Jonathan David

[Alex D]

4 hours ago, Keegan said:

From a Canadian soccer perspective we need to be rooting for Dortmund to get him.  The storyline between him and Davies would just be too good.  David v Davies, the battle of the 2000s, the 2 solitudes, BVB v Bayern.  Could be like a friendlier version of the Malkin v Ovechkin rivalry. 

Gladbach have a bit of a rivalry with FC Hollywood themeselves ya know!

[villus]

I think going to the Bundesliga would be great, ideally though I think playing another year at Gent would be the best case scenario. He's young and especially for a striker it's important to build that confidence and play, he wouldn't play a ton most likely at a club like Dortmund if he went next year. No matter what though he's doing really well and exceeding expectations Germany always tends to do well developing young talent.  

[matty]

34 minutes ago, villus said:

I think going to the Bundesliga would be great, ideally though I think playing another year at Gent would be the best case scenario. He's young and especially for a striker it's important to build that confidence and play, he wouldn't play a ton most likely at a club like Dortmund if he went next year. No matter what though he's doing really well and exceeding expectations Germany always tends to do well developing young talent.  

i agree another year in belgium would be good for him. hope if he is sold this off-season he is loaned back

[canadasoccer20]

https://www.prosoccerusa.com/in-depth/canadas-jonathan-david-stepping-out-of-alphonso-davies-shadow/

The David buzz is really starting to grow exponentially!

[dyslexic nam]

I am just so hugely thankful that we had another crazy talent hiding in plain sight.  While Davies got the hype (and justifiably so) David just forced his way into everyone's attention.  To quote Don Cherry, "What a beauty".  Having David in the mix gives me so much more confidence going forward.  People have largely forgotten that the big pre game announcement last week was that we would be missing both Davies and Arfield - two of our most potent attacking forces.  No problem, we have David, Cav, and Hoilett to get the job done.  It is crazy to think that we hardly even missed the guys that were out due to injury (!).  And that is no knock on them - it is just a testament to the fact that we have attacking depth that I can't recall. 

And David is so friggin young he is just going to get better. Woot woot!

[BenFisk'sBiggestFan]

https://www.concacafnationsleague.com/en/article/the-top-players-from-2019-20-cnlq?sf210024078=1

Canada's only representative in this list. He stood out for sure. 

[El Diego]

From the ProSoccer article:

"When he was 10, David joined the Gloucester Dragons Soccer Academy, and then in 2016 he played for the Ottawa Internationals Soccer Club program. It was there he was spotted by the Belgian side KAA Gent, who signed him to a professional contract in January 2018.

David’s story highlights that Canada, despite its three Major League Soccer teams, still has plenty of cracks when it comes to youth development — cracks that national team head coach John Herdman hopes the newly-created Canadian Premier League will fill when it kicks off in April."

While cracks may indeed exist, using David as an example is hogwash. He was well known to Canadian Soccer people/fans before his move to Belgium, and was playing for youth national teams well before his move to Belgium. Maybe I'm misremembering, but wasn't he actually spotted while on international duty?

[SpecialK]

4 hours ago, El Diego said:

From the ProSoccer article:

"When he was 10, David joined the Gloucester Dragons Soccer Academy, and then in 2016 he played for the Ottawa Internationals Soccer Club program. It was there he was spotted by the Belgian side KAA Gent, who signed him to a professional contract in January 2018.

David’s story highlights that Canada, despite its three Major League Soccer teams, still has plenty of cracks when it comes to youth development — cracks that national team head coach John Herdman hopes the newly-created Canadian Premier League will fill when it kicks off in April."

While cracks may indeed exist, using David as an example is hogwash. He was well known to Canadian Soccer people/fans before his move to Belgium, and was playing for youth national teams well before his move to Belgium. Maybe I'm misremembering, but wasn't he actually spotted while on international duty?

Ya he was very good at the CONCACF U17 tourney 

[Ruffian]

16 hours ago, El Diego said:

From the ProSoccer article:

"When he was 10, David joined the Gloucester Dragons Soccer Academy, and then in 2016 he played for the Ottawa Internationals Soccer Club program. It was there he was spotted by the Belgian side KAA Gent, who signed him to a professional contract in January 2018.

David’s story highlights that Canada, despite its three Major League Soccer teams, still has plenty of cracks when it comes to youth development — cracks that national team head coach John Herdman hopes the newly-created Canadian Premier League will fill when it kicks off in April."

While cracks may indeed exist, using David as an example is hogwash. He was well known to Canadian Soccer people/fans before his move to Belgium, and was playing for youth national teams well before his move to Belgium. Maybe I'm misremembering, but wasn't he actually spotted while on international duty?

I think Canadian MLS and CPL teams and academies need to show that they can develop and showcase young talent themselves or else many of the elite talents will continue to look to Europe for that development and opportunity.

[Bison44]

I think that a certain % of the elite talent will always go to europe.  Its not really a crack in the system when a kid is uber talented and has decided he wants to go to europe.  I am pretty sure he had some sort of work out with at least TFC but didnt want to go that route.  The 1% kids are probably going to make it whether they go to europe or MLS (Davies/David) but if we have 7 CPL teams beating the bushes for less obvious talent scattered across the country it has to help.  There is going to be a whole generation of pre teens today that are going to have every opportunity to make their mark in pro soccer right here in canada.  

[Addona]

What I love most about David is that he doesn’t seem the ego-type, miffed that Davies is getting the hype.... he’s just going out and killing it himself and letting his play demand attention!  It is so refreshing!

[Macksam]

On 3/25/2019 at 11:04 PM, matty said:

i agree another year in belgium would be good for him. hope if he is sold this off-season he is loaned back

I don’t think him staying one more year at Gent would hurt but I feel JD has the skill and composure to make that step up and slot into first team action for either Gladbach or Dortmund immediately. AD is a little different as he has to unlearn all that wreckless wastefulness he was afforded at VWC to get consistent playing time at Bayern Munich, but JD does not have that negative trait in his game. He gets a hold of the ball and plays it like it’s his final touch of the game, he makes the right decision and I haven’t seen him lose possession. I think he should make the move.

[C2SKI]

7 hours ago, Macksam said:

I don’t think him staying one more year at Gent would hurt but I feel JD has the skill and composure to make that step up and slot into first team action for either Gladbach or Dortmund immediately. AD is a little different as he has to unlearn all that wreckless wastefulness he was afforded at VWC to get consistent playing time at Bayern Munich, but JD does not have that negative trait in his game. He gets a hold of the ball and plays it like it’s his final touch of the game, he makes the right decision and I haven’t seen him lose possession. I think he should make the move.

Think you're being extremely harsh. With Vancouver it was Davies responsibility to take on defenders and create, and he did it at a higher success rate than anyone in the league. That's what earned him a transfer to Bayern. I don't think he's shown any inclination of 'wreckless wastefulness' with Bayern. Apart from wandering into the 18 for his goal, Davies has been very conservative, and almost tentative since joining Bayern. Safe passes, few take-ons, rarely  dispossessed.

Edited March 29, 2019 by C2SKI

[Macksam]

23 minutes ago, C2SKI said:

Think you're being extremely harsh. With Vancouver it was Davies responsibility to take on defenders and create, and he did it at a higher success rate than anyone in the league. That's what earned him a transfer to Bayern. I don't think he's shown any inclination of 'wreckless wastefulness' with Bayern. Apart from wandering into the 18 for his goal, Davies has been very conservative, and almost tentative since joining Bayern. Safe passes, no take-ons, rarely  dispossessed.

reckless wasn't the right word...not sure why I spelled reckless with a w. ?

Anyhow, AD was, like I previously mentioned given a license to fail where he was allowed to take these risks and for good reason, he is so super talented and super athletic that it made sense to give him that luxury. However, because of that, the type of game JD plays probably gives him a higher chance of starting in Bundesliga at the current moment imo. Don't get me wrong, I love AD and think he's going to get consistent playing time and eventually become a start for Bayern Munich in the not too distant future.

Edited March 29, 2019 by Macksam

[C2SKI]

12 minutes ago, Macksam said:

reckless wasn't the right word...not sure why I spelled reckless with a w. ?

Anyhow, AD was, like I previously mentioned given a license to fail where he was allowed to take these risks and for good reason, he is so super talented and super athletic that it made sense to give him that luxury. However, because of that, the type of game JD plays probably gives him a higher chance of starting in Bundesliga at the current moment imo. Don't get me wrong, I love AD and think he's going to get consistent playing time and eventually become a start for Bayern Munich in the not too distant future.

Fair enough. I'm excited for both players, but I still think it's unfair to say Davies has a negative trait of being reckless or wasteful. I just haven't seen it. His role with Vancouver was to be aggressive, but the fact that he's been so conservative with Bayern demonstrates that he's been able to follow instructions and alter his role. That shows discipline and responsibility. Not recklessness. I'm also quite skeptical that David would be a starter for Bayern if their roles were reversed. Just my two cents though. 

[baulderdash77]

I think because of his role with WVC combined with his exceptional talent Davies did acquire a bit of a bad habit of taking unnecessary risks when a pass was available.  

Vancouver was fine with that and it payed off against MLS talent.  But against tough B1 talent it’s not going to work as often.

As he matures a bit he’s going to learn when to take the shots and when to pass and make the better decision.

[BenFisk'sBiggestFan]

Davies and David are two very different players.

As an out and out winger it is Davies job to attack the back line, make riskier moves, and win one on ones; Stuff he did better than almost anyone has in MLS (including DPs). Straight out wingers will always give the ball away, what is more important is that they win the risk reward trade off. So far, Davies has always beaten players enough to justify his risky plays, including in the Bundesliga. So I think he will earn his time.

David, on the other hand, is more of an inside forward, or playmaker. Their job is to generate chances as well, but in a much more controlled way than a winger. Because they are in the center of the pitch there is more risk, so obviously they need to be more careful. David is very good at retaining possession and generating chances. But the Belgian league is much easier to do that than the Bundesliga. The defensive structure is easier to break down, and players are a little slower to close you down. David looks very good in the Belgian league, but if he were to go to the Bundesliga, he would have the same difficulties that Davies has in breaking into a starting lineup. 

Saying David would do better because he is a safer player doesn’t mean anything because they play different roles. Although they play in nearly the same positions, it all depends on their playing style and what they are asked to do. Bayern has always played with true wingers, so Davies will get his chance as long as he creates more than he gives away. 

[mpg_29]

 

[Unnamed Trialist]

They lost 3-0 away.

Today they got scored on, took a red m. 25, immediately got scored on again. David subbed off m. 56, immediately got another against. 

Their mini-league is ten games in total, if they make at least fourth they go into Europa League qualifying. So there is time for them to come back still. 

[Snowcrash]

2 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

They lost 3-0 away.

Today they got scored on, took a red m. 25, immediately got scored on again. David subbed off m. 56, immediately got another against. 

Their mini-league is ten games in total, if they make at least fourth they go into Europa League qualifying. So there is time for them to come back still. 

2 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

They lost 3-0 away.

Today they got scored on, took a red m. 25, immediately got scored on again. David subbed off m. 56, immediately got another against. 

Their mini-league is ten games in total, if they make at least fourth they go into Europa League qualifying. So there is time for them to come back still. 

I watched the game.  Gent player collided with CB player on a 50-50 ball and was airborne.  On the way down, he makes a deliberate raking motion with his boot across the player's thigh.  

Ref had to go to VAR to get it right.

As for David, he just finds open players and makes the right plays.  Also, maybe it's me but it doesn't seem like the other Gent players are going out of their way to feed David in the attacking half.

[Unnamed Trialist]

34 minutes ago, Snowcrash said:

I watched the game.  Gent player collided with CB player on a 50-50 ball and was airborne.  On the way down, he makes a deliberate raking motion with his boot across the player's thigh.  

Ref had to go to VAR to get it right.

As for David, he just finds open players and makes the right plays.  Also, maybe it's me but it doesn't seem like the other Gent players are going out of their way to feed David in the attacking half.

Thanks, I don't get Belgium league. Maybe further into the playoff series I'll try to watch a  game online.

[Norrin Radd]

7 hours ago, Snowcrash said:

Also, maybe it's me but it doesn't seem like the other Gent players are going out of their way to feed David in the attacking half.

I've had the same impression the few games that I've watched this year. Far too often he is open for a pass that appears to be the best option but his teammates elect for a different play. I was wondering if it was just my personal bias.

[Blackjack15]

Would love to see David signing this off season to a mid table Ligue 1 club! Not only making this jump to a top 5 European league but because of the language as well, he speaks French fluently so can adapt much better than let's say Larin for example.

Various Bundesliga clubs have been after him lately, most notably Dortmund and Monchengladbach. Not saying he can't do it, but the pressure would be far less

Idk just a thought, would be a great fit! Or if he stays right where he is, that's fine too.

In 30 regular season games (possible 2,700 minutes) he only had 15 starts and about 1400 minutes, maybe another season as an undesputed starter would,not be the worst thing in the world, although I'd argue he's shown enough as a 19 year old to make a move to a bigger league this summer 

Edited April 2, 2019 by Blackjack15

[Obinna]

3 minutes ago, Blackjack15 said:

Would love to see David signing this off season to a mid table Ligue 1 club! Not only making this jump to a top 5 European league but because of the language as well, he speaks French fluently so can adapt much better than let's say Larin for example.

Various Bundesliga clubs have been after him lately, most notably Dortmund and Monchengladbach. Not saying he can't do it, but the pressure would be far less

Idk just a thought, would be a great fit! Or if he stays right where he is, that's fine too.

In 30 regular season games (possible 2,700 minutes) he only had 15 starts and about 1400 minutes, maybe another season as an undesputed starter would,not be the worst thing in the world, although I'd argue she's known enough as a 19 year old to make a move to a bigger league this summer 

I always thought Bordeaux would be in for him.

They knocked Gent out of Europa qualifying, which David played in. I don't think he scored, but they must have marked him as a threat in their prep, since he got on the scoresheet against the Polish club in the previous round.

Bordeaux being a mid table Ligue 1 club would not be a step too high up, so he'd likely get minutes, which is important. Then, as you point out, the French language would help him adjust in theory.

I am surprised they are not in for him.

[Jith12]

David's Gent play in the Belgian Cup final tomorrow, and winning the cup will be very important to them. They are currently in last place in the league championship playoffs, which means that their hopes of Europa League qualification via the league route is nearly zero. However, if they win tomorrow's cup final, they will earn a berth in the Europa League group stage. Playing Europa League would be great for David's development (assuming that he stays with Gent for next season), so a win tomorrow would be great for him.