Ali Ahmed

[Ottawafan]

Is his best position inside midfield or outside on the wing?

[Bigandy]

I rewatched the game with special emphasis on ahmed. 

Yes he looks slender but I really didnt notice physicality being an issue. Offensively his agility means he doesnt often get in physical duels. Hes better creating small amounts of space and then passing compared to dribbling 5 guys. @OttawafanThis is why I think hes better as a central mid than winger.

Yes he got bullied on the first goal but look at his body shape. He was off balanced, lunging in, poorly positioned. That was not a physicality issue as much as it was him trying to recover awkwardly. With better CB coverage/better positioning, he would have been fine. 

Obviously we'd like him to bulk up but ahmed, kone, staq as a trio is not much less physical than kone staq oso. Add in bombito as a potential 6 and we are fine physically in the middle. At CB we have more issues.....

[BearcatSA]

12 hours ago, Bigandy said:

Yes he got bullied on the first goal but look at his body shape. He was off balanced, lunging in, poorly positioned. That was not a physicality issue as much as it was him trying to recover awkwardly. With better CB coverage/better positioning, he would have been fine. 

Sometimes you get surprised by an opponent's strength and quickness and get caught out, so it's a learning experience to apply for next time.  Nonetheless, I have seen him enough with the Caps to suggest that he needs to up that defensive physicality/presence and that's what some seasoned observers closer to the club have also noted.

Until Vite finally started scoring, I thought they should have use Ahmed in his place beside Gauld at the top of the Christmas tree.

[SthMelbRed]

On 6/29/2023 at 8:38 AM, Gian-Luca said:

 

I love how pissed off he is that we dropped 2 points, debut cap in his hometown, or not.

[Sal333]

7 hours ago, SthMelbRed said:

I love how pissed off he is that we dropped 2 points, debut cap in his hometown, or not.

I don't want to jump the gun but I will anyway. I think we found our next star. He impressed me. This is exactly what this team needed: an attacking midfielder. I know he played wide the last game but I can see him as an excellent 10 or 8.:

Davies

David

Buchanan

Eustaquio

Johnstone (but not as a CB)

Kone

Ahmed

We just need a couple of  stud youngsters to take over CB.

[dyslexic nam]

38 minutes ago, Sal333 said:

I don't want to jump the gun but I will anyway. I think we found our next star. He impressed me. This is exactly what this team needed: an attacking midfielder. I know he played wide the last game but I can see him as an excellent 10 or 8.:

Davies

David

Buchanan

Eustaquio

Johnstone (but not as a CB)

Kone

Ahmed

We just need a couple of  stud youngsters to take over CB.

I know this list is forward looking but for now I would tend to include Richie and Cyle in that group as well.  At 28 they aren’t going to develop into more than what they are but they should still be in peak performance for the upcoming cycle and are both quality (I always though that Richie was better than his league level).   Plus that is only 2 years older than Staq.  

But even with the addition of those two, the very clear gap is in defence where I 100% agree - we need someone (and ideally a couple of someones) to step up and show class.  Smith?  Bombito? (Still no idea why Herdman wants to push him in midfield).  Don’t know who else is a solid prospect but damn we need some strengthening in that area.  
 

 

[Bigandy]

49 minutes ago, dyslexic nam said:

I know this list is forward looking but for now I would tend to include Richie and Cyle in that group as well.  At 28 they aren’t going to develop into more than what they are but they should still be in peak performance for the upcoming cycle and are both quality (I always though that Richie was better than his league level).   Plus that is only 2 years older than Staq.  

But even with the addition of those two, the very clear gap is in defence where I 100% agree - we need someone (and ideally a couple of someones) to step up and show class.  Smith?  Bombito? (Still no idea why Herdman wants to push him in midfield).  Don’t know who else is a solid prospect but damn we need some strengthening in that area.  
 

 

I 100% agree that cyle and richie deserve to be on the list but if we had solid CB's we could play 4 atb. In any 4back formation, johnston seems favoured at RB and davies looks to be a lb for canada? If davies plays winger than laryea and sam can fight out the LB spot. 

Im not a fan of a 4-3-3 where either david or larin plays wide. I think our balance is better with only one of them. Obviously both incredibly useful players but its a shame they play in positions of strength for us. 
4-3-3
GK 
Johnston Tomori Cristante Davies
Staq Kone ahmed/oso/bombito
Buchanan David Hoilett 

[Obinna]

2 hours ago, Sal333 said:

I don't want to jump the gun but I will anyway. I think we found our next star. He impressed me. This is exactly what this team needed: an attacking midfielder. I know he played wide the last game but I can see him as an excellent 10 or 8.:

Davies

David

Buchanan

Eustaquio

Johnstone (but not as a CB)

Kone

Ahmed

We just need a couple of  stud youngsters to take over CB.

I think Ahmed is more 8 then 10. I have only seen him play once though, so we'll see. I think he's going to fit this team like a glove moving forward. He fit in so seemlessly, like he's been at the NT for a few years. Reminded me of Laryea's debut. I think he can have a similar trajectory as well. Play in MLS then move to a Championship level. I just hope that club doesn't get promoted and then loan him back to MLS, so if NF comes calling, don't pick up the phone, Ali!

[The Beaver 2.0]

I love what Ahmed has been doing all season for the Caps, and now with the senior men, but I remain a bit cautious about how much he'll contribute to the senior team.  I love his audacity, his willingness to drive forward, but he's still a very slight dude playing a man's game, and he's got some work yet to do to tidy up his game, the passing in particular.  Having said that, he's still relatively young. The pass to Richie that led to the own goal was impressive, and if he continues to grow at a good pace, then we could indeed have a very useful player for us here.  I'm just not 100% sold--yet--that he's going to be one of our top guys as we head into WC2026

[Kadenge]

23 minutes ago, The Beaver 2.0 said:

I love what Ahmed has been doing all season for the Caps, and now with the senior men, but I remain a bit cautious about how much he'll contribute to the senior team.  I love his audacity, his willingness to drive forward, but he's still a very slight dude playing a man's game, and he's got some work yet to do to tidy up his game, the passing in particular.  Having said that, he's still relatively young. The pass to Richie that led to the own goal was impressive, and if he continues to grow at a good pace, then we could indeed have a very useful player for us here.  I'm just not 100% sold--yet--that he's going to be one of our top guys as we head into WC2026

it's his first pro season yes?

[VinceA]

41 minutes ago, Kadenge said:

it's his first pro season yes?

Technically last year in MLSNP was his first year as a "pro" but the term is a bit loose at that level.

[Bigandy]

3 hours ago, Sal333 said:

I don't want to jump the gun but I will anyway. I think we found our next star. He impressed me. This is exactly what this team needed: an attacking midfielder. I know he played wide the last game but I can see him as an excellent 10 or 8.:

Davies

David

Buchanan

Eustaquio

Johnstone (but not as a CB)

Kone

Ahmed

We just need a couple of  stud youngsters to take over CB.

Ahmed didnt play wide. We played a 3-5-2 with hoillet floating in a bit of a free role. Ahmed was more rcm and he combined alot with laryea as he found space out wide. But lots of cms will float out wide during attacking phases. He was an 8 besides oso with bombito as a 6.  

[VinceA]

8 minutes ago, Bigandy said:

Ahmed didnt play wide. We played a 3-5-2 with hoillet floating in a bit of a free role. Ahmed was more rcm and he combined alot with laryea as he found space out wide. But lots of cms will float out wide during attacking phases. He was an 8 besides oso with bombito as a 6.  

What was interesting too is I think Ahmed plays as a LCM for Vancouver? So it was impressive seeing him still be as effective on the right.

But it's also an example of Herdman using players out of their natural position again, granted this one worked.

[Bigandy]

6 minutes ago, VinceA said:

What was interesting too is I think Ahmed plays as a LCM for Vancouver? So it was impressive seeing him still be as effective on the right.

But it's also an example of Herdman using players out of their natural position again, granted this one worked.

Cm is also one of those positions that many players can play left or right and it not make a huge difference, especially for someone who is comfortable with both feet. Most CM are more effective on their natural footed side. I would argue that ahmed is a rcm who plays lcm for Vancouver. 

[Obinna]

1 hour ago, Bigandy said:

Cm is also one of those positions that many players can play left or right and it not make a huge difference, especially for someone who is comfortable with both feet. Most CM are more effective on their natural footed side. I would argue that ahmed is a rcm who plays lcm for Vancouver. 

Was just about to say the same. In the CM midfield you expect there to be fluidity to the point where discerning between a LCM and RCM is unecessary, unless you are talking about a very rigid system of course. 

[El Diego]

Inverting CMs is a big trend right now -- look at Odegaard  playing RCM for Arsenal. That's mainly for the passing playmaker types so they have their strong foot in the middle of the pitch

But you also have guys like de Bruyne who thrive on their strong side in the center. His natural passing stroke works better from the inside right than the inside left. Depends on the skill set of the player if one side makes more sense than the other. Ahmed is a combiner, he works in any space as long as there are other guys around him that can play on his wavelength.

[Kadenge]

To add to this debate, I have rarely if ever seen Oso play on the right. Staq usually plays on the left in a 2 CM at Porto and when he's  been moved to the right he has been less effective

[footballfreak]

Whether or not Ahmed is best at RCM, he’s certainly very comfortable on the left. We won’t be able to say without a bigger sample size. In Vancouver, he will be stuck on the left for the rest of the season at least. Gressel needs to be on the right.

For the Gold Cup, I think we could probably use him on either side effectively, but I might switch him to the left to bolster the attack there. Richie and Oso on the right, Ahmed and Millar on the left. That said, Ahmed and Laryea looked pretty good together. It’s a nice problem to have.

 

[footballfreak]

26 minutes ago, Kadenge said:

To add to this debate, I have rarely if ever seen Oso play on the right. Staq usually plays on the left in a 2 CM at Porto and when he's  been moved to the right he has been less effective

He played as an RM at times in qualifying. Against Haiti away I believe, though there may have been other instances. It might be my imagination, but when he plays as a 10 I see him drift to the right side frequently enough. Is it not that way for TFC? I don’t watch them often.

[TOcanadafan]

I loved so much of his game going forward, all of which has already been mentioned.

I’ll be excited to see him play against better opposition.

I’ll probably get piled on for saying it, but I thought he was really poor defensively throughout the game.

[Watchmen]

1 hour ago, TOcanadafan said:

I loved so much of his game going forward, all of which has already been mentioned.

I’ll be excited to see him play against better opposition.

I’ll probably get piled on for saying it, but I thought he was really poor defensively throughout the game.

There is work to do defensively.  It's one of the reasons the Whitecaps moved him further up when they initially started him at LB/LWB.  It's worked out well for everyone, but it's a fair comment to say it's an area that can be improved.

[eramosat]

apparently he's starting tonight, show us your class Ali!

[Joe MacCarthy]

 

[FC_Hali]

He reminds me a lot of Laryea. Maybe not as explosive but he’s dynamic and versatile.  They both have wirey frames, are shifty with the ball, are comfortable in tight spaces, and both are very good ball winners. 

Ahmed also seems to be having his breakout season around the same age as Richie. 

Need to see more from him but he looks like a promising addition. 

[Obinna]

11 minutes ago, FC_Hali said:

He reminds me a lot of Laryea. Maybe not as explosive but he’s dynamic and versatile.  They both have wirey frames, are shifty with the ball, are comfortable in tight spaces, and both are very good ball winners. 

Ahmed also seems to be having his breakout season around the same age as Richie. 

Need to see more from him but he looks like a promising addition. 

Thought the same thing so I went to check...

Richie made his debut in 2019, 4 years ago. He was 24 years old. 

Ahmed is 22 now and turns 23 in October, so almost two years ahead of Laryea's schedule, which is good.