He played like the 2022-23 Wes yesterday, not the one last year. He keeps that up he will get minutes. Motta has shown he is going to rotate and use the entire squad. And one thing the old Wes was good at was getting into the box to help the attack. The lack of any help in the box for Dusan was clear against Empoli. He was often the only person there. That problem was solved yesterday with multiple players making runs in with Wes and Koop being the most prominent. Good start to his 'new" Juve career.
It's weird. Wes looked very poor and lethargic for the US this summer. Then, he defies the powers that be who want him out, works his butt off and makes a splash at Juve when no one expected him to. When he's focused and in form, he's a player who can really have a big, positive effect on the game. When he's just strolling around, he's a waste of space. I have to wonder if Poch will do a better job of making sure he understands he has to be ready to play every time out with the US as he seems to be willing to do for his club because the US could really use Wes fully focused and playing his best. The guy we saw this summer we could do without.
His form was poor for his club down the stretch post shoulder injury - curious if he hit a wall mentally and physically or if there was something else going on with his injury.
He was very bad the last half of last season. But so was the rest of the team. New coach, new approach, new teammates, new extension. Hopefully this is the Wes we see all year.
⚽️5️⃣ Weston McKennie⚽️4️⃣ DaMarcus BeasleyWith the goal against PSV, McKennie surpasses Beasley to become the second most all-time American top goalscorer in the UEFA Champions League. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/ZiC96iJlaz— USMNT Otaku 🇺🇸 (@USMNTOtaku) September 18, 2024
My theory is that Juve do the transfer tap dance routine every summer to keep him from overpartying in the offseason.
I do think there's a younger generation of fans who don't realize how good the pre-injury Beasley was at PSV. I actually thought he had more than 4 goals in the Champions League. Didn't he have 4 for PSV in 04/05 and 2 for Rangers in 07/08??? Maybe they're not counting goals in the qualifying rounds or something. I mean, Beasley played in the semifinal of a Champions League with PSV. Back when Eredivisie clubs did that. And they were only eliminated from the semifinal on away goals. Anyway, my point in posting that was to simply say that maybe McKennie isn't considered the "Bees Knees" by Juventus fans. That's fine. But that doesn't change the fact that he's achieving things in club soccer that very few American-born players have. Current top 10 of Champions League appearances: Pulisic 55 Dest 28 McKennie 25 Jones 23 Beasley 23 Reyna 18 Tillman 16 Adams 14 Aaronson 14 Kljestan 14 Pepi (9) and Carter-Vickers (8) have a chance to move into the top 10 this year depending on how things go for their clubs.
Seems they do it with a lot of their players so overpartying doesn't seem the reason. More like trying to get blood from a turnip.
With the goal against PSV, McKennie surpasses Beasley to become the second-leading American goalscorer of all time in the Champions League. Sorry, had to edit that one. It read like fingernails on a chalkboard.
Well, I'll take McKennie on my pick up team any day. The rest of you can have your statistics. He's starting and scoring in a CL match for one of the best coaches in Italy, and if you watched the CL the last couple of days you might notice that that means something.
That he's #2 all time in CL while being so polarizing is pretty odd. I think a lot is based on his health and recovery from injury to get the most out of what he's good at. Thinking he plays hurt a lot and looks lazy when not at least 90% recovered.
McKennie is like the popular kid who knows all the cute girls, cool social media, memes, TV shows, and musical groups, yet still made salutatorian. It rubs some folks the wrong way.
Also everyone knows he's the one who put Muenster cheese in the vice principals car but he got away with it because the soccer team needed him!
He’s playing Fortnite while his peers are talking tactics during the World Cup final. Clearly he’s the coolest.
Never minding fan opinion, I do think the impression Wes gives of not necessarily being the most dedicated player hurts him a bit in the eyes of a club, like Juventus. But he's making it work, regardless.
It rubs this folk the wrong way when he plays like dog-doodie, like he did this summer. He was also fat, though whether that was why he played poorly, I leave to the experts here.
The two aren't mutually exclusive. Wes can be one of the most accomplished players in the history of the USMNT in terms of his club career (He's 26 and has played over 250 games in the Bundesliga, Premier League, and Serie A)...............while also being criticized by Juve or USMNT fans for less-that-ideal aspects of his game. People will remember that EVERY USMNTer in Europe has also had that issue. Cuz unless you're Lionel Messi, folks will always be demanding more. Even if you're friggin' Cristiano Ronaldo, there will be people telling you "you're not Messi." There's always somebody else doing more. So fan criticism is just part of the deal. Fans wanting more is just part of the deal.
According to @SkySport Juventus will face Napoli with the same XI they did PSV(4–1-4-1): Di Gregorio, Kalulu, Gatti, Bremer, Cambiaso, Locatelli, McKennie, Koopmeiners, Nico Gonzalez, Yildiz. Vlahovic pic.twitter.com/lMPrLGijBz— 🎥 The AJC 🏳️🏴 (@The_AJC_) September 20, 2024
Right and some people actually need time off to physically or mentally recover to be their best. Whether it's " laziness" or something else we now have Mister Pochettino to sort it out. If you believe in the squad reaching its full potential, getting the best out of this guy is a crucial part.