Jayden Nelson

[The Beaver 2.0]

5 hours ago, Ivan said:

The kid is definitely talented, and certainly had some eye catching moments on offence yesterday.  The two weak areas that he needs to work on in my opinion are: a) He gets caught in possession far too often, and b) He is too slow to track back and cover leading to direct attacks on the defenders where they are forced to cover 2 attackers.  

I think you nailed it with these two points. He isn't tidy enough in possession. He needs to learn the way of JDG, capable of spinning and shielding the ball when in danger, drawing the foul if need be, making that timely pass when it is on. His passing improved as the game wore on, and he put through a couple of lovely long through-balls.  He is still a wisp of a kid, but if he can put on some muscle, especially in his quads and hams and glutes, then he'll be able to retain possession more readily (strong on the ball), and do better defensively.  At the moment he's often no more effective than a fart in a windstorm. He needs some grit.  If he can add that to his game, along with proper defensive positioning, then I feel he can round into a very nice player indeed.  

[Greatest Cockney Rip Off]

He’s shown he has talent but also these two past seasons, he’s shown development and improvement as a pro. Based on that, I’d be willing to give him time to improve his game. 

[Free kick]

10 hours ago, Ivan said:

The kid is definitely talented, and certainly had some eye catching moments on offence yesterday.  The two weak areas that he needs to work on in my opinion are: a) He gets caught in possession far too often, and b) He is too slow to track back and cover leading to direct attacks on the defenders where they are forced to cover 2 attackers.  

 

10 hours ago, ag futbol said:

There is high potential here for sure but it’s mixed with a lot of immaturity, erratic positional play, and wholesale abandonment of defensive duties. 

There was one play in particular where TFC was on the break. Pozuelo passes to Nelson who is streaking down the inside left channel. He gets into the box, and cuts back to create a yard of space from his defender (nice initial decision). He’s then looking at a mostly open Akinola at the far post, a fully open Pozuelo as a late runner. Two options for an easy assist on a goal. 

Well, he decides to shoot short side at the near post and misses net. Had he even hit the target the keeper had it well covered. If you want to burn your career and your credibility with teammates, this is how you do it. 

Wish I could say it was the first example of him doing such a thing. It’s not.

Yeah.  I agree, he is tough to figure and read.  You will see occasional moments of true potential and then you see a lot of bad decisions and instances of naive play or whereby he gets dispossessed too easily.  Its costing the team in standings when you continue to put him (and a few others) out there to see what he can do or see what they can do for you in 2-3 years.  There are options that you can aquire that could give you an immediate lift or upgrade, so what are you to do? Thats the dilemna with the “play the kids” mantra that we keep hearing about.  

Another thing, the moments of true potential that i alluded to are there, yes,  but collectively they dont add up to anything that can influence a game.  We could live with defensive lapses or other mistakes or even selfishness, if you show that you can be instrumental in creating a sufficient number of quality scoring opportunities 

Edited May 29, 2022 by Free kick

[Bison44]

Well we keep hearing about these new faces coming in.  Until then I am glad we gave the kids a run out, so at least they can evaluate...see if its time to dump them or invest more time on them.  Nelsen has shown some flashes and I would still put in the "keeper" pile.  Thompson, Petrasso, Chung I am not convinced yet but they have gotten a decent look.  The TFC thread had a rumor about a LB coming in along with Insigne, that would shore up 2 more starting spots, and BB wouldnt have to rely on so many youngsters.  

[Free kick]

11 minutes ago, Bison44 said:

Well we keep hearing about these new faces coming in.  Until then I am glad we gave the kids a run out, so at least they can evaluate...see if its time to dump them or invest more time on them.  Nelsen has shown some flashes and I would still put in the "keeper" pile.  Thompson, Petrasso, Chung I am not convinced yet but they have gotten a decent look.  The TFC thread had a rumor about a LB coming in along with Insigne, that would shore up 2 more starting spots, and BB wouldnt have to rely on so many youngsters.  

Meanwhile, the club sits second to last in the conference. 

Edited May 29, 2022 by Free kick

[Bison44]

1 hour ago, Free kick said:

Meanwhile, the club sits second to last in the conference. 

4 points out of a playoff spot.  

[Gian-Luca]

2 hours ago, Bison44 said:

Well we keep hearing about these new faces coming in.  Until then I am glad we gave the kids a run out, so at least they can evaluate...see if its time to dump them or invest more time on them.  Nelsen has shown some flashes and I would still put in the "keeper" pile.  Thompson, Petrasso, Chung I am not convinced yet but they have gotten a decent look.  The TFC thread had a rumor about a LB coming in along with Insigne, that would shore up 2 more starting spots, and BB wouldnt have to rely on so many youngsters.  

Chung is the oldest & most experience of those three, about to turn 24 in a few months. I don't see him being more than a depth piece in the long run, but Kosi only turned 19 this year (so even younger than Nelson) while Petrasso has been quietly effective and a mainstay under Bradley that I don't think anyone was predicting before the start of the year. He's part of a defense that gets over-pressured because of a total vacuum of any defensive qualities in the midfield but has looked less of a liability than the expensive imports in the middle of the defense, while he helped to set up three goals in the past three games (though I don't think got credited for any assists on those plays) so is contributing effectively offensively. I suspect he and Thompson will be retained going forward.

[The Beaver 2.0]

Yeah, Thompson at 19 probably has the most potential.  I was liking Kerr the previous game, but aside from the goal last night, he was kind of insignificant. Clearly athletic, but is he a footballer?  (I hope so. He's shown some lovely flashes.)

Petrasso has been solid. Seems a solid MLS journeyman, but maybe he's got more to offer yet.

[ag futbol]

14 hours ago, Free kick said:

 

Yeah.  I agree, he is tough to figure and read.  You will see occasional moments of true potential and then you see a lot of bad decisions and instances of naive play or whereby he gets dispossessed too easily.  Its costing the team in standings when you continue to put him (and a few others) out there to see what he can do or see what they can do for you in 2-3 years.  There are options that you can aquire that could give you an immediate lift or upgrade, so what are you to do? Thats the dilemna with the “play the kids” mantra that we keep hearing about.  

Another thing, the moments of true potential that i alluded to are there, yes,  but collectively they dont add up to anything that can influence a game.  We could live with defensive lapses or other mistakes or even selfishness, if you show that you can be instrumental in creating a sufficient number of quality scoring opportunities 

In general, I think there’s progress. 

Last year when he played it was just all around frustrating. No goals or assists, very few key moments. 

This year he’s showing the odd sign of brilliance. His positional play has improved from extremely erratic to just somewhat erratic. But… that’s sandwiched in between a lot of annoying stuff. At a minimum, he’s got to turn the dial down on trying to be the hero every time he receives a pass. Even the best in the world only try to make the game-breaking play 1 in 3 or 1 in 4 times (at best) when they touch the ball. The rest of the time they realize the opportunity just isn’t there and they look to the next opportunity.

As a secondary thought. His ability to deliver a killer pass looks quite good. His dribbling has generally not been effective. But he tries to dribble more than he tries to deliver the final ball? I assume his dribbling will improve with time (as technique and pace is there) but some self awareness to recognize what’s working and try to do more of it would be welcomed.

[sose]

13 hours ago, The Beaver 2.0 said:

 

Petrasso has been solid. Seems a solid MLS journeyman, but maybe he's got more to offer yet.

I would say Petrasso has been ok, not really solid.  The amount of crosses coming in from his side in the past couple games has been shocking. 

[El Diego]

20 minutes ago, sose said:

I would say Petrasso has been ok, not really solid.  The amount of crosses coming in from his side in the past couple games has been shocking. 

I think this is mostly a symptom of TFC's narrow shape in general, their wingers not being the most disciplined defensively, and their inability to keep possession for long periods of time. I think Petrasso is a useful player, but he's looked best as a wing back with three centre backs covering for him. He's been ok as a traditional left back in a back four, and a bit lost as part of a front three (though he was asked to play quite narrowly, which doesn't seem to be his forte)

[The Beaver 2.0]

FWIW I am liking the youth experiment at TFC at the moment.  They need a few more vets out there to help these young guys along, but I am happy to see these young guys testing themselves and growing. Not all of them will become MLS-calibre players, but you've got to think one or two will get good enough to stick MLS, maybe even go to Europe some day. JMR, one would think? Maybe Kosi.  Others?  I hope so.

[dyslexic nam]

Just saw this pic on eBay.  Dude has been hitting the squat machine.   

[baulderdash77]

What’s a squat machine?  Serious athletes lift squats free-weight.  He definitely looks like he’s not skipping leg day that’s for sure;

[Sal333]

42 minutes ago, dyslexic nam said:

Just saw this pic on eBay.  Dude has been hitting the squat machine.   

I don't get it. A squat machine fluffs up your hair that way?

[frmr]

29 minutes ago, baulderdash77 said:

What’s a squat machine?  Serious athletes lift squats free-weight.  He definitely looks like he’s not skipping leg day that’s for sure;

I'm sure they would do both. Machines target specific muscles, free weights include stabilizing muscles. Depends what they're trying to accomplish.

[RS]

39 minutes ago, baulderdash77 said:

What’s a squat machine?  Serious athletes lift squats free-weight.  He definitely looks like he’s not skipping leg day that’s for sure;

How do athletes lift squats?

[dyslexic nam]

Tough crowd. 

[InglewoodJack]

Who’s out here selling Jayden Nelson photos on eBay??

[dyslexic nam]

34 minutes ago, InglewoodJack said:

Who’s out here selling Jayden Nelson photos on eBay??

They are signed so it isn’t entirely creepy.  

[El Hombre]

2 hours ago, dyslexic nam said:

Tough crowd. 

What do you mean by "tough" crowd.  A crowd can include many tough individuals but the crowd itself can't be tough. This post makes no sense.

[dyslexic nam]

Internet 1.  El Hombre 0

[InglewoodJack]

28 minutes ago, dyslexic nam said:

They are signed so it isn’t entirely creepy.  

Even worse, who is out here unsigned pictures of Jayden Nelson??

[Obinna]

Thought the bump was perhaps about him joining the squad as a late addition or something, but the only update was on the status of his thighs.....

[dyslexic nam]

He still needs to work on his decision-making but after 45 minutes he is involved in a ton of TFC’s positive attacking plays.  At only 19 I still pick him to be a pretty serious baller in the years to come.  As he continues to get some of the bad habits/decisions coached out of him, I think he will become a really dangerous attacker.