YNT-eligible lower-division pro players: 2019/2020 Offseason thread

Looks like it is Jonathan Gomez popping up at Louisville. Good place to play. One of the better run clubs in USL:

Louisville City FC signs 16-year-old left back Jonathan Gómez.

📝: https://t.co/CrzTL08dB5#LouCity | @jonathang_42 pic.twitter.com/Q1pdgabWut

— Louisville City FC (@loucityfc) March 5, 2020

 

Better than playing in USL 1.

 

A lot more interesting than Goslin.

 

I'm pretty sure I saw somewhere that Goslin was last spotted in the Czech lower leagues but I'm not 100% sure

 

Last I've seen he was in the Armenian league. He has also been spotten in Lithuania.

 

Ah, good career move. The Haji Wright path to wasting two years of development time. Does Louisville have the slightest shred of a track record when it comes to developing youth talent? These are exactly the types of moves that kids make in this country that are backwards. In France, when a top youth talent moves from PSG's academy to Red Star Paris................I'm sure the fans don't proclaim it a "good move." And they certainly don't say "this clears the way for him to move to Real Madrid in 2 years."

 

? What indicates this is anything more than him trying to get a pro contract that expires so he can be registered to play in the fall rather than wait until winter?

His birthday is September 1st. If he's doing what I think he is, this makes complete sense.

Edit: In fact, because MLS said they would only look for training compensation if the first pro contract is international, I wouldn't be surprised at all if Louisville and some European team (as well as the owner) have some orchestrated plan to move Gomez for a fraction of what the training comp would've been.

 

Well, Hackworth certainly has a youth track record. James Sands and Jonathan Lewis have been loaned there under his watch.

I think Gomez could quickly be one of the best LB’s in the USLC. So he’ll help them win too and it’s not like USL contracts for every player in the league are longer than one season, two seasons tops.

 

Anyone who was successful with this strategy?

 

Have people been able to sign abroad early with it? Sure.

Have people been successful in their playing careers? First off, I'm not sure how it's relevant when it's likely Dallas told him to sign or leave. For those who have done it, I think it boils down to Taitague and Wright, and Taitague would likely be a first team Schalke player if he wasn't injured 3/4 of the time.

 

There wasn't a path to sticking with FCD past November, IMO. I think he probably would've signed if they offered him terms he's worth, but even if you blame the kid for deciding to not sign with FCD, you can't expect the kid to stay at FCD after how he was treated by them. If they wanted him to stay until he went to Europe (once he made the decision he'd play in Europe), they should've dealt with him better than they did.

I've said before that he's working on getting an EU passport, but acquiring an EU passport takes some time. Taylor Booth wasn't playing for over a year because it took some time to acquire it. Gomez might or might not get an EU passport and play earlier in Europe because of it, but whether or not he gets it, I don't see why for the time being playing a season in USL is bad. Would it be better if he wasn't playing soccer for a full season?

 

USL-C for a 16 year old isn’t a bad spot and Louisville seems like a good spot in USL-C.

Not like there are tons of options for 16 year olds with no passport. If not FCD then this is the only other option.

 

I've mentioned before that I would like to see more Scally situations in the near future. I think this is probably the next player to get a deal done before he's 18. I think there is a very good possibility that he moves to Europe in the summer of 2021 and spends 4/5 months training with whatever club signs him. With a Sept birthday, its perfect for him to officially sign in the winter window.

Being at Louisville FC instead of FCD U19 or NTSC will not hurt him at all.

 

And he gets to play in one hell of a stadium for most 2nd Division sides in the world. Which is an incredible sign of the growth of the sport in this country.

 

Of course it's relevant. I don't believe that fooling around at USL isn't throwing any player way back. So signing up is always better.

 

Would you rather have him be playing with the FC Dallas u17's like he was before he left? Or spend another year after that playing with the u19's? Because when Dallas knew he wasn't signing with them they were playing him down levels to punish him for not signing.

Or would you rather have him playing for one of the best clubs in the USL Championship (a tier above what NTSC play in) for a former u17 ynt coach who is very good at developing players?

If you think he was better off at Dallas you're a ********ing idiot or you are biased...which everyone on here knows you clearly are.

 

I think kids should be maximizing their development opportunities every day. You don't take two steps back to a USL Championship team in order to take three steps forward later.

Gomez was in demonstrably the best development environment for youth players in the US. Louisville has absolutely zero track record. Zero. Nothing. Zero.

He left to go trialing in Germany. But as a 16 year old everybody with three brain cells they can rub together knew he has two years to go before he can sign in Germany. [Unless he has a passport he knows nothing about.] So what the hell was the point of that?

So he didn't want to play in the USL. That's the reason we heard he didn't want to sign with NTSC. So then he goes and signs with a USL club with zero track record of developing players. Zero. And then people tell me its because he can leave on a free when he's 18. If he signed a contract so he can leave at 18...............then what the hell is Louisville's incentive to develop him?

Of course I'm biased. I'm biased towards player development. You don't get do-overs. You go to the BEST development environment you can every day. If you're going to stab your developmental club in the back then you do what his brother, McKennie, Ledesma, Mendez, Soto, etc. did. You wait until you're 18 and can actually go to a club that's a step up from the one you're currently at. You don't go backwards.

Top ten youth player performances in MLS the first week. 4 of them are FCD players, and the 5th played at the FCD academy. Where are the players developed by Louisville? Have they even developed a player that's played at an MLS level? Name one damn player. Its an inferior organization in every conceivable way to the one he's leaving. Training facilities, coaching, infrastructure, player development, etc. Do people think Louisville is going to start a 16 year old fullback this year? Of course not. If he's not, then where is he going to play? Does Louisville have a reserve team for him to play in? Egads, people.

THis whole cheering section of people on these boards blissfully cheering our kids leaving demonstrably the best development clubs in the country makes no sense. It makes sense if they're moving to frickin' Porto. Louisville? Seriously people. You're happy Gomez left FCD for Louisville? Get it together. You're anti-MLS bias can't lead you this far astray. Gomez didn't want to tie himself down to an organization like FCD, but you're happy he tied himself down to Louisville? Egads! We'll revisit this in a year and we can decide if we think this was a good decision. I already know what the answer is going to be, but we'll just let it play out.

1235591984137383936 is not a valid tweet id

 

You are telling a story of what happened that is very different from what actually happened.

For the record, I think the situation could be better, but it's not. The conditions for every player are not always the same. We cannot act as though it is. I think given the situation, there's not much to complain about here.

 

Their must be something everyone without two brain cells to rub together can see that you can't at the moment. To review, FCD youth leaving or not accepting USL deal recently, Gomez X2, Carrerra Letayf, hearing Beni is leaving next week, Seth Wilson currently on trial overseas. The opportunity to play in NTXSC is just not as bright and shiny as you appear to make it according to those turning it down. Where is Bonilla by the way? Did he also turn it down?

How about if JOGO has been in trial, has interest from German clubs to come over at 18 and he is simply waiting it out at Louisville with a good coach and a more competitive environment than NTXSC and the FCD U19s. You really think FCD was going to have him playing with the first team and training with them after he told them he wanted to go to Europe? How about if his deal with Louisville says he can leave at 18 at his option? Most with even one brain cell would understand that leaves him in control of his future and not FCD when they try to get him to sign a 5 year deal that take him through age 21.

 

You are stating this as fact when I don't think its close to being the case. I'll go even further and say I don't think "not wanting to play in USL" had anything to do with leaving FCD.

 

You can't "wait it out at Louisville!" That's what I'm saying.
That's two years. Louisville hasn't developed anybody.
That's not development time you get back.

If his contract with Louisville lets him leave for free at 18..............then what the hell is Louisville's incentive to develop him? Why would they give him playing time this season if they know he's just going to leave?

I see on Louisville's roster that they have another USYNTer fullback Akil Watts, who had moved there from Mallorca. He's a right back who was a U17 starter for the US. How many appearances did he make last season? 3 total appearances. What has Louisville done for Akil Watts development? I would love to know.

We'll revisit this one at the end of the season.

 

I guess that is up to JOGO and his agent to assess where he will be best served these two years. To believe he will not be best served at an FCD environment that is arguable hostile to him after they know his intentions (playing him on the U17s) is not much of a leap.

 

Calling Akil Watts a starter for the u17's is bold. He was the weakest link on that roster. Watts also signed with Louisville over halfway through the season and he signed there because John Hackworth was his coach with the u17's.

Would you rather have him playing with the FC Dallas u17's, u19's, and USL League one or playing in the USL Championship for John Hackworth who has a very good track record of developing players?

You say that FC Dallas has the highest rated youth minutes but they also have multiple other left backs above Gomez so is he supposed to sit and not play at the highest level he can for two years before going to Europe or go to a very good USL championship side and get minutes now?

 

Assumed reasons he is at Louisville City FC and not FCD, in order of importance (not based on fact):
1. The way he was treated by FCD after returning from visiting his brother. Demoted to U17s, played out of position, likely given an ultimatum
2. He was not offered a HG contract by FCD, only a NTSC contract at wages below his value
3. Even if offered a HG contract, they are typically 5 year deals, including the two option years
4. Louisville City FC is a higher level than NTSC, including training environment

In the end, he will be playing at a higher level than he would have in Dallas and we can assume that he worked a deal that would enable him to pursue opportunities abroad earlier in his career. It's really not very difficult to see why he made this decision. We should all be able to appreciate what FCD does with youth players, while also understanding it isn't the best fit for every youth player they have.