Official USMNT/USWNT Thread

[Brahvocado]

Quote: Originally Posted by ggsimmonds

Probably so but there is an allure to the idea of helping build something and standing out. At least I'm hoping that sales pitch can work.

There's also Kane and Rashford ahead of him in his normal position, not to mention the other forward spots.

He'd walk into a starting forward spot for us if he can find the back of the net like, any amount of times.

[ggsimmonds]

Quote: Originally Posted by Brahvocado

There's also Kane and Rashford ahead of him in his normal position, not to mention the other forward spots. He'd walk into a starting forward spot for us if he can find the back of the net like, any amount of times.

Yeah thats the standing out bit. Many athletes would prefer maybe not going as far but playing a big role vs going further and just being along for the ride.

On the other side of it though, can Kane keep his first team spot through the next world cup? Not that I'm saying Kane will fall of a cliff once he goes over 30, but Balogun is only 21 and typically athletes enter their prime between 21 and 24. Just how confident is Balogun? Declaring for England would be a definite gamble on yourself type of move (setting aside that he grew up in England and probably identifies more as an Englishman)

[Brahvocado]

Quote: Originally Posted by ggsimmonds

Yeah thats the standing out bit. Many athletes would prefer maybe not going as far but playing a big role vs going further and just being along for the ride. On the other side of it though, can Kane keep his first team spot through the next world cup? Not that I'm saying Kane will fall of a cliff once he goes over 30, but Balogun is only 21 and typically athletes enter their prime between 21 and 24. Just how confident is Balogun? Declaring for England would be a definite gamble on yourself type of move (setting aside that he grew up in England and probably identifies more as an Englishman)

Yeah, the reality is that he might just feel way more English and there's nothing we can do about that.

[KG]

Quote: Originally Posted by ggsimmonds

Yeah thats the standing out bit. Many athletes would prefer maybe not going as far but playing a big role vs going further and just being along for the ride. On the other side of it though, can Kane keep his first team spot through the next world cup? Not that I'm saying Kane will fall of a cliff once he goes over 30, but Balogun is only 21 and typically athletes enter their prime between 21 and 24. Just how confident is Balogun? Declaring for England would be a definite gamble on yourself type of move (setting aside that he grew up in England and probably identifies more as an Englishman)

I’d say that 21-24 are prime years for them physically but I’d argue that players are actually at their peak in the 25-28ish ranges, maybe even higher now given the advances in sport science. That’s beside the point though.

100% agree on the risk for declaring for England too early given how steep the competition could be at the ST position. I always try to put myself in the athletes position and if I was him I think I’d wait a few years. He ain’t getting called up to England anytime soon unless he makes some noise in the PL. keep those options open because we (US) will certainly take their leftovers


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[Brahvocado]

Even if Kane was leaving sometime soon he'd still have Rashford, and then there's a bunch of young English forwards right now already performing pretty well at various clubs.

Definitely a risk.

[southernmetalhead]

De la Torre just missed scoring for Celta. He's actually getting meaningful minutes now and looks confident. Before the World Cup and Celta's managerial change he was just making garbage time showings for like 1-2 minutes each appearance.

[ggsimmonds]

Quote: Originally Posted by KG

I’d say that 21-24 are prime years for them physically but I’d argue that players are actually at their peak in the 25-28ish ranges, maybe even higher now given the advances in sport science. That’s beside the point though. 100% agree on the risk for declaring for England too early given how steep the competition could be at the ST position. I always try to put myself in the athletes position and if I was him I think I’d wait a few years. He ain’t getting called up to England anytime soon unless he makes some noise in the PL. keep those options open because we (US) will certainly take their leftovers Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ah okay, in NFL and NBA prime years are shifted earlier. Tend to start around 23ish and last 5 years or so. Is the "wrong side of 30" drop not as common in soccer?

[KG]

Quote: Originally Posted by ggsimmonds

Ah okay, in NFL and NBA prime years are shifted earlier. Tend to start around 23ish and last 5 years or so. Is the "wrong side of 30" drop not as common in soccer?

Not as much anymore considering how much sports science has improved. Chelsea used
to have a stupid policy of not signing new contracts for guys over 30 and then we shifted it to yearly re-ups because of guys like Terry, Lampard, Chelsea Legend Ashley Cole, and more lol

Keepers have always been an outlier though

NFL yeah….after 30 for certain positions and you have to an alien like AP or TO.

Just gotta take care of your body. Now excuse while I preorder some wings for todays playoff games lol


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