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USMNT 2019

Napoleon

By Napoleon
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RamjetFDO
RamjetFDO

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Hagbard Celine
Hagbard Celine

Transcendent men self-identify by the age of 19 or 20 at the latest. Transcendent talent is typically discovered at around the age of 9 or 10, and must be cultivated and nourished for the next 4

ATLLonghorn
ATLLonghorn

US Soccer is in the midst of a lost generation. A few articles have been written about how the generation born between 1990 and 1994, which should be the backbone of the program, have yielded very few

ATLLonghorn

ATLLonghorn 857

Posted
Posted
3 minutes ago, Knoxtnhorn said:

"I can't say I'm confident this team will win the Gold Cup."  Brilliant analysis.

The United States has made at least the Semifinal in all but one Gold Cup. In 2000 they lost to Colombia in the quarterfinals. The United States has never failed to get out of the group stage at the Gold Cup. 

The United States is not going to get out of the group stage at the Gold Cup the way they are currently playing. They need CP and Adams to be a miracle cure. Good luck, kids.

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pacman

pacman 7359

Posted
Posted (edited)

Wow, what part of the "gb process" involves putting players on the field everybody knows shouldn't be anywhere near an international game?

f me these were two shitty games.

Sad thing, we don't even get to use the "building for the future"/"getting young players we know aren't ready experience" excuse.

 

Sadly, I can't even get angry anymore. This is the state of US sports, profit over quality and accountability. It doesn't get exposed in most American sports, but soccer/futbol is an international game with different standards.

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Knoxtnhorn

Knoxtnhorn 6055

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Posted

What's scary is that it's so bad, I'm not even sure what the fix is.

I was all set to point out some things that I saw that either could or could not be fixed.  Problem is, I don't even know where to start.

On another site, some are suggesting that Berhalter is trying to fit a square peg into a round hole by playing from the back ala Spain.  Without the players skilled enough to do this, it's not going to work.  Others suggest that he's trying to match players specifically to his system.  The problem with this is twofold.  First, players playing out of position compared to their club team is often a net negative.  Second, if you're trying to fit players to a system (instead of where they play naturally) it's kind of a dumb proposition to begin with because you don't have the time to fine tune it.  This isn't a club team.  The US generally plays about 10 games a year.  Not only that, but players come and go throughout the year.

As per the specific players.  They're slow.  Not just in foot speed and quickness, but also in thinking.  Think about how dumb it is to put in a system in which you build from the back using players that are generally less technical AND skilled than the opposition.  Combine that with poor defensive play and communication and you've got a team that has been outscored 4-0 in two games against shitty teams.  The scary thing is that both Jamaica and Venezuela probably could have scored more if they played higher pressure throughout the game.  I just can't wait until Mexico or somesuch comes at us with high pressure for 90 mins.  

I hate to say it, but we're far better off in the Gold Cup with Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore on the field.  Ugh.  I said it.

Anyway, just a couple of thoughts.

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Hagbard Celine

Hagbard Celine 10871

Posted
Posted

Knox speaks much truth.

It was comical in the 90s when the amateurs running the show laughed at supporters regarding the development problem which is still literally an upside down pyramid 20 years later.  Next summer it will be 10 years since Juergen declared the inverted pyramid paradigm in the post-mortem following the loss to Ghana.  19 November 2019 will mark the 30th anniversary of Caligiuri's looping wonderstrike that sent the US to Italy '90 and marked the beginning of the modern era.  And yet the people running the show continue to believe that US Exceptionalism also exists in soccer and pure and simple it does not for a thousand reasons that belong in other threads to be discussed on another day.

The most important effect of this delusion is the stupidity of trying to do anything other than to play like who we are.  The US is a countering team.  It's what we are.  It's what we've always been.  Run a 442 or a 352 depending on the opponent.  Get a grip on the program.  Defend like beasts, and basic triangles down the field.  Get the program out of the sewer.  Get the player pool assessed and stable.

Trying to play like Spain from the back.....  without a couple of decades of right-side-up development pyramid that instills the necessary touch/skills to possess and distribute that would seem to have been an obviously fatal face-plant.

Until the power behind US Soccer is willing to have the truth spoken to itself, Juergen will remain the best chance we ever had for real change.

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Napoleon

Napoleon 8688

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Posted (edited)
11 hours ago, Bottlecap said:

this wil trapp pantshittingly awful display (ad nauseam) has to be gergg saying "see bitchez, thats why I'm putting 146 year old michael bradley in the first eleven next week"

 

8 hours ago, Knoxtnhorn said:

What's scary is that it's so bad, I'm not even sure what the fix is.

[snip]

I hate to say it, but we're far better off in the Gold Cup with Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore on the field.  Ugh.  I said it.

Michael Bradley should be nowhere near the field. 

Stuart Holden said- “Michael Bradley is far and away the best #6 on the US National Team.” and Stuart Holden showed that either he’s a kept bitch, or a complete fucking moron. 

Tyler Adams is at least as good right now as Michael Bradley was at his very peak, during his first two years in Italy. 

Right now Michael Bradley can’t carry Tyler Adam’s jock. 

Weston McKennie can make mistakes, but his floor is Michael Bradley’s B+ game and his ceiling is something that Michael Bradley has never dreamt of. 

The USMNT is so much better with an imperfect Nick Lima at RB and Tyler Adams at the #6 than anything else we can imagine. 

Unfortunately Jozy is currently our best #9. 

Long should probably never play CB again. He was pure trash. Walker Zimmerman is the Kyle Beckerman of CDs. 

Will Trapp can’t hang with any country other that smaller Caribbean countries... and not even all of them. 

Arriola is fairly trash and should NOT START, but his speed late in games makes him a borderline final 23 contestant. Holmes, the NZ kid, Pulisic, and even the Hunchback of Seattle showed more tonight that Arriola making the final 23 should be a question mark, not a given.

We actually have players not to embarrass ourselves, but the manager does not want to send out a lineup that could possibly succeed. 

Sargent should have been on the U-20 squad and if you’re not going to play Adams at #6, then he should have been with them too, or resting on a beach. 

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Knoxtnhorn

Knoxtnhorn 6055

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6 hours ago, Napoleon said:

 

Michael Bradley should be nowhere near the field. 

Stuart Holden said- “Michael Bradley is far and away the best #6 on the US National Team.” and Stuart Holden showed that either he’s a kept bitch, or a complete fucking moron. 

Tyler Adams is at least as good right now as Michael Bradley was at his very peak, during his first two years in Italy. 

Right now Michael Bradley can’t carry Tyler Adam’s jock. 

Weston McKennie can make mistakes, but his floor is Michael Bradley’s B+ game and his ceiling is something that Michael Bradley has never dreamt of. 

The USMNT is so much better with an imperfect Nick Lima at RB and Tyler Adams at the #6 than anything else we can imagine. 

Unfortunately Jozy is currently our best #9. 

Long should probably never play CB again. He was pure trash. Walker Zimmerman is the Kyle Beckerman of CDs. 

Will Trapp can’t hang with any country other that smaller Caribbean countries... and not even all of them. 

Arriola is fairly trash and should NOT START, but his speed late in games makes him a borderline final 23 contestant. Holmes, the NZ kid, Pulisic, and even the Hunchback of Seattle showed more tonight that Arriola making the final 23 should be a question mark, not a given.

We actually have players not to embarrass ourselves, but the manager does not want to send out a lineup that could possibly succeed. 

Sargent should have been on the U-20 squad and if you’re not going to play Adams at #6, then he should have been with them too, or resting on a beach. 

Agree.  Quick point.  I didn't mean Bradley should be on the field in place of Adams or Mckennie.  I meant Bradley would be an improvement over Trapp.  At the very least, Bradley would be in the right spot most of the time.  With what we have, I'd go with a 4 - 2 - 3 -1

Lima  --- Miazga    ---- ?  ----- Long

   Bradley     Mckennie

Adams     Pulisic     Zardes

      Altidore

 

I just woke up and haven't put much thought to this, so I'm open to corrections.

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Napoleon

Napoleon 8688

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2 hours ago, Knoxtnhorn said:

Agree.  Quick point.  I didn't mean Bradley should be on the field in place of Adams or Mckennie.  I meant Bradley would be an improvement over Trapp.  At the very least, Bradley would be in the right spot most of the time.  With what we have, I'd go with a 4 - 2 - 3 -1

Lima  --- Miazga    ---- ?  ----- Long(1)

   Bradley     Mckennie

Adams(2)     Pulisic     Zardes(3)

      Altidore

 

I just woke up and haven't put much thought to this, so I'm open to corrections.

1) Long played as a CD against Venezuela.

I don't know where he normally plays or who he plays for, but he was easily overmatched as a CD against Venezuela. I'm fairly certain that Tim Ream will be our starting LB.


2) Adams will be the RB and Lima will be on the bench.

If anything, Berhalter would switch Adams and McKennie. Also, after moving Adams back to RB, I think that McKennie will play the #8 and be placed significantly ahead of Michael Bradley on the field.


3) Zardes is out 2nd string #9... period.

Zardes will likely never be on the field at the same time as Jozy Altidore, nor has he played any other position under Berhalter at Columbus than the #9... nor has he excelled at any other position in the MLS other than the #9.

I would not put Zardes out wide. Not against a bad team. Not against a good team. Not against a great team.


The only positives from these last two matches are:

I) Tyler Boyd's service into the box.
II) Nick Lima's service into the box (2nd game)
III) Duane Holmes' speed, tenacity, and soccer intelligence.
IV) Djordje Mihailovic did NOT get chosen for the final 23.

These are pretty much all the positives that can be taken from these last two matches.

There seems to be no clue and no direction at the moment for the USMNT entire organization. They pretty much have shown that they don't see anything wrong at the moment and feel that we are just a few tweaks from being a force to be reckoned with. It seems like they think that simply dropping Christian Pulisic & Michael Bradley into the equation should be enough.

(I think that Tyler Adams is either recovering from an injury or was allowed to rest for a couple of weeks before joining the team this week for a week of training before out first game.)

Edited by Napoleon
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Napoleon

Napoleon 8688

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1 minute ago, ztejas said:

Oh, here's another fun elephant in the room that no one has brought up: we probably don't even know who our best keeper is. Steffen was fucking atrocious on Sunday. 

I was thinking that Steffen is turning into a Brad Guzan.  😱

He can provide some nice-to-spectacular saves, but as soon as the ball is played to him on the ground, your sphincter starts to pucker. 

From bad passes, to slow thinking, Steffen was seriously channeling his inner Brad Guzan. (And that's a whole lot of "no bueno".)

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ztejas

ztejas 43474

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2 minutes ago, Napoleon said:

I was thinking that Steffen is turning into a Brad Guzan.  😱

He can provide some nice-to-spectacular saves, but as soon as the ball is played to him on the ground, your sphincter starts to pucker. 

From bad passes, to slow thinking, Steffen was seriously channeling his inner Brad Guzan. (And that's a whole lot of "no bueno".)

We were so spoiled with Howard.

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LurkingHorn

LurkingHorn 1066

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As a reminder, we had to wait 1 year for the announcement of Berhalter. I hate the my passion for this team has been robbed by incompetence. 

I will say, though, I'm not totally willing to give up on Berhalter, but he needs to stop his pet project bullshit (Trapp, Bradley, Zardes, etc.) and get the best players on the field. Trapp is not an international-level player, muchless someone you force others out of position for. I have no idea how a professional coach does not see that. 

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ztejas

ztejas 43474

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6 minutes ago, Hagbard Celine said:

Howard was good.  But not 15 years in Europe good.  And Howard never had a game for the Nats like Keller/Brazil Gold Cup 98 or Friedel's entire Korea 02 performance.

You're right. Only 13 years and 390 apps in the PL. What a scrub. 

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Napoleon

Napoleon 8688

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47 minutes ago, Hagbard Celine said:

Howard was good.  But not 15 years in Europe good.  And Howard never had a game for the Nats like Keller/Brazil Gold Cup 98 or Friedel's entire Korea 02 performance.

Howard vs Belgium was pretty close to being on par with Keller vs Brazil. Howard just had to play OT and his team finally let him down.

If only Preki had been on the 2014 team rather than Wondolowski...

And Howard won EPL Keeper of the Year in 2004 (Brad Friedel won it the year before & Keller never won it), so I'd say that he acquitted himself quite nicely.

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Napoleon

Napoleon 8688

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1 hour ago, alincoln said:

Friedel > Howard > Keller

Friedel is/was definitely the best, but I think that Keller was steadier than Howard, but Howard was much more spectacular. 

Either order for 2nd & 3rd could be argued until a mod locks the thread. 

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ztejas

ztejas 43474

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16 minutes ago, Napoleon said:

Friedel is/was definitely the best, but I think that Keller was steadier than Howard, but Howard was much more spectacular. 

Either order for 2nd & 3rd could be argued until a mod locks the thread. 

None of this changes the fact that we were spoiled with all 3 of them including Howard. We got off topic in a hurry. US currently has no option close to the level of any of those guys (taking others' word for it as I'm too young to have seen Keller or Friedel).

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