YNT-eligible MLS players: 2021 In-season thread

Interesting to see how much a red card (I think?) absolutely murdered Leon Flach's cumulative contribution.

I don't think that is necessarily wrong, but I'm not sure it's very predictive, either.

@Thundering165 , is that what killed Flach?

It's also interesting that Bassett's contributions on the year versus an average player have largely been in shooting and defensively, the latter being something a bit new for him. Good to see, and the Rapids are sneaky good this year.

 

Flach doesn't have a red this season, maybe it is from a penalty he conceded?, but I can't remember if that was in MLS or CCL play.

Though as someone who watches him every game what is probably hurting his contribution is his offensive limitations. He is still young, still a great work rate and defensive instincts and positioning, but when asked to do more in the attack he is still lacking.

 

Maybe that's it? According to @Thundering165 's charts, he took a massive drop in a single game so I was trying to figure that out.

G+ hates his passing with a fiery passion. I've watched a decent amount of the Union, and I can't say he's popped for me that way, either way. But G+ has him as one of the worst players in MLS this year (although part of that is that he's maintained PT) primarily because it sees him as an awful passer.

Then again, G+ is a pretty new metric and while it returns numbers that are usually to expectations, there are some weird, counter-intuitive parts at times. I wish there was a way to see inside the engine a bit more and understand why some of these are coming through.

Sometimes a new metric reveals a truth that common knowledge has gotten wrong. And sometimes it's incorrect, or a incomplete, or a quirk of the way things are divided up.

I remember when Bill James put out Win Shares -- a short-lived predecessor to WAR -- and it came out that Craig Biggio was as valuable as Ken Griffey, Jr., which in the late 90s was somewhat sacrilege. But by showing the math, you could see that Griffey hit more home runs ... and Biggio did everything else pretty much better, including things you didn't really consider, like the fact that Biggio never grounded into double plays and Griffey would do so 20+ times a year.

I think G+ needs to start on some of those explainers, because there's enough counter-intuitive results in there that the methodology needs to be explained better before I take any of it too seriously.

 

As an FC Dallas fan I'm consigned to doing this. Feels like we're a AAA franchise and I get to see the players before they go off to the bigs. Guess it's a lot better than being a fan of a similar level team that doesn't send anyone to the bigs. I sometimes imagine what they'd look like were they able (no team anywhere actually does this) to hold onto every player.

 

Yup I thought about if things would be better as an FC Dallas local. At least they have a direction/plan for what they want to be. Aside from this season it felt like the Revs have had no idea what they want to be.

The one thing I’m worried about with FC Dallas going forward is how many of their prospects will commit to the US vs. Mexico. Less of a worry for many other clubs with different demographics. We could all get excited about one guy only for it all to be a waste for us USMNT fans in the end.

If I were to have lived somewhere else or have another MLS club with the same players, operations, academy, fans, etc replace the Revs I think Philly would be the one. Great source of US prospects and they’re highly competitive.

 

Yea something changed with his game. He looked to be a highly influential midfielder at the start of the season on both defense and offense (mostly defense) to suddenly looking very average.

To your point he’s still young so if he can put things together more consistently and not have another slump he’ll be a great sale for Philly in a couple years or so.

 

Sometimes it's just the beating of playing so much and for players from elsewhere the travel, different surfaces, altitudes and weather are just things no other country goes through.

 

Most would stagnate because that's what empirically has happened over the years and is logical because football is a sport that requires a lot of inspiration to turn into perspiration. The increased financial compensation is a motivator, but that's still not nearly what it would be in Europe, and the vast majority of players want to see how they'd fare against the best, which don't exist in MLS.

So this has always been a false dichotomy/dilemma - we release players for a fee to be a moneymaking club or we win. At a point those two things go hand-in-hand. It just doesn't much to the extreme FCD often does it where they're transferring guys before they could help the big club.

I think FCD would be on pace to make the playoffs if they stuck with the youth integration plan from the beginning the season and didn't have as many injuries. There is still time to make the playoffs though, and then who knows. Last year get out of the first round because of guys like Pepi. Tough draws in Seattle the last two seasons.

 

but none of the metrics like Flach's game. The one that's most favorable is Fotmob, which has him 9th on the Union. He's 13th on Sofascore. Whoscored has him at 11th, but that's only because he starts. His rating for a starter is really bad - 6.65, the worst of their regular starters.

I think people jumped the gun in regards to a pretty good handful of games at the beginning. He and they were demanding a call-up already. Shows what novelty and a Euro sheen can do for a player.

Scouting-wise, he's a try hard type. That's going to give him a job for a long time. But there's nothing stand out about him technically, creatively, physically, etc. I'd rate him as average, below average, mediocre; respectively.

 

Not to sound like that kind of coach, but a lot of the stuff Flach does I imagine would not show up on the stat sheet, or even the coolest advanced metrics. Things like recognizing when Wagner has pushed forward (as he always does) and dropping back to cover the left side of the field, or chasing down an attacker when one of our attacks inevitble stalls and Martinez turns the ball over.

To be clear, I agree 100% that the offensive side of his game has been exposed and he needs to get better there, but he is still a great defensive 8 with high soccer IQ and a great work rate.

There is a reason he has earned so many minutes for a good team in the East (relatively, our record and current play is not that good at all), and is getting minutes from Curtin who usually brings young players along very slowly and deliberately.

 

He's 20, not 17. And defensive mid is one of the team's weakest positions. If he was 17 and an a-mid - Sullivan, Aaronson, heck even McGlynn would be dunking all over him. They arguably are already better, but play a different role.

 

I don’t think Flach is great, but there are some tools there. He works hard, he’s good defensively, he has a good soccer IQ, his technical ability isn’t bad, and he’s versatile. He can play 3 positions, and potentially a 4th (maybe CB).

There are people who would tell you that any number of young players moving up the club ladder aren’t that good (Tessmann, Busio, Bassett, Reynolds). There are a lot of different opinions on players. Not everyone is a Pepi or Gomez where it’s widely agreed they are great players. Ernst Tanner worked before in Europe, so he could help Flach get a move. He’s playing a lot for one of the best teams in MLS. There should be some European interest within the next year or two, and he’ll probably return to Europe. From there, he’ll then need to take advantage of it once he gets to Europe. That’s the same for any player. He has a chance to play for the NT, depending on how he develops. Aaronson and McKenzie weren’t considered the most talented players either their first full season in MLS.

 

I think Leon has ability but overall technically is very limited. He just doesn’t bring much in his game on the ball. Is he poor on the ball? No, but he’ll never be a player who will win games by creating with the ball at his feet. He makes up for this in his ability to intelligently cover ground but with the ball at his feet he’s just average. I think he’ll carve out a very good career in MLS or a level slightly above MLS in Europe. For the USMNT I don’t view him as a long term prospect just because the pool is getting deeper and more competitive in midfield. Leon will have a very long professional career at a respectable level

 

Does anyone have any thoughts on why Cameron Harper has played so little for NYRB this season? They aren't that good, and he isn't that young ('01). He should be capable of getting regular minutes for them. I've watched his USL performances, and he was a level above USL. I don't think he came from Celtic, where he was on the cusp of breaking through regularly, to play in USL.

 

LEVEL AGAIN 3-3!! THIS GAME!!#LAFCvLA // Heineken #RivalryWeek pic.twitter.com/1UmTwdJbrL

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 29, 2021

 

It seems problematic that he signed with a club that mostly doesn't use wingers.

 

Gaines was listed as "OUT - Pevlic stress fracture" yesterday. Totally bizarre if the injury was known prior to signing him to MLS deal. Hopefully he is back soon and gets a fair shake to earn minutes at fullback. Like I said upthread, Moon and Blackmon are not insurmountable incumbents but incumbents nonetheless. Gaines would do well to emulate Moon's offensive play while improving on Moon's defense which has been a liability this season. Again, I dont see many minutes coming for Duke or Torres barring injury. Leone seems at least 4th on the CB depth chart behind Fall, Murillo (whose stock is falling fast), and Ibeagha (brought in as an experienced depth option). I think Leone, Fall, Murillo, and Segura (when he recovers mid 2022) could be a good CB corps. Wouldn't be surprised to see LAFC try to bring in another CB in the offseason. I've never bought into Bob prioritizing foreign/older players, I think it is just taking time to get the domestic depth through the academy. We aren't talking about GBS or Tata here this is a former USMNT coach who knows the domestic player well.. Trading domestic players away is more a function of wanting to improve the team and looking for flexibility....domestic players having more trade interest generally. That being said I think there will be lots of turnover to the roster this offseason regardless of Bob staying or going, and I expect a Philly/SKC style domestic roster build supplemented by young money signing and high upside international DPs.

 

Anyone else have a better memory of the Philly-DC match last night? (I was half-watching while at work.) My recollection of DC's second goal, which ended up being the gamewinner, is that it came after the defense cleared a ball back to DC following a pretty audacious attack by Paredes on two defenders -- he beat them both, but the touch was just hard enough that a third defender was able to get to it first, and the clearance ended up with DC, which turned into the goal. (Paredes was also on the doorstep and might have gotten to the rebound Reyna put in, though his position wasn't as good and a defender might've gotten there first.)

It's possible that I remember this wrong and unfortunately I couldn't easily find the play in highlights.

 

Dewsnup made the bench for the first time.

 

Elite passing and tackling. I always liked the idea of using him as a midfielder. He’s gotten better at RB, but his skillset is better at other positions.

1432052399682867203 is not a valid tweet id

 

The player who started yesterday for RSL in goal. If the first two keepers are unavailable the next game, it’d be stupid to not play Dewsnup.

Brian White makes it 2-0 @WhitecapsFC in the 53rd minute. #RSL #RSLonKSL #VANvRSL pic.twitter.com/hldOnKbhln

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) August 30, 2021

 

Sources: Colorado Rapids and Benfica agreed to framework of a club-record transfer for Cole Bassett, but he turned it down to stay through end of MLS season + chase a trophy

Bassett, 20, likely to move in winter. Vitesse, Anderlecht among clubs interestedhttps://t.co/mEHgOIunqJ

— Tom Bogert (@tombogert) August 31, 2021

Bassett would have trained with the Benfica first team, played games with the B team to start. He wanted to chase a trophy with his hometown club, likely move somewhere in the winter.

Rapids' record transfer is Sam Vines, set earlier this summer in a deal potentially worth $2m.

— Tom Bogert (@tombogert) August 31, 2021

 

Good decision. I prefer he not be in Portugal so I like him waiting and shows good understanding with between him and the club

 

I’d also prefer our players not sign in Portugal and starting with the B team does not sound like a favorable situation for a regular in MLS. Hopefully he has better interest in the winter.

 

Cole Bassett spoke at length about turning down Benfica:

🗣"If it was a straight first-team gig, there would be no questioning that I would have made the decision." pic.twitter.com/xJ5Bg1hDzQ

— USMNT Universe (@UsmntU) September 2, 2021