wolf stansson

Wes immediately fitting into the role Pirlo has for him very well.

Yedlin was the first academy product to go big, but even he spent time at Dayton playing college ball. He was the growing green shoot peeking up through the dirt that showed the value of investment. Seattle got millions and reinvested in the club, began an MLS dynasty. Richards, McKennie, Reyna, and others are the first real fruits the tree has yielded, so if you think about a future where all MLS clubs have a pro development academy and they’re willing to sell the best products young, we will never be without world class talent at the senior level ever again. Not at every position, but we’re going to have players at elite clubs from now on. Young black dudes from SEC country like Weston and Richards playing soccer is obviously a recipe for American athletic success. Now, MLS has two clubs in Florida, 3 in Texas, and clubs in Tennessee and Georgia. Charlotte is coming. The kids in those regions now have a legit path to a pro soccer career in their backyard. USYNT are going to get more athletic and more black & brown, which is obviously a good thing for US Soccer.

Best CB prospect we’ve ever had. MLS academies are really doing their part. Can’t wait to see them further developed. Really like MLS embracing being a selling league.

Hell yeah

Drew a penalty. My jr year I got a 29 on my act without a calculator. Basically the same dude. Guys, I turned 35 yesterday and I’m working through some aging stuff emotionally.

Combined age on that Bellingham-Reyna hook up for the goal is less than Cristiano Ronaldo’s age. Pulisic was 100 days younger on his first league goal so that record remains safe. Operation “admire the development of a teenage boy” continues to be a success. When I was 17 I was suspended from school for a week for brandishing a paintball gun in the back of a convertible in my high schools parking lot. Local cop said I was lucky he wasn’t there or he would’ve shot me. Me & Gio are equally cool is what I’m saying.

Reyna starting at CAM behind Haaland & Sancho today.

Load management continues

Koeman taking over helps his chances for sure. Koeman probably a bad hire for Barca, but a good one for Dest if he does go there.

https://soccer.nbcsports.com/2020/09/16/sergino-dest-to-barcelona-transfer-news-ajax-usmnt/ Sounds like the Dest move to Barca is still on. I love the idea that 2 19 year old Americans are part of the “Jesus Christ who the horsefeathers are any of these dudes” wave that Messi will be riding this year. It’s very funny to me.

I’ve always thought it’s where he needs to be as well. Also, Jordan Morris definitely couldn’t do this two years ago:

Relevant to our earlier national team best 11 discussion, Tyler Adams has found a home as a deep lying playmaker/ball winner for RB. 1 game in & 1 man of the match to show for it.

No CP in the squad. Couple of notable starters debuting, however.

So they say. He’s training: https://www.instagram.com/p/CE8s8CjHhdK/?igshid=152c2h9xcixye Gio agrees with my midfield selection. Thank you, Gio. He probably doesn’t agree with me having him on the bench for now.

Pulisic is fully healthy for the opener and is now officially wearing the #10.

And it sure seems like these prices are deflated by like 25% from pre-covid. That transfer ban was the best thing that could’ve happened to that club. It’s totally changed their culture and coincidentally positioned them to capitalize on this crucial transfer window. I even love the Thiago Silva rental.

Really good profile on Reyna, his upbringing, and what life is like for a 17 year old American thrust into the biggest stage far from family and home during a global health crisis & social unrest: https://www.espn.com/soccer/united-states-usa/story/4168106/gio-reynathe-son-of-captain-americais-us-soccers-next-superhero?platform=amp#click=https://t.co/SJlSm0h243 https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1301913206177267712?s=20 Can’t help but wonder if having your dad as your manager is the right move in this situation. That’s not even taking how much tax trouble his dad has gotten him into over the years into consideration. Get a real agent, bro. Like, 15 years ago.

All I know is that I watch the majority of his club games and he has become a very efficient, physical, and dynamic presence that opens up a ton of space for Nico Lodeiro and Ruidiaz. He is a physical specimen who grinds defenders down throughout the game with his pace and power. He is a physical counter-defender who is fast enough to overlap defensively with the left back. He is a true winger who pulls defenders wide because with his speed and improved passing game, they must account for him or he'll get behind them and finish chances crashing into the box. The Sounders have created a dynasty for a bunch of reasons, but one of the biggest has been his development and the space he creates for the other attackers. Before his rise, the Sounders attack was very Arsenalish in that they would be by far the better team between the boxes, but their attack would bunch up/stall out as soon as they were in scoring range and they'd continually try to pass their way out of it. Since his rise on the wing, there has been way more space in the attack and that has made all the difference for Seattle to become a team that win MLS cups vs just always making the playoffs. So think about our MNT roster. We have dynamic attacking left back who likes to overlap and get into the attack, but needs a speedy winger who can cover defensively and press aggressively to win balls back. Jordan Morris: Check. We have an offensive superstar who needs space to be successful. CONCACAF will foul him into dust if they can get away with it. Pulisic, much like Lodeiro, needs wingers who can draw defenders away from the edge of the box. Jordan Morris: Check. We have regional opponents who bunker behind the ball and the only way to open them up is often with speed on the counter. Jordan Morris: Check. He's really good and if he moved to Europe, everyone would know it. If he doesn't, he'll still be really good, he'll just have to deal with a lot of people who think a 17 year old who struggles with consistency and has never had to play in CONCACAF qualifying conditions is a better option.

He's a blunt instrument, but an extremely effective blunt instrument. It's just direct speed and power, so whether you start him or bring him off the bench, he's turned into a real weapon for the national team. And he has defied my expectations for technical development so far, especially being a college to MLS guy (perhaps the last of his kind at the elite national team level), so I think he may genuinely have room to grow in that capacity.

When are we going to start questioning Jordan Morris staying in MLS? He’s good enough to be a starter at a mid-table or better club in Europe. He makes good money playing for his hometown team (his dad is even team physician) so I don’t blame him for staying, but damn he’s take a leap. https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2020/08/31/top-takeaways-jordan-morris-second-best-attacking-player-mls-lafcs-defensive-woes Also, I’ll cop to never watching philly, but it sure seems like Brendan Aaronsen is one to watch (mentioned by TT previously).

https://sbisoccer.com/2020/08/kohfeldt-i-cant-imagine-a-starting-lineup-without-sargent/amp This sounds really promising for Sargent. This podcast with a Serie A expert is also really promising for McKennie’s likely role with Juve: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/total-soccer-show-usmnt-champions-league-epl-and-more/id327466681?i=1000489460679

Schalke saying the vesting trigger for the permanent move is just Juve qualifying for the champions league. Lock.

Regardless of who you start on the wing and who you bring off the bench, that front 5 is seriously, seriously fast.

Been a long time since I cared enough to play this game, but I'm ready! I'm not going to try to think like Gregggg and think systematically, I'm just going to pick my best 11. ----------------------Steffen Dest--------Long--------------Brooks------Robinson ----------------------Nagbe ----------Adams-------------McKennie Morris----------------------------------Pulisic ---------------------Jozy What I'm doing here is not getting the most talent on that I can. If I did, I would put Dest at LB and throw in Cannon or Yedlin (who is still very good). I just think Dest is the type of player that you put in his best position, the position he will be playing for giant clubs for the next ten years, and don't mess with him. I am as excited about Reyna as anyone, but Jordan Morris is more than one level above in terms of consistency and maturity. He's a game changer at the CONCACAF/qualifying level with his speed and power. I would also put a healthy Weah above Reyna at this point. Striker is obviously the biggest issue. The dropoff between Jozy and Sargent is huge, and we know that Jozy's health has been an issue for a decade now and the older he gets, the harder it is to depend on him. When fit, he's still by far our best option, especially with his ability to combine with Pulisic in a way that won't slow CP down by making the wrong run/read/pass. It really sucks that he's been our best striker for more than a decade and we haven't developed anyone even close to stepping up to fill his shoes. Nagbe as regista is a bit of an outlier in that he stopped accepting call-up's and has been more of a box-to-box player, but with his ability to advance possession with the ball at his feet and the speed and athleticism of Adams, McKennie, Morris, and Pulisic, I think he's the best deep offensive initiator in the pool, even if it's not his natural position. A prime Claudio Reyna or John O'Brien would unlock this team's offense in a big way, and I think Nagbe has that in him. The space those other midfielders can open up with combination play and slashing runs could give Nagbe more space than he's ever had, and he's an assassin in space. Plus, every now and then he'll uncork something like this (lol at the wet noodle of a layoff from Zardes):