Ask Poch. You lose Adams and Johnny and you have Tessman, Morris and some MLS guys, plus McKennie I guess. Busio seems to be out of the picture. He's a starter in the Bundesliga.
Not if experimentation is done - and with so few windows left, I want trying out barely fringe players like Sands to be done. Poch may not agree with me that Sands is clearly not up to this level (yet) but I think that's disappointing if he isn't aware of that. As an NYC fan, I've seen him play a ton. Really competitive kid who I hope puts it all together as he enters his prime - but the next World Cup is too soon for me.
In a pool full of players who are constantly hurt, you can never have enough depth and evaluations of players in the pool IMO. Why are we up in arms over finding out if we have depth or not? Seems like a weird thing to be upset about in a game that was won over a WCQ team and a few of the best players not available.
I've answered this comment. We've seen Sands for the National team, we know what he brings. When do you stop using these games for depth evaluations? I thought Poch said we were done. He can bring Sands for practice fodder and have a sense also of what he brings.
He last played in 2023, a lot has changed since then no? He’s starting on a mid table bundesliga club, Poch is here (very important note), he’s a flexible especially in the current setup option positionally, Adams tends to get hurt over the last couple years, Johnny is not healthy and hasn’t been for a while now, Morris was unconvincing, Tessman isn’t necessarily a 6 but looked good, so why is seeing another 6 a bad thing?
It's a fair comment - but I don't think a dozen starts in the Bundesliga changes who Sands is and that was reflected in his performance last night. Not good enough. I think this should already be known. I also think the reality is that if we lose Johnny, Adams Tessman, Morris, it's more likely that someone like WM gets pigeon holed in there. I also think most NYC fans would take Haak over Sands in a heartbeat.
Idk I don’t think 50ish minutes of James Sands is as deep as you’re making it, but to each their own I suppose.
I agree with you, and am on that side of things, but if I could rationalize it, I would say that none of the options other than Tessmann have looked good at the 6/8, dual pivot at all period this year. Not Berhalter, not Adams, not Morris, not Johnny, not anyone. We've basically had upticks in form from Tillman and Tessmann in the shirt and regressions, or no improvement from literally everyone else. So that's probably why he'd want a look at Sands, just to box check, but like you, I think it's too late for that, and reps are whats needed with only 5 games left until selection going into last nights match. It's just too late. Make your decision on Sands and the rest based on what you've seen with club and country and start integrating your 11 and immediate subs.
I think that competition needed to be between fall '24, and summer '25, it's too late to be trying out a 6th Defensive Mid when you only have 2 camps left and 1 game beyond in this window. Make the evaluation of Sands based on game tape, and even such, where would he be in the depth chart? DM #5? #7, #8? It's a waste of playing time at this point unless you're so fed up with the other options that a good night from Sands would immediately put him in your top 3 of options.
When we don’t even have our supposed starters in camp or at least 1 of them, I am fine with trying to figure out who the next guys up are. None of the guys in camp are locked in starters and we saw all of the potentials last night at some point.
I mean Sands has been hurt for a lot of that time period. It’s not like he would have had opportunities before now.
I think Adams is a lock and I think Tessmann and Cardoso also end up in and the last spot ends up being one of Roldan, Sands, or Morris (barring injuries).
We’re talking about roughly 60 minutes for James Sands over two games. It’s hardly egregious. This is a guy who has 1) been playing well in the Bundesliga, and 2) had a long term injury so couldn’t really get an opportunity till now. Meanwhile is not as if he was inserted in there with a purely experimental lineup. It’s all guys who mostly should be on the final roster.
Sands will be 26 during the World Cup. It'll be his 10th season as a pro. He's in his prime. There was a notable improvement before and after he went to Rangers. He got "dirty". I don't think he's going to get much better. The question is, is he better at that role than Morris? This was one match, I think he needs another chance. I think that, at his best he's the ideal guy to bring in when you're holding onto a lead and you need to shut down the opponent's midfield. Leave the boot and in take a yellow.
Roldan is versatile and experienced enough to come off the bench in a variety of positions. I'd take him for that reason alone.
Look, I'm a big proponent of the idea that there is a certain level of player where you can just tell from scouting and club play that he's not up to it ... but is Sands at that level? He's at minimum holding his own in the Bundesliga right now. He must be okay at something. I think it's less he's not good enough than that he's a somewhat poor fit for what we're asking our center mids to do. I also think putting two of the more borderline players and an effective new guy out there are once is probably asking for it. I do get your general point. For me, I really wanted Pulisic-Tillman-Balo to start to get cohesion there. But at the end of the day, this might have worked out a bit better -- McKennie had a great game, Wright had a great game -- get some confidence and the whole team more on the same page.
I think it’s likely he goes and it’s also true Cardoso has had a lot of injuries so unclear if he ends up making it or not when all is said and done.
And what evidence do we have that Sands is a worse player than Morris for instance? And Musah hasn’t exactly done much to warrant his inclusion as of late.
But that's sorta beside my point and we are starting to head in circles. We know Sands isn't good enough for this level and we have a large body of evidence to support that view. My issue is that we are having trials between them at this late stage (and starting him and Roldan together which also feels like a wasted opportunity). I would have much rather seen guys like Tessman get another start to see if he/they can build on some of the recent positive play, play multiple games with short rest, and build cohesion amongst players that are closer to the first team. I would have felt similar frustration had he started CCV but perhaps less so because I probably view CCV slightly higher on the skill level scale. I suppose if you (or Poch) view Sands as close to the runway, this will bother you less than it does me. I want games at this stage to be rehearsals for players to get comfortable with each other, not auditions. If we are still having auditions, I want to see a guy like Haak get a shot (but that's not really what I want).
I am curious what you saw from Tessmann last nightor even the Ecuador match that said he was better than Sands?
I don’t know that we know that about Sands however. His play in the Bundesliga is a new data point. He also is coming off a long term injury that prevented him from getting an opportunity till now. And the thing is it’s also in the context of the rest of the lineup. Giving one spot to Sands when the rest of the starting lineup included Pulisic, Richards, McKennie, etc isn’t like this massive new experiment. I think the fact that he missed a lot of time because of injury is also relevant. Another example would be if a guy like Parades got an opportunity down the line. He’s missed a lot of time cause of injury so he probably would have gotten an opportunity earlier but for that injury. As for Roldan I wouldn’t be surprised if he not only makes the roster, but starts a game next year at the World Cup.