Nations League A, Camp 2, Canada/Cuba, Nov. 15/19

This is almost exactly my "give him the benefit of the doubt" case but I have my doubts. Thanks.

 

my thing is the objective signs that result in retention aren't there. if anything the results are getting worse and the team seems more lost or checked out. normally that gets you canned. LoN is still doable. Hex is next year. you do it now and the reboot process has begun before we hit the next hurdles.

but USSF is still talking big picture and letting/asking GB to do videos about bearing with the process. he should be on a hot seat and making these self serving statements privately to reporters. USSF should be eerily quiet or making noises like they expect changes and results. i think he should already be gone and i think even the more lenient folks are like anything short of a home win to canada should end it. but my concern is it doesn't feel like that vibe. USSF let him do a "bear with us" video on an official channel. that implies we are being impatient. i think i've seen enough. but if they think we are being rash, they clearly have some different success metrics or timetable than i do.

that stubborn-a$$ camp roster he just released screams i know my system i know my people this will work just wait. normally a coach could be a fool but the Fed would then punish the foolishness the day after. i don't have that feel. it is the correct cycle-oriented response and actually would be getting urgent at this point.

personally i think someone wanted him instead of arena and lost. and should have since we were trying to make a world cup from a hole. i think c. 2015 he was in fashion. i think by the time we got to 2018 that was long worn off. but i think someone who lost in 2015 got their payback. worse, given our management history, he's being given the most leniency i have ever seen. do we care if we win? doesn't feel like it. that sounds like a long project.

irony of it is if this is going to be some long project in the snob dream then go back and get first cycle klinsi or some really good coach. to me not only doing this weird project but putting it in the hands of a coach who never won anywhere to prove anything is crazed. it's beyond ahab and the whale. it's we've hired a captain with little whaling experience to go chase this impossible whale. "what do you call this thing? a harpoon?" good. effing. luck. with. that.

 

We'll qualify in 2026. Before you say "that hasn't been determined" please try to imagine a world in which FIFA, which values money above all, somehow doesn't choose a system in which the US is playing in a World Cup in the US.

As usual, the negative crowd is negative about everything.

Having an MLS pre-camp is smart. These guys haven't played in a while -- make sure they are up to speed, work them out.

I would have loved to have seen Hollingshead, Park, Dotson and Toye over some of the guys. But I'm also happy to see Aaronson again, Chase Gasper, Ebobisse, etc.

If Jeremy Ebobisse can't CLEARLY outplay Corey Baird in camp, then maybe he doesn't need a shot. And we move on. And I don't think Baird makes the final roster at all.

 

A sign of madness...Doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome.

 

I got the opposite feeling - like Earnie is between a rock and a (fraternal) hard place.

I'm not a fan of what he says because I think the point of having a GM is to have somebody who can bounce stuff around with the other head man, the team manager.

The problem with consistency is that our opponent is planning his tactics around our consistency. As a result of our consistency, Mexico upped their margin of victory from 1-0 in GC to 3-0 in Sep window friendly. When the team subsequently gathers to meet Canada in LON, everybody looks tired and hopeless.

How about a consistent one step forward, each fixture, instead of a consistent increase in frustration ?

 

Where exactly do we have evidence of Lima being bad for USMNT? On the contrary, he gets forward with effectiveness and always plays with purpose. We have been crippled v. Tata because he knows our right back (Cannon ) can't get forward.

 

You know it's not a roster, right? It's just a pre-camp workout group because many of these players haven't played in a few weeks due to the MLS regular season ending before the last break.

 

Gonna need a detailed scouting report from you because I have literally never heard of Chase Gasper until about 90 seconds ago.

 

Left-footed leftback. Rookie out of college. Listed at 6'0, 185lb. Excellent lateral movement, which allows him to excel at tackling. Good in tight spaces. Plays with a surprising level of flair.

Is very quick, but not very fast. In a higher level of league, he'd probably get moved to CB.

Reminds me of....Ben Sweat.

Like most young defenders, he needs to work on positioning.

 

Um, where's Parks, Hydman, Servania, Hollingshead, Vines, Toye, Ferreria, etc?

A pre-camp roster full of crap that's going to be crappy if chosen or a complete waste of time if miraculously left off the roster. As though anyone needed further proof that Greg is not up to the task.

 

Lampard:
'Aye mate, ye get the ball wide and play it in space, bypass the midfield on occasion, let the keeper punt the ball directly to the ST, look for a bit of a flick.'

'Who's your bloody Joe Cole? Get the ball to this feet'

Berhalter:
'k'.

 

With that accent, we know Lampard won't ever coach the USMNT as long as the current sporting director and CEO-in-waiting are still there.

 

I wasn't anti-Berhalter from the beginning...I was wait and see. I think he has been given enough time to show what he has got and it hasn't been enough IMO. That being said, I don't have a problem with a pre camp using MLS players. I don't see any of his actual roster or game choices as being part of a conspiracy but rather bad judgement. I could be wrong but I feel it is irrelevant. Whether it is bad judgement/incompetence or a conspiracy the choices have been poor and the result is the same. Also, since he isn't being fired before the Nations cup games vs Canada and Cuba (I think that is a safe statement), I will wait to criticize after the game (I can wait that long).

I don't expect that my voice will be necessary because there will likely be enough criticism of Berhalter without me.

As far as the MLS callups, if you are interested in my opinion, I am sorry but I have only glanced at the midfielders....was wondering if Aaronson and Pomykal would be called in. Wasn't aware that Pomykal had surgery but assumed his absence was injury related.

 

if you dont mind, could you give a quick rundown- im not familiar with him at all

 

Is Parks on loan? He might be in Portugal. Same for Hyndman, was he a loan? The U23s might have a separate camp. We're might see LAFC and Atlanta players added in the coming days.

 

this is exactly why the "dont get upset about a pre-camp roster" talk is silly. of course this doesnt matter. its far, far less than jan camp in these guys arent even going to get friendlies at the end.

why the hell can we not look at inarguably better options here? not taking a few days to look at hollingshead first hand while continuing to have lovitz in every camp should be enough, man. capones tax returns. if for NO OTHER REASON thats why gregg should be making eyes at sacramento right now.

 

What is this the SUM Camp?

 

Y'all can complain, but this is a very good idea by Greggyboy. I'm glad it seems they taking this seriously now. I even got an email video message from GGG

Pomykal and I assume Miles Robinson are not there due to injury.
Roldan/Morris/Altidore/Bradley still playing.

Yeah there's the Lovitz and Baird show again, but really there's not a whole lot missing here.

For me I make these direct changes or rather really additions, but really is it a big big deal???? No. He could/should have called in more than 20 really. Having a full 11v11 at least makes sense.

• Hollingshead for Lovitz. Hollingshead is absolutely deserving, but he's also a 28 year old MLS LB, so this isn't no big whoop. Could call both.
  
• Sapong for Zardes. CJ is 30. He probably isn't making any rosters. But, he's better then JAR JAR. Could call both.
• Opara. With M.Rob out, he's called only 3 CBs. 4 makes sense. But Ike is 30, so....
• Hamid. Now Matt Turner absolutely is a good call. Sean Johnson Stinks, but whatever.
• Nagbe???????????????? Lean towards F this guy.
• And I could list a handful more but they are fringeiest fringe TBH.

Good idea!

edit: I guess I will say, it is a bit frustrating/concerning that Gregg seems to be fixated/confident on the guys he's already called. I mean if you look at the guys he has called here, Lewis, Baird, Ebobisse, Trapp, Lovitz, Lima, and so on...they are all ok players that had ok seasons. None really were even "good" in this MLS season. There is a broad list of other guys who had similar/better seasons. Nothing spectacular as outlined above, but it seems pretty difficult to break into Gregg's "group" if you aren't already chosen.

 

Why are we even forcing a possession style on this team like its the answer to all questions? Possession football is only used successfully by the best of the best i.e man city. Ajax is successful with posession because its drilled into the players head from academy level. Most of the football world is moving towards fast attacks and counters. Berhalter just wants possession play cause it looks pretty.

 

MLS naturally wants its product in US uniforms.

https://theathletic.com/1323054/201...ague-soccer-hint-its-not-really-losing-money/

 

It's been a quixotic goal of USSF honchos for some time. Even the results of WC'18 and the MLS playoffs don't appear to have changed any minds.

 

Just as an aside (somewhat) off topic remark (I apologize in advance):

The fact that Berhalter tends to call up a large number of MLS players that many (most?) seem to agree are not even the best MLS players is an argument against an anti European bias (in my mind). He is showing the same judgement domestically as he is with players abroad. If Hollingshead were European based, people would be saying that he is not being called due to anti Euro bias. He is in MLS so it is bad judgement. If Toye had been Euro based, (6g and 3a this year in limited minutes compared to Baird's 5g 4a in almost 3 times the minutes) people would say that is evidence of Euro bias.

(by the way, I don't have a problem with Toye being left off now, but do believe Hollingshead deserves a shot and I do believe that they can find someone more effective up top than Baird)

 

I would like to see Holmes, Ventura, and Ledezma for the November dates. Holmes at a minimum.

Instead we will get Roldan, Zimmerman and Aaronson. Never mind Trapp, Lovitz and Zardes.

If it isn’t a simple naive MLS bias then it is fire-able, stubbornness, a federation-influenced embarrassingly poor talent evaluation.

You know he could have started with Ale Bedoya in midfield to set the veteran tone and re-recruit Darlington Nagbe if he wants to play like a homeless-man’s Man City.

 

I have no clue.

it’s been the US bread and butter to be a fast, physical, organized, hard working counter attacking team... that’s what lead to 2002 success, 2010 success, and 2014 success. But all of a sudden, forget what we know, and become something we are not meant to be nor have the player pool for.