Cap him yesterday. Many less deserving players have both their own threads in this forum and more importantly, senior national team caps.
He's a starter at Schalke. I'd mostly hold off on integrating the youngsters, but a starter for Schalke needs to be called in important qualifiers.
Help me fellas, I'm split. Do or die game vs Panama, WC on the line, McKennie hasn't even met Bruce or gotten a min of training with this squad and it's a terrible time to throw him out there in that situation with players and a system he's never played with and in. On the other hand, he might be our current best CM. His strengths are our weaknesses and offer what no one else provides. And this isn't some random prospect, it's a kid who worked thru the Schalke reserves and now apparently has beaten out quality competition to earn regular starts for one of the bigger German clubs. I'd also say no other CM currently in our NT could do the same. FFS, should have been introduced to the NT earlier so it wasn't such a tough decision.
I think we need to wait until November, even though I'm very excited about him. It's just too soon for him to be considered an impact player yet and I don't trust that he's cemented his spot with Schalke. Ultimately, I don't see him being the reason we do or do not beat Panama.
The most logical would be to have him on the bench. Although no clue who would be starting ahead of him.
Is he? let's go by the number.... Bradley is 6'2 he is not fast or mobile, he is below average when contesting headers. His game is very good if given space and time, his attacking game is above average. Mckennie is 5'10 and fast, he is excellent in the air. Very good in tight spaces, tough in the tackle. his attacking game is below average.
I'd classify him as a semi-regular, like Pulisic was in the early days at Dortmund. 3 starts doesn't make you a starter. Being a semi-regular at Schalke doesn't mean the same thing as being one at Dortmund in a normal year, let alone the ones they came up. Dortmund was elite in the BL, while Schalke didn't make Europe last year and this one look mid-table. And unlike it was for Pulisic, if you speak positively or neutrally about his play so far, it has to come with the caveats "for his age" or "for his experience level", which are actually drawbacks to immediate nt integration. His WS average so far as a starter is 6.08. Judging him relative to players of any age or experience level in the Bundesliga, that's terrible. It's worse than basically all the Bundesliga players in the usnt pool in recent years, if you research it. Best cm right now in the pool is just some Europhile junk. There are a plethora of cm's who could be thrown in there if they came up thru the Schalke system and have them play poorly while not looking totally out of place for 3 games or forever until they just were relegated to squad players or eventually moved on from. McKennie will likely improve from his current level of ability, but he has to, to keep this spot as a starter or sub even. People are way jumping the gun here (as usually happens in this situation from a contingent who never seem to learn), even the pressure of debuts and do-or-die qualifiers aside. It's a 90's USNT fan or current Canada NT fan antiquated mentality. He's merely a really good national team PROSPECT right now, but not an a-team player. Let things materialize naturally for a change instead of forcing some savior. The program doesn't need to be saved to make it out of the hex. We already were at that level a long time ago. Just have the manager, with the info at hand at the time, make more sensible decisions. This wouldn't be one.
The hand wringing is ridiculous. Whoever the 23rd (26th? Bruce you sly dog), name on the roster is we already know everything about him and he isn't good enough for this level. So bring McKennie and there is literally nothing but upside. Worst case scenario he isn't ready right now, but you have given him a taste and you have shown these other guys that there is such a thing as competition and they need to start bringing it or it will be taken from them. You don't have to play him. Probable scenario, he proves in training that he is better right this minute than whoever is currently penciled in next to Bradley for that spot and he brings exactly what we have been missing, an athletic, competent central midfielder who can help us finally get some control over the middle of the park and actually put a real goddamn tackle in and he helps us qualify for the world cup. You know, that stuff that has been missing since our last Schalke CM got old. If he is good enough for Schalke he is good enough for us. If he is not afraid of the pressure and massive crowds of the Bundesliga he is not going to be afraid of CONCACAF. Heard this same crap before capping Pulisic and it is as ridiculous now as it was then. Good enough = Old enough.
His athleticism alone is enough to at least put him on the bench. And I don't think he would be intimidated if he came on in the 80th minute, if we were behind. It could be similar to when Yedlin came off the bench against Germany, I think it was, during the World Cup, and was blowing past their defense. He was a disrupter and they had to make serious adjustments, and we do need a disrupter in the midfield, a Konte type.
One of the issues I see with this team against good central and south American teams is that the opponents many times play as if they have a great team understanding. They can anticipate movement of their teammates and make passes that capitalizes on that understanding. Most times our players are reacting to a ball played as opposed to anticipating. I say this because I remark about times where our team makes a really nice attacking move where the attacker plays a ball where a guy should be and the guy actually is, and a dangerous move is created. It is not the norm that this happens for the USMNT, IMHO. Adding another guy who none of the current pool of players has spent any time with doesn't make that issue better, it makes it worse or at best, no better. I'm all for blending McKinnie into the team sooner rather than later, but I can understand why he wasn't.
Not sure if it has been suggested yet, but why can't we all be right on this, in that he should be called in, but he should not be thrown in such important games? Bring him into camp, if for no other reason it might have Bradley looking over his shoulder for once. When he is dialed in Bradley is an excellent player. Unfortunately, he doesn't appear to be dialed in for the USMNT much anymore. Like all players, he needs competition and he doesn't get that from anyone on this roster.
I would have liked to have seen him called in and maybe even earn a spot. I also can't fault the logic to wait until after a new game to introduce a new player. Introducing a new player at this stage smacks a bit at desperation... and though the fans may be there. I don't think Bruce or the players are quite there yet.
OR why can not both possibilities be acceptable? Its a pure judgement call that could go either way... both decisions are right... unless we lose.. Then it was obviously wrong. ;-)
Corey Gibbs was a regular starter in the Bundesliga two years before he received a call up. Hmm, maybe John van Buskirk at Uerdingen (which was a yo-yo club that was demoted his first or second year there). Conor Casey was in the pool, although more of a fringe player. John Doyle was at the end of his career when he played at Leipzig and was largely only playing testimonial type matches for the NATS (although he had been a regular team member before).
McKennie talked to Goal today: http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/west...on-not-to-call-him/1qucxsz5ebdid1049qesejn86h
I trust you've heard the arguments, but maybe it's a a little less of a good idea to bring him over from Germany right now to be the 23rd man, than to leave him be, doing well and getting established with the first team. And it's one thing to bet heavily on a young hotshot wildcard in the attack. It's different in the engine room. Besides, for me, Pulisic's last couple US games prove the risk of relying on a teenage hotshot. Guess I can't even attempt to make the case that club form does directly not translate to national team - especially when the player is completely inexperienced with his teammates and the opponent.
Fact a squad rotation player for a top half Bundesliga team, not to mention our 2nd brightest young talent, is not in our top 23 or 26 players is patently ridiculous. Three awful goalies, Beasley, Ream, Orazco, Zusi, Wondo, even Acosta. What is the point of "knowing the system" and "experience" when said experience has gotten us to this point? After these two games, assuming we qualify (or even against Oz/Syria), he better be not only in the squad, but most likely on the field.