MLS 2024 Flavors of the Week

Discussion in 'USA Men: News & Analysis' started by OWN(yewu)ED, Feb 7, 2024.

  1. Mahtzo1

    Mahtzo1 Member+

    Jan 15, 2007
    So Cal
    Which, of course is true for any lower level of competition in virtually any sport. The reverse is also true...guys that relied on athletic ability for their success at a lower level often don't translate to a higher level. At the highest levels, ANY weakness can be a downfall.
     
  2. IndividualEleven

    Mar 16, 2006
    It's very impressive that Columbus had that deep CCC run yet still managed to finish strongly in league play. Most often, teams that make deep CCC runs have weak seasons in league play.
     
    Pegasus repped this.
  3. gomichigan24

    gomichigan24 Member+

    Jul 15, 2002
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Sure but I guess my point is you can definitely get away with a lack of athleticism in MLS in a way you won’t be able to in a top five league. And it’s the biggest issue a player like McGlynn will face as he moves up.

    Part of it is also that the modern game is much more about athleticism than it used to be. The same less athletic player moving from MLS would have been able to better cope in the past.
     
    Bajoro and Mahtzo1 repped this.
  4. Mahtzo1

    Mahtzo1 Member+

    Jan 15, 2007
    So Cal
    I definitely don't dispute that. My point was more to expand on your point and simply to say that it isn't limited to athleticism. If I were to generalize, I would say that one dimensional players can be successful at lower levels if that one dimension is good enough but at a higher level, their weaker attributes have to be at least "decent". You do not see one dimensional players at he highest levels. A guy with superior skills can't be slow. He doesn't have to be fast, but slow will keep him from being successful.
     
    Bajoro and gomichigan24 repped this.
  5. Clint Eastwood

    Clint Eastwood Member+

    Dec 23, 2003
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    ................I've been thoroughly impressed with some of the recent moves from their new GM Issa Tall. And, of course, he'd been Bezbatchenko's right hand man for years with TFC and Columbus.

    Like when Issa traded GAM and Will Sands for DeJuan Jones. Every GM in the league should have been like "why didn't we do that?" Apparently he was "Director of player personnel and strategy" under Tim. And its Issa who gets a lot of credit for signing Cucho Hernandez, Lucas Zelarayan, and guys like that in the media.

    Columbus Crew GM Issa Tall Leads the MLS Team He Helped Build (columbusmonthly.com)

    Its been a series of moves by that front office that have been really strong, and of course the coach has been awesome too.

    .................with two games to go for them, they still have a shot at finishing with the 2nd best record in the league.

    [Is Issa Tall related to Maki Tall? I guess not.]
     
    Boysinblue and IndividualEleven repped this.
  6. Mantis Toboggan M.D.

    Philadelphia Union
    United States
    Jul 8, 2017
    There are a few other examples like Messi and Ronaldo, but it's literally only that level of player.
     
  7. Pegasus

    Pegasus Member+

    Apr 20, 1999
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    They don't have anywhere near the top end talents that they used to. That's the biggest difference. maybe they have a good team again at that level but where are the Pepi's, Ferreira's, Pomykal's, Reynold's, Cannon's, Tessman's etc?
     
  8. 50/50 Ball

    50/50 Ball Member+

    Sep 6, 2006
    USA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Give me an example. Busio walked right into Seria A as a19 year old and had better tackle and aerial success than in MLS. MLS isn’t kind to non-athletes, because of the run and gun play.

    It’s going to be a small sample because most of the guys who leave MLS for big leagues are top athletes. The sketchy athletes that have left MLS weren’t that good here either and end up in Belgium like Durkin or off to Mexico like Bofo Saucedo or Efraín Álvarez. .
     
  9. gomichigan24

    gomichigan24 Member+

    Jul 15, 2002
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Busio definitely has athletic limitations. And he definitely struggled that first year in Serie A.

    It’s also why I think a player like Mihailovic doesn’t have much of a ceiling beyond MLS.
     
  10. gomichigan24

    gomichigan24 Member+

    Jul 15, 2002
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The interesting thing with the super athletic types is they’re the ones who often get major transfer interest because of their athletic profile but we can usually tell in MLS as it’s usually not reflected in their play. Bryan Reynolds for instance has been fine in Belgium but it wasn’t as if he was dominating MLS when Roma made a big offer for him. It was mostly just based off the athletic profile.

    Similar with Tessmann and why Venezia was interested in him. It was because of his physical profile not because of his MLS play.

    Cade Cowell is another example in terms of someone who didn’t show a ton in MLS other than flashes here and there (though has been doing well in Mexico).

    Whereas the less athletic guy who struggles at the higher level tends to have already been a good player at the MLS level. More broadly MLS is still a league where you can get away from playing a pure 10 whereas the modern game has really moved away from that.
     
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  11. TheHoustonHoyaFan

    Oct 14, 2011
    Houston
    Club:
    FC Schalke 04
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Busio actually has high work rate that surprised me when I watched him at SKC.

    Actually almost all his numbers (tackles, interceptions, aerials, Gs, A, ...were down after he moved from SKC to Siri A.

    https://www.whoscored.com/Players/358142/History/Gianluca-Busio
     
  12. Mahtzo1

    Mahtzo1 Member+

    Jan 15, 2007
    So Cal
    With the athletic player with holes in the game, it is very tempting for the buying team to believe the player can be developed and those holes filled.

    For the skilled player lacking athleticism, the old saying "you can't teach speed", comes into play.
     
    gomichigan24 repped this.
  13. TheHoustonHoyaFan

    Oct 14, 2011
    Houston
    Club:
    FC Schalke 04
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    If you are not athletic enough to be successful at the next level you are just not going to be bought by the next level.

    Djordje did not fail at AZ because of lack of athleticism, he failed because he did not have above average next level individual technical ability. He could not beat anyone off the dribble to cause problems or get his shot off. We saw the same limitations at the Gold Cup.
     
  14. butters59

    butters59 Member+

    Feb 22, 2013
    Not necessary. Gradual progression is typical for Quinn type of players, while hitting the wall at higher levels is what happens to most incomplete prodigies. Like Yow and Alex Mendez. Hope that's not McGlynn future, but he is still in MLS for a reason, while Paxten is doing great in Holland.
     
  15. 50/50 Ball

    50/50 Ball Member+

    Sep 6, 2006
    USA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    His tackles win percentage went from 40 to 44.4 on the same volume per 90. His interceptions went up a bit and his aerial win percentage went from 37.5 to 48.4. I think some of this is positional effects to be fair as he played some of his last season in SKC as a striker, where he’s obviously going to lose more aerials.
     
  16. 50/50 Ball

    50/50 Ball Member+

    Sep 6, 2006
    USA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I don’t know why Djordje was being used as an 8 at the Gold Cup and Olympics. Almost all of his club success has been as a 10 or inverted winger.

    Also, he only played 815 Eredivisie minutes at AZ. We don’t know what he might have done in the league if given a better chance.
     
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  17. xbhaskarx

    xbhaskarx Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    United States
    Feb 13, 2010
    NorCal
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
  18. butters59

    butters59 Member+

    Feb 22, 2013
  19. RalleeMonkey

    RalleeMonkey Member+

    Aug 30, 2004
    here
    Looks like we missed out on a thug:

    "As he’s come to expect, Davies was the target of some very physical challenges. The Canadian captain had just enough time to hurdle Julian Araujo’s studs up sliding tackle just before 20 minute mark that really raised tensions. Referee Victor Rivas — the 2023 MLS Referee of the Year — felt it wasn’t worthy of a booking. Already on a yellow, Araujo came studs over the top on Mathieu Choinière just three minutes later."

    Canada survive chippy scoreless draw with Mexico (canadiansoccerdaily.com)
     
  20. Pegasus

    Pegasus Member+

    Apr 20, 1999
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I always thought he played a rough game that would be punished in tightly called games. He collected a lot of cards with LA. Sometimes that's good because it's probably easier to dial down aggression that add it later but some never dial it down.
     
  21. xbhaskarx

    xbhaskarx Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    United States
    Feb 13, 2010
    NorCal
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Where are our American MLS CBs getting sold for $10 million and then playing for the national team with some passion pls

     
  22. felloveranddidanadu

    Plymouth Argyle FC
    Dec 12, 2009
    Club:
    San Jose Frogs
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Already the best defender in CONCACAF
     
    RalleeMonkey repped this.
  23. gomichigan24

    gomichigan24 Member+

    Jul 15, 2002
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I don’t know he’ll go for that amount but Akinmboni is probably our highest ceiling centerback in MLS.

    Not quite 10 million but McKenzie went for 6.5 million I believe. Richards might have gone for 10 million if he had stuck around MLS longer. I had hopes Miles Robinson would have a good World Cup and get a decent transfer off that before he got hurt.
     
  24. gogorath

    gogorath Member+

    None
    United States
    May 12, 2019
    And Richards went for more than that. Of course that's just transfer fees and not play. Not from MLS, but with an extra step in there. He was younger than Bombito when he left the US.
     
    gomichigan24 repped this.
  25. Yowza

    Yowza Member+

    DC United
    United States
    Oct 23, 2019
    Arlington
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    He has to get out of DC. That’s my team, but they suck at developing young players.
    Jackson Hopkins is a striker who never gets to play there. They played him on the wing, he’s too slow and can’t beat anybody. Good gravy, this year they played him at the six! He wasn’t half bad, but is that maximizing the potential of a teenager? He’s a poacher, a good ball striker with a nose for goal, at least before he got to DC. They don’t care.
    Kristian Fletcher, same deal. You’d be hard pressed to find a player more lost on the wing. He maybe had two starts up top, and in those games he would show promise, and then he wouldn’t see the field for weeks.
    Chris Durkin spent more time wide than central in his time here. Seriously, wtf?
    Moses Nyeman was once the future, what happened there? Sure, maybe that one is on him but DC certainly didn’t help.
    Massive regression from Ted Ku-Dipietro this season. I didn’t think he could get anymore head down dribbly than last season, but he did it. He’s ok on the wing, but he’s not a striker. He’s more McKennie. He needs space to drive into, shoot or dish. They’ve never even tried him as an 8, which is where he played when he tore up the USL.

    Now we have DC just bleeding goals all year, and Akinmboni only plays when total jag McVey is injured or suspended. Even then, they’d rather rig a back three with Herrera and whomever before playing Matai. Has he been beaten? Yes. Has he been ok or better? Yes, that too. But one guy has a fantastic future, potentially, while the other, speaking of McVey, is just barely hanging on in MLS. They either aren’t seriously trying to develop youth or are really bad at it.
     

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