I actually think that as time goes on, Malik is being moved further from goal. PSV seems to be developing him more as a central midfielder. An 8 as we say. A two-way player. They've even used him as a DMid this season. Look where he played that pass from against Utrecht in that linked video above.......... I'm not entirely sure that the likes of Brenden Aaronson are the guys he'll be competing with for playing time. He may move into the central midfield fight with the likes of McKennie. We'll see how he develops. [We tend to forget how a guy like McKennie was moved around by Schalke until they found his position. They even used him as a centerback.]
I believe Malik when he says his best position is CAM. Also from having watched the majority of his pro minutes. He and Gio have a ton of overlap but they can play together. I would say that Gio has a bit more agility and a better left and broader passing vision while Malik is a more active box crasher and a bit more diligent defender. Gio probably has a bit more of an edge. They can both be central with another dedicated 6 or as dual AMs in a 4321 or 3421. Or one can be wide (with an overlapping FB to hold width) and the other central. It’s just who that leaves out and who the team will be built around. I don’t buy that his PSV role(s) or system are such a better fit than what the USMNT has asked him to do that it is in any way a meaningful explanation for his mediocre performances or a hindrance on future success. What’s going to cut into his success is that Pulisic is going to be given priority. That means he gets to play the most unencumbered role in possession and in defense. That means the other roles are more encumbered and players who suit those duties will be preferred by Poch. Because teams need attacking width to stretch the field there will be a position burdened with doing that on the left and one burdened with doing that on the right. Because Pulisic is going to be shielded on defense the other players in midfield are going to be asked to compensate for that. Malik is better in the cage than Pulisic and can help balance him out but I wonder where Poch will draw the line for how much he needs from those more two-way burdened spots. Malik will not be first or probably even second choice for the width providing roles. Weah, Jedi, Musah, and Dest will be favored. Campbell, Paredes, and Wes will probably be ahead of him for that. Brendo is also an option. Based on club play I’d slightly lean Gio for that but that’s kind of a waste when we consider the next role. The other AM spot in possession is going to be Malik’s best bet/fit. Just like under Berhalter Poch uses Pulisic at one AM spot and someone else at the other in the attacking structure. Gio, Wes, Brendo are the main competition. Gio is the closest fit. Wes and Brendo are more two-way/mobile guys, which matters because Poch, at times, will want Pulisic to be surrounded by better defenders. Malik is a better defender than Gio but not as rangy as those other two. Like if Poch wants the system to be a CM in a two who rotates into the other AM spot in attack Wes is probably first choice against teams around our level and better. If it’s a WM who rotates into AM all 4 can do it and it depends on form and what the opponent is challenging us with. The second most likely attacking role is on the CM line in the 3223 or 2323. This role is a holding role with some ability to step into attack. Likely it means that Malik would be defending as part of a 2 or 3 man CM. If Poch thinks one or both of the FBs should be narrowing off/inverting that takes away a spot Malik could fill.
Malik’s performances under Pochettino are just as much improved as Tessmanns were, and Malik has now had some success creating chances for multiple US strikers. The days of perceived underperformance are in the rear view.
He was poor against Mexico in an AM role and did a solid job as an emergency sub in DM against Jamaica. I think that overall mixed record is par for the course relative to his limited prior minutes.
What do you think it is, then? I don't think it is all of it for sure, but I think his performance in the Mexico match is fairly telling. Not just in that he played subpar, but how. Agree on everything here. If he was a more complete player and a more consistent player, I could see him competing more with a McKennie, but I don't really see the performances right now. Especially given our defensive issues. Even in his short minutes there for us, I was somewhat surprised at the lack of aggression in this ball progression and passing were. There's no reason for it from a skill standpoint, but again, he does not seem to be a player to step forward and take control.
1. Sample 2a. Environmental factors (new team, limited training time, intercontinental travel, conditions, etc…). 2b. Internal factors (young and learning to be consistent, personality that is more go with the flow and less competitive and assertive (although the mechanism that creates an uneven impact is not especially clear, maybe a guy finding his place in the team)). Wes isn’t exactly a bastion of consistency himself but he looks like he’s putting in more work, which if a manager wants someone to carry more water for Pulisic is a consideration. Club performance wise I think Malik is around where Wes was at the end of his time at Schalke. In a bunch of ways I think he’s a little more of a clear fit into a role or even multiple roles than Wes. It’s just kind of a do you want on ball or off ball value question. As a passer he is more of a connector type than a Gio. He is going to look to play to the guys in the 15 yards around him or maybe the vertical run ahead of his path. He is not a deep distributor or an orchestrator of the attack. That combined with his personality are what I attribute that performance to.
So I think we more or less agree, because that's what I am calling role and fit. He's used to playing as a cog in a very well oiled PSV machine. He doesn't need to assert himself much relative to his teammates, and he doesn't need to fill multiple roles at a time. So it's not a shock to me that he looked okay playing a very defined CDM role but struggled with what was basically Pulisic's (or Wes') role against Mexico. But his mentality isn't there, and so far we really haven't had the personnel or gameplan to play him in a way that his personality better fits offensively. At least not under Poch.
All clubs are 'well-oiled machines' compared to national sides. And most of the team struggled at Mexico. CM is also where the Rangers manager saw his future. In the Eredivisie-- 2g 1a in 5 starts at amid 4g 2a in 9 starts at cm UCL--- 0 goals 1 assists in 4 starts at am 3 goals 3 assists in 6 starts at cm Over time, he could develop into an AM. But right now, the player has been producing more at CM.
I would define role as, largely, “what the team is asking the player to do,” and fit to encompass, among other things, “how the player’s abilities match up with what they are being asked to do”. With PSV his regular role is to be an AM type in possession, usually with another AM type in the side. That could mean moving from LW inside or moving from CM up or defending and attacking as an AM. Due to a lack of depth and injuries he has recently been tasked with playing as a DM. These are the tactical roles he has played for the USMNT. There is no tactical or ability fit explanation for Malik’s USMNT shortcomings. He is asked to do roughly the same things. In any sort of reasonably fit first choice USMNT XI Malik is and probably will be a cog.
I would think you, above all people, should be familiar with the concept of overcoming. Some players step up in bad situations, some at least don’t shrink. Malik did not impose his will on that game based on the circumstances he found himself in and thus did not perform well.
I'd disagree with this but some of this may be vocabulary. I think there are games where Malik performed poorly in a role very similar to his PSV role but there are games where he clearly was asked to do something he doesn't do at PSV (and I'm not talking about CDM). The game at home versus TnT last year was one in which I think he basically was asked to something extremely similar to what he does for PSV and played very poorly. He was techically a RW, but we used him in the right half space, and tried to play Reyna and Dest off him. It should have worked, frankly, but he really couldn't control the ball reliably enough to mount much of a threat. Once we removed him from the space, our attacked opened up simply because he was turning the ball over a lot. However, this last game against Mexico? It's pretty clear to me how those CAM roles are supposedly to play. They had responsibility not just in attack but as the top of the box midfield in build up. I don't know specifically if he was asked really to take Pulisic's place -- perhaps Aaronson was given more responsibility -- but I am fairly certain that the instructions against Mexico -- the best team Poch has played especially considering at Mexico -- weren't "stay up top and definitely don't come back for the ball as your teammate is getting dispossessed every two seconds." No one has to play that role at PSV -- they don't have issues passing their way up. Malik definitely hasn't played it. He also has never been the man like Pulisic is -- as you note, he's a cog in a machine. Both of those are role elements to me. In one, he asked to physically cover a lot more space on offense and fulfill both a wide reaching role in buildup but also be vital in attack. I don't watch every PSV game but I've never seen him have to take on that level of responsibility in terms of range across phases of play. I've seen him in a more standard CM role, but then he takes on a sort of late arriving attack role. I've seem him more as a CAM but he's only receiving up top. And in terms of a broader sense, of being the man the attack runs through ... a lot runs through him at PSV. But he's not the initiator, and he's not the guy asked to be the man. That's a role, too, and I think it's a bit much for him. The game against TnT makes sense that he was young, TnT was VERY physical, it was last year and he's a better player now. But I don't think it's a big suprise that he played better for us in the CDM spot -- which really isn't his main position -- in a limited role and a support role rather than an attacking role with more responsibility.
Highly suspect the CM/AM distinction in these, outside of the handful of recent DM appearances, to be completely arbitrary with PSV, and Malik, playing the exact same role in games when he is listed as a CM or AM. Also these numbers don’t seem to match the commonly cited sources for this kind of thing (Opta/FBref have Malik with 2 Eredivisie starts at CM. TM has him with 4).
I just can’t agree that what Malik was asked to do against Mexico was meaningfully different from what he has done at PSV. Ajax, and Feyenord, and BVB and various other CL opponents challenge their build out. PSV go between a 2323 (which is what a standard 433 looks like) and 3223 and Malik has plenty of reps operating on the AM line in both. I don’t think the two AMs on our AM line were asked to do anything special in that game. The bigger tweak came at home against Jamaica where Pulisic was rotating into the LB/LWB space.
If you have watched Malik's matches you would know that he is not a "step up and impose his will type of player". That is just not his personality at this point in time. He is going to play within the system as assigned and within his own comfort zone. Who stepped up and imposed their will v Mexico? Nobody!
We'll just have to disagree. I'm not sure I've ever seen PSV ask so much of an individual player while leaving 5 players at home on defense. Certainly not of Malik.
Good news! It was in part through his play in the Copa that he forced his way into the lineup under the previous manager, so hopefully he's healthy and he gets a shot on the field.
That puts him on par with his USMNT competition. There is a group of players who fit with him in that category (Johnny, Tessman, Morris, Busio, etc). I call them passengers. They are along for the ride and unable to steer the ship. They don’t leave a discernible impact on the game. Tillman and Tessman both took steps forward in the Jamaica series. The CL performance is evidence that something new is becoming of Malik. I fully expect for him to impact a USMNT game soon.
Tillman was serviceable. Tessmann... er Tessermann... to my eye took a leap forward. Tanner put his stamp on the game with his accurate forward passes and imposing physical presence. I appreciated that Tillman could fill in when called upon, but I didn't see him make a case for starting. I did see that from Tanner. To me Tillman is firmly on the B team where I think Tessmann is in B+ / A- territory. Like he's not my *first* first 11, but I could see him make the first 11 of the A team in certain circumstances - opponent, strategy, availability, etc. He offers some things that few other players in the pool can deliver. In certain circumstances I could see a midfield of Adams, McKennie, and Tessmann even if everyone else is available.