Comments

1. As I have written before, Sargent has nothing more to prove at the Championship level. He turned down the Bundesliga because he doesn’t want to go to Germany, but he really needs to move up if he wants to improve and we need n improved Sargent to make noise in the WC. From a personal level, he would certainly make a lot more money if he moves to the EPL.

   Reply

   • why does he need to move at all? few more years of 15-20 goals and norwich might build him a statue like mcbride had at fulham. every time he goes to a first division he scores like 3-5 goals and gets sold. then goes back down someplace. i think he’s found his level. (ditto the NT, i have never seen people try so hard to repeatedly revive an unproductive NT player)

     i think his best path to the EPL is the ream pro/rel roller coaster with norwich. mutual loyalty with a yoyo team. if he gets them back up they throw him a parade. if they get relegated he’s not the scapegoat. that way if he scores 5 goals in the EPL he doesn’t get canned again.

     i am sure he’s rich. he doesn’t need more money that bad. be “about” something other than a string of transfers and occasional good seasons.

     Reply

   • Gary,
     I think there’s a what’s the best chance for his long term growth and improvement and that’s challenging at a higher level with more competition at his club. And then there is what is best for his WC chances in 2026 which is probably staying. Also he has at least one kid so he’s got to think where to raise his family which may not match with his best soccer destination. If momma ain’t happy ain’t nobody happy if you will.

     Reply

     • Gary,

       Johnnyrazor is spot on with, “If momma ain’t happy ain’t nobody happy…” Sargent sleeping on the couch post-game or post-training would not be good for his rest and recovery. 🙂

2. Johnnyrazor,

   Agreed on, “Staying at Norwich and banging in 15-20 is his most direct route to the WC.” As of the end of this past Gold Cup, I have him making the roster.

   His goal yesterday was nice…quality hold on his run to create a smidgen of space and quality first time finish with his off foot…hope he keeps it going.

   Additionally, it has to be said ( I hope I don’t jinx him ), he has to stay healthy.

   On a side note, Downs missed another sitter yesterday, and it was worse than the one he missed this past Saturday. Had he tucked both, he could’ve been off to a blazing start, as well. He needs to get traction…and soon.

   I think Balogun benefits a lot from the fact that he was an Arsenal academy player and the 22 goal season at Reims. In the last two seasons, he has not produced. He needs a big season, but it’s doubtful he moves before the World Cup. Given his injury last season, Monaco is not ready to give up on him and he is unlikely to risk a move.

   Reply

   • Yes on Downs, I described it yesterday on the Midweek preview thread. I think he’ll have a good year just has to fine tune his timing and he and his teammates need more reps together. His manager was Balo’s manager at Reims so hopefully that will benefit him.
     ————————-
     I hadn’t really thought of Balo moving until they mentioned it on Yanks Abroad podcast this week. There is a lot of competition in that forward room Bierath, Embolo, Ilenikhena, Brunner, they might even play Ansu Fati as a SS if they are playing a 4-4-2. I can’t see Fati playing as a true LM after injury issues the last couple years. If Balo is only getting Gio like minutes, he’ll have to move January.

     Reply

   • club form fallacy. agyemang may be sloppy as heck but he’s done more in a half year for the US than sargent’s half-decade career. we have seen more than once a 15 goal sargent season means nothing to the NT.

     if i had to get concrete, i think he’s better facing goal and most of the time our 9s end up playing back to goal or aerial target man. and if we try to shift this to playing the ball behind the backs, he’s not that fast and i’d take most of the list including agyemang over him. i don’t see him winning many international back foot races. IMO english championship they don’t play a ton of defense.

     i agree that his best chance is stay put, score 15 again, because i think the US right now runs by a club form mentality. he’d be repeating pepi’s glitch last time.

     Reply

     • I don’t disagree that Sargent doesn’t really fit the offensive scheme. I do think it’s hard for the manager though if you have Sarge, Wright, Downs, Pat, and Dike all in the same league playing the same competition and Josh has 5 or 6 more goals to not take a long look at that. I think what Sargent needs most if he were to get called back to the NT is a good sports psychologist because he scores well in a top 10 league. It’s not like you’re trying to compare Pepi with 5g in the Netherlands to Sargent with 6g in the Championship to Ferreira with 10 in MLS. All those guys are in the same league.
       ———————
       It’s really not fare to judge Agyemang because he hasn’t played yet, but I don’t think he’s going to have a great year at Derby. I understand he had the sports hernia but 508 of 540 minutes at GC he had 1g against Haiti and a goal that Luna hit it off his foot that he knew nothing about. I think his technical deficiencies lead him to be streaky so he might have 4g in 3 matches but then he might go 6 or 7 weeks without a goal and I don’t think Derby will be as patient with that as Charlotte especially if they are in a relegation battle. Now you’re coming off the bench and maybe not playing if you’re in the lead because he can’t keep possession. He needs a lot of touches because his skill isn’t great so maybe 6 or 7 weeks becomes 10-12 weeks without a goal. His one goal against a quality opponent is an unmarked shot from 8 yds out against Canada. Which is better than anything Sargent has done offensively since the first Trump administration but is it a sign of actual greatness?
       ————————
       Not sure what you’re getting at Sargent has only had 2 clubs, Bremen and Norwich.
       ————————
       Brian McBride didn’t score his first NT goal until he was 25 and didn’t score his first EPL goal until he was 30. So maybe don’t write off Sargent just yet.
       ——————————
       There by the way is no Brian McBride statue at Fulham, there was a bar named after him though but it was removed when they renovated Craven Cottage a few years ago.

     • the 9 slot is not where you put an intangibles guy to go chase teams. it’s where you put the productive players to score goals. this thing badly needs cheap goals. and by that i mean proven NT goals.

       when everyone is healthy, that’s balogun pepi wright ferreira agyemang vazquez. sargent on NT production is not even in the top several. for getting the job done, i rate him roughly about where i rate white, who doesn’t do much at all.

       to be fair, i don’t see him fluffing a sitter like wondo in a world cup. it’s not a technical issue. i instead see nothing happening at all. they won’t even find him for the sitter. which is the problem. the offense can’t basically funnel to the forwards and particularly the 9 for most of the offense while the 9 plays pro level hide and seek instead.

       i know some of the regulars are hurt but it’s too obvious and reproven what happens when sargent gets the gig. so it should be downs gets a real runout, weah gets tried up there, reyna/luna get tried as a false 9, we go hunt down some dual national.

       part of the problem with the NT is an arena-esque penchant for going around in the same circle of choices even when you should know better. sargent was a solid paper choice. he’s very technical. but on a team built like this you can’t have a 9 where nothing happens, and we can’t keep making the same hopeful selection mistakes.

       i mean the weird thing is a lot of the current flavors of the month were around in march and we know what happened. and yet that’s some’s idea of the answer.

     • re agyemang, he’s a great story, and productive enough to be in the mix, but at his age you get signed to come in and score, not to get your game fixed. and due to 4 years in college and working up from the minors, he’s 24 already. same age as aaronson, dest, balogun, and ferreira. older than reyna, pepi, musah, tillman, downs, mcglynn, etc.

       i think we need someone in the pool that’s a big body guy but the deal is he’s a little wasteful ball at feet and i ain’t seen a header goal yet. if what he does is take people on 1 on 1 and score if you play him behind the backs, people have short memories. balogun loves that. pepi’s pretty good at that. and i think they are better finishers.

       but people need to be healthy. and i am somewhat concerned USMNT seems to lack any institutional memory where someone points out, woah, poch, we have a couple guys over here who were racking up goals for the NT 5 seconds ago before getting hurt. or that ferreira and his productivity exist. and he’s not as old as some seem to think — same age as agyemang and many of the core guys.

       i do think agyemang is an upgrade on white and sargent but the sargent fans want to talk about club form all day. he’s not wearing yellow and green. if he ever scored a goal they don’t play samba de janeiro. when US fans figure this out the place will start improving.

     • re mcbride, he did 3 years in college at St. Louis through age 21. then burned a year with wolfsburg that didn’t take. that’s more like agyemang than sargent. college to pro is a jump and some players flourish in a pro coaching and practice environment.

       also, some strikers and backs are stick figures as kids but fill out into more stout bodies as adults. ching comes to mind.

       to me the deal is sargent has always come across as technical but gawky. he isn’t particularly fast and hasn’t shown the ability to use size and hold people off the ball. he then needs to be alot more active showing to ball than he is.

       he does score plenty in the c’ship but based on following wrexham a few games, ollie palmer can score a brace in that league. the backs will let you sit in the zone space between them. it doesn’t feel like italy, EPL, or even a team in SPL like celtic or dundee united, where receiving the ball won’t be conceded, and if you get it you will know i am there, and i won’t let you turn. the backs are decent in the air but in more of a john brooks “marking air” sense. you hit an aimless cross they’ll clear it.

     • IV: yes I’m sure those two games you watched of Wrexham this week gave you a fair and complete view of The Championship defensive structure.
       —————-
       Ferreira is not playing striker anymore. And he kind of did this to himself by leaving January camp to go play preseason with Seattle. US soccer claim it was fitness issues but he played a week later after flying to Seattle for press conferences and then all the way to Spain for camp.
       ———————-
       Pepi and Balo if they are healthy are 1a and 1b. After that it’s question marks, Wright seems to be more productive as a SS or tucked in wing (also injury issues), Agyemang is “raw”, Vazquez currently out until next season with knee, McGuire hurt, Dike hurt, White is limited, Downs has missed two taps in two matches (I think he’ll figure it), so yes they guy with double digit goals 3 straight seasons at Norwich is going to stay in the mix. We know it’s pretty unlikely that everyone in that list makes it to next June healthy, if we played tomorrow it would be Downs and Sargent so …

     • JR,

       The last time I saw this much hoo hah over a supposedly bad USMNT player was with Mr. First Touch himself, Gyasi.

       For a guy who sucks so much Patrick sure has a lot of people who want him.

       When Gyasi first came up with JK, he was used very effectively as a disruptor, an effective “different look”, with just the right amount of physicality, though not exactly as a target man.

       You are our Crew Counselor. How did Gyasi do with the Crew? How was he used? Can he and Patrick be compared?

       Like many I was a little surprised that Derby went so strongly after Patrick. Then again his manager is Englishman John Eustace, supposedly one of the hot new up and coming managers ( he is in his 40’s). And the English, more than most, appreciate the value of a disruptive big man ( see Heskey, Emile) creating chances for his gifted colleagues, notably the other young striker, Carlton Morris.

       From Eustace:

       “There will be no rush for him to come in and score goals straight away. The club has invested a good bit of money on him and it’s important that in the next two or three seasons we really see him turn into a top striker at this level.

       “He is quick, strong and powerful. With some good work into him I think he can be a real threat at this level. He is a really good asset to the club and I feel we can develop him and turn him into a Premier League striker.”
       What else would you expect him to say? Nevertheless, it seems as if the plan is to initially use Patrick as Pochettino does, a disruptor, someone who will upset the defense enough to create opportunities for his teammates to cause further damage. As a finisher, Patrick is arguably at the bottom of the pile of the present USMNT #9′ candidates , but no one disrupts like he does. And it’s not as if they don’t care if he scores. They expect the goals will come as he develops. They were aware of the hernia surgery but it’s important to remember that he has been carrying that injury right up into the end of the Gold Cup. Which means he might even be more impressive once he heals and gets settled with Derby.

       Hopefully it all goes to plan at Derby so that by the time Patrick winds up getting set and comfortable at Derby that will be right around the time the WC rosters have to picked.

     • ReVacqui: it’s so unusual to see you so sunshine and rainbows. Now there’s some recency bias here for sure, but Gyasi had a terrible first touch but his understanding of space and runs was much further along. People complained about Pat’s touch but he disrupted his teammates equally as much as he did his opponents with his movements. Not making a run, running into his teammates space, being to late or to early on his runs. Derby is going to give him opportunities because they’ve paid Charlotte a lot for him, but he still has to do something with those minutes.

     • zardes came up as a wing and that’s where he first played for the NT.

       i don’t get the argument you’re making. zardes, morris, and jozy kind of kept the 9 seat warm after dempsey retired. sargent was a 2017 U20 and that should have been his. he was brought in by sarachan in 2018.

       what instead happened — not unlike ream — is he was bypassed for first pefok and then the deluge of higher quality guys like pepi balogun wright ferreira etc.

       and then like ream he has crept back into the team through lack of imagination. they dropped pepi for supposed club form — as big a mistake as reyna. they used that to perseverate on sargent because of league numbers. he then did nothing in the world cup, we struggled to score goals, and when we got a 9 goal it was from wright. or IMO pulisic’s “midsection” goal was basically a 9 goal also but other people score the striker goals for him when sargent plays.

       eg, mckennie had 4 goals on cuba playing weak side garbageman on attempted service to sargent.

       you cannot hope to advance in a world cup scoring 3 goals in 4 games. nor does it make any sense to me to have the offense funneling ultimately to…….sargent? and in the 90′ of a close one i need to be able to find my 9.

       this debate is silly fanboy stuff. money on the table i need someone at 9 who wants that ball and churns me goals every 2-3 games. and every time someone wins this silly debate with “intangibles” or “watch how hard he presses,” we end up in an elimination game needing an actual goal.

     • IV: Vac brought up Zardes as a comparison to Agyemang, ie they both were raw when they came up but still had success. Fans were frustrated with frequent miscues and complained often.
       ————————-
       Sargent didn’t get pushed out by Pefok. Pefok started 2 matches his entire NT career.

     • you don’t remember your history. pefok subbed in for sargent vs. honduras 2021 NL semi and had the winner. sargent was then benched for the whole costa rica friendly we won in between tournaments. zardes, nico, and dike were the 2021 GC strikers.

       he then started the first WCQ that we tied with freaking el salvador, played 7′ against canada, and was yanked at the half down 1-0 to honduras in the game we won 4-1 once he was subbed.

       HE THEN WAS EITHER OMITTED FROM THE ROSTER or out hurt every game from october 2021 until the september friendlies right before the world cup. A YEAR!

       like ream, he was revived at the last minute, in his case as a “form” trade for pepi. and that worked out so well.

       you don’t get it. you nitpick small details. he had a brief window between the zardes/jozy era and the balogun/pepi one. he even convinced a coach with this dumb form stuff to omit pepi at the world cup, to zero positive effect. it worked so well to dump reyna and pepi at the last minute!!!

       his window shut. we have better strikers now. move on, please.

       part of the reason the US sucks is it has regressed on basic concepts like start the best talent, and that club form does not necessarily translate. this is international coaching 101. but y’all watch norwich of the english second division so you know better. whatever. it’s not like balogun, pepi, or wright play for sucky teams themselves.

     • IV: “you don’t remember your history. pefok subbed in for sargent vs. honduras 2021 NL semi and had the winner. sargent was then benched for the whole costa rica friendly we won in between tournaments. zardes, nico, and dike were the 2021 GC strikers.” So who started the final after Pefok’s goal against Honduras? Did Pefok start the friendly (4th match in 12 days)? By this logic Reyna, McKennie, and Pulisic had all gotten benched too because they didn’t start the friendly and weren’t picked for Gold Cup.
       —————————-
       If you actually read anything anyone else posts you would notice all I’ve said is he has a decent shot at the third striker spot if he stays in Norwich. Why? Because he’s consistent at a club level consistent with the club level of his competition. If roster size reverts to 23 Poch might not even bring 3 pure strikers at which point Wright probably jumps ahead of Sargent because he plays more Wing. Downs, Wright, Agyemang all have 45 more chances to stake their claim to the third spot, but if they are scoring 10g this season and Sargent is up around 15-20 Poch will have a hard decision to make on his 3rd striker that isn’t likely to play more than 45 minutes at the WC.

     • IV,

       “zardes came up as a wing and that’s where he first played for the NT.
       i don’t get the argument you’re making.”

       I’m not making an argument. I’m asking JR to compare Zardes and Patrick. JR should be familiar with how Gyasi was used in Columbus something about which I know little.

       “zardes, morris, and jozy kind of kept the 9 seat warm after dempsey retired. “

       Untrue. Like a number of people, Dempsey played there when necessary but he was not a #9 and if you don’t believe me just ask him. The USMNT has not had a traditional #9 since McBride retired.

       “sargent was a 2017 U20 and that should have been his. he was brought in by sarachan in 2018….what instead happened — not unlike ream — is he was bypassed for first pefok and then the deluge of higher quality guys like pepi balogun wright ferreira etc.”

       Yeah, that’s your typical take.
       Sarachan was supposed to coach a couple of games and then move on. But the USSF was too busy scouring the world, leaving no stone unturned for the best possible manager to lead and rebuild the
       new USMNT.Dave wound up in place for 10 games and nearly a year. Dave did not know how many games he was going to be there, he did not know who the new guy would be or what they would want so he had no long-term plan. He wasn’t a normal manager building a team. Those 10 games were all friendlies, but they included some tough opponents so, besides playing the kids, his job was to keep things from getting out of hand.

       If you are telling us that Dave was building some kind of depth chart to hand over to Gregg, that’s a stretch. Gregg had his own ideas about how he was going to build his team and he wasn’t much interested in what Dave did.

       As for Josh Dave is on record as saying he normally would not have called in Josh because he was not playing senior team ball for WB. However, the only direction Dave had at that point was to give the kids a shot, so h called him in. By the time the USMNT’s lord and savior had been hired Josh was not playing particularly well for WB. If you are trying to sell everyone on the idea that Josh had the #9 position and lost it, that’s misleading. He never had it.
       He went to Bremen and was not scoring. He was working with a coaching staff that if I said they were fucked up would be an insult to fucked up coaching staffs.

       “but other people score the striker goals for him when sargent plays.
       eg, mckennie had 4 goals on cuba playing weak side garbageman on attempted service to sargent.”

       So what? A goal is positive outcome regardless of who scores.

       “you cannot hope to advance in a world cup scoring 3 goals in 4 games.”

       Nonsense. It is not how many goals you score, it’s how many points you have and what your goal differential is. You get three group games in this World Cup. Win two games 1-0, draw 0-0 in the third one gives you 7 points and probable advancement. Win the 4th game, probably a knockout game, 1-0 and you advance into the next round.
       That is 3 goals in 4 games.

       “ nor does it make any sense to me to have the offense funneling ultimately to…….sargent? and in the 90′ of a close one i need to be able to find my 9.
       this debate is silly fanboy stuff. money on the table i need someone at 9 who wants that ball and churns me goals every 2-3 games. and every time someone wins this silly debate with “intangibles” or “watch how hard he presses,” we end up in an elimination game needing an actual goal.”

       The offense has to funnel to someone. Josh’s track record shows someone who is progressively getting better and is currently about as hot as possible. If Josh keeps his present form into May 2026 Pochettino is going to have a hard time leaving him off the WC team.
        

   • IV,

     “I think Balogun benefits a lot from the fact that he was an Arsenal academy player and the 22 goal season at Reims.”

     It means he has a good pedigree and a good track record.

     ” In the last two seasons, he has not produced.”

     He missed 2 games to injury in 23/24
     He missed 30 games to injury in 24/25

     What’s your point?

     Reply

3. How are they gonna hold onto this guy… If he puts another one in at the weekend, surely someone will come calling before September.

   It may be time for him to move to another level. The Golszo guys like how this plays for him getting back into the USMNT. Direct comps against all the would be number 9’s and other front line players.

   Reply

   • TX 3 Stepper,

     There are multiple reports that he only wants to play in England. That seriously limits his options. If he moves to an EPL team, it is likely a bottom half team, which means lots of defensive work from his striker position, which translates to 5 – 6 goals for the season. That doesn’t move the needle for him.

     Reply

     • If he stays right where he is, he’s in the same league as most of his competition. Wright, Downs and Agyemang (Dike if he ever gets healthy) are in the same league and 2 in new situations. Staying at Norwich and banging in 15-20 is his most direct route to the WC. Balogun is probably going to have to move, Vazquez is out with knee surgery, Cowell already lost his starting spot three weeks into season, Ferreira doesn’t even play forward anymore. Purely speaking about making WC, Sargent is in a really good spot at Norwich. Last WC, Pefok and Pepi moved and were left out, Ferreira, Wright and Sargent stayed with their clubs and made it.

     • JR,

       Clint Dempsey, Julian Green , Brian McBride, Landon Donovan, Haji Wright. Clint Mathis.

       All of them scored goals for the USMNT in the World Cup. You can look them up.

       And when they did so, they all were playing for clubs that were at best , at the level of the present day Championship. You can look that up as well. McBride, Donovan, Mathis, and Clint ( in 2014) were playing in MLS.

       Being a Championship standout player is no barrier to doing well in the World Cup. Norwich will play at least two teams, home and away, who WILL be in the EPL next season and at least another two or three that could be. The Championship is not filled with CONCACAF-like pushovers.

       If Josh stays at Norwich and maintains his present scoring rate he will be facing decent enough competition.

       If Josh is not on the 2026 World Cup team, it is NOT because he’s playing at Norwich.

       His problem is that he has yet to get into a groove with the USMNT and he may never.

       That’s a separate issue entirely from where he wants to live and play his club ball.

       LD made a conscious decision to live in SOCAL and his WC scoring total worked for the USMNT. I would love to see Josh bang them in for a top EPL team or Juve but it is not 100% necessary.