a little exaggerated...but regardless he is quite small...he's still quite young so hopefull he'll get a few more inches...he had a good stocky build, so if he does get a little taller, he wont be a DMB sized mid.
Let me tell you guys this Corey Ashe made Memo Gonzales, John DiRamaindo and Eddie Gaven look like elementary school players. When I saw him play vs Mexico he looked like a future US player that will be playing in Europe. He had explosiveness and great skill on the ball. He will be ten times the player Cobi Jones ever was.
So he'll be on the upside of mediocre. Great. I just saw the Sportscenter segment on Adu, and they showed him standing next to a short guy with a sweet puffed out fro. Was that Ashe? If so, this guy will be a stud, if for no other reason than his hair. Its all about the hair, and this guy has the goods.
um....who cares if he's only 5'4" right now....he's on a U-17 team...which means he's not even 17years old yet!! That means he's still gonna grow. You understand that???
Unsuprisingly, this is a very inconsistent group. During any game anyone out of a group of 8-10 guys could standout. Ashe definetly is in that collection of guys who could develop into full national teamers.
Yes, that's him. After seeing that SportsCenter segment, I can't wait until August when we see Freddy from Finland. Hopefully the opposing defenses will let him play and not hack him to death.
i was thinking the same thing. with the exception of consistent astonishment of freddy's play, a lot depends on which games you saw. those of us in the LA area who saw the games in Lancaster have a much different impression than those in the Dallas area who saw the Dallas Cup games. against Mexico, Ashe was a star.
Who cares how tall he is. He is a very muscular kid who is explosive. that means he can win high balls too. Im sure his vertical is really good. he will be a sweet player in the future.
Cavaet. I've only seen two games from the Dallas Cup on tape. Guadalajara and Tigres in the final where the table was set for Ashe numerous times and he blew the shots. [DiaRimondo did the same thing afainst Guadalajara, but made one of he four setups he was given] Ashe doesn't come close to Memo. Watch the Under 17's in Finland. The way to beat the US is to shut Memo down. No one on the team comes close to doing what he does with through balls. If I can see it so can other teams. Dropping Gaven back to midfield doesn't compensate for Memo's skils. Glazer IMHO won't be able to pickup the slack when Memo is marked out. And I don't see that many long accurate passes coming from Ashe or DiaRimondo. Spector did provide one nice long ball to Adu against Guadalajara, leading to a PK. But it's unclear if he will be available. That leaves Adu attacking from midfield on one of his explosive runs. We have to have more than this to advance to the U17 finals.