Mark-Anthony Kaye

[Shway]

He's plateaued but I'll always admire his come up, and story.

Don't like him at TFC, but I appreciate his commitment to Canada whether his time has come to an end or not.

[Stryker911]

3 hours ago, Dominic94 said:

Bobs second son is the first casualty of the new era

Traded for another one of Bob's sons.

[BearcatSA]

5 hours ago, narduch said:

Going to be hilarious when he does well there

Going from one former USMNT manager to another.  

I really hope he does well there.

[Obinna]

Good luck to him. Following the Jozy Altidore career path right now. 

I hope he can rediscover his form, but I think he needs to reinvent himself as a player. It's been clear for a while that he doesn't have the legs to still do what he did well for Canada and LAFC, which is get around the park playing box to box. We saw it with Michael Bradley too, but what I think may surprise people is how early it happened. That's the reality though. Players age differently and unfortunately for Kaye it's happening before 30. Just doesn't seem to have that athleticism which allowed him to be dynamic and execute plays. 

This is why I bring up Michael Bradley. He's had to reinvent himself in order to be effective. He'll never be the same player he was, but playing deeper and relying on his brain is what's extended his career. Kaye will have to do the same thing.

So where should he play? Well he can learn to play differently as a midfielder as MB has done, or he could convert to another position. CB or LB seem more likely, but I think LB could be more successful. He's played there before and depending on how he plays the position, he could use that left foot of his to good effect. He's always been a good playmaker and he'll have more time on the ball to pick out passes. In turn that could reduce his turnovers. 

This is how I would use Kaye if I were Arena. I think in midfield he has a short shelve life and I think he ought to make a positional transition sooner than later for the sake of his career. I can see him being a good player in MLS still from LB. Not good enough for NT duty though. I won't be surprised if Kaye doesn't build on his 40 caps.

[SoccMan]

17 hours ago, narduch said:

Going to be hilarious when he does well there

What if he doesn’t and is the same caught in possession, losing possession and dribbling into traffic kind of player he has been for Canada, Colorado and TFC the past few seasons then what ? 

[rydermike]

Now official

 

Edited July 13, 2023 by rydermike

[GasPed]

13 hours ago, Obinna said:

Good luck to him. Following the Jozy Altidore career path right now. 

I hope he can rediscover his form, but I think he needs to reinvent himself as a player. It's been clear for a while that he doesn't have the legs to still do what he did well for Canada and LAFC, which is get around the park playing box to box. We saw it with Michael Bradley too, but what I think may surprise people is how early it happened. That's the reality though. Players age differently and unfortunately for Kaye it's happening before 30. Just doesn't seem to have that athleticism which allowed him to be dynamic and execute plays. 

This is why I bring up Michael Bradley. He's had to reinvent himself in order to be effective. He'll never be the same player he was, but playing deeper and relying on his brain is what's extended his career. Kaye will have to do the same thing.

So where should he play? Well he can learn to play differently as a midfielder as MB has done, or he could convert to another position. CB or LB seem more likely, but I think LB could be more successful. He's played there before and depending on how he plays the position, he could use that left foot of his to good effect. He's always been a good playmaker and he'll have more time on the ball to pick out passes. In turn that could reduce his turnovers. 

This is how I would use Kaye if I were Arena. I think in midfield he has a short shelve life and I think he ought to make a positional transition sooner than later for the sake of his career. I can see him being a good player in MLS still from LB. Not good enough for NT duty though. I won't be surprised if Kaye doesn't build on his 40 caps.

I just can't see MAK at LB - certainly the modern fullback has to be very mobile and that's exactly what MAK is not.

I do agree though that he really has to reinvent or recover something.  To my eyes, not only has he lost some athleticism, but he's also lost some of the quick feet technical ability that he used to have.   I used to think of him as Atiba 2.0 - slow, but long, with a fantastic touch and vision.  Now he's just slow.  I thought his touch was good once upon a time, but now it's plainly not, and you combine that with a penchant for risky, line-splitting passes and he is a turnover bot.  And frankly, even a CB can't play that way and get away with it.

It's also possible that he's regressing to the mean - that the MAK who had two great years in LAFC is actually an anomaly, and the MAK who is a career USLer is the reality.  I really hope not, but I totally agree, he has to find something to turn this around because the last two years or so, he's been pretty bad.  🙁

[Obinna]

3 minutes ago, GasPed said:

I just can't see MAK at LB - certainly the modern fullback has to be very mobile and that's exactly what MAK is not.

I do agree though that he really has to reinvent or recover something.  To my eyes, not only has he lost some athleticism, but he's also lost some of the quick feet technical ability that he used to have.   I used to think of him as Atiba 2.0 - slow, but long, with a fantastic touch and vision.  Now he's just slow.  I thought his touch was good once upon a time, but now it's plainly not, and you combine that with a penchant for risky, line-splitting passes and he is a turnover bot.  And frankly, even a CB can't play that way and get away with it.

It's also possible that he's regressing to the mean - that the MAK who had two great years in LAFC is actually an anomaly, and the MAK who is a career USLer is the reality.  I really hope not, but I totally agree, he has to find something to turn this around because the last two years or so, he's been pretty bad.  🙁

I see what you see. I think the loss of legs and the loss of quick feet go hand in hand. First touch is largely mental, but when you tire mental lapses happen more, so I don't think it's that he lost his technique, but rather he lost his ability to execute.

Furthermore, he always had a tendency to play high risk passes, but now his execution is off more often and I really feel we are seeing physical fatigue turning into mental fatigue/lack of concentration.

I definitely don't see Kaye as a modern LB. I see him as a traditional LB who plays to his strengths, which are his eye for a pass. I really don't see him as a CM for much longer and playing as a stay at home LB is the only other position I can imagine. Think Gutierrez - gets involved in the offense by picking out passes, not bombing up and down the touchline.

Whether or not Arena wants to transform Kaye into that type of player remains to be seen. Worth noting he'd be behind DeJuan Jones. Not sure what the Revs look like at the moment in Midfield though...

[PiedPilko]

He's been starting every game for New England and not getting uniformly terrible reviews. Let's see if it continues under a new manager.

[narduch]

Had an assist tonight and Fotmob had him as MOTM. 

 

 

[DeRo_Is_King]

4 minutes ago, narduch said:

Had an assist tonight and Fotmob had him as MOTM. 

 

 

Nice pass. 

[BearcatSA]

Back to his stock in trade from the LAFC days.

[DeRo_Is_King]

Ridiculous ejection starts at 2 minutes:

Maybe it's a yellow for being a bit reckless, but I don't think there was any malice at all in the "stomp."

Edited November 9, 2023 by DeRo_Is_King

[El Diego]

2 hours ago, DeRo_Is_King said:

Ridiculous ejection starts at 2 minutes:

Maybe it's a yellow for being a bit wreckless, but I don't think there was any malice at all in the "stomp."

He knows where he is putting his foot, it is beyond reckless. Maybe not a lot of force, but when you are stomping on a guy the degree of the stomp doesn't really matter.

The silly part of the play is that Gazdag intentionally leaves his legs up to block MAK from getting the ball -- if MAK legitimately tries to get by him then he gets a foul call. Actually the more I think about it, I think technically NER should have gotten the free kick and that occurs before the stomp. The other silly part is that Gazdag embellishes twice: first when he falls over then second after the stomp, and of course only one player is penalized (and in the harshest way). Soccer is dumb sometimes.

[InglewoodJack]

Looking at the play, Gazdag looks like after he falls under Kaye, he rolls to his right to catch Kaye's foot as Kaye naturally tries to step over him, and follows his movements to tangle himself in Kaye's legs to pick up a card. Not sure what Kaye could've done to avoid that situation aside from literally diving out of the way. Not sure if that affects the severity of the card, but it looks like Kaye's natural motion is to keep moving to the right, and Gazdag follows him to trap him. At 2:38 in the VFC recap video, you can see Kaye hobbling on his right leg to try and untangle himself and Gazdag follows him.

[red card]

Molinaro's Kaye interview says he fell out with Herdman.

“It’s always difficult when you want to be with the national team, and you don’t get called up. It was tough. Me and John had some really tough conversations where he blatantly told me I wasn’t good enough to be part of the team. That was hard for me to accept,”

“I’m fine with constructive criticism when there’s a real [opportunity] for growth. But for some reason, it just felt like things didn’t make sense. It was challenging seeing some players that weren’t playing at their clubs or were playing at the same level as me and not doing as well as I was and getting called up.”

“Lorenzo actually helped me a little bit with that. He was telling me there’s always guys that are good enough to get called into the Italian national team but for whatever reason, maybe personnel or the opponent, they don’t get called in.

“I took it personally, 100 per cent. John is a strong character. And yes, he has helped the national team grow to where we are today. But sometimes the way he would tell me things would honestly make me feel like I’m not a good player. And that’s tough. You have to be able to have a good support system around you, have coaches and people that really care about your growth to give you real, honest feedback because you know they want you to do well.

“He told me I wasn’t good enough to be part of that group. Not good enough to be a part of the Gold Cup group, and I think he’s the only person in the world who would believe that. So, I just had to swallow it because there’s not much you can do when you’re a player. You just move past it, and I used it to fuel myself, to continue working on myself and being prepared for the next chance I’d get called into camp. I thought maybe I’d get a fresh start with a new coach.”

On Biello:

“Mauro and I had a good conversation before the Japan camp. We spoke about where I needed to be and how they were happy with what I was doing at New England. So, with Mauro, he’s an honest guy and you really trust his words and he really instills that belief in you that he does want you to get better, and he does want you to improve, so it’s been all good,” Kaye said.

“Mauro really understands what it’s like to be a footballer. When you have the ability to connect with players on that level it’s something that you can’t really quantify. It brings a breath of fresh air, puts a lot of the onus on the players to go out there and be leaders and get the job done.”

https://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/article/kaye-downplaying-drama-aiming-for-fresh-start-with-canadian-mens-team/

[kacbru]

2 minutes ago, red card said:

“Mauro really understands what it’s like to be a footballer.

oof! Take that John.

[toontownman]

When divas collide. 

I'm sure what he says is true but it's clear the attitude/ego issues are on both sides.

Hope he turns things around as MAK at LA was incredible. Too much off the pitch seems to have affected him. Good to see he has people around him and knows he needs that.

Edited November 18, 2023 by toontownman

[BearcatSA]

Frankly, I thought that with his performance at TFC he played himself out of an NT job (and this is coming from a guy who liked him when he was at his best and actually liked his acquisition for TFC at the time).  I saw a player who was too loose in possession in the wrong areas of the pitch at the wrong times.  Now, I believe I read somewhere after his move to NER where he said that how he was used in midfield didn't help his situation at TFC but man, you can at least control making sure you pass the ball to the guys who are wearing the same uniform as you.  I had no problem at all seeing guys like Ahmed getting looks in central midfield at the GC ahead of him.

I don't think I have ever seen a lose-lose trade like this one involving Kaye, Al Location, and Ralph Priso (when does new tsar Armas announce the Rapids roster moves with him getting the "thanks for your service" tweet?).  A sad face emoji transaction, indeed.

[Dominic94]

Herdman wasn’t the only person in the world who felt he should not have been called for nations league and gold cup. He really was not playing well enough to be there. 
 

i think he speaks some truths but no Mark, you deserved your cuts.

[BearcatSA]

Was he mad that Fraser got called in ahead of him as a replacement on the GC roster for Eustaquio?  He seems to fit the profile of someone who wasn't playing at his club.  Ahmed?  He was playing better than him and rightly got a look and now he is back in the squad after missing the Japan friendly.  Heck, Choiniere didn't make it, for whatever reason, and he should have been there ahead of Kaye based on MLS performances (including an All-Star selection).

If he gets on the field in this window, I hope he does a great job.  But he just needs to let his play do the talking, because the more talking you do, the more closer scrutiny you get.

[costarg]

34 minutes ago, BearcatSA said:

Was he mad that Fraser got called in ahead of him as a replacement on the GC roster for Eustaquio?  He seems to fit the profile of someone who wasn't playing at his club.  Ahmed?  He was playing better than him and rightly got a look and now he is back in the squad after missing the Japan friendly.  Heck, Choiniere didn't make it, for whatever reason, and he should have been there ahead of Kaye based on MLS performances (including an All-Star selection).

If he gets on the field in this window, I hope he does a great job.  But he just needs to let his play do the talking, because the more talking you do, the more closer scrutiny you get.

It's easy and natural to think of Ahmed, Choiniere, Fraser, even Bombito played mid, but in all honesty, Kaye is probably looking at Osorio and thinking "WTF is this guy doing here?". 

[Obinna]

2 hours ago, BearcatSA said:

Was he mad that Fraser got called in ahead of him as a replacement on the GC roster for Eustaquio?  He seems to fit the profile of someone who wasn't playing at his club.  Ahmed?  He was playing better than him and rightly got a look and now he is back in the squad after missing the Japan friendly.  Heck, Choiniere didn't make it, for whatever reason, and he should have been there ahead of Kaye based on MLS performances (including an All-Star selection).

If he gets on the field in this window, I hope he does a great job.  But he just needs to let his play do the talking, because the more talking you do, the more closer scrutiny you get.

Kaye's jealousy started when Fraser came on for him in 2019 at BMO and balled out 😁

[Obinna]

In all seriousness though, I was surprised Kaye didn't get called into the GC squad. I wasn't upset though and given his form I was glad he was being rotated out and some guys like Ahmed were getting a chance. Choniere should have gotten a chance then too, but eventually he got his cap, as did Paton. Fraser even got a surprise call and maybe that helped his FC Dallas move. And at the end of the day, Kaye even got his recall after some much improved play. The way things shook out this year has been good for the midfield pool. Kaye is still in there, Fraser got more caps, plus Choniere, Paton and Ahmed are all capped now. I view all of this as good.

[Unnamed Trialist]

9 hours ago, red card said:

Molinaro's Kaye interview says he fell out with Herdman.

“It’s always difficult when you want to be with the national team, and you don’t get called up. It was tough. Me and John had some really tough conversations where he blatantly told me I wasn’t good enough to be part of the team. That was hard for me to accept,”

“I’m fine with constructive criticism when there’s a real [opportunity] for growth. But for some reason, it just felt like things didn’t make sense. It was challenging seeing some players that weren’t playing at their clubs or were playing at the same level as me and not doing as well as I was and getting called up.”

“Lorenzo actually helped me a little bit with that. He was telling me there’s always guys that are good enough to get called into the Italian national team but for whatever reason, maybe personnel or the opponent, they don’t get called in.

“I took it personally, 100 per cent. John is a strong character. And yes, he has helped the national team grow to where we are today. But sometimes the way he would tell me things would honestly make me feel like I’m not a good player. And that’s tough. You have to be able to have a good support system around you, have coaches and people that really care about your growth to give you real, honest feedback because you know they want you to do well.

“He told me I wasn’t good enough to be part of that group. Not good enough to be a part of the Gold Cup group, and I think he’s the only person in the world who would believe that. So, I just had to swallow it because there’s not much you can do when you’re a player. You just move past it, and I used it to fuel myself, to continue working on myself and being prepared for the next chance I’d get called into camp. I thought maybe I’d get a fresh start with a new coach.”

On Biello:

“Mauro and I had a good conversation before the Japan camp. We spoke about where I needed to be and how they were happy with what I was doing at New England. So, with Mauro, he’s an honest guy and you really trust his words and he really instills that belief in you that he does want you to get better, and he does want you to improve, so it’s been all good,” Kaye said.

“Mauro really understands what it’s like to be a footballer. When you have the ability to connect with players on that level it’s something that you can’t really quantify. It brings a breath of fresh air, puts a lot of the onus on the players to go out there and be leaders and get the job done.”

https://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/article/kaye-downplaying-drama-aiming-for-fresh-start-with-canadian-mens-team/

Kaye has spent most of his career looking for excuses, of all kinds, hiding behind them, and not looking himself and his play in the face. I have a few cases in my head I won't say, but he has been on good clubs and he's been pushed onto lesser clubs. Then, in terms of play, he is satisfied with some mediocre skills, and in no way you can argue he's a better footballer today than even 3 years ago.

Maybe his manner was not right, but Herdman was correct. The problem is that he also brought Henry and then Brym in 2nd division Netherlands, and maybe at a point a few other, where you could and should have given them some time off. Because their club play then performance for the team was not up to par.

If you excuse any injuries, he's generally avoided stepping up. He gets carried by whatever is going on around him (the CSA dispute) and then we've seen he'll make comments that are far from judicious. Probably the last person who should have been commenting on the CSA problems,  because he articulated everything with rudimentary understanding and often making things worse. Probably, as well, breaking team discipline in terms of keeping a negotiation under wraps.

This is why I take these comments badly. If real leaders, or articulate footballers (say Atiba or Johnston) had come out with something, I'd take it more seriously. 

In general, however, you have to allow a period of grace after a job, or any work, and try to not slag on your way out the door. Unless of course the issue is legal and you've had to air the grievance in a formal way. Otherwise, that is poor style, in general. What goes around, comes around as well. In football, just suck it up and try to move on, you get to play the game you love, maybe this week you have a game, so get on the field and focus on that. Try to manage your bitterness, it just belittles you. When you retire, if you feel it is necessary, you can always speak your mind,