Pre-match: 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup Group Stage: USA vs Guyana

Every time I look at the TV Venezuela has the ball in Brazil's end.

 

We get it. You don't like MLS.

 

Neither is true....

Adams was a regular in 2018 and many had stated he was our most consistent performer.

Steffen was lauded for his play last year and has come under much more attack since signing with Man City.

 

Dudamel has done a superb work with this Venezuela. Playing Brazil in Brazil they're going to lose this one, but every time I watch them they have improved a bit more. I have a hunch they'll make Qatar.

 

Yedlin did not require a Latvian passport and in fact did not get one in order to make the move to Spurs. Trapp has a Greek passport. Lets see how many EPL teams are beating down WFT's door to sign him!

Yedlin even tried to get a Latvian passport, possibly being eligible for that through his mother’s family, to circumvent the problem.

That did not happen, as all parties were pleasantly surprised when the Home Office approved his work permit on the basis of his “exceptional talent.”
https://bleacherreport.com/articles...eady-to-make-impact-after-slow-start-at-spurs

 

Yep... crap league, but more importantly crap domestic players. The last regular USMNT starter that was an MLS lifer was Eddie Pope. History suggests the players from MLS arent good enough, yet coaches keep fishing for gems in that sad pool.

 

It'd be a great story if they do. Seems like they've got a generation of kids who have the raw talent.

 

Ream left to baby sit an MLS back line and Captain Bradley leading the charge. This could be a very ugly game.

 

I guess Gregg is saving Jozy’s hammy.

 

Stuck on Zelalem? I made one comment about him, then you and DHC1 pressed. I think I've now made 2 comments on him.

 

I agree with the first statement, but there have been a few posters (@yurch10 mainly) who have decried Steffen's mental errors (and also, because he's "Berhalter's guy").

 

I do think it's funny that Adams playing out of position only became a problem once he started playing at Die Roten Bullen. But when he was playing all over the midfield last year, he was pretty much invisible to bsky and co.

 

That's fair but arguable on a case-by-case basis. Nonetheless, Zelalem isn't one of those guys, and he didn't get a shot when your favorite coach was making the decisions either.

 

Well, you know, MLS sucks and no one that plays there can compete in the higher tempo of international and top league soccer. You don't understand just how much he learned in the first week after joining RBL. I mean, competing with those guys day in and day out for 5 consecutive days made him the player he is today.

 

You guys are full of straw men. Adams made a big jump in 2018 when they got rid of that average central midfielder to let TA play centrally. I wasnt sold on him initially, but caught on. I am sure we can find a post of mine from 2018 saying I dont think he has the attacking skills to play advanced but would like to see him breaking up plays deeper... aka the spot filled by Captain Crapp.

I am also pretty sure that @TheHoustonHoyaFan was the first person on this board claiming how good Adams was.

 

That's an unfair bar to set. Donovan doesn't count as an MLS lifer because he got 7 games for Leverkusen, and had 3 short MLS-offseason loans? Newsflash to no one: MLS is not the best league in the world. By absolutely anyone's measure, including the most absurd, it's not better than the 6th best league in the world. No surprise that the best players would gravitate towards the 5 or more leagues in the world that are better.

note: I'm not saying MLS is the 6th best league in the world, ffs. Just saying that even the craziest of the crazies doesn't think it's better than the big 5 European leagues.

 

This whole Europe thing is crazy. If a kid is really smart and stays at a school that doesn't challenge him, other kids at schools who aren't as naturally smart but get challenged can and will pass the smart child who stayed at an easy school.

The idea is not that players are better because they go to Europe. They become better after going to Europe because they play on a different level in most of the leagues that people are talking about and against better competition. So the younger a player is when he moves the better he can become as he has longer to pick up things and fine tune things.

Sure Nova plays in a league equivalent or lower than MLS, but people want to see him because he is unknown. SO I think the rub comes in where people in MLS get chance after chance, while some in other comparable positions in similar leagues outside of MLS, who play at a position of need, don't get the time in games to see how they respond. If player A is doing bad, try player B. and then C and then D and then E and so on until you find one who plays well. That is essentially the debate of Romain Gall or Sabbi or Nova or Hines-Ike not because they are great, but because they could be better than what we have seen.

There are exceptions to the rule, but for the most part players who come through Santos, Sporting Lisbon, Barca and Ajax are better because they play against better competition and get better coaching than players who come up in college or come through Celtics academy. So the idea is to go to Europe young so you can build upon what MLS has started. MLS is like high school and the top Euro leagues are like College. You can also excel not going to college but its not the norm unless you are a special talent that transcends.

 

Ream is one of the most overrated players to come out of USA ever. 2 PL seasons 2 relegations. (If my memory serves me right), he was hyped hard as a youngster got some National Team appearances and just fizzled out. Now he's back, and it hasn't been pretty.

One good game, WCQ in Mexico, he played well, he's had his chance time to move on.

 

ESPN diagram shows CP on the right wing ...
and McKennie inside ....
I am not going to complain about that

https://www.espn.com/soccer/lineups?gameId=539235&ex_cid=espnapi_internal

Zardes instead of Altidore ...
Arriola opposite CP (that is acceptable)
Boyd huh? guess that is Berhalter rolling the dice
is Bradley going to slide into defensive mid and then come back to help Lima or he and Lima will take turns going forward?

I would still rather see McKennie as captain.

 

Sarachan played the young ones not because he is some kind of genius but because he was mandated to play them.

 

That's the idea.

The reality is that people here hype them up even when they're not actually playing at a higher level over there, or even when they're not playing at all.

 

Totally agree with the general idea. Totally. In the case of Novakovich, it's possible that when he was in camp, training with the team and under the eye of the coaching staff, he just didn't look as good as, god forbid, Gyasi Zardes or Jordan Morris.

 

You are just making stuff up.

Adams did not play all over midfield last year for either club or country. He played CM (in a double pivot) for NYRB and primarily CM under Sarachan.

Berhalter decided to make him a gimmick RB to keep Bradley/Trapp on the pitch and that is what the complaint is about.

 

The theory players (and their respective NTs) get better by moving to higher levels has been shown by every major study conducted over the last 15 years.

It is now an accepted fact!

 

I've decried Steffans errors? Being Berhalters guy? I think I've mentioned Steffan in one post saying I'm worried about the goalkeeper position. He should be in a competition with Horvath and any other decent player.

But please, let me know to what you're referring.