Maybe he'll experience a Jonathan Bornstein-style resurrection. Sean Davis was too good to continue sitting. NYRB were going to need to either trade him or play him.
I believe they've also offered a HG contract to defender Andrew Lombard of Ohio State. Isn't he a fullback as well? I believe he's gotten US U18/U20 looks in the past. http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/sports/m-soccer/mtt/andrew_lombard_1021867.html The RBNY homegrown talent pool is sooooooooooo loaded. As it should be. NY/LA/FCD, etc. should have an inherent advantage when it comes to the homegrown initiative. The talent pool available to them is on a different level than what's available to a club like Portland. Of course last off-season they signed a bunch of homegrowns out of the NCAAs and then cut them shortly thereafter.
The guys they cut were all more marginal cases who were college seniors. They were the equivalent of a bonus 2nd/3rd round pick and, as we know, most of those guys don't make MLS rosters. Signing underclassmen and HS guys signals a deeper level of commitment, IMO. I don't see players like that in danger of being cut right off the bat like Corboz/Thorsheim/Thomsen.
Maybe Gil will have a Daniel Hernandez resurrection as a destroying defensive mid with some decent ball skills. Hernandez was an attacking mid at SMU but made his name as D mid after not making it as an attacking mid in the pros. Beckerman did the same while staying in MLS.
You are right, he's a RB. Not really a player I considered as an MLS level talent right now, but maybe the Red Bulls disagree. Maybe he's only signed for RBII though.
I did some quick googling and it turns out he has a LinkedIn profile that helpfully says he played CB at Northeastern and RB at Ohio State.
I remember him playing CB for the U-20's at the Dallas Cup. Wasn't very good, IMO. Ramos was playing Herrera at RB and Lombard at CB. I think he should've switched those two players, as I thought they both were bad at those positions. I didn't consider Lombard to be a player good enough to play in MLS this season, but maybe he's improved a lot since the last time I watched him play.
Sight unseen, hard to bank on a 16-17 yr old for a 1st division role or even u-20 national team. Hopefully Borges signs to be a pro already, be it at RB1 or RB2. Better for his development and we can more easily see where he's at than when he is in college. Is Trusty Austin exclusively a cb or is he possibly an outside guy? Because that u-20 team is already over-loaded at cb, to the point you're thinking about a 3-man back-line or using one like EPB as a stay at home DM. Probably the latter because I don't see the wing-back options. Prima facie, the fb spot is the weak point on the u-20 team, and that's partially a byproduct of the college system because on a professional club a lot of the eventual fb's started higher up but then got reallocated due to need or them being just behind talent-wise.
This is the same discussion thats had like every week in the YNT forum. I should just copy and paste what I wrote from there. The U-20 situation is tricky. I think its a little better at RB than LB, which I think is extremely weak, but if all these really good players are going to be on the roster, someone will have to play out of position. Palmer-Brown, Glad, Redding, even Robinson are candidates for that. I'd say Trusty is the least versatile of the bunch. Trusty is CB-only IMO. He's really big for a center-back, like 6'3 or 6'4, and not that fast. More of the Gonzalez or Hedges mold than anything. Not a LB, IMO. As I mentioned earlier in this thread, I think he's better than Robinson who was so highly touted from the draft. They played together as the CB duo for the U-20's a lot of the cycle. Both were very good, I thought Trusty was slightly better. I wouldn't be surprised if Trusty got minutes in Philly this season. Ken Tribbett's their 3rd CB. Not that tough competition, if he's given the chance to earn that role.
Like I said, a way to get more of the cb's onto the field, is to put EPB at dm. Then his range + defensive dedication would also empower you to play more offensive cm's ahead of him like a Perez and Zelalem, for example. But then you're hard-pressed to play yet another cb at fb, putting 4 on the field. They'd at least have to be like an Andrew Farrell-type cb to justify it. A guy with some wheels, dribbling, touch, and crossing to provide width and numbers up the field. Otherwise when you have the ball you only have like 5-6 forward against the opponent's 8-9. Tough to break down. Would probably lead to a lot of stalemate games. Might have to just suck it up on the left side and use Borges, so everyone fits their roles well enough. One or more quality cb's is going to need to remain on the bench, especially if CCV competes.
Fatai Alashe taking this January camp "snub" in stride. Klinsmann called him into last year's camp but he was unable to attend due to a groin injury which required surgery. http://www.espnfc.us/major-league-soccer/19/video/3040742/alashe-talks-january-camp-snub
Yeah, I'd project him as more of a d-mid than a-mid. He lacked the final two passes, but the quickness, motor, ball-winning, and technique were pretty top-notch. Maybe like Bornstein, Gil will reemerge after a few years.
Yep Bill Hamid sidelined 6 weeks after another knee surgery #dcu #mls #usmnt https://t.co/dDlRfqaeEa— Steven Goff (@SoccerInsider) January 18, 2017
The words "knee surgery" tend to make me doubt a player's future health more than almost any others, and doubly so if it isn't their first.
I don't know what Hamid did exactly to require surgery, but Arizona lost a talented basketball player who had to retire after 3 ACL tears in 3 years. 2 on one leg, 1 on the other. Some people just can't take the rigors of professional sports.
For some reason they did not interview some of our BS regulars. They certainly would have got a very different impression of JJJ's quality. http://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2017/...t-la-galaxy-star-jermaine-jones?autoplay=true
Timbers boss Caleb Porter pledges to put Darlington Nagbe in his best spot Porter pledged to stop moving his team’s star all around the pitch and commit instead to playing him on the left wing, where Porter says Nagbe is most effective. http://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2017/...er-pledges-put-darlington-nagbe-his-best-spot
Spector now qualifies to be a MLS favor. http://www.espnfc.us/orlando-city-s...joins-orlando-city-after-birmingham-city-exit
Just just about to post this... Wonder how they'll use him. I think he's more of a CB at this point as he isn't very quick and doesn't move his hips well.