MLS Flavors of the week 2023 edition

Playing against England and Bale is a touch different than El Salvador. But Miles was missed.

But when we are gonna be on the back foot, MMA is the way to go. When the other team is sitting back, Reyna & LDLT need more time.

We don't have a replacement for Adams, with apologies to Acosta. Morris does not have the athleticism, though he brings a lot. So going 4231 without Tyler makes sense to me.

 

My general thought is the issue with Sands is that he’s not athletic enough, but I wouldn’t write him off entirely just because the Rangers stint didn’t go well. He’s only 22, there is still room for growth there.

 

I share your concerns but I think it was worse at CB.

 

I don't see how that is connected to my post? Of course there will be subjective different ratings for players.

 

An overlooked guy is Parker. I still remember him best for taking out Mbappe at the touchline with a thunderous tackle. He disappeared in the swamp in Houston while getting a pay raise but now pops up in St Louis where they seem to know their football.

USS should be looking hard at some of our MLS cb's and dmids without getting stuck, as Berhalter would, on the Long's and Acosta's. Sands will turn just 23 this summer and would be a ripe 26 in summer of 2026. He has some tools and just needs to iron out some wrinkles in his game. Kessler will turn 28 in summer of '26 which is a good age for WC. Our guys in Europe may improve but at the moment it is Belgium, Champ/ship, Scottish Prem and a Ligue 1 guy who isn't getting called up and 1 guy at Crystal Palace who isn't starting and has a history of injuries. Somebody will likely come out of that group but not so sure it will provide us with 4 solid cb's.

 

I think for RB, Dejuan Jones seems to have something special. I need to see more, but I was impressed with his limited time with the seniors.

 

Sands would likely be more than good enough at the #6 against most CONCACAF opposition. I suspect we'll see a lot of Acosta.

Seriously.........................Kellyn played in every 2021 Gold Cup and 2021 Nations League match. Played in all but one WCQer.

We'll be fine against the CONCACAF level of opposition with Acosta played a lot of minutes at the #6 slot. Just keep him there. Rotate in some of these younger and fringe guys as well. Let's see who earns additional playing time.

 

I expect Aidan Morris to get a shot at the 6 sometime soon.

 

I sort of think you do Acosta/Sands for one of the tournaments this summer and Acosta/Morris for the other. LAFC won't be happy he's playing both, but there really isn't much beyond those 3 at the 6 with Adams out.

 

It was definitely worse at CB and Sands has been clear since coming back that he prefers to play midfield.

Even if you think Acosta or Williamson is better than Parks, there isn’t a better midfield pairing available than Sands/Parks due to the 1000s of minutes they have in that pairing. They play really well together.

 

He may play both.

Kellyn Acosta, at this point..................is a sneaky candidate to get to 100 caps.

He's only 27. Until somebody else emerges, which will hopefully be soon, he's just destined for more caps.

With his next cap he matches Kyle Beckerman's total.

 

Sources: Borussia Monchengladbach are indeed heavily interested in FC Cincinnati & USMNT forward Brandon Vazquez, as Sky Germany first reported.

No offer yet, still early. Other clubs interested as well.

Vazquez, 24, had 18g/8a last season and scored in his USMNT debut in Jan. pic.twitter.com/FpKVhQrGLI

— Tom Bogert (@tombogert) March 29, 2023

 

Those two, Zimmerman and Moore, Tillman and Acosta, Roldán and Morris, a coach could use club reps to smooth out some kinks very quickly.

 

It didn't happen this time but there's a reason alot of teams that win the World Cup tend to have players clustered across 2 or 3 clubs.

 

There are certainly players we should look at to add midfield depth. Acosta does not even play the #6 for club. Canouse could be the Beckerman of this cycle and he is one Hudson should look at.

Here are the top 10 MLS players with the potential to add depth to the USMNT CM pool. Stats by OPTA.

Rank (Whoscored MLS rank), T (tackles), I (interceptions per), By (dribbled), FO (fouled opponent), G (goals total), A (assists total), K (key pass), D (dribbles), L (lost ball (taken + poor touch), FI (fouled), % (passing), LB (long ball completed), TB (through ball completed), Rate (WS rating)

Player	Age	Rank	Role	T	I	By	FO	G	A	K	D	L	FI	%	LB	TB	Rate
T Tillman	24	4	CM	3.5	2.5	1.3	1.0	2.0	0	0.8	2.0	2.0	3.0	85.5	0.5	0.0	7.93
A Morris	21	10	DM	6.2	2.2	3.0	2.0	1.0	1.0	0.8	1.2	4.0	2.0	93.3	2.4	0.2	7.55
O Wolf	18	47	DM	3.0	2.0	1.8	0.5	1.0	1.0	0.5	1.0	1.8	2.8	80.7	1.0	0.0	7.15
K Parks	25	82	DM	2.8	1.2	1.8	1.2	0.0	0.0	0.6	2.8	2.6	1.0	85.9	1.8	0.2	7.05
J Sands	22	101	DM	2.3	2.0	1.3	1.5	0.0	0.0	0.5	0.5	1.3	2.8	86.2	2.5	0.0	6.97
N Buck	17	102	CM	2.4	1.2	1.0	2.4	1.0	0.0	0.6	1.0	2.4	1.0	82.3	3.0	0.2	6.96
R Canouse	27	130	DM	2.8	2.8	1.0	1.8	0.0	1.0	0.2	0.8	1.6	2.0	81.7	2.2	0.0	6.87
E Williamson	25	166	CM	1.8	0.8	1.0	2.0	0.0	1.0	1.6	2.0	3.4	3.2	77.5	2.0	0.0	6.78
K Acosta	27	182	CM	1.3	1.0	0.8	1.8	0.0	0.0	0.5	0.3	0.8	0.5	86.4	2.3	0.0	6.73

I omitted Bedoya 7.08, Durkin 7.0, Bradley 6.95, Ku-Dipietro 6.81, Servina 6.79, Trapp 6.77 for obvious reasons.

 

I feel like it is more than past time to move on from Acosta, who isn’t particularly good at either the 6 or 8. His performance against Iran should have sealed it. Tillman is a fine option but I don’t really see 4 games with a rampant LAFC team as representative of much just yet. Plus he has to file a switch.

 

Acosta has done well at the 6 and the 8 for the US.
Wolff is intriguing but will likely be with the U20s. Same with Buck.
You could build a championship MLS team around Williamson as a deep-lying playmaker. I don't think US is interested in that role.
Sands has played single-pivot, double-pivot, and CB. He needs to get time with the team.
Parks could get a look at the 8.
Morris is off to a flyer with C-bus. Could play the 6 and 8.
Tillman has been wrecking opta. And his numbers in the same role in the B1 were solid. No word yet on the switch.

Tillman, Sands, Morris, and Acosta should get a look in in the Continental Classica and Gold Cup. Parks or Williamson could be the fifth center mid.

 

I mean, Acosta played a grand total of 40 minutes at the World Cup. He's depth. And of course we should look at expanding that depth. The game against Mexico is a perfect opportunity.

 

Acosta gets a lot of stick, but he's a good player who anchored a Colorado team that finished second in the Shield 2 years ago, first in the shield last year, and likely contending this year. LAFC is stacked, but Colorado is not. He does a lot of winning things.

Don't love him as an 8 for us. But as a 6? We have very few guys who read the game as a 6 as well as Acosta.

I like both -- especially Buck -- but I do think both need a bit of baking in terms of strength, consistency, etc., before they move up higher on the depth chart. I don't mind prospective calls, but I think it'll be a bit before either is really contending against a full strength team.

He's pretty terrible at holding positional defense. He's really great on the dribble. He's got the physical tools, but I don't think he can be your primary defender.

Really smart positional defender who just feels a half step slow. Could be the more defensive of a stay at home double pivot if we ever ran that, I guess. I know he loves CDM, but I do think he could be a very good CB.

Parks is a dude I think could be an exceptional deep-lying playmaker out of a double pivot. I am not relying on him to defend, but pair him with Aidan Morris or Kellyn or whomever you like to cover his back and he'd be a really strong ball progressor and distributor, I think. I think it's a step to A team level, but for the MLS/B team camps, I think he could really help show what a better passing deep midfield could do.

Another pairing for me would be Parks - Pomykal. Both are well rounded offensive players in terms of skill, but where Parks is simply more aggressive on ball, Pomykal is very good as positional coverage -- he was basically held back by constantly covering in January. Both can hit a long pass. Would be fun.

I'd like to see him even if I think his passing still needs a year or two of development. Really would love to evaluate if he can play defense at this level as a solo six or if he's a step slow. Really brilliant anticipation, but Sands has that, too.

That role at LAFC is perfect for him. Not far from our MMA-style 8.

 

I'd try Acosta, Wes and Musah at the 6 before any of the young-uns.

 

If we're trying to win, that's probably right.

Although Musah is not exactly an old-un.

 

I'm not sure of the purpose of the focus of Acosta at the World Cup. He has played other important games for the US and done well.

 

Acosta has had more mediocre or bad games for the USMNT than good ones. He just doesn't get as much scrutiny as other players.

I really enjoy watching Buck but he's eligible for the 2025 U20s. He's got a lot of time before he needs to get pushed into a starting lineup.

 

Acosta was fine when he played more of the 6 role for the US. I have no problem bringing Acosta in as someone to help set the tone for the next camp but there should be a wide spread net for sure

 

I think the thing is not all those players can play the 6. I generally agree that I don't think Acosta should be playing the 8 for the national team and we should be looking at guys like Tillman, Williamson, etc.

But the options at the 6 are very limited. We should absolutely look at guys like Sands or Morris this summer. But neither has shown they are better than Acosta yet.

Buck might be an interesting one long term, but it's still unclear whether he projects better as a 6 or an 8.