I really appreciate what Uruguay does in this regard. To them there are no folders labeled senior national team players, U23 players, U20 players, U17 players, etc. They have camps and call up players all across the spectrum that they think have the potential to be Uruguayan national team players. That way kids they think have high ceilings are indoctrinated early into the program. We don't have truly meaningful games until the 2019 Gold Cup. Until then the USMNT staff should be calling up any player, regardless of age, that they think has a USMNT ceiling. Heck, they can call up Gio Reyna and Gianluca Busio for all I care. We need to get over this notion that callups to the USMNT are earned based on play in MLS, etc. That's how you end up with the Chris Pontius' of the world taking roster spots for meaningless friendlies. If the USMNT feels that Andrew Carleton has a higher ceiling than Pontius, even though he hasn't proven as much as Pontius against adult professionals, then they should call him up. What's the worst that happens? You play Carleton before he's ready, he makes a mistake, and it costs you the result in a meaningless friendly? Who cares. Ethan Horvath cost us a result against Portugal last fall. Does anybody care? By the way, I think you're being a little tough on Arriola. He's been around so long that we sometimes forget that Paul Arriola is only 22 years old. He's still growing as a player, and is fully deserving of remaining part of the program.
If attacking players don't pass the eye test then they simply don't have it on the international level. Paul does not pass the eye test in my opinion and it will be a matter of 1.5 years before he has been played off the national team by players with more ability.
There is a massive difference in speed between MLS and the International level. Haha within a few months? He isn't even playing reserve matches against full professionals......
I actually view TT and Carelton as extremely similar players. They both have great technical ability but lack in game separation. Both physically matured very early which actually limits their ceiling in my opinion because physically you know where they're going to be.
The Uruguayan model is interesting and I agree there is nothing wrong with giving young players some games based on potential. Friendlies are a great place to do this. With Carelton , or, young players like him, giving a bunch of MLS minutes before he is physically and tactically ready can be detrimental as the player winds up playing in a way just to survive rather than expressing themselves (as JK put it) like an attacker should. In cases like this, the player is better off honing their attacking skills at lowers levels and friendlies until they are prepared to bring it when the real bullets are flying. Maybe Carelton will be ready this year, but I wouldn't be surprised that he is not.
Yes, it's a matter of confidence. You don't move players up until they're dominating the level they're currently at. Which is why not having a multi-tier pro/rel system in this country that would produce different levels and countless more opps. for development is absolutely killing the development of real attacking talent in this country.
Pulisic scored or assisted on 10 of our 17 goals during the Hex. The second best for non-forwards was 2 (from Bradley). The second best from an attacking mid or wing was 1. With those numbers, how do you figure that we got proper contributions from our attacking mids? I'm also perfectly aware that the formation played a part, but a big part of why we had to play that formation is because the options were so bad.
I'm not sure thats the case. I don't see anything from him that makes me think he's any better than the next Bedoya. He is wildly unproductive with his end product, whether thats at club level or international level, and I think that comes down to a lack of footballing skill. Thats not something you want from a winger. He hustles and he's versatile and all that, but a big reason why we struggled to qualify is that he was playing minutes. He's evidently not good enough to influence games (0 goals, 1 assist in 238 Hex minutes). To be fair though, neither was just about every other attacking mid or wing who got onto the field. Thats the whole problem. It was Pulisic, occasional contributions from the three forwards, and nothing else. If thats what the NT is going to be for the 2022 cycle, we might struggle to qualify again.
No one other than Pulisic hustles more than Ariolla. You may be right and someone will play him off in a year and a half but until someone actually does it he should be apart of the team.
I agree about call ups. I have never been able to understand why people on BS and, obviously coaches, are reluctant to call up the likes of Carleton and Sargent. Its not like they are brittle, or will learn bad habits from one game. How else do you analysis/recognize potential talent...which they both have. I use those two as examples, but I know there are more out there. If the January camp has JA, MB or any of the other guys who have become somewhat jaded in their approach to games, I will be extremely disappointed. Should be all new and close to new guys.
That is so far from reality. Every single study and almost every single player interviewed has pointed out the speed, quickness, strength, and work-rate differences as a player moves up to the international level. Pulisic v Green illustrates the importance of physical ability as a player moves up to the next level.
Thompson, an inch shorter and more than ten pounds heavier, looks a bit more robust than Carleton. TT reminds me of Nagbe: strong on the ball, strong in the dribble, good work-rate, and decidedly more connector than goal creator.
For some reason, we keep producing a lot of these "connector" types, #8s used to impose rhythm and link defense and attack. Either that, or they're just guys not too good at defending and not too good at attacking, so "connecting" it is.
You added some categories that have nothing to do with what I said, and trying to claim there's a strength difference between MLS and the international level is an argument that I don't think can be made all too well. MLS is one of the most physical leagues there is. A large percentage of MLS players have little footballing talent and only are there because they are big and strong. Foreigners are often imported to take up the technical roles within a side, so I'd argue that the international game is probably less physical than MLS, considering there are probably more technical players at the higher levels of international football and less physical players, like you'd find in MLS. Pulisic vs. Green has absolutely nothing to do with this, I don't know why you even brought that up.
Folks tend to conflate hackery-physicality with skillful and athletic physicality. MLS refs allow a greater amount of hacking and reckless play. Surviving the hackery of MLS doesn't necessarily translate to thriving against the kind of skillful and athletic physicality encountered in international football and higher-level leagues. As Kasey Keller said: http://www.espn.com/sports/soccer/b...76984/kasey-keller-mls-epl-usmnt-james-martin
The USMNT doesn't play in the Premier League. There is no disagreement about the physicality and speed of the Premier League, but I don't really see how our games within CONCACAF come close to that. Probably the only international matches close to that are the latter rounds of the World Cup, Euros, Copa America. And I think there's more of the "hackery" physicality in CONCACAF than in MLS. MLS players physicality is more from being tall and strong, the CONCACAF teams aren't as tall and strong, but they use a lot of dirty tactics and are "tougher" on the pitch pound for pound.
And the CONMEBOL qualifiers. Thing is, by allowing a lot of fouling, CONCACAF referees set up teams like Honduras to fail on the big stage. They start playing like they do here, they get carded.
Yeah, boo hoo. Pardon me if I don't shed a tear for Panama/Honduras getting "set up" by beating on our players. They don't allow it elsewhere, but in the meantime, they can kick the crap out of our best players with impunity. Could care less what happens to them outside of CONCACAF.
For example, players like Dax, Matt Hedges, and Kellyn Acosta struggled mightily against the skillful athleticism of Martinique.
This is a good and smart comparison. From the instant he stepped on the field, Green looked like a kid. Pulisic is young but never looked out of place or too slight.