You or someone else brought that up last year I think, and it's a great point. He was also one of the only guys who actually threatened England, came damn close to scoring a goal (saved onto the post and out if I remember right) and then assisted the equalizer in '10. I can't give what wasn't there, almost certainly because he was hurt (in '14, and '16) but in '10, he did a lot despite not showing up on the scoreboard: had key plays against Slovenia, and Algeria on goals, and the off the post chance against England which could've been the winner.
If I were advising him, it's take care of the groin issue. Once he's fit, it's try to win MLS MVP. If he takes care of the stuff he can control, the transfers and USMNT will take care of itself.
As 50/50 said he needs to get that nagging injury fixed. Interestingly FCD has switched formations from the standard 4-3-3 to a 3-4-3 or maybe more correctly a 3-4-2-1. They just paid $10 mil for Musa from Benfica and he will play the #9. Ferreira will now be one of the two winger / #10's. This 4-3-2-1 is also using the wide mids as width so the inner wingers are supposed to mostly stay narrow. It's a perfect role for him as a tweener so lets see how he does in what should be a perfect setup for him.
Really ill-timed injury during this transfer window. All he can do is crush it in MLS this season. Its unclear what position he's going to play in MLS this season. FCD just broke their transfer record on a real #9. So that means once that player gets going, Ferreira is most likely to play behind the #9 in this 3-4-3 system Estevez is using. I fully expect that if the year has gone well, he'll have a stat line like the one he had in 2021. That was the year Pepi was the #9, and Ferreira's job was to be more of a creator than outright goal-scorer. Honestly, that might be his best position. However, it's not a position for him on the USMNT. He's a really good, attacking, creative, versatile player. A really nice squad player at this point, but not the best player at any one position. And as the younger crew advances (the Paredes, Booth, Bajraktarevic, etc. guys), the opportunities might dry up. Still, such a good player to have within the depth chart to cover areas we need. A guy who is lower on our depth, but just won the friggin' Golden Boot at the Gold Cup. [The really confusing one is where to play Kamungo in this 3-4-3. He's gotten minutes at the wingback position in pre-season and reportedly hasn't looked good. Dante Sealy really took advantage of his chances there.]
He is going to be one of the inner wing forward / #10's. It's a good fit for his abilities. I could see the US adding this formation and tactics to their standard as they have personnel that fits quite nicely. The outside mids need to be flyers and are the width so this would mean Jedi and Weah. The inside winger / #10's play narrow behind a #9 so that would be good spots for Pulisic, Reyna and many others. It might favor a more do it all forward such as Sargent, Vasquez or Pepi while Balogun might be better as one of the inner wing forwards. I could see it as an alternate formation during tournaments when rotating starters. I wonder if GB talks with Estevez a lot and they have discussed this. Kamungo was the right inside winger against DC in the final pre-season game Saturday. I think the wing back experiment is over.
Musa may also go to the Euros with Croatia. He played in Euro qualifiers in 2023. We'll see. And then maybe Ferreira goes to a summer tournament. Maybe. I wouldn't bet on it, but one or two injuries (or release problems vis-a-vi Olympic)..................and he's next man up. There could be some rotation there.
The real striker thing shouldn’t be a hindrance to Jesus putting up his shots and goals. If anything, maybe it gets him less CB attention.
We'll have to see what FCD looks like in this new formation with a real target striker as a #9. We haven't seen it in action. Arriola and Ferreira playing behind Musa sounds promising. I would guess that Jesus' goal contribution statistics will look for like 2021 than 2022/2023. I wouldn't be surprised to see him have 10 goals and 10 assists in 2024. Particularly if he's not missing any time with the national team. That would be a pretty great season.
Rookie Logan Farrington will surprise as the backup 9. He's solid and a real fighter. Has a lot more skill than you'd think. If Musa leaves for the Euros I think he takes over the #9 spot. Ansah was the other player competing for the starting #9 spot (while they were signing Musa) but lost out the backup spot it seems. So just think the coach isn't going to move Ferreira minus a serious injury problem.
We'll see. We are talking about a player that scored 18 goals two seasons ago from the #9 position. You start making a list of USMNT-eligible forwards that have scored 18 goals in an MLS season lately, and you don't get very far. Brandon Vazquez the same year. [Jordan Morris, for instance, hasn't come close to the number of goal contributions in a season that Ferreira had in 2022. 18 goals and 6 assists. My math says that's 24.] So if Musa doesn't work out (and we hope he does)....................it wouldn't shock me to see Ferreira installed as the #9 again. We'll just have to see how it goes.
Considering the limited amount of money in the continent and the problems with the UK now out of the Euro, being very good in MLS is unlikely to be enough to guarantee a transfer to a European league better than MLS unless the player has the right passports.
That’s right. The spots definitely better than MLS but also willing to pay are dwindling. I think only Brazil is better in the Americas and then Europe it’s basically top 5 and you can throw the rest in a hat as far as total league strength outside a big 2-4.
So is ole Jesus time with the NT practically dead or does he have a shot with friendlies whenever we have a new boss?
He's in the third string portion of the depth chart. Along with the likes of Zendejas, Luna and Cowell. Things can and do change.
exactly. These thing arent static in either direction. After all, Wes is on the verge of playing himself off the USMNT
It probably comes down to how many times the b/c team gets together going forward. I'd imagine that he would be a prime candidate for camp cupcake for example, assuming there is one. Would a high end Euro coach even be on board for that camp?
If he's healthy and in form I'd like to see him have a shot at RW, don't think he's physical enough to be a 9.
He's been hurt on and off all year. Right now I'd like to see him sit behind the two forwards we have. If he was healthy that would be potent. He's always a guy who can play across the front but doesn't have a position that fits what most teams do. Especially if he moves up to better leagues. I also got the feeling he didn't click with the last coach and it showed in his body language. Maybe it was the move to Russia being called of. Shrug.
If we have no qualifying to do, can a manager use camps to call in 40 players and do some evaluating and experimenting? Or can clubs refuse call ups if there is no official match to play?