He should have never been the #1 to begin with as there are many better than him who will still be at their peak when the next WC rolls around. Him winning MLS GK of the year last year was a joke when you compare all the relevant GK stats.
GK stats can be deceivingly good or bad depending on the defense in front of you. They only tell 1/2 ( if that) of the story.. You can have a excellent keeper saddled with a terrible defense which over the course of a season results in mediocre stats. Or you can have a keeper who ends up picking daisies the entire game who really isn’t as good as the numbers show.
You guys asking for more info can jump back to this post of mine and read forward through the thread. Another poster later on broke down the stats as well. It's all been addressed before in this very thread.
All he needs to do is clear the ball... sometimes. Like, it's not even very hard, he's just making absurdly stupid decisions.
but he is the no.1 he's started pretty much all the matches this year if I'm not mistaken. He's missed out like 3 matches in the past year. I'm all for him competing with Horvath, Hamid, Johnson and whoever though he's essentially the no.1
Facts are, we are weaker in goal than we have ever been. For decades we've had at least one if not two or more goalies playing in big four leagues, mostly in Englad at a very high level. Now, we have one in Belgium and one just about to get a chance at a mid table Bundesliga team and we don't even know if he will win the starting spot and the rest in MLS with most past the age where they are likely to go anywhere else. That said, my lingering question concerns Steffan. Is he substantially better than he was 3 years ago? I'm seriously asking because I don't know. Three years ago, he couldn't get even a part-time spot on a Bundesliga team slightly lower down the table than where he is going. Are we sure he can win a starting role now? Because if he hasn't improved significantly over the last three years, there's no real reason to believe he will. I don't know the answer to that question, but I guess we'll find out next year.
And part of this is on Berhalter. Even Pep Guardiola when he came to Manchester City saw his given player pool make mistakes during the course of the season (insistance on playing out of the back) which resulted in giving up points. The key is that he then had the offseason to bring in players who he felt were better and more comfortable doing so. Berhalter doesnt have that luxury. Nor does he have a lot of practice time to get these players "comfortable" playing our of the back. That is just part and parcel of being a international coach. This goes back to the discussion of coaches fitting players into his system, etc, etc but that has been hashed out in different threads... My point is similar to your bolded. Playing out of the back needs to be an option, when the opponent and opportunity presents itself. I am not trying to deflect away Steffans terrible mistake, but the coach has to take some of the blame.
Doesn't help that so many of our boys stuck in MLS when they should have gone abroad. You can't tell me that Hamid or Johnson couldn't have found a Scandinavian club 5 years ago. A few caps for the NT and they'd be in Europe. Hopefully far improved as of today, but JK and Arena kept throwing caps at Rimando (though he was a solid no.3 and he stepped UP). All those winter camps could have been given to the likes of Hamid, Johnson, Bingham, MacMath and whatever else young dude was on the rise to help get them to a European club.
I don't read much about that people wanting to dump him, maybe just that all the talk about him as the anointed one is premature. A 24 year old goalie with moderate domestic success and a handful of caps maybe shouldn't be considered the undisputed #1 before he's proven it. We may not have better, but he's not done anything that would require dumping him to give someone else a game. The position should still be an open question at this point.
I am still surprised I dont hear more about the 1/2 time quote in the Jamaica game from Berhalter. When asked in Steffan is the starter, he said something along the lines of "of course he is, he is going to Man City..." If that isnt cluelessness I dont know what is.
Honestly, if we really want our goalies playing with their feet, neither Steffan nor Horvath are particularly adept. In fact, I'm not sure we have any goalies that can play with their feet well outside Rimando, which would be a ridiculous path to go down. Do we actually have anyone to play back there that is good with their feet? Not, he's OK for a goalie from the US, but actually able to handle the ball and make good passes under light pressure.
When do you think Hamid should have been called in? I cant think of a time he wasnt and should have been considered. You thought Johnson was playing well from 2013 to 2016 that he wouldnt have been embarressed? Both were once young, high potential goallkeepers. Neither of them ever got close to where Steffen has been the last couple of years, including his rough patches. You keep asking about Hamid in multiple threads. His career is on him. He is not a good goalkeeper and doesnt look like he has done much to change that. He has gotten chances with the USMNT that showed that he is clearly not up to this level.
Sean Johnson improved noticeably with his ball skills after joining Vieira and NYCFC. Is he talented enough for the international game? Good question.