To be fair, Metzger was highly talented and rated above Davis for a long period of time. But to understand it a bit more, Metzger was behind Matt Kassel.
There have been some talented players we produced but also some that flamed out quickly, whether due to injuries or not being able to take the next step.
Watch Metzger tomorrow with Memphis 901 as they take on our U23s, along with another highly touted prospect, Adam Najem. Both have the soccer minds and do quite well at the USL level, but neither was able to take the next step in MLS.
In 2016, the U20s had Tommy Redding, Andrew Lombard, Marcello Borges and Matt Olosunde roaming the backline. Outside of Olosunde who has rotted away at ManU, each had their shot here and the first three arent even playing this year. Also on that roster: NYRBII striker, Sebastian Elney.
The Castano, Hot, Borges, Kassel, JohnnyX, Metzger, Basuljevic, Zajec, Echevarria, A. Najem, Brandon Allen, Lema, Plewa, Juan Seba Sanchez, Powder, and Politz of the world are far more common than Adams, Olosunde, Agudelo, Miazga, and Gloster.
Our pipeline certainly has some future talent, but losing guys like Jeff Zaun, Bob Montgomery, etc.. have left a huge gap within our academy. Parents are enrolling their talented kids in academies like TSF, Cedar Stars, PDA, NYCFC, Cosmos, etc... that are staffing well. The US Soccer Development Academies have 27 teams in the Atlantic and Northeast alone.
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