Coaching Philosophies and the Gregg Berhalter System

Discussion in 'USA Men: News & Analysis' started by Susaeta, Mar 14, 2019.

  1. grandinquisitor28

    Feb 11, 2002
    Nevada
    You can rub it in my face in about ten years time if I get this stuff wrong. I won't mind. I've been wrong plenty, and will be wrong plenty more, I'm not here to score points, and would probably find it as amusing as my takes on GAM, or that one wing forward years ago that I was intrigued by that didn't even build a career in MLS, let alone with the USMNT, it goes on and on. For every guy I was buying stock in early who did make it, there's plenty who haven't and vice verca. However, when I look at the kids I see two things that really excite me:
    Thing #1: I see players that either consistently look like difference makers, or have some special skill to them that might be transcendent.

    Thing #2: There are just way way way more of them than I ever remember seeing on any U20 team I've watched.

    Early Beginnings: 15 guys I liked across 3 years, and interestingly just about all of them did at least make appearances. In terms of guys I absolutely loved, Adu, GAM, and Altidore, only Altidore ended up having a career that might make people rate him at a level where he's in that kind of top 10 all time discussion. My problem is the total lack of contribution in games that matter. He pretty much did nothing at all for the USMNT in critical games against legit competition in terms of scoring goals save for the Confederations Cup (though you could add his crucial assist against Slovenia the following year as a critical contribution).

    In 2003 I was buying Mapp, GAM, Quaranta, Convey, and Adu (5). If nothing else, all of those guys got USMNT call ups, though only GAM had long term relevance (though disappointing).

    In 2005 it was limited to Gaven, Adu, Spector, Nguyen, and Szetela (5), and I wasn't a Huge fan of any of them except for Adu and maybe Szetela.

    In 2007 I was buying stock in Adu, Altidore, Szetela, and kinda Bradley, I was not one of those deluded into buying in on Zizzo. I also liked Seitz (about 5 total).

    The Dark Years: I liked a grand total of four guys in three cycles, and only Yedlin paid dividends.

    In 2009: Gale and Arguez, but wasn't really high on anybody. (2)

    In 2011: I think Gyau and that was it. (1)

    In 2013: Yedlin and that was it. (1)

    In 2015: Steffen, Carter-Vickers, Miazga, Zelalem, Acosta, Payne, and EPB. Missed on the last 2 or 3 but I'm a believer in most of the rest (Zelalem, seems a lost cause). (7)

    In '17: EPB, Glad, Adams (I underrated him), CCV, and Sargent. (5)

    In '19: Taitague (if he's ever healthy), Dest, Gloster, Richards, Araujo, Mendez, Soto, Pomykal, Ledezma, Llanez, Weah (11)

    For me, the tipping point is the fact that we could produce in the past three classes, 23 players I thought might have a USMNT future, whereas in the previous 3, we'd produced 4. Even in the early years of my watching ('03-'07), it was still 15 across 3 cycles, which is about 2/3's of what I've liked during the past 3.

    Anyway, I'm really excited about these guys. Really, really excited. In '15 the feeling was the strength was the D and keeping and that has played out. Steffen is a starting Keeper candidate, Miazga isn't as good as hoped, but he still looks to be at least a legit starter. CCV looks like a backup CB for us, EPB has disappointed, and Zelalem and Acosta have faded badly while my pet project Desevio Payne has faded into near oblivion.

    In terms of '17, EPB, again, is not in a great place, Glad is on a good trajectory, Adams is much better than I thought, CCV is CCV, and Sargent while somewhat stalled, still is far ahead of any Forward we've developed since 2007's Altidore, and actually ahead of him in all the important ways save minutes.

    In terms of '19, we'll see, but I'll be shocked if we don't get at least one USMNT starter in the midfield from Ledezma, Llanez, Pomykal and Mendez, indeed I expect us to get 2-3 starters from that group. I expect 1-2 starters from the Dest-Gloster-Richards grouping is a reasonable expectation and all 3 might make it. Yeah is already a given, and then you have Araujo playing up a cycle, and Soto whose just super exciting. Soto, and Altidore to me are better than any Forwards, any, we've had in the past 15 years not named GAM or Altidore, and actually think both are better prospects because GAM and Altidore's respective games lacked the technical skill Soto and Sargent bring to bear. The latter are just much more refined, technical players, they don't have the power and athleticism as GAM and Altidore, but I think both have more "outs" so to speak to make it at the next level in terms of their skill sets. The fact that both were highly productive playing for youth teams in Germany is very exciting as well.

    I may be wrong, but honestly I expect the '15, '17 and '19 cycles to give us our entire backline within 2-3 years w/one possible exception, our entire midfield, and our forwards. I'll be stunned if we have any holdovers from the barren years, or current vets still playing key roles in 2022/2023 and if we do, it will be due to continued incompetence in the fed, or injuries, it won't be due to players going bust in such vast quantities.
     
  2. SteelyTom

    SteelyTom Member

    Mar 21, 2007
    Boston, MA USA
    Club:
    Pumas UNAM
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    In the 2019 class, I see one, maybe two, potentially transcendent talents and a whole bunch of little engines that could.
     
  3. CyphaPSU

    CyphaPSU Member+

    Mar 16, 2003
    Not Far
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    If we can get three starters out of this group, which I hope is attainable, then I would call that a success.
     
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  4. TheHoustonHoyaFan

    Oct 14, 2011
    Houston
    Club:
    FC Schalke 04
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Very good insight from GB. One thing he admits which stands out to me:

    ESPN: Why do you think Tyler Adams is best suited to this hybrid right-back/center-mid role, and how likely are we to see him remain in that role going forward? (Note: Adams is now out of the Gold Cup due to injury.)

    GB: I think that Tyler is an extremely gifted soccer player. I think he has huge, huge potential. We want to put him in a position to succeed. When I think about a guy that is a big part of what we're trying to do, he's one of those guys. For us it's figuring out, if he's going to play there, how can we still utilize his skill set? And his skill set, to me, is more central than it is wide. To me this is a way to bring out his skills, get him on the field and help contribute to the overall success of the team.


    https://www.espn.com/soccer/club/un...gold-cup-and-moving-on-from-world-cup-failure

    So GB admits that Adam's skillset is more central than wide but he is playing him wide to get him on the field?
     
  5. Konut

    Konut Member+

    May 31, 2010
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I just read the article. Greg's comments give me a little hope for his ability to adapt to his player pool going forward. It seems like he knows Adams is better used at CM, but has been playing him at RB with the idea of getting him, Bradley, Weston and Pulisic all on the field at the same time. I agree with the minority here at BS who thinks that Bradley is still one of our best players, although I admit that very well might not be the case by 2022.

    We'll see what changes he makes going forward. The biggest positive change he could make to regain some of my trust starting the gold cup would to play lima as a traditional RB, overlapping the RW rather than joining in CM. It fits way better with Lima's skill set, and is how he plays with his club. We'll have to wait and see.
     
  6. Marius Tresor

    Marius Tresor Member+

    Aug 1, 2014
    Translation: Trapp/Bradley are 100% locks to start and play 90 every game, so we need to find another position for Adams.
     
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  7. laxcoach

    laxcoach Member+

    United States
    Jul 29, 2017
    intermountain west
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    And that translates to losses.
     
  8. napper

    napper Member+

    Jan 14, 2014
    Fullerton
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Is there someone on GB’s staff that can talk some sense into him?
     
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  9. Excellency

    Excellency Member+

    LA Galaxy
    United States
    Nov 4, 2011
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    I was all in on going thru the pool in 17/18. I thought sarachan was adequate to the task thru the summer leading up to important friendlies v. big boys in the autumn '18 - i.e. Mexico, Brazil, France, Ireland, England, Italy. Our permanent hire should have been in place for those autumn friendlies.

    I don't want to hear anything after this Gold Cup about how we are still figuring things out. Our last two friendlies were inexcusable. We've had more than enough time to do much better than lose 0-4 to Jamaica and Venezuela.

    I subscribe to Almeyda's approach here - at some point the hammer comes down, or the axe.
    https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2019...halftime-speech-helped-quakes-edge-sacramento

    For his part, Almeyda underlined his team’s respect for the historic tournament in his postgame remarks and reminded his squad that they’ll be taking no games off on his watch.


    “We need to be serious about every match we play. We need to do that out of respect for the fans who paid for tickets,” said the Argentinean. “This coaching staff lives this sport through passion, and we respect the team directors who gave us this opportunity. From that point, we want to feel accomplished, even in training sessions.”

    I suppose it's different when your brother is head of operations in Chicago House :cool:
     
  10. schrutebuck

    schrutebuck Member+

    Jul 26, 2007
    Jeff Reuter of the Athletic wrote a story about Nick Lima and the RB role. Even with Adams out, it sounds like the U.S.S. Berhalter will continue steaming full speed ahead with Lima in the Adams role. If Berhalter determines that Cannon needs to start, however, then the system may have to change. Quotes:

    “We won’t ask him to,” Berhalter said of Cannon playing in a similar role. “That’s important. Tyler has a unique skillset; his versatility to play inside, to play wide. He’s a top, talented player. Reggie has a different skillset. He’s more vertical with good speed and crossing. He’s a dynamic defender, but they’re just different players.”

    Berhalter didn’t try to diminish the importance Adams has in this national team setup.

    “It’s a guy that you pencil in to be a starter,” Berhalter said. “You lose a starter. But that’s life. I mean, there’s other teams losing starters. Mexico lost a couple guys, you know, Trinidad just lost a couple guys, Costa Rica too. This happens, and we’ll figure out a way without him.”


    https://theathletic.com/1024059/201...could-be-in-line-for-big-gold-cup-with-usmnt/
     
  11. Marius Tresor

    Marius Tresor Member+

    Aug 1, 2014
    What about his boss, Earnie?
     
  12. TheHoustonHoyaFan

    Oct 14, 2011
    Houston
    Club:
    FC Schalke 04
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    That is also the way I read it but I wanted to get other takes because I know that I have become so jaded by the obvious USSF PR campaigns and dreadful performances over the last 4 matches that I am viewing the team and staff through a very negative lens.
     
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  13. Marius Tresor

    Marius Tresor Member+

    Aug 1, 2014
    Yep, I have become negative too, even though I have been following US Soccer since the 1970's (or maybe because of that). It is just that the roster selections and tactics have become obviously idiotic and embarrassing. I am most surprised at the lack of the expected influence from Earnie Stewart, who was a dual national who played in Europe. I can only surmise that he has no real power.
     
  14. Suyuntuy

    Suyuntuy Member+

    Jul 16, 2007
    Vancouver, Canada
    Actually, I must admit I'm a bit disappointed that Earnie Stewart was willing to take the job as figurehead.
     
  15. TheHoustonHoyaFan

    Oct 14, 2011
    Houston
    Club:
    FC Schalke 04
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Interesting info that Carlisle's editor took out?

    [​IMG]

    "When we have the ball"!

     
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  16. Konut

    Konut Member+

    May 31, 2010
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Nat'l Team:
    United States

    I think that is overly negative. I think his plan was to play Bradley as the #6 with Pulisic and Mckennie in front of him, but Trapp wasn't in the starting XI equation. At least that's what I hope.

    I still think Bradley is about our 5th or 6th most important player if we needed to win a game tomorrow, so I can see why Berhalter wanted to play a system that got them all on the field at the same time. What I don't agree with is how he's been doing that with the hybrid RB role.
     
  17. largegarlic

    largegarlic Member+

    Jul 2, 2007
    Yeah, I thought the overall interview was pretty reasonably. Of course, the real test is whether he can adjust from what sounds good in theory when it isn't working on the field.
     
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  18. Excellency

    Excellency Member+

    LA Galaxy
    United States
    Nov 4, 2011
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Personally, I'm unhappy with the use of the word "hybrid".
     
  19. jond

    jond Member+

    Sep 28, 2010
    Club:
    Levski Sofia
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    First the Adams comments which suggest he pencils Trapp/Bradley into the DM slot first and later finds "a way" to get Tyler on the pitch.

    Then this load of crap. What a clown.

     
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  20. Marius Tresor

    Marius Tresor Member+

    Aug 1, 2014
    This is just clueless from a national team coach. Shocking, really.
     
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  21. onefineesq

    onefineesq Member+

    Sep 16, 2003
    Laurel, MD
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    This statement is UTTERLY CONFUSING from Berhalter. He brings up 3 different concepts that are in play when deciding where to play Adams: stability, activity and passing. Gregg then says that he prefers, for now, stability and activity. He notably leaves out passing. So let me get this straight … in a lineup in which he claims to value activity over passing in the central midfield, he has chosen Michael Bradley over Tyler Adams? I mean, he is using that criteria to justify playing Adams at right back, while he gushes over Michael Bradley in the central midfield! What bizarro world is this guy living in?
     
  22. truefan420

    truefan420 Member+

    May 30, 2010
    oakland
    Club:
    Chelsea FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
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  23. IndividualEleven

    Mar 16, 2006
    I disagree that MB is one of our best players. Bedoya and Nagbe have been better this season. Nagbe, especially, outplayed Bradley in their matchups.
     
  24. smokarz

    smokarz Member+

    Aug 9, 2006
    Hartford, CT

    What else did you expect from a mediocre MLS coach?

    This is his priority.

    #1 - Get an average MLS guy to start in CM
    #2 - Get your best CM somewhere on the field, so the fans don't complain

    I wouldn't be shock if he puts Pulisic at CF, if there was a decent MLS winger out there.
     
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  25. smokarz

    smokarz Member+

    Aug 9, 2006
    Hartford, CT

    Bradley had passed his expiration date.

    Guys like GGG can only see the player's past glory, not their current form.
     
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