Dude is obsessed with Miazga. I don't know if it started anti-Long or just was always pro-Miazga, but relative to everyone else, he loves himself some Miazga. Kinda like I love me some Paxton Pomykal. I am not entirely rational on that point.
Hear ya. I'm on that Pomykal train, too. We all have our favorites and opinions. I <3 <3 <3 Sands, too. He and Pax might be my favorite MLS players in terms of those who have established themselves, but that list grows each month, it seems.
Brooks Richards McKenzie Miazga Robinson CCV I just need to see Robinson against someone good. I thought we would see it against Canada, but David didn't come, Larin got hurt. Then Jamaica started a USL player instead of Gray or Bailey. Qatar supposedly has good attackers and we will see how Robinson does tonight. He can't pass as well as Miazga or McKenzie, but he might be a better defender than them.
How would you know what i think or do given you said you put me on ignore? I am obsessed with how Berhalter tries to force MLS guys and guys who just left MLS into the side. I would be real pissed if I were Miazga. Berhalter clearly doesn't like him and has been looking at just about anyone to try to replace him. It did start with Long because it was clear from day one he wasnt good enough. He had Zimmerman ahead of him and that didn't last. Throwing Mckenzie into the fire didn't seem to actually be a good idea. The reality is that I barely rate him ahead of the others and would hope one of them would step up. I think that will be Richards very soon. But again, here is a guy who should have been a starter since 2019 and instead has had to sit for guys who weren't good enough or haven't been ready.
The posts you're referring to are a textbook application of the term "Euro pixie dust." And again, I simply do not understand why we let such posters/posts dictate the conversation around. As a USMNT fan who watches a lot of European soccer (particularly the BL these days) and NYRB as well, I really thought we were going to mourn the loss of Miazga for a long time, until Long came along and very quickly improved the back line. Meanwhile, in Europe Miazga basically stagnated. However, for example has very definitely NOT been the case in the midfield. The club has never recovered from the loss of Tyler Adams. The difference between him and his replacements has been clear and stark.
I remember when he was sold, there was a poster on reddit who assured everyone that Casseres was a better player by far ... needless to say, he was wrong. Tyler was and is special.
Miazga is a slow reader of the game and for a CB, makes too many mistakes. His defending in space has regressed. His overall game hasn't stagnated, instead it has also regressed. Before the injury, offers for Long had continued to come.
Long has been awful for the USMNT. Can you name a game he was good in? Kind of funny that a guy who has slowly made progress on his game, based on watching him and reports has stagnated while you go on and on about the MLS 2018 defender of the year, the 2019 5th best defender of the year, to not being in the top five for 2020. I guess you didn't claim Long had stagnated because he has actually regressed.
Miles Robinson is stealing someone's spot. Hard to see him no worse than 4th in the depth chart now (Brooks, Richards, McKenzie are my top 3) Miazga and CCV's stock is tumbling right now.
I would say that's pretty much it. Brooks is first. One of Richards, McKenzie or Robinson is his partner, and those are the four that I'm rolling with when I'd call guys up for the September window. Maybe a 5th in Sands if Berhalter's going to call in more than 23 into camp to have guys to switch in and out in between matches.
Thats exactly how I see it. Sands the emergency number 5 centerback because of his versatility. He will primarily be a 6, and I think that this tournament shows you that. But as number five center back? Yeah, Im comfortable with that for him given the flexibility and versatility he offers. Versatility gets you on a roster.
I mean in some circumstances I might call Miazga as the emergency 5th (or 4th with guys down), but I'd probably opt for Sands because of the ability to use him in more than one role in a pinch.
After watching Sands the last few games, I’m a fan. Solid player. I’d like to see him participate in qualifying and, if he continues to impress, make the 23 for Qatar.
He was shaky against Qatar, but also showed how valuable he can be. I hope he moves from NYCFC soon so that he can get high pressure games on a regular basis and really take that next step. He's still got a ways to go before hitting his ceiling. He seems like a lock to play a role in qualifying after this tournament (Miles, too), and with well over 12 months to go before the World Cup, I'm looking forward to seeing where he is at that point.
I like the list but I think if I had a must win game, against a quality opponent, I might be inclined to pair Robinson with Brooks instead of Richards if we are talking 4 in the back. Robinson has been just rock solid defensively in the Gold Cup, Richards is better on the ball but he tends to be a bit inconsistent defensively to this point to my eye. I'm REALLY interested in seeing how Robinson does tomorrow.
If we're playing with a back four, then, owing to his versatility, I would likely choose Sands for the roster (or cut him last), but he would be my last CB option, the emergency CB that you don't plan to use in that role unless you have to. If we're playing a back three, then he's a likely starter or at least a rotational starter as the middle defender. And he's a backup defensive mid.
I like his versatility. Being a back-up in those two positions is a good thing. Plus, I see a lot of upside to his game. He is comfortable on the ball, athletic, and his passing is good.
The lack of athleticism limits his ceiling, though. He's not a particularly high-upside player. What we see is what he is, and what he is is useful, but you'd rather not have to rely on him to be one of two center backs if you don't have to. However, in a three back line, I think he's a potential starter. And in any case, he's a legitimate sub dmid, though I don't know that I'd rather sub him on that Acosta at that role. Sands would give you better distribution, Acosta better range, so I'd suppose it'd be situational. I say he's the last guy on the gameday 23, or the last guy cut from it, in my opinion. I'd definitely call him into camp in Sept. and Oct. Between he and Acosta, you have a lot of versatile backup options for the back 6, which means that you can probably spare a defender on the roster for an extra forward, if need be.
Why is CCV's stock tumbling? I think Robinson has been pretty good, but once against everyone needs to chill. Any of our top 6-8 options would likely do just as well against the competition Robinson has seen. Is he good enough for CONCACAF qualifying? Sure, he's shown he can be trusted. But his passing is not great, and Sands looks nearly as good. Let's see how he looks vs. Mexico. He puts in a MOTM type performance, and I'm 100% on board. But looking competent against Haiti and Jamaica and Qatar doesn't do much for me. I heard the same thing about how Dike was our best striker. Then he wasn't. Everyone loved McKenzie for a minute (and many still do), but he couldn't hang vs. Mexico.
two comments- i think ccvs "stock" went up last season for no real reason, hes the same pretty good hes been for a while now. and robinson looked shaky against haiti- he didnt really lock in until zim went down.
We have a lot of good but young and relatively inexperienced CBs. I think one of the things having NL and GC back to back has allowed a lot of CBs to get experience in competitive matches that mean something. If we want guys who can handle international competition then they need to play in international competitions. I think this is going to prove invaluable over the qualifying cycle.
Brooks-Robinson pairing. Twin towers. Miles just busted into the top two, the starting 11 if you will. Richards is going to have to work to earn that spot