Joel Waterman

[Macksam]

3 hours ago, Aird25 said:

I thought he looked better than most of TFCs youngsters. I’m not sure he’s athletic enough though

The most profound question in this thread. That's the main concern I see as well, is he athletic enough? He got beat easily a few times and got muscled off the ball easily. I'm not sure how much he can work on these things but if he can mitigate it with smart positional play, composure and decision making, he will make it. If not...well, he'll be back at Spruce Meadows before you know it.  

Anyhow, to echo the sentiment in this thread, I think his showing was hot and cold, hot on the ball, cold off of it. 

Edited April 18, 2021 by Macksam

[ag futbol]

21 hours ago, Floortom said:

umm no. He got beat on the Laryea goal, got beat by Shaffelburg a few times. He got roasted on /MLS and by Montreal fans for being so bad.

Yeah, I don’t want to overblow it but he did have a few plays where he was at fault. At CB it’s better to be consistent and error free rather than play a 95% outstanding game then have a big gaf or two. This is probably the biggest reason why Doniel Henry plays in Korea and not Europe.

i’m not saying he’s a lost cause, far from it. At 25 a CB can still improve their game. But right now, I think he’s more a backup for Montreal and peripheral candidate for the men’s team

Edited April 18, 2021 by ag futbol

[farrelld]

Waterman definitely didn't cover himself in glory today but he is a serviceable replacement CB in MLS. Like other comments said he played solid with the ball but had trouble actually defending. The two players he seemed to have the most trouble with were Laryea and Shaffelburg. I didn't watch the TFC CCL games but wasn't Shaffelburg burning Leon defenders also?  Laryea was easily TFC's best player yesterday, every time he touched the ball as an Impact fan I was worried. 

 

In the end Waterman is a depth piece for Montreal and for the MNT and that's okay. 

[N1ckbr0wn]

While these are all fair takes, I think we need to pull the reigns back on predicting what level of CB Joel is and let him gain more experience. We must remember only a couple years ago he was a CM for Trinity Western University. The lad only has 20 something odd professional games at CB, most of those at a lower level. You can see it in his confidence on the ball and ability to distribute that he was a CM. You can also see it in his defensive positioning, the way his first instinct is to clamp down and close space on an incoming attacker instead of jockeying him and closing seams. Pacey players like Laryea and Shaff are 100% going to take advantage of positional blunders like this, and it’s up to Joel to learn from these mistakes and implement them into his game. These are all things he will improve on simply with game time and experience in the position. I think Joel has the makings of being a good modern day CB, and hopefully we all see that soon. 
 

knowing when to close space on a defender, and knowing when you have to jockey and close seams, is a delicate balancing act he will only learn from getting chances to play. This needs to become 2nd nature for him

Edited April 19, 2021 by N1ckbr0wn

[PiedPilko]

He led Montreal with a 7.8 today from Sofascore. I know he wasn't great in the first game, but on the national team, he's our most competent passer from the back. He has to do this consistently, but I'm not gonna write him off yet.

[toontownman]

He looked good today. He had in general either the central of the three or weirdly out left center. A bright spot in a poor if not still entertaining game.

[costarg]

17 hours ago, PiedPilko said:

He led Montreal with a 7.8 today from Sofascore. I know he wasn't great in the first game, but on the national team, he's our most competent passer from the back. He has to do this consistently, but I'm not gonna write him off yet.

I feel he'll take over from Struna soon.  Only issue is Binks will be back soon, so he'll still be #4 CB on a 3 CB team.

[VinceA]

Very solid against Chicago today and helped Montreal's winning goal today.

[PopePouri]

He had 10! clearances, 88% passing rate. He also did well last week.

[costarg]

2 hours ago, VinceA said:

Very solid against Chicago today and helped Montreal's winning goal today.

Just a day late for CANMNT selection!

[PopePouri]

He needs to put a run of decent performances together. Struna has played relatively well too. It's a dogfight with Binks and Miller for those CB spots.

[toontownman]

Could well see him in the gold cup. Certainly if he continues in this stead. He seems comfortable as a LCB in a three but this happened last year and he was replaced when binks was fit. Hope he keeps his place.

[gigi riva]

Got a 7.5 on Fotmob today. He will be called for the Gold Cup  I think

[Chad_Impact]

7.1 on Fotmob for yesterdays game. He and Miller were solid besides Camacho being Camacho. 

He still has some growing to do but I think there is a really solid ball playing CB in him if he can keep getting minutes and gaining confidence. 

[Bison44]

Thats 9-10 starts this year...Joel, ZBG, Basong and Miller are doing some good work out east.  Plus they can build some repor with Breza/Sirois for when they take over the CDN keeper position (HEHEHEHE).  

[Chad_Impact]

28 minutes ago, Bison44 said:

Thats 9-10 starts this year...Joel, ZBG, Basong and Miller are doing some good work out east.  Plus they can build some repor with Breza/Sirois for when they take over the CDN keeper position (HEHEHEHE).  

Don't forget Choinière, starting to get some solid minutes and looking good as well.

[Chad_Impact]

Saw that Waterman started centrally in the back 3 yesterday. I missed the game, how did he do?

[narduch]

3 minutes ago, Chad_Impact said:

Saw that Waterman started centrally in the back 3 yesterday. I missed the game, how did he do?

Fotmob gave him a 7 rating, higher than Miller 

[VinceA]

The Montreal defense has been pretty good as of late but the whole team has a bad habit of coughing up points from winning positions. They seem to regularly allow teams back into games late on and lack the mentality to kill off games.

[Stryker911]

33 minutes ago, Chad_Impact said:

Saw that Waterman started centrally in the back 3 yesterday. I missed the game, how did he do?

Who knows? TSN insists on only showing the dumpster fire of TFC. Anyone know where else to watch the games?

[Chad_Impact]

37 minutes ago, narduch said:

Fotmob gave him a 7 rating, higher than Miller 

I figured he must of done decently at least considering a 1-1 draw at Philly is a good result! 

[Chad_Impact]

25 minutes ago, VinceA said:

The Montreal defense has been pretty good as of late but the whole team has a bad habit of coughing up points from winning positions. They seem to regularly allow teams back into games late on and lack the mentality to kill off games.

Yup I believe they have the most points given up from winning positions in the league this year, 17 or so. A lot of young players, it'll come with experience..i hope

[Ruud]

Under pressure a lot yesterday.  A draw was a good result. Miller keeps improving amd impressing IMO. Had to defend montiero who is very good 

[SthMelbRed]

5 hours ago, Stryker911 said:

Who knows? TSN insists on only showing the dumpster fire of TFC. Anyone know where else to watch the games?

I was able to watch this game live on BeIn Sports in Australia, not that it's much help to you. 🙂 

[costarg]

6 hours ago, Chad_Impact said:

Saw that Waterman started centrally in the back 3 yesterday. I missed the game, how did he do?

He played pretty well, I feel it was his best showing yet with Montreal.  I'd love to see him and Miller get more experience playing side by side.  That'd be great for CANMNT.