I’m not saying he’s hapless. That’s not what I’m trying to say. I also don’t want to make it sound like I don’t think much of him as a player. I think his movement is fantastic. He’s all over the place and has gotten a bit better with his creativity. He is aggressive and wants to score, which is very underrated for an attacker. His passing and decision making have gotten better. I’m saying I’m concerned that he may always be a guy who randomly has a teammate open for a tap in, but he shoots instead. Or is alone with the keeper and shoots it right at him. Or does take too many touches and costs a chance because of it. I’m saying he may be one of those players where you have to take the good with the bad. His movement and ability to create and score could be elite, but he may be prone to too many mistakes. And I know, every player makes mistakes, but for some reason he seems to make some at the worst times that may prevent him from being a player on a PSG type of team. But I definitely hope you’re right and I’m wrong and this is just a part of his learning curve and his mistakes are no different than other young players.
I actually liked what I saw from him. He looked almost like a completely different player. The competition is going to be stiff at all CM positions in the future, though. I think it may not be as stiff at the 10 now, but I think it will be in the next year or two.
Top scouts in Europe fail more often than they're right. For each correct evaluation, big clubs buy 10 guys who never amount to anything.
True, but Weah has been in PSG's system since '14. If they didn't think he had the goods...regardless of the pedigree...he wouldn't have made it as far as he has. It's kind of laughable that given where we are at as a program that we have a guy who got 1st team minutes at PSG last season and some are looking to pour cold water over the promise he shows.
It's not pouring cold water just saying that one was not so impressed with him after a single friendly game. Do you want us all to pretend we're in awe of him?
The best part of this is that some other prospect will arise and contribute to this group. Did anyone think that Pulisic would be our best player in 2018 WCQ cycle in 2014? I would wager that we have one or two major contributors added to this nucleus by 2022.
When playing his best position absolutely. When forced to play left back because no one else could no. He put on a clinic against River Plate when playing mid. He takes a lot of flack but how many of our players are two footed, can play long and short passes with either foot, take free kicks, run all day harassing players as the hammer into the anvil and also make gut busting runs into the box? He has faults but most here overlook his strengths. If he had started with ... gulp ... Bradley in TNT we would have won even though a lot of folks wouldn't have been impressed with him.
I think a lot of us were afraid he would be. He needs a lot of these other guys to step up as he's a real team player.
He's shown some good, raw skills and instincts w/ the NT. However, people make too much of the circumstantial event that player x got some late season minutes at club y. They had already sewn up the league. So basically what it says is he was one of their higher rated youth players (not for nothing). They gave him a chance to see if he had PSG chops with nothing to lose and everything to gain. I think they determined he didn't and will go out on loan somewhere next season. This camp he's playing for a better loan this summer, as well as to remain part of senior squad beyond this trial he's also receiving in part because his NT has little to lose. I think plenty of mid-table French clubs (yeah I said it) will be watching in Lyon on the 9th.
I have never put down Carleton. Don't confuse me with someone else. We can agree to disagree, I have no problem with that.
He matches up pretty well, with room to grow. He moves the ball quickly, so he is not a target of physical play for extended time. He is not a “back in” forward who tries to hold defenders on his hip. He flashes to spots to receive the ball (usually to his feet), and then typically moves it or shoots it within 1-2 touches. He is so-so in aerial duals, and he can get muscled off the ball if he is caught in possession.
I don't think the two are all that comparable to be honest. Robinson was an everyday starter for a Championship side this season, while Acosta is a rotational player for an MLS team. Even if you take playing time out of the equation, Robinson has a higher ceiling than Acosta due to his superior athletic ability. I'm not even sure Acosta would be my current #2 among young(ish) pro LB's. I'd probably take Brandon Vincent (who admittedly isn't anything to write home about) over Acosta. That's not to mention youth LB's like Bello, who appear to have much higher upside.
Acosta is not a rotational player. He's one of RSL's best players. They were really struggling at LB while he was suspended by Petke for the first few months of the season because of off-season conduct. Last weekend, he was given his spot back, and has been phenomenal since. No surprise they've won their two games since he's returned. He was MLS TOW last weekend in his first game back. Today he shut down one of the fastest players in MLS, Alberth Elis. He was matching him 1v1 with athleticism. Acosta is a well above average athlete. I think this is one of the most incorrect narratives out there among our players that Acosta isn't a good athlete. It's said on occasion, but I really just have not seen this, at all. Maybe this isn't correct, but I think there's a lot of stereotyping with hispanic full-backs. We've had a lot of them that just weren't good athletes, whether its Garza, Villafana, Requejo, Beltran, etc. The difference I'd point out here with Acosta is that he's not Mexican-American, he's from Honduras. Those Honduran players are very often really athletic. We see it all the time facing them in CONCACAF. There's a clear difference between their athleticism and the athleticism of players from Guatemala or El Salvador. When you give Alberth Elis a head start and you beat him in a foot race, which he did today, you are a really good athlete. MLS is about comparable to the Championship. I like both players, and we'll see how they progress, but I think Acosta is more talented. He's been remarkably good the last year when he's been able to stay on the field and out of trouble. I think Acosta is one of the most underrated players in our player pool. The kid is a legit talent at LB.
Clubs like PSG know what they have and they run out players who have impressed and show potential. You make it sound like Weah showed up one day and PSG was like “he kid, we won the league and wondered I you wanted to play a couple 30 minute appearance”? I get that he is not the next superstar, but some of you go a long way to tear down a kid that is chasing down his dream and shows a lot of promise in becoming a solid profesional. Did Weah shit in your (the Weah doubters) Cheerios? I am just not seeing what he lacks that some of the other kids who are getting the hype train have. I see the potential that Parks has, but I am not so sure he is miles ahead of Weah. Sargent looked great as a CF, but Weah looked good to playing of Sargent on the wing when they transitioned to 3 up front during attacks. Not to mention the guy was up and down his wing providing defense. Seriously, what turns some of you off on this kid?
If you thought that was a tear down, you're being WAY too sensitive on his behalf. What I pointed out was objective reality in response to an over-exaggeration about what playing briefly for a big club who has nothing on the line means. For example, Julian Green started for Bayern in the Champion's League. Soon after he was plying his trade for Greuther Furth. Yeah, it's not totally random who gets those trial minutes, but they are trials for the top several prospects who happened to already be in their system. In the end they may just buy over all, loan, and transfer them. If he was PSG material right now he'd be a lock starter for the US at forward. We have a ways to go until that's established. I'm cautiously optimistic that's his future even if he's never a regular at anyone of PSG's ilk.
He lost the armband, iirc He was initially the Capt in semis and played really bad at dmid where Canouse(?) took over. That was the team with Spencer, TT, Romaine Gall, Moore (who really stunk the place up).
Same that turned me off with Zelalem, Shea, Payne, Boyd, Aronjo, etc. That they are far below the hype in these forums. And that's a big negative. When your fans lack the basics to the point where they can't see who has top talent, who has mediocre talent, and who has no talent, then it's useless. You can't teach old people how to analyze a soccer game. They're entrenched in their ideas, and only see what they want to see.
Players that dominate up top are either, very quick, very fast or very big (or ideally all three). While a less athletic player with intelligence, vision and skill can still make it through movement and combining with teammates (Things that Sargent displayed since the U17s) it will always be an uphill battle. Right now he seems kind of a tweener that is not really big, fast or quick but was mentally far ahead of most other youth players. I was really happy to see he could match up physically with the 20's which is why I'm really curious to see how he looks against fully mature, top level talent., The more he develops physically, the higher his ceiling. There is good reason why coaches give really athletic players a lot of chances to prove they can't play.
I really wanted to see Parks start alongside McKennie... now I'm hoping we'll get to see McKennie, Parks, and Adams all together at some point. Some Keaton Parks gifs: By request, here’s some of Keaton Parks for the #USMNT against Bolivia. If you haven’t watch Parks before, look at how effortlessly smooth he is on the ball.— Joseph Lowery (@joeclowery) May 30, 2018
Agreed with everything but the weird tangent contrasting players from various Latin American countries...