Happens every year. NYRB, FCD, RSL, etc. had their time in the sun as the "best" academy/youth driven team in the league. They all exited the playoffs with a whimper. I tend to think that these clubs that really develop homegrowns, end up having really good depth. That lends itself to the Supporter's Shield race. MLS playoffs are just a crapshoot. Its like watching an NCAA basketball tournament in which every team is an 8 or 9 seed. But when push comes to shove, its not young prospects that win in the playoffs. Its Lodiero, Ruidiaz, and Morris in Seattle. Its Giovinco, Bradley, Altidore in Toronto. The list goes on. Nashville and Minnesota this year show us you can have zero academy/homegrown presence and still make a conference semi.
To me, Altidore look just old and slow last night. Little movement (and yes plenty of credit to Nashville) but he looked disinterested. Bradley is done. His passing isn't even any good anymore.
Squads win the league. Stars win MLS Cup. Should also be noted that Minnesota started 6 college players in the match against Colorado. Nashville started 7 college players.
Nashville has the best defense in MLS. I don't think Jozy looked particularly bad, but he definitely didn't look good. Bradley looked like a guy; I was actually surprised he was not out and out bad and merely passable. Akinola was ineffective as well -- he looked like a rookie. On the other hand, Zimmerman looked good -- not great -- and the best US eligible player on the field was Daniel Lovitz. Don't kill the messenger, but watching that game I can see why he was a selection. He was great defensively and not incompetent offensively. I'm glad Toronto is out.
I think people aren't actually watching Lovitz. He's had a pretty darn good season. He's their poster child for Berhalter hatred.......................but Daniel isn't deserving of it.
It was pretty clear that between Ream and Lovitz, the original intent of Berhalter was to keep the LB back, which made a lot of sense given the pool, especially if you didn't rate Robinson. But Lovitz' issue is that he's really not international level in terms of helping to progress the ball at all. Ream is a good passer, so he can help with the build up there. Lovitz is not, and it really hampered the team, especially when there were other weaknesses in the lineup.
nice skill check from Alex Roldan who played rb in the match. Not arguing his case for the National Team. But the play exemplifies the increasing level of the American player. Love how calmly he plays this. pic.twitter.com/DmHiepz7Ji— Jeremiah Oshan (@JeremiahOshan) November 25, 2020
If you could combine Lovitz and Hollingshead you'd have a pretty good player.......................!!!! People all season have been sleeping on New England's USYNT-eligible players. Kessler and Jones in particular.
I don’t think Bradley was awful. He can still pull off a great tackle, and while his passing didn’t evoke the “General Bradley” years he wasn’t cheaply conceding possession or anything like that. Agree about Altidore.
I agree & the principle should be applied to WCQ'ing vs. the WC. Some always want to look ahead to the next WC, maybe even the subsequent one by dreaming about future best xi's. But you need to qualify first. That takes place over a timespan when you can have a lot of unavailable players. So you need to build a squad throughout the cycle. Can't be elitist about it. Just once you get to the WC, hopefully the timing is right that your best are available. And maybe you learn along the way one or two in the squad gets bumped up to difference maker. MLS afterthought to EPL best xi Stu Holden would have been an example. The US likely beats Ghana if not for his injury, provided he would have paired in midfield Bradley. Doesn't turn it over like Clark.
Reynolds going from mediocre forward prospect to Juventus bids in a year has got to be about the wildest ride I've seen.
from wakingthered.com Greg Vanney postgame: "I felt that our biggest challenge on the night was that everything was too slow ... because if you don't (build up) fast enough against a team like Nashville, they just recover behind the ball and make it difficult for you to create chances." I would add that it matters HOW you build up.
The writing was on the wall. Reggie immediately stepped in and became a starter at FCD and might have left earlier had it none been for Covid. He's gone on to start every game in the 6th best ranked country. Although not sure how good his actual team is he is defending against good teams. Once Reynolds also stepped right in and didn't miss a beat his value was pretty much established as nearly as good as Cannon right now with a bigger offensive upside and even more athleticism. I will admit to being surprised he was able to step right in but it was apparent immediately and I suspected his combination of size, speed, skill and crosses makes him a target. Buzz at 3rd Degree has been telling me this for a couple years but in my few glimpses of him I didn't see it.
he was in Portugal for a while....even though he didn't break through there, I'm sure it helped. His interviews have been very impressive...he is highly motivated to succeed at the highest level. A good prospect for sure.
Although he's becoming a bit more practical, that's one of my biggest complaints about Berhalter's preferred system and general mindset. Possession is great if it leads to meaningful chances, but too often teams tend to pass it around endlessly, not pressing the advantage when they have it which ultimately lets any disciplined defense recover. As I've written before, success in soccer (and anything competitive for that matter) is mostly about individually and collectively advancing the game state so that your team is x percent more likely to score while your opponent is y percent less likely to score on you. Overly slow buildups, which possession soccer often results in, are the antithesis of this goal.
I think the offense will get better with repetition. GB's always had defensive issues with his teams. I hope the shear talent of the midfield helps with that.
What does a 6-7 million dollar bid mean from a place like Juve? Is that academy money, starter money, first team money ...... ?
That sound you hear is the phone ringing at TnT Soccer House with Shaq Moore on the other end of the line.
It's squad $. They'll sometimes move them up the ladder though. But coming in w/ an exponentially greater fee is a much better bet for inclusion. So thinking long-term, it may be better to go to a club they'd buy from, even if the fee is a little less, & then Juve or an equivalent pays the type of fee Wes got, which provided him an opportunity. Maybe you just prove you're Schalke level. That's not a bad outcome either, at least a couple years ago.
For most places I agree with @thedukeofsoccer but Juve has a 33 year old playing out of position and a 29 year old who's not good enough. They seem to be trying to go a little younger, hungrier, and cheaper and Reynolds fills that role. I have no doubt Weston's start and Reggie's success in Portugal also help. Depending on what else they do Bryan could be the back or the starter. Pirlo doesn't seem to mind throwing transfers into the deep end and Caudrado isn't good enough.