Gloire Amanda

[Aird25]

He looks pretty good in purple. He should come to Pacific 

[Watchmen]

8 hours ago, InglewoodJack said:

With this happening just outside the transfer window, I hope that it's done with a North American move in mind. He's at the right time to get some MLS tryouts, or if all else fails,a year in the CPL.

If he's released, isn't he free to just sign with any club in Europe?

I hope he moves to Scotland, just to add to the Canadian players there.

[toontownman]

Bit of a come down to say the least. Full circle 😔 hopefully we see him moved up to the first team a bit this year. WFC2 looking strong though.

[masster]

Amanda has made little impact this season for WFC2. Disappointing. I expected more from somebody coming from the Austrian Bundesliga (albeit limited minutes) and with his pedigree. 

[VinceA]

9 minutes ago, masster said:

Amanda has made little impact this season for WFC2. Disappointing. I expected more from somebody coming from the Austrian Bundesliga (albeit limited minutes) and with his pedigree. 

He unfortunately seems like someone who can't put it together at the pro level coming out of college.

[BearcatSA]

Completely forgot he was on the WFC2 roster. 

[Watchmen]

45 minutes ago, masster said:

Amanda has made little impact this season for WFC2. Disappointing. I expected more from somebody coming from the Austrian Bundesliga (albeit limited minutes) and with his pedigree. 

Yeah, I was sort of hoping he'd be the next Becher: impress enough in WFC2 to get some first team minutes and maybe parley that in to a first team contract. 

[yothat2]

Made 23 appearances. 3 goajs. 

 

Thought he was still in Europe. Bring drop coming too MLS next at 24

[Unnamed Trialist]

Another very strong argument against the entire NCAA stream, which for any kid serious about soccer, male or female, is steadily running out of gas.

[Aird25]

15 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Another very strong argument against the entire NCAA stream, which for any kid serious about soccer, male or female, is steadily running out of gas.

Sorry, I don't follow your reasoning. Didn't NCAA get him a contract in the Austrian top flight? It seems to me that re-entering the US system is where he hit a snag

[Watchmen]

2 minutes ago, Aird25 said:

Sorry, I don't follow your reasoning. Didn't NCAA get him a contract in the Austrian top flight? It seems to me that re-entering the US system is where he hit a snag

That now feels more like a club seeing the hype around Canada and snagging a young(ish) player for free.

[Unnamed Trialist]

1 hour ago, Aird25 said:

Sorry, I don't follow your reasoning. Didn't NCAA get him a contract in the Austrian top flight? It seems to me that re-entering the US system is where he hit a snag

He went straight from Oregon as the best college player in the nation to Austria. To a modest team. So yes NCAA was his calling card, that and a good agent.

NCAA is no path. You can be amongst the best aged 22 and you've done little to ready yourself for adult play.

Edited September 8, 2023 by Unnamed Trialist

[yothat2]

18 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

He went straight from Oregon as the best college player in the nation to Austria. To a modest team. So yes NCAA was his calling card, that and a good agent.

NCAA is no path. You can be amongst the best aged 22 and you've done little to ready yourself for adult play.

This might be the most clear example. 

[Aird25]

1 hour ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

He went straight from Oregon as the best college player in the nation to Austria. To a modest team. So yes NCAA was his calling card, that and a good agent.

NCAA is no path. You can be amongst the best aged 22 and you've done little to ready yourself for adult play.

I've never considered myself a defender of American pathways, but don't we have quite a few valuable national team players that took the NCAA route?

[Kadenge]

13 minutes ago, Aird25 said:

I've never considered myself a defender of American pathways, but don't we have quite a few valuable national team players that took the NCAA route?

Absolutely, and for players that want a college degree while playing soccer it's hard to beat, but hopefully the CPL can now provide  pro opportunities to some of those that previously  had no option but to go  the NCAA route.

[Bison44]

It may be a shitty pathway, but for a LOT...for a LOT of guys this is it and plenty of guys come through the other side and become good pros ASAP.  We still arent europe, plus how many NCAA grads helped us get to Qatar?? 

[El Diego]

17 minutes ago, Aird25 said:

I've never considered myself a defender of American pathways, but don't we have quite a few valuable national team players that took the NCAA route?

I'm no supporter of it either, but to say that Amanda's path proves it is bogus is not a good argument. There are countless players who go the pro/academy route that never amount to anything, and plenty of NCAA players that become great pros. Any argument about it needs more than one data point. In fact, the most recent MAC Hermann winner is doing pretty well for himself. For the record, I would like it if one day the NCAA route was not a consideration for our top prospects.

Would Amanada's career have been better if he never went to the NCAA? I don't know, he was involved in the Whitecaps system before going to college, but Oregon State seems to be where he made his name.

[VinceA]

Our defence is built off the NCAA lmao. It's still has its uses. Hell U Sports is pulling its weight too with MacNaughton and Waterman.

The US still has guys that have played in college.

Edited September 8, 2023 by VinceA

[Unnamed Trialist]

1 hour ago, Aird25 said:

I've never considered myself a defender of American pathways, but don't we have quite a few valuable national team players that took the NCAA route?

Rob Friend I think is one of those who finished his university, iirc. 

I think that Hiebert also finished.

But what we are seeing more recently in more cases is either you leave early (Buchanan, Larin), or you don't go at all. 

We may argue: he went to Sweden aged 18 and wandered around in 3rd tier for a year. Fine. But at NCAA you start training in early August and are finished, completely, by early December. So that is a form of wallowing aimlessly as well, only your university sports department organizes it for you that way.

[El Diego]

53 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Rob Friend I think is one of those who finished his university, iirc. 

I think that Hiebert also finished.

But what we are seeing more recently in more cases is either you leave early (Buchanan, Larin), or you don't go at all. 

We may argue: he went to Sweden aged 18 and wandered around in 3rd tier for a year. Fine. But at NCAA you start training in early August and are finished, completely, by early December. So that is a form of wallowing aimlessly as well, only your university sports department organizes it for you that way.

Many college guys play in some pro or semi-pro during the offseason. Buchanan and Larin for example played with Sigma while someone like Waterman played in the PDL. It's not ideal imo, but if you're a legit pro prospect I imagine it is easy for you to catch on with a club like that. They don't all do it, though, so I don't know what exactly goes into their decision making process there.

I agree that those who are clearly high level pro prospects should skip college altogether, and at minimum leave early -- I'm sure it never crossed the mind of Davies or David, and I don't imagine any school wasted any resources in recruiting them. I don't understand anyone who stays an extra year if you are expected to be drafted relatively high (this goes more so for other sports). The interesting thing is the new NIL deals that are paying college athletes which may remove some of the financial impetus to declare early.

[SoccMan]

16 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Rob Friend I think is one of those who finished his university, iirc. 

I think that Hiebert also finished.

But what we are seeing more recently in more cases is either you leave early (Buchanan, Larin), or you don't go at all. 

We may argue: he went to Sweden aged 18 and wandered around in 3rd tier for a year. Fine. But at NCAA you start training in early August and are finished, completely, by early December. So that is a form of wallowing aimlessly as well, only your university sports department organizes it for you that way.

Quite a few Americans who went the college route back in the day went onto to have very good careers after spending a few years in the NCAA some even went the full four years . The one guy who comes to mind is Brian McBride who played NCAA and then went onto to having a good career in Englands premier league .  Others I can think of who went the NCAA route and had successful careers in Englands top flight are guys like Clint Dempsey who had a very good career in England’s top flight another one is Carlos Bocanegra who played with Fulham . However, it seems now not many are going that route who end up having success like before but you still get a few .

Edited September 9, 2023 by SoccMan

[Unnamed Trialist]

Just now, SoccMan said:

Quite a few Americans who went the college route back in the day went onto to have very good careers after spending a few years in the NCAA some even went the full four years . The one guy who comes to mind is Brian McBride who played NCAA and then went onto to having a good career in Englands premier league . However, it seems now not many are going that route who end up having success like before but you still get a few .

This is the past. They had no options. It's a fading legacy and plainly illogical to be 19-21 and play 4 competitive months a year then summer pickup.

On top of all that, it's an insult to higher education in 80% of all cases.

[SoccMan]

3 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

This is the past. They had no options. It's a fading legacy and plainly illogical to be 19-21 and play 4 competitive months a year then summer pickup.

On top of all that, it's an insult to higher education in 80% of all cases.

I get it but it’s still pretty remarkable for example a guy like Clint Dempsey I think went the full four years in the NCAA and then eventually went on to score and play many times in Englands top flight and like I stated they were many more . These are guys who were not part of any fancy European academy or moved to Europe at age 12 but stayed in North America until like 20 21 and still made it in Europe and were also part of US World Cup teams that did relatively well in the World Cups they played in . 

[Unnamed Trialist]

Great now this thread is going to turn into a Clint Dempsey/ Brian McBride tribute page.

 

[phresh]

13 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

This is the past. They had no options. It's a fading legacy and plainly illogical to be 19-21 and play 4 competitive months a year then summer pickup.

On top of all that, it's an insult to higher education in 80% of all cases.

You cannot say it's the past and then completely ignore the comments stating we have core players who came from the NCAA. And then I can just as easily say Nathan Opoku is another in a relatively long list of players that went to Europe and hit the ground running. The amount of top North American prospects that commit to NCAA programs is near zero, it is simply an alternate path for lesser known players to reach the pro level.