Comments

1. Luke Shaw gets burned all the time. Zinchenko plays LM exclusively for the Ukraine. Ivan Perisic isn’t a defender and never was. Spurs played yesterday. I watched the match and watched him play for years. Mendes & Mendy have always had a skill set and physical attributes that make them defenders. Ever seen Wan-Bissaka? They are all good 1 v1 defenders. Andy Robertson is a modern day LB!! He’s an offensive fullback. TAA and him were top 5 in assists in Prem league last season. Liverpool defense sux because their fullbacks are below average in duels, clearances & turnovers. They suck at 1 v 1 defending and are criticized a lot because of it. Davies was a left-footed left winger in the MLS and is always the fastest 2 players on the field every time. His transition to LB was easier, just like DMB who was a LM for the USA, not a winger. DMB was a very good 1 v 1 defender! He’s not a modern fullback. Don’t know why you brought his name into a “modern day” fullback conversation?! Gareth Bale wasn’t signed as a LB. Per usual, you have no context on most of your posts Vacqui!! I’m starting to believe Vacqui is a meaning for vague. You just threw some names out without thinking or elaborating on each players path in relation to Weah. Whom your paraphrasing was referring. Most of these players aren’t good at defense, or even got good a defense. Not every fullback you named started as a defender, true!! You got midfielders who don’t score, mixed in with wingers who don’t score, in comparison to Timo, who does shoot a lot. More than any player outside of IP. Perisic plays wingback. Different starting point. Denzel Dumfries excels in a wingback position in 3-4-3, or 3-5-2, he sux as a defender and when he’s in any other formation, you don’t hear his name mentioned at all. Like most of your posts, you have no context. Weah & Sargent were developed to be tournament players, since they were 13!! Weah played LW; Sargent played CF. Dest was moved to RB by Tab Ramos because he’s small and can cross the best from the right side. Weah, Sargent & Ayo were all at or over 6 feet at ‘17 Concacaf U17 tournament. I’m gonna call you “out of context” from hear on out!!

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   • Mr. Think,

     “Luke Shaw gets burned all the time”

     So what? BFD. He’s a starting left back for England and Manchester United . Whatever his defensive deficits, it doesn’t seem to bother Ten Hag and Southgate all that much and their opinions on Shaw are the only ones that matter.

     You focus on what a player can’t do. Ten Hag and South gate focus on what he CAN do. Maybe Timo as a left back or wingback can have more room to go on those surging runs he’s so good at.

     Look no further than Jedi whose attacking prowess has never been questioned but whose defensive deficits have eternally been questioned. Ans yet he’s been the regular staring left back for his club and country for some time now.

     No one is a perfect on both offense and defense. If you play it’s because the result of the combination of both is acceptable to the manager.

     As long as you don’t call me late for dinner you can call me anything you want.

     “Gareth Bale wasn’t signed as a LB. ”

     Bullshit.

     https://www.saintsplayers.co.uk/player/gareth-bale/

     Like Phonso Davies he started at left back but quickly got moved to where he could be more dangerous.

     Let me know the next time Weah deserves to be called as good a soccer player as any of the left backs I cited . As soccer players they are all having superior careers to Timo at this point.

     As a winger Weah had shown moderate success limited by tough competition and perhaps more importantly injuries. Except for the USMNT, Timo ain’t having a lot of luck as a winger at this point. For his club, where he makes his money and his living, he’s stalled as a potentially good winger who has getting hurt issues.

     Since the 18/19 season he’s missed (games) 1/25/9/4/1/3/7/7.

     If you want him to start having the kind of career those other guys I listed have, then maybe a move to left back might be helpful.

     He’s not getting any younger and Lille and Lige 1 are places where a lot of young talent is always coming through.

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2. Saw Balogun play a cup game v Les Herbiers and wasn’t impressed. Especially not over what we already have in the US player pool. Les Herbiers is also in the the 3rd division of France, which makes my assessment easier. I also saw Weah as a LB. Guy was trash. He sux as a fullback, and wingback. Are you kidding me, Weah has no 1 v 1 defensive skills!! Sargent a mid & Weah a defender is approved by people who just watched a WC cycle for the first time. I read the commentary for Sargent and Weah after seeing the lineups last weekend. Both fouled a lot, with the exception of McKennie & Acosta, you typically see this from players unfamiliar with their position, or who suck at their positions. They can’t keep up, so they foul. The US didn’t develop Sargent as a midfielder, nor Weah as a back line defender. Sometimes club coaches can influence their international counterparts and vice versa. It isn’t mental gymnastics to say GB playing these players out of position influenced their club coaches to do the same. One Example- Dest makes a left footed shot v CR at home during WCQ, then proceeds to start at LW for a month. Dest isn’t a better winger than he is a RB. Barcelona would’ve signed him as a swinger. Sargent nor Weah was brought in by their clubs to play midfielder or defender.

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   • “The US didn’t develop Sargent as a midfielder, nor Weah as a back line defender.”

     That happened first at their clubs. At least it did for Josh. At Werder Bremen he played what I called a defensive/holding center forward. Werder were pretty weak and often kept just FulKrug up and everyone else back behind the ball. Makes it hard to learn your trade as a classic #9. I would argue that at least it rounded out his skill set which is never a bad thing.

     “Are you kidding me, Weah has no 1 v 1 defensive skills!!”

     If true and I doubt that it is , his club manager doesn’t seem too worried about it. Timo isn’t playing a lot at Lille and if this shift finds him a new role where he can play a lot all the better.

     In the modern game left back is often a creative, offensive position. Ever watch Luke Shaw?
     How about Oleksandr Zinchenko,Ivan Perisic.Ferland Mendy.
     Nuno Mendes.Andy Robertson.Alphonso Davies or Theo Hernandez?

     A lot of those guys had the attacking skills first and then developed the defensive stuff later. Look at DMB and of course our friendly neighbor Phonso Davies. And if he doesn’t like it Timo can always switch back Gareth Bale was bought by Spurs as a left back.

     USMNT fans get way too precious about positional pigeonholes.

     If Josh is our #6 and Timo our #3 in 2026 I wouldn’t be worried about it.

     Oh and Dest played winger and wingback at Ajax before Gregg ever got his paws on him.

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3. Second game in a row Wright hasn’t dressed. Speculation growing he will be transferred soon.

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4. Looks like Sargent has found a new position in that midfield. Maybe we will be talking about Sargent as an attacking 8.

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   • A couple of weeks ago his manager said he should be a central striker instead of a winger. Go figure. One thing for sure, he is having a good season.

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     • Mr. Page,

       That’s probably before he figured out that Josh was more versatile than Pukki.

       And I’m guessing Josh in his midfield role is better than whoever else they have for that spot.

       If both of them are playing well in their roles it doesn’t make any sense to change what ain’t broke especially since Norwich appears to be on a roll right now, since David took over, so why change things?