I've also wondered whether Sigi and the Sounders wanted Morris to miss this roster. With Dempsey and Valdez already at the Copa, their forward options start looking weak if Morris is also taken away. Especially for a coach/staff on the hot seat..............................
Fair, I guess. But the way Jurgen tends to use players late in matches suits Morris' gifts more than Wondo's, IMO. I still think it's a pretty worthless tactic that hasn't earned much in actual competitive tournaments but I expect to see the hell out of it.
Not really. Time is one thing. Quality time is another. We are not in confed cup next year. We will be testing our squad in concacaf Gold Cup. I'll always wonder what Morris, Finlay or Polster, Trapp, would do against Colombia, Costa Rica, Paraguay in that order. There may be time but not time for that. The CA was the time to get answers but I fear we will be asking questions instead when it is over, questions we will not have answered in the time you suggest we have. The only answers we will have is if Jones and Rasta and Bradley and Dempsey are too old to face St Vincent in November. We all know Pulisic can play. But play with which teammates against which level of competition? When Nagbe doesn't perform we will hear the excuses that his teammates have to be replaced and things will be different. I don't see a coherent plan here, other than ensuring we are stuck with Chandler and Brooks for WC with Johnson at lb.
All fair enough. But for me, yours is a short-term focus and I don't think it should be. Or to put it another way, the slight reduction in results NOW that might occur by replacing Wondo, Dempsey, Jones and Beckerman with younger players, particularly Morris and Nagbe (playing time wise) would have large benefits in two years time at the tournament that really matters.
Except that I think this Copa also really matters. Biggest event the US Men have played outside the World Cup. A rare opportunity to feature in a top competition before our home fans. Bigger than the Confed Cup, and more challenging and higher quality than the Gold Cup. So, I bring Dempsey and Jones because they can still produce now. They can still provide well-managed* starting minutes now. And Dempsey in particular might still be a quality late-game sub at the 2018 Cup, like JK used 33 year old Neuville in 2006 and Loew used 36 year old Klose in 2014. Dropping Dempsey now would be both a short-run (2016) and a longer-run (2018) mistake. I don't bring Beckerman or Wondo because I don't think they can produce now better than the younger options, against the quality of opponents we will face now. Marginal guys who are aging international backups now should be replaced now. * I am, however, concerned JK might not manage the minutes for Jones and Dempsey well. That's a different issue.
Just a difference in opinion on how much this matters. I respect your opinion on this, but I disagree because I don't think it is bigger than the CONFED cup because this tournament only includes one real top class team in Argentina as Brazil is mailing this tournament in. I agree that this is a rare opportunity, but not because of the opportunity for the home fans to see soccer that really matters, but to provide talented but younger players the chance to play in front of big crowds against teams stronger than the Gold Cup competition that mostly care - it's a crime that Morris isn't going to get that experience and I hope that those younger or newer players like Nagbe, Wood, and Brooks who are on the roster get more time than the old guard of Dempsey, Beckerman and Jones.
A lot of people around the world don't care much for the Confeds, truth be told. It's a new tournament, established to cash on Arab and Japanese money. Copa America is the oldest continental competition. This is its 100th anniversary. I think for soccer traditionalists, it weighs a lot more than the Confeds.
Totally agree. My perspective as a USA fan though is that Confeds is useful only as a warm-up to the subsequent summer's WC. I think Copa is tremendous for its history, but it's CONMEBOL's history, not USA's. Not trying to argue, just offering my viewpoint.
Super. And in the MLS N&A thread yesterday @falvo waxed poetically how at one point the FA Cup was bigger than winning the English 1st division, and he was right. I'd be willing to bet that any European or any South American would rather win the Euro or the Copa. The main reason is that you usually need to beat your most intense rivals in order to do so. Yes, it was started on money (so was the EPL. So what?) Yes, there is an exhibition feel to the Confederations Cup. Yes it is a WC dry run. But, in order to win it, you need to play some pretty good teams (and New Zealand). Teams usually bring pretty stacked squads. The biggest problem to the Confederations Cup is that it is overshadowed by the World Cup. I'm sure Chile wouldn't mind winning it next year, and I'd bet they would celebrate back in Santiago.