Pulisic

[connectikev]

I believe that some people could have a ham under each arm, and complain about a lack of bread.

Pulisic is an 18 year old starter for the US Men's National Team. He is (basically) a starter for one of the top teams in a top European League. How many other starters (USMNT members) can you name from the top leagues in Spain, Italy, France, Portugal, Germany, and England? How are their stats in comparison?

While it would have been fantastic to see him notch a hat trick against Mexico - the USMNT plan for the evening was to defend (in a very compact manner) and to try to out run Mexico on the occasion counter attack.

To dismiss his achievements to date seems "over the top" - He is not Messi, He is not Christiano, he is not Pele. He is however, the tip of the sword for the newer generation of US talent that is starting to come through.

Would you be happier if our best option for 2018 and beyond was to keep rolling with Clint Dempsey?

 

[HuskyHawk]

He had 5 goals in 41 total matches this past season for Dortmund

Not exactly domination

I like him a lot, but the hype is a little extreme at this point. It's more a reflection of how bad US soccer is and has been

As much as I disagree with what you've said in this thread, there is a ring of truth here. We have been starved for creative offensive players. Donovan, Reyna...that's about it. Dempsey has a knack for scoring, but isn't particularly creative. We've always had some speed, but rarely the technical skill and creativity that Pulisic has.

But nobody is comparing him to Messi, or any great star of the past. Bayern Munich, Liverpool and possibly Tottenham may start bidding for him, although he says he's not going to Liverpool right now. He'll carry the highest transfer cost of any U.S. player in history when he moves, and deservedly so.

So we are optimistic about what an 18 year old kid being pursued by Champions League level clubs can become. Why must you be such a pessimist? Freddy Adu? Really?

 

[meyers7]

I believe that some people could have a ham under each arm, and complain about a lack of bread.

So we are optimistic about what an 18 year old kid being pursued by Champions League level clubs can become. Why must you be such a pessimist? Freddy Adu? Really?

JSM is not really even a glass half full type of guy.

More like.....

 

[ZooCougar]

His production is against awful teams

He was terrible against Mexico, the one and only play he made his shot wasn't anywhere on goal

He could turn into a great player, who knows, time will tell.

Good grief. You're a moron.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

He needed to go left corner, which would have been Messi, Neymaresque

Yup, that would have worked out well going through not one, but 2 Mexican backs as well as across El Tri's goaltender positioned closer to the center of goal than the right woodwork. Other than the latter such facts, your typical analysis was full of inaccuracy. Consistent and wrong, but fully expected based on most of your comments. Post less, or elsewhere far, far away.

 

[ZooCougar]

He had 5 goals in 41 total matches this past season for Dortmund

Not exactly domination

I like him a lot, but the hype is a little extreme at this point. It's more a reflection of how bad US soccer is and has been

Do you actually follow soccer? Using only the goal metric misses most of the picture.

There are only one or two 18 year olds in the world that are rated higher than him. That's the way it is.

 

[UConnDan97]

This thread is an amazing attempt by one person to make the rest of the world believe something that isn't true.

It's okay not to anoint Pulisic the great American hope yet. But to say that he is anything less than our most promising player right now is just someone's poor attempt to become the contrarian. Really, really poor attempt...

 

[ZooCougar]

This is so embarrassing I am going to have to put you back on Ignore. But we'll always have Gay together.

Honestly, people like him are so stupid they should just go off themselves and quit polluting our gene pool.

 

[ZooCougar]

This thread is an amazing attempt by one person to make the rest of the world believe something that isn't true.

It's okay not to anoint Pulisic the great American hope yet. But to say that he is anything less than our most promising player right now is just someone's poor attempt to become the contrarian. Really, really poor attempt...

He's our best player ever barring something catastrophic.

 

[ZooCougar]

"It's more about people thinking he's the next Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar vs. what he is."

Literally nobody is saying this.


"He was awful last night against a terrible Mexico team."

He was mediocre against the #17 ranked team in the FIFA rankings in a place where they rarely lose a match of consequence.

He's closer to Freddy Adu than any of them.

Try harder. If you're going to try to be a contrarian, you need to be a bit more sophisticated than this.

Exactly. The whole team was mediocre the other night. That performance overall was pretty mediocre. But we also have a glorified gym teacher running the team now so....

 

[UConnDan97]

He's our best player ever barring something catastrophic.

Slow your roll, my friend. He's got to accomplish it first. "Best player ever" is a title that is used after it's achieved, not before.

But yes, it looks like he has all of the tools and talent to be that person in time...

 

[ZooCougar]

Slow your roll, my friend. He's got to accomplish it first. "Best player ever" is a title that is used after it's achieved, not before.

But yes, it looks like he has all of the tools and talent to be that person in time...

Please. Best player ever to date with ease. Better than Dempsey and Landycakes with ease.

 

[UConnDan97]

Please. Best player ever to date with ease. Better than Dempsey and Landycakes with ease.

That's a ridiculous statement. Please stop. Let the kid accomplish the great feats before you brag about them.

I love the kid, and I hope he becomes everything that I think he can become. But there is a long way to go...

 

[ZooCougar]

That's a ridiculous statement. Please stop. Let the kid accomplish the great feats before you brag about them.

I love the kid, and I hope he becomes everything that I think he can become. But there is a long way to go...

Just go stand in the corner with Alexi Lalas then.

 

[Excalibur]

But we also have a glorified gym teacher running the team now so....

Please. Best player ever to date with ease. Better than Dempsey and Landycakes with ease.

Just go stand in the corner with Alexi Lalas then.

Everyone has their schtick. At least you're consistent . . .

 

[HuskyHawk]

That's a ridiculous statement. Please stop. Let the kid accomplish the great feats before you brag about them.

I love the kid, and I hope he becomes everything that I think he can become. But there is a long way to go...

Would you say he's the best and most accomplished U-20 player ever? I think that's easy to say.

 

[UConnDan97]

Would you say he's the best and most accomplished U-20 player ever? I think that's easy to say.

Okay. But that doesn't change the discussion and the fact that Zoo just really really wants to find new ways to hate on Donovan. We have to wait and see. And believe me, I'm just as excited as everyone else is.

A perfect example of waiting to see is John O'Brien. The kid was an extremely good player and was part of the Ajax system as a teenager. But he was riddled with injuries throughout his short career. Even Donovan thought O'Brien was the better player. It was just some very crappy luck.

Again, I hope Pulisic becomes everything I think he can become, because I think he can become something great...

 

[HuskyHawk]

Okay. But that doesn't change the discussion and the fact that Zoo just really really wants to find new ways to hate on Donovan. We have to wait and see. And believe me, I'm just as excited as everyone else is.

A perfect example of waiting to see is John O'Brien. The kid was an extremely good player and was part of the Ajax system as a teenager. But he was riddled with injuries throughout his short career. Even Donovan thought O'Brien was the better player. It was just some very crappy luck.

Again, I hope Pulisic becomes everything I think he can become, because I think he can become something great...

Different players. I'd love to have a young Donovan on this team. But I'd say Pulisic has already done more in Europe than Donovan accomplished in his entire career. He spent years at lower division Leverkusen and then was loaned to San Jose before he finally arrived at the Bundisliga, where he did nothing really and went back to MLS. It's a projection, but Pulisic projects to be the better player. That's not a knock on Donovan. Dempsey remains the one attacking player who actually played at a high level on a upper division European club.

 

[Excalibur]

Different players. I'd love to have a young Donovan on this team. But I'd say Pulisic has already done more in Europe than Donovan accomplished in his entire career. He spent years at lower division Leverkusen and then was loaned to San Jose before he finally arrived at the Bundisliga, where he did nothing really and went back to MLS. It's a projection, but Pulisic projects to be the better player. That's not a knock on Donovan. Dempsey remains the one attacking player who actually played at a high level on a upper division European club.

On the current squad? Yes. Historically, Brian McBride played at a high level for Fulham for 4+ years.

 

[HuskyHawk]

On the current squad? Yes. Historically, Brian McBride played at a high level for Fulham for 4+ years.

Good point. Totally forgot about that. I meant all time.

Jozy was pretty good for AZ, but did nothing at Sunderland. Wood is showing some promise at Hamburg now. But it's taken him several years to get to the Bundlesliga until he finally has a strong year at Union Berlin.

 

[UConnDan97]

Different players. I'd love to have a young Donovan on this team. But I'd say Pulisic has already done more in Europe than Donovan accomplished in his entire career. He spent years at lower division Leverkusen and then was loaned to San Jose before he finally arrived at the Bundisliga, where he did nothing really and went back to MLS. It's a projection, but Pulisic projects to be the better player. That's not a knock on Donovan. Dempsey remains the one attacking player who actually played at a high level on a upper division European club.

I agree that Pulisic projects to be a better player. He only has to do it now. And I think he will.

As far as Dempsey goes, I'm already on record as saying that for me, he is the best American to ever play the game. Better than Donovan too. And he had a long and successful career in the Premiership with both Fulham and Tottenham. He was averaging scoring a goal once every third game over his English career, and he single-handedly saved Fulham from relegation multiple times. He was fun to watch, and still is fun to watch when he's feeling good (obviously his best days are behind him). But here's hoping that Pulisic shatters all the records...

 

[SAMCRO]

I'm keeping an eye on CCV, EPB (Erik Palmer-Brown), Josh Sargent and Brooks Lennon, and how they do with their clubs this coming season. Hopefully Sargent signs with with the right club who can continue to develop him. Ideally, the US gets 6 points from their next 2 v CR and @ Honduras, and the other results come in where we have a top 3 finish in the Hex secured so Arena can introduce a CCV or EPB to WCQ action. Long shot, but would be ideal. I'd love to see CCV get capped before Russia. Those 4 may not factor in qualifying, but if they have a exceptionally good season for their clubs, 1 or 2 could be in contention for Russia.

 

[LIuconn]

We have plenty of 18-20 yr olds on good Euro clubs that will fight for first team minutes this season.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I'm keeping an eye on CCV, EPB (Erik Palmer-Brown), Josh Sargent and Brooks Lennon, and how they do with their clubs this coming season. Hopefully Sargent signs with with the right club who can continue to develop him. Ideally, the US gets 6 points from their next 2 v CR and @ Honduras, and the other results come in where we have a top 3 finish in the Hex secured so Arena can introduce a CCV or EPB to WCQ action. Long shot, but would be ideal. I'd love to see CCV get capped before Russia. Those 4 may not factor in qualifying, but if they have a exceptionally good season for their clubs, 1 or 2 could be in contention for Russia.

Well we got the needed tie between Honduras and Panama yesterday. CR beat T&T as I expected. If we can get a win against CR, we are in great shape. I think they'll win the return game against T&T and both Honduras and Panama are inferior sides if we just play our game.

I'm all for a youth movement on the USMNT. I think Nagbe has already shown he should be a regular.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I'm keeping an eye on CCV, EPB (Erik Palmer-Brown), Josh Sargent and Brooks Lennon, and how they do with their clubs this coming season. Hopefully Sargent signs with with the right club who can continue to develop him. Ideally, the US gets 6 points from their next 2 v CR and @ Honduras, and the other results come in where we have a top 3 finish in the Hex secured so Arena can introduce a CCV or EPB to WCQ action. Long shot, but would be ideal. I'd love to see CCV get capped before Russia. Those 4 may not factor in qualifying, but if they have a exceptionally good season for their clubs, 1 or 2 could be in contention for Russia.

CCV can play for England if he chooses right? Would seem to be the key guy to get capped and lock up.