Berhalter era: who's left that can help us that hasnt been looked at?

Discussion in 'USA Men' started by OWN(yewu)ED, Feb 3, 2019.

  1. OWN(yewu)ED

    OWN(yewu)ED Member+

    Club: Venezia F.C.
    May 26, 2006
    chico, CA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    #1 OWN(yewu)ED, Feb 3, 2019
    Last edited: Feb 3, 2019
    I like what Greg B is putting down so far, I cant complain much. Hes a man with a plan it looks like so far.

    That said, if i could nitpick about anything, its about leaving about a half dozen guys who could offer something that is currently not available, and I view that as an unnecessary handicap. It gets harder to leave "no stone unturned" when the talent pool is expanding at the rate it is, but despite the adequate start we are experiencing, i see more than a few omissions that could visually help us down the line. There are a couple of "old guys" who fell through the cracks who could help us a-la Lletget.

    At central D? I guess the surprise names not called into camp were Parker and Opara for me. I get why lots of people are high on Long, but is he really better than Parker or Opara? that Im not too sure. Of Long and Parker, IMO i think Parker is the better of the two defenders, but at the same time when Long has been called on by the nats, he has responded big; so thats a wash. I do sincerely think "old man Opara" is visually better than both of them though. Perhaps a half-season as the anchor of the loons re-enforces that.

    Midfield? Im still stuck on Rowe as someone who could give us something. We need someone who can give us that Feilhaber flare in the middle of the park, and any time Rowe has been brought in, He has responded at the USMNT level, that cant be debated. When he puts on the jersey, he brings it up a notch. To me, its similar to Lletget, and it cannot/should not be denied. You gotta have wild card on the bench, and while Benny is past it, Rowe certainly is not.

    Forward, I dont got much, Im happy Ramirez finally got a look. He is no worse than a Brian Ching, someone who offers us something useful off the bench we might currently lack. Hopefully he continues to be brought in. I COMPLETELY understand if it didnt happen, but I would like to see Mr. Agudelo get a last chance dance with the nats to himself. I wouldnt lose any sleep over if he didnt get called in, but I think he could be a #4 forward option possibly.

    It might be viewed as nothing more than "18-23" stuff, but I literally dont know how many times we can go over the importance of guy #18-23, especially with how much it has bitten us in the rear end, especially under the Klinsmann regime (and lesser under the Arena regime). Its to justifiably PTSD point at the nats level who are our last 5-6 guys on the roster for very, very obvious reason......its not a nervous twitch for us any longer, its more than that. Frankly, I cant think of many teams that have been snakebitten on guys 18-23 as we have; that have just flat out not responded when their numbers have been called; look no further than Brad Davis, Robbie Finlay, Mix Disk, Kevin Bacon.....and who was not there at their expense for whatever stupid reason. It matters who is on our bench, and just because folks are chronologically advanced, doesnt mean they cant offer us something.
     
  2. xbhaskarx

    xbhaskarx Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    United States
    Feb 13, 2010
    NorCal
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    #2 xbhaskarx, Feb 3, 2019
    Last edited: Feb 3, 2019
    Juan Agudelo had 3 goals 4 assists in 2018 in ~1500 minutes.... let's see him actually be healthy and productive first, if he can manage BOTH, 2019 January camp.

    The sad fact is we're close to scraping the bottom of the barrel in MLS, there just aren't a lot of Americans among the top level players. Once you take out the January camp roster guys, established USMNT players (Altidore, Nagbe, Guzan, etc.), guys who are too old for 2022 (Besler, Feilhaber, Kljestan, etc.), if we're not considering homegrowns or draft picks who could be promising but haven't actually done much yet (like say George Bello), who does that leave?

    -Kelyn Rowe
    -Chris Mueller
    -Fafa Picault
    -Miguel Ibarra
    -Teal Bunbury
    -Luis Silva
    -Tim Parker
    -Ike Opara
    -Matt Hedges
    -Brooks Lennon
    -Bill Hamid
    -Jesse Gonzalez
    -Stefan Frei

    After that you're approaching Will Bruin territory...


    I'm optimistic about the future when it comes to MLS producing national team level talent, given how good some homegrowns could be, but at the moment we have a handful of decent international level players and then like 30 that will almost certainly be mediocre at best. For now just be happy when a few of them (Lima, Lletget, etc.) show they may have something to offer.

    Beyond MLS, Berhalter needs to court a few of the more promising dual nationals like Kik Pierie and Theoson Jordan Siebatcheu while waiting for more Weston McKennie types to bubble up.
     
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  3. rgli13

    rgli13 Member+

    Mar 23, 2005
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    i dont think there are any gks or cbs that are glaring omissions/likely to get all that close to a "real" 23 man roster anytime soon.

    is glad, or hines-ike (is this supposed to be strictly mls based?) going to be THAT much better than parker, or long? we arent old in either of those spots either (which is why im a hard no to opara- we know hes not a big, if at all, upgrade on any of the other mls guys but we do know hes 4, 5 years older than any of them).

    like american pie, theres our hole at lb. can danny acosta or jaylin lindsey back up a not-fully-there himself robinson any more mediocerly than villafana? i dont think sweat or lovitz has. how much dropoff is there (if any) for lima on the left?

    thats what earnie should do now that he doesnt have any discernable job requirements- find left backs. fly back and forth between glasgow and heerenveen with flowers and chocolates for toljan and pierie till we figure something out, or at least until bello/gloster/a matured, magically two-footed dest are (hopefully someday) ready.

    as for midfield canouse is really the only one i think of who could push the guys ahead of him. its like us soccer doesnt realize hes a pretty slow, white, former ynt captain too...
     
  4. GigiScala

    GigiScala New Member

    Mar 22, 2013
    Club:
    Chelsea FC
    Has Greg B. hinted so far at what his plan might be?

    I'm not criticising, just asking.

    I don't follow MLS and until the Panama game I wouldn't have recognized GB if he walked in my living room but I do see two early marks of his influence on the team.
    The first is the unceasing manic energy of all eleven and the second is the constant pressing without even an attempt to vary the speed, look around and control the middle third.

    Costa Rica played a tough physical game and the US matched them and surpassed them. Is this the plan going forward? It looked like the Celtic v. Rangers of old.
     
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  5. Midas Mulligan

    Midas Mulligan Member+

    Jul 24, 2013
    NYC
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Duane Holmes.

    It will be a massive oversight if we fail to give him a chance. He’s more technical than anyone on the cupcake roster, and the only one who matches him for on-field pace is Lewis.

    Obviously, not an MLS guy. Hopefully he gets invited in March and get a fair shake.
     
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  6. LouisZ

    LouisZ Member+

    Oct 14, 2010
    Southern California-USA
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Opara is 6'2 and very mobile.

    The pending question is, Is he smart enough for the international game?
     
  7. LouisZ

    LouisZ Member+

    Oct 14, 2010
    Southern California-USA
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    To me, Homes is like an inside (middle) version of Amon.
     
  8. Midas Mulligan

    Midas Mulligan Member+

    Jul 24, 2013
    NYC
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I haven’t watched Amon that much, but he strikes me as not having quite the same close control as Duane.

    I don’t know if that adds anything to your comparison. I’m just high on Holmes and think he would fit well with what we’re trying to do.
     
  9. LouisZ

    LouisZ Member+

    Oct 14, 2010
    Southern California-USA
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I was thinking more in the physical side, both are short and quick
     
  10. OWN(yewu)ED

    OWN(yewu)ED Member+

    Club: Venezia F.C.
    May 26, 2006
    chico, CA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    oh no doubt scraping the bottom of the barrel, dont debate that for a second. But if say.....will go with my unabashed favorite three........Opara, Parker, and Rowe ended up being looked at and being viable options, then it would be completely worth it. Brooks, Miazga seem to be our top two CBs, but we could/should have a good ole fashioned battle royale for 3 and 4. midfield we do seem stacked pretty well, and Pulisic does every single thing Rowe does but better, but god forbid something happens to Pulisic, injury or suspension, who do we got that can even do the Michelob Ultra version of what Pulisic can do? Im not sure anyone else besides Rowe comes to mind for that creative final third pass like we liked to see Feilhaber and sometimes Kljestan do in the previous class. With Rowe it is literally probably guy 22, 23
     
  11. Midas Mulligan

    Midas Mulligan Member+

    Jul 24, 2013
    NYC
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    For sure.

    I’m watching the last Derby match right now, and Duane started at RB. He’s filled in there before, but this is the first time he’s started there that I know of. He might have a great skill set for the inverted fullback/cm role.

    Although, he’s definitely not a defender. Just passable.
     
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  12. ussoccer97531

    ussoccer97531 Member+

    Oct 12, 2012
    Club:
    --other--
    Holmes stats are mediocre in a league comparable to MLS. What indicates he's anywhere near good enough?

    The MLS players can be mediocre and the Championship/2.Bundesliga players can also be mediocre. Holmes, Green, Arriola, Baird all aren't good enough, but the problem is that most options at winger aren't. That'll likely take a couple more years to see some more young players break through.
     
  13. ussoccer97531

    ussoccer97531 Member+

    Oct 12, 2012
    Club:
    --other--
    I've never understood why Opara gets a reputation of being very mobile. He's not a fluid athlete. He's too muscular. He might have better mobility, if he lost some muscle and become quicker. He has the same problem that Tim Parker has. Too muscular, and that takes away some potential mobility. Soccer is not a sport to have a bodybuilding physique.
     
  14. Bruce S

    Bruce S Member+

    Sep 10, 1999
    Jeremy Toljan
     
  15. Midas Mulligan

    Midas Mulligan Member+

    Jul 24, 2013
    NYC
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    #15 Midas Mulligan, Feb 3, 2019
    Last edited: Feb 3, 2019
    If his stats on the wing or from midfield are mediocre, then the stats are wrong.

    He’s a shoo-in if it moves Adams to the 6. He’s far better on the wing or as an 8/10 than Trapp/Bradley at their position, if you can follow that comparison.

    I’ve watched practically all of his minutes. He is better than every player you named, by quite a bit.

    ETA: also, I’m ignoring the comparable thing re: MLS v championship. At the top of the table/playoff spots, I think there are few MLS teams that could compete. But this ain’t the place for that. So comparable is fine. We can compare them.
     
  16. LouisZ

    LouisZ Member+

    Oct 14, 2010
    Southern California-USA
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I like Parks in the 10 spot but I'm going to take a cautionary stand until he shows me he is for real with NYFC.
     
  17. Smithsoccer1721

    Smithsoccer1721 Member+

    Feb 16, 2007
    Middle of the Table
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I am a little confused by the topic. It’s his first camp in January. Did we want him to call in 40 players? Seems like a bad decision. He needs the opportunity to see players up close regardless of what there Nate history has been. That requires cutting the field down to a reasonable number. Perhaps he will call in some of the mentioned players at a late date. Someone like Holmes wouldn’t make sense when he is getting a run of first team minutes right now.

    For a first camp he seemed to make a balanced selection of players.
     
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  18. HScoach13

    HScoach13 Member+

    Nov 30, 2016
    Club:
    Atlanta
    Gressel when he gets his citizenship? Nine goals and 22 assists in two seasons with Atlanta United.
     
  19. thedukeofsoccer

    thedukeofsoccer Member+

    Jul 11, 2004
    Wussconsin
    Club:
    AFC Ajax
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I think the Lewis emergence displays we can't be totally bound to calling up starters from MLS, especially to Jan. camp, in the DP/allocation and foreign manager area. This blocks a lot of our quality domestic from being considered "form" players and proving themselves beyond spot opportunities.

    A couple analogs to Lewis' dynamic in MLS would be left backs Ryan Hollingshead and Marco Farfan.

    Whoscored actually rates Hollingshead as the best fullback in MLS. From the eye test, he anticipates and moves to block in crosses exceptionally well, and going fw he's a threat as a former striker. Pareja cast him as a jack of all trades, evaluated him at lesser positions, and better dealed him at fb for mediocre Latin players.

    With Farfan, he engendered a lot of enthusiasm by breaking thru as an 18 year old. I don't think there was anything wrong with his play subsequently. Displayed ability to read the game defensively, competitiveness, confidence, and technique. He got the boot for that Lithuanian guy they brought it on allocation money. Subsequently they re-acquired Villafana, who is an int'l. Doesn't mean Farfan can't be as well, and he only should keep improving.

    If we're going to play Lovitz and Sweat as LB who just play the ball backwards, make mental mistakes, and can't match-up quickness wise; what's the point in playing them over these other guys? What's the point in not just switching a superior right-footer like Yedlin over then?

    Rosenberry and Cannon didn't get run outs. Lennon wasn't called up. I think there's a lot of depth in general at fb.

    Same thing with cb. Trusty and McKenzie were blocked by 2 guys in Long and Zimmerman who keep performing well. No big affront to them. Opara has been pretty dominant when healthy in MLS and he was arguably the best player on the field last Jan. camp. He's nearing 30 and injury-prone, but wouldn't hate that integration attempt. Parker had a down season but has been good with the NT. He's worse than Long for both however. Not giving up on Glad yet, but feel like he's already suffered from MLS stagnation and maybe doesn't have a high ceiling.

    Same thing at fw with Sapong. He's another guy who has always performed in limited time with the national team, and for the better part of 2 seasons he was Philly's MVP, but has surrounding lulls. Ramirez didn't get enough of an opportunity this camp and what he showed was positive. Morris is coming back from injury. He was wrongfully scapegoated when he almost always showed up for the national team. For club, his scoring declined, but that issue didn't carry over to the NT, and everything else improved substantially. I think he'll come back well from the injury given his game is predicated on straight-line movement, he works hard, and his dad was team doctor.

    At a-mid, Rowe is another guy who performs for the national team and has been miscast as a jack-of-all trades for his club. He could be re-integrated. Mueller came out on fire, but his team sucks, the opportunities dwindled, and he hit a wall. But he was in decent form at the end of the season. Good enough athlete, works hard and fairly aware defensively, has an array of moves, etc. Watching to see if he has a sophomore slump or jump. This is the position where it's slimmest pick'ins. But Pomykol and Ferreira could emerge in Dallas now that the witch is dead.

    At cdm, Canouse is a good destroyer who can play simple passes well. Disappointed Berhalter was too married to the system and players he was loyal to. Hayes is another guy like Hollingshead who got benched by Pareja after displaying good range, ball-winning, and transition o. Watching him this year under Lucho.

    At gk, not sure there's a standout NT prospect, but there's a lot of depth of someone who could do well if given the opportunity like: Melia, Gonzalez, and Frei. Watching to see if Miller, Marcinkowksi, and Turner can build on effectively their rookie years.

    Wasn't a good year for Americans in MLS, but with how much the previous managers neglected the league's players to win now or prejudice, and how managers within the league are obscuring talent, still feel like there are plenty of stones unturned.
     
  20. Bruce S

    Bruce S Member+

    Sep 10, 1999
    and here we go!
     
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  21. OWN(yewu)ED

    OWN(yewu)ED Member+

    Club: Venezia F.C.
    May 26, 2006
    chico, CA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Hollingshead is right there with Tommy Thompson as my biggest unabashed MLS crushes. Both are legit excellent players. I am fully aware many others see nothing in them, but Im hoping for a breakout this year for Tommy for sure. If Hollingshead doesnt get games, he needs to get traded, hes too good to be on the bench.

    I think Sapong could do good things with the nats as a 3/4 competitive option.

    for GKs im hoping Spencer Richey enters the conversation with Cincy


    Trying to avoid this from becoming a flavor thread though....... I think my biggest ones that are here now that didnt get called in were Opara, Parker, and Rowe.
     
  22. YankBastard

    YankBastard Na Na Na Na NANANANAAA!

    Jun 18, 2005
    Estados Unidos
    Club:
    AS Roma
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I'm just still trying to get over the fact that Beerholder is our head coach.
     
  23. TrueCrew

    TrueCrew Member+

    Dec 22, 2003
    Columbus, OH
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    And a damned good one by the early returns.
     
  24. jeff_adams

    jeff_adams Member+

    Dec 16, 1999
    Monterey, Ca
    I loved the dynamic that Canouse and Hyndman had at U-20 qualifiers. It was too bad that Canouse got injured right before the championship. I would be very interested to see if they still have that chemistry.
     
  25. thedukeofsoccer

    thedukeofsoccer Member+

    Jul 11, 2004
    Wussconsin
    Club:
    AFC Ajax
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    in u-25's?
     

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