Jamie Knight-Lebel

[Kadenge]

1 minute ago, WestHamCanadianinOxford said:

Part of it depends on the injuries to guys named Rob Atkinson and Kal Naismith.  The latter is 32 hasn't played since November but they thought he would be back this season.  Atkinson was a major part and is only 25 but last played in February last year. 

I think why he didn't go on loan was at least partially to them being in a holding pattern on those guys. 

He is still the u21 captain has been since he was 18. 

Not an issue for the current yr, as he is probably training with the first team and learning a lot  from the bench in games, but it would be counter-productive to do the same thing nxt yr as he will need mins.

[kacbru]

5 minutes ago, WestHamCanadianinOxford said:

Part of it depends on the injuries to guys named Rob Atkinson and Kal Naismith.  The latter is 32 hasn't played since November but they thought he would be back this season.  Atkinson was a major part and is only 25 but last played in February last year. 

I think why he didn't go on loan was at least partially to them being in a holding pattern on those guys. 

He is still the u21 captain has been since he was 18. 

Do you know if he is still getting regular game time with the u21?

[Stryker911]

Made his Championship debut today. Played 5 minutes in a 5-0 win.

[Bigandy]

8 minutes ago, Stryker911 said:

Made his Championship debut today. Played 5 minutes in a 5-0 win.

I think he made his debut in october. 

[Obinna]

7 minutes ago, Bigandy said:

I think he made his debut in october. 

Yup I believe 2nd Championship game and 3rd apperance in all comps. 

Nice to see him get minutes, even if things have been slow and steady. Hopefully he's being groomed for a bigger role next season. 

[Stryker911]

12 minutes ago, Bigandy said:

I think he made his debut in october. 

True. I thought he had only played in the cup. I did some looking up and it seems he has played about 20 times for the u21s. He generally starts and has captained the team on numerous occasions. The only times that he doesn't play for them is when the senior team schedule conflicts and they need him on the bench.

[InglewoodJack]

Does anyone know where he played? Looks like all 3 of Bristol's CBs played 90 and he was subbed off for a midfielder.

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

3 hours ago, InglewoodJack said:

Does anyone know where he played? Looks like all 3 of Bristol's CBs played 90 and he was subbed off for a midfielder.

All the centre backs weren't really centre backs (which is why I was actually disappointed he didn't start) so he slotted in there and they shifted. 

Vyner is the only traditional centre back that is left after the injuries they have had (Dickie is only supposed be out for a week or two, though). The other two have played more fullback, though Roberts has been in the centre for the last few games, when they have played 3 at the back, ala Johnston for us.  

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

On the bench again, with Roberts and Tanner, both shorter players who have mostly played fullback this season playing the two centrebacks spots. 

In Manning we trust I guess. 

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

On 4/13/2024 at 9:41 AM, WestHamCanadianinOxford said:

On the bench again,

Annoying to see. Bristol are another team that are guaranteed to finish in the middle. They can't get promoted or relegated; why not play the youth?

[Obinna]

20 hours ago, Olympique_de_Marseille said:

Annoying to see. Bristol are another team that are guaranteed to finish in the middle. They can't get promoted or relegated; why not play the youth?

I guess we'll see it at the very end of the season, as in the last game or maybe the last couple. How many match days are left? 6? Hopefully we see him get another couple of appearances. Ditto for LDF.

General question for everyone:

Do we bring JKL to either European friendly, or too soon?

On one hand, being glued to the bench for Bristol City in the Championship is nowhere near the standard required to compete against Netherlands and France. On the other hand, he's a 19 year old repeatedly making the bench in the Championship, and that is not nothing as far as Canadians go. 

Put me in the "too soon" category, but I could probably be swayed if someone has a good argument. 

[VinceA]

16 hours ago, Obinna said:

I guess we'll see it at the very end of the season, as in the last game or maybe the last couple. How many match days are left? 6? Hopefully we see him get another couple of appearances. Ditto for LDF.

General question for everyone:

Do we bring JKL to either European friendly, or too soon?

On one hand, being glued to the bench for Bristol City in the Championship is nowhere near the standard required to compete against Netherlands and France. On the other hand, he's a 19 year old repeatedly making the bench in the Championship, and that is not nothing as far as Canadians go. 

Put me in the "too soon" category, but I could probably be swayed if someone has a good argument. 

Assuming some MLS guys are left back and are only called for the Copa proper I could see some youngsters brought in to the European camp, JKL among them.

[Kadenge]

16 hours ago, Obinna said:

I guess we'll see it at the very end of the season, as in the last game or maybe the last couple. How many match days are left? 6? Hopefully we see him get another couple of appearances. Ditto for LDF.

General question for everyone:

Do we bring JKL to either European friendly, or too soon?

On one hand, being glued to the bench for Bristol City in the Championship is nowhere near the standard required to compete against Netherlands and France. On the other hand, he's a 19 year old repeatedly making the bench in the Championship, and that is not nothing as far as Canadians go. 

Put me in the "too soon" category, but I could probably be swayed if someone has a good argument. 

Depends on how big the squad is. JKL could be called to train but I doubt he makes the 18

[Kadenge]

16 minutes ago, VinceA said:

Assuming some MLS guys are left back and are only called for the Copa proper I could see some youngsters brought in to the European camp, JKL among them.

Why?  These games will serve as prep for the Copa. Every player will want to be selected for the opportunity vs France & Netherlands.

[VinceA]

4 minutes ago, Kadenge said:

Why?  These games will serve as prep for the Copa. Every player will want to be selected for the opportunity vs France & Netherlands.

Push and pull with the MLS teams I'm assuming. I'm guessing the league is playing through the Copa America.

[Obinna]

Just now, Kadenge said:

Depends on how big the squad is. JKL could be called to train but I doubt he makes the 18

Probably worth doing. No harm in getting him familiar with the team, even if it means he has to attend multiple camps before his first cap, like LDF did. 

The question would be if there's room to bring him. As @VinceA mentioned, we may opt for some European fringe guys over the MLS fringe guys, given the location of these friendlies. You do raise a good point though, the aim will be prepping for the Copa, so we may just call the most deserving guys regardless of where we must fly them in from. 

Looking at the most recent roster, we probably need to find room for Ahmed, Adekugbe and Osorio. If we dropped nobody from last roster, that'd be 26 players. These are friendlies so no technical reason we couldn't do that. More likely though we'd have to drop players to bring those 3 in, so perhaps Fraser, Bair and Piette would be on the chopping block.

As for fringe European guys (aside from JKL), we are probably looking at Nelson, Corbeanu, and Brym. Zator and Loturi are probably too far down the depth chart to be considered for this camp, while Paton is still injured, as is Kennedy. 

[dyslexic nam]

25 minutes ago, VinceA said:

Push and pull with the MLS teams I'm assuming. I'm guessing the league is playing through the Copa America.

I don’t see us giving any ground for MLS teams to retain players.  The European games are the chance to fine tune tactics and chemistry (and possibly bed-in a new manager 🤞) in advance of Copa.  After not accomplishing a lot in Qatar we will want to perform well in the second biggest set of games since the 80’s.  There is no way we use the tune-up games to do anything except play our best teams possible IMO.   There may be guys who can be brought in to train, and there are probably the pool of guys right on the cusp where we could see tweaks, but I don’t think anyone expected to make the Copa squad will be left home for the sake of their team. 

[Obinna]

1 hour ago, dyslexic nam said:

I don’t see us giving any ground for MLS teams to retain players.  The European games are the chance to fine tune tactics and chemistry (and possibly bed-in a new manager 🤞) in advance of Copa.  After not accomplishing a lot in Qatar we will want to perform well in the second biggest set of games since the 80’s.  There is no way we use the tune-up games to do anything except play our best teams possible IMO.   There may be guys who can be brought in to train, and there are probably the pool of guys right on the cusp where we could see tweaks, but I don’t think anyone expected to make the Copa squad will be left home for the sake of their team. 

Expected: Crepeau, St. Clair, Johnston, Miller, Cornelius, Bombito, LDF, Eustaquio, Kone, Buchanan, Davies, David, Larin, Millar

We all may differ on a player or two, but these are the guys who came to mind when you said "expected".

That leaves a lot of spots up for grabs. Guys like Schafflebug, Ugbo, and Choniere probably top the list. Then, we have Osorio and Piette who will undoubtedly be considered. What about Waterman? What about Bair? What about Fraser? What about Ahmed? What about Adekugbe? What about Corbeanu? There's a mix of guys from both sides of the pond in contention, to be sure. 

I think you're right that MLS clubs (or any clubs for that matter) won't be given much leeway. Of all the guys "on the cusp", which ones get in? Should be very interesting to see...

Edited April 17 by Obinna

[Bigandy]

19 hours ago, Obinna said:

I guess we'll see it at the very end of the season, as in the last game or maybe the last couple. How many match days are left? 6? Hopefully we see him get another couple of appearances. Ditto for LDF.

General question for everyone:

Do we bring JKL to either European friendly, or too soon?

On one hand, being glued to the bench for Bristol City in the Championship is nowhere near the standard required to compete against Netherlands and France. On the other hand, he's a 19 year old repeatedly making the bench in the Championship, and that is not nothing as far as Canadians go. 

Put me in the "too soon" category, but I could probably be swayed if someone has a good argument. 

If we look at roster selection, I think formation is the #1 (as a general rule) determining factor in how many players per position. 

A back 4 and we take 4 CB's. LCB miller and cornelius (both are unlikely to be dropped. RCB Bombito and LDF (hard to see us dropping bombito and i'd be shocked if we cap our best prospect and then drop him right after). No room for JKL.

A back 3 now includes the above 4. add in AJ as a hybrid guy and maybe we take a 6th. That 6th has to be able to play that central CB spot. Biello likes waterman which I think is a huge mistake to take him. I personally would take 5 and give another spot to an attacker but if we took 6, JKL could have a chance.... small but he has a profile for central CB. 

If LDF didnt commit then maybe we take a prospect like JKL but I just cant see him getting into the team unless he starts in the championship for the rest of the season.

[Obinna]

45 minutes ago, Bigandy said:

If we look at roster selection, I think formation is the #1 (as a general rule) determining factor in how many players per position. 

A back 4 and we take 4 CB's. LCB miller and cornelius (both are unlikely to be dropped. RCB Bombito and LDF (hard to see us dropping bombito and i'd be shocked if we cap our best prospect and then drop him right after). No room for JKL.

A back 3 now includes the above 4. add in AJ as a hybrid guy and maybe we take a 6th. That 6th has to be able to play that central CB spot. Biello likes waterman which I think is a huge mistake to take him. I personally would take 5 and give another spot to an attacker but if we took 6, JKL could have a chance.... small but he has a profile for central CB. 

If LDF didnt commit then maybe we take a prospect like JKL but I just cant see him getting into the team unless he starts in the championship for the rest of the season.

Agree with most of this, but your Waterman take is interesting. @Shway said something similar in a different thread, about how we shouldn't take him to the Copa. For me, Waterman hasn't looked like the clear-cut solution, but neither has Cornelius or Miller in the middle of a back 3. Kennedy had some good moments in the past from that position, but I am not comfortable with him either, and he's injured anyways. Vitoria is (or should be) done. 

Maybe all this means we don't play with a back 3, but we then lose some flexibility. And maybe that is okay for the sake of establishing an identity and system post-herdman. 

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

12 minutes ago, Obinna said:

Agree with most of this, but your Waterman take is interesting. @Shway said something similar in a different thread, about how we shouldn't take him to the Copa. For me, Waterman hasn't looked like the clear-cut solution, but neither has Cornelius or Miller in the middle of a back 3. Kennedy had some good moments in the past from that position, but I am not comfortable with him either, and he's injured anyways. Vitoria is (or should be) done. 

Maybe all this means we don't play with a back 3, but we then lose some flexibility. And maybe that is okay for the sake of establishing an identity and system post-herdman. 

Still a catch 22 in a lot of way.  For a pairing, I don't want Miller in there - too many individual goals against - but...

Though Cornelius has been playing almost exclusively in a back 4 this year, it has been with Pontuss Jansson - club legend at this point - as his partner. No idea if he is learning to be a leader or just letting the natural leader do it. 

Bombito is what he is, brand new to regularly starting at a decent level. 

Cornelius-Miller-Bombito is my best solution at this juncture.  Cornelius or Bombito should be able to take over the middle but there is no guarentee of that yet.  Don't think we can play Miller and Johnston together but Johnston is on plane obviously. Waterman runs the middle in a 3 all the time - how well is the question. You bring LDF.  

So at that point, not sure you have room for Knight-Lebel yet. 

[InglewoodJack]

I don’t think JKL is close to a call up- he’s probably around where Justin smith was when he made the bench for Nice (or even last year, playing in Ligue 2). If he starts playing regularly next year, then absolutely, but as of right now, he doesn’t play, he’s not in danger of playing for another nation either. 
 

I’m not particularly high on Lucas Pos, but with all the buzz about him switching to Canada, I assume there’s been some dialogue about him playing for us and if that’s the case, I’m inclined to believe someone thinks that he has something to offer, and so I’d want to give him a look first. At last count, I think that means JKL is like 6 or 7th on my CB depth chart, and I’m not counting some of the MLS fringe call up guys either. One for the future for sure though.

[Obinna]

A lot of good points made....

Does anyone find it odd how little he's played compared with how often he's been named to the bench? I know Smith made the bench multiple times for Nice, but JKL has been on the bench the entire season. For me that makes it feel a bit different than Smith, but it also strikes me as being very odd. For a guy on the bench THAT much, I would think he'd get into at least 7-9 games, considering he's a CB and 19. Or, maybe it's normal for a team to keep young players like that around the team, even though they have no real shot of playing any minutes? Can anyone else think of similar examples, Canadian or otherwise?

[narduch]

Is JKL too old for this summer's U20 qualifying event?

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

6 minutes ago, narduch said:

Is JKL too old for this summer's U20 qualifying event?

He just misses out, I think.

Christmas Eve baby 2004

"All players must be a maximum of 20 years old by the end of the calendar year in which the FIFA competition is played (i.e., all players of the teams were born on or after January 1, 2005"