Down to the Wire: U.S. announces U20 World Cup Roster on 5/9/17 (5/20-6/11/2017)

Lederman never made the starting 11 for any of our youth teams. The word is he wasn't strong enough (physically).

 

Not so much for Jerome sure. But Bobby Wood credits Klinsmans's call-ups for keeping him going. There were many wondering why Wood would get called in over, "proven MLS players." He was called in to help his club career.

I'm shocked that people don't think NT coaches want their best prospect's club careers to prosper.

Occam's Razor says Tab thinks Akale and Haji-Wright are not good enough or won't play well on his team. But this is an internet bulletin board, it is suppose to be fun to discuss things.

 

Players have a zillion reasons for making club decisions. The national team is just one.

Yes, for Wood - Klinsmann helped out. But he also tried to "help out" players like Miguel Ibarra, Caleb Stanko, Jerome Kiesewetter, William Yarborough, and others that were counterproductive. Julian Green was rushed through the U.S. set up and I don't think it served him well.

National team caps are a finite resource. There are only limited opportunities. The more pointless experiments you undertake (like Jermaine Jones at centerback) the less time you can use to maybe look at Walker Zimmerman, Matt Hedges, Matt Miazga - you know, like real centerbacks.

Klinsmann tried to micromanage things and that is not his job. Most of the time, players know what is the best decision for them. Do you push an 18 year old to a European academy or should he stay in MLS where he can start games and then maybe work his way overseas? There is NO right answer. Players have succeed taking either path. They've also failed too.

I can give examples all day long. It was a very good move for Matt Miazga to start in MLS AND to move abroad when he did. He has told me the same thing. I think Kellyn Acosta was served right to start in MLS with Dallas (obviously NYRB and Dallas are two teams where you want to start if you're a young player. Teams in MLS are very different) and I think Acosta will be in Europe within 12-18 months. I think it is obvious that Pulisic, McKennie, Gooch, and Hyndman were smart to move abroad when they did. I think Nagbe made a mistake signing a new deal with Portland

I don't think Tab is there trying to manage the club careers of his U-20 players (which could end up being counterproductive if he did). That will happen on its own.

Tab is trying to pick the best hand possible - which due to injuries and club refusals - isn't that great at the moment. Two of his most controversial cuts are Akale (abroad) and Farfan (domestic) but even if he had both, I don't see that having a dramatic effect.

 

Well I heard a live interview with Tab this morning, and he flat out said that Schalke and Fiorentina simply refused to release their players. Period. So there's that. He did confirm, as people have noted, that Fossey is out with injury. And he also praised EPB, saying that he has about the highest ceiling for a player out of the back that he had ever seen in the US. In describing it, he said that you could tell that as he won the best player of the u-20 tournament even though "he played out of position. He is a centerback."

 

Because Fulham has a TERRIBLE record putting trust in American players.

 

Where did you see this interview?

Also, yeah, completely agree about what he said about EPB. I've been saying the same thing that Tab is saying (and I think you have said it as well).

 

The interview was on Sirius XM FC ... with (I believe) Phil Schoen and one other person as the interviewers. I could be wrong about the radio personalities though, so dont hold me to it. And yes, I have been saying that EPB is definitely a CB (as opposed to a dmid, long-term). It just shows you how good he is that he could play out of position and still be so effective. But the notion that he should be permanently moved forward is fairly ridiculous to me. We arent nearly as gifted in the back as some think ... plus I simply think he is far superior to some of the other talent we have in the back.

 

Sometimes giving guys a platform and confidence gives them the push they need for success at the club level

 

Sometimes. Sometimes not.

Sometimes when you give a guy a platform (when other players are better), they start believing they're better than they are and buy into the hype. I've seen it on more than one time.

Or sometimes when you give a guy a platform when (when other players are better) they know they don't deserve to be there and he has zero effect on their career. I've seen that too.

Also,

When you start emphasizing call-ups to showcase players, there is a huge risk it'll kill team morale. Some players are there that don't belong. Some players, who are still good, are not there because the coach doesn't like the club. It could turn into a huge mess

 

I agree with everything you say. It was said, above, that it was stupid to think national team coaches pick players to jhelp their club careers. I, and others, and you acknowledge it, argued Klinsman did it, so to say it is impossible is ignorant. Your point about it not being a good idea is a different discussion.

It does happen. I suggested a thought experiment that Tab is doing it. We will never know until he writes his book for sure. I enjoyed the discussion though.

 

Do we have a reason as to why Akale did not make the team? Like a real reason? Not that any of the attackers in this group are better than him....

 

Tab doesn't rate him. Maybe stupid by Tab, maybe not. Time to move on from the topic.

 

This is where a few years from now Akale is either another Junior Flores who wasn't as good as the hype suggested or Tab looks really stupid. The alternate is Tab wants to play very defensive and thinks others are better in that area.

 

Pulisic just won the penalty that secured Dortmund top 3. And people in here wanted Tuchel to let him leave for the U20 world cup. lol

 

Do we know if CCV and Glad will be healthy?

 

I don't believe anyone does out side of their clubs and Tab's staff. We do know they aren't in game shape. Calls for either to start IF they are healthy seem a little panicky to me.

 

Ready to admit that you are wrong?

 

Literally all of the goals in the U-20 WC to date have been created by these two.

 

Don't let facts get in the way of a good rant.

 

I think there's a point to what he said.

They are two of our three AM's, so of course there's a good chance that they will have created our goals. That still doesn't automatically mean they are going to be good players at higher levels or are as good as some players left off this team.

I don't think either is an eventual NT player. Maybe they get a few caps, I don't see either getting more than five caps.

 

They are two of our three AM's, so of course there's a good chance that they will have created our goals. That still doesn't automatically mean they are going to be good players at higher levels or are as good as some players left off this team.

I don't think either is an eventual NT player. Maybe they get a few caps, I don't see either getting more than five caps.[/QUOTE]
They both have their limitations. All we can ask them to do is be effective now. They're succeeding. As for the future, who knows?

 

I see them both being better than Bedoya or Zusi. I don't see players of that level getting many more caps in future years. So I sort of agree with you. I think, though, that these are the type of players that allow us to rest easy when injuries happen.

 

I see Taitague scored for the Schalke U19s again today (Haji had a hat trick on the weekend). What I'm confused about is that I thought the season and the Cup were over. What are these games and is McKennie playing? What is going on?

 

I believe it's a regional cup.