Alphonso Davies

[deschamp86]

14 minutes ago, Obinna said:

I'd be surprised if we see that any time in the foreseeable future. I think we can get our best 11 on the field without him playing there.

Would be different if Davies had experience playing RB

[Macksam]

11 hours ago, BearcatSA said:

To me, he's a winger in a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1 (like M'Bappe with France at the World Cup, though I don't know how he is used with PSG).  He might even develop into an Thierry Henry type of striker (also a former winger in his younger days).  But perhaps the brain trust at Bayern have other ideas.

I think Davies' best position will be either a deep lying winger or a number 10/attacking midfielder. M'Bappe to me plays really advanced and is a much more simple player than Davies.

I want to again bring up the Ruud Gullit comparison. For those too young to have watched this guy, you should look up some of his YouTube videos to get a good sense of what our boy should become. It would be an utter waste for him to develop any other way.

[El Hombre]

10 hours ago, Keegan said:

No, this kid should not be playing LB.  His dribbling is too good, he's effortless out there and would be a waste at LB.  He was the best dribbler on the park tonight even in just 30 minutes and made the $15M man Barco in front of him look very average in comparison.  

He's improving at a lightning pace, the last thing you do is put him anywhere near the backline - Doyle is nuts.  And MLS is nuts for not putting him in an attacking spot like what is this?  He's the biggest story on this side of the pond, you're playing Juventus and you put him back there?  He still made an impact but was staying back and the times he made runs he was looked off by the useless Barco.  

Just curious, but will you still feel the same way if Bayern plays him at LB?

I'm not sure myself.  I want him to play, so I'd prefer he get on the field in some way or another, but would not be too enthusiastic if that's how they use him.

[Keegan]

13 minutes ago, El Hombre said:

Just curious, but will you still feel the same way if Bayern plays him at LB?

I'm not sure myself.  I want him to play, so I'd prefer he get on the field in some way or another, but would not be too enthusiastic if that's how they use him.

I’m in the same boat as you but at 18 if Bayern wants to start him at LB go ahead! Gareth Bale started the same way but on a much weaker team.  He could be like a David Alaba who plays LB but then is an attacker for Austria (at least initially). If you’re at a good level and young LB is a good place to learn especially since he could work on defending and aerial prowess. 

I just don’t want to see that crap happening when he’s by far the best dribbler on the squad.. if he’s behind Robben or whoever then fine but it’s insulting to have him there in MLS.. they buried him last night when the fans wanted a show.

[jpg75]

If Davies is the starting LB at Bayern in January i'd be fine with it. But if he's stuck there 5 years from now i'll hop on a plane and go over to take a dump on the steps of the Allianz Arena.

[Gian-Luca]

11 hours ago, Jahinho Guerro said:

Wacka Flocka was a short cameo guest appearance in the booth with Twellman and Healy(who I prefer over Wileman and Caldwell) .... He's is a well known hip hop artist in Atlanta, who was giving his take on the changing culture in his city. 

I'm going to assume you are near or over 40 to say that lol. 

Mid-40's and proud of it! ?

[Gian-Luca]

11 hours ago, Keegan said:

 

He's improving at a lightning pace, the last thing you do is put him anywhere near the backline - Doyle is nuts.  And MLS is nuts for not putting him in an attacking spot like what is this?  He's the biggest story on this side of the pond, you're playing Juventus and you put him back there?  He still made an impact but was staying back and the times he made runs he was looked off by the useless Barco.  

That was done so that his biased club coach could show off Barco to the world and to the home fans. Unfortunately Barco looked like the worst player on the field by far (I'm sure he's much better than that normally, but agree that he looked poor on the night).

At least one other Juventus player singled out Davies though for being one of the most impressive MLS players, even though the game only showed a fraction of what Davies can do:

https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2018/08/02/mls-all-stars-leave-juventus-impressed-physical-technical-quality

 

[PopePouri]

This is nothing new to us. We threw Atiba into an attacking role whenever he was playing RB.

[SpursFlu]

As a Spurs fam i recall not winning like 17 games in a row with Bale as a LB. I remember hating the guy and it becoming a big joke.  Also as someoneeho played a lot of fullback. Its a total misconception that being fast makes you a good fullback. If you look at the best fullbacks they tend to be very smart positional players with a willingness to get forward at the right times. Patient players. Davies can play LB because he's a freak but its not his best position

[mpg_29]

7 minutes ago, SpursFlu said:

As a Spurs fam i recall not winning like 17 games in a row with Bale as a LB. I remember hating the guy and it becoming a big joke.  Also as someoneeho played a lot of fullback. Its a total misconception that being fast makes you a good fullback. If you look at the best fullbacks they tend to be very smart positional players with a willingness to get forward at the right times. Patient players. Davies can play LB because he's a freak but its not his best position

Yeah I mean I seen that last nite with Davies...his speed lets him compensate for getting caught in the wrong position but never looked solid defensively. That's why I'd be extremely sceptical he'd play as a LB on Bayern...

[BearcatSA]

54 minutes ago, mpg_29 said:

Yeah I mean I seen that last nite with Davies...his speed lets him compensate for getting caught in the wrong position but never looked solid defensively. That's why I'd be extremely sceptical he'd play as a LB on Bayern...

As an LB, he needs a fair bit of work with positioning in coordination with his other defenders.  But who knows what Bayern might do?

[BearcatSA]

1 hour ago, PopePouri said:

This is nothing new to us. We threw Atiba into an attacking role whenever he was playing RB.

At the 2005 Gold Cup we had him partnering Big Kev at CB with Josh Simpson as the LB and Adam Braz at RB.

[El Diego]

Anyone seriously advocating playing Davies at left back has no clue what they're talking about.

He is, already, our most dangerous attacking player. You need to get him closer to goal. Perhaps on a strong team he could maybe play as a wing back in a 352 type formation because he has the ability to control an entire wing by himself. But you don't put players that talented and dynamic at full back. Not to mention he isn't that great defending 1v1. He's a solid defender as a winger but would be poor defender as an actual defender.

The Bale comps are spot on. Bale is supremely athletic and could drive from deep so people thought that left back/wing back was a good spot for him. But a guy that talented, get him nearer the net so he can be creative and not have to worry about defending and build up play.

We need to be frank about positions. Full backs have become more important than ever, yes, but you never put your best attacking player (or second, or third) in defense. As important as full backs have become, they are still the least valuable position. It's similar to corner back vs. wide receiver in (American) football -- they require the same attributes but if you have ball skills you're going to be a wide receiver, because that position is more valuable.

[Shway]

The only time I want to see Davies at LWB is if we're playing 3-5-2. Where him and Hoilett are on one side, but as we all know Canada doesn't play anything overly attackive. So he shouldnt be put at LB. 

[amacpher]

20 hours ago, BearcatSA said:

As an LB, he needs a fair bit of work with positioning in coordination with his other defenders.  But who knows what Bayern might do?

Send him on loan, I assume.  

[Obinna]

28 minutes ago, amacpher said:

Send him on loan, I assume.  

Doubtful. They sat down with Davies and showed him how they plan on using him on the field. Doesn't sound like a conversation you have with a player you plan to loan out.

Not that it couldn't happen. Anything is possible.

But I don't assume it to be likely. Why would Bayern trust another club to develop Davies when they themselves are world renowned for player development? 

I think it's more likely he plays a few games with the second team than he goes out on loan.

[Ruffian]

34 minutes ago, amacpher said:

Send him on loan, I assume.  

I think there were details released that one of the reasons Davies chose Bayern was because he would not be loaned but would have a chance at staying with the first team.

[deschamp86]

5 minutes ago, Ruffian said:

I think there were details released that one of the reasons Davies chose Bayern was because he would not be loaned but would have a chance at staying with the first team.

https://www.bavarianfootballworks.com/2018/7/27/17621376/alphonso-davies-bayern-munich-join-first-team-not-u23-transfer-vancouver-whitecaps-winger-robben

[Guest]

36 minutes ago, deschamp86 said:

https://www.bavarianfootballworks.com/2018/7/27/17621376/alphonso-davies-bayern-munich-join-first-team-not-u23-transfer-vancouver-whitecaps-winger-robben

The article says that there new coach Kovac likes to give time to develop young players so we’ll see how much he rests Ribery and Robben and play Gnabry, Coman, and Davies.

 

Ribery and Robben are going to be 35 this season and that is extremely old for wingers

[amacpher]

5 hours ago, Obinna said:

Doubtful. They sat down with Davies and showed him how they plan on using him on the field. Doesn't sound like a conversation you have with a player you plan to loan out.

Not that it couldn't happen. Anything is possible.

But I don't assume it to be likely. Why would Bayern trust another club to develop Davies when they themselves are world renowned for player development? 

I think it's more likely he plays a few games with the second team than he goes out on loan.

Fair enough, but that's what they did with Gnabry & Julien Green (i.e. sent them on loan).  Agreed that the B team is a decent option for the coming season.  But I don't see how loaning him to a team like Ajax (random example) would be bad.    Riding the bench of the A team would not be good.   

[Obinna]

13 minutes ago, amacpher said:

Fair enough, but that's what they did with Gnabry & Julien Green (i.e. sent them on loan).  Agreed that the B team is a decent option for the coming season.  But I don't see how loaning him to a team like Ajax (random example) would be bad.    Riding the bench of the A team would not be good.   

Yes they did but there is reason not to put much stock in those comparisons.

By the time Bayern decided to loan Julien Green, he was already 19 and had amassed over 50 appearances with the second team, scoring 25 goals. The time was right for Julien to go on loan and get first team football at a higher level than Bayern Munich 2 could provide him. I think Julien had outgrown the second team and needed that time on loan to further his development at a critical age. Davies on the other hand will have played nearly 80 MLS first team games. I can't see Bayern being in a rush to send him on loan for first team experience.

With Gnabry, we are talking about Bayern acquiring a 21/22 year old player who was previously sent out on loan from Arsenal. That is Bayern acquiring a (potentially) undervalued asset and sending on loan right away for seasoning. The case of Davies is Bayern snatching up a 17 year old phenom they can develop.

Both situations are very different situations to Davies in my opinion.

[Bertuzzi44]

Also according to the quotes in that article, Bayern see him as a winger.

So no need to fret about Davies as LB (for now at least). 

[Kadenge]

Ribery ran smack into the post during practice and is injured. Too bad AD is not moving until Jan....it's a short term injury though.

[mpg_29]

Vidal going to Barcelona..

 

[Unnamed Trialist]

On 8/2/2018 at 9:01 AM, mpg_29 said:

Yeah I mean I seen that last nite with Davies...his speed lets him compensate for getting caught in the wrong position but never looked solid defensively. That's why I'd be extremely sceptical he'd play as a LB on Bayern...

He does not hold defensively, he can actually run in the wrong direction when an attacker dribbles and let someone get by him. He does not mark his man tightly. He rarely knows how to crunch in with a tackle to win a ball or cut off a play. He has no bite defensively, but he's fast as said and can compensate. For me he is a poor back, though could learn. 

I think that just pure training at Bayern will solve this. I think at any top team. Just training if you are not on your man or miss a mark they will chew you out, and even more so at a club that will not treat him like a dear darling sweet little kid but expect him to be there going forward and going back.