MLS Flavors of the Week: 2021 edition

Discussion in 'USA Men: News & Analysis' started by Eleven Bravo, Jan 19, 2021.

  1. gogorath

    gogorath Member+

    None
    United States
    May 12, 2019
    Santos is Philly's Timo Werner. He's the one player they have that really stretches the field vertically. He's not great at finishing, but he's hard to not play because Kasper is slow and the formation doesn't allow for a lot of dangerous speed on the wings (as the wide players rarely start forward) ... and half the time that speed is Bedoya, who is so. very. slow.

    They often save him for the second half, though, I could see that.
     
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  2. Paul Berry

    Paul Berry Member+

    Notts County and NYCFC
    United States
    Apr 18, 2015
    Nr Kingston NY
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I doubt Sands is out, unless you know different.

    Morales is a capable replacement for Parks and we have a bunch of players that can cover for Taty including Tajouri-Shradi, Thiago and Heber.
     
  3. 50/50 Ball

    50/50 Ball Member+

    Sep 6, 2006
    USA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I'd be shocked if Kacper is actually slow. He looks fast to me and being that his brother is an Olympic athlete and his mother ran competitive track it's hard to picture him with sub-par speed.
     
  4. 50/50 Ball

    50/50 Ball Member+

    Sep 6, 2006
    USA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I can't believe that Dejuan Jones has zero caps. He's a better player than Vines or Bello.
     
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  5. thedukeofsoccer

    thedukeofsoccer Member+

    Jul 11, 2004
    Wussconsin
    Club:
    AFC Ajax
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Yes, but in spite of the age, he's been on the radar for a shorter period after going to a full 4 years of college, & he's not a natural lb unlike them, or Paredes & Jogo. We need this with no left-footers up the field. Our width on that side is non-existent. Jones is good w/ his left, for a righty, but not ambidextrous.

    I like what I've seen from Jones & he could be a Miles of the fb, spot, but as of today he'd have more utility on the right than the left, and there's a partial logjam on the right again.

    One way to make him & Scally be more useful is to experiment in winter w/ as many lefties as reasonably possible to ameliorate the lack of left-sided width beyond fb. That means Paredes at wing, Pomykal at 8, Sonora 10, etc. Though it may be difficult to justify starting any of them in the interim, so we may end up back with the same conundrum.
     
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  6. gogorath

    gogorath Member+

    None
    United States
    May 12, 2019
    Regardless of actual footspeed, he doesn't play in a manner that stretches the defense. He tends to look for the ball to feet, tends to come back a lot, and even when he gets it on the break, he's far more likely to stop, protect it and wait for others if he's not already in the box.

    I watch a decent amount of Philly. Santos brings something Kasper doesn't in terms of how the defense reacts. That's why he plays even when he is ... inconsistent in his finishing.
     
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  7. Mahtzo1

    Mahtzo1 Member+

    Jan 15, 2007
    So Cal
    I can't say I have seen his recent games but his performance yesterday was top notch. He was invisible for all the right reasons. He didn't do anything flashy but everything was correct. He did the little things and popped up where he was needed. It wasn't really until later in the game that I realized how good he was.
     
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  8. jaykoz3

    jaykoz3 Member+

    Dec 25, 2010
    Conshohocken, PA
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    He didn't start, he was a second half sub.
     
  9. jaykoz3

    jaykoz3 Member+

    Dec 25, 2010
    Conshohocken, PA
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    He's a pain in the ass for defenses to play against. He fast and strong. When he's on his game, he's very good....when he's off his game.......he's....not good....

    Cory Burke offers a lot of the same qualities too. If Philly had a Ruidiaz type of striker up top....they'd be a perennial shield and cup contender.

    As is, I'm rooting hard for RSL to win. RSL wins, and Philly wins = I'm going to MLS Cup on the 11th!! Seeing as work has prevented me from seeing the past two, playoff games, and the upcoming game I REALLY want this to happen!!
     
  10. Ray Shoesmith

    Ray Shoesmith Member+

    Valencia
    United States
    Nov 14, 2021
    Isn’t Heber only sub fit at this point? I really don’t know and assume you do. I know the injury was bad.
     
  11. Ray Shoesmith

    Ray Shoesmith Member+

    Valencia
    United States
    Nov 14, 2021
    Good luck. I have a soft spot for Philly. They talked the talk about building a team and system from the ground up. It took a long time and they stuck with it. Nothing but admiration and respect for that. What they have done this year without BA and MM has been impressive. Organizations and coaches like Curtain do not get the credit they deserve. They are boring in a lot of ways, but they are example one of how to succeed in real life. That being said, for all the disdain NYFC and Red Bull get for being farm teams, corporate, or whatever the purists use these days, those two teams have done a lot for the game here. A lot. Gee, both approaches can work. Shocking. Nah, better to stick my head in the ground and just dig in to one side. Pure. I need to remain pure.:D
     
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  12. 50/50 Ball

    50/50 Ball Member+

    Sep 6, 2006
    USA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States

    Jones is pretty 2 footed from the stats. I don’t watch enough NE to say.
     
  13. IndividualEleven

    Mar 16, 2006
    Yep, Jones has turned his left foot into a weapon. He should be a candidate for the NT's lb position.
     
  14. KALM

    KALM Member+

    Oct 6, 2006
    Boston/Providence


    Turner, Zimmerman, and Robinson are the three Americans in the MLS Best XI. No midfielders or attackers, unlike last year.
     
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  15. gogorath

    gogorath Member+

    None
    United States
    May 12, 2019
    Bou making it over Buksa is ... weird. Though I hate these things anyways because there's zero attempt to make a real team. Oh, three strikers and two CAMs plus an unbalanced midfield! Makes sense!

    Worth noting that in ASA's G+, Cristian Roldan and Aaron Herrera were also highly ranked Americans by minute. The Best XI there doesn't even have a RB or a RWB ... so I guess Herrera's out of luck?
     
  16. Clint Eastwood

    Clint Eastwood Member+

    Dec 23, 2003
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    FCD has officially hired Estevez away from the USMNT.
     
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  17. thedukeofsoccer

    thedukeofsoccer Member+

    Jul 11, 2004
    Wussconsin
    Club:
    AFC Ajax
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    This would be interesting. If he was interested in doing something like this, he should wait until after the 2026 WC when fb in the US could look much different.

     
  18. 50/50 Ball

    50/50 Ball Member+

    Sep 6, 2006
    USA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States

    Not just by minute, Roldan is 8th in total G+, Herrera 9th with Zimmerman third.
    If you remove defenders, Roldan is 4th.


    Roldan is an analytics darling and an inked in starter for a team that has made it to 4 MLS Cups in the last 6 years.

    I would like to see him get a chance as an 8 sub for the USMNT. I don't understand why Gregg plays worse MLS players in those spots. Neither Acosta or Lleget is a better player than Roldan yet they get far more chances than he does.
     
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  19. IndividualEleven

    Mar 16, 2006
    Roldan has hit top gear as an attacking player, rather than as an 8. In 433, he'd be a wide forward.
     
  20. 50/50 Ball

    50/50 Ball Member+

    Sep 6, 2006
    USA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I know that's where Gregg sees him but when I've watched him with Seattle he's an end line to end line player for them. He's a poor man's McKennie.
     
  21. gogorath

    gogorath Member+

    None
    United States
    May 12, 2019
    There's no doubt that Gregg can be restrictive in roles for certain players in the USMNT, so I'm not saying you are wrong here. Though I think in general, for players on the edges ... this is probably a good idea.

    I don't see Roldan as a very good ball progressor in the midfield. His possession skills aren't great, he's not good at all on the turn. He thrives moving forward, in a bit of chaos, and as a presser.

    I just really struggle to see him as a good fit for the 8s as we play -- dropping deep, either dribbling through the middle or playing triangles with the fullbacks?

    The alternatives haven't been great, so I get that. But playing strong possession ball with your back to goal is such a key skill for 8s and especially for us ... he's not that guy.

    Of course, neither have a lot of other guys.
     
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  22. laxcoach

    laxcoach Member+

    United States
    Jul 29, 2017
    intermountain west
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Seems like a longshot but if it has some truth to it then earlier would be better so he'd get more familiar with the US talent pool so he could coach the USMNT in '25 and then go back to NYCFC after winning the WC for the US
     
  23. 50/50 Ball

    50/50 Ball Member+

    Sep 6, 2006
    USA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    #4998 50/50 Ball, Dec 2, 2021
    Last edited: Dec 2, 2021
    From looking at his stats and having watched a handful of games this year, I think his biggest weakness is that he's not the smoothest on the ball., he's not going to be Nagbe or Musah but I think he does enough other stuff to make it worth it.

    He actually progresses the ball well on the dribble and passing. His combo/triangle play, especially with his wingbacks is very good.

    https://fbref.com/en/players/48875649/scout/365_mls/Cristian-Roldan-Scouting-Report

    Here's his numbers compared to Weston, Accosta and Lletget.

    https://fbref.com/en/stathead/playe...yrfrom=2021&player_id4=73019c31&p4yrfrom=2021
     
  24. gogorath

    gogorath Member+

    None
    United States
    May 12, 2019
    I just see him with the national team, and he simply can't turn. He's not great with close in accuracy, he's not driving any of that.

    I'm not sure what that FBRef scouting report is trying to tell me. He doesn't fare well on possession numbers versus mids there, and there's no fine detail like location on the field, back to goal, etc.

    If anything, it firmly locates him as an attacking player.
     
  25. 50/50 Ball

    50/50 Ball Member+

    Sep 6, 2006
    USA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    #5000 50/50 Ball, Dec 2, 2021
    Last edited: Dec 2, 2021
    This year he's definitely been played as an AM for Seattle. That'ts why I say he's a poor man's Weston. Both are guys you don't necessarily want dribbling out of pressure, both are field covering athletes, hard working on defense, good in the air and dangerous arriving in the box.Obviously Weston is better at almost all facets of the game, but their actual roles for club are similar.


    One other thing. Take a look at his scouting report for the last year G+ has him as a 6/8

    https://fbref.com/en/players/48875649/scout/2798/Cristian-Roldan-Scouting-Report
     
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