I agree with you on those players. I think busio and aaronson have significantly raised their games by going to europe though. Adams is in a bit of a plateau imo Pomykal and Williamson (who also spent time in Portugal, fwiw) have battled injuries but they are right there. the way is _ get the ball, drive it forward, be aggressive, create opportunities - its not just hold the ball aimlessly. then backpass a ton...playing with urgency and an edge. even from the 6. i see it in booth its why I really like Eryk Williamson because he plays that way. generally havent seen it too much from american midfielders in MLS...(of course there are and can be domestic mlsers that play that play like that - but they are rare!) and a big part of that is that that position is generally one of the ones that gets outsourced first. but also just something about the playing style....you see it a lot with the national teams. the players that play there are defense first and offense is just a bonus (a rare one) i have never liked the michael bradely style regista model for midfield (that trapp and yueill followed) even when he was playing well at roma...wasnt a fan of it. as a style of play. i ididnt like klinsmanns 3 dmid approach - hated it actually.
overall, I dont think it is some kind of Euro bias to notice when MLS players play very well and think that they might not be domestic or might not have developed domestically, though. that has been true for most of the history of MLS. if youve watched since the 80s or 90s - you can see the difference in technicality has generally always been wide from euro/foreign to american players. has it narrowed lately? yes. but for people that have been watching for a while it might take some getting used to.
I like Eryk's game. He is strong and quick and always looks for the forward pass. The only flaw I see in his game is he doesn't anticipates the ball coming to his AOR and relies too much on his recovery speed. If you watch him play, he stands around, watching the play develop.
Well, my 2¢ on the MLS thing...journeyman/role player Carles Gil just won MVP by absolutely clowning the league. I love the MLS for that -- good skilled guys can show exactly that -- but it does seem easy to predict who will do well and who won't. Even guys with a modicum of skill show well. I wouldn't say Booth has "nous" simply because he wasn't trained or played in MLS, but who knows. Some guys got it and some don't. Some guys can learn it and some can't. There are a lot of factors, happenstance, and luck that go into producing a top quality player.
carles gil has a 7mil market value on transfermarkt. which is in a very high percentile for the league. anyways, im only talking about american players. foreign players are different. if youre gonna talk about all mls players its a different stroy....definitely has been for most of the leagues existence anyway.
Why do you single out the MLS players who haven't gone to Europe, there are many players who start on MLS team or academy then go to Europe. It's not about US vs Europe its good vs bad. Not everyone going to Europe is better but there are European players who are better than MLS players. Its not because they are in Europe it's because they are better players on better teams in better leagues which happen to be in Europe. Europe is not the deciding factor. The team, league, talent is. There are so many US players in Europe much worse than MLS players. MLS is just another league to move up or down from depending on talent. Higher leagues will obviously have better players. Great Europe vs sucky MLS is most irritating trope on Big Soccer because its simply lazy and wrong.
And he could have been a top player in 20 other European leagues too. Clowning? No he had a good year. I thought many other players were better IMO.
its the camp cupcake style of play vs the all euro team style of play. do you not notice a difference? theres the MLSers who will never get out of MLS - mostly because they play slow mentally and physically. and the ones who do and go to europe mostly. they play faster in all aspects, generally. never said all europe is better than all mls...but the general trend is pretty clear betwen the two groups of players. there arent any mlsers better than the best euro players.
I agree with you in this sense. Worse players in worse leagues are generally worse than better players in better leagues. Since it's our national team, yes our best players in MLS in general will be worse than our best players from better leagues. So please stop using the general term 'Europe' as if it includes all players, all leagues, and all countries. In fact many players from Europe play in MLS so your overall theory is not right. It's about all levels of leagues and play not binary in Europe great, MLS bad. MLS is lower than the top leagues in the world but level and above many if not most of European Countries. Another point your ignoring is many players from MLS go to European leagues and the good ones get called into our NT and the not so good don't. Right now Pepi is better than Sargent, Pefok, Hoppe. Your your simplistic view doesn't apply.
beyond skill level theres just a style of play I am referencing. watching MLS cup right now...the midfields and backline get the ball stop it pause look around....rarely do anything dangerous...they just pass the ball around safely...because they have time to....and thats what we get when MLSers go to the USMNt and when they dont have the time they are used to in MLS in international play....they dont look as good anymore....seen it way too much. i dont see the same in euro leagues when i watch, generally. all I was trying to do was compliment Booth and that his style seems to fit with higher levels of play! what is so wrong about that? btw ...how many us eligible players are even on the field in this game? an indictment of the us talent in MLS imo...when the two teams in this final clearly dont use many americans. and im only talking about americans...i dont care about foreign players in MLS.
You just said US players look poor in MLS but then say this final isn't played well but has no American players but you don't blame the European players from Europe. HuH? You don't realize your talking out of both sides of your mouth. You can't have it both ways. MLS sucks vs European players playing in Europe, but when European players play in MLS they suck. Or American players suck in MLS but when those same players from MLS teams and academies get to Europe they're good. Of course your point applies when its the Bundesliga, Premier League, La Liga, Eredivisie. You probably watch the best teams, in the best leagues. What is your comparison when you watch STTV vs. Beershot or Zwolle vs Go Ahead or Brighton vs. Burnley, how do compare play vs MLS. I thought so you don't watch these games from First Division leagues in Europe.
im not talking about european players or international players in MLS. period. Im only considering american players in MLS. for one. my only thought is the pool of us-eligible players as this is an american soccer forum. I couldnt care less about how the international players in MLS play. as far as that pool of players in MLS goes (the Americans) its not "look poor"...its that they dont play with edge and personality...they dont take the game to opponents. they dont play a menacing aggresive...tenacious style...taht is much more common in european leagues. NOW OF COURSE I AM GENERALIZING. there are some exceptions...but on the whole...its just the way I see it. i think you need to step beyond the category of "europe" vs "MLS" - thats not really what I am trying to say! can you not just stop for a second - and IMAGINE ----- a USMNT fan is watching a soccer player playing abroad (key point here). realizes that the player is good. then realizes that the player is elgible for USMNT. then wonders about that player's development.....and ASSUMES that the player probably didn't grow up playing stateside...assumes that the player might be a dual nat...because they are so techincal and good. is that such an offensive thought to you? is that such a crazy train of thought for an observer to have??? does it trigger you? there are a lot of american players in MLS that are " better" than a large chunk of american players in Europe...not the majority but definitely some overlap there. but I wasnt even speaking in absolutes - just noticing a stylistic difference in the player this thread is about - Booth - that I think he has the style to do well internationally...because he plays at a fast pace...he plays aggressively in the midfield....unlike the passive midfielders we have seen in the USMNT under ggg from MLS. Now, no clue if that will atually translate to USMNT...hopefully we can see him on the field in the upcoming game.
There is also the few cases of a less qualified player gets to play abroad because they have access to a foreign passport or have better connections..
did you watch the passing of the CBs vs Jamaica? it was ineffectual and tentative. go watch the game. its exactly what im referencing. But I'm not here to make this a MLS vs Euro debate.... almost every single player who goes over there from MLS comments on it! they say the pace is faster - the level is higher - it makes the players better! Back to Booth - I think thats why a euro club - BAYERN MUNICH - brought him over. Because of his attributes. he's a player i havent seen much of....but after watching some highlights, I see what a team like Bayern saw in him, instead of say lleget, roldan or acosta. because of his specific style and qualities not because of his "MLS stain" or lack thereof.
Let me turn it around. Did you watch their play against Mexico? The Jamaica game was an overall letdown. The only player that came to play was Weah. Back to Booth. I like the kid. For being a small kid, he is fearless. Bayern thinks he has something, they just don't know how to use him. I hope we get to see a full game of him.
Profile (sub required): https://sbisoccer.com/2021/12/taylo...d-his-name-to-the-usmnt-midfield-conversation
Expected to leave on a free this summer: Vu ce message, on peut dire Comme prévu, le jeune américain Taylor #Booth (@TBLaRoca23) devrait partir libre de signer ou il veut dans les prochaines semaines.[Via @instagram] pic.twitter.com/pn6bw6HzAc— Bayern Munich France - RORO89 🇫🇷 (@Roro89F) January 2, 2022
It would be wise if he went somewhere now on loan with an purchase option at the end of the season. I’d like to see him playing first team football of toiling away in the Germany 4th division.
Training with the first team ahead of tomorrow's Gladbach match due to a widespread Covid outbreak at Bayern: Der #FCBayern-Kader für #FCBBMG wird mit sieben Campus-Kickern aufgefüllt: Bright Arrey-Mbi, Lucas Copado, Nico Feldhahn, Taylor Booth, Jamie Lawrence, Paul Wanner, Arjon Ibrahimovic nehmen heute am Abschlusstraining Teil.— Manuel Bonke (@mano_bonke) January 6, 2022