Can Jack McInerney Become The Next US Star?

 Jack McInerney is the hottest striker in MLS right now (Photo courtesy of wikipedia)

If you’re a fan of MLS Soccer or the United States Men’s National Team, one of the names being thrown around lately has been one John Seamus McInerney, you may know him as Jack. McInerney has had a fairly steady rise to fame, but has been on a hot streak since MLS first kick. The current MLS golden boot leader with 10 goals, McInerney has proven himself to be a feared striker. But just what is his ceiling? This summer could prove to be the most important of his career if he wants to be successful on the international stage.

Coming through the ranks of the U.S. soccer system, McInerney could be not only become a formidable player for the USMNT, but a player that would be easy to market as well. He has played in the US U-15’s 17’s, 20’s, and 23’s. His most productive stint was with the U-17 squad, where he made 15 appearances scoring 11 goals, two of which came in the U-17 World Cup. Because of this, he could be “branded,” in a way, as a player who was able to develop in the youth system and became a regular on the senior team.

None of this would be possible though, without his success in league play. Thus far, McInerney has scored 10 goals through 14 league games. He also scored in the Union’s first US Open Cup game of the season. So far, he has proven himself to be a true “number nine” scoring goals at a good clip, and more importantly scoring in big games. McInerney has a knack for scoring equalizers, or go ahead goals, especially in the waning moments of the match.

Now, onto the questions marks because there are plenty of them. The first question surrounding him is simply can he keep up the pace? A mark of a great athlete, in whatever sport, is consistency. If his goals stop flowing at his current rate, all we’ll hear about is how he has cooled off after his hot start. He’s done very well thus far, but the MLS season is a grueling one, especially during the summer months. Consistency will be key for him this season.

Number two is, are the goals coming against quality competition? Now this question could be interpreted in a couple different ways. There is no need to sugarcoat anything here, the overall quality of play in the MLS isn’t to the standard of most European leagues yet. This is why a good amount of the USMNT roster ply their trade overseas. Should we value McInerney’s goal rate less because he is doing it against MLS competition? For me, the answer is no, but it is a tricky no. In my opinion goals are goals, if you have a hot forward on your hands keep riding him until you can’t anymore. His goals per game average (1.4) should be enough to raise a few eyebrows no matter what the competition.

Similar to the level of competition, does the sudden goal outburst come from his teammates? Does he score so much because he’s the only option? In a way, yes. The Philadelphia Union does boast one of the better MLS rosters. Over the offseason Philadelphia added one of the more respected forwards in the league in Conor Casey, and fan favorite Sebastien Le Toux.  Even so, these two not finding themselves in as many goal scoring situations as they used to and McInerney has proven to be the team’s only reliable goal scorer thus far.

All of that previous commentary culminates in one thing. You could scroll past the entire the post, but stop here and read from now on. This summer you could see the maturation of a future star. For whatever reason, and this could be a different post for a different time, but the USMNT has floundered in front of goal under Jurgen Klinsmann. McInerney being named to the preliminary CONCACAF Gold Cup roster is a huge opportunity for the young player.

Now I won’t get too far ahead of myself here, but we can at least speculate. Say McInerney features for the US this summer in the Gold Cup, and does well. If the US continues to struggle to put the ball in the back of the net, could we see McInerney get a shot in a future friendly match or earn a spot on the roster for a World Cup Qualifier? It doesn’t seem too likely at this point, but hey, anything can happen. One thing is for sure though, we all could be witnessing a star in the making this summer.

Also posted on TheOneTwo and Phillysportsspace

Mid-Day Madness

Would a game like Monday's FA cup tie draw similar crowds in the US? photo courtesy premierleague.com

On Monday English football giants Chelsea and Manchester United played an entertaining FA cup game at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea came out the victors, courtesy of a fantastic finish from forward Demba Ba. Though in my opinion, Chelsea going through to the semi-finals of the world's oldest football competition isn't the only taking point from the game. 

This particular match happened to be at 7:30 EST, or 12:30 in London.   The fact that kickoff was right in the middle of the day, on a work day nonetheless didn't stop 40,704 people from attending, nearly a sellout. It can easily be argued that the opponent, competition, and round of said competition is what drew the large number. But the question here is, could something similar happen in the US.?

It's hard to imagine a situation like this happening with one of our popular sports, but lets speak hypothetically here. What if for some reason Monday night football had to be rescheduled for 1PM instead of later on that night. It's hard to imagine, but would the game still sell out? What about a weekday NBA game, we'll even go big time and say the Miami heat vs. Los Angeles Lakers from the Staples Center. Instead of a normal Thursday 7 or 7:30 PST start, what if the game was moved to, say, 1:30 PST? Would we see the same type of crowd, or at least comparable to the normal start time?

Major League Baseball has something similar to this idea, where they'll schedule an afternoon start on a weekday from time to time. They're called "business person specials," and have become something of a league wide tradition.  Even these games rarely get close to selling out, with prior notice. 

So would a afternoon weekday game work in the US? Would tens of thousands of fans take off from work and school to go cheer on their favorite team. Or does the high attendance of the soccer game just a difference of culture? Voice your opinions in a comment or on twitter! (@mojo_FTNB). 

Fernando Torres or Demba Ba?

 

  Can Fernando Torres and Demba Ba co-exist? Photos courtesy of football.co.uk

The addition of Demba Ba to the Chelsea roster certainly can't hurt the clubs on field play. At 27, Ba is in the prime of his career, and has showed his goal scoring prowess at previous clubs. The dilemma interim manager Rafa Benitez has is, how will both see adequate time on the pitch? Chelsea has been known recently for using formations with one striker, taking advantage of their skilled midfield players. Before Ba's arrival, Fernando Torres was clearly the first choice forward, and has had an okay season thus far, depending on who you ask. With a top four finish not looking certain for the Blues, they have options to consider with their front men. Does Benitez give a nod to either player as his first choice, and lone striker? Does he alternate between the two, similar to last season with Torres and Didier Drogba? Or could Chelsea possibly employ a two striker lineup?

After a "disappointing" beginning to his Chelsea career, Fernando Torres has shown more flashes of his old self this season, and more importantly, has improved his consistency a bit. If anything, Torres has at least been a mainstay in the Chelsea lineup this season. He's played in 23 contest, and started in 21. At first glance it would seem that Torres is having another poor season, as two midfielders, Frank Lampard and Juan Manuel Mata have both scored more (eight) than Torres (seven). Though when you break things down a bit more, Torres' season hasn't been bad at all. With the sheer skill of the players around him, Torres' goal count is bound to take a hit. The aforementioned Lampard and Mata are proven scorers, also players such as Eden Hazard and Ramires have goals in them. Digging a bit more, if you count the games Torres has started, it equals to a goal every three game. He could certainly do better, but one in three is respectable. He also has 24 shots on goal this season, which again averages to just about a goal every three shots on goal.

Demba Ba is still getting his feet wet at Chelsea, and doesn't have many numbers yet to go off of. He's played in three games, starting two, and has a goal to his name. Ba is known for his days at Newcastle United, where he scored at an excellent pace, and did so with style. During his time at St. James' Park, Ba scored 29 times in 54 appearances, and also knocked in two more during league cup play. While we haven't seen much of Ba yet in a Chelsea uniform, his reputation speaks for itself. As the games come and go, he should become more acclimated to his settings, and hopefully for Chelsea fans, return to the form he showed while at Newcastle.

Both Ba and Torres have previous history of being class scorers, but that isn't the question. The question simple is, how will the two co-exist? While Chelsea hasn't lived up to the ridiculous standards of owner Roman Abramovich, they've been able to keep a place in the top four utilizing a lone forward formation. Benitez could continue to employ a lone striker setup, but at the risk of angering one, or both men.  Alternating between the two, going with the "hot" player in a sense could also be an option. But again, would either Torres or Ba agree to that type of plan long term? Finally, Chelsea have the option of trying to play them both, using a two forward system. This seems the most logical of the options, but could disrupt team chemistry, and would take a talented player off the pitch.

So how should Rafa Benitez use his two strikers in the latter half of the season? Leave a comment or tweet (@mojo_FTNB) and let us know!

The Popularity of Soccer and MLS (podcast)

Hey everyone, here is the follow up to the previous post. As mentioned in the podcast I want to dig even deeper into this later on. For now enjoy the podcast. Please leave us comments and suggestions, it helps us improve the site. I promise this podcast won't be as long as the last, so give it a listen and leave some feedback. Thanks!

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Euro 2012 Quarterfinals Provide No Surprises

Soccer fans looking for potential upsets will be left disappointed as the first stage of knockout process in UEFA Euro 2012 saw all the favorites move on. 

The first game of the knockout stage saw Portugal take on the Czech Republic in a tightly contested affair. So close in fact, that the first and only goal of the game came from Cristiano Ronaldo’s header in the 79^th minute. The Czechs put in a very respectable effort, fighting for possession in the middle of the pitch, and even double sometimes triple teaming Ronaldo. In the end though, Portugal earned the victory, a deserved one at that. The Portuguese looked more lively early on and took the game to the Czechs. While it seemed the deadlock would continue, the star man stepped up in the crucial moment.   Joao Moutinho the creator for Ronaldo’s diving header that sends Portugal through to the next round.