I could be wrong here, but CCV, Robinson and Holmes are just USA and England, right? If so, and I know I'm going out on a limb here, I think we're pretty safe on the ol' cap-tying. It comes down to Ledezma, Mendez and Llanez. I know Uly is out hurt. Which leaves the other two. I would have liked a prospective call-up or two for each of these Nations Leagues camps -- I don't think it should just be dual nationals because I think that kind of special treatment breeds resentment. But Aaronson, Pomykal (who have gotten it) should be at minimum joined by Ledezma when healthy, as he's done very well at a level that is comparable. He shouldn't be punished for going to a club with a higher level first team. I doubt Berhalter sees it that way, but I would pull in Ledezma at minimum. But in general, I'd actually have a rotation of young talent -- not callups they need to earn, but call-ups where high potential players learn about what they need to do to make the squad.
It still would help in countries that have non-EU player restrictions, like Spain, or potentially still with England, depending on Brexit.
First competitive loss to Canada since 1990. Under Berhalter, the score in competitive matches, plus the Mexico friendly, against teams with remotely similar talent--USA 1 - 6(Curacao, Mexico, Canada). The system has not been progressing. The team is 43rd in the eloratings. Canada has moved up to 53.
His "system" is so simple, any halfway decent team can defend it easily. Don't let the 6 have time on the ball, pressure the US center backs, and press your backs up. Even with the options they're supposed to have, the space is gone. The gaps between to find passing lanes are tight. And our players are too unsure of themselves to attempt passes that would allow them to break those lines through the tight lanes. Even with Cuba, the only time they had success was when the ball was played in behind the Cuban back. But that was only successful because they didn't step to our outside backs quickly enough. Tonight Canada did or the backs weren't high enough -- forward progress of the US prevented. Side to side along the back line we go, when we stop nobody knows.
In about 5 days time, the usual posters will re-appear. What do you think the defense will be? - this was an experiment that meant nothing - we have lots of time - if only we didn’t have injuries - blame it in the European players - we’re very close I’m guessing they will come back to: our players aren’t very good. Which isn’t true (certainly relative to Canada) and also begs the question: why the f*** would anyone institute an”ambitious/pro-active” system when we don’t have the players for it? If we’re waiting for the youth to rise up, then wait til they prove themselves as professional FFS.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to implement a 'proactive' system. Berhalter's fundamental mistake is that he has not been daring in his player selection. If keeping the ball was a major goal then half the team selected for this round should have been left home. Many more U23s and even U20s should have been promoted to the Senior Team.
Should also add that the current 43 elo-ranking is the lowest since the team was ranked 47th in October of 1997. Progress.
With the current way things are done by the federation, keeping everything in-house and having an inner circle taking all decisions, do you honestly see any good manager coming to coach the USA?
There is a big difference between a proactive system of play and a system of play with no midfield defense. The former is fine, the later is stupid.
McKennie quote after the Cuba game was revealing: he effectively said that a big part of the “System” was letting the game come to you and trusting that you’d get the ball. Berhalter want us to be look elegant and poised while our DNA is young Arena’s 2002 words: “first shot, first tackle, first foul”. we need to get back to being disruptive and aggressive on defense, like a swarm of angry Vikings. Instead we’re trying to be a Latin-styled team.
ESPN article. https://www.espn.com/soccer/united-...-berhalter-to-rip-up-the-plan-and-start-again Gregg Berhalter, a decent man and thoughtful coach at Columbus Crew SC, is 10 months into his first international job. Over that time, without facing any European opposition, he has lost twice to Mexico and once each to Venezuela, Jamaica and Canada. He is trying to impose his style of play on the team: a dynamic, high-pressing, adventurous and fun to watch philosophy. It's great in theory but so far, it's clearly not working... somewhere amid applying this new style, the U.S.'s traditional qualities of grit, character and fight have been lost... Is his message too complex for the players at his disposal? Is he putting style over substance? Does he need a midfield "enforcer" in the No. 6 defensive midfield position? The manager might even have to dust off his files of former players whom he's discarded but might be better than what he has. What happened to Julian Green, Fabian Johnson, Timmy Chandler, Aron Johannsson, Danny Williams and Cameron Carter-Vickers, to name just a few? There are doubts about all of them, but Berhalter has to consider everything
Here is a repost from another thread: I was curious to see if production was a contributing factor to playing US eligible players. So, I picked FotMob to read through the Top 25 players in multiple categories. I wanted to see the domestic representation in these areas. This is what I found based on their stat rankings as of 10/16/19: Top 25 Goals: Wondo, Sapong, Zardes, Ebobisse, Altidore Top 25 Minutes per Goal: Wondo, Toye, White, Altidore, Ramirez Top 25 Assists: 0 Top 25 Average Rating: Altidore, Morris Top 25 Shots on Target: Altidore, Wondo, Ramirez Top 25 Accurate Dribbles: 0 Top 25 Key Passes: 0 Top 25 Chances Created: 0 Top 25 Chances Missed: Zardes, Bunbury, Wondo, Sapong, Dwyer, Altidore, Ebobisse Top 25 Accurate Passes: Bradley, Yueill, McCarty, Trapp, Delgado, Hedges Top 10 Cleansheets: Guzan, Hamid, Rimando, Robles, Miller, Bingham, Gonzalez Top 25 Possession Won in Final Third: Bedoya, Pomykal, Roldan, Agudelo Top 10 Saves per Match: Turner, Bingham, Hamid, Melia, Clark, Rowe Top 25 Clearances: Birnbaum, Opara, Long, Glad, Farrell, Hedges, Steres, Trusty Top 25 Accurate Tackles Per Match: Davis, Canouse, Corona, Amaya, Trusty, Castillo, Hollingshead Top 25 Penalties Won: Altidore, Sapong, Bunbury, Zardes, Saucedo Key thing to remember is that I didn't have a ton of time to look for dual nationals, but I think Opta/FotMob do an okay job updating. Obviously, you can look at this two ways. Teams are preventing more Americans from excelling in these categories by picking foreign players. Or, American players have some real deficiencies that might not be fully addressed until academies get moving. Maybe a little of both. However, right now we are struggling to get US eligible players into the top 25 in some really important categories. Other players that are making the top 25, but somehow can't even make a USMNT roster? If it is important have the best players available based on skills demonstrated then we simply aren't picking based on top 25 performance in a lot of areas on the field. Stats don't tell the whole story, but you can't simply ignore them either. These results really lead me to believe that we are pushing forward with the ageism approach, but also picking players who aren't ready to contribute consistently and are being plugged in even with little playing time or after poor performances. At some point, competition for spots is going to matter a heck of a lot more than a player's age as we approach qualifying.
Agree 100%. The Gagg system is effective only if you don't expect it or can't adjust. Once a team adapts, we're toast. Which is the real problem: Gagg doesn't have a plan B. Last night when things were dire late on and the system was clearly failing, he didn't have any moves to try to steal a late goal. It was just more of the same ineffective possession soccer (and we did out-possess Canada handily, so there's that). So maybe the Gagg system would work if he could roll it out selectively as a way to start games, or manage them, but using it as the sole and exclusive way we will play basically invites failure. Reminds me of the way I used to play video games as a little kid: I'd figure out an effective way to play to beat the computer, but wasn't adaptive enough when someone more skilled than me came along with a better plan than my plan. I realized then I wasn't very good at video games, so I moved on to other things. Gagg was a pretty good MLS coach but at this level he is simply out of his depth; he should move on too.
In all honesty, what is the coach supposed to do? 1. Pick the best players and gets the most with the tools in the chest. 2. Put then in a position to succeed 3. Minimize weaknesses 4. Guess how the opposition wants to play and adjust tactics to exploit their weaknesses. 5. Play what’s in front of you but forecast the future. 6. Foster the right environment, Bring the energy and regulate the team’s emotions. 7. Get the hell out of the way 8. Uplift the team in the media. let’s go down these one by one... 1. We all know he calls in some wacky players. And, we are hitting below our weight class when it comes to paper predictions vs actual results. 2. Tyler Adams at right back. That should have been a fireable offense right off the bat. 3. We’re a defend and counter team not a Man City will overwhelm you with technical ability team. So, he accentuates our weaknesses and minimizes our strengths. 4. Berhalter is so obsessed with his ideas that he never figures how the other team wants to play. Meanwhile, a good coach reads him like a book (a la Tata) and makes us look like crap. 5. I get he’s all about creating this “system” but at some point you have to be pragmatic. I’m all about being a Homer, but at the end of the day, it’s the W that matters. Regardless, he still continues to call in players who have proven they’ll be too old or not good enough come 2022. So, he’s not quite the visionary that he thinks he is. 6. This is the one that gets me. You have to manage your players. Your star player should be uplifting the team not needing to be the player who needs to be uplifted. So, he pulls Pulisic, destroys his confidence, although I admit he didn’t have a great game but neither did anyone outside of Morris. Furthermore, where is the intensity? This team is lacking any sort of Fire and it shows. That’s on him at the end of the day. At the end of the day, his team looks uninterested and disorganized. 7. He micromanages this team to death. At some point, no one gives a damn about your system Berhalter. At some point, the players have to play their game. Get out of their way! Quit forcing them to play in a way that’s not natural for them to do so! 8. Barely a word last night other than “disappointed.” He sounded like a man who knows he should get fired, or a man who knows he’s too cozy with the board and knows he’s doesn’t care. At some point, you address the fans and say, “that sucked. I take complete responsibility. We’re going to go back to the drawing board and make sure this shit doesn’t happen again.” Point being, damn, man, I need to feel something from you. If I can’t feel anything. I seriously doubt you are helping the players feel anything.
Coaching, yes. But players also matter. Hugely. Tata is an excellent coach, perhaps my favorite active coach in the world, yet Argentina under the inexperienced Scaloni (his only gigs before getting the job were as assistant coach for a couple of years) destroyed them 4-0. So yes, coaching matters. But in the end, the better players dominate.