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Posted
  On 1/29/2023 at 9:23 AM, shadow_operative said:

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Matt Turner voted MOTM by Arsenal fans after his near perfect performance against Man City. it's really kind of crazy how far he's come during his short time at Arsenal.

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He was really good before he got to Arsenal. He just had to settle some jitters and adjust to a big club environment. 

Y'all got a good one. He's going to be another elite keeper in a long line of them for the NT. 

Posted
  On 1/29/2023 at 9:23 AM, shadow_operative said:

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Matt Turner voted MOTM by Arsenal fans after his near perfect performance against Man City. it's really kind of crazy how far he's come during his short time at Arsenal.

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Well, Bruce Arena was his head coach in New England and even though Bruce was a goalie, you’re not going to learn shit as a keeper under his tutelage.

He was obviously a fast study even though/ because we know the focus on soccer came later and yet he quickly learned the ball stopping skills, but he needed to be exposed to a real coaching staff because he could flourish. 

Posted
  On 1/29/2023 at 5:52 AM, ztejas said:

No. Fuck that. Dude has never won anything. 

Also - how are there even rumors right now when we don't have a GM or whatever the title is? 

Go home Telemundo. 

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I saw that last night when i spotted that thing about the cross confederation champions league. This was my very same thought. 

Posted (edited)

 

 

i don't follow this stuff as closely as you guys do, but i can't figure out why Balogun wasn't starting for us at this last WC. seems like a really obvious move to aggressively try and cap tie him before that event with promises of playing time, which he absolutely would have earned and deserved anyway. for us to be calling up so many MLS clowns while not rolling out the red carpet for Balogun makes no sense to me. 

 

Edited by shadow_operative
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Posted
  On 1/30/2023 at 4:05 AM, shadow_operative said:

 

 

i don't follow this stuff as closely as you guys do, but i can't figure out why Balogun wasn't starting for us at this last WC. seems like a really obvious move to aggressively try and cap tie him before that event with promises of playing time, which he absolutely would have earned and deserved anyway. for us to be calling up so many MLS clowns while not rolling out the red carpet for Balogun makes no sense to me. 

 

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I wonder if we even tried. Klinsmann sure as shit would have tried. Gregg probably didn't have time to consider it between waxing his head and working on his ball tossing skills.

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Posted
  On 1/30/2023 at 4:05 AM, shadow_operative said:

i don't follow this stuff as closely as you guys do, but i can't figure out why Balogun wasn't starting for us at this last WC. seems like a really obvious move to aggressively try and cap tie him before that event with promises of playing time, which he absolutely would have earned and deserved anyway. for us to be calling up so many MLS clowns while not rolling out the red carpet for Balogun makes no sense to me. 

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Because he has to actually say yes to playing for us? Seems very likely that his current priority is playing for England. If that doesn't happen fast enough we might have a shot.

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Posted (edited)
  On 1/30/2023 at 4:21 AM, goatsaag said:

Because he has to actually say yes to playing for us? Seems very likely that his current priority is playing for England. If that doesn't happen fast enough we might have a shot.

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is there any evidence we've earnestly pursued him? he's way down the pecking order for england, may never play for them, whereas he could have started for us last year and then the next 3 or even 4 WCs as well. guys want to play. i have to think that if we had aggressively pursued him that the allure of being a starter for a good team at the WC at the age of 20 would have been enough to win him over- or that we at least would have heard about said pursuit.

Edited by shadow_operative
Posted (edited)
  On 1/30/2023 at 4:34 AM, shadow_operative said:

is there any evidence we've earnestly pursued him? he's way down the pecking order for england, may never play for them, whereas he could have started for us last year and then the next 3 or even 4 WCs as well. guys want to play. i have to think that if we had aggressively pursued him that the allure of being a starter for a good team at the WC at the age of 20 would have been enough to win him over- or that we at least would have heard about said pursuit.

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No, we did not promise an Arsenal U-19 player on loan at Middlesbrough, but not getting consistent minutes there, a starting role on our team that was struggling to qualify for the World Cup.

We then did not promise an Arsenal U-19 player with an uncertain club situation a guaranteed starting role for the 2022 World Cup. Instead, we brought a 24-ish year-old former US youth international with a familiarity with some of our young starters, like Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie, and who was scoring loads of goals in Turkey (Haji Wright) for our June camp.

And finally, we chose to bring back Pepi rather and give him a look after he started showing signs of life in the Dutch league rather than promise a starting ro!e to a kid who only knew Yunus Musah from three years ago, but who was in the process of trying to earn minutes with a new club when players came together for the September camp.

Shockingly we did not guarantee a starting role to a kid who was starting to get comfortable in the French league when the final roster was selected 2 1/2 months ago.

There was never a time before the final roster selection was made for the 2022 World Cup that guaranteeing a starting role to this kid ever made sense. 

I would love to have him play in the U-20 World Cup in May and the Olympics next year, but I don't think that he will make a final decision before late 2023/ early 2024. I think that he will only play friendlies for England until he knows his future.

If he is excluded from the English squad for the 2024 Euros and then only gets a few minutes in one or two friendlies in late 2024, THEN he may consider playing for the US. Until there, US Soccer just needs to keep in touch.

 

"We need to hurry up and cap-tied him."  is like my saying "I need to hurry up and get Ana de Armas pregnant so that she doesn't marry one of the movie moguls/ripped & rich actors that she's always hanging out with in Hollywood, London, Paris, Rome, & Cannes."

 

Edited by Napoleon
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Posted
  On 1/30/2023 at 4:34 AM, shadow_operative said:

is there any evidence we've earnestly pursued him? he's way down the pecking order for england, may never play for them, whereas he could have started for us last year and then the next 3 or even 4 WCs as well. guys want to play. i have to think that if we had aggressively pursued him that the allure of being a starter for a good team at the WC at the age of 20 would have been enough to win him over- or that we at least would have heard about said pursuit.

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Is there any evidence that he'd pick us? Pefok is probably the most similar to this situation. He wanted to play for France and settled for us once he got old enough that it seemed like it wasn't going to happen. Just based on all of the other dual national stuff we've done under Berhalter, I'd be shocked if we hadn't reached out.

Posted

Good article on the situation, From his quotes he def is a strong England lean.  The US getting into the Copa certainly is a plus.  

 

also making things a bit more complicated…..

 

 

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Posted
  On 1/28/2023 at 10:32 PM, Napoleon said:


I looked at that match’s box score when he was still on the bench. I was hoping that he’d get called in.

 I think that he is a dual national, but I could see him choosing the US and that leading to Jonathan Gómez choosing Mexico after the 2024 Olympics.

 

So now you’re a British regard who places the subject at the end of your statement. Whether you’re calling football matches or tennis matches, it will never NOT be annoying  

Just don’t start saying “Coper Americker”.

(Or are you a mensch from Central/Eastern Europe who secretly came to the U.S. 100+ years ago, but you can’t let go of your Yiddish-influenced English?)

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Like you've never used vosotros with a lisp after a couple of drinks to impress a campesina. 

Posted
  On 1/30/2023 at 2:39 PM, SimonBolivar said:

Like you've never used vosotros with a lisp after a couple of drinks to impress a campesina. 

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No, boludo. I haven’t.

it would be better to talk about Miami, NYC, LA, or Texas in English than use the vosotros with a stupid lisp.

 

  On 1/30/2023 at 5:59 PM, The Dog said:

 

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I have seen Jedi try to make one-touch passes in the defensive quarter of the field and I have seen Jedi try to do that cross thing that wingbacks are supposed to be proficient at.

This possible move is fucking hilarious.

He can run and run and run, but his skillz are crap.

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Posted
  On 1/30/2023 at 7:06 PM, Napoleon said:

No, boludo. I haven’t.

it would be better to talk about Miami, NYC, LA, or Texas in English than use the vosotros with a stupid lisp.

 

I have seen Jedi try to make one-touch passes in the defensive quarter of the field and I have seen Jedi try to do that cross thing that wingbacks are supposed to be proficient at.

This possible move is fucking hilarious.

He can run and run and run, but his skillz are crap.

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Pep Guardiola seems to think he has something. I think he's probably a little more qualified than you in player evaluations. 

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Posted
  On 1/30/2023 at 7:06 PM, Napoleon said:

No, boludo. I haven’t.

it would be better to talk about Miami, NYC, LA, or Texas in English than use the vosotros with a stupid lisp.

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"Oh he must watch La 2" works with a certain subset of educated women...or could be that I'm blue-eyed with an American passport lulz

Posted

Athletic Article: How McKennie sealed Leeds transfer following Orta’s vision and the American connection
 

  Quote

 

“It was stressful,” McKennie told The Athletic after officially joining Leeds tonight. He had first been told that a bid for him from Yorkshire might be on its way a fortnight ago. “I’m at home and one minute I’m chilling. The next I’m calling my agent like ‘do I need to pack, do I not need to pack, what am I doing?’ I’ve got three dogs, I’ve got everything up and running in Turin, perfected. I’m trying to figure out what I need to do because I’m not just packing one suitcase.

“I’m the type of player who lives in the moment so when I heard the deal was possibly going through, going through the process and all trending well, in my head it was already ‘I’m leaving, I’m coming to Leeds.’ Then you start thinking ‘is it happening, is it not, what’s going on?’ It was a bit of a head-turner but as soon as I was told ‘you’re flying tomorrow’ — good!”

 

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Full:

 

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Posted (edited)

Balogun was always a pipe dream. He has 14 apps and 7 goals for England's U21 team. He was never going to commit ahead of Qatar and like Nap said we wouldn't have called him up anyway. 

  On 1/30/2023 at 7:06 PM, Napoleon said:

I have seen Jedi try to make one-touch passes in the defensive quarter of the field and I have seen Jedi try to do that cross thing that wingbacks are supposed to be proficient at.

This possible move is fucking hilarious.

He can run and run and run, but his skillz are crap.

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He has a lot of potential and that's what any move would be based on but yeah I thought that was a bizarre rumor. As of right now he's nowhere near the level City plays at.

Also - didn't realize (or forgot) he's already 25. If that rumor is true Pep must have a very specific role in mind for him - perhaps further up the pitch as I've always thought he's better on O than D. 

Edited by ztejas
Posted

In news that actually affects the USMNT…

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Spanish club Valencia sacked coach Gennaro Gattuso on Monday following the team's poor results.

Valencia said in a statement they reached a mutual agreement with Gattuso to terminate his contract.

The announcement came after a 1-0 loss at Valladolid in the LaLiga on Sunday, with the club having just one victory in their last 10 league games going back to before the World Cup.

The latest defeat dropped Valencia to 14th place, one point above the relegation zone.

Valencia's only two wins this year came in the Copa del Rey, though they were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Athletic Bilbao at home last week. In the Spanish Super Cup, Valencia lost to Real Madrid in a penalty shootout in the semifinals.

The former defensive midfielder helped Italy win the 2006 World Cup and AC Milan win two Champions League titles, both as a player. He coached Milan and Napoli in Italy.

Valencia did not announce a replacement for Gattuso, who arrived last June on a two-year contract, but said the team would return to training on Jan. 31 under the direction of former interim coach "Voro" Gonzalez.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/spanish-laliga/story/4865292/valencia-sack-manager-gattuso-with-team-near-relegation-zone

 

This totally affects Yunus Musah, because he was an every game starter under Gattuso.

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Posted

Athletic: How Weston McKennie will fit in at Leeds
 

  Quote

 

While it is odd to think of a first-choice midfielder being a poor passer, even in this age of role specialisation, McKennie’s strengths in receiving and ball recoveries should help round out the midfield when deployed ahead of summer signings Adams and Roca. That spatial awareness should be a welcome addition for Roca in particular, as the Spaniard can lack options to receive his line-breaking passes due to Leeds’ narrow shape.

Marsch may need to move further away from relying on a 4-2-3-1 base formation in order to accommodate a trio of midfielders who certainly did not come to Yorkshire for 25-minute shifts from the bench. Some of that work has taken place already this month: after lining up in a 4-3-3 just once before the World Cup — in October’s 1-0 defeat against Arsenal at home — Leeds have used the shape for four of their five league matches since play resumed post-Qatar, with Aaronson and Wilfried Gnonto alternating makeshift midfield responsibilities.

Although teenager Gnonto has been an electric inclusion, McKennie could offer much of the Italian’s threat to receive progressive balls while giving Leeds a more natural base shape. Marsch could then play the matchup game by game and pick between Aaronson and Gnonto to join Jack Harrison and Rodrigo in the attacking third — without giving them additional orders to track back.

 

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Article:

 

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Posted
  On 2/1/2023 at 9:54 PM, Napoleon said:

We have as much of a shot at Balogun as Poland did with Slonina and Croatia did with Pulisic.

More of a chance than Argentina or Portugal did with Gio, but less of a chance than we did with Dest & Musah.

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Soooooo, you're saying? But please without the bold, it hurts my ears.

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Posted

I've always wondered how much culture plays into these decisions.  Obviously if you love your country and never considered playing for another despite the option, the decision seems easy.  Or, if you're from a smaller, less televised country, perhaps you could raise your profile by choosing, say, England over <insert smaller country>.

For those in Europe that are making their way up the corporate soccer ladder, perhaps the US is a great choice for international play.  European football is a grind.  The media is a grind.  Choose the US and you get a mini-vacation a couple of times a year + you'll get a more fawning fan base/media. 

Posted
  On 2/1/2023 at 9:54 PM, Napoleon said:
We have as much of a shot at Balogun as Poland did with Slonina and Croatia did with Pulisic.
More of a chance than Argentina or Portugal did with Gio, but less of a chance than we did with Dest & Musah.

Unless Leeds makes a massive bid to Arsenal!
Posted

There is nothing that I’m aware of on the UEFA summer 2025 schedule.  I’m hoping at the very least we get some World Cup quality teams even if it isn’t England and France.   
 

If this happens.  We just went from basically no competitive matches in the lead up to 2026, outside the Gold Cup finals in 2025, to 2 amazing tournaments in like 3 weeks 

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Posted

I was looking up Balogun, Musah, & Saka yesterday or the day before. 

All three are the sons of Africans who grew up in England (at least for part of their youth and were in the Arsenal system as well as the English youth teams.

Musah‘s parents are Ghanaian 🇬🇭 and he live in Italy until he was 7 or 8 and then moved to England until he left for Spain at age 16.  

Born 11/29/2002 (almost a ‘03)

Joined the Arsenal academy in 2012.

 

Balogun’s parents are Nigerian 🇳🇬. He got to England when he was tiny and joined the Arsenal system in 2008.

Born 7/3/2001

Except for 4 U-18 matches in 2018 for the USA, he has played in the English youth system from 2018-> 

 

Saka’s parents are Nigerian 🇳🇬. He was born in England. Joined the Arsenal system in 2008.

Born 9/5/2001

Played in the English youth system from 2017->

Is 2 months younger than Balogun, same cultural background, has played with him since he was 6 or 7 in the Arsenal system and for the English youth system at times in 2018-19.

Balogun tends to play on the left or centrally whole Saka tends to play on the right, so it is likely that they played on the front line together for more than a decade  

 

There is a possibility that Balogun selects the USA, but it would make much more sense for him to play with England. The only central or left forward competition in front within 6 years of his age is Marcus Rashford. There are 4-6 left or central forwards within 3 years of his age on the USMNT.

Then again, I thought that Dest would certainly select playing for the Dutch. Instead, he got smoked by the Dutch in the 2022 World Cup.

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Posted
  On 2/3/2023 at 2:57 PM, Napoleon said:

Then again, I thought that Dest would certainly select playing for the Dutch. Instead, he got smoked by the Dutch in the 2022 World Cup.

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Dest played for the US all through his youth years. I think his mind was made up pretty early after he felt snubbed by the Dutch. 

Musah was the shock - never played with the US at any level.

Balogun at least has four appearances with a US youth team. I think that ship has sailed but anything can happen. 

Posted
  On 2/3/2023 at 2:24 PM, Ted Lange said:

There is nothing that I’m aware of on the UEFA summer 2025 schedule.  I’m hoping at the very least we get some World Cup quality teams even if it isn’t England and France.   
 

If this happens.  We just went from basically no competitive matches in the lead up to 2026, outside the Gold Cup finals in 2025, to 2 amazing tournaments in like 3 weeks 

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The only things I see are June 2025 - World Cup Qualifying and the KO phase of the Nations League.

Posted

Mama Danielle is going to be on her cunt phone to the Dortmund sporting director after Gio once again does not start.  

Then, to add insult to slight, up a man and two goals early in the second half, Dortmund sends in not one, but TWO 18 year-olds get subbed in as Gio (likely pouting) is left on the bench at home in Dortmund in the 67’.

Posted

mckennie leeds debut.....  leeds had all of the ball, and zero end product, mckennie came on '58 and proceeded to do...... nothing, like the rest of leeds

forest managed a 2nd shot off a turnover

forest play ugly, relegation-avoiding football, and they're now 13th

Posted
  On 2/5/2023 at 4:01 PM, Hagbard Celine said:

mckennie leeds debut.....  leeds had all of the ball, and zero end product, mckennie came on '58 and proceeded to do...... nothing, like the rest of leeds

forest managed a 2nd shot off a turnover

forest play ugly, relegation-avoiding football, and they're now 13th

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Keylor Navas beats the USMNT once again!

I think that I posted in the Premier League thread, but maybe elsewhere...

As soon as Forest signed Navas, they basically booked their ticket into next year's Premier League. They are not going down with Navas between the pipes.

Leeds were never going to win this match after Navas was signed. Maybe a tie, but never a win. And now that Everton appear to be using meth, this is going to be rough for Leeds. I could see them going down.

Don't know if Nottingham has a small pitch, but there didn't seem to be any space at all to get on the ball. I played indoor games in high school that were played at a slower pace than this match. 

Tab Ramos and Freddy Adu would have been the USMNT players needed for today's match. 

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