Malik Tillman (1 G) vs Union Saint-Gilloise pic.twitter.com/nezLnUNDwq— Jack Stephen 🇺🇸🇮🇳 (@USMNTZ) August 9, 2022 Looks big and skilled but not particularly pacey. Being only 19, Bayern could maybe help a touch there.
Tillman had two MOTM already. Compare his performance in Rangers with Weah’s performance in Celtic, maybe he is a little better as front 3?
I don't know about "rolling him out at striker"... let's not get ahead of ourselves. But if Tillman can back up all of the front five positions, that really helps his case for the World Cup roster. Either CM, spot, striker, either winger as like the 5th-7th option (I'm not a huge fan of him as a winger so far, he seems to look better more centrally). It would be sort of like taking Roldan for his versatility... except you might actually want to see Tillman play! But even setting aside the versatility, if there's a fourth 8 on the roster, Tillman has to be the frontrunner, right? Obviously McKennie, Musah, and LDLT are all there, but Tillman assures Gregg is never tempted to play Acosta up there. Obviously there's also Aaronson and Reyna who could potentially figure into those spots, but for roster purposes they're part of the four locks at winger... Who is the fourth 8 competition as of now, Roldan, Mihailovic, Lletget?
Tanner Tessman v Ascoli (Coppa Italia)pic.twitter.com/B6Dg9EHaXf— vince (@v_sospiffy) August 10, 2022 I think it is too late to even consider him for this cycle but Tessman looked like a dramatically improved player over what he was doing last year. Not sure how much of it is dropping down a level vs actual improvement but he looks a different player. He's an interesting one and seems to excel in passing from deep with some pretty good vision and accuracy. But, while he's big and strong I worry a bit that in a defensive part of the field he also seems to lack first step quickness when defending. Could be interesting to see if he can make it back to a top level league and play a part next cycle.
I believe they're Brighton's feeder team. So a lot of their rise comes from Brighton loaning them players or them buying players to develop for Brighton
Physically I thought Tessman looked like he belonged I'm Serie A but tactically he was a deer in the headlights last year. Still a high ceiling guy but the drop to Serie B will do him good
When it comes to Hoppe I think the first question (assuming he even starts) is where he plays. His only real shot at Qatar is if he's playing the #9 and going well for his club. If he's out on the wing its way less a position of need.
I think Berhalter is primarily looking at Tillman as more of an offensive central mid. In press conferences, IIRC, he did mention him as someone who could play winger or CAM, but that he'd had to improve / prove out defensively to really be seen in a more traditional 8 role. I'd have to go back to be sure and I'm too lazy for that. Frankly, I think he might be an emergency 9 or winger, but Berhalter really hasn't had a lot of guys really use that versatility and I doubt 19 year old Tillman would be at the forefront. To me, that puts him in direct competition with someone like Mihailovic (and Lletget, though I think he's nowhere near the team now). I think they (DM and MT) play somewhat similarly in terms of style -- offensive focus, strong bias to pass over dribble, etc. Both have good vision; both make nice runs. The challenge for both is that Brenden and Gio -- clearly better players -- can slide back to the same basic role, even if they play it a bit differently. If those two guys are healthy (and Weah/Pulisic are healthy), there's not a ton of need for an attacking-focused mid on the roster compared to a more balanced 8. Which is what Roldan is, so they are competing with him, and probably Eryk Williamson and if Busio or Pomykal or Tessman were in the mix, them, too. But that's as much a role / skillset decision as a quality decision. So I think Malik is in competition with a guy like DM on quality, but if Berhalter takes Roldan over them, it's probably because he wanted something different from that roster spot. Roldan can be the emergency DM, or muck up a game late with intensity, and Tillman isn't likely to do that. From what I've seen, Tillman is more likely to make a killer pass, more likely to play a nice 1-2 to get a shot off. But on a roster where someone like Brenden Aaronson might be available on the bench, I'm unsure of it that's a priority.
I'd like to see a full game and see how he is on defense. I'm not really worried about Tanner's offense -- there's improvement but given his size, his real lack of defensive aggression just stood out to me as his largest barrier. Serie B could disguise a lack of closing speed, decision making speed, etc., but at minimum, it should be noticeable if he's attacking people at the appropriate times. He could follow the Keaton Parks career path -- I don't mean the teams he played for but his style and role. But I think he has a step up physically and he'll be better and go farther further back on the field. I think that about Parks, too, but defensively he's not a 6. Tessman's passing as a strong defensive 6 would be a really good player. Tessman's passing as a mediocre defensive 8 would be ... fine? A nice glue piece as long as the players around him excel, but not someone who can be a real asset in all situations. If he found his way to a NYCFC and leveled up his passing Parks' level, sure, but if he ends up on a team on its back foot or without an all star attacking lineup to feet, I think he fades to the bench.
This is what I see as well. I was always adamant that we needed to dispense with the passer at the 6 because I think it simply doesn't work if that passer also isn't able to play strong defense which described none of our options to play that way. You just can't abandon defending that area without creating a mess. However, if you can find a guy who can defend the center and also make those passes to spread the play around, you're talking about a layer who can really add something valuable. If he needs a bodyguard to play defense next to him, you are talking about a different formation and in a three man midfield that starts to get really skewed toward playing awfully deep unless you have a dominant 10 in front of them. So yeah, if he plays further forward, he has a ton of competition for a spot even on the bench for the US next cycle. But, if he can learn to be a bulldog in defense and still hit those passes, he may make himself very useful. My biggest doubt is that I fear he may just lack that quickness in his first step he needs to really do that. I think Tyler Adams has shown us that quickness is more important to defending in space than size and strength.
I think he might have the quickness, but clearly that needs to be tested. But I think you also need the situation recognition, decisiveness and aggression to act on it. Tyler has that. Zim has that at CB. Sands has it; he's just not as physically talented. It's not an easy thing to develop, to be sure, but he's played forward a lot in his career, so there's a decent chance there's a good, steep (in a good way) learning curve.
don’t have that article handy as I’m about to take off, but I do recall the implication somewhere that Middlesbrough were going to use him as a striker
We're delighted to confirm the signing of @MatthewHoppe9 ✍️Welcome to #Boro, Matthew! 👋 #UTB— Middlesbrough FC (@Boro) August 10, 2022 U-S-A, U-S-A 🇺🇸 #UTB pic.twitter.com/usodeceNT4— Middlesbrough FC (@Boro) August 10, 2022
With Hoppe's signing, I think the only USMNT players (from the past year or so) still in club limbo at this point are Konrad and Brooks, though it sounds like Konrad's close to a move at least. There are others (like Pulisic, Dest, etc.) who may still be sold or loaned out before the end of the transfer window, but they at least still have some clear role at their current clubs in the meantime and going forward if they remain where they are.
There are a couple more, but lower down on the totem pole. Sebastian Soto, for instance. [No joke, he was tied as our leading USMNT goalscorer in 2020.] Nobody seems to know what's going on with Cole Bassett. He was supposed to make a loan move to another Dutch club, but it hasn't happened yet. There are apparently complications. Guys of that ilk..............
Bassett played 6 minutes for Feyenoord in their league opener last weekend. So he's at least in their plans in the same way as last season (garbage time sub). Maybe he can just stay there and work into legitimate sub? Feyenoord's a pretty good level for him (he's only 21).
I like how Brooks isn't even listed here lol My running backlog of potential 🇺🇸 movers before summer window closes: Konrad, Ledezma, Bassett, Che, Clark, Mighten, Jones, Cowell. One player that hasn't been rumored that should start looking: Mark McKenzie. Not sure it's working out in Genk and he needs to be playing.— Marcus Chairez (@chai_asc) August 10, 2022 Musah Yunus Musah v Atalanta (preseason) pic.twitter.com/jYabNMLEoM— vince (@v_sospiffy) August 10, 2022 Bassett Cole Bassett’s goal and assist from yesterday’s closed-door scrimmage vs. Dordrecht. pic.twitter.com/V49LsXSnOQ— Daniel (@DanielSmith1022) August 10, 2022
Genk's (left-footed) starting CB Lucumi is apparently in active negotiations to leave the club, with Bologna in Serie A being the most likely destination. Since there are some other clubs that are supposedly interested, Genk is apparently leaving it late to see if they can get a better offer. But once that hopefully gets done, McKenzie should have a much clearer path to a starting role there.
I’m actually surprised by the bench rate of our guys in Belgium. McKenzie, Duncan, and Reynolds especially. Hopefully they’ll respond well like Vines and come back better this year. Mighten I’m on the fence about. It’s obvious forest like him, but he’s always a late sub. Maybe championship with burn is a better option? cowell has suitors but I can say no more there. With benjis energence in his spot I think quakes take a deal before it closes.
Tilman's stiyle replaces McKennie best, especially with Musah pulling back closer to Adams in latest run outs with Berhalter. Altho somewhat wasteful like McKennie*, Tilman is more effective when his game comes off. What I noticed about Tilman is that he can, apparently, play defense when he wants to. Berhalter probably noticed that and I expect Tilman in camp in September and getting minutes late in games, especially with McKennie and Reyna very questionable on the fitness front. With McK and Reyna out, imagine Aaronson taking a knock before WC. Who is next on the "creative" front? At that point one could see Tilman starting in Qatar, as far as I'm concerned. In any case I can see him coming on late with the Pefoks and Morris players in an effort to score a late goal when needed. *In the wasteful department, there was an instant this week end when Tilman was on the wings and he did one of the typical half turns to the inside that has Earnie and Gregg so mesmerized and as he was doing it, I noticed that the entire opposition team just coagulated and used the time wasted to close ranks. On the ensuing play there was an easy block and the initiative was gone. At another time when Malik made an economical square back heel pass in the box that could easily have gone for a goal, the broadcast call was "expect the unexpected from this lad". We need more of the latter less of the former. In the pump the brakes department, let's see how Malik fares vs. PSV and in actual UCL group play, and September camp.
I hope I don't regret this post, but it seems like we have sooooooo many players sitting on the launch pad, next cycle is going to be crazy.
Courtesy of the Duke, here's Sands' outing in UCL quali's on the weekend. His motion and shape on his passes pushes the offense which is what I like about him most but that's not the kind of thing the USMNT management quantifies. It's like the difference between algebra and calculus (for the quantitative types). In any case, this was a game where Sands was able to show his play in midfield more because the opponent was away and protecting a 2-0 on aggregate going into the leg at Ibrox. i.o.w, it was a high line, mostly with little defending in the Rangers box. Too late to carve out a role for Sands or does Acosta as a back up to Adams make you nervous?
Ya, had to go to a central american restaurant in Tustin to watch the WCQ where Keller kicked it off of Hermosillo's head, into our goal. My buddy and I were the only overtly pro-US guys there. But, covertly, a few guys gave us a wink or a thumbs up, like "we're for the US, but look around, dude" Can't say I blame them keeping it on the DL.
Versatility is the key to WC rosters. Even if I don't rate Sands above a guy like CCV in a vacuum, the fact that he can play a bit of CB along with the 6 can give him a slight advantage. Same with Cannon as a RB/CB.