Michael Baldisimo

[PiedPilko]

Well the Whitecaps blew it, but Baldi was terrific. His switches were back to normal and effective, and he seems to be really improving defensively. I think his size leads to midfielders underestimating him, and he made some great tackles on the press. He needs to be given a shot at the Gold Cup. 

 

Led the team on sofascore

 

 

 

 

Edited June 19, 2021 by PiedPilko

[Ivan]

5 hours ago, PiedPilko said:

Well the Whitecaps blew it, but Baldi was terrific. His switches were back to normal and effective, and he seems to be really improving defensively. I think his size leads to midfielders underestimating him, and he made some great tackles on the press. He needs to be given a shot at the Gold Cup. 

 

Led the team on sofascore

 

 

 

 

Only watched the first half, but I agree, he looked great.

[TGAA_Star]

7 hours ago, PiedPilko said:

Well the Whitecaps blew it, but Baldi was terrific. His switches were back to normal and effective, and he seems to be really improving defensively. I think his size leads to midfielders underestimating him, and he made some great tackles on the press. He needs to be given a shot at the Gold Cup. 

 

Led the team on sofascore

 

 

 

 

Yeah definitely agree he needs to be called up for the Gold Cup but he just adds to our ever growing depth pool of talent and I just love it

[Big_M]

looked very weak defending that second goal conceded..and not the first time he defending like that..gotta work on it

[BearcatSA]

His longer range passing is his clear strength.  He might benefit more from playing in a 4-2-3-1 alongside a more defensively inclined guy so he can do more of what he does best.  Bikel looked out of place in an 8 role and would be better deeper alongside Baldi.

[VinceA]

http://theazkals.com/news/azkals-gear-up-for-aff-suzuki-cup-2020/?fbclid=IwAR1m9c95YXQpdd0fEi4iX2ckuHtKGm_wCEbB1w_VFpLTUmwcSaP6k68816w

Michael and Matthew were both called up but withdrew due to injury.

So it seems Michael is going to play for the Azkals.

[Obinna]

3 minutes ago, VinceA said:

http://theazkals.com/news/azkals-gear-up-for-aff-suzuki-cup-2020/?fbclid=IwAR1m9c95YXQpdd0fEi4iX2ckuHtKGm_wCEbB1w_VFpLTUmwcSaP6k68816w

Michael and Matthew were both called up but withdrew due to injury.

So it seems Michael is going to play for the Azkals.

I hope that's untrue, because it would be highly disappointing to lose him to the Philippians. He's only 21, who knows how good he can be. 

If the FA is saying he was going to be called in, he must have filed his one-time switch already, right?

Either way, it's a miss if it's true. We should have called him and tied him in the Gold Cup, ahead of Paton, who isn't a realistic risk of defecting.  

[VinceA]

1 minute ago, Obinna said:

I hope that's untrue, because it would be highly disappointing to lose him to the Philippians. He's only 21, who knows how good he can be. 

If the FA is saying he was going to be called in, he must have filed his one-time switch already, right?

Either way, it's a miss if it's true. We should have called him and tied him in the Gold Cup, ahead of Paton, who isn't a realistic risk of defecting.  

To add if they are beignning to scout more in North America I think it is only a matter of time before they start sending feelers out to Chung, Daniels and Metcalfe.

[The Real Marc]

Provides an overview:

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/jul/28/climbing-fast-scott-cooper-and-the-football-revolution-in-the-philippines

[Obinna]

1 minute ago, VinceA said:

To add if they are beignning to scout more in North America I think it is only a matter of time before they start sending feelers out to Chung, Daniels and Metcalfe.

For sure, but to be honest the best of the lot has already gotten away with Michael. I don't see meaningful Canada senior games for Daniel or Metcalfe.

Chung is a player I rate, but he's 23 and is competing with so many players of a similar age, such as Brault-Guillard, Gutierrez, Choniere (if he keeps developing as a wingback), Bayiha, Bassong (if he doesn't further develop as an LCB), and Abzi. This is not even mentioning the more established players like Laryea, Johnston, Buchanan and (of course) Davies.

I wouldn't want to lose Chung, but I see the depth there so for me it'd be a case of win-some, lose-some.

Baldisimo is different for me. He has a very unique skill set, being able to play through lines and hit accurate long balls. The knock on him (no pun intended) is his inability to stay fit. Still though, at 21 years old this defection comes too early for me.

In the midfield he'd be competing with the likes of Fraser, Priso, Paton and maybe Okello for that depth spot in the midfield. I dunno, we just feel a bit too thin there to be losing Michael....

[dyslexic nam]

21 minutes ago, Obinna said:

We should have called him and tied him in the Gold Cup, ahead of Paton, who isn't a realistic risk of defecting.  

I am of two minds on this one.  

Mainly, I only want to do this if it is a player making enough waves at a youth level that they are deemed a top prospect - and I am not sure Baldi fits that profile.  I don’t want to become known as a country that will cynically cap and hoard players whether or not we see them in our future plans (which is what differentiates Baldi from the high profile dual Nats we all want to lock down - most of us feel they will achieve a level of play that will make them contributors to the Nats at some point).  If we get that rep, young players would be foolish to accept an early cap from us if they know that they may never get called again.  

I do wonder what our central midfield position looks like when it comes to the next generation.  On the defensive side Staq (still only 24) will still be there for a long time and I have Priso pretty much locked in as a future contributor- plus Okello may pan out as a solid option going either way.  On the more attacking aide I still think Nelson will come good (and he is 2.5 years younger than Baldi so far too early to dismiss him).  Plus if one or two of Ferdi, Flores or Dias commit, we would be pretty solid.   Bottom line is that central midfield looks like it is in pretty good shape, so I am not sure I feel the need to cap Baldi.  

Just for context, weren’t you the one worried when we lost Ryan Telfer to T&T?   I put this loss in that same sort of category.  A few years ago this kind of defection might have stung a bit, but it is just the reality of our current depth that we are going to lose guys like Telfer, Aleman, and Baldi.  

Edited November 29, 2021 by dyslexic nam

[Dominic94]

I think the reality is that Baldi likely won’t become good enough to grab a spot.

Priso is looking very good, and then if a Ferdi commits that could be our starting Mid for a awhile and that’s let alone the ton of youth players we having coming.

[Obinna]

3 minutes ago, dyslexic nam said:

I am of two minds on this one.  

Mainly, I only want to do this if it is a player making enough waves at a youth level that they are deemed a top prospect - and I am not sure Baldi fits that profile.  I don’t want to become known as a country that will cynically cap and hoard players whether or not we see them in our future plans (which is what differentiates Baldi from the high profile dual Nats we all want to lock down - most of us feel they will achieve a level of play that will make them contributors to the Nats at some point).  If we get that rep, young players would be foolish to accept an early cap from us if they know that they may never get called again.  

I do wonder what our central midfield position looks like when it comes to the next generation.  On the defensive side Staq (still only 24) will still be there for a long time and I have Priso pretty much locked in as a future contributor- plus Okello may pan out as a solid option going either way.  On the more attacking aide I still think Nelson will come good (and he is 2.5 years younger than Baldi so far too early to dismiss him).  Plus if one or two of Ferdi, Flores or Dias commit, we would be pretty solid.   Bottom line is that central midfield looks like it is in pretty good shape, so I am not sure I feel the need to cap Baldi.  

Just for context, weren’t you the one worried when we lost Ryan Telfer to T&T?   I put this loss in that same sort of category.  A few years ago this kind of defection might have stung a bit, but it is just the reality of our current depth that we are going to lose guys like Telfer, Aleman, and Baldi.  

Indeed. 

The reason I never liked losing Telfer was that he was going to a direct rival. Fortunately T&T have been so poor it never mattered.

The other reason was because Telfer has certain qualities I thought we shouldn't walk away from, namely his pace and power. 

As it turned out, however, we have since integrated younger, better players with some of those characteristics, such as Buchanan. And Davies has since turned into a monster. Therefore, don't miss Telfer in the slightest. 

Hopefully it will be the same with Baldisimio. There will be another player that comes along that does what he does. 

For me Baldisimo is a "Priso" level prospect. Different qualities, but same position and similar ceiling.

For me, losing Baldisimo to the Philippians today is in the same ballpark as losing Priso to Cameroon in 2 years. 

[VinceA]

24 minutes ago, Obinna said:

For sure, but to be honest the best of the lot has already gotten away with Michael. I don't see meaningful Canada senior games for Daniel or Metcalfe.

Chung is a player I rate, but he's 23 and is competing with so many players of a similar age, such as Brault-Guillard, Gutierrez, Choniere (if he keeps developing as a wingback), Bayiha, Bassong (if he doesn't further develop as an LCB), and Abzi. This is not even mentioning the more established players like Laryea, Johnston, Buchanan and (of course) Davies.

I wouldn't want to lose Chung, but I see the depth there so for me it'd be a case of win-some, lose-some.

Baldisimo is different for me. He has a very unique skill set, being able to play through lines and hit accurate long balls. The knock on him (no pun intended) is his inability to stay fit. Still though, at 21 years old this defection comes too early for me.

In the midfield he'd be competing with the likes of Fraser, Priso, Paton and maybe Okello for that depth spot in the midfield. I dunno, we just feel a bit too thin there to be losing Michael....

I do wonder if Herdman has plans for Baldisimo but the fact he is always injured puts a wrench in those plans.

[dyslexic nam]

3 minutes ago, Obinna said:

Indeed. 

The reason I never liked losing Telfer was that he was going to a direct rival. Fortunately T&T have been so poor it never mattered.

The other reason was because Telfer has certain qualities I thought we shouldn't walk away from, namely his pace and power. 

As it turned out, however, we have since integrated younger, better players with some of those characteristics, such as Buchanan. And Davies has since turned into a monster. Therefore, don't miss Telfer in the slightest. 

Hopefully it will be the same with Baldisimio. There will be another player that comes along that does what he does. 

For me Baldisimo is a "Priso" level prospect. Different qualities, but same position and similar ceiling.

For me, losing Baldisimo to the Philippians today is in the same ballpark as losing Priso to Cameroon in 2 years. 

I guess that is where we differ.  In 2.5 years, I see Priso ahead of where Baldi is currently.  I would be surprised if Priso isn’t at least a locked-in starter at MLS level by that time. 

[Tyler55]

1 minute ago, Obinna said:

Indeed. 

The reason I never liked losing Telfer was that he was going to a direct rival. Fortunately T&T have been so poor it never mattered.

The other reason was because Telfer has certain qualities I thought we shouldn't walk away from, namely his pace and power. 

As it turned out, however, we have since integrated younger, better players with some of those characteristics, such as Buchanan. And Davies has since turned into a monster. Therefore, don't miss Telfer in the slightest. 

Hopefully it will be the same with Baldisimio. There will be another player that comes along that does what he does. 

For me Baldisimo is a "Priso" level prospect. Different qualities, but same position and similar ceiling.

For me, losing Baldisimo to the Philippians today is in the same ballpark as losing Priso to Cameroon in 2 years. 

I think Priso is on a different level granted he's played much fewer games so we don't know if he can always perform well. His mobility in getting back covering for cbs and making tackles would be perfect for the current setup and his passing is underrated as well. I agree that they both have a similar ceiling, hot take but I think in a couple years Priso will displace Steph as our 6.

[Obinna]

Just now, VinceA said:

I do wonder if Herdman has plans for Baldisimo but the fact he is always injured puts a wrench in those plans.

I think so. I recall a comment about how he was on the radar, though I can't remember if that was straight from Herdman's mouth. That was back in January, where he missed out on the training camp, I think.

His brother already filing his switch was surely a factor. I think he waits at least another year if not for that, but careers are short so I guess you can't fault him in a way. Nor can you really fault Herdman/CSA if Baldisimo wasn't healthy when it was call up time. 

I do think he was fit during the Gold Cup though, wasn't he?

[PiedPilko]

I don't get how we're so ready to dismiss him. We've never given up on Okello despite similar struggles. He's 21 and I still maintain he has the most obvious skillset of our midfield prospects - even if he has the most to iron out. Where do we get this idea that he'll never reach that level?

[Aird25]

Admittedly, I haven't watch an awful lot of him, but he seems like such a luxury player to me. I see an incredible passing range, but what else does he offer... enough to displace other Canadian midfielders?

[Tyler55]

3 minutes ago, Obinna said:

I think so. I recall a comment about how he was on the radar, though I can't remember if that was straight from Herdman's mouth. That was back in January, where he missed out on the training camp, I think.

His brother already filing his switch was surely a factor. I think he waits at least another year if not for that, but careers are short so I guess you can't fault him in a way. Nor can you really fault Herdman/CSA if Baldisimo wasn't healthy when it was call up time. 

I do think he was fit during the Gold Cup though, wasn't he?

I'm pretty sure he was healthy although I don't know why he missed 2 games right before the gold cup which started on Jul. 10

[Obinna]

3 minutes ago, dyslexic nam said:

I guess that is where we differ.  In 2.5 years, I see Priso ahead of where Baldi is currently.  I would be surprised if Priso isn’t at least a locked-in starter at MLS level by that time. 

Yup for sure, that's where we diverge I think. 

Obviously I hope you are right, now that we've lost Baldisimo!

In my opinion (and many others) he should have been locked in as an MLS starter at Vancouver, but a combination of Dos Santos and injuries never saw that come to pass.

The guys at MLS seemed to like his play as well, especially his range of passing. Doyle has done a few breakdowns of it, I believe. He gets a lot of love from them and I think that goal he scored really put him on their radar. 

[Obinna]

5 minutes ago, Aird25 said:

Admittedly, I haven't watch an awful lot of him, but he seems like such a luxury player to me. I see an incredible passing range, but what else does he offer... enough to displace other Canadian midfielders?

This is correct IMO. 

That's why I am bummed though. He would have been great pinging cross field passes to Buchanan and Davies. 

It would have been a luxury for sure, but a luxury I wanted to see in our system. 

His flaw aside from staying fit was not winning enough duels. If he developed that quicker he's probably in our system already with a handful of caps. He would have probably won the backing of Dos Santos as well...

[Obinna]

14 minutes ago, Tyler55 said:

I think Priso is on a different level granted he's played much fewer games so we don't know if he can always perform well. His mobility in getting back covering for cbs and making tackles would be perfect for the current setup and his passing is underrated as well. I agree that they both have a similar ceiling, hot take but I think in a couple years Priso will displace Steph as our 6.

Ooo that is a spicy one. I like the boldness!

I agree on Priso making tackles. That's the part of Baldisimo's game that is lacking. Priso I think is already more rounded though, since his passing is pretty decent, so I agree there too.

Where I get frustrated sometimes with Priso is that he turns over the ball too much. Obviously something he can and likely will clean up, but I need to actually see it first.

I also have a bias for ball secure players, so maybe the turnovers mean more to me than @dyslexic nam and others....

[Tyler55]

15 minutes ago, Obinna said:

Ooo that is a spicy one. I like the boldness!

I agree on Priso making tackles. That's the part of Baldisimo's game that is lacking. Priso I think is already more rounded though, since his passing is pretty decent, so I agree there too.

Where I get frustrated sometimes with Priso is that he turns over the ball too much. Obviously something he can and likely will clean up, but I need to actually see it first.

I also have a bias for ball secure players, so maybe the turnovers mean more to me than @dyslexic nam and others....

At the beginning of the year Armas said Priso reminds him of Tyler Adams to which I thought oh no here we go again with TFC talking up their young players 😂. From the first time I watched him play though I was astounded by his mobility covering for Bradley and the center backs. I think he can definitely clean up his play overall, too bad he got injured because I think he could have made the Canada squad over Liam Fraser if he kept improving, hopefully he gets more playing time next year. 

[VinceA]

Priso seemed to be getting better every game. I fully expect Bradley to be in his dad's ear telling him Priso is his successor, MB Loooves him.