One reason to have higher hopes for Leroux than Yueill: - Leroux came out of nowhere, went to San Jose State, drafted in the 40s, third division Town FC last season where he was decent but hardly tearing up the league, and is now our best midfielder at 21 and just made the TOTW vs Miami. - Yueill was a huge prospect as a kid in Minnesota (alongside his buddy Mukwelle Akale who went to Villareal and never panned out), a star at UCLA, one of the big names on USYNT rosters, Generation Adidas signing and #6 draft pick... didn't do much in 16 USMNT caps and now not starting for the Revs at 28 when he should be in his prime. My point is one peaked super early and the other is on an impressive upward trajectory.
Beau may be on a Wondo-like trajectory. But I think Yueill’s career peaked later than when he was in college / high draft pick. He couldn’t get much playing time under Dom. It was Leitch who came in in 2017 and said no this guy’s a starter. When Matias was here, say 2019-21 he said that Jackson will be playing in Europe. He was very highly regarded. It wasn’t until later, when he kind of flamed out of USMNT, that his career kind of tailed off.
What I like about Beau is that he plays much more on the front foot, willing to be part of the attack, where Yueill was content to hang back and make the safe pass. In Yuell's 210 games over 8 seasons played with the Quakes he only registered 2 assists, both in the same year. Just two! Leroux already has 3 in the 13 games he has played. Yueill only scored 13 goals in his 210 games, with only 3 seasons having more than 1 goal. Leroux already has 2 this year. I was more than happy to see Yueill depart!
Wow, that is a stunning stat! 17,000+ minutes and only 2 assists? You'd almost have to get more just by accident, like a pass bonks you in the nose, and onto the path of an attacker who scores. Beau is on pace to have over 50 assists in Yueill-ian minutes. Besides his goals, Beau has also earned 2 PK's already (both called, and one overturned - probably incorrectly).
I personally always thought Yueill regressed to nothing because of the Quakes coaching, where he became Mr Back Pass. even under Almeyda he didn’t excel (in my eyes), but maybe that was becuz I think Almeyda had some issue with USMNT appearances. Like he derided Lima’s call up, calling him “National Team Nick”
I agree, Leroux's ceiling is higher than Yueill's and it's mainly due to quickness and his better attacking ability...he is really proactive in the attack...in his incisive passing and going at defenders...there is zero dumbass in his game...he makes great decisions with the ball......he's getting it done and he still has the kid body...he'll be even better when he adds some strength. And the best part is he loves the Club
I think Yueill's game was best under Almeyda, unfortunately those teams were all or none...a lot of it was grab ass ball...his time with the nats ended when better options came in...he always had an issue with speed...he couldn't get enough separation to utilize his passing ability...and at the international level he wasn't even close to having the minimum speed to defend...so that was that. It's unfortunate his lack of speed and quickness were his limiting factors on both sides of the ball, but I really enjoyed his vision and stellar passing...some really incredible stuff under leitch...but we saw less and less as we brought in quasi attacking mids...yueill started to just get them the ball, instead of being expected to break lines. Imo, that's when his game started to look funky...the super safe short passes...and if you pretty much take away the thing he's best at, you are left with a central mid who isn't quick enough to adequately defend or cover deeper...and that's exactly where he finds himself with NE...Gil's rightfully running the show and Yueill's defensive game isn't good enough to keep him on the field.
I didn't think lack of speed was that much of a problem with Jacko. I don't think Beau is any faster. They are both average in speed. It wasn't nearly as much of a factor as it was for TT. I think it had to do with getting overly conservative over time - just stopped taking chances (also same as TT). He just stopped trying the line breaking passes and the runs forward, the shots from distance, etc.
I think the correct number of Yueill assists is 19. Mlssoccer is wrong in it's career stats unless they are factoring out "hockey assists" or something. Anyway, that's about 1 every 10 games which is not great. Beau has 3 in 12 starts I think it is, in his first year.
Agreed. The difference is that Leroux is a better dribbler and defender than Jackson, along with his short passing. Yuell covered a lot of ground and good a long distribution, but struggled with short game and was pretty much useless in the final third.
Yueill is a serviceable central mid with good technical chops but seldom put his stamp on the game - not enough goal creation, limited athleticism off the ball. Different players but I hope Niko doesn't run into the same bottlenecks. Beau is bigger and plays with a physical edge, and is surprisingly agile and fluid in tight spaces allowing him to attack in/around the 18 yard box demonstrated by the penalties he won. I don't think his straight line speed is anything to write home about but that also isn't a super crucial attribute. Great job by the staff for bringing him into Quakes II training while he was at SJSU, and excellent recognition by Bruce to trust his eyes and throw him into the starting lineup this year.
I've always felt (and still do) that Yueill is a good player. But Beau looks better - so far, and he's likely to get better, not worse.
Um, on the topic of Beau vs. Jackson Yueill, oof, check this out! I'm gonna say it's a little unfair because Yueill played on an historically bad team last year, but then again he was part of that team also. This is complete ownage.
Looks like a little baby protozoan getting eaten by a giant red ameoba, but just able to stick its head out the top to call for mommy.
I assume you posted that after seeing the Quakes subreddit... https://www.reddit.com/r/SJEarthquakes/comments/1koy6w6/so_much_better/
Yep, I thought - ooh we've got fbref numbers on Beau, time for radar comparison! Honestly I didn't think it would look that lopsided.
Yeah, surprising on both sides, that Yueill is so bad, and that Leroux after just a few MLS games is not only so good but also above average in everything.
"vs MF" vs "vs AM" but here's 21yo Beau Leroux vs 21yo Caden Clark who is reportedly on the USMNT's 60 man preliminary roster for the Gold Cup (link)....