MNT's 2021

[upstater]

And Pulisic never set foot in one either.

Pulisic developed with a DA club. Same league as MLS. His competition was MLS academies. Their training strictly followed US soccer weekly practice plans

 

[upstater]

I'm not quite there yet on Brooks/Zimmerman. No one has grabbed that spot yet and these ended up being easy games for the defense and yet Jamaica got a lot of chances. Mexico will tell a lot.

I’m just pretty critical of Brooks. So sloppy and constantly out of position. Sure he looks good clearing the ball but I’d rather my defenders not make huge mistakes.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Gotcha. Do they have more skills than Pulisic or Reyna though?

Pulisic trained in Europe when he was young and his parents both being players and coaches trained him properly as well. Gio similar deal, his father played and trained all across Europe so he instilled that. Weah can be put into this category as well. Almost all of our best players have had links or trained in Europe. Fabian Johnson another example.

And regardless, yes Dest is more technical than both. And Musah is on there level at the very least.

 

[LIuconn]

Dest might be the sauciest of them all.
And I’d go Musah over McKennie right now and start last nights midfield so Acosta (really????) isn’t in that lineup

 

[HuskyHawk]

Here are your (my) post October power rankings and positional locks (*). (Yes, barring injury and changes in form, we have a few more.) Striker is still wide open even if Pepi is the only one scoring. We thank a few more for applying and a few others moved up by not being here to balance the roster. Other than Striker and reserve CB's, I actually think the 23 is pretty much set. We are going to ride Dest, good and bad.

		Pepi
		Gioacchini
Pulisic*				Reyna*
Arronson*				Arronson*
		McKennie*		Arriola
		Musah*
	Adams*		Acosta*
	Lletget		Lletget
A. Robinson*	M. Robinson*		Brooks	Dest*
Dest	Zimmerman		Ream	Yedlin
			Long	Acosta
		Turner*
		Steffen*
		Horvath

Position Detail	Position Rank	Player	1-23 Rank	Change	Last
LW	1	Pulisic	1		1
RW	1	Reyna	2		2
DM	1	Adams	3		3
G	1	Turner	4	+7	11
LB	1	A. Robinson	5	+3	8
CB	1	M. Robinson	6	-1	5
RB	1	Dest	7	+2	9
AM	1	McKennie	8	-4	4
CB	2	Brooks	9	-2	7
DM	2	Acosta	10	-4	6
RB	2	Yedlin	11	-1	10
ST	1	Pepi	12	+4	16
ST	2	Gioacchini	13	-1	12
LW/RW	2	Arronson	14	+17	31
RW	3	Arriola	15	-1	13
AM	2	Musah	16	+9	25
DM	3	Lletget	17	-1	14
G	2	Steffen	18		18
CB	3	Zimmerman	19	+2	21
ST	3	Sargent	20	-3	17
AM	3	Roldan	21	-2	19
RB	3	Cannon	22	+1	23
G	3	Horvath	23	+1	24
LW	3	Hoppe	24	+2	26
CB	4	Ream	25	-5	20
CB	5	Long	26	+4	30
RW	4	Weah	27	-12	15
CB	6	Miazga	28	-6	22
RB	4	Moore	29	-1	28
ST	5	Dike	30	-1	29
G	4	Johnson	31	+3	34
DM	4	Yueill	32		32
RW	5	Morris	33		33
ST	6	Pefok	34	+1	35
ST	7	Zardes	35	-8	27
G	6	Guzan	36		36
G	5	Ochoa	37		37
ST	8	Altidore	38		38
AM	4	Busio	NR		NR
AM	5	Williamson	NR		NR
CB	7	Richards	NR		NR
CB	8	McKenzie	NR		NR
CB	9	Sands	NR		NR
CB	10	Kessler	NR		NR
CB	11	Pines	NR		NR
LB	3	Bello	NR		NR
LB	4	Vines	NR		NR
LW	4	Konrad	NR		NR
LW	5	Lewis	NR		NR

From what I've seen, I'd replace Brooks with Zimmerman and Acosta with Musah or Weah. Alternatively, I'd rather see Reyna at McKennie's spot, Aaronson starting on the right side (Weah backup) and McKennie in Acosta's spot.

Ultimately we need to find a way to get our best 11 on the pitch in a formation that works to their skills. I think Reyna is our best CM, much better in tight space than McKennie. We've got wingers to spare, and need him more in midfield.

To @LIuconn's point, not sure how we start Acosta with this roster. I like him on the squad as a steady veteran player. A good sub for the more erratic McKennie if we are protecting a lead.

 

[ZooCougar]

Pulisic developed with a DA club. Same league as MLS. His competition was MLS academies. Their training strictly followed US soccer weekly practice plans

Yeah but unlike most DA’s it’s not a total ripoff.

 

[Waquoit]

90% of our best players in Europe played in the development academy league. That is saying something. Pulisic, Adams, McKennie, Reyna, all of them went through US soccer DA clubs

The key thing is, they got out!

 

[upstater]

The key thing is, they got out!

When they were 16!

If the academy is successful, that is when you want them to leave.

Isn't it? Am I wrong?

By the time you're 16, you should've already trained in the academies. It's not like a thing you join when you're 15. By then it's too late.

Adams never left the academy, he just went straight to MLS at 19. Reyna left NYC at 16 and Pulisic left PA Classics right before his 16th birthday.

I like Musah a lot but I don't see him as the most skilled. Dest on the other hand is definitely technically gifted. Weah is not. Brooks is not. (I'm naming guys that were trained in Europe from a young age).

 

[upstater]

Yeah but unlike most DA’s it’s not a total ripoff.

Most DAs are free. I guess you get what you pay for?

At least the people I know with kids at the MLS DAs and several others they don't pay a dime.

Until US Soccer went broke with Covid they actually used to subsidize heavily the non-MLS DAs.

 

[SubbaBub]

I’m just pretty critical of Brooks. So sloppy and constantly out of position. Sure he looks good clearing the ball but I’d rather my defenders not make huge mistakes.

I agree, but you can say that about all but the Robinsons this cycle. We are weak in the back and have trouble scoring.

Every match is going to be a nailbiter as to of we make the big mistake or catch a timely goal.

The fact that Ream is still in the 23 mix shows how weak the pool is. I don't mind GGG experimenting with that other CB spot but he has to do better job of screening in camp that ends up with Richards playing in a key qualifier.

 

[SubbaBub]

From what I've seen, I'd replace Brooks with Zimmerman and Acosta with Musah or Weah. Alternatively, I'd rather see Reyna at McKennie's spot, Aaronson starting on the right side (Weah backup) and McKennie in Acosta's spot.

Ultimately we need to find a way to get our best 11 on the pitch in a formation that works to their skills. I think Reyna is our best CM, much better in tight space than McKennie. We've got wingers to spare, and need him more in midfield.

To @LIuconn's point, not sure how we start Acosta with this roster. I like him on the squad as a steady veteran player. A good sub for the more erratic McKennie if we are protecting a lead.

Right now I have 2 holding mids as the default formation. Adams and Acosta are those two. Other formations would result in changes. From what I've seen I think there is a diminishing return by moving Reyna inside. He like Pulisic is too easily knocked over. Better for the team on the wing. As far as Aronson has come, I don't think he is a starter in a big game. He's looked real good by comparison in this round and his set piece delivery has been good, but his crosses and final third passing aren't enough to put him in Reyna's wing spot, but he's first off the bench right now if either guy goes down or we need to rest them.

You can make a case that our best formation by 2022 will be Adams and McKennie playing behind Musah. That would relegate Lletget of the squad and add guys like Cannon or Sargent.

Though I think GGG is keeping both him and Arriola as known consistent if unspectacular performers. I'm only showing 22 players on the grid at the moment. Injures may decide the last spot.

 

[SubbaBub]

Most DAs are free. I guess you get what you pay for?

At least the people I know with kids at the MLS DAs and several others they don't pay a dime.

Until US Soccer went broke with Covid they actually used to subsidize heavily the non-MLS DAs.

Pay to play is definitely not the way to identify and recruit soccer players. No other nation does that.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Right now I have 2 holding mids as the default formation. Adams and Acosta are those two. Other formations would result in changes. From what I've seen I think there is a diminishing return by moving Reyna inside. He like Pulisic is too easily knocked over. Better for the team on the wing. As far as Aronson has come, I don't think he is a starter in a big game. He's looked real good by comparison in this round and his set piece delivery has been good, but his crosses and final third passing aren't enough to put him in Reyna's wing spot, but he's first off the bench right now if either guy goes down or we need to rest them.

You can make a case that our best formation by 2022 will be Adams and McKennie playing behind Musah. That would relegate Lletget of the squad and add guys like Cannon or Sargent.

Though I think GGG is keeping both him and Arriola as known consistent if unspectacular performers. I'm only showing 22 players on the grid at the moment. Injures may decide the last spot.

Gio isn’t frail or weak on the ball. He’s tall while and protects the ball pretty well. Puli is similar, though not on the same level as Sterling and Hazard, in the way that he gets good leverage while he dribbles, he just gets chopped down a lot. But to your point that Reyna is better on the wing, he’s been much better for both club and country when deployed through the center or inverted, he doesn’t have the blistering pace that Pulisic has, but he has a much more matured passing ability and is more of a creator than Pulisic. I think Reyna through the middle and Weah and Pulisic is our best, most lethal attack right now.

 

[ZooCougar]

Most DAs are free. I guess you get what you pay for?

At least the people I know with kids at the MLS DAs and several others they don't pay a dime.

Until US Soccer went broke with Covid they actually used to subsidize heavily the non-MLS DAs.

They had like 200M in the bank. No way they went broke.

 

[upstater]

They had like 200M in the bank. No way they went broke.

Something happened that blew a hole through their budget because the youth league went belly-up overnight.

 

[upstater]

Pay to play is definitely not the way to identify and recruit soccer players. No other nation does that.

???

This is why I wrote that it's free.

 

[businesslawyer]

Was calling that an own goal the correct call?

Yes. But who cares. As John Sterling says, "that's just bookkeeping."

 

[SubbaBub]

Gio isn’t frail or weak on the ball. He’s tall while and protects the ball pretty well. Puli is similar, though not on the same level as Sterling and Hazard, in the way that he gets good leverage while he dribbles, he just gets chopped down a lot. But to your point that Reyna is better on the wing, he’s been much better for both club and country when deployed through the center or inverted, he doesn’t have the blistering pace that Pulisic has, but he has a much more matured passing ability and is more of a creator than Pulisic. I think Reyna through the middle and Weah and Pulisic is our best, most lethal attack right now.

Not from what I've seen. As for Weah, I still have hopes for him but to be honest he hasn't shown well except against the flotsam. He looked lost of basic spacing and overlapping. The shot was excellent despite the own goal but we can't let that fool us as it has many times before (ahem, Altidore, Zardes). He just wasn't dangerous enough the other 70 minutes he was on the pitch. Still some time left and there are opportunities to make the squad, but for me, he didn't grab the job by the throat like a number of other players have. I'm more excited about the Robinsons, Turner, Musah, Arronson, Reyna, even Pepi staking their claim this summer to go with the guys we knew would be starters. I wasn't expecting so many spots to be locked up by now.

 

[ZooCougar]

???

This is why I wrote that it's free.

It’s not free for everyone.

 

[upstater]

It’s not free for everyone.

Really? Every parent of a kid of I've ever met there (10+) said it was free. Our friends just moved to Atlanta to be with their kid. Father found a new job down there.

Little known fact about Europe though is that if you're not a wunderkind you do pay for club soccer. We had a coach from Spain that annually paid a fee to the club (500e) when he was young.

 

[upstater]

Sargent once again playing great in the Premier league. Clearly, we use him wrong. he's had 2 great plays already, a flick on header that was saved, and settled a long pass cleanly and got off a hard shot (deflected for a corner).

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Sargent once again playing great in the Premier league. Clearly, we use him wrong. he's had 2 great plays already, a flick on header that was saved, and settled a long pass cleanly and got off a hard shot (deflected for a corner).

It’s not solely that we use him wrong. The last 5 or so appearances for us he’s just simply been poor. Invisible, minimal end product, just nothing of note. Pepi has also had games like that but he still pops up with a goal while Sargent doesn’t.

 

[upstater]

It’s not solely that we use him wrong. The last 5 or so appearances for us he’s just simply been poor. Invisible, minimal end product, just nothing of note. Pepi has also had games like that but he still pops up with a goal while Sargent doesn’t.

But I'm going to say he does well against better competition, which he is seeing in the Premier League. Something is really off here.

 

[upstater]

Oh well, Sargent just screwed up royally.

EDIT:

 

[DarthGrumpy]

I don't get people dissing Dest. Without him we tie or lose to both Jamaica and Costa Rica. The first goal was not his fault (or even a mistake). It was good service by Costa Rica and bad coverage by the USA.

I thought we were pretty much dominate but our service from the wings was lacking. We still could have had another goal or two.

And remember no Pulisic, no Brooks, no Pefok even on the roster. If we stay healthy we could be formidable.

The biggest concern is Dest is that in his position on the field, he needs to work just as hard going back to cover as he does going forward to goal and he can't afford to turn-off from time-to-time.