Ok, Jordan Morris, is he the deal?

Discussion in 'USA Men: News & Analysis' started by deuteronomy, Apr 16, 2015.

  1. Excellency

    Excellency Member+

    LA Galaxy
    United States
    Nov 4, 2011
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    I'm glad you liked it.
     
  2. mschofield

    mschofield Member+

    May 16, 2000
    Berlin
    Club:
    Union Berlin
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    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
     
  3. jond

    jond Member+

    Sep 28, 2010
    Club:
    Levski Sofia
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    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.
     
  4. Eleven Bravo

    Eleven Bravo Member+

    Atlanta United
    United States
    Jul 3, 2004
    SC
    Club:
    Atlanta Silverbacks
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    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.
     
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  5. jond

    jond Member+

    Sep 28, 2010
    Club:
    Levski Sofia
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    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.
     
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  6. Jazzy Altidore

    Jazzy Altidore BigSoccer Yellow Card

    Sep 2, 2009
    San Francisco
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    He also was a highly paid superstar in Mexico.
     
  7. comoesa

    comoesa Member+

    Aug 13, 2010
    Christen Press's armpit
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Didn't he leave college soon after? Have their been any more college players?
     
  8. Excellency

    Excellency Member+

    LA Galaxy
    United States
    Nov 4, 2011
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    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.
     
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  9. gogorath

    gogorath Member+

    None
    United States
    May 12, 2019
    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.
     
  10. comoesa

    comoesa Member+

    Aug 13, 2010
    Christen Press's armpit
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I believe the context was specifically talking about college players playing for the USMNT...while in college.
     
  11. deuteronomy

    deuteronomy Member+

    Angkor Siem Reap FC
    United States
    Aug 12, 2008
    at the pitch
    Club:
    Siem Reap Angkor FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
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  12. Excellency

    Excellency Member+

    LA Galaxy
    United States
    Nov 4, 2011
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    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?
     
  13. TOAzer

    TOAzer Member+

    The Man With No Club
    May 29, 2016
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    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.
     
  14. Paul Berry

    Paul Berry Member+

    Notts County and NYCFC
    United States
    Apr 18, 2015
    Nr Kingston NY
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    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.
     
  15. Excellency

    Excellency Member+

    LA Galaxy
    United States
    Nov 4, 2011
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    funny you remembered that. Yeah, that was weird.
     
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  16. mschofield

    mschofield Member+

    May 16, 2000
    Berlin
    Club:
    Union Berlin
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    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.
     
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  17. Scotty

    Scotty Member+

    Dec 15, 1999
    Toscana
    If you do eventually find it again, could you link it here?
     
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  18. Pegasus

    Pegasus Member+

    Apr 20, 1999
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    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.
     
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  19. mschofield

    mschofield Member+

    May 16, 2000
    Berlin
    Club:
    Union Berlin
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    ut was this
     
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  20. gogorath

    gogorath Member+

    None
    United States
    May 12, 2019
    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.
     
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  21. SamsArmySam

    SamsArmySam Member+

    Apr 13, 2001
    Minneapolis, MN
    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
     
  22. Paul Berry

    Paul Berry Member+

    Notts County and NYCFC
    United States
    Apr 18, 2015
    Nr Kingston NY
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    But Pulisic has a recurring injury which occurs the weekend before the US plays weak teams.
     
  23. LouisianaViking07/09

    Aug 15, 2009
    Any foreign interest in him?
     
  24. Paul Berry

    Paul Berry Member+

    Notts County and NYCFC
    United States
    Apr 18, 2015
    Nr Kingston NY
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Everton were supposed to be interested before he signed a new contract with the Sounders.
     
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  25. LouisianaViking07/09

    Aug 15, 2009
    Really?
     

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