DeGrozz
All American
- Joined
- Aug 24, 2011
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- 4,230
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Love the inclusion of Roldan! He really showed some diversity last night playing more disruptive than he's normally called upon to do. He really should be a nice addition to the team in the next cycle. I think he'd work great in your lineup because he let's players play off of him very naturally -- I think it has to do with how good he is with the ball in tight spaces -- and that could really help out Pulisic.
Tyler Adams is gonna provide a lot of diversity for the team. I talk about the kid all the time, but in the first half tonight and the elimination game last week, he's been excellent. I feel we are watching a career take off right now. He's good in defense, smooth on the ball, tough, and really smart in possession for an 18 year old.
One player to keep an eye on is Tim Weah. He should be 20/21/22 -- somewhere around there next world cup. Training at one of the top clubs in the world can't hurt either, as well as being the son of the one-time greatest player in the game. PSG has been doing a lot right recently.
A name that doesn't pop up too often, but maybe should is Matthew Olosunde (sp?). The only reason I say that is because he had been making a position for himself in the Man U U-23 defense. I think he may currently be injured, but he's 19 and him getting playing time has gotta be a pretty good sign. I know nothing else about him, but I like the pedigree.
Other than that, if we are looking for our next Donovan/Beasley 2002 roles, we have 2 youths at Barca, including one of their top prospects, and a handful of dual-nationals at Bayern -- all who should be in the 18-20 range come 2022. I think the Bayern kids may be leaning Deutch, but one can hope.
I don't like Steffen as much as many do -- especially after his monster performance against ATL (he also had a mixed bag of brilliant saves and boneheaded plays against NYCFC the game prior). We are going to be looking for consistency in the back this cycle. For me, he's made way too many boneheaded plays this year to earn his spot. He has potential and should be really maturing in the next 4 years, but I like quite a few 24 to 28 year-old keepers more than him right now.
Now, I'll give you my unpopular opinion. I don't think Jordan Morris should be written off yet. This year, for both club and country, he's regressed. But I'll point to his 2016 club campaign to show he does have promise. He's on the opposite end of the spectrum from our golden boy Pulisic in nearly every aspect of the game. He's a brute athlete, he's not smooth, he has terrible form in most things he does, but I've watched him do a lot of nice things on the soccer field. He scores in a variety of ways, he is better with the ball at his feet than people give him credit for, I think he moves defenders well off of the ball and does make nice runs when he catches defenders out of position. He was definitely a big part of Deuce's resurgence in 2016. He's got a lot to prove to get back in the picture, but I just can't write him off yet, based on prior results.
Giovinco just hit a nasty free kick too! After opening night, there have been some good games in the MLS playoffs recently if you haven't been paying attention!
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