Michael Baldisimo

[dyslexic nam]

17 minutes ago, Tyler55 said:

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. 

I am a big Priso fan. Totally think he will be in the mix for the Nats within a few years.  

But displace Staq in his prime?  Nah.  That guys is a friggin beast. 

[Dominic94]

1 hour 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.

I second this, Priso looks promising, his passing will improve with playing time. I can see him overseas sooner than later if he takes a step this year and gets regular playing time.

[Tyler55]

14 minutes ago, dyslexic nam said:

I am a big Priso fan. Totally think he will be in the mix for the Nats within a few years.  

But displace Staq in his prime?  Nah.  That guys is a friggin beast. 

We'll see but I really think Priso is special, he doesn't have the vision of Staq obviosuly but he just turned 19 and only played 11 MLS games. Give him a full year's worth of games *fingers crossed* and I think he can be a beast at MLS level. I'm normally not this excited about young players but I have very high hopes for Priso at the very least I think eventually he'll replace Piette on the team.

[Obinna]

If you're comparing the ceiling of two players, and one of them is getting shine in the other's forum, that's a pretty good indication of which player has the highest ceiling, at least according to the majority of fans. 

[Watchmen]

1 hour ago, Obinna said:

He would have probably won the backing of Dos Santos as well...

Dos Santos gave him more than a fair shot. He just never seized the opportunity this year. Play was consistently disappointing for quite a while before he was eventually dropped.

[GasPed]

2 hours ago, Dominic94 said:

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.

I have to agree based on what I've seen.  I do like Baldi (maybe it's my soft spot for Filipinos 😉), but the fact is, despite his skills, he just doesn't seem to have the athleticism or motor to be able to compete a full 90 in the top tiers.  He loses a lot of duels, and he just can't seem to win possession at the rate you'd like to see a CM do it.  There's a reason he only started 3 of the last 20 games while Russ Teibert started 18 of 20, and it wasn't because Russ is more offensively skilled.  And given the depth CMNT has at both DM and AM - Staq, MAK, Atiba, Piette, Oso, Arfield, Spoon, Fraser, Hoilett, new up and comers like Okello/Priso, potentials like Ferdi/Flores, and even oldtimers like Russ himself - I just can't imagine a world where Baldi could even break into the squad let alone get any minutes.  But I'd love to see him do well and show up my lack of imagination.🙂

Edited November 29, 2021 by GasPed

[GasPed]

Duplicate post

Edited November 29, 2021 by GasPed

[Floortom]

I liked Baldi a lot last year and thought he had potential but he regressed this year IMO. The one thing he is good at is intriguing, but he’s sub par at literally everything else. 

[Obinna]

19 minutes ago, Floortom said:

I liked Baldi a lot last year and thought he had potential but he regressed this year IMO. The one thing he is good at is intriguing, but he’s sub par at literally everything else. 

He was injured over the winter. Then, he came into Olympic qualifiers in less than peak condition, where he got re-injured (can happen when you come back too early). Then, the MLS season started and he had somewhat of a down year.

I don't want to make excuses for the guy, but maybe his season was derailed from the beginning. 

[Kadenge]

Many of us think that young players such as Jebbo will wait to see how high their ceiling is in case England is an option and perhaps the same for Flores & Dias if they get pro minutes. Yet players like Baldi & Yankov decided to take the plunge with another country at a relatively early age  (not including Sali as that is a unique and sad case). Perhaps he spoke to Herdman and got a frank answer ..he was way down the depth chart?.....don't know but in any event he was not willing to wait and fight for a place with Canada. So good luck to him. ZBG is cap tied but he is an example of the quality of our squad now. There are no easy caps. Gotta earn them.

Edited November 29, 2021 by Kadenge

[ag futbol]

Priso had a few games for TFC where he absolutely pulled the stings and sprayed balls all over midfield. Behind the lines, between the lines, etc…

I would not say he’s above Staq but I don’t think that’s the point. We could use another player like this on our roster, if he continues to develop at his current pace. Easily the highest potential prospect TFC has, with the exception of Rutty who’s a bit of an unknown still.

[BearcatSA]

He's not a big engine guy like Teibert so the present formation and pressing game is more suited to the club captain's style.  Baldi may shine more as one of the 2 in a 4-2-3-1 where he plays alongside a Laba-type and can sit back more and distribute, particularly those long diagonals to the less populated opposite flank.  Durability has also been an issue:  you can't develop or help your team on the field from the physio room.

[GasPed]

8 minutes ago, BearcatSA said:

He's not a big engine guy like Teibert so the present formation and pressing game is more suited to the club captain's style.  Baldi may shine more as one of the 2 in a 4-2-3-1 where he plays alongside a Laba-type and can sit back more and distribute, particularly those long diagonals to the less populated opposite flank.  Durability has also been an issue:  you can't develop or help your team on the field from the physio room.

Laba?  As in Matias Laba, destroyer of worlds and metatarsals? 

[SpursFlu]

4 hours ago, The Real Marc said:

Provides an overview:

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

It's an interesting story. I was looking thru their recent roster and it looked like there were only 1 or 2 players from the Philippines. Handful from Spain and Germany which surprised me. Good for Baldi, I wish him luck. If he gets in a game he'll likely increase his social media following a million fold

Edited November 29, 2021 by SpursFlu

[The Real Marc]

I think the calculus of waiting to see if you can make it for a team like England is different than waiting to see if you can make it for a Canada.

I can appreciate that with qualifying schedules only every four years the clock is ticking. If he's not in the Canadian team now, he's going to have to burn a good three years with no international soccer waiting to see if he gets in the next one. 

With the Philippines naturalising everyone and their uncle, I"m sure the attitude in the team is positive and they probably believe they could pull a Jamaica.

I'd have preferred that we kept him in the fold, not as a cynical cap-tie but as depth option. Oh well. Good luck!

Edited November 30, 2021 by The Real Marc

[Stryker911]

I honestly never saw why everyone was so high on this guy. He was never anything special in any of the games I saw. Especially when MDS was there. The fact he was dropping back to play between the CB as a small and not overly quick player made no sense to me. And then he rarely featured with the new coach. Maybe in a different system his skill set comes through, but I ddbt see it with Vancouver or Canada.

[Northvansteve]

This is pretty disappointing, if true. He has been a regular and our captain on the national youth teams. He's young, a central midfielder with good offensive skills with lots of time to grow. Yes he had a down year, but his passing and his vision are still there. Just needs to get into better shape and find the right position. 

[saladroit]

 

[Obinna]

1 minute ago, saladroit said:

 

Contrast this approach to John Herdman lol

[saladroit]

2 minutes ago, Obinna said:

Contrast this approach to John Herdman lol

well tbf (as i'm realizing now), that comment was from may https://theprovince.com/sports/soccer/international-soccer/big-baldi-accepts-call-up-to-philippines-with-an-eye-on-world-cup-qualification

which just makes it more bizarre

Edited December 1, 2021 by saladroit

[Obinna]

26 minutes ago, saladroit said:

well tbf (as i'm realizing now), that comment was from may https://theprovince.com/sports/soccer/international-soccer/big-baldi-accepts-call-up-to-philippines-with-an-eye-on-world-cup-qualification

which just makes it more bizarre

You're not alone. 

Where is the quote from Copper coming from originally?

Edit: I see the quote now in the province, and see that it was some time ago. Weird that Cooper called him after that. Hope Michael is happy playing for a coach like that. Says one thing, then does another. 

Edited December 1, 2021 by Obinna

[Kent]

It looked to me even at the time that he was just trying to pressure Michael. Give him one "last" chance and see what he does with it.

Heck, for all we know Balidisimo only accepted the call to keep the door open, and then was (wink wink) "injured" and couldn't make it.

[Dominic94]

So did he actually accept the call ? I mean I respect the coach’s comment I get it, but not sure they’re actually in that position…

[Shway]

They should go after Aidan Daniels, Raposo, or Metcalfe.

[The Real Marc]

9 hours ago, Obinna said:

Contrast this approach to John Herdman lol

It's a great example why hardball is the wrong approach. The only outcomes are a) you get a player joining under duress, b) you get a player rejecting you prematurely, c) you end up backtracking on your ultimatum and look like a fool later on. Lose, lose, lose.