This is the 2nd match in a row that Trapp has not started. Porter has again given Guzman the start. IIRC, Trapp was the captain of Porter's Akron championship squad so it is telling that Porter seems to have moved Guzman ahead of Trapp on the depth chart. Porter does play a more traditional, physical 4-2-3-1 which requires the DM to actually protect zone 14. If this trend continues and Trapp has in fact lost his starting slot how will GB respond in the next callups?
Emo just put a nice dagger on San Jose there. Poor Josef might have been turf monster-ed though. Shame, that guy was about to fetch a lot of cheddar this winter offseason. Hopefully its not too bad.
I know people weren't high on Aboubacar Keita during the U-20 WC but it looks like he has the starting job for Columbus, any crew fans here to chime in on how he has been playing?
Poor week for domestics in MLS. Thought many lost their footing in the lineups. One that continues to be odd is Williamson in spite of his previous solid performances. He's still not in 18's even though Portland has sucked lately. People who forecasted that was a bad landing spot were correct. Again I have to ask, why are these the types of sleepers Cincy are targeting, instead of players who have just failed at nominally higher levels. One club's domestics who did improve their standing w/in the team and national team setups are NYRB's. Long, Duncan, and Barlow have been factors. Duncan is a big development for the u-23's and Long for the senior team. I really think struggling in the last NT camp woke him up that he can't coast for his club because they didn't transfer him and expect to just be able to turn it on internationally.
I thought Keita was unfairly criticized. He had to play a lot of left back. Gloster would attack, and the opposing team would counter into the space behind Gloster. Keita had to cover out there, by himself, a ton. I forget who the other CB was, but …….. Dest also attacked a lot. The other CB didn't get exposed when the opposition attacked that space, largely because Keita was shifted over protecting the guy. Keita didn't get that kind of protection. Imo, he didn't get a fair shake in the reviews. Even if he'd been straight up played as a left back, he'd have gotten more protection out on the wing than he was in those matches.
The other CB was Chris Richards. I thought Keita looked pretty darn shaky, period. But in the few games I've seen at Columbus, he's looked much better. Perhaps it's role, and perhaps it's simply improvement. Either way, I wouldn't hold the U20 WC against him if he keeps it up in MLS.
Here are the U.S. v France highlights. Keita got grilled for his part in 2 France goals. The 1st one ….. pause the clip at :42, what's he to do? The second one, pause the clip at :55. Keep in mind, he's a CB out in space against a Ligue 1 winger. If he has been playing left back, he'd have had cover on the play. But, he was a CB, out at the touch line, 25 yards from the end line, with no cover whatsoever, guarding a Ligue 1 winger. To me, it's hard to criticize him for the winger getting around him and ultimately shooting off the post.
I remember Keita being a beast physically, good defensively and shaky at passing when pressed. I thought he might be a good prospect because the first two are hard to grow into especially the big, physical part. The passing can be improved by playing more at that level. heck, the defense can improve by playing at that level. On the other side Richards was class. Not nearly as physical but great positioning and reading of the game mixed with silky ball skills. Might be a good pairing in a few years if others falter.
I thought Keita was awful at the u20 World Cup. Shaky passing, mediocre defending and overall didn't seem up to the speed of play in most games. I do think he played hard and seemed to have a good attitude. If he's improved at Columbus then good for him. His play in MLS will tell us much more about his ability at the senior USMNT level than any youth games. Maybe the u20 World Cup came a little bit too early in his development.
US-Eligible WS Team of the Week 29(Sept 18-24) --------------Ramirez(8.0)MOTM----Dwyer(7.5)1st---------- -------------------------Hyndman(7.7)3rd--------------------------------- ----------Nagbe(8.0)MOTM--------------Corona(7.7)4th ---------------------------Rowe(7.6)1st-------- --Gasper(7.6)3rd----------------------------Duncan(8.2)MOTM--- ---------------Long(7.7)MOTM-----Long(7.7)3rd----- --------------------------Turner(7.5)3rd------ Player of the Week: Duncan Nagbe Ramirez U23-eligible Player of the Week: Duncan Robinson Duncan Herrera Honorable Mention: GK: Robles(7.5)5th Hamid(7.4)4th Clark(7.3)4th Putna(7.1)7th Guzan(7.1)9th MacMath(7.0)3rd LB: Villafana(7.4)2nd Hollingshead(7.1)4th Lovitz(7.1)5th CB: Robinson(7.4)5th Birnbaum(7.4)5th Parker(7.4)7th Hedges(7.2)3rd Farrell(7.1)7th Holt(7.2)4th RB: Duncan(7.4)5th Herrera(7.3)3rd Bye(7.2)6th Canouse(7.2)7th Cannon(7.0)1st LM: Baird(7.2)5th RM: Saucedo(7.2)6th Roldan(7.0)4th Muyl(7.0)9th CM: Davis(7.4)6th Nagbe(7.3)6th Bronico(7.1)4th AM: Arriola(7.2)9th FW: Altidore(7.2)4th Barlow(7.2)8th Vazquez(7.1)7th Zardes(7.0)6th
Canouse at RB has gone up against some quality left-sided attackers. Opponent----WS score against Canouse____average WS at lm/lam/lf. Lappalainen------6.4_____(7.4 avg) Ebobisse----------6.5_____(7.2 avg) Morris--------------6.2_____(7.3 avg) Arriola continues to excel at amid Duncan has had a great week of double-dipping. Is he the starter now? Long is back. Agudelo didn't make the list but had an impactful sub appearance at CM. His muscling up cost his body the suppleness displayed when he was a highly productive per 90 striker. But his second act at CM may yet bear fruit. Kelyn Rowe- what could've been had he been in a quality development environment. Torrent stated that Parks was one of top mids in the league.
I'd love to see Saucedo get a run out at LB--with RSL. Like a young DMB, he's defensively strong left-sided attacker.
I want a coach to say publicly that one of their players is terrible but he has to play because he's the best they have. Parks is good and probably plays the way the coach wants but of course he's going to say that.
Rowe had utility to our squad throughout even the Klinsmann era, its a shame he was only properly utilized under Arena at the gold cup
He's actually from Frisco, TX! I say we just go whole hog with the next USMNT roster and only call up central midfielders from North Texas and/or FCD connections. There's about 15 to choose from. Maybe go with McKennie, Pomykal, Hyndman, Cappis, and Servania?
At the start of the '18 season, Jim Curtain related that he told Sapong and Cory Burke they were all the Union had, as Zlatan was not walking through the door. Then there is also the Rapids' Anthony Hudson from this season. Any number of euro coaches, like Mourinho, call out players and demand money for transfers. Torrent could've simply stated Parks was good player. Instead, he specifically stated Parks was one of the 7-10 best in the league. That's unusually high praise for an unheralded player on loan. ---------------------forwards-------- -----------McKennie------Ferreira----- ---------------------Pomykal------------
The fact he's a domestic non-defender who is a regular starter for Torrent/NYCFC should speak volumes by itself. That indicates he's one of the best at his position in the league. I wonder if this is enough to get him a real shot on Benfica, or he'll have to take another loan. That's another club that's not been so hospitable to Yanks. They also got a bad impression of him in the preseason, I think. IMO, it's time for his agent to move for a sale. It wouldn't be the worst thing for it to be to NYCFC, but I'd prefer it to be someone in Europe so he doesn't stagnate. He properly used MLS as a springboard. Should be one of the focal points for the u-23's at least. I don't think his fit for the senior team is seamless, but worth seeing how he fits in soon. May be able to play the finesse 6 better than Bradley/Trapp, but we shouldn't have sunk-cost fallacy about that strategy.