Thread on who we should be excited about and keeping a close eye on for possible future US national team games. I have a few favorites of mine that I am sure many of you will disagree with but here it goes. Attacking players (Forwards and midfielders) Chris Pontius - DC United -6 feet tall, 23 years old - good size, speed, and decent degree of technical skill on the ball. He has made some excellent shots on goal, most have not gone in, but the way this guy strikes the ball is with confidence and he usually does not miss by much at all. His bombs come from pretty far away from goal too and I like the fact he tries as often as he does. Brek Shea - Dallas -6'3" and 20 years old - Midfielder with good size and skill. He is improving as the season goes on and has already shown he is more than capable of scoring. If they mold him correctly he can turn into a beast by the next cycle. Steven Lenheart- Columbus - 6'1" and 23 years old - Forward that has a nose for goal, what we need, and is scoring regularly for the Crew. Good size, good skill, has scored some great goals in 2010 already. Tristan Bowen - LA - 5'11" and 19 years old - has done quite well while Buddle has been in the world cup. Looks like he could turn into something special, one to watch. Justin Braun - Chivas - 6'3" and 23 years old - This kid has size, speed, technically sound and causes problems for MLS defenders. I think he falls in the category that Chris Pontius falls in, no fear, the kid looks like he is going to score when he's on the ball, one to watch. Defending players Tony Beltran - Slat Lake - 5'8" and 22 years old - defender with speed and makes intelligent runs. Is a big reason why Real is doing well and won an MLS cup. Omar Gonzalez - LA - 6'5" and 21 years old - Kid is starting to show some serious talent on that big frame for a defender. I like his speed, he is extremely athletic, and his size will cause many forwards to have problems getting anything on him in the air. Those are just a few I would like to see get a shot at a few national team games. Things change from here till then but I have seen these guys in action and I like what I see from them. Of course whoever is in charge of the national team will have their new set of guys that will be their preferences but it never hurts to start pointing out players that may play a part in qualification and beyond. Thoughts?
Brek Shea is still pretty raw. I first saw him in the Toulon tournament a few years ago and expected him to be good by now but he still looks like the same player; i.e., not progressed much in a pro environment. Now if Shea could learn to cut and change pace (instead of running as fast as he can in a straight line), and also learn better techniques to strike the ball then he could have potential but 3-4 years later he still looks the same.
Yeah Mwanga is emerging as an interesting prospect, from what I gather he wants to play for the US, and lets face it if he ever wants to play in the WC he has about a 1000% better chance for the US than Congo.
I can see him playing in the next cycle, but my main concern is he seems to play be the forward position like Altidore and I do not know how the pairing would work. Two players I am really high on are Diskerud and Jared Jeffrey. The midfield is really crowded for this next cycle so these young middies are going to have to produce and not rely on potential.
I love watching him play. I just started a thread about him(Mods, please merge with this much better thread if you like). And not to be just a Crew supporter, which I'm not, William Hesmer is often very impressive in goal. I saw him make a "save" that made me jump out of my seat. Can't remember who they were playing this season but an opposing player got between WH and the defenders, put a move on WH and got by him. Instantly I said "goal" and WH, who somehow had perfect balance just after being fooled, turned and dove while swinging his outstretched hand downward with full force just nicking the edge of the ball which was enough to push the ball just slightly past the attacker. I was blown away with how quick he reacted after being schooled.
I hope Marcus Tracy can add some depth to our forward pool. Same with Yura Movsisyan (if he gets citizenship.) Here's a few more of the bigger prospects from the YNT forum: Gale Agbossoumonde Sebastian Lletget Michael Hoyos Luis Gil Juan Agudelo Eric Lichaj Mix Diskerud Jack McInerney Amobi Okugo Danny Williams Michael Stephens Casting a wider netter with some youth players I'd add: Tony Taylor Francisco Navas Cobo Danny Cruz Jared Jeffrey Lester Dewee Greg Garza Fafa Picault Emerson Hyndman Mike Grella
He's at RSL and hasn't seen any playing time yet. Their schedule begins to get pretty busy with both Open Cup and Champions League play so expect him to get some time. He so young though so you've got to be patient with him and RSL. I don't see him moving for a while since he signed with RSL to be close to home. If he does have a change of heart he can move abroad at the age of 18 and is eligible for a Mexican passport. A possible scenario was that he'd be signed by Arsenal and loaned to a Spanish club a la Carlos Vela, but he chose to stay close to home...for now
Right now MLS needs out and out strikers that attack the goal and strike from distance. Players that take on other 1 v 1 and make good quick passes. Size, skill, speed are all needed but size least important of the 3 its just a bonus. This world cup I was far too down on our attackers as all our goals were coming from midfield. Our defense was not up to snuff either. Donovan should be good for one more cup as well as Dempsey I think. Altidore, although young as hell at 20, has deteriorated in his attacking in my opinion. He seems to be in a slump and he best get over it quick or else his career will free fall. He needs to show more attacking bite as right now he seems a bit lumbering, slow, and not concentrated enough. Hard to pinpoint whats up with him...
Fair enough I admit I have not watched enough of him specifically but the record for LA, with him in the lineup, is impressive.
I'd like to see Marvell Wynne get a chance - a member of the team that went to the U-20 WC Final, he is a very talented and athletic player who was kind of overlooked during the last World Cup cycle, probably not by any fault of his own
Mwanga isn't anything like Altidore. Danny can finish, Jozy can't. Danny doesn't hold the ball up so much and isn't quite as big.
Defender is an area that I think will be VERY important area to watch over the next year or two with the youth World Cup next summer and then the olympics. And at this point, what the hell does Brek Shae paly? Disclaimer: I'm at work and Lady Gaga is blasting on my iPod, so if my post has a bunch of typos, words missing, and just sounds outright incoherant...you know why.