I try to not let sports and or sports results affect me personally but seeing players go down injured always puts me in a horrid mood I couldn’t even enjoy the Juve game today, I know injuries come with the territory in sports, but following the USMNT for over a decade, it feels like we are cursed when it comes to our players and prospects and long term injuries. I feel so bad for Morris, and Richie, I guess the only thing we can do is hope for a speedy and full recovery. /rant
Same. Jordan is by far is my favorite player on my favorite team. I've seen a lot of shit in my life and I was surprised how this injury affected me. More than anything I feel bad for him personally. He's such a nice kid.
This reminds me a lot of Holden's injury in that it's a likable guy who's really coming into his own who's been devastatingly unlucky with injuries. Just as it seems he's on the ascendency, he gets cut down. If Holden had made it fit for whatever World Cup that was, against all odds, he could've made a real impact. He was one I feel that could've moved the needle for us on the international stage. With JMo however, we are a much better team and he's part of a group of 8/10 similar or better players, so while his injury sucks, it doesn't have the quite the same impact as it would if he were who he is and our national team was who they were. Holden is a lot more public than JMo and I remember his campaign to get fit, with videos, testimonials, and the like and the outpouring of support for him and fervent hopes that he'd make it. It was all really bittersweet. JMo is a lot more private and can recover in anonymity, which is probably what he'd prefer. It would be great if he came back as he was before but our collective hopes don't hinge on it, which is great for him and great for us
Without derailing this conversation (but why not? There isn't much else to talk about here), I see Morris as a big loss for the USMNT. 2020 and the start of 2021 have been very tough for American wingers. You can make concerning cases for all of them. Uly Llanez is in the midst of a failed season and doesn't have much success in his career to point to. Tyler Boyd was forced off Besiktas' active roster and isn't really so hot at Sivasspor. Konrad de la Fuente: looks like a good player but again, doesn't play. Tim Weah: productive season in limited minutes - on the heels of a lost season. Is he a CF or a winger? TBD Gio Reyna and Yunus Musah: Both are very young, very talented, in a rut for the past 2 months, but I am not convinced either is a winger. Paul Arriola: Another player I like but who hasn't played much the past year. Christian Pulisic: a top 2 American player but has dealt with frequent injuries the past 18 months. Chris Mueller: I like him but I’m not sure how much Berhalter does All of these players come on heels of mostly disappointment with wingers in years past - Kenny Saief, Rubio Rubin, etc - Since his last ACL tear, Morris was generally dependable, reliable, and winger was his position. I thought he was the most likely to be a starter come WC qualifying - especially at in-season form. With Morris going down, the U.S. team will probably be okay for qualifying. Last cycle was a fluke and the U.S should produce without all of its Best XI. But the winger position is concerning, at least to me. Again, at this position American fans seem to be banking on development of young kids who don't play much. That's always dangerously unpredictable. Good talk
All true, all good points. There are still plenty of unknowns as to who will pan out, who will rise, fall, come out of nowhere to stake a claim. Morris' best attribute, besides his speed which endured one ACL already, is his consistency and effort. He'll give any team headaches. Those are great qualities for recovery too.
Or a switch to a 3-5-2 allows wingbacks to fill some of those tasks on the field (Dest and A Rob) seem capable. Then even Pulisic can move centrally where he can be more easily replaced if he if out (Reyna, Aaronson, etc). But on topic, losing Morris really stinks, and I really feel for him and wish him a speedy and successful recovery. He was definitely on the rise and so solid and dependable.
Said the intention was to get promoted w/ Swansea and then stay in Europe. Would like to return at some point. But he's going to stay w/ Seattle this year, try to win everything, play in the WC, and then gauge the reinterest. A lot is down to re-trust he can remain healthy and return to form. This is also the most I've heard him clap back at Jermaine Jones (upon being prompted), and it was still pretty mild-mannered, as he's accustomed to being. Basically just said they weren't on good terms, still don't have a relationship, but he's forgiven, and that anyone who thought he stayed in Seattle because of a dog were being silly.