Was...has made some poor decisions since. Let’s hope he gets some minutes this year and his decision making improves.
The Rapids could be close to signing another academy player. We interviewed him at the Celtic the night before the game. He confirmed that they have a new homegrown signing coming in a few weeks, and are traveling to Argentina in a few weeks to look at a potential DP— The Voice Of C38 (@TheVoiceOfC38) March 5, 2019
Here is a snippet of a article about De Boer and what he wants from his defenders and had this to say about Robinson: '“That was my specialty,” he told Steve Hummer of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Miles Robinson, for example, I don’t want him to (try those type of passes) because that’s not his quality. He’s a better defender than me, that’s for sure. He’s a better athlete than me. He has to know when he has the ball, he has to give it as fast as possible to the players who can distribute it the best.”' High praise saying how good of a defender Robinson is. I think the 3-man backline has looked much better with Robinson being the RCB and Parkhurst at CB and LGP at LCB. I just hope that Pogba and Escobar coming back doesn't impact his playing time. If I was a betting man, I'd think that Pogba is LGP's backup because they are both very adventurous and Escobar will fight with gressel at the RM position. Edit: https://theathletic.com/851251/2019...r-the-back-three-is-still-a-work-in-progress/
Passing has been my question about Robinson since seeing him in college. The modern USMNT level in terms of passing quality for CBs is fairly high -- even at the U20 level, we've been decent there in recent years. Certainly he can improve that over time but I wouldn't expect it overnight. And of course if he forces his way onto the field anyhow, that's obviously a good thing.
Don’t like hearing this. If he’s constantly planning on passing backwards or laterally because the two other CBs are better at distributing then: 1. He’s not going to improve his passing game as much 2. Other teams are going to pick up on this, especially teams like NYRB with a high press
We have a lot of CB's who struggle in two areas, passing and pace. Being below-average or average in one of the two areas is not a huge problem, but you can't be below-average in both, IMO. We have a lot of players who are below-average in both (Carter-Vickers, Miazga, Zimmerman, Parker, Trusty), but because they are good in the air or make a lot of sliding tackles, they get plaudits. We've used a lot of these types of CB's through the years, and we don't give up a lot of goals, but we also have very little of the ball and are forced to defend very deep. The NT has to go away from using these types of players. Brooks lacks any type of quickness over small areas, but he's probably our best passer among the current crop of NT CB's. Pair him with a quick CB, and that can be the starting pairing. A lot of people have criticized Glad in recent years, but he's a very good fit for what we need at the CB position, mobility and passing. He's at least average, arguably above-average in both areas. When comparing two pretty equal players like Carter-Vickers and Glad, one fits what we need, the other doesn't. I don't understand how a player like Trusty is considered higher in the pecking order than Glad. Was he a better player last season in MLS? Does he fit the needs of the NT at CB better? The answer to both of those is no, IMO. Did he exceed expectations more last season than Glad? Maybe so, but this is where the Glad discussion veers off in the wrong direction, IMO. He was one of the best CB's in MLS in 2017. His 2017 season was as good (or better) than the vaunted Miazga season of 2015 where he earned the Chelsea move. If Glad doesn't progress much more and the best he gets is a very good MLS CB, that'll be good enough for a regular role in our NT. Long is reliable. I do think there are some concerns about him signing a big MLS contract, and regressing. Thats happened to some other promising MLS players. It might keep him from being a starter in 2022, but he's one of our better CB's right now and plays a style we need to see more of in the NT. He's very mobile, and a good passer. EPB gets too much criticism because he hasn't yet reached his potential. Regardless of the reasons, he's currently one of our best CB's, and he's the most mobile CB in the pool. He's also at least an average passer, and his passing plays up because of how much time and space he can buy himself due to his mobility. There are some others coming through the ranks like Richards, McKenzie, Araujo (if LAG doesn't ruin him), etc who could factor into the NT picture in the coming years. I think they all fit the style of play we should be looking for from CB's, but none are NT caliber players yet. As for where Robinson fits into this discussion, he certainly doesn't get the plaudits of players like Carter-Vickers, Trusty, Miazga, Zimmerman, Parker etc, but I think he's a better candidate for that 4th, 5th, 6th depth role. He's definitely one of our most mobile CB's, and he's a very good defender, including good aerial play. As of now, I see the depth chart as 1. Brooks 2/3. Long and EPB (I'd give the nod to EPB, if on form. Otherwise, Long.) 4. Glad 5. The tronco brigade (Carter-Vickers, Miazga, Trusty, Zimmerman) I could see Robinson earning his way to 5th by the end of the season, although I doubt it'll actually happen. If need be and there are problems with those first four, we could always go back to Besler for an important game. He's our best CB IMO, but I do understand the thought-process that we should transition to a younger group of CB's.
I'd expect the MLS number to double in the next few weeks. Last year, MLS was at 16 after after week 4.I don't think it's out of pocket to wager MLS could hit 30+ this year.— MLS Buzz (@MLS_Buzz) March 6, 2019
The flags represent the leagues, not the nationalities, which I found a little confusing at first too
Lindsey is starting in CCL and Busio is on the bench: The XI.#CAIvSKC // #SCCL2019 pic.twitter.com/zkoGNGmhu3— Sporting Kansas City (@SportingKC) March 7, 2019
Lindsey drew the penalty for the equalizer. He was checked behind the goalline after sending a cross in.
Busio was pretty open late in the match there to try and equalize but Russell decided to shoot. He wasn't on there long, but kid is such a fluid athlete even against grown men.
Practice observations from Buzz. He has an interview in which Luchi describes his choice to start Hayes/Acosta last week over other options central midfield options. Here's a tidbit that could impact squad selection for the upcoming game against the Galaxy...............(meaning I think its highly likely that one of our youngsters starts this game. Probably Paxton.) Unfortunately, you can add Jacori Hayes to the injured list too, although I'd call him day to day. After the game on Saturday, he told 3rd Degree's Dan Crooke he was fine. But apparently, he has some tightness in the hamstring. Today he did some jogging and stretching to see if he could give it a go but the decision was made to pull him from training. Given the cold temps that was probably a good idea. https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/soccer/soccer/2019/03/06/fc-dallas-practice-observations-march-6th
Who expected thisNEWS | The Club has signed @ChiFireAcademy product Gabriel Slonina. Welcome, Gabriel!📝: https://t.co/IEl68FDHR1 #cf97 pic.twitter.com/rdUVLiBNDA— Chicago Fire FC (@ChicagoFire) March 8, 2019 Youngest Homegrown signing, second youngest all-time. I guess Las staying on course to go to Europe
Another one. @LAGalaxyAcademy → @LAGalaxyII → #LAGalaxy Welcome to the first team, @ethanzubak! https://t.co/fyF7mg2K5y pic.twitter.com/xAuGOrCNEO— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) March 8, 2019
That goes completely against what I had heard, but I don't mind the Slonina signing. He might not play a first team game before he's out of contract. If he stays on a good course, he'll be out of contract at age 19 or Chicago could transfer him to Europe at 18/19 in his final season. He could've signed somewhere in Europe at age 16 due to possessing an EU passport, but keepers have it much harder with breaking into a first team than do field players. It'll probably be easier for him to work his way up the ranks in a league like MLS than at a major European academy. If he's starting to be integrated into first team minutes the last season or two of his contract, he could extend it another season or two. I don't see much downside in this deal for the player or the club. Chicago hasn't shown much of a willingness to use young American players, so I'm not expecting Slonina to be integrated into the first team before his contract is up, nor would he be ready to play in the first team in the next few seasons. What is the better option though for Slonina? I think this means that Las is definitely headed to Europe. He's a better prospect than Slonina and currently a lot better. What I don't understand is why Las is still at Chicago. He's now 16 and its suspected that he possesses an EU passport. Is he trying to put himself in the shop window at the U-17 WC? I suspect he already has plenty of interest abroad and wouldn't need it.
Well deserved by him, he did a very good season last year with LA Galaxy II and now he will surely be Zlatan's natural replacement, in case he suffers an injury or something like that. Although I imagine that this season will continue playing with LosDos.
Remember when conventional American soccer wisdom was that because GKs mature later, they could still play four years of college and then go pro? Now we're signing 14 year-old 'keepers! The times change fast. https://t.co/HEsYEDkoJl— Brooke Tunstall (@YesThatBrooke) March 8, 2019 BTW, the whole thing about GKs and 4 years of college soccer was always a bit of a myth. Of the 7 #USMNT GKs to get at least 20 caps, only @KaseyKeller18 played 4 years of @NCAASoccer. Tim Howard: 0Tony Meola: 2Brad Friedel: 3Brad Guzan: 2Arnie Mausser: 0Nick Rimando: 3— Brooke Tunstall (@YesThatBrooke) March 8, 2019
Update: Jacori Hayes officially out against LA this weekend. As far as I can tell, that means a youngster has to start. Most likely Pax. And the other two might actually be on the bench (Servania, Cerrillo). On the other hand, Pedroso is off the injury report. So that probably kicks Nelson out of the 18 for this week. Clint Eastwood prediction. ---------------Badji--------------- Mosquera--------------Barrios ----Acosta------Pomykal------- --------------Grueso Hollingshead-Ziegler-Hedges-Cannon --------------Gonzalez------------ Bench: Maurer Bressan Pedroso Servania Cerrillo Aranguiz Ferreira The LA Galaxy injury report used to exceed an entire MLS roster's salary total: Ibrahimovic, Juninho, Alessendrini, and Kitchen all might be out They are quite thin up top. Does Efrain Alvarez start? Do they actually need Ethan Zubak in the 18 this week?