The Importance of Alphonso Davies

[SpursFlu]

On 4/22/2020 at 5:19 PM, Yoginess said:

Sorry, I should have been more accurate because I do was hoping for him to stay with the first team.

Perhaps. "Remember 15 months ago when we all thought a reasonable outcome was for Davies to go on loan" haha

I really hope the Bundesliga is back in May. 

Again no not "we all thought"

[kacbru]

2 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

On front page of Guardian sports section, interview with Lineker:

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/apr/24/bayern-munich-alphonso-davies-meets-gary-lineker-i-want-to-be-an-actor

More of the great stuff we are used to from Alphonso. The first clip is short, the longer which seems to have been done for ACNUR, longer.

Good article... aside from the mention of ass-smear.

Still hold a petty grudge - hope Alphonso beat him in the charity game!

Edited April 24, 2020 by kacbru
Petty grudge

[Cheeta]

Exactly!  My dad really liked Didier Drogba and there was always a Chelsea game on when I was growing up. There were so many amazing teams to watch but I didn't particularly have a team.  So it was Chelsea by force.

Think just about every sports fan in the world can relate to the experience.  By inheriting I mean. 

We should have a pool.  How long before we start to hear a bit of a German accent in that voice?

 

 

[BearcatSA]

A special talent:  my other question is how he'll be deployed on the field by his club over the longer term.  Will LB be his consistent spot or will it be in a more advanced attacking position?  

[Yoginess]

4 hours ago, BearcatSA said:

A special talent:  my other question is how he'll be deployed on the field by his club over the longer term.  Will LB be his consistent spot or will it be in a more advanced attacking position?  

Great question, we haven’t discussed it much here. Don’t think anyone has any strong opinions on it.

[BearcatSA]

9 hours ago, Yoginess said:

Great question, we haven’t discussed it much here. Don’t think anyone has any strong opinions on it.

True 😆, but I thought I'd bring the discussion back to that focus, anyway.  I don't really care about how he compares to anyone else in this region, frankly, and I don't give a rat's about the opinions of American commentators/analysts.  We know he's the real deal, so why give a f*ck about the what the American pundits think of him?

[SpursFlu]

9 hours ago, BearcatSA said:

True 😆, but I thought I'd bring the discussion back to that focus, anyway.  I don't really care about how he compares to anyone else in this region, frankly, and I don't give a rat's about the opinions of American commentators/analysts.  We know he's the real deal, so why give a f*ck about the what the American pundits think of him?

I understand your point. But the reason we care is we share a league with them. And unfortunately our media and theres have a big crossover. In Europe lots of the talking gets settled on the pitch. They have competitons and structure in place. Here we dont have that yet. Most of public perception in our region is driven by these types of people because we dont get as many opportunities as we should to see it it play out live. This is why our players have traditionally not received a lot of opportunities, shine and it's been so hard to get things off the ground in Canada

[Bison44]

I get what you are saying Spurs, but if heavy hitters like Bayern, Liverpool and Milan (rumored) are snapping up our kids wouldnt that carry more weight than some milk toast MLS goober bragging up american soccer 24/7?  The americans can brag up Pusilic all they want, but they cant deny that 2 of the hottest youngsters in the europe are canadian right now.  If public perception and foreign perception of our young talent hasnt improved lately I dont think the musings of the ESPN crowd will do much for it either.  

[El Diego]

Raph Honigstein picked him for the Bundesliga team of the season for The Athletic. Listed as a left mid because the formation is a 3-4-3 (Hakimi was on the right, for reference) Have to pay for access, but I think a blurb is ok? If not I can remove:

Left midfield: Alphonso Davies (Bayern)

Goalimpact, devised by German engineer Jorg Seidel, is an algorithm for scouting players. In early 2018, Goalimpact predicted that Davies, a 17-year-old then playing for Major League Soccer’s Vancouver Whitecaps, would be a world-beater. It’s unclear whether Bayern were convinced by that verdict when they bought the Ghanaian-born son of Liberian refugees for $22 million that summer, but Davies has certainly exceeded all expectations.

In the space of five months, he has gone from fringe player with a habit of overhitting his crosses to the first-choice left-back, deputising so well for David Alaba that the Austrian might never return to his usual berth. “His development has been great,” coach Flick said.

Davies, the fastest player in Bayern’s squad, has grown so quickly he must be considered not just the best left-back in the Bundesliga but a one of the most effective players in his position world-wide. It’s a bit of a football fairytale, and it’s only the beginning — he recently signed a contract extension keeping him in Munich until 2025.

[johnyb]

Made ESPN's top 36 under 21. https://www.espn.com/soccer/soccer-transfers/story/4083557/mbappe-sancho-alexander-arnold-lead-soccer-36-best-players-age-21-or-under. I think he should have made the top ten but important to note he's only 19. 

[Obinna]

The clip I shared in the David thread also touches on Davies near the end.

Nice to see that we had 2 players make the list as opposed to the US having 1 (Pulisic). That is probably spot on too. I never saw the initial list of 75, but McKennie and Adams may have been candidates for that, along with Giovanni Reyna (Josh Sargent needs to do more to re-enter this convo). I think at least for now David is solidly above those names, and belongs in the Davies/Pulisic/Top 36 category.

Anyways, it is awesome to see Davies and David getting this recognition, but I really hope we can get more guys to step up. It really is a shame Tabla is not in this conversation. Two years ago he was on that path, but it goes to show how much can change. Millar is the one I am hanging my hopes on now. I think he has the talent and possibly the mental fortitude, I think he just needs the opportunity, whether that is at Liverpool or elsewhere. 

Best case realistic scenario when football returns would be for Tabla to smash it at Montreal and for Millar to go on loan in the Championship and make a big statement. Not sure if that would be enough for either to get in the conversations with the likes of Mckennie, Adam, etc., but I do think they will grab some more attention if it plays out that way.

 

Edited April 29, 2020 by Obinna

[BearcatSA]

On 4/27/2020 at 10:08 AM, Bison44 said:

I get what you are saying Spurs, but if heavy hitters like Bayern, Liverpool and Milan (rumored) are snapping up our kids wouldnt that carry more weight than some milk toast MLS goober bragging up american soccer 24/7?  The americans can brag up Pusilic all they want, but they cant deny that 2 of the hottest youngsters in the europe are canadian right now.  If public perception and foreign perception of our young talent hasnt improved lately I dont think the musings of the ESPN crowd will do much for it either.  

That's the same view that I have.  What also ratchets up the "must watch" from abroad is a national team featuring Davies, David and other young guys bossing it not only in our region but also in friendlies against bigger time opposition, and the tide raises all the boats.

 

[Bison44]

9 hours ago, Obinna said:

is awesome to see Davies and David getting this recognition, but I really hope we can get more guys to step up. It really is a shame Tabla is not in this conversation. Two years ago he was on that path, but it goes to show how much can change. Millar is the one I am hanging my hopes on now. I think he has the talent and possibly the mental fortitude, I think he just needs the opportunity, whether that is at Liverpool or elsewhere. 

 

Yep, you win some you lose some, 2 years ago this spring David was relatively unknown, just starting to score in bunches at Gent.  Tabla drops off, David becomes a shooting star, I still think we are ahead in the bargain.  I really do believe we have turned a corner,  Our best kids are better (Davies/David), but we also have a broader base of kids like Habibollah, Nelsen, Rutty, Rusell -Rowe, Fachirini, Coyln, a few of which should pan out as useful members of the CMNT and there might just be a diamond in there.    

[SpursFlu]

Bundesliga back on May 15th or 22nd.. yay! Cmon Sportsnet we want wall to wall coverage!

[Obinna]

Awesome that football in a major league will be back!

Good on the Bundesliga for being brave and taking the lead. Germany has been just as affected as any country, so they could have dragged their feet like most, nobody would have blamed them, but here they are blazing the trail for the return of football. It's great to see!

Someone has to be brave and be first. You cannot shut down football forever, especially for an illness of this nature.

That, plus I miss football. We all do. Can't wait for May 15th (or the 22nd)!

[TGAA_Star]

I was doing some reading on best highly rated teenagers in the world as far as elite players who have potential to be the next Messi or the next Ronaldo and out of the list I saw Alphonso Davies within that list of teenagers

 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/bobbymcmahon/2020/01/05/seven-teenagers-who-could-become-the-worlds-best-in-the-post-messi-ronaldo-era/amp/

[Yoginess]

4 hours ago, SpursFlu said:

Bundesliga back on May 15th or 22nd.. yay! Cmon Sportsnet we want wall to wall coverage!

Yeah they better not just show one game on Sportsnet World or some crap. I assume they're desperate to get something real on their airways but I wouldn't put it past them..

[Ed_S]

I had a laugh listening to the ass hats on Cdn sports radio, so desperate for sports news they had a phone interview with a German sports journalist and asked him how the players in the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 1 were reacting. 

BTW, confirmed a short time ago that things get going next Friday May 15th.

 

 

Edited May 6, 2020 by Ed_S
added confirmed date.

[TGAA_Star]

I mean what would actually be something is if they actually gave the captaincy to Alphonso. Yeah I know he's young and everything. But he's definitely more mature than most players his age and plays for one of the most elite teams in all of Europe, Bayern Munich. Not to mention he's already a natural born leader. Why not give him a chance at it? I mean other young players with their countries were given a chance to captain their country at young ages for example Neymar with Brazil or even Ronaldo when he was in his 20s just to name examples. However, Alphonso Davies as captain for Canada I know I can definitely see it.

[Yoginess]

12 minutes ago, TGAA_Star said:

I mean what would actually be something is if they actually gave the captaincy to Alphonso. Yeah I know he's young and everything. But he's definitely more mature than most players his age and plays for one of the most elite teams in all of Europe, Bayern Munich. Not to mention he's already a natural born leader. Why not give him a chance at it? I mean other young players with their countries were given a chance to captain their country at young ages for example Neymar with Brazil or even Ronaldo when he was in his 20s just to name examples. However, Alphonso Davies as captain for Canada I know I can definitely see it.

I'm ready to say Davies is one of Bayerns best players but there are a lot of great players on that team with leadership qualities. 

Lewdawski has captained his national team at huge tournaments, Pavard has been on a World Cup winning squad, Muller too (who has been at Bayern since his youth), Kimmich is probably my favourite leader on that team. Not to mention, Alaba who is the one who took Davies under his wing. 

Do I think Davies is a leader who is a future captain? Yes of course. And of course he should get the arm band ahead of some of the dink nozzles like Gnabry but that squad has a lot of good leadership already.

[LeoH037]

5 hours ago, Obinna said:

Someone has to be brave and be first. You cannot shut down football forever, especially for an illness of this nature.

That, plus I miss football. We all do. Can't wait for May 15th (or the 22nd)!

So you think people should place their health on jeopardy for YOUR entertainment? SMH

[Weng]

17 minutes ago, LeoH037 said:

So you think people should place their health on jeopardy for YOUR entertainment? SMH

It’s an opinion.  And there is truth to what he has to say.  Life does eventually have to get back to normal.  It’d be nice if people on this forum could be mature and take into context of what’s being written, instead of taking potshots and making stupid statements that obviously weren’t being stated.  Grow up LeoH037

[SpursFlu]

1 hour ago, LeoH037 said:

So you think people should place their health on jeopardy for YOUR entertainment? SMH

Maybe you should check with health professionals and micro biologists. Or maybe as the deputy minister of Quebec said today. If your under 70 you really dont have too much to worry about. Finally someone in a position of authority with some courage to tell the truth and not be so wishy washy. BC officials did a half way decent job today. Drink everytime they had to remind someone that BC was never in a lockdown 

Edited May 6, 2020 by SpursFlu

[LeoH037]

1 hour ago, Weng said:

It’s an opinion.  And there is truth to what he has to say.  Life does eventually have to get back to normal.  It’d be nice if people on this forum could be mature and take into context of what’s being written, instead of taking potshots and making stupid statements that obviously weren’t being stated.  Grow up LeoH037

me grow up? You realize how ironic that statement is when Football literally is a GAME. One lost season isn't going to end your life, but this virus could end someone else's.

[SpursFlu]

3 minutes ago, LeoH037 said:

me grow up? You realize how ironic that statement is when Football literally is a GAME. One lost season isn't going to end your life, but this virus could end someone else's.

Your statement is arrogant and ignorant. Imagine leveraging the guilt of murder on to someone else with no basis of fact just in order to try and elevate yourself on to some make believe moral high ground. Pathetic 

Edited May 7, 2020 by SpursFlu