So point one: players generally are who they are by 22/23 but Morris took a substantial step forward at 24 which leads to point 2: Morris should should leave MLS to improve. Isn’t this just a repackaging of the LD career management argument? Morris is happy and playing better and better. He’s playing before big crowds, for any club. He’s winning. He took his step forward in MLS, a league that itself is improving rapidly. Credit to him for pushing himself to this point, and credit him with the intelligence to continue to manage a career he’s done well enough with at this point. If US fans wanted Morris to be raised the Bremen way that ship sailed a ways back. He played like a force of nature at times in 2019 in MLS and rolled that over to nat duty. He clearly is not agitating to leave this off season and he clearly is doing a very nice job of managing his career. What left for him is to take his top level game and make that his game in, game out level, and do this quickly before he loses a step. The signs that he can accomplish this in Seattle are pretty, pretty good
For Morris to reach closer to his ceiling he should be in a league with less time on the ball. For as much as he's improved, he benefits from the relatively poor MLS defenses and pockets of space. He also makes 1-2 WTF was that type plays each game. I look at him similarly to someone who has broken out in the Ered but questions remain about success at levels higher than that.
I doubt Morris leaves. He seems to have a bit of that LD syndrome where he wants to be close to home. I can’t blame him too much about that. I just hope he continues to progress and dominates MLS. Related... I’m hoping Nagbe becomes more agreeable to call ups and his fire becomes reignited by his move back to Columbus. With Adams out, he is our best replacement for a guy who’s quick, has good technique, covers ground, blocks the passing lanes, and moves the ball from the defense to the offense. As an Atlanta fan, I’m going to miss him. But, I hope this move removes those barriers that prevented him from being more of a mainstay on the team. Lord knows, we could use him over Cristian Roldan.
Landon gave it a go three separate times in Germany and later tried to get a permanent move to Everton after two loan spells there. For as much as playing in the top leagues wasn't a priority for Landon, he showed more of an interest in playing abroad than Morris has up to this point.
Yueil went to UCLA for 2 years. Lima went to Cal. Steffen went to Maryland Ream went to St. Louis. Aaron Long played 4 years for UC Riverside Zardes played for UC Bakersfield for 3/4 years Roldan played 2 seasons for Washington Huskies Even Yedlin played a year at Akron.
Also, Reggie Cannon played a year at UCLA and Miles Robinson played a year (or two?) at Syracuse. I think someone like Mason Toye also might have a US National Team future, and he spent at least a year. Jeremy Ebobisse was a college guy as well, I think.
I believe the context was specifically talking about college players playing for the USMNT...while in college.
Props to Jordan Morris. USA Men’s soccer player of the Year https://sbisoccer.com/2019/12/sbi-usmnt-player-of-the-year-jordan-morris
i.o.w., if we have players in college who are not good enough to play for nat team, that's good; if we have players in college good enough to play for the national team, that's bad?
I think [hope] we can all agree that a player who is genuinely ready to play for the national team is one we should call upon. I was [and, of course, in my judgement, correctly so] highly critical of how JK's era unfolded. But as awful as were some of his decisions [let's not mention anything in 2014, please] he did get some things right [when others were oblivious to the point]. Who knows why exactly he pulled the trigger on calling in Jordan Morris. But he did, and it was a call worth making. I would like to think we could have a manager ready to embrace talent wherever it is found, and not reject talent ready and willing to be embraced...... but it seems that is not the Chicago Way.
Remember also that Klinsmann excluded Morris from the Copa America squad after he signed for the Sounders. Some would say he would have been an auto pick had he signed for Bremen.
Right about now, Memphis Depay has managed to work his career back to the point of excitment that he had attained before moving from the Ered to ManU. there's no real evidence he's a better player for it. He was a very good player who got a bunch of clubs very excited in 2014. he is now a very good player who has got a lot of clubs very excited in 2019. In between, he was in a bit of a tail spn, wasn't he? I don't know that Morris needs to move to improve. The evidence suggests that is not the case. He has found his top end game. He just needs to get more consistent with it. I think you're talking about getting him into a place where he will have to play to his weaknesses, and thereby overcome them. As he is, he's among the most productive USMNT attackers of all time. His G and A per 90 trails Pulisic, leads Dempsey and Donovan. I should link a really nice piece on a site that covers the sounders, but I forgot to grab the link and closed it and can't be bothered, but it was a recent piece and it makes a pretty good case for Morris understanding his career perhaps a little better than we all do.
Morris has worked on his main weakness (left foot) and by doing so undercut a lot of opinions that he could only do that at better clubs. By doing so he's proven that being in MLS doesn't automatically keep players from improving. The new question is did he see his weaknesses or did the club and which improved him or did both.
The obsession with competition being the only driver of success rather than a driver is one of the sillier things that I see in American soccer fandom. There's no doubt that challenging yourself against slightly better players helps you hone your skills, and I'm sure having an internal challenging hot on your heels can motivate quite a few players for an extra hour of practice. But the most successful people in the world tend to be highly self motivated and continually set their own goals. No one is pushing them internally? Fine, set an external goal (Best XI, MVP, winning a title). There is this weird implication that ONLY the highest possible level of competition motivates you; there is nothing else. That's simply not true. Of course, you can set those kind of goals anywhere. But MLS can have an edge is just what is detailed in that article: there can be playing time and patience for a developing player. Being able to play through a run of bad form, being able to play while developing, to mess around while figuring out solutions is incredibly valuable. Not every team is going to give you that. That's why these decisions have to be player by player and team by team.
Props to Jordan Morris indeed. To come back from an ACL rehab and return to pro ball at all. Then to bring your game back to its previous level. Then to take your game to a higher level. Incredible hard work from JM, and we are lucky as fans. Here are his 2019 USMNT stats... 5 goals 6 assists 779 minutes 1.27 GA90 (well above his overall 0.85 GA90 for USMNT 2014-19) For reference, Pulisic in 2019 with USMNT was... 5 goals 3 assists 762 minutes 0.94 GA90 (also a little above his overall 0.91 GA90 from 2016-19) https://www.ussoccer.com/usmnt-stats