Cyle Larin

[Bigandy]

3 hours ago, Obinna said:

Dest has had a disastrous season. Couldn't get a game with Barca so loaned to AC Milan but barely played. I think he played like 8 Serie A matches. If Johnston is too low of a level playing in the SPL with Celtic, than I would propose Sanchez the Mexican right back for Ajax. He's been in-and-out of the starting line up too, but he definitely has more minutes than Dest.

Also, if not Vasques what about Cameron Carter Vickors? He's ever-present on the Celtic back line, much like Johnston is, but he's been doing it for the full season.

Can't really argue the rest of the picks much, but would probably put Reyna in the Unlucky player list ahead of Lozano. Maybe De La Torre at Celta Vigo as well. Lozano plays a lot at Cadiz, but hasn't really done much to be deserving of an honorable mention. If you are looking for a top 5 league player, why not Bobby Cordova Ried at Fulham? Seems to make an impact off the bench and they are having a much better season than Cadiz are. Even better would be Leon Bailey or Antonio at Aston Villa and West Ham respectively. Neither have had stellar seasons, but Lozano hasn't either.

Jiminez by they way... I don't really know what he's been doing at Wolves, but I assume it isn't much.

Also, must say it's a fun list to think about, just nit-picking for conversations sake. It's cool how there are so many players now that we can debate. Aaronson at Leeds wasn't mentioned in this post, or Shamar Nicholson at Spartak Moscow. I am sure I am missing many more. Josh Sargent has quietly scored 13 goals for Norwich in the Championship. Pineda has had a good season with AEK Athens. The Mexican left back at Genk (name escapes me) is an everyday starter and they are going to win the Belgian league. Lots of Concacaf players doing things in Europe, much more than a decade ago, it seems. 

I would love to include johnston but hes a few years out i think.  I would argue that a back up at a terrible ajax is similar to a back up for a semi finalist UCL team. Dest has poor form but I would think hes a class above the rest when on average to above average form. But I could go with sanchez too. 

CCV is a good shout. Weak CB pool to choose from. 

Reyna and musah can be added to unlucky. The lozano I was referring to is chucky. La torre and reid are good shouts as are the Jamaicans 

Jimenez at one point was a quality striker. I still think he should get a half shout as unlucky. 

I love these sorts of debates. 

Would be cool to do a ranking of top 11 players not including positions. 

1. Davies
2. David
3. Navas
4. Pulisic
5. Staq
6. Adams
7. Mckennie
8. Alvarez
9. Buchanan
10. Musah 

thats a tough list

[Bigandy]

3 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

I'm not so worried about how our players rate in Concacaf, since the US was rated much higher a year ago and we did not lose to them in qualifying. Same with Mexico. It's the team, the coaching, the competitive level, that matters more. 

I do agree that it creates a higher standard, and that playing against more difficult rivals (the kind of defending Larin has never seen and he's still scoring, the pressure on Johnston or Eustaquio to win everything) makes a difference. Players have a greater sense of what it means to compete, the pressure to win, overcome adversity, playing at a higher level. Or at least should.

One factor we have to take into account is that all these players are seeing top level coaching and if Herdman does not stay sharp, some of the stuff he does will be exposed. I'm talking about training methods, tactical decisions, ways of conceiving types of play. I don't think many MLS coaches show up Herdman, it may be different for those in Europe though. If you go back to the Nats from your club and see the coach and staff at a lower level, that damages their credibility. A NT coach has to grow with the team if the team is growing. 

One example: foul on a Canadian 4 metres inside the centre line. Send all CBs up for the free kick to be bombed in. That is archaic, beyond backwards, the higher the level you play. Use the fouls, and the accumulation of fouls to keep in possession and insist on advancing under control, instead of just wasting them on a very low% free kick into the box. Hate when we do that, it's retrograde. Just take the free kick short, stay in possession with the rival not set, keep them on the back foot, and try to get that foul under 30 m from goal. Then, fine, bomb it into the box.

Thats a tough ask. I see it as no different than the player pool. Davies comes to canada and he knows herdman and his teammates are at lower standards. Thats just the reality of playing for Canada. Herdmans motivation and creating an atmosphere of brotherhood has gotten our stars to buy in, regardless of the quality of coaching. I cant see davies, david and staq having no issues with herdmans qualities as a coach but suddenly the buchanans, kones, johnstons will. 

I see your example but I 100% think its ok to play archaic football on horrible pitches in concacaf. Its unfortunate but you have to play to the conditions and sometimes the long ball is our best option.  

[Unnamed Trialist]

27 minutes ago, Bigandy said:

Thats a tough ask. I see it as no different than the player pool. Davies comes to canada and he knows herdman and his teammates are at lower standards. Thats just the reality of playing for Canada. Herdmans motivation and creating an atmosphere of brotherhood has gotten our stars to buy in, regardless of the quality of coaching. I cant see davies, david and staq having no issues with herdmans qualities as a coach but suddenly the buchanans, kones, johnstons will. 

I see your example but I 100% think its ok to play archaic football on horrible pitches in concacaf. Its unfortunate but you have to play to the conditions and sometimes the long ball is our best option.  

Good response. 

First, you are probably right,  since the players know what is involved. If the tactics hold up and the players don't feel the coach is holding them back, then great. Then, you are probably right, many players have a different role for Canada, and welcome it. But I still think that if you are doing things with the national team that you see are obviously not up to par with a top level pro club, then you are going to think it. And it may become a problem, especially when you start thinking the coach may be holding you back, since the pieces may soon look to be better than the whole (for the first time in MNT history too).

This is also the case with young players on top sides who may go into a Canada u-20 mix. If a kid sees the NT camps are below their professional experience, then that is dissuasory. 

[InglewoodJack]

47 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Mundo Deportivo looks at the teams in the fight to avoid relegation, if you are interested. According to this, the only upper level rival left for Valladolid is Barça at home, and "we" may have won the league by the time we get there. Three are against direct rivals, Getafe, Almeria and Cádiz. Sevilla and Rayo are comfortable as they aren't playing for anything except pride, and Sevilla may rest players for Europa league. 

I'd say it's the best schedule, Espanyol's is tougher, so is Cadiz's, even Valencia. But that is if you think its better to face direct rivals or those midtable.

https://www.mundodeportivo.com/futbol/eslaliga/20230501/1001996732/cuentas-permanencia-asi-esta-calendario-peor.html

RV is in a really good spot. Right now, they need 14 points to stay up regardless of what the other teams do. All three of RV, Getafe and Espanyol play one of the two giants over the next 3 weeks, so really, you figure it's 11 points in 5 games. Espanyol has one against Atleti as well. RV is playing Cadiz, Getafe and Almeria during that span. They should take care of business and win all three games which would all but seal the deal, but even if they drop a stupid game or two between now and then, they're forcing the worst teams in the league to basically pull off multiple incredible upsets to finish the season which is highly unlikely.

Of course, this is all hypotheticals and we know RV is known to drop easy points, but they're relatively safe. That said, there's a Getafe x Valladolid match up int he final week which could be an absolute classic if a few things go wrong for RV between now and then.

[Bigandy]

22 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Good response. 

First, you are probably right,  since the players know what is involved. If the tactics hold up and the players don't feel the coach is holding them back, then great. Then, you are probably right, many players have a different role for Canada, and welcome it. But I still think that if you are doing things with the national team that you see are obviously not up to par with a top level pro club, then you are going to think it. And it may become a problem, especially when you start thinking the coach may be holding you back, since the pieces may soon look to be better than the whole (for the first time in MNT history too).

This is also the case with young players on top sides who may go into a Canada u-20 mix. If a kid sees the NT camps are below their professional experience, then that is dissuasory. 

I would also further that we have had amazing success with this group of players. Who knows what happens if herdman isnt up to par and we start losing. Then we could see some bigger issues like you say. 

Don't even start with the lack of professionalism in the youth programs..... It's not a good look for persuading dual nationals.  

[Unnamed Trialist]

4 hours ago, InglewoodJack said:

RV is in a really good spot. Right now, they need 14 points to stay up regardless of what the other teams do. All three of RV, Getafe and Espanyol play one of the two giants over the next 3 weeks, so really, you figure it's 11 points in 5 games. Espanyol has one against Atleti as well. RV is playing Cadiz, Getafe and Almeria during that span. They should take care of business and win all three games which would all but seal the deal, but even if they drop a stupid game or two between now and then, they're forcing the worst teams in the league to basically pull off multiple incredible upsets to finish the season which is highly unlikely.

Of course, this is all hypotheticals and we know RV is known to drop easy points, but they're relatively safe. That said, there's a Getafe x Valladolid match up int he final week which could be an absolute classic if a few things go wrong for RV between now and then.

The standard opinion in Spain is that over 40 points saves you. 6 more for Valladolid should do it. 7 better.

Haven't looked at tiebreaks, but them facing Cádiz on the last day...if both need a point they'll both get one.

[Obinna]

5 hours ago, Bigandy said:

I would love to include johnston but hes a few years out i think.  I would argue that a back up at a terrible ajax is similar to a back up for a semi finalist UCL team. Dest has poor form but I would think hes a class above the rest when on average to above average form. But I could go with sanchez too. 

CCV is a good shout. Weak CB pool to choose from. 

Reyna and musah can be added to unlucky. The lozano I was referring to is chucky. La torre and reid are good shouts as are the Jamaicans 

Jimenez at one point was a quality striker. I still think he should get a half shout as unlucky. 

I love these sorts of debates. 

Would be cool to do a ranking of top 11 players not including positions. 

1. Davies
2. David
3. Navas
4. Pulisic
5. Staq
6. Adams
7. Mckennie
8. Alvarez
9. Buchanan
10. Musah 

thats a tough list

If I were to combine form, potential, and resume, I would then say the following things: 

- Eustaquio is the first name from the top that strikes me as debatable. Davies and David are a convincing 1 and 2, while Navas was a world class keeper who starts in the EPL. I guess you may say Pulisic is arguable, but he's got 20 goals for Chelsea over 3 seasons. That's elite despite the narratives. He's also the top active scorer of the United States and the face of their program. It's a pretty big resume and he's very much in his prime.

- Eustaquio, the Porto man, has had quite the season. Better than Mckennie, Tyler Adams and arguably Alvarez. Hirving Lozano though, he's of a similar level of importance to Napoli as Staq to Porto, but Napoli are having a better season, with all due respect to Porto. They're in the drivers seat in Serie A, while Porto chase Benfica. 

- Buchanan over Musah feels right. Valencia had been a disaster and Musah hasn't had his best season. Buchanan's close to an Inter move despite a turbulent season. Musah may arguably have the higher ceiling, but that's about it. 

- Could you argue Larin over Musah? His first half was a mess, but he's got 7 in 13 in La Liga. No other player in the confederation (David aside) has a better strike rate in a top 5 league. Like Pulisic he is the current active scoring leader for his national team. Hell, you could argue Larin is ahead of Eustaquio. That may actually be debatable. Either way, he gets on this list for me, but I don't think anyone else does. Maybe Johnston in the future, or perhaps (or Kone in the more distant future).

Edited May 2, 2023 by Obinna

[CanadaFan123]

These lists must really make Mexico look in the mirror. Incredible to see the progress of USA/Canada talent. 

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

22 hours ago, Bigandy said:

Best in concacaf 
GK: Navas CR 
LB: Davies CAN 
CB: Ream USA
CB: Vasques ? MEX
RB: Dest USA
CDM: Alvarez MEX
CM: Staq CAN
CM: Mckennie USA
LW: Pulisic USA
ST: David CAN 
RW: Buchanan CAN 

4 of 11 is not bad.

Unlucky players: Adams, Johnston, Larin, Lozano, Jiminez, 

Missing some Reggae Boyz love I think. 

Pinnock could arguable be ahead of Ream, I haven't seen Vasques enough.

 @Obinna mentioned Decordova-Reid. Him and Bailey  should be ahead of Pulisic if we are going on this season.  In terms of minutes, production and team performance. (To be fair neither of the former has Fat Frank as their current manager)

Antonio despite supposedly being replaced by Scamacca and then Ings still has 5 g 3a in a poor(ly performing, I will say) team.  I certainly keep him ahead of Jimenez at this point.  

Side note: McKennie has not looked great in the games I have seen and might go down with Dirty Leeds. 

Edited May 2, 2023 by WestHamCanadianinOxford

[baulderdash77]

If we put Davies where he normally plays for Canada, then Pulisic doesn’t make the Best XI because they play the same position.

People tend to put Davies at LB to make it convenient for picking a team.

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

5 minutes ago, baulderdash77 said:

If we put Davies where he normally plays for Canada, then Pulisic doesn’t make the Best XI because they play the same position.

People tend to put Davies at LB to make it convenient for picking a team.

True.  I was going on club form and therefore position, which is where Davies can been seen the most.  

[InglewoodJack]

10 minutes ago, baulderdash77 said:

If we put Davies where he normally plays for Canada, then Pulisic doesn’t make the Best XI because they play the same position.

People tend to put Davies at LB to make it convenient for picking a team.

On the other hand though, if a hypothetical team had access to every player in concacaf, Davies would be moved back to his best position.

[Bigandy]

47 minutes ago, baulderdash77 said:

If we put Davies where he normally plays for Canada, then Pulisic doesn’t make the Best XI because they play the same position.

People tend to put Davies at LB to make it convenient for picking a team.

I think davies has now officially moved to LWB for Canada. 

[Shway]

1 hour ago, InglewoodJack said:

On the other hand though, if a hypothetical team had access to every player in concacaf, Davies would be moved back to his best position.

and his best position is LWB.
You can't watch Bayern, and say he plays the traditional LB. 

Making a Concacaf best XI varies on formation IMO. But regardless of that, Davies would still be in a 4-4-2 or 3-5-2
 

[costarg]

1 hour ago, Bigandy said:

I think davies has now officially moved to LWB for Canada. 

Anything and anywhere is better than that attacking floating libero role Herdman had him playing at the WC.  

[Shway]

16 minutes ago, Shway said:

Making a Concacaf best XI varies on formation IMO. But regardless of that, Davies would still be in a 4-4-2 or 3-5-2
 

And on this note...I think best XI should be switched to best 23, because the formations could dictate who's in the squad imo.

GK: Navas 🇨🇷, Blake 🇯🇲, Turner 🇺🇸
DF: Pinnock 🇯🇲, Ream  🇺🇸, Carter-Vickers   🇺🇸, Sanchez 🇲🇽, Johnston  🇨🇦, A. Robinson 🇺🇸, 
MF: Eustaqiuo 🇨🇦, McKennie 🇺🇸, Alvarez 🇲🇽, Buchanan 🇨🇦, Davies  🇨🇦, Reid 🇯🇲, Adams 🇺🇸, Gutiérrez 🇲🇽
FW: David 🇨🇦, Becker 🇸🇷, Bailey 🇯🇲, Lozano 🇲🇽, Antonio 🇯🇲, Aaronson 🇺🇸

____

3-5-2
GK: Navas🇨🇷
DF: Carter-Vickers 🇺🇸 - Pinnock 🇯🇲 - Ream 🇺🇸
MF: Buchanan 🇨🇦 - Alvarez 🇲🇽 -Mckennie 🇺🇸 -Eustaqiuo 🇨🇦 -Davies 🇨🇦
FW: David 🇨🇦 -Becker 🇸🇷
____

4-4-2
GK: Navas🇨🇷
RB: Johnston 🇨🇦 - Pinnock 🇯🇲 - Ream 🇺🇸 - Davies 🇨🇦
MF: Reid 🇯🇲 - Alvarez 🇲🇽 - Mckennie 🇺🇸 - Bailey 🇯🇲
FW:  David 🇨🇦 - Becker 🇸🇷

_____

 4-3-3
GK: Navas🇨🇷
RB: Johnston 🇨🇦 - Pinnock 🇯🇲 - Ream 🇺🇸 - Davies 🇨🇦
MF: Alvarez 🇲🇽 - Mckennie 🇺🇸 - Eustaqiuo 🇨🇦
FW: Lozano 🇲🇽 - David 🇨🇦 -  Bailey 🇯🇲

The undisputed guys are Navas, Ream, Pinnock, Davies, David, Mckennie, and Alvarez

[Bigandy]

13 minutes ago, Shway said:

And on this note...I think best XI should be switched to best 23, because the formations could dictate who's in the squad imo.

GK: Navas 🇨🇷, Blake 🇯🇲, Turner 🇺🇸
DF: Pinnock 🇯🇲, Ream  🇺🇸, Carter-Vickers   🇺🇸, Sanchez 🇲🇽, Johnston  🇨🇦, A. Robinson 🇺🇸, 
MF: Eustaqiuo 🇨🇦, McKennie 🇺🇸, Alvarez 🇲🇽, Buchanan 🇨🇦, Davies  🇨🇦, Reid 🇯🇲, Adams 🇺🇸, Gutiérrez 🇲🇽
FW: David 🇨🇦, Becker 🇸🇷, Bailey 🇯🇲, Lozano 🇲🇽, Antonio 🇯🇲, Aaronson 🇺🇸

____

3-5-2
GK: Navas🇨🇷
DF: Carter-Vickers 🇺🇸 - Pinnock 🇯🇲 - Ream 🇺🇸
MF: Buchanan 🇨🇦 - Alvarez 🇲🇽 -Mckennie 🇺🇸 -Eustaqiuo 🇨🇦 -Davies 🇨🇦
FW: David 🇨🇦 -Becker 🇸🇷
____

4-4-2
GK: Navas🇨🇷
RB: Johnston 🇨🇦 - Pinnock 🇯🇲 - Ream 🇺🇸 - Davies 🇨🇦
MF: Reid 🇯🇲 - Alvarez 🇲🇽 - Mckennie 🇺🇸 - Bailey 🇯🇲
FW:  David 🇨🇦 - Becker 🇸🇷

_____

 4-3-3
GK: Navas🇨🇷
RB: Johnston 🇨🇦 - Pinnock 🇯🇲 - Ream 🇺🇸 - Davies 🇨🇦
MF: Alvarez 🇲🇽 - Mckennie 🇺🇸 - Eustaqiuo 🇨🇦
FW: Lozano 🇲🇽 - David 🇨🇦 -  Bailey 🇯🇲

The undisputed guys are Navas, Ream, Pinnock, Davies, David, Mckennie, and Alvarez

Love this post. Lozano surely should get more credit but he doesnt fit into alot of systems. I would also argue that adams, mckennie, alvarez and staq are all competing pretty close together. youre probably right with alvarez and mceknnie winning though. 

[Shway]

1 minute ago, Bigandy said:

Love this post. Lozano surely should get more credit but he doesnt fit into alot of systems. I would also argue that adams, mckennie, alvarez and staq are all competing pretty close together. youre probably right with alvarez and mceknnie winning though. 

I think the only guy who I might have left out is Antonio  - he's having a better season than the Becker. I guess I just didn't want to look  biased and add some mixture. 

[Obinna]

42 minutes ago, Shway said:

And on this note...I think best XI should be switched to best 23, because the formations could dictate who's in the squad imo.

GK: Navas 🇨🇷, Blake 🇯🇲, Turner 🇺🇸
DF: Pinnock 🇯🇲, Ream  🇺🇸, Carter-Vickers   🇺🇸, Sanchez 🇲🇽, Johnston  🇨🇦, A. Robinson 🇺🇸, 
MF: Eustaqiuo 🇨🇦, McKennie 🇺🇸, Alvarez 🇲🇽, Buchanan 🇨🇦, Davies  🇨🇦, Reid 🇯🇲, Adams 🇺🇸, Gutiérrez 🇲🇽
FW: David 🇨🇦, Becker 🇸🇷, Bailey 🇯🇲, Lozano 🇲🇽, Antonio 🇯🇲, Aaronson 🇺🇸

____

3-5-2
GK: Navas🇨🇷
DF: Carter-Vickers 🇺🇸 - Pinnock 🇯🇲 - Ream 🇺🇸
MF: Buchanan 🇨🇦 - Alvarez 🇲🇽 -Mckennie 🇺🇸 -Eustaqiuo 🇨🇦 -Davies 🇨🇦
FW: David 🇨🇦 -Becker 🇸🇷
____

4-4-2
GK: Navas🇨🇷
RB: Johnston 🇨🇦 - Pinnock 🇯🇲 - Ream 🇺🇸 - Davies 🇨🇦
MF: Reid 🇯🇲 - Alvarez 🇲🇽 - Mckennie 🇺🇸 - Bailey 🇯🇲
FW:  David 🇨🇦 - Becker 🇸🇷

_____

 4-3-3
GK: Navas🇨🇷
RB: Johnston 🇨🇦 - Pinnock 🇯🇲 - Ream 🇺🇸 - Davies 🇨🇦
MF: Alvarez 🇲🇽 - Mckennie 🇺🇸 - Eustaqiuo 🇨🇦
FW: Lozano 🇲🇽 - David 🇨🇦 -  Bailey 🇯🇲

The undisputed guys are Navas, Ream, Pinnock, Davies, David, Mckennie, and Alvarez

Love this post, but I would totally dispute McKennie. Not saying he has no business there, but you could debate whether he should be there, because couldn't De La Torre belong in that Mckennie convo ? He was a starter last window and started a lot of games for Celta Vigo, a team more comfortable than Leeds right now.

Also, a best 23 with Aaronson but no Pulisic or Reyna seems questionable. Maybe non of the 3 deserve to be there, but certainly Aaronson hasn't had the best season of the 3.

Call me a homer but I think you got to find room for Larin there. For me his 7 goals in 13 La Liga games erases the nightmare first half of the season, but if you want to view his entire season up to this point it's 8 goals in 26 games evenly split between Brugge and Valladolid, including a few Belgian Cup games. Even looking at the stats that way you could say it's been a good season for Cyle, I think. Maybe not best 23 in concacaf worthy, but the 7 La Liga goals do stand out, no?

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

19 minutes ago, Obinna said:

Love this post, but I would totally dispute McKennie. Not saying he has no business there, but you could debate whether he should be there, because couldn't De La Torre belong in that Mckennie convo ? He was a starter last window and started a lot of games for Celta Vigo, a team more comfortable than Leeds right now.

Also, a best 23 with Aaronson but no Pulisic or Reyna seems questionable. Maybe non of the 3 deserve to be there, but certainly Aaronson hasn't had the best season of the 3.

Call me a homer but I think you got to find room for Larin there. For me his 7 goals in 13 La Liga games erases the nightmare first half of the season, but if you want to view his entire season up to this point it's 8 goals in 26 games evenly split between Brugge and Valladolid, including a few Belgian Cup games. Even looking at the stats that way you could say it's been a good season for Cyle, I think. Maybe not best 23 in concacaf worthy, but the 7 La Liga goals do stand out, no?

It's just half a season and there are good reasons/excuses - his American manager being booted not long after he got there and debatably not play in his best midfield role - but McKennie has looked really slow and seems to want way to much time when he gets the ball. 

[Shway]

1 hour ago, WestHamCanadianinOxford said:

It's just half a season and there are good reasons/excuses - his American manager being booted not long after he got there and debatably not play in his best midfield role - but McKennie has looked really slow and seems to want way to much time when he gets the ball. 

He got to used to playing in Serie A.

[Shway]

1 hour ago, Obinna said:

Love this post, but I would totally dispute McKennie. Not saying he has no business there, but you could debate whether he should be there, because couldn't De La Torre belong in that Mckennie convo ? He was a starter last window and started a lot of games for Celta Vigo, a team more comfortable than Leeds right now.

Also, a best 23 with Aaronson but no Pulisic or Reyna seems questionable. Maybe non of the 3 deserve to be there, but certainly Aaronson hasn't had the best season of the 3.

Call me a homer but I think you got to find room for Larin there. For me his 7 goals in 13 La Liga games erases the nightmare first half of the season, but if you want to view his entire season up to this point it's 8 goals in 26 games evenly split between Brugge and Valladolid, including a few Belgian Cup games. Even looking at the stats that way you could say it's been a good season for Cyle, I think. Maybe not best 23 in concacaf worthy, but the 7 La Liga goals do stand out, no?

You're right about the Americans. 

McKennie vs De La Torre maybe based more on history vs current season, is why I picked McKennie. And tbh I have never watched LDLT play.

I think I just like Aaronsons game better than all three of those guys and he's had a better season than Pulisic, and has played a lot more than Reyna, regardless of the fact that Gio has more goals in an inferior league.

It was hard for me to not include Larin, but if I had to it would be Aaronson who I would replace him with.I was just trying to avoid making those list that have 5 central strikers, 5 attacking mids, and 5 centre backs being put in positions that doesn't make sense. 

David, Antonio, Becker all beat out Larin, was my thinking. 

Edited May 2, 2023 by Shway

[Obinna]

17 minutes ago, Shway said:

You're right about the Americans. 

McKennie vs De La Torre maybe based more on history vs current season, is why I picked McKennie. And tbh I have never watched LDLT play.

I think I just like Aaronsons game better than all three of those guys and he's had a better season than Pulisic, and has played a lot more than Reyna, regardless of the fact that Gio has more goals in an inferior league.

That's a fair take. What comes up for me is how Aaronson is ending the season versus how he started it, which was with a bang. I noticed however that less and less he is starting and a few times he didn't even come off the bench iirc. Just seems to me like his importance to Leeds has diminished, whereas Puslic's situation is no better or worse for Chelsea than it's been for some time.

Statistically this has been Pulisic's worst Chelsea season, with 27 games and just 1 goal, and technically Aaronson's 1 goal in 36 games is better if you consider he's played in more games, but we are probably splitting hairs. Both of these guys only have a single goal to their name. That's underwhelming for 2 attacking players. Pulisic did play 5 games in the Champions League though, so there's that in his favour, at least.

Reyna you could argue has had the best season of the 3 despite playing the least. 6 goals in 26 games for a side that went out to Chelsea in the CL knockouts. They are really pushing Bayern in the Bundesliga, too. Reyna though doesn't seem as important to the squad as before though, despite the goals. Very few starts in the Bundesliga (just 4). Aaronson btw has came off the bench as many times as Reyna has started, but most (all?) of those apps off the bench have come in recent weeks.

Edited May 2, 2023 by Obinna

[InglewoodJack]

Purely anecdotal, but the USMNT fans I've seen/talk to do not like Aaronson that much. The way they view him is similar to how we talk about Brym here. He is not having a good season at all.

[Floortom]

24 minutes ago, InglewoodJack said:

Purely anecdotal, but the USMNT fans I've seen/talk to do not like Aaronson that much. The way they view him is similar to how we talk about Brym here. He is not having a good season at all.

Leeds / Marsch massively overpaid for him, which is probably leading to some of this backlash. He's a good player who runs a ton and can press forever, but he's not good enough yet to be a regular contributor in a top league IMO. Even in Austria, his numbers were somewhat underwhelming. He'd probably be better off in the Championship if Leeds do get relegated