How are Philly NOT "getting it right" with Sullivan? What is there to even complain about here? Maybe he should have got like 2-3 minutes against Nashville? But the complainers seem to think he should play less? Or that he should mainly be toiling in obscurity in MLS Next Pro, which is exactly what he's doing?
Maybe if you read peoples posts and what actually concerns them, you would actually understand their point. But im sure you will be the first to buy the shampoo Cavan might endorse in a commercial pretty soon.
Yeah I mean it’s pretty obvious what concerns people. at this point, it’s pretty obvious that his first team debut was done to beat the Adu record to gain publicity. People can talk about the lack of available players, but it was determined before the game that he would play, and he hasn’t played since. and now they’re releasing videos of him on their social media all the time and getting him to do stuff like throwing out the opening pitch at a Phillies game. That stuff probably isn’t going to derail his career or anything, but nobody can convince me that it serves a useful purpose for his career development. If people don’t want to worry about it, that’s fine. But anybody who thinks the Union are doing everything they can to avoid the media circus and avoid Adu 2.0 is lying to themselves. and yes, to state the obvious, I realize the hype and media attention around Cavan is much much smaller than it was around Adu.
Not sure why this surprises anyone. MLS has always been this way. Marketing and publicity have always trumped the actual football. I was really hoping the predetermined path from Philly to CFG would allow him to work in the background and continue his development under the radar. I’m not too worried about anyone screwing up his on field development. The kid seems to have a hunger that will continue to drive him. What does worry me is the off field circus that MLS is pushing and Philly is allowing. I think there is a bigger chance the circus he’s being asked to take part in could derail his progress more so than any particular path on the field. It’s reaching a point of awkwardness and fairly approaching exploitative. There was always going to be some hype and circumstance around such a big prospect, but this isn’t the player that MLS needs to be marketing. His ability and level markets itself and he is an enigma. They need to be putting resources into some of the players that are on the 99% path, not the 1%.
NO IT WAS NOT a publicity stunt. I can't believe I'm defending the Union, but I am. Those of us around for the Adu saga will remember what a publicity stunt looks like. A photo shoot with Pele is hype. National commercials for Campbell's Soup before the player has done anything is hype. They had a spot available on the bench. They were blowing out New England, so they gave him a run-out. And by the way, he did fine. He didn't look overwhelmed at all. Players are back from the Olympics and the U20WC. They've just signed Olney to a HG deal, so now they don't have to worry about exhausting his "loans" to the first team. Now there is no spot on the bench, and he'll likely be on Union II the rest of the year. There's a difference between a publicity stunt and giving a young player a run-out when an opportunity arises. And yes, we actually do want media attention on our league. Right? Its notable when a 15 year old plays for Arsenal (which Ethan Nwaneri did last year) and when a near-15 year old plays in MLS. Folks can find a gagillion examples of kids who debuted really early around Europe and South America who turned into effing stars. So don't give me this nonsense that playing garbage time in a Union first team blowout is damaging to Cavan. He's a soccer player on a first team contract that got into a soccer game. Get over it.
Just for the record. I am not at all bothered they gave him a run out on his debut to make him the youngest debutant. Any concern I may have is not football related. It’s the ancillary stuff that seems to be increasingly pulling him in different directions.
Do we have any actual evidence that it's pulling him in different directions? Or is it a concern based on a couple of tweets showing that he does have a life. Is showing up at Phillies game and throwing out the first pitch really damaging him somehow? How? Did he blow out his shoulder or something? I have no idea how Cavan's career is going to turn out. What I do know is literally nothing the Sullivan's or Philly have done is cause for concern. It's like people are desperate to find something to be concerned about. Some deep desire to shout: "We're doing everything wrong!!!!!!!!!!! They'd never do this in Spain or Argentina!!!!!!!!!!!!" Of course, they do this in Spain and Argentina.
What is the stink? Explain it? That a soccer player got into a soccer game? What is the problem, exactly....................... That a soccer league markets and promotes players in their league? Guess what? Every league does that.
You are right. None of us know how his career will turn out. However, we all want him to reach the heights we think he can get to. He very well could. That doesn’t mean we are wrong in not liking the fact he is being paraded around like a circus act. I actually thought doing the business with CFG so early would enable him to do the work behind the scenes and stay away from the craziness that comes with “what is next for him.” Instead he has been thrusted into the spotlight as the savior. Ultimately, it may have zero effect on him, but that doesn’t mean we have to like it.
Did the people who think it was a publicity stunt actually watch the five minutes he played, where he not only didn't look out of place but actually stood out? Plenty of guys look shaky in their debuts and go on to have successful careers....
Who within Philly, MLS, or the USSF is treating Cavan Sullivan like he's the savior? Its like people are imagining things that they desperately want to criticize the league for...............that don't actually exist. Yes, I'm sure you can find a crazy person on twitter that's calling Cavan Sullivan the savior. But you can find somebody on twitter that's saying the Earth is a parallelogram.
My bigger concern is that Cavan has terrible taste. Raisin' Canes is terribly overrated. Mediocre chicken fingers and a worshipped sauce that is just mayo, ketchup, worchestershire and a few spices. It's like that scene from Fast Times -- what's your special sauce? Thousand Island. What's yours? Ketchup and Mayo. It's just Big Mac sauce with a tiny bit more spice. Great, it's fried chicken. Congrats, folks, you've elevated another mediocre regional chain to cult status.
One thing that seems true. When you search for the youngest players to make debuts in leagues around the world.............almost all have been since 2020. Players are making first team games at younger and younger and younger ages. Why is that? I don't know. The youngest ever Bundesliga player was Moukoko of Dortmund. That was recent. Youngest ever Premier league player was Ethan Nwanari of Arsenal last season (15 years old). Luka Romero in La Liga was 2020 (15 years old). Cavan Sullivan turns 15 next month. He's not actually that much younger than kids who've debuted in the major leagues of Europe very recently. He's not some crazy outlier. And he's not getting into a Premier League or Serie A game, but an MLS game in garbage time. Serie A was really recent. Didn't we discover that there's some way for Camarda to get a US passport? I remember talking about him a little bit on these threads. At 15 years, 8 months and 23 days old, Francesco Camarda becomes the YOUNGEST EVER to play in a Serie A match. 👶 pic.twitter.com/fZPTNNh9AN— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) November 25, 2023
If Berchimas was ready he'd be playing full time for Charolette and if Cavan is not ready he will be with the reserves (he already is). My point being there is not one optimal path for everyone and I have no problems with the path philly has Cavan on now. Do you see any particular issues so far? And not to read into the psyche of a kid too much but he doesn't seem to be shying away from any of the media stuff to say it lightly and is handling himself fine.
That poster goes into threads the last 10+ years making excuses and trying to pretend everyone is dumb and "imaginary", who criticizes his establishment. he specifically comes to the rescue when there is a large continuous pattern of evidence with posters posts to confer a point against his masters wishes. He will end it with a battle cry " this is nuts" in hopes the sheep who finally woke up, will go back to being sheep and then business will go back to usual. Its disturbing. But as long as he can post, he will post.
Pretty much everyone in this thread watched it live or saw his touches. It’s a gross exaggeration to say he stood out, especially given the circumstances (end of game that wasn’t competitive against mediocre competition). He showed savvy, but he also got flattened by a defender when he received the ball. Nobody is saying he sucks or sucked. It’s just obvious from the way they promoted that game (and how he was wearing custom debut cleats) that it was all planned out. And the fact that they’ve had opportunities to give him minutes since then but passed indicates that they don’t really see him as a meaningful contributor at present. If they really thought he was ready for a minor role as an impact sub, they’d prioritize getting him minutes. But they aren’t because they don’t see him that way.
I can understand the distaste for how the marketing side of Cavan is being handled. I haven't seen a lot of it, but I find it a little cringy myself. But, does it concern me from a development standpoint? Why would it? The people around him appear to know what they are doing and what it takes, and he seems to have a good personality to take everything in stride. Who are we to say he shouldn't be doing appearances and taking advantage of opportunities that are presented to him? He's a professional athlete. And, Adu is not a relevant comparison -- not because Adu's hype was greater, but because circumstances around their development and pathways are completely different. Like night and day, chalk and cheese, oil and water....
For me, the deal with city is the type of deal someone would pursue if they wanted to say they play for a big club, not the type of move one would make if looking at things objectively. it’s incredibly difficult to break into their first team, and very very far from ideal to have him loaned out to a club in a foreign country on a different continent from where he grew up. When one considers pep’s contract and future at city, and the issues surrounding their FFP breaches, committing to start with them in 3.5 seems really silly to me. it would’ve made a lot more sense to just wait until he’s at least 16 and sign for the club that gives him the best opportunity to develop when he’s ready to make the move to Europe. I’m sure the transition to Germany was tough for Pulisic and Reyna, but they were fully committed to the move. Getting dumped off in Spain or Belgium or wherever at 16-17 for a few months without knowing the language is a disaster in the making imo.
Cavan Sullivan, believe it or not, has a shoe contract with Adidas. They produced those boots for him. And one must assume, they didn't produce them that morning. He would have worn them whatever night he made his debut. Silly? Yes. But the same thing happens in Europe. Shoe wars. They sign the supposed stars up early. Yamine Lamal signed a 10-year contract with Adidas for 34 million (reportedly). Just the way the industry works. Yes, you can search for Cavan Sullivan and Adidas F50, and see he's been at various events promoting those shoes prior to that debut day. HISTORY MADE! 🚨🤩Cav steps into history as the youngest player to feature in a top North American pro sports league, repping custom CAV F50 boots.big shout out from your /// fam! keep pushing, it's only the beginning. 🫡 pic.twitter.com/WfEEgmMfGF— adidas Football (@adidasfootball) July 18, 2024
This is how I feel. Not too worried about his development. With his future essentially decided, at least for the foreseeable future, I thought he might fly under the radar and continue to progress out of the spotlight. Instead, MLS and Philly will bleed him from a promotional standpoint. I guess I don’t really blame them as you have to strike while the iron is hot with marketing. I just am not a fan of it. That’s all.
Yeah. The debate could be had, but in football it can all be over instantly. Can never fault someone for financially securing themselves and their family. Even if he doesn’t get to the top level anticipated, he will have tons of options and a bag of money to go with it.
Listen people, they are paying the kid a ton of money. There is no way that there won't be shoe deals or promoting.
There’s some middle ground here. The debut was planned in advance. It wasn’t about an available spot or anything like that. They (and why do people not include MLS into this as they are just as culpable for the extra attention as the club?) are milking this for as long as they can while he’s there. Why wouldn’t they? Not saying it’s good for him (or bad as I think he will be fine regardless), but MLS is trying to market him now and what his career turns into is secondary to them. I don’t think there’s anything too excessive at this point. He’s being made to earn his playing time, and when he shows that MLS is his proper level he will play there. He’ll get the occasional garbage time appearance before that. Yes, it’s marketing, but when you pay a 14 year old the salary they do why wouldn’t you expect something in return?