LA Galaxy Flavored USMNT in 2018

They were hallmarks under Bradley.

 

I soured on him fairly quickly. For a while I subscribed to the "get worse to get better", "trust his experience", "building a new culture" gubbins.

Then one day I asked myself how much rope he should get and started noticing that a lot of the faith in him stemmed more from who he was rather than what he did.

Crap decisions that Arena and Bradley would be lambasted for, were staunchly defended based on deference to the assumption he possessed some higher knowledge.

But JK wasn't some coaching genius. If Johann Cruyff did something I didn't get, I might scratch my head but you let him work because he was Mr Total Football and the architect of the philosophies employed by Barcelona and Pep Guardiola.

JK oversaw a strong short run with Germany (which in hindsight, Loewe gets a lot of credit for) and a disastrous spell at Bayern.

 

Now, this, I can fully agree with. Biggest bone headed move in USMNT history.

 

Lazy, incomplete search, but I’ve gotta support Beerholder.

 

I only knew a few things about JK when we hired him: 1) awesome player, 2) short but strong run with Germany in WC, 3) failed at Bayern and 4) his own players and assistants trashed him publicly.

So the only positive on his coaching resume was the WC run. But that was held in Germany. Home continent is a big advantage (SA team always wins in SA and Eur always wins in Euro, with one exc in 1958) but home country is an even bigger advantage (see US defeat COL, 1994 as one of many examples). So that diminished the accomplishment a bit for me. And as you point out Loewe was there. So even for that run it wasn't clear that JK added anything. But ok, slight positive indicator for JK there.

But then add the two negatives (Bayern failure, players and coaches who worked with him saying he was worthless at preparing team) and all that made me dubious from the get go. I hoped those who were defending him were right but I would have been surprised if they were. Once he took the reins it didn't take long to realize that he was all talk, no action. And a jerk to boot.

 

Oddly, I often tend to forget that run was actually in Germany.

 

Ok, this isn't Galaxy related but since I'm not a fan of the USMNT forum I'll post it here: $73 mil transfer to Chelsea for Pulisic. Third highest transfer fee in the club's history. Very impressive and good for him and good for US soccer. Has to be inspiring for young US players:

http://www.espn.com/soccer/soccer-t...rtmund-for-64m-loan-us-star-back-until-summer

 

I am pretty hyped on pulisic. I don't think he will become a world super star, but I think he will eventually become a top winger. Having Pedro and Hazard to show him the ways is amazing.

 

He already is on the roster of a top-20 team in the world.

The complaints are because young US players haven't always thrived in England but our weird Anglocentric soccer culture consistently pushes players toward the EPL, often for the worse. If one of the reasons he's leaving BVB is because he's being pushed to the bench, I find it hard to believe he'll be able to cope with the pressure at Chelsea. I hope for the best for him but feel pessimistic.

 

My worry is that Pulisic went to Chelsea. The big club in England with a track record of not playing their kids and developing talent.

Had Pulisic gone to any other big team in the Premier I'd be less worried about his future.

Doesn't help the coach didn't even know who he was until a few days ago.

 

Not true. The coach said he rated Pulisic highly a month ago and had told management that. He just didn't know the club was actually signing him until a couple days ago.
But your worries about him getting playing time are legitimate. Hopefully he either gets Chelsea minutes or else gets a productive loan. I think he will. After all Pulisic is just 20 and should improve as his gains experience and his body matures.

 

I read that Sarri wanted Pulisic in the summer but Dortmund didn't want to sell. They ultimately agreed to sell pulisic in 2019 since it seem he was going to leave otherwise.

 

For the fee that Chelsea have paid, Pulisic will get time and deference. This isn't Chelsea picking up Matt Miazga for 5 mil; this is the highest fee they've paid since acquiring Morata.

It's a good move, IMO. Right now, the PL is better than the Bundesliga from top to bottom and has more quality teams vying for the title. Bayern's 6-year monopoly of the Bundesliga is only behind Juventus' 7-year dominance of Seria A (of course, I mention this as Dortmund sit top of the table with good cushion). For the most part, good talent is leaving Germany unless it's coming in to Bayern.

 

The biggest fear is that the majority of Chelsea's team is very old.

When you look at the quality youngsters Chelsea has had, it's pretty telling that they are horrendous with youth.

Just last season they had Christainsen doing well, and now he barely gets a chance.

I know Pulisic will likely be their RW starter, but I worry that if he stutters or doesn't immediately deliver, he will be benched asap.

 

Other Dortmund players have left after a breakout season to the EPL only to return after not being able to make it. Pulisic hasn't even had a season as good. I hope the change of scenery is what he needs. He has been pretty inconsistent.

Chelsea may face a transfer ban, desperately need a striker and most likely will be losing Hazard in the summer.

I wish him luck because there will be a lot of pressure

 

I think Pulisic's biggest weakness is his small, not particularly muscular frame. Otherwise he's got it: speed, vision, touch and decent finishing ability. But he can be knocked off the ball and impeded more easily than most and can't physically challenge for 50-50 balls. And EPL defenders don't play nice and will be a real challenge. I've said this many times but I think he is much more valuable when he plays closer to the goal. If he receives the ball anywhere near or in the box he has a killer first move and a quick release shot. Plus his 3 to 5 yard burst is there with the best of them, allowing him to clean up lose balls in and around the box.

I know he's been played mainly as a winger but I think that's a problem. I still think he should be a slightly withdrawn forward playing alongside a target forward. If he were paired with a player like Ibra who can win the physical challenges and knock on high balls I think Pulisic would clean up on goals and assists. Just my opinion though.

 

Wow. I didn't realize Penthouse Forum posts were allowed on BS.

 

I rarely see Pulisic play outside of his US games, but what I hear from people that watch him a lot is he's merely an "OK" finisher; he appears to be better in the winger role at top levels.

 

I've watched him in both USMNT games and in Bundesliga games and I disagree with your people about his best position. But that's ok - I'm just a guy with a opinion. In an ideal world we would have the appropriate detailed data to inform the debate.
Btw I agree his finishing is sometimes inconsistent - that's why I called it decent rather than good. But even when he doesn't finish his quickness in the box creates chaos for defenders and leads to goal scoring opportunities for teammates (off rebounds, toe pokes, etc.)
The problem with him on the wing that is seldom talked about is that wingers also have significant defensive responsibilities. They have to stay with fullbacks who push up in the modern game. Pulisic is neither good at this nor is it the best use of his particular talents.

 

Yeah, I haven't seen enough to mount a strong case one way or the other, personally. I only mentioned it because it's something I've heard repeated a few times in (usually) foreign assessments of his game. He himself says he prefers scoring. I'll get to see him a lot more in the PL.