Taylor has got to get the hell out of Bayern. Playing 4th division German soccer is ridiculous at this point. Still can’t believe he couldn’t get a loan somewhere this season. Hopefully it happens this winter.
Booth was one of the best players on the field, when he played with the first team. He is like Ledezma but better at defending.
Wasn't it though in training with the 1st team that Pulisic convinced his bosses that he was good enough? I thought the same with Messi (not saying Booth is Messi, although that would be nice)...
I wonder at what stage our players like Booth find it unattractive to take a loan at St Polten because playing in MLS is more competitive - like falling between two chairs. I could see Booth at NYCFC with Moralez turning 35 in February. otoh, I believe Booth's creative side is worth a little more to Bundesliga than, say, an Alfredo Morales at the same age (who moved from Dusseldorf to NYCFC this year) or a Canouse at Freiburg at the same age.
Different players will arrive at different decisions. A player like Leon Flach wanted to play for the Philadelphia Union instead of signing a new deal with St. Pauli. He still wants to return to Europe but feels Philadelphia will lead to a place higher up the chain than St. Pauli would. I will say this, the growing trend right now is that while most top American players will end up on the "Big 5" leagues of Europe, far more are starting off in MLS than before. I think that will continue. There will be more players now taking the Tyler Adams, Alphonso Davies, Gianluca Busio, Brenden Aaronson-type routes than the Christian Pulisic, Tim Weah, Weston McKennie routes. Over the past 4-5 years, MLS teams have made massive improvements in their approach: 1) they have done a much better job signing top players at a younger age to better deals along with 2) actually giving them meaningful minutes at ages 17-20 and 3) being willing to sell the players AND 4) improving overall so that the first-team minutes are actually challenging to the young players. That has been the league's biggest improvement and it happened very quickly. It's just a better place to start for far more young American/Canadian players than ever before). When European teams pay transfer fees for players, the players are gonna get a real shot with the first team (that's less likely when players arrive at a club on a free - when they can be seen as fliers or commodities). Since the success of the Pulisic's and the Weah's of American soccer, the next group that has tried to go over straight without playing pro soccer stateside first hasn't been great (Booth, Soto, Llanez, Mendez, Haji, Horvath, Gloster, etc). Hoppe and Ledezma are promising but still too early to say (I also don't include KDLF and Gioacchini who each had fathers with legitimate jobs in Europe that presented unique opportunities to play abroad) Players might not admit it until after their careers are over, but I wonder if players like Booth, Soto, or Gloster could go back in time - would they make a different choice for their first pro contract?
Every case is different... and we are focusing on young americans here. How many German/English/Spanish young players with some decent hype fail to make it? But I like your post overall. The MLS has gotten so much better over the last several years. A guy like Gloster doesn't even get minutes for his MLS squad. Flach came here and has found a home as a legit destroyer midfielder. Jury is still out on Soto, Booth, Llanez etc... Will they bounce back and make a top tier Euro League?.... But each of these guys should have probably taken an MLS contract if one was offered to them recently. My dream scenario is that the MLS fully catches up to Liga MX and perhaps surpasses it. Then guys wouldn't necessarily need to go to Europe to "prove" they are good to elite players. It would also allow the US to have a few more mini-camps for the NT and Youth Squads w/ a core of good players. I used to think that dream was a total fantasy... but the play has elevated so much recently that I think it could be a reality in 5 to 10 years.
Germany is an excellent choice for most American players like Booth because they teach basic skills and work hard on athleticism while appreciating their assets as opposed to an England, say, which sees any American as a rented mule. My guess is that most clubs below UCL level in Germany just don't have the money in the age of covid to take on as many players as before and the first to be sacrificed would be developmental types. I could see Booth at Salzburg - they tend to have young guns who need a creative type to up their value. Booth is probably a little better defensively than Brenden, less goal dangerous, and a tad more creative over all. Disclaimer: I haven't seen enough of Booth lately so I could be off in my estimation. I also think he could pair nicely with Durkin in Belgian league if he wants another shop window. If Kljestan could make it in Belgium, Booth could.
@bshredder Do you have any clue what happened to Taylor Booth in this latest transfer window? Why wasn't he loaned out? Surely he had some opportunities. He seemed like he proved himself at St Polten and in Bayern Munich's preseason to at least be loaned out somewhere so he wasn't playing 4th division German football. Doesn't seem to benefit any parties for him to be stuck there. I know Nagelsmann likes him, but no way he gets 1st team minutes this year. Any chance for a winter loan?
i think he doesnt want to extend his contract there so bayern arent prioritizing his development any longer
jury is still out on booth...this is still the intro to his story...i think he will come good...(same with haji fwiw) and jury is still out on going straight to europe vs mls first.... seems like more flameouts in the straight to europe choice...its more cutthroat...but it might lead to higher ceiling...so many players get stuck in MLS and never even get to europe a la kelyn acosta etc. pulisic mckennie dest etc are at the big clubs and playing and epb, miazga mckenzie etc arent..... whatever path a player chooses is a lotta luck involved, imo. flamouts in europe generally get a chance in MLS and mls flameouts dont get a chance in MLS....another point to consider.
i dont think you can judge anything about what his final position will be until he makes his next move and is again playing for a club interested in his development.
Acosta is making more than a million dollars a year now. Getting stuck in MLS doesn’t mean what it did even 5-6 years ago. I don’t know if either path is better, but guys like Acosta and Lletget are doing pretty well in comparison to a lot of players in places like Belgium and the Netherlands, and even the lower end of the Bundesliga. I do think it’s very important for guys to go where they are valued and given a path to the first team. In the past, we’ve thought of MLS as being poor at development, but we are seeing that some clubs are very good, and many poor in that regard. I think it’s similar for clubs in Europe, too. A league having a lot of talent, or even some clubs that develop it well, does not mean that every club there is a good spot for a young player.
we still havent really seen the players who have grown and become outstanding players for the national team....stay in MLS for the most part. you could look at donovan - hes a special case. eddie pope as well. maybe even besler. but if the national team wants players that can challenge the germanys and brazils....they still need to leave MLS. as a fan, ive never looked at wanting players to leave MLS because i want them to make more money....sure, thats been part of it. (but its the same reason i dont want us players in the uk...bad for their development, mostly) you saw what happened to altidore and bradley when they cam back to MLS....flop city for the USMNT. lletget and acosta still havent done much of anything for usmnt outside of concacaf so...as for now...staying in MLS is not the way to develop beyond camp cupcake type of player, imo. mls can produce "squad-filler" type players for usmnt ...but not difference makers. not world cup difference makers.
I agree with most of what you’re saying. I was just stating that guys can stay in MLS and A) make good money and B) be pretty good players in a way that they weren’t in the past due to money and quality of play. I don’t think there’s a lot more prestige to playing on decent teams in second tier European leagues (as Luca and McKenzie are doing) than there is to being a good MLS player. the best players are almost always going to leave MLS when they get the opportunity because money and competing at the highest levels are the most important factors for most players, but guys can develop in MLS, too. Just look at the career trajectories of Pepi and Sargent.
Pepi vs Sargent is a good example.... fc dallas is some kind of alien species or something with their development environment...I would take fc dallas over the rest of MLS combined i.e. the usmnt if i had to choose. Sargent is still in the EPL making bank....and can still come good. Pepi has risen like a mega star...but we have to see what happens from here..... at the end of the day, it is making it in Europe that is the gold standard...not just going there a la Sargent. The players that make it and stand out in Europe are basically always star players for USMNT.... meanhwile players like fafa picault and mihailovic...US stats leaders in MLS arent even on the fringe for callups at the moment.....
Starts: 🆕 Metu in der 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗳Kern zurück im 𝗞𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 🔙 Die Aufstellung gegen 1. FC Nürnberg II 👇📲 Liveticker: https://t.co/lFsUVmnezf#FCBAmateure pic.twitter.com/czNnaLvZlf— FC Bayern Campus (@fcbayerncampus) October 22, 2021
Starts: #FCBAmateure-Debüt für Ritzy #Hülsmann 👀✋🤚Unsere 1⃣1⃣ für den Rückrundenstart 👇📲 Liveticker: https://t.co/lFsUVmnezf#MiaSanMia pic.twitter.com/PzDMIjYkZj— FC Bayern Campus (@fcbayerncampus) October 29, 2021
Out at the half: 🚀♦️ 1. Wechsel 🔄 | 2:0 (45‘)⬅ Taylor #Booth➡ Maxi #Welzmüller#FCBAmateure— FC Bayern Campus (@fcbayerncampus) October 29, 2021
Starts: Chris #Scott 🔙 in der Start-1⃣1⃣ 👀 📺 𝕃𝕀𝕍𝔼𝕊𝕋ℝ𝔼𝔸𝕄: https://t.co/LpDdBPDvSL📲 LIVETICKER: https://t.co/lFsUVmnezf#FCBAmateure pic.twitter.com/YXYaTfxSix— FC Bayern Campus (@fcbayerncampus) November 3, 2021
Assist: 🔔🔻 FÜHRUNG ⚽ | 3:2 (86‘)Taylor #Booth kommt mit ordentlich Dampf über die rechte Seite und legt den Ball in die Mitte. Da steht Maxi #Welzmüller goldrichtig und netzt ein. 🙌#FCBAmateure pic.twitter.com/5cecqcwS60— FC Bayern Campus (@fcbayerncampus) November 3, 2021 Taylor #Booth comes with a lot of steam over the right side and puts the ball in the middle. It says Maxi #Welzmüller spot on and wets. #awkwardtranslations
I think the MLS filler to the MNT comment is probably true, except for our starting Gk (Turner) and RCB(Miles). Pepi's place is still up in the air.