Manjrekar James

[PiedPilko]

Kind of hilarious the kinds of things he's pulling off in CPL. Overlapping runs with the midfield and trucking the ball into the other third all by himself. He was one of Forge's more dangerous attacking options last game 😂

Edited October 2, 2023 by PiedPilko

[nolando]

1 minute ago, PiedPilko said:

Kind of hilarious the kinds of things he's pulling off in CPL. Overlapping runs with the midfield and trucking the ball into the other third all by himself. He was one of Forge's more dangerous attacking options last game 😂

Yup. I saw some of this vs Vancouver too.

[Unnamed Trialist]

3 hours ago, PiedPilko said:

Kind of hilarious the kinds of things he's pulling off in CPL. Overlapping runs with the midfield and trucking the ball into the other third all by himself. He was one of Forge's more dangerous attacking options last game 😂

On the Zator thread some posters pretty well called him a slug in decline. I admit I saw some highlights with worrying moments, but the overall take is that he's a player whose level is still better than CPL.

[Aird25]

55 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

On the Zator thread some posters pretty well called him a slug in decline. I admit I saw some highlights with worrying moments, but the overall take is that he's a player whose level is still better than CPL.

Shockingly, I imagine the truth probably lies somewhere in between these extreme opinions. I’m by no means a Forge fan but he’s been a pretty good CPL CB from what I’ve seen. Though I’m not sure I’d rate him above some other CBs like Nimick, Didic, Klomp, AAJ, Montgomery etc. 

[PiedPilko]

For the record, sofascore has him as the third highest rated Cb in the league, behind Nimick and Didic

[Obinna]

7 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

On the Zator thread some posters pretty well called him a slug in decline. I admit I saw some highlights with worrying moments, but the overall take is that he's a player whose level is still better than CPL.

Guilty as charged. He has looked poor in the highlight packages I have seen but he also looked like an offensive dynamo in the most recent one, so credit where it's due on James. I am willing to say he's looking above CPL level, at least in the most recent highlights. 

It may also be the way James plays as well and Forge fans can weigh in here, but James seems to be the type of CB who you take the good with bad. He seems to make routine mistakes, even at this level, but then he can pop up at the other end and contribute something. In some ways it's the antithesis of Zator, who is consistent if not bland and boring. James to me seems consistently inconsistent, but more exciting I suppose.

[masster]

I think what we have seen from James in the CPL is exactly why he is no longer playing at a higher level. In some matches he looks like the best player in the league, in others you question how he could ever play in Europe. It is this inconsistency that has always been a problem. And I don't see that being rectified at this point in his career.

[Obinna]

5 minutes ago, masster said:

I think what we have seen from James in the CPL is exactly why he is no longer playing at a higher level. In some matches he looks like the best player in the league, in others you question how he could ever play in Europe. It is this inconsistency that has always been a problem. And I don't see that being rectified at this point in his career.

Now that I read this (and fully agree), I realize I have been evaluating his highlights in a way that minimized the so-called good (attacking overlaps and such) and maximizing the bad (careless turnovers in key areas).

@InglewoodJack and @PiedPilko have both brought up his rating, so I will ask you both...do you think his rating maximizes the offensive contributions and downplays the defensive lapses, or is there no way to know? I know at least IJ questioned the accuracy of the ratings (I think in the Zator thread).

[InglewoodJack]

16 minutes ago, Obinna said:

Now that I read this (and fully agree), I realize I have been evaluating his highlights in a way that minimized the so-called good (attacking overlaps and such) and maximizing the bad (careless turnovers in key areas).

@InglewoodJack and @PiedPilko have both brought up his rating, so I will ask you both...do you think his rating maximizes the offensive contributions and downplays the defensive lapses, or is there no way to know? I know at least IJ questioned the accuracy of the ratings (I think in the Zator thread).

I haven’t seen enough James to judge, but Sofascore and FotMob effectively raise your score via goal contributions and lower it via errors and contributing to the other team scoring with things like turnovers, completed passes, tackles, and dribbles tweaking the score in either direction. I think what that means in a league of relatively low quality like the CPL, your score is really only gonna get dinged hard if you’re making these massive errors leading to goals, conceding a penalty, etc. If James’ up and down form is due to poor speed or strength or effort, then I don’t know that CPL players are going to consistently make him pay for that. Even having low IQ as a guy who has played in better leagues is still not going to make him a defensive sieve.
So I guess to your point, a player like James would get “exposed” playing for Canada because his faults would be highlighted more against tougher opponents.
 

[Unnamed Trialist]

19 minutes ago, InglewoodJack said:

I haven’t seen enough James to judge, but Sofascore and FotMob effectively raise your score via goal contributions and lower it via errors and contributing to the other team scoring with things like turnovers, completed passes, tackles, and dribbles tweaking the score in either direction. I think what that means in a league of relatively low quality like the CPL, your score is really only gonna get dinged hard if you’re making these massive errors leading to goals, conceding a penalty, etc. If James’ up and down form is due to poor speed or strength or effort, then I don’t know that CPL players are going to consistently make him pay for that. Even having low IQ as a guy who has played in better leagues is still not going to make him a defensive sieve.
So I guess to your point, a player like James would get “exposed” playing for Canada because his faults would be highlighted more against tougher opponents.
 

I agree he's not clearly NT level at this point, based on those highlights where there were shocker giveaways for Forge.

Thing is, we got to Qatar with guys below what we thought we needed, in the back line. Vitoria (also a set piece threat) and Miller have a higher upside, Zator may be similar, Kennedy looked better but couldn't stay healthy. Herdman wouldn't play Cornelius which could have been a mistake.

We need some premium CBs, or aspiring, and then see how they go vs top 25 teams.

[InglewoodJack]

14 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

I agree he's not clearly NT level at this point, based on those highlights where there were shocker giveaways for Forge.

Thing is, we got to Qatar with guys below what we thought we needed, in the back line. Vitoria (also a set piece threat) and Miller have a higher upside, Zator may be similar, Kennedy looked better but couldn't stay healthy. Herdman wouldn't play Cornelius which could have been a mistake.

We need some premium CBs, or aspiring, and then see how they go vs top 25 teams.

I don't think he's anywhere near the NT and hasn't been for some time, the original discussion was comparing him to Zator as two guys who are or have played for weak teams in relatively good leagues. Regardless, neither of those guys will move our program forward, we need new talent on our back line. Hopefully that kid playing for Hannover '96 is as good as his agent says, that would solve a lot in 2026.

[Obinna]

2 hours ago, InglewoodJack said:

I haven’t seen enough James to judge, but Sofascore and FotMob effectively raise your score via goal contributions and lower it via errors and contributing to the other team scoring with things like turnovers, completed passes, tackles, and dribbles tweaking the score in either direction. I think what that means in a league of relatively low quality like the CPL, your score is really only gonna get dinged hard if you’re making these massive errors leading to goals, conceding a penalty, etc. If James’ up and down form is due to poor speed or strength or effort, then I don’t know that CPL players are going to consistently make him pay for that. Even having low IQ as a guy who has played in better leagues is still not going to make him a defensive sieve.
So I guess to your point, a player like James would get “exposed” playing for Canada because his faults would be highlighted more against tougher opponents.
 

This makes sense. Several times this season I have seen highlights where he has a terrible turnover that was lucky not to be in the back of the net - but I guess he doesn't get dinged if the ball doesn't go in back of the net.

[Aird25]

Deleted

Edited October 3, 2023 by Aird25
Frustrated

[InglewoodJack]

9 minutes ago, Obinna said:

This makes sense. Several times this season I have seen highlights where he has a terrible turnover that was lucky not to be in the back of the net - but I guess he doesn't get dinged if the ball doesn't go in back of the net.

I don’t know 100% how those models work, but I don’t know that they weigh where the turnover happened if nothing came from it unless it was an explicit error. That said, I also suspect that smaller leagues like the CPL transmit less data to the apps than the top leagues do, so I’m not even sure if the same mistakes would be counted in the same way if he played say in the premier league (never mind the talent gap). 
 

The way I look at the score is mostly how it compares to other guys at the same position and other players on the same team, especially if you’re looking at individual games. I think what MJ’s numbers tell us is that he’s a top CPL centre back but if you want to see what he can do in better leagues, you need to give it the eye test, which in his case, tells us that he’s probably at the right level for him to start the back 9 of his career in. 

[PiedPilko]

5 hours ago, Obinna said:

Now that I read this (and fully agree), I realize I have been evaluating his highlights in a way that minimized the so-called good (attacking overlaps and such) and maximizing the bad (careless turnovers in key areas).

@InglewoodJack and @PiedPilko have both brought up his rating, so I will ask you both...do you think his rating maximizes the offensive contributions and downplays the defensive lapses, or is there no way to know? I know at least IJ questioned the accuracy of the ratings (I think in the Zator thread).

I only just popped back into cpl for the end of the season. I think a major sofascore blindspot is rewarding unambitious cbs who only go into challenges they know they can win and who touch the ball just enough to squeeze out 7's.

In my impression, that is not James. He's tries a lot and he's very imposing at this level, and highlight packs will tend to show ambitious defenders at their worst

 

[Aird25]

10 hours ago, PiedPilko said:

I only just popped back into cpl for the end of the season. I think a major sofascore blindspot is rewarding unambitious cbs who only go into challenges they know they can win and who touch the ball just enough to squeeze out 7's.

In my impression, that is not James. He's tries a lot and he's very imposing at this level, and highlight packs will tend to show ambitious defenders at their worst

Edited October 4, 2023 by Aird25
Deleted

[narduch]

Could be heading to Costa Rica.

 

 

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

28 minutes ago, narduch said:

Could be heading to Costa Rica.

Wut?

Benito Floro wanted to bring him to Alajuelense when he was coach there. Benito Floro is long gone but they still want him?

[Obinna]

Very interesting move if it happens. James has been finished with the NT for some time, but he's clearly caught the eye in CPL (despite my earlier criticisms) and moving to one of the Costa Rican giants would be a step up from Forge, not a huge step mind you, but one that could possibly put him back into the NT conversation.

Teams like Alajuelense employ more than just Costa Rican internationals. 47-time capped Honduran international Alexander Lopez plays for them. There is a Panamanian forward with 10 caps at the club too. Of course there are vets like Joel Campbell (who everyone knows) and Giancarlo Gonzalez (played 4.5 seasons in Serie A with Bolonga and Palermo). James would join a nice core of talented, yet long in the tooth internationals. 

Edited December 29, 2023 by Obinna

[Shway]

2 hours ago, Obinna said:

Very interesting move if it happens. James has been finished with the NT for some time, but he's clearly caught the eye in CPL (despite my earlier criticisms) and moving to one of the Costa Rican giants would be a step up from Forge, not a huge step mind you, but one that could possibly put him back into the NT conversation.

Teams like Alajuelense employ more than just Costa Rican internationals. 47-time capped Honduran international Alexander Lopez plays for them. There is a Panamanian forward with 10 caps at the club too. Of course there are vets like Joel Campbell (who everyone knows) and Giancarlo Gonzalez (played 4.5 seasons in Serie A with Bolonga and Palermo). James would join a nice core of talented, yet long in the tooth internationals. 

Your assessment is right, but I highly doubt the bolded part. 
He's only 30 and is probably in his prime as a CB, but unless the new coach comes in and is willing to assess the entire pool properly then there's a possibility. 

Can't see Biello calling him back.

[Cicero]

Is the pay better or similar to CPL? I have no sense of what teams in Central America pay. Of course, Alajuelense is probably the best team in the region, with the most resources.

[Aird25]

4 hours ago, Cicero said:

Is the pay better or similar to CPL? I have no sense of what teams in Central America pay. Of course, Alajuelense is probably the best team in the region, with the most resources.

Why else would he go at this point in his career, life experience? But it would only be an indication of one offer, not leagues as a whole 

Edited December 30, 2023 by Aird25

[CanadaFan123]

17 hours ago, Olympique_de_Marseille said:

Wut?

Benito Floro wanted to bring him to Alajuelense when he was coach there. Benito Floro is long gone but they still want him?

Forge trained there in preseason so their interest may have reignited then.

Awesome training centre by the way. Passed it on the way to our WCQ in 2022. 

[jordan]

Official to Alajuelense

https://x.com/ldacr/status/1741115879234965507?s=46&t=KtwBDROwUH8sPUlYu2GlIA 

[The Real Marc]

Denmark, Hungary, Greece, Ukraine, Costa Rica - can't fault him for being willing to dedicate himself to the game while he's young. What a great set of adventures.

(Almost included Hamilton in that list, just for laughs )

Edited December 30, 2023 by The Real Marc