He showed consistency this tournament and I don’t have the biggest issue with a young teen being selfish. We get frustrated at our players being passive and predictable in the attacking 3rd and that in part comes down to coaches at the youth ranks criticizing kids for trying shit instead of passing to a fullback that plays a hopeless cross into the box. Clint Dempsey was probably regarded selfish as hell at the same age. Sealy’s next step needs to become a consistent playmaker for NTSC and maybe get a handful of minutes for Dallas. I watched Uly multiple times with the Galaxy academy and thinking he’s selfish as hell in the box, but Brian Kleiban was encouraging it.
Sealy and Uly are two completely different players. Uly went from being selfish to being a decent playmaker. Another thing that makes Uly better is his vision, Sealy too often is slow to react or make a play, when he receives the ball in the midfield.
The problem becomes that he's shown absolutely no consistency and arguably very few flashes for FC Dallas. Thats been my opinion from what I've watched, others here who watch FC Dallas academy teams and NTSC have also said similar things. I don't think three games against players in his own age group changes his utter lack of consistency and mediocre play at the different levels he normally plays at. There's obviously an issue with putting a huge amount of stock in these three games. The level is probably lower than anything he's played at recently. While FC Dallas rates the kid higher than most fans do, they also didn't use him like they used Pepi or even the unsigned Gomez. He started 10 games for NTSC, and was on the bench for 11 games. Usually a player on a first team contract is going to play nearly 90 minutes every reserve game, if they aren't in the first team. However, FC Dallas didn't operate like that. Thats probably because they knew that Sealy wasn't up to the level of a player who could be an every game starter in USL League One.
Maybe the Nike Friendlies were not indicative of his current level, but he was relatively consistent considering the areas of the pitch he was operating in and the danger that he was creating with the plays he was attempting. I didn't see a lot of selfishness from him in those games. It would be very easy to argue that he was the best attacker on that U16 team in those games.
True, he hasn't displayed the same level that he showed in the Nike Friendlies in USL games, but has Sarver or Garcia shown anything in that type of environment? To say that Sealy's not close to those players is a bit of a leap, I would say.
I understand you were not addressing me, but I feel I can speak about Cowell since I see him quite a bit for the Quake's academy. He's not close to the same level as Casey Walls or even Turan Karumanchi right now. He has elite physical tools that could make him more valuable then them in the future, but he's still a boy playing in a man's body. He has not consistantly scored goals beyond the U-15 level. Most of his academy goals this season have come from PKs. He is very fast, quite quick, but only average on the dribble. His finishing is not polished and he still needs to improve playing with his head up to see teammates. He has confidence, but he's not a player that can carry a team yet. The academy teams are playing him as a left winger so he can cut in and shoot with his right. He looks like a very hard worker with a good attitude so the future looks good, but he's not going to light it up at the international level yet.
Cowell: I think @jeff_adams covered it well. IMO, he's a track-athlete. Lacks soccer skills. Very fluid runner. Could definitely see him having an Andrew Wenger or Teal Bunbury sort of career as an MLS player, but I don't think he has the offensive potential to play at higher levels. Sealy: I definitely liked what I saw from him more at the Nike Friendlies. Those were some of the best games I've seen, but the kid has zero consistency, and I think it may be a little too generous to frame this in terms of inconsistency. I don't believe he's presently all that good of a player because he rarely performs well and the lack of good performances makes me think he struggles to put a good base of talent into production. He has some talent (good athlete, can dribble, good left foot), but what we saw at this tournament is nowhere near his current level, IMO. I don't even know that its a minority opinion because I've heard this rather frequently. Sealy is very well regarded by USSF and FCD, but I've yet to hear much good about him by outside sources that watch the kid play regularly. Here's a brief quote about what someone said to me that watches him play regularly. "Whatever out of nowhere, ethereal factor that allowed Nico to become the flavor of the summer/WC tournament has been going on for Sealy since he was 13-14 years old. There is a lot of historic data in peoples minds about Sealy. Always playing up when he was younger, flashy highlights, fast and skilled, SOOOO smooth on the ball etc." Bohui: There's a similar base of talent to Sealy (good athlete, can dribble, good left foot, might even be more explosive than Sealy), but he's extremely raw, and I think like with Sealy, that might be a generous description. Is he raw with high potential or does he have a few skills that generate buzz around his game and he's not actually all that good? I'm leaning towards the latter. I don't think I've watched the kid play well in a game I've seen him play in in the last year, and thats not for a lack of viewings. I also don't like how Philadelphia is developing him. They are using this kid in USL, and he's a regular in the U-19's, yet I don't believe he's the type of player who should be advancing age groups. I think if he actually is a player with good potential (as opposed to a player with some flashy skills that stand out), he's a long-term project player. I should also say that these are merely my own opinions. If anyone disagrees, feel free to say so and explain why. I'd like to see as many opinions as possible. Maybe there's something I'm missing when I'm trying to analyze the ability of these players. I'm open to changing my opinion on any of these players, and I'm sure I will eventually. We all will.
Kitahara thoughts @ussoccer97531 ? I like him a lot, but these games are the first time I've seen him. Have you watched him play with Seattle?
I’m not sure how to evaluate him. LA insists on playing him as a RW, but he doesn’t have the athleticism to be a winger. I’ve seen him play once as a CAM, and I really liked what I saw. I think he’s a very good playmaker and can score goals. Smart player, as well. I think he factors in somewhere to the top 15-20 players in his age group, if he was playing for the USA and used as a #10, but there are two ifs there.
Personally I really rate him which is why I asked. If i had one word to describe him in all the games I have seen it is effective. They play him out wide because the kid tries stuff and pulls it off. Unless Sealy shows his Nike Friendlies form with NTSC then I rate Perez as my number one winger option for this team. I’m praying we can poach him.