Daniel Lovitz

I disagree with the characterizations of most of the players Lovitz is being compared to. The vast majority of those guys were at least at the level of an elite MLS player.

Robbie Findley is the loan exception, though. 40 goals in 196 appearances at MLS-level or better. 0 goals in 11 National Team appearances, including 3 World Cup matches.

Findley got his big run with the team after the Charlie Davies accident. His inclusion was very much a system thing. Bob wanted a speedy striker to pair up top with Altidore. Findley represented an incredible drop-off from Davies, but Bob didn't want to change his system.

That system, however, had taken the team to the finals of the Confederation Cup. 3G's system, by way of contrast, has taken the team to its lowest elo-rankings since the 90s.

 

Hollingshead isn’t my first choice, but I certainly rank him above Lovitz.

Already better (not necessarily in order):
1. Sergino Dest
2. Antonee Robinson
3. Eric Lichaj
4. Nick Lima
5. Ryan Hollingshead
6. Aaron Herrera
7. Niko Hamalainen (Finland dual-national)
8. Kelly’s Acosta (moved from midfield)
9. Fabian Johnson
10. Timmy Chandler (moved from RB)
11. Chase Gasper
12. Jorge Villafana
13. Greg Garza
14. Andrew Gutman
15. Justin Morrow
About even with: Donny Toia and Ben Sweat

Project better too:
1. Chris Gloster
2. George Bello
3. Sam Vines
4. Kobe Hernandez-Foster
5. Travian Sousa
6. Jaylin Lindsey (moved from RB)
7. Kyle Duncan (moved from RB)

POINT: there is absolutely no reason that Lovitz should be in a US shirt on game day unless he bought one on his own and sitting in the stands.

 

Are there any MLS observers who can give us a good summation of what Lovitz is and why he would be chosen over Hollingshead, who has been really good for the past two seasons?

 

You’d have to ask Berhalter. He’s his only defender.

 

You guys are crazy and just don’t see 3Gs or Lovitz genius. He should be a lock starter and call at literally any position he wants.

 

Lovitz is a converted attacker with a cultured left-foot and decent dribbling skills. He defends reasonably well in a counter-attacking setup. At club level.

His left-foot is why he would be chosen over the right-footed Hollingshead. Lima, another right-foot who has been playing left-back for San Jose, is not seen as a left-back with the NT. Dest, who played at left-back during the Ajax pre-season, was preferred at right-back for the Canada match. This, despite 4 rightbacks having been called up!

Robinson, a much better player, and left-footed to boot, nevertheless needs to work on his passing and possession.

In this vein, it's easy to understand why someone like Chase Gasper got the callup: he has a cultured left foot.

Too summarize: Berhalter wants left-footed left-backs and right-footed right-backs who can pass and possess the ball.

Now, I'm not arguing Lovitz is good at this at international level. I'm just arguing the coach wants a certain profile of player in that left-back position.

 

That description fits Hollingshead as well, whose strength when moved into different positions at FCD is that he brings a crafty approach to ball movement and possession.

Hollingshead really does deserve an extended look.

 

He is not left-footed.

 

I'll disagree a bit on Hollingshead. I paid very careful attention to him this year and I still am not sure which foot he prefers. He is a rare two-footed player. He scored a golazo from outside the box with his left earlier this year and does a lot of things, like this - https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2019/08/10/goal-ryan-hollingshead-cannons-shot-crossbar that you would expect from a natural left-footed player. He does often dribble with his right and I've read interviews where he said he worked to develop his left which makes me think maybe he started out using his right. But he's so good with his left that even transfermarkt lists him as being left-footed. I don't think we'd be getting much of a downgrade in the quality of a left-foot and even if it is a slight one, he is far more capable in basically all other areas of the game.

I really have no issue with a right-footed LB. I know you are just speculating as to Berhalter's reasons so this isn't directed at OP. With Lichaj, who is a favorite of mine, his passing is markedly worse from the left than the right but he's just as good if not even better as a defender so I see him not being ideal in a true possession system. Hollingshead does not have that issue. And the best pure attacker from that side out of our group is probably Robinson (who also has an excellent left-foot) and he can't even get in for the U23's. The Lovitz obsession is weird and it seems like he gets propped up for some weird reason.

 

That is extremely frustrating about Berhalter. It’s like saying, I need a right footed player, so I’m going to pick an old, arthritic man who barely plays the game over Lionel Messi, because you know, there’s no possible way that Messi might be better with his opposite foot than the other guy is with his predominate foot.

I get there’s a bit of hyperbole there, but by how much? The gulf in talent between Dest, Cannon, Yedlin, Robinson, Lima, Hollingshead, Lichaj, and soooo many others versus Daniel Lovitz is insane!

At some point, you ask, is Sergino Dest, et al better with his left, even if he’s not left footed than Daniel Lovitz? When the answer is unequivocally yes then any reasonable person STOPS calling in Daniel Lovitz.

 

You and I don't agree often but that's a hill I'll die on. If he can't get in January camp this year, something is up. He's so good as a LB and provides cover at other positions.

Of note, FCD bothered to protect him unlike Montreal with Lovitz and you can't tell me it's because FCD doesn't have good players coming up through their academy...

 

Sam Vines is better on the ball than Robinson is. Robinson is the better player, but this is 3G's world.

Yedlin, similarly, is down the pecking order at RB. His best bet for time may be at right-wing.

 

Last thing I'll add for now. I'm not disparaging Lovitz' left-foot at all. The issue is that he's so limited athletically that he can basically never get a cross off unless he hits an early one right when the ball gets to him. That lack of athleticism is exposed exponentially more when he's trying to defend. I'm of the opinion that unless you have a guy that can both defend and attack at a plus level, bring one of each. The issue is Lovitz fits neither of those categories.

 

The fact that dominant foot is actually considered as a factor on our NT indicates that we have not developed enough two footed players.
Like Lovitz callups ,it is an indictment of our player development.
As far as Lovitz,I'm sure he's a real glue guy,coachable,works hard,has strong intangibles,and other words teams use to defend indefensible selections.

 

Lovitz was definitely worth a call-up for 3G to test the waters, especially early this year when he first took over. However, the incessant call-ups and complete unwillingness to try anyone else for that role is insane. Like many of you have said, the LB pool is very shallow but, there are still atleast some options that 3G needed and needs to try. It defies logic that he is set to include Lovitz on the roster as we get very close to WCQ...

 

I'm telling you, Hollingshead is as close as we get to having a two-footed player. And he was on most of the best 11 lists this year at LB. This is where I'm not always sure Gregg has an explicitly pro-MLS bias (though I think there is some). He has a "his guys" bias and Lovitz is one of his guys. Still hoping for a Hollingshead call-up in January.

 

Would certainly like to see Hollingshead get the call.

 

Lovitz is left-footed. That's about it. He's clearly worse than even our other left-footed LBs.

Robinson's a better crosser than him, although that could be a function of Robinson using his speed to get into better positions to cross. Lovitz doesn't even get upfield far enough, and plays that 3rd-CB-*sorta* role that we fall into in possession. When you say Robinson "needs to work on his possession", I'm struggling to understand why that puts Lovitz ahead of him? Because Lovitz isn't good in possession either, hence why most of our attacks come down the right, the only side that we can get overlapping runners on consistently with Yedlin/Cannon/Lima.

Lovitz also does not trap the ball well at all, which is one of the reasons why Ream, who is even slower-moving than Lovitz, looks so much better. That's aside from Ream being 10× the passer.

Finally, in defense, Lovitz is comically bad. We lampoon Robinson for getting burned vs. Brazil, and his bad game against Jamaica. Forget the fact that other guys from that Jamaica game, like Roldan, keep getting calls... Lovitz got burned playing against Cuba multiple times...

Berhalter wants a left-footed LB, not the "best" LB available. Ok. Why Lovitz though? He's not even the best or most-experienced left-footed LB in MLS. That's probably Villafana, a guy who didn't get frozen out on a crap team, and who is pretty experienced internationally. Not the best LB, but more than good enough to not look bad against Cuba...

It's really pretty undefensible. I can see Berhalter being married to a left-footed CB despite bad options. I can't see him being married to Lovitz.

 

In fairness Robinson did play the full 90 in the U-23s final game of their recent tourney (and 2019) though Vines did play vs Brazil a few days before in that tournament.

 

Villafana is 30 y/o.

 

The 3G-style lb pool--

Ream, Lovitz, Gasper, Vines, Gloster

Hopefully, Hollingshead gets a look in and Robins gets another shot.

 

Hollingshead is good all over the field too...wings, middle, up top. He has a great team-first attitude and would be a really good player to help the young guys grow.

His play on the field is unpredictable...he can pull a rabbit out of the hat. He has a mind kind of like Clint Dempsey where he'll out-craft players with unpredictable and slick touches/movement.

Of all the MLS guys, Ryan looks to be the guy who is ready to step in to something like this national team and contribute. It's time he gets a shot.

 

I have been following the team since the mid-80s and I am having a hard time coming up with a player that brought less to the table. He literally has no place on the USMNT... IMO, it says a lot about GB that he has stuck with him this long.

 

I believe he's played every single outfield position except center forward at least once for FC Dallas.