That's Dr. Gotham to you, buddy.
It's funny becauseGotham Gator likes Arizona, or has to pretend to for his wife's sake.
She doesn't even pretend to like Arizona.
2017 Preseason Thread
- Thread starter NYCFC_Dan
- Start date
That's Dr. Gotham to you, buddy.
She doesn't even pretend to like Arizona.
My regards to Dr. Mrs. Gator Gotham.
Really enjoyed that one.
Yangel looks so smooth out there. Kid just looks like he's going to be something special.
That chip by Ring was sexy too. And how bout PV with the long balls on the money.
I like how they go out of their way to keep mix out of these videos.
Don't think there was a player out there happier than Sands. Got paired up with Pirlo for a bit it looked like. Kid was smiling ear to ear.
Sands looks like the human version of a golden retriever.
My hope is that Vieria has Pirlo mentor Sands for the season. The kid would gain so much from that opportunity, and those nice passes we see from Sands already could become a whole lot more pretty.
More importantly Sands is just young enough, and good enough, that we're probably going to have a smooth transition from Michael Bradley when the time arises. Ideally Sands can get good enough quick enough and be versatile enough to knock Beckerman off the USMNT roster before Russia.
I like Beckerman as a person, I think he's done great things for the national team, but my god are his legs totally shot. Also I don't believe that he's never smoked pot, just look at him.
From U17 to MNT World Cup squad within 18 months? That's quite ambitious.
If he truly was that good, why wouldn't he have been picked up to play or be in a European academy?
We've only seen him play three games, one against an Ecuadorian side and two MLS preseason matches.
I'm on the #Sands2K17 hype train, but not the Sands hyperloop.
I'm not quite on that train yet, but both Donovan and Beasley were 17 and staring in the Korea/Japan WC. Players at that age can make ridiculous leaps with growth spurts or their bodies just "getting it" tactically and skill wise. Look as Pulisic - he was known, but not gushed over, however given a chance he lept to the top of the world for his age. Not saying Sands is in the same category, but he could always turn a corner and be special. We'll know over the next few months.
You also have to look at where and with who Pulisic trained at that age. If Sands makes the team, which we all think he should, his development will greatly accelerate. Those around him will help him elevate his game.
Very true, but not always necessary. Donovan and Beasley were with the US Residency program in Bradenton. They made the leap simply playing with their peers; granted that was the most talented u17 team the US has ever produced, but I'd still say it wasn't as good as training with a roster like our current one, let alone Dortmond's.
What Sands has against him is that a "kid" has a harder time locking down a DMid position on a full national team than they would as a winger or forward - there's more riding on the play of the DMid, hence Beasley and Donovan could freelance and take chances knowing if the lost the ball they had full backup. Sands would be the backup and therefore can't make mistakes.
However, what Sands (or any other 17-18yo) has going for them is that Arena has a track record of bringing on youth. Donovan, Beasley, pretty sure he tapped up Convey.
I think they were 19-20 at the World Cup. Not to nitpick, but it is a decent gap for most between those ages.
I think he can make a big leap for sure, which is why I want him here.
As to whomever was asking about why not Europe, I pointed it out elsewhere but not having access to Euro passport is what keeps many top talents in the US. Look at Gaines, Wright, Taitague, Rubin, etc, all of them were in that boat. Gaines is a great example of why we should sign Sands. He was in the FCD academy for a while, and then dropped out once he was nearer to being able to go overseas at 18. Dallas gets the big D right in the old A, Wolfsburg gets a new youth team captain who has been killing it. Wright bailed on LAG and signed with Cosmos for a year. The list goes on. Just sign Sands.
I haven't found anything else in preseason to become excessively hyped about.
But I do believe that Sands' primary problems right now are basically physical, Vieria stated that Sands understands the game like a 30 year old.
Taking my assertion that Sands' problems are basically physical and that he is 16, with all the hormones that come with that age. And we assume that NYCFC offers him a contract we can posit that he will be eating an idealized diet and be on a nearly perfect workout regime, because he is now a professional athlete and his body is his life/job. Its not unreasonable for a 16 year old under perfect conditions to put on 15-20 pounds of muscle in a year and a half.
That rather neatly ameliorates any strength problems he has in short order.
The reason I put so much stock in the Emelec game is that Emelec are perennial knockout rounds/quarter finalists in the copa libertadores, which is a superior tournament to the CCL.
I wanted this to be you fucking with us so bad... Everyone flips to 4:46, sees a ham sandwich or something.
As Midas also pointed out, it's all about passports. Now I could be wrong, but Sands sounds like his family has been in America for a few generations. Examples of players that could go to Europe pre-18 bc of their passports:
Emerson Hyndman (Portuguese passport)
Christian Pulisic (Croatian passport)
Brooks Lennon (Irish passport)
Tim Howard (Hungary passport, not that he was under 18, but he needed it for work permit requirements in the U.K.)
And I could certainly be wrong, but given where Claudio Reyna was playing at the time, it wouldn't surprise me if Gio Reyna had an English passport
