Going off SPI these are the clubs closest to the 5th% of 950: VfL Wolfsburg AS Monaco Athletic Bilbao Lazio Celta Vigo Hertha Berlin He could play a role, but I doubt he's walking into the lineup at any of those clubs.
Watching him today I'd agree with you. He looks pretty blah lately. But healthy and focused he'd make those rosters as at least rotational player. I personally don't see him as a starter for the best 11 on the US roster but there's no way I'd leave him off the 23 right now.
Presume this means that you like Weah over him today. I’m of the opinion that Morris would be getting a lot more mins than Weah is for Lille right now. But I understand the other side of the argument; perhaps he wouldn’t what do I know!
I'd love to see Weah get a run in MLS in the Spring just to build his confidence. It's done wonders for Keaton Parkes who's come on leaps and bounds from where he was a year ago.
On one hand you have a guy getting tons of minutes but I wouldn't call 'in form'. If we're using Weah as the counter (not 100% sure of that one) he's got a higher upside but is getting no PT. For friendlies, let's see if Weah or anyone else fits better with CP, Gio, Dest, etc. And if you watch Lille right now, I don't think Morris plays either. They have a set rotation that's working and that's why Weah is sitting. His opportunity hasn't shown up. I guess I'm sensing that Morris is leveling off and we've seen his best. Hope I'm wrong and it's just this Covid BS in his head.
I think he fits there best too. And given the weakness at that spot I'd like to see him there at least for 90.
The fifth percentile yielded a slightly better set of clubs than I thought it would, so I might adjust it slightly, but I agree with the general point. Or to put it another way, I'm not saying I'm totally confident that Morris is better than, say, Josh Sargent, as a 'footballer' in a holistic sense (for one thing, I don't know if Sargent can finish, given he never gets chances), but given everything I've seen, I lean that way.
Weah has the pedigree and the hype but Morris has been consistently productive.... both for his club and for the USMNT. I have no idea why people would choose Weah over him right now. IMO, it isn't even close. Maybe down the road...?
Morris has been the better player for the National Team. Sargent is young and improving. We'll see what he can do whenever the hell can join the team.
I like Morris and think he deserves minutes even with the full squad because he's been productive and being pretty is all well and good but we need our players up top to be productive. That said, he may well struggle for minutes when everyone is healthy and available, especially if Reyna is played as a wing full time. Then, Morris has to beat out one of Pulisic or Reyna for minutes and that's going to be a tall order. The only other way he gets on the field is if he switches position and can play as a 9. Personally, I think Reyna fits best as a 10 against teams where we will have a lot of the ball or as the false 9 with Morris and Pullisic attacking the wings, but Berhalter has played Reyna as a wing in both his first games and that's not good news for Morris staying on the field. And with Musah looking really solid in midfield, I'm not sure Berhalter will change anything there to accommodate Reyna as a 10.
Ok, so we're switching Dest to the left, Cannon on the right, swapping Llanez for Konrad (good call), and Gioacchini at the striker role. Otherwise the same setup. I guess Soto just hasn't impressed. Here we go...
Keep in mind that the top MLS players are pretty gassed due to the effort to shoehorn the MLS season into less than three months. Morris has been playing 80-90 minutes pretty much every three or four days since the beginning of September with few, if any, breaks. So the only way he can stay effective over the long term is to "coast" part of the time and pick his moments to turn it on 110%.
You're assuming that Musah commits to the USA, which is no sure thing. He's spent his entire career playing for England Youth teams, and is also eligible for Ghana and Italy.
I really don't think Morris has anything to worry about in the short-term, unless another player like Reyna or Musah appears in the next 6 months.
I like Morris and have no problem starting him, but in a fully healthy squad you can't start Reyna, Musah, Morris and CP, WM and Adams, I am no mathematician but...
Yep. If Musah picks the US national team, then we have a dilemma on our hands. I still think Morris has the advantage over Reyna being pushed to the wing. Of course, Berhalter can always try Morris out in the #9 spot.
Yes you can.. --------------Morris-------------- ----Pulisic----------Reyna---- ------McKennie-Musah------ -------------Adams-------------
I don't see Morris being played up top by GGG, he should have already done it if he was ever going to, the young strikers are starting to come along and that ship has sailed now I think. On the other hand he would be 10X better there than Lleget... Also, when exactly would we ever be that healthy? Anyway, ultimately I think Morris ends up being our instant offense sub off the bench, his pace, directness and energy would be devastating running at tired defenses when we need a goal.